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16 Jan 2008 : Column 1269W—continued
Departmental Pay
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2007, Official Report, column 380W, on departmental pay, how many of those earning over £100,000 were employed (a) as special advisers and (b) in a political role in each year since 1997. [177183]
Kevin Brennan: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the number of special advisers in each pay band. For the most recent information, I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 22 November 2007, Official Report, columns 147-51WS.
Information on the number and cost of special advisers prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and this information will be available in the Library of the House.
Departmental Redundancy
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost was of redundancies in his Department in the 12 months preceding (a) 30 June 2004, (b) 30 June 2005 and (c) 30 June 2006. [175333]
Kevin Brennan: The Department was formed as part of the machinery of government changes announced on 28 June 2007 and therefore there were no redundancies in my Department in the periods described.
Education
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the four independent settings are that are the main providers of a child's education but not currently registered with either Ofsted or his Department. [176977]
Jim Knight: The four unregistered settings are as follows:
a small tuition group which provides a curriculum based on Christian principles for children aged 4 to 11 and operates for five hours a day for up to 20 children;
a support centre for home educators which provides academic lessons for 18 hours from Monday to Thursday and optional recreational based activities for three hours on Fridays;
an establishment providing 16Â1/2 hours of education from Monday to Friday for three to six-year-olds as part of a home education programme where parents also provide five hours 15 minutes a week;
a centre educating both pupils placed by local authorities and others. Pupils attend for a total of 20 hours from Monday to Friday.
Education: Parents
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government plan to take to engage parents further in the education of their children. [177809]
Beverley Hughes: As children do better at school if parents, fathers as well as mothers are engaged, the Department has set out in the Children’s Plan (published December 2007) plans to help mothers and fathers get more involved in their children’s learning. Specifically we intend to:
Provide every child from the moment they arrive in secondary school with a personal tutor who will co-ordinate support for the child throughout their time in the school.
Encourage all schools to regularly seek the views of parents, enhancing the role of Parents Councils.
Continue to provide support for parents who find it more difficult to get involved, by expanding the availability of Parent Support Advisors to 10—15 schools in every local authority.
Offer all parents regular, up to date information on their child’s attendance, behaviour and progress in learning.
In addition, my Department will continue to provide free book packs for parents of all children in England at nine months, 18 months, three years and in Reception, which will be reinforced by the 2008 National Year of Reading and more family learning programmes.
Educational Institutions
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what definition he uses of institution as used in section 76(1)b of the Education and Skills Bill; [177889]
(2) how many institutions, other than independent schools, he expects to be registered on the new Independent Educational Institutions register as set out in the Education and Skills Bill; [177890]
(3) what the reasons are for the decision in the Education and Skills Bill to treat part-time educational institutions differently from other forms of education otherwise than at school provision. [177892]
Jim Knight: Part 4, Chapter 1, clause 76(1)b of the Education and Skills Bill provides a definition of an institution other than an independent school.
Parents have a duty to ensure their children receive full-time education. Most parents choose full-time education in a school, with a minority choosing to educate otherwise than at school. Where parents delegate a substantial part of their children’s education to others, we believe that the state has responsibility for ensuring that children have appropriate learning opportunities and learn in a safe and secure
environment. The Bill places education where children are educated without their parents being present on the same regulatory footing as all other settings which provide the major part of a child’s education.
I refer my hon. Friend to my response given to PQ 176977, which describes four institutions that we anticipate will need to register under current proposals. Some responses to our public consultation suggested that there were more institutions that would need to register, but they provided insufficient detail for us to make a precise estimate of the total.
GCE A-Level
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils were entered for a GCE A-level in (a) accounting, (b) art and design, (c) biology, (d) business studies, (e) chemistry, (f) communication studies, (g) dance, (h) design and technology, (i) engineering, (j) English literature, (k) drama and theatre studies, (l) French, (m) geography, (n) German, (o) health and social care, (p) history, (q) home economics, (r) information and communication technology, (s) leisure studies, (t) mathematics, (u) further mathematics, (v) media studies, (w) performance studies, (x) performing arts, (y) physical education, (z) physics and (aa) travel and tourism in (i) mainstream schools in the maintained sector, (ii) city technology colleges, colleges for the technology of the arts and academies and (iii) schools in the independent sector in each year since 1997. [177300]
Jim Knight: The information has been placed in Library.
Figures for VCE qualifications have been given where GCE-A level is not applicable.
GCE A-Levels
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people are studying (a) sports studies, (b) PE, (c) photography, (d) performing arts, (e) performance studies, (f) music technology, (g) media studies, (h) leisure studies, (i) technology, (j) information and communication, (k) home economics, (l) health and social care, (m) film studies, (n) drama and theatre studies, (o) design and technology, (p) dance, (q) communication studies, (r) business studies, (s) art and design, (t) accountancy and (u) travel and tourism at (i) AS-Level and (ii) second year A-Level; and how many people completed the relevant A-Level in each of the last 10 years. [178118]
Jim Knight: The information required to answer part (iii) has been placed in Library.
Figures for VCE qualifications have been given where GCE-A level is not applicable.
