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8 Oct 2007 : Column 424W—continued
Teachers: Mandarin and Urdu
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what level of qualification teachers will need to teach (a) Mandarin and (b) Urdu; [153821]
(2) how much is planned to be spent on training of (a) Mandarin and (b) Urdu teachers in 2007-08; [153822]
(3) what steps are being taken to recruit speakers of Mandarin and Urdu into the teaching profession; [153823]
(4) how many new teachers of (a) Mandarin and (b) Urdu are expected to be recruited over the next five years; [153824]
(5) what new languages other than Mandarin and Urdu will be available in schools under the changes to the national curriculum. [153825]
Jim Knight: The level of qualification required to teach Mandarin and Urdu will be the same as for any other modem language and teachers will normally have a post A level qualification which will be built upon as part of their training. It is not possible to state how many new teachers of a particular language there will be over the next few years or therefore what the cost of training them will be. While the Government sets the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) a target for the number of training places for modem languages as a whole, it does not specify how this should be split between individual languages. This depends on the demand from schools and local authorities for teachers of a particular language, which will then be reflected in the number of training places offered by providers.
Following the review of the key stage 3 curriculum (11 to 14-year-olds), schools will be able to offer any major European or world language from September 2008. The new key stage 3 programme of study does not stipulate what languages should be taught, although suggests schools might offer major European or world languages such as Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish and Urdu. It is a school level decision which languages they teach.
Teachers: Performance Related Pay
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effects of performance-related pay on (a) teaching quality and (b) pupil attainment; and if he will make a statement. [154602]
Jim Knight: All teachers undergo an annual review of performance and this contributes to any decisions that may be made about their progression on the pay scale or spine range for their grade, From September 2007 revised performance management arrangements will apply to teachers in England. These will ensure that every year those who manage teachers and head teachers agree objectives appropriate to the individual teacher and at the end of each year the teacher's performance will be assessed against those objectives and associated performance criteria. Our aim is that career progression and financial rewards should go to those who are making the biggest contribution to improving pupil attainment, those who are continually developing their own expertise, and those who are helping to develop expertise in others.
Teachers: Qualifications
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what minimum academic qualifications are required of school (a) teaching assistants, (b) technicians, (c) unqualified teachers and (d) other school support staff. [153878]
Jim Knight: The Education (Specified Work and Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 allow for the following to be employed as unqualified teachers and undertake specified work in maintained schools or non-maintained special schools in England:
Trainee teachers undertaking employment-based initial teacher training (ITT) who have a first degree or equivalent or have completed a minimum of two years in higher education;
Until 31 August 2008, those who have successfully undertaken ITT programmes but have not been awarded qualified teacher status (QTS) because they have not passed the skills tests. They will be qualified to first degree or equivalent;
Overseas trained teachers who have successfully completed a recognised programme of ITT in their home country are allowed to teach as unqualified teachers for four years in maintained schools in England, the four-year period starting on the first day on which they first taught in a maintained school in England;
Instructors, when there is no qualified or trainee teacher available, providing they have special qualifications or experience relevant to the post; and
Teaching assistants, technicians and other support staff, for whom there are no minimum academic qualifications to work in a school, providing the head teacher is satisfied the person has the suitability, experience and ability for each post and they work under the direction and supervision of a qualified teacher.
There are no national minimum entry level qualifications for school support staff as it is for head teachers to assess the suitability and experience of individual candidates against specific posts. However, there are a range of qualifications and training routes that teaching assistants, technicians and other support staff can access once employed by a school or local authority. The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) have recently completed a review of the National Occupational Standards for teaching assistants and professional standards for Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs) against which teaching assistants and HLTAs can be assessed. In addition, the TDA published a three-year strategy in 2006, “Developing people to support learning”, to create a framework of standards and qualifications to enable schools to develop the potential of all support staff.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the minimum GCSE requirements to be a teacher are; what they were in each year since 1986-87; and if he will make a statement. [154002]
Jim Knight:
Teachers in maintained and non-maintained special schools in England are required to have undertaken a programme of initial teacher training leading to the award of qualified teacher status (QTS). In order to enter any initial teacher training programme leading to QTS, whether undergraduate, postgraduate or employment-based, applicants must have at least a grade ‘C’ in GCSE English and
mathematics or have reached the equivalent standard; this has been a requirement since before 1986/87.
