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21 Jun 2007 : Column 2009W—continued
GCE A Level: Gender
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of (a) girls and (b) boys in maintained schools were awarded (i) at least one A, (ii) at least two As and (iii) at least three As at A level in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by (A) parliamentary constituency, (B) local education authority and (C) region. [143358]
Jim Knight [holding answer 18 June 2007 ]: The information requested has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
GCSE: Languages
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in Shropshire were entered for a modern language at GCSE in each year from 2001 to 2006. [127721]
Jim Knight: The number of 15-year-olds entered for a modern language GCSE in Shropshire for each year from 2001 to 2006 is given in the following table.
| Number of pupils entered for a modern foreign language in Shropshire | |
| (1 )2006 data are based on amended Key Stage 4 data. | |
GCSE: Mandarin
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many students have taken GCSE Mandarin in each local authority in each of the last five years for which figures are available; [137464]
(2) how many students obtained a grade C or above at GCSE level in Mandarin in each local authority in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [137431]
Jim Knight: This information can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
GCSEs
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2007 to question 117654, on GCSEs, how many mainstream (a) maintained and (b) independent secondary schools fell within each percentage point in terms of the proportion of pupils who achieved (i) seven and (ii) nine or more GCSEs at A*-C including English and mathematics in 2006. [132344]
Jim Knight: The information requested can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of 15-year-olds attending (a) independent mainstream schools and (b) maintained mainstream schools achieved five or more GCSEs at A*-C including English, mathematics and science in each year since 1997 (i) in total and (ii) as a proportion of pupils entered for a full GCSE in English, mathematics and science. [143126]
Jim Knight: The information requested can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Head Teachers: Science
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of head teachers have a degree in a science subject. [141488]
Jim Knight: The information is not available in the format requested.
Hearing Impaired: Sign Language
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many lip reading and sign language teachers are employed in Copeland. [143177]
Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.
International GCSEs
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has had with Cambridge International Examinations and Edexcel on the accreditation of the international GCSE; and if he will make a statement. [143952]
Jim Knight: As regulators of the public examination system, it is QCA’s role to make sure they have reliable, current and comprehensive information on the qualifications market in England. The chairman and chief executive of QCA met Cambridge Assessment’s Group chief executive and discussed iGCSEs at a meeting on Tuesday, 13 March 2007.
Languages: East Sussex
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which foreign languages were studied by pupils in (a) Eastbourne and (b) East Sussex for (i) GCSE, (ii) A/S-Level and (iii) A-Level in each of the last five years. [130950]
Jim Knight: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Maintained Schools: Qualifications
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many and what proportion of pupils in maintained schools did not achieve five A*-G grades at GCSE in each year since 1997, broken down by gender; [132180]
(2) how many and what proportion of pupils in maintained schools obtained A*-G grades at GCSE in each year since 1997, broken down by gender. [132181]
Jim Knight: This information is available in the Department’s GCSE and Equivalent Statistical First Releases which have been placed in the House Library.
Nurseries: Fees and Charges
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact of increases in business rates on fee levels in (a) private day nurseries, (b) voluntary day nurseries, (c) nurseries located in schools and (d) Sure Start children's centres over the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [139717]
Beverley Hughes: No such assessment has been made. Costs and prices in the nursery sector are affected by a wide range of factors.
Some nurseries may be eligible for rate relief to ease the impact of business rates and some voluntary providers, if they pay rates, may be exempt under Schedule 5 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.
Nurseries: Finance
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will take action to assist nurseries and childcare organisations which no longer receive funding from the National Nursery Initiative and are ineligible to become children’s centres; and if he will make a statement. [145018]
Beverley Hughes: 1,400 Neighbourhood Nurseries were set up under the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative (NNI) which ran from 2002 until 2007, in the most disadvantaged areas within local authorities. 774 of these will become children’s centres by March 2008 while others will link to children's centres for delivery of childcare places. The remainder will continue to operate as stand alone nurseries.
All NNs were required to develop a five-year business plan, demonstrating sustainability when Government funding ended.
Any Neighbourhood Nursery experiencing difficulty when their Government funding comes to an end, should contact their local authority in the first instance. They can provide support for business planning and marketing and in some circumstances may be able to provide financial support to aid sustainability. From 2008, all local authorities will have a duty to secure sufficient childcare in their areas and former Neighbourhood Nurseries will have a substantial part to play in that.
