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15 Oct 2007 : Column 882W—continued
Pupil Mobility Rate
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average pupil mobility rate was in schools in (a) England and (b) each English local authority area in (i) 2005 and (ii) 2006. [155606]
Jim Knight: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Pupils
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils in England and Wales were in school years (a) six and (b) 11 in each year since 1995. [157820]
Jim Knight: The information available is set out in the following table:
| Pupils( 1) in all schools( 2) aged 10 and 15 at the start of the academic year | ||||||
| Aged 10 | Aged 15 | |||||
| England | Wales | England and Wales | England | Wales | England and Wales | |
| (1) Full-time and part-time pupils. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. (2) Includes maintained and non-maintained (including independent schools, CTCs and academies) schools. Source: Education and Training Statistics for the United Kingdom; Welsh Assembly Government | ||||||
Pupils: Autism
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what representations he has received on cases where schoolchildren have been categorised as having fabricated and induced illness but where it has transpired that the symptoms giving rise to this concern were the result of the child being on the autistic spectrum. [152219]
Jim Knight: The Secretary of State has recently received a letter from Autism Consultancy Services which, among much else, mentions the issue of the parents of autistic children “being scrutinised unnecessarily for conditions such as Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy”.
In 2002 the Government published their guidance ‘Safeguarding children in whom illness is fabricated or induced: Supplementary guidance to Working Together to Safeguard Children’. In view of the controversy concerning the term Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy the guidance refers only to cases of ‘fabricated or induced illness’, specifically where such behaviour constitutes an abusive act against a child. The National Autistic Society made representations to officials and Ministers at the Department of Health on the text of the draft guidance and said that the Society was content with the final text. It included advice on the importance of clarifying the contributing factors and identifying any underlying conditions which may play a part in the developmental delay of children who have been identified as having illness fabricated or induced.
Pupils: Fingerprints
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in England have the ability to collect and hold fingerprint data for pupils; and if he will make a statement. [156969]
Jim Knight: We have no information on the number of schools with the ability to collect and hold fingerprint data for pupils. There is no requirement for schools to inform the Department when they introduce any biometric technology systems. The systems used in schools collect and hold data generated from fingerprints but not images of fingerprints themselves.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many fingerprints have been collected of pupils in English schools; and if he will make a statement. [156970]
Jim Knight: Fingerprints are not collected in schools only algorithmic data generated by them. There is no requirement for schools to inform the Department when they introduce any biometric technology system.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance has been given to schools on collecting and holding fingerprint data for pupils. [156971]
Jim Knight: On behalf of the Department, Becta, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, issued guidance for head teachers, governors and parents on 23 July. This guidance can be found on the Becta website at:
http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=lv&;catcode=ss_Iv_saf_dp_03&rid=14160.
Pupils: Qualifications
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2007, Official Report, column 1127W, on pupils: qualifications, where on the National Database of Accredited Qualifications website the number of qualifications included in the secondary school (GCSE and equivalent) performance tables that are considered to be equivalent to (a) three, (b) four and (c) five or more GCSEs are. [149870]
Jim Knight: The National Database of Accredited Qualifications (NDAQ) website at www.ndaq.org.uk provides an up to date list of all approved qualifications for the GCSE and equivalent achievement and attainment tables. For each qualification, the contribution made to the level 1 and level 2 thresholds within the tables can be found by clicking the ‘Performance Figures’ link under the qualification's description. A qualification with a contribution of at least 60 per cent. is equivalent to three or more GCSEs. The exact number of qualifications treated as equivalent to three, four and five or more GCSEs can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Runaway Children
Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will include a requirement to collect information relating to the safeguarding of runaway and missing children in his review of the public service agreement indicators. [158417]
Beverley Hughes: A new national indicator on young people who have run away from home or care overnight is included in the national indicators that will underpin the new performance framework for local authorities. This was published on 11 October 2007.
We are considering a number of different options to gather data on young runaways in connection with the new indicator, working closely with the Home Office, the police, local authorities and The Children's Society.
Schools: Admissions
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he plans to give schools complete control over non-selective admissions policy. [154528]
Jim Knight: Through the Education and Inspections Act we have provided a framework for giving more freedoms to an increased number of schools. This includes more schools, both selective and non-selective, being able to set their own admission policies following local consultation.
However, this is in the context of a robust system of checks and balances. All admission authorities, whether local authorities or school governing bodies, must act in accordance with the mandatory provisions of the new School Admissions Code, which rules out unfair practices and criteria. We have also extended the circumstances in which objections to admission arrangements can be made to the schools adjudicator, whose decisions are binding for up to three years. This will ensure that school admission arrangements provide fair access for every child regardless of their background.
Schools: Community Relations
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) which person or body is responsible for promoting community cohesion within schools; [157338]
(2) who is responsible for monitoring and assessing the degree to which schools are achieving the objective of community cohesion. [157339]
Jim Knight: The Education and Inspections Act 2006 placed a new duty on maintained schools in England to promote community cohesion. The duty came into effect from 1 September 2007. Ofsted will report on the contribution made by the school to community cohesion from September 2008, to give schools time to embed the duty within their institution.
The duty applies to the governing body of a maintained school in England. We published guidance in July on how schools can build on what is happening already in light of the new duty. Within each school, it
is for the governing body and senior management team to discharge the duty to promote community cohesion as part of its leadership and management role, leading the school and involving the school work force and pupils in the promotion of community cohesion.
Schools: Floods
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of schools that were flooded in England in June and July 2007. [153844]
Jim Knight: According to information received from local authorities in the areas hit by the floods, a total of 857 schools were damaged by the floods: 467 in June and 390 in July.
Schools: Governing Bodies
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the increase has been in parental representation on school governing bodies since the introduction of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. [149853]
Jim Knight: The Department does not routinely collect information on the composition of the governing bodies of maintained schools. However, parents must comprise at least one third of the places on the governing bodies of all maintained schools in England.
Schools: Health Hazards
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of health and safety implications of the use of interactive whiteboards in classrooms. [154520]
Jim Knight: Becta provides the DCSF and subsequently schools and local authorities with appropriate guidance on the health and safety implications of using interactive whiteboard technologies. Re-assessment of the value of the guidance is regularly undertaken however guidance must be based upon current information provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Health Protection Agency (HPA). Becta maintains close links with these organisations to ensure that this guidance remains up to date.
Schools: Injuries
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many school-related injuries were recorded as requiring outside medical attention in each of the last 10 years. [151161]
Jim Knight: Employers must report to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) injuries to staff causing death or absence from work for more than three days, and injuries to members of the public causing death or for which the injured person was taken to hospital from the site of the accident. The HSE has supplied the data for the education sector set out in the following tables.
Injuries in school not reportable to the HSE which may require attention by, for example, a GP, are normally recorded in school accident books and my Department does not hold information on such injuries.
As the footnotes to the tables explain, the reported figures in later years (from 2003-04) are based on different methods of data collection and should not be taken as indicating any trends, such as an apparent steep decline in pupil injuries from 2002-03 to 2003-04. Footnote 6 reflects the HSE’s view that the increased figures for 2005-06 may be due to changes in reporting practice.
The tables from the HSE include fatalities and injuries reported during educational visits in Great Britain. School employers are not required to report overseas incidents to the HSE. My Department receives information about these, and our records indicate that 11 pupils from English schools suffered fatal injuries while on an educational visit abroad between 1996 and 2006.
One pupil was fatally wounded in an English school by another pupil in 2003. The HSE figures, which relate to incidents arising out of or in connection with work, do not include this.
| All workers | ||||
| Fatal injury | Non-fatal major injury | Over-3-day injury | All reported injuries | |
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