This is in addition to the requirement to have a suitable degree qualification.
Additionally, those training to teach in primary schools will also need a GCSE grade ‘C' in a science subject or to have reached the equivalent standard.
From 1 September 1998, all new entrants to primary courses who were born on or after 1 September 1979 were required to have attained a standard equivalent to a GCSE grade ‘C’ in a science subject. All trainees recruited to primary initial teacher training on or after 1 October 2006 must have attained a standard equivalent to a GCSE grade ‘C’ in a science subject regardless of their date of birth.
Teachers: Recruitment
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government are taking in relation to subject areas where there are teacher shortages; and if he will make a statement. [153946]
Jim Knight: The Government are committed to improving the supply of well-qualified teachers of shortage subjects and for the past few years has made financial incentives available to encourage people to train as teachers of shortage subjects. In mathematics and science we offer a training bursary of £9,000 to students taking a postgraduate certificate of education (PGCE) and, after successful completion of induction, a golden hello of £5,000. In other shortage subjects including modern languages, technology, music and religious education we offer PGCE students a bursary of £9,000 and a golden hello of £2,500.
We fund the Training and Development Agency for Schools to advertise for recruitment to particular shortage subjects, to provide help and advice telephone lines to potential teacher trainees, and to run pre-training enhancement courses in mathematics, physics and chemistry to enable people without a degree in the subject, but with post-A-level knowledge, to retrain as specialist teachers in these subjects. We have extended postgraduate teacher training courses to enable providers to offer significant chemistry, physics and mathematics subject knowledge training. The expansion of Teach First also gives high class graduates the opportunity to teach shortage subjects in challenging schools.
Teachers: Special Educational Needs
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of teachers with training in severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties. [154607]
Jim Knight: All teachers, as part of their initial teacher training and induction period, must demonstrate that they can differentiate their teaching to meet the needs of pupils, including those with special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities, and know how to seek advice from those with specialist knowledge.
Once qualified, all teachers are expected to discuss their own development needs in performance management reviews, and to address development priorities. This could include strengthening knowledge and understanding of a particular area or aspect of SEN, which could of course include severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties. Such children would normally be provided for in special schools because of the complexity of their needs. It would be for those schools to ensure that staff employed to support them had the necessary knowledge, skills and experience.
All schools receive a school development grant which they are able to use to support improvements in any aspect of teaching and learning. A wide variety of courses are available covering SEN, ranging from awareness-raising through to in-depth studies leading to specific qualifications. It is, however, a matter for individual teachers and their schools to determine their own particular training and development needs. Local authorities may retain a proportion of this grant, under certain conditions, to provide specific training and development of SEN,
The Department’s published SEN strategy, ‘Removing Barriers to Achievement’, recognised the importance of training and committed us to work closely with the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) to ensure that initial teacher training and programmes of continuing professional development provide a good grounding in core skills and knowledge of SEN. We have commissioned the TDA to carry forward a range of initiatives designed to improve and strengthen the SEN skills and confidence of trained, newly qualified and established teachers. These initiatives are being implemented and evaluated over the period 2005-08 at a cost of approximately £1.1 million.
Training and Development Agency for Schools: Information Officers
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many press officers are employed by the Training and Development Agency for Schools. [154429]
Jim Knight: There are four press officers working at the Training and Development Agency for Schools.
Vocational Training: Sector Skills Councils
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make a statement on sector skills councils’ targets to increase diversity. [154447]
Mr. Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
Sector Skills Councils have the lead role at the national level to identify the skills employers need and to raise investment in skills. Each SSC is required to produce an employer-led Sector Skills Agreement setting out an action plan to increase skill levels, including an analysis of the diversity of each sector SSCs identify the factors behind the gender, age, ethnicity and disability profiles of their industries. This analysis informs SSC strategies, targets and measures
to redress imbalances. SSCs also have a more direct role in encouraging employers to consider recruiting non-traditional sources of labour. For example, the Women and Work Sector Pathways initiative is testing new career and recruitment routes, helping women into sectors and occupations where they are currently under-represented.
