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23 July 2007 : Column 843Wcontinued
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with which potential sponsors of city academies his Department is holding discussions. [148917]
Jim Knight: Potential sponsors are those who have not yet formally entered into a funding agreement. Those who have projects which are in the public domain are listed as follows.
A number of potential sponsors are in very early discussions about academy projects. Their details have therefore not been provided.
The list of potential sponsors the Department is currently in discussions with are:
Absolute Return for Kids (ARK),
All Roads DSO,
Andrew Tinkler,
Aston University
Barnfield FE College,
BBC,
Bob Edmiston,
Bovis Lend Lease,
Brian Scrowcroft,
British Edutrust Foundation,
Carillion,
Central Manchester University,
CfBT,
Church of England,
Corporation of London,
Coventry City College,
Coventry City Council,
Coventry University,
Crown Products (Kent) Ltd.,
CTC Trusts,
David and Anne Grassland,
David Ross,
David Samworth,
Duke of Northumberland,
Dulwich College,
Edge Foundation,
Emmanuel Schools Foundation,
Eric Payne,
Grahame Dacre,
Haberdashers Livery Company,
Hewlett Packard,
Holiday Extras,
HSBC Trust,
Imperial College
ITV Granada,
Jaguar Cars,
JCB,
Jon Aisbitt,
Kent County Council,
KPMG,
Laing ORourke,
Leighton Group,
Liverpool Hope University,
Lord Harris of Peckham,
Mancat,
Manchester Airport,
Manchester Childrens University Hosp NHS Trust,
Manchester City Council,
Martin Finegold,
Mercers Company,
Microsoft,
New Charter Housing Trust,
New Line Learning,
Northumbrian Water,
Oasis Community Learning,
Ormiston Trust,
Oxford Brookes University,
Priory Trust,
Prospect Education (Technology) Trust Ltd.,
Queen Mary
RC Archdiocese of Liverpool,
Rodney Aldridge Charitable Trust,
Roger de Haan,
RSA,
Sheffield Hallam University,
Shireland Learning,
Steiner School Fellowship,
Sunderland County Council,
Sunderland Housing Group,
The Co-operative Group,
The Skinners Company,
Toc H,
Tonbridge School,
ULT
University College London,
University of Central England
University of London
University of Manchester
University of Nottingham,
University of the West of England
University of Wolverhampton
Wellington College,
Willow Park Housing Trust,
Worshipful Company of Information Technologists.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what change there has been in the number of teaching assistants in England since 1996-97; what assessment he has made of the effects of that change on levels of pupil attainment; and if he will make a statement. [150691]
Jim Knight: In January 2007, there were approximately 162,900 (full-time equivalent) teaching assistants in schools in England. This is an increase of 102,300 since 1997, more than doubling the number of teaching assistants.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families, in conjunction with the Welsh Assembly Government, have commissioned a five-year research study (2004-09) to provide a detailed analysis of the impact of support staff on teaching and learning, in addition to comprehensive and reliable information on the types, characteristics and deployment of support staff (including teaching assistants) in schools in England and Wales. Early findings published in 2006 (Blatchford et al, DfES Research Report 776) suggested that many teachers felt support staff were having a positive effect on pupil learning and behaviour. Teachers also felt that support staff benefited their teaching in a number of ways, for example, by allowing them to differentiate the work for more pupils. Subsequent publications will report in more detail on the role of support staff in teaching and learning and provide a systematic analysis of the effect of support staff on pupil outcomes, including attainment.
In virtually every year group and at every level of free school meal eligibility, the quality of teaching in lessons with teaching assistants is better than in those without.
(Applies to primary only. Source: Teaching Assistants in Primary Schools: An Evaluation of the Quality and Impact of their Work April 2002).
In 2006, the National Foundation for Educational Research concluded that
In departments that had dedicated support staff, both teachers and departmental heads were significantly more satisfied with the amount and quality of in-class support and administrative support they received. There was evidence that being based in one department was also of benefit to the support staff themselves, both in terms of their overall satisfaction and access to professional development.
(Source: The deployment of teachers and support staff to deliver the maths and science curriculum in secondary schoolsNFER 2006).
In January 2003, the National Agreement, Raising Standards, Tackling Workload was signed by the Government, employers, and the majority of the school work force unions. The agreement set out the shared vision for the school work force of the future and featured a series of phased reforms to help schools raise standards of achievement of all their pupils and tackle work load issues. It is vital that schools make the most effective use of teachers time, ensuring that they spend their time only on activities that really need the professional skills and judgment of a teacher. The increased use of teaching assistants (and other support
staff) in schools, providing high quality support in the classroom and by taking on a number of administrative tasks previously carried out by teachers, has therefore been integral to the Governments drive to raise standards for pupils and tackle teacher work load.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many teaching assistants are employed in each (a) Government region and (b) local education authority. [151182]
Jim Knight: The following tables provide the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants employed in local authority maintained schools in England by Government Office region and local authority, January 2006.
Local authority figures for January 2007 are expected to be published on 27 September.
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