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26 Mar 2007 : Column 1298W—continued
Schools: Greenwich
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department has taken to improve the performance of schools in the London borough of Greenwich since 1997. [126687]
Jim Knight: Greenwich has seen a significant overall rise in standards across all Key Stages since 1997. The proportion of 11-year-olds reaching the target level 4+ has risen by 24 percentage points to 74 per cent. in English in 2006 and by 20 percentage points to 71 per cent. in mathematics. The proportion of pupils achieving 5 A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent has improved by 12 percentage points to 43 per cent. in 2006. This represents faster improvement than the national average.
We want to see standards in Greenwich improve further and the Government’s London Challenge programme and the National Strategies in particular are working closely with the borough and its schools to achieve this.
London Challenge support since 2003 includes:
Direct support for five of Greenwich’s secondary schools through the Keys to Success programme. This has provided schools with access to expert advice from a London Challenge Adviser who has helped them to prioritise areas for improvement and put together bespoke improvement packages;
Consultancy support for English, maths and science in secondary schools across the borough;
Inclusion in the Science Challenge to improve the standard of science in target secondary schools;
Inclusion in the English and Maths Challenge to improve standards in English and maths in target secondary schools;
Inclusion in the Primary London Challenge which aims to raise standards in traditionally underperforming primary schools.
Support for the local authority to increase capacity in the Secondary School Improvement Team
Opportunities for Greenwich teachers to qualify as Chartered London Teachers and support for housing costs.
Consultant Leaders working to support school leadership.
KS2-3 Transition projects
Opportunities for Greenwich students to gain a variety of rich experiences out of school.
ICT projects
Schools: Standards
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he has (a) commissioned and (b) supported research into the impact on governing bodies and their chair of a school being put into special measures. [124453]
Jim Knight: The Department has not commissioned or supported research into the impact on governing bodies of a school that is placed in special measures. For such a school the local authority has a duty to prepare a statement of action within 10 working days and we expect urgent action to be taken by the authority, governing body and others involved to improve provision at the school as soon as possible.
This will inevitably involve a good deal of hard work, but a well organised governing body can spread its workload by setting up committees to consider various matters on, for example, curriculum, finance and management issues. Support from the local authority can include the appointment of additional members to strengthen the governing body.
Where the Ofsted inspection finds that the governors are not discharging their responsibilities adequately and this failure contributes to the finding that the school requires special measures then the local authority should include in its statement of action how it will address governance issues at the school.
Secondary Education: Curriculum
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will assess the extent to which schools teach specific factual content above that which is proposed in the programmes of study included in the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority secondary curriculum review. [127317]
Jim Knight: We have no plans to make such an assessment.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the consultation launched by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority on 5 February on the secondary curriculum (a) relates solely to the revised key stage 3 programme of study and (b) includes (i) the revised key stage 4 programmes of study and (ii) the content of the sections entitled curriculum lenses, Organising the curriculum and curriculum dimensions on the secondary curriculum review website. [127319]
Jim Knight: The statutory consultation launched by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority on 5 February relates to proposed changes to the statutory programmes of study and level descriptions at key stages 3 and 4.
QCA has also invited separate comment on supporting materials to accompany the proposed programmes of study, including the content of the sections entitled curriculum lenses, Organising the curriculum and curriculum dimensions.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority considered the content of maths curricula in use in (a) Japan, (b) South Korea, (c) Flemish-Belgium, (d) Singapore, (e) Chinese Tapei and (f) Hong Kong when designing the new programme of study in mathematics as part of the secondary curriculum review. [127326]
Jim Knight: Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) curriculum advisers keep up to date with developments in other countries and with international studies and surveys, especially from countries where achievement in mathematics is higher than that in the United Kingdom. While the QCA has not drawn from the curriculum of any specific country when designing the new programmes of study for mathematics, the background knowledge gained was used in its preparation.
Secondary Schools
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of mainstream maintained secondary schools set lessons in (a) mathematics, (b) English and (c) science. [129640]
Jim Knight [holding answer 23 March 2007]: We have figures for the number of lessons as opposed to the number of schools. In its 2002/03 school inspection cycle, Ofsted noted that of all the lessons which inspectors observed:
5,567 of mathematics lessons were set (86 per cent.)
3,681 English lessons were set (51 per cent.)
4,456 science lessons were set (70 per cent.)
We want schools to provide a tailored education for every child and believe that the effective use of pupil grouping plays an important part in supporting this aim. We have been encouraging schools to use setting and other forms of pupil grouping since 1997. However, it will continue to be for schools to decide how and when to group and set pupils. That is the only practical approach.
Students: Part-Time Employment
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the numbers of students undertaking full-time higher education courses who have part-time jobs. [127771]
Bill Rammell
[holding answer 15 March 2007]: The Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2004/05, published on the 30 March 2006, is a comprehensive study on students’ income, expenditure, borrowing and debt. It showed that 56 per cent. of all full-time undergraduate students undertook paid work at some
time during the academic year—either during term time, during the short vacations or both. For those undertaking such work earnings were on average £3,250 (after tax). The Department plans to repeat the survey in the 2007/08 academic year.