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how sector skills councils will ensure that young women who want to go into industry can gain entry to apprenticeships and skills training; and if he will make a statement. [154448]
Mr. Lammy: I have been asked to reply,
A quarter of a million apprentices, of whom 47 per cent. are female, are currently in learning. The number of female apprentices has steadily increased as more apprenticeships have been offered, including in more non-traditional sectors. The Learning and Skills Council has taken action to promote equality and diversity in apprenticeships, including equality-proofed promotional materials to attract apprentices from a wide range of backgrounds.
An internal review of apprenticeships is taking place to address the strategic challenges of delivering the entitlement to an apprenticeship place for every suitably qualified young person by 2013 and of reaching 400,000 apprenticeships in England by 2020. The review will also address the equality and diversity challenges for apprenticeships set out in recent reports from the Equal Opportunities Commission, Women at Work Commission and the House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs. The review concludes in November.
Young People: Education
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has to bring forward proposals to levy fines on 17 and 18-year-olds who are not in education or training; and if he will make a statement. [154527]
Jim Knight: In the Green Paper “Raising Expectations: staying in education and training post-16” we proposed that, if a young person continued to refuse to participate in education or training, despite the efforts of providers and the local authority to help and support them onto a programme of learning, they could be issued with a new type of civil Order called an Attendance Order, We proposed two options for ensuring that if Attendance Orders are made they are followed: that criminal sanctions could be pursued if the terms of an Attendance Order are breached, or that civil / administrative sanctions could be pursued. We intend to publish further proposals in the autumn.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he plans to bring forward proposals to use criminal sanctions against (a) parents and (b) children who do not stay in education in the future to age 18 years; and if he will make a statement. [154538]
Jim Knight: We said in the Green Paper “Raising Expectations”, on raising the participation age that we would expect parents to encourage and facilitate their child’s participation, and that if there is evidence that a parent of a young person is helping them break the law it should be possible to hold them accountable as well. We are considering what appropriate sanctions would be in order to do this effectively, We proposed that if a young person continued to refuse to participate in education or training, despite the efforts of providers and the local authority to help and support them onto a programme of learning, they could be issued with a new type of civil Order called an Attendance Order. This would be initiated by the local authority. We proposed two options for ensuring that if Attendance Orders are made they are followed: that criminal sanctions or civil/administrative sanctions.
These proposals can be accessed at:
We intend to publish further proposals in the autumn.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he plans to bring forward proposals to withhold driving licences from people below the age of 18 years who do not participate in education or training; and if he will make a statement. [154541]
Jim Knight: We said in the Green Paper ‘Raising Expectations: staying in education and training post-16’ that some other countries have withheld driving licenses from young people not participating in education or training and that we would explore whether they may be similar incentives that could work in this country. I will set out more detailed plans in relation to raising the participation age later in the autumn.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what sanctions he plans for children over the age of 16 who fail to attend school or take up training should the education leaving age be raised to 18; and if he will make a statement. [154759]
Jim Knight: In the Green Paper “Raising Expectations: staying in education and training /post-16” we proposed that, if a young person continued to refuse to participate in education or training, despite the efforts of providers and the local authority to help and support them onto a programme of learning, they could be issued with a new type of civil Order called an Attendance Order. The process of issuing an Attendance Order would be initiated by the local authority. We proposed two options for ensuring that if Attendance Orders are made they are followed: that criminal sanctions could be pursued if the terms of an Attendance Order are breached, or that civil/administrative sanctions could be pursued. These proposals can be accessed at:
We intend to publish further proposals in the autumn.
Young People: Public Transport
Mr. Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what means local authorities have used to finance public transport discount schemes for those aged 18 years and under; and at what cost. [153758]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I have been asked to reply.
This information is not centrally held as such schemes are offered entirely at an authority’s discretion based on their assessment of local need and their overall financial priorities.
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