General Certificate of Secondary Education: Standards
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families for what reasons the Government target for GCSE performance is measured against the standard of performance at a C grade or better; and if he will make a statement. [177887]
Jim Knight: GCSEs are unique qualifications because they span two levels of the National Qualifications Framework: grades D-G are at “level 1”, while grades at C and above represent “level 2”. Level 2 qualifications recognise the ability to gain a good knowledge and understanding of a subject area of work or study, and to perform varied tasks with some guidance or supervision. Learning at this level involves building knowledge and/or skills in relation to an area of work or a subject area and is appropriate for many job roles.
The learning and skills attained at level 2 are therefore appropriate for many job roles and represent the progression route to A Levels and other higher qualifications. Government targets reflect our determination to see the majority of young people reaching the standard which enables them to make such progression.
Geronimo Communications
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what payments have been made by Geronimo Communications to (a) his Department and (b) officials in his Department in each year since 1999; and if he will make a statement. [177741]
Kevin Brennan [holding answer 10 January 2008]: There are no records of any payments received from Geronimo Communications and paid into departmental bank accounts.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which officials in his Department have managed the contract with Geronimo Communications since 1 January 2000; and if he will make a statement. [177829]
Kevin Brennan: Geronimo Communications have had a PR framework agreement with the Department since 2000, awarded as a result of three separate European tenders. The European tenders resulted in a number of framework agreements awarded to several PR suppliers to cover the anticipated PR requirements of the Department over the framework life. Framework agreements rather than contracts are used where there is a regular demand for a particular service over a period of time. Users then ‘call off’ from the frameworks by letting contracts that relate to a specific project.
There is split responsibility between the corporate contract management of the framework agreements and contract management at individual job level. The Media Procurement Unit, part of the Department's Commercial Group within Corporate Service Directorate run the tender process, award and corporate contract manage the framework agreements. The duties performed by the Media Procurement Unit with a supplier include dissemination of supplier information to users, corporate communications, supplier forums and surgeries, arbitration and processing of framework variations.
Communications Directorate is the main user of the PR framework agreements, ‘calling-off’ from a framework agreement for a project. Those users will then ‘contract manage’ an individual project, selecting a supplier, setting the specification and monitoring budgets, quality and outputs.
To list each individual contract manager that has placed work with Geronimo Communications since 2000 would create disproportionate costs.
Gifted Children
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what proportion of children identified as gifted and talented achieved level 7 in (a) English and (b) science at Key Stage 3 in the last three years; [177225]
(2) what proportion of children identified as gifted and talented achieved level 8 in mathematics at Key Stage 3 in the last three years. [177226]
Jim Knight: The proportion of students identified as gifted and talented in maintained schools who achieved level 7 in English and science in 2006 was 30.0 per cent. and 44.3 per cent. respectively. The corresponding figures for 2007 were 25.3 per cent. and 45.7 per cent.
The proportion of students identified as gifted and talented in maintained schools who achieved level 8 in mathematics in 2006 was 28.1 per cent. The corresponding figure for 2007 was 28.8 per cent..
National data on gifted and talented pupils has only been collected since 2006.
The gifted and talented students not achieving this benchmark will almost certainly include many who have been identified for their talent in, for example, creative arts or sports.
Gifted Children: Free School Meals
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of children identified as gifted and talented are entitled to free school meals. [177227]
Jim Knight: The available information is given in the table. The Department advises schools to ensure that their gifted and talented populations are broadly representative of their wider school populations, in respect of gender, ethnic and socio-economic background. The new gifted and talented strand of the City Challenges will include work to improve schools’ capacity to identify underachieving gifted and talented pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
| Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : number and percentage of gifted and talented pupils by their free school meal (FSM) eligibility( 2, 3) , summer 2007, England | |||||||
| Primary Schools | Secondary Schools | ||||||
| Number of pupils | Percentage of gifted and talented group( 4) | Percentage of cohort (incidence)( 5) | Number of pupils | Percentage of gifted and talented group( 4) | Percentage of cohort (incidence)( 5) | ||
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Headcount of pupils. (3) Includes dually registered pupils. (4) The number of gifted and talented pupils by their characteristics expressed as a percentage of the total number of gifted and talented pupils. (5) The number of gifted and talented pupils by their characteristics expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils in the same cohort. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census. | |||||||
Gifted Children: GCE A-Levels
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of children identified as gifted and talented achieved three As at A-Level in the last three years. [177224]
Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts) on 9 January 2008, Official Report, column 650W.
Gifted Children: General Certificate of Secondary Education
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of children identified as gifted and talented did not achieve 5 A*-Cs, including English and mathematics, at GCSE in the last three years. [177223]
Jim Knight: The proportion of students identified as gifted and talented in maintained schools who did not achieve 5 A*-C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics in 2006 was 15.1 per cent. The corresponding figure for 2007 is 14.8 per cent. National data on gifted and talented pupils has only been collected since 2006.
The gifted and talented students not achieving this benchmark will almost certainly include many who have been identified for their talent in, for example, creative arts or sports.
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