Nursery Schools: Codes of Practice
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what representations he has received on implementing the Code of Practice for Nursery Education in pilot areas; and if he will make a statement; [144893]
(2) when he expects the Code of Practice for Nursery Education to be fully applied (a) in pilot areas and (b) across England. [144894]
Beverley Hughes: The 2006 Code of Practice on the provision of free nursery education places for three and four-year-olds came into force on 1 April 2006. The Code of Practice is statutory guidance that all local authorities, including Pathfinder local authorities delivering the extended free early education entitlement from April 2007, must have regard to when fulfilling their statutory duty to secure sufficient nursery education for children in their area.
Officials meet regularly with representatives from the 20 Pathfinder local authorities. These meetings are opportunities to review progress and discuss emerging issues relating to the extension of the free entitlement to 15 hours.
Ofsted
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2007, Official Report, column 124W, on Ofsted, how much Ofsted spent on legal advice on the drafting of the answer. [143261]
Jim Knight: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Library.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 19 June 2007:
Your recent Parliamentary Question has been passed to me as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for reply.
You asked, following our response of 4th June 2007, Official Report, column 124W, how much Ofsted spent on legal advice on the drafting of that answer.
This information is not available as Ofsted obtains legal advice from an in-house Treasury Solicitors team on the basis of an overall monthly charge. Time is not recorded on a topic specific basis.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Ofsted: Pay
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what remuneration is received by the Chair of the Ofsted Board for that role. [144544]
Jim Knight: Remuneration for the Chairman of the Ofsted Board is £40,000 per annum.
Personal, Social and Health Education
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the evidential basis was for the statement made by Ofsted in its report “Time for Change? Personal, Social and Health Education” that (a) research suggests that education that promotes abstinence but withholds information about contraception can place young people at higher risk and (b) school nurses provide a particularly valuable service in providing emergency hormonal contraception to pupils; and if he will make a statement. [141462]
Jim Knight: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Library.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 13 June 2007:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for reply.
You asked what the evidential basis was for the statements made by Ofsted in its report, “Time for Change? Personal, Social and Health Education (HMI 070049)”, that (A) research suggests that education that promotes abstinence, but withholds information about contraception, can place young people at higher risk; and (B) school nurses are providing a valuable service by offering emergency hormonal contraception to pupils.
Our report states that ‘there is no evidence, however, that ‘abstinence-only’ education reduces teenage pregnancy or improves sexual health. There is also no evidence to support claims that teaching about contraception leads to increased sexual activity. Research suggests that education and strategies that promote abstinence but withhold information about contraception can place young people at a higher risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).’ There has been widespread international research in this area, including three pieces of research completed by the National Children’s Bureau:
1. Blake, S and Frances, G (2001) Just Say No to Abstinence Education. London
2. Abstinence-only Education, Sex Education Forum, briefing May 2004
3. Swann, C., Bowe, K. MCCormick, G. and Kosmin, M. (2003) Teenage Pregnancy and parenthood: a review of reviews. Evidence briefing. London: Health development Agency. www.hda.nhs.uk/evidence
We found this research persuasive because it reflected our discussions with pupils in 350 inspections who said they valued clear sex and relationship education in school.
Our report states that ‘school nurses can also provide a valuable service, particularly in terms of providing emergency hormonal contraception and advising on other forms of contraception’. This is in line with non-statutory guidance published by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The DfES publication “Teenage Pregnancy Next Steps: Guidance for Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts on Effective Delivery of Local Strategies” (2006) sets out the key findings from ‘deep dive’ reviews carried out by the Teenage Pregnancy Unit to identify factors responsible for the significant variation in performance between local areas, including between areas that are statistically similar. The guidance states:
‘Provision of young people focused contraception/sexual health services, trusted by teenagers and well known by professionals working with them.’ This was the factor most commonly cited as having the biggest impact on conception rate reductions in the high performing areas. Features of successful services reflected the “Best practice guidance on the provision of effective contraception and advice services for young people” issued by the Teenage Pregnancy Unit in 2000: easy accessibility in the right location with opening hours convenient to young people; provision of the full range of contraceptive methods, including long acting methods; a strong focus on sexual health promotion (as well as reactive services) through, for example, outreach work in schools, work with professionals to improve their ability to engage with young people on sexual health issues; and through highly visible publicity. Effective services also had a strong focus on meeting the specific needs of young men. All high-performing areas also had condom distribution schemes involving a wide range of local agencies and/or access to emergency contraception in non-clinical settings.
Ofsted’s own discussions with young people suggest they want and trust services in schools and welcome and recognise the commitment that schools show to meeting their wider health needs.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Pupil Exclusions
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils had been permanently excluded more than once in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) sex and (b) ethnicity; and how many such pupils had special educational needs. [142549]
Jim Knight [holding answer 20 June 2007]: The available information is given in the table.
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