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25 Jun 2007 : Column 590W—continued
| West Midlands Government Office r egion | England | |||||
| Number of minority ethnic pupils( 4) | Percentage of minority ethnic pupils( 5) | All pupils( 6) | Number of minority ethnic pupils( 4) | Percentage of minority ethnic pupils( 5) | All pupils( 6) | |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Pupils of compulsory school age and above are classified according to ethnic group. (3) Provisional. 4 Includes all pupils classified by ethnic group except those classified as white British. (5) Ethnic minority pupils expressed as a percentage of all pupils of compulsory school age and above. (6) All pupils of compulsory school age and above. Source: School Census | ||||||
| Maintained secondary schools: Number and percentage of minority ethnic pupils by intake type of school ( 1,2) : January( 3) | ||||||
| Birmingham local authority | Solihull local authority | |||||
| Number of minority ethnic pupils( 4) | Percentage of minority ethnic pupils( 5) | All pupils( 6) | Number of minority ethnic pupils( 4) | Percentage of minority ethnic pupils( 5) | All pupils( 6) | |
| West Midlands Government Office Region | England | |||||
| Number of minority ethnic pupils( 4) | Percentage of minority ethnic pupils( 5) | All pupils( 6) | Number of minority ethnic pupils( 4) | Percentage of minority ethnic pupils( 5) | All pupils( 6) | |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Pupils of compulsory school age and above are classified according to ethnic group. (3) Provisional. (4) Includes all pupils classified by ethnic group except those classified as white British (5) Ethnic minority pupils expressed as a percentage of all pupils of compulsory school age and above. (6) All pupils of compulsory school age and above. (7) Includes one comprehensive school which reported intake type as grammar Source: School Census | ||||||
Schools: Internet
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the numbers of (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools who have installed Wi-Fi technology; what his policy is on the use of such equipment; and what research he has (i) commissioned and (ii) evaluated on the potential effects on the health of school children arising from the installation of this technology. [145062]
Jim Knight: Becta lead on this area for the Department and advise that in their ICT equipment in schools 2005 survey (published March 2006) of the 556 schools surveyed, 128 primary schools (41.03 per cent.) and 154 secondary schools (70.97 per cent.) made use of wireless networking.
Becta recommends that while secure wireless networks can complement an institution’s wired network, they should not replace it. Advice and guidance for schools on wireless networking is available through their website.
Becta has been in contact with the Health Protection Agency (HPA)—the Government agency responsible for health and safety—to obtain the latest guidance on health issues relating to wireless technology. The HPA reports that there is no consistent evidence of health effects from RF exposures below guideline levels. Becta
therefore believes that there is no reason why schools and others should not use wi-fi equipment to benefit from the flexibility these technologies can provide.
Schools: Standards
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what assessment he has made of the reliability of the formula used to calculate the contextual value added measure of a school’s performance; and if he will make a statement; [143125]
(2) what discussions his Department has had with teaching unions on the calculation of the contextual valued added measure of schools' performance. [143127]
Jim Knight: The formula used to calculate the contextual value added (CVA) measures was developed over a number of years, initially taking advice from leading academics in the field and then refining the models through close consultation with schools, local authorities and teacher unions. All supported the introduction of CVA and we continue to maintain close links with schools, local authorities and their unions on the use of CVA and how the model might be further refined. Many of the changes made to the model through the development years were brought about thanks to the contribution of schools and their representative bodies.
This has produced a formula which estimates the contribution each school makes to its pupils’ attainment, taking account of each pupil’s starting point and a broad range of contextual factors which are shown to affect progress and for which consistent national data are available. The formula is widely accepted by schools as providing a fairer basis for comparison of schools than either raw statistics of attainment or un-contextualised value added.
The formula for each key stage is calculated each year based on the actual attainment of the entire national cohort of over half a million pupils, and has been found to be very stable year-on-year in terms of the effects of particular factors such as deprivation, which indicates its robustness. A paper produced by the DfES for the OECD Project on the Development of Value-Added Models in Education Systems discusses some of the more technical aspects of the model and addresses both the advantages and disadvantages of the chosen approach. This is available on the Department’s Research and Statistics website.
Development work continues each year to refine the models, including implementing any necessary changes arising from the evaluation of each pilot and taking account of improved sources of data as they become available.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new statements were issued for children with special educational needs of (a) primary and (b) secondary school age in each local authority area in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of school age children they constituted in each case. [141223]
Mr. Dhanda: The information requested has been placed in the House Library.
Specialised Diplomas: Expenditure
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what total expenditure has been allocated by his Department to the development of the Diploma; and how much funding has been given to the sector skills councils to develop the Diploma content. [145872]
Phil Hope: Up to the end of the 2007-08 financial year, the Department has allocated £22.85 million towards the development of the new 14-19 Diploma qualifications. Of this figure, £14.425 million has been allocated specifically to sector skills councils to support the work of Diploma Development Partnerships across all 14 Diploma lines.
In addition, through existing delivery budgets, we have allocated a total of over £297 million up to the end of the 2007-08 financial year to support preparations for the delivery of Diplomas from September 2008.
St. Thomas of Canterbury School: Playing Fields
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the agreement and consent given by his Department to St. Thomas of Canterbury School in Merrow, Guildford to sell part of its playing fields; [145892]
(2) what conditions were attached to the permission given by his Department to St. Thomas of Canterbury School in Merrow, Guildford to sell part of its playing fields; and whether any minimum (a) sale price and (b) capital value was specified. [145893]
Jim Knight: In May 2007 the governing body of St. Thomas of Canterbury Primary School received the Secretary of State’s consent to dispose of part of its detached playing field. Approval was given on condition that the land was sold for a price of not less than £1.2 million and all of the sale proceeds were to be used to improve the school’s remaining outdoor and indoor sports facilities. A further condition of approval was that a community user of the playing field subject to the application was guaranteed access to the school’s remaining improved sports facilities. Officials are sending to the hon. Member a copy of the letter of consent.
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