The Government provide a generous package of financial support for students. In 2006/07 no eligible full-time student has to find the funding for their fees before or while they are studying; the loans for living costs have been increased above inflation; and new maintenance grants of up to £2,700 are benefiting up to half the full-time students. Students generally ought not to need to work to meet their essential living costs. Nonetheless we recognise that many students undertake paid work and, providing excessive hours are not worked to the detriment of their academic studies, students can gain useful skills as well as supplementing their income.
Teachers
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of newly qualified (a) secondary and (b) primary school teachers who had not taken up full-time teaching posts one year after qualification in each of the last five years in Leeds. [129372]
Jim Knight [holding answer 23 March 2007]: The following tables provide the number and percentage of final year trainees from Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in Leeds gaining Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) award by academic year who have not commenced a full-time teaching post, in either the maintained or independent sector, six months after completing their course in the academic years, 2002/03 to 2004/05:
| Final year primary school trainees from HEI providers in Leeds( 1) gaining QTS award by academic year that have not commenced a full-time teaching post six months after completing their course | ||||
| ITT trainees gaining QTS with unknown destinations | ||||
| Number of ITT trainees gaining QTS known not to be in full-time teaching post | Percentage of all QTS award trainees not in full-time teaching posts | Number | Percentage | |
| (1) HEIs in Leeds include the University of Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan University and Trinity and All Saints College. (2) Leeds Metropolitan University is not included in 2003/04 figures because of inconsistencies in data collection and recording from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey. Source: The TDA performance profiles. | ||||
| Final year secondary school trainees from HEI providers in Leed s gaining QTS award by academic year that have not commenced a full-time teaching post six months after completing their course | ||||
| ITT trainees gaining QTS with unknown destinations | ||||
| Number of ITT trainees gaining QTS known not to be in full-time teaching post | Percentage of all QTS award trainees not in full-time teaching posts | Number | Percentage | |
| (1) Leeds Metropolitan University is not included in 2003/04 figures because of inconsistencies in data collection and recording from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey. Notes: 1. Figures for final year trainees in Leeds include HEIs only, but exclude SCITT, OU and employment based routes. This is because the breakdown of teaching posts into full-time or part-time posts is only available for HEIs. 2. HEIs in Leeds include the University of Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan University and Trinity and All Saints College. 3. Trainees gaining QTS award and classified as known not to be in a full-time teaching post six months after completing their course include trainees who are in part-time teaching posts, seeking a teaching post and not seeking a teaching post. 4. These figures show the number of final year trainees from HEIs in Leeds gaining QTS award who have not commenced a full-time teaching post six months after completing their course. They do not show the number of NQTs living in Leeds who are not in full-time teaching posts. Also those who are in full-time teaching posts may not necessarily be teaching in Leeds. Not all qualifying teachers will seek employment in teaching immediately; some may travel, take further study or pursue other interests before doing so. 5. Figures for 2003/04 have been affected by inconsistencies in data collection and recording for Leeds Metropolitan University from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey. Therefore no data from Leeds Metropolitan University are included for 2003/04 figures. 6. Data on destinations of final year trainees for 2005/06 are not yet available. 7. The breakdown of the type of teaching posts which trainees enter (i.e. full-time or part-time) is only available for trainees who were awarded QTS in 2002/03 onwards. 8. Percentage calculation includes response whose employment status was unknown. 9. Figures are individually rounded to the nearest 10. Source: The TDA performance profiles. | ||||
Teachers: Redundancy Pay
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what the total cost was of teacher redundancy payments in (a) community schools, (b) foundation schools, (c) voluntary-aided schools, (d) voluntary controlled schools, (e) academies and (f) city technology colleges in each year from 1997 to 2007; [127552]
(2) how many and what percentage of (a) all teachers and (b) teachers in (i) community schools, (ii) voluntary-aided schools, (iii) voluntary controlled schools, (iv) foundation schools, (v) academies and (vi) city technology colleges (A) took voluntary redundancy payments, (B) took early retirement, (C) retired and (D) were dismissed in each year between 1997 and 2007. [127553]
Jim Knight: Information on the number of teachers who took redundancy payments, the amount of these payments and the number of teachers who were subject to dismissal is not collected centrally.
The following table provides the number of teachers who retired in each year from 1997/98 to 2005/06 in the maintained schools sector, city technology colleges and academies by type of retirement.
The figures include teachers who may have left teaching service some years before being awarded retirement benefits. The year given is that of the award. Early retirements include premature and actuarially reduced benefit retirements but exclude ill-health retirements which are listed separately. This information is not available broken down for the other school types requested. 2005/06 is the latest information available.
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