Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
16 Jan 2008 : Column 1274Wcontinued
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of head teachers in (a) Southampton, (b) Romsey and (c) Hampshire are within (i) one year, (ii) two years, (iii) three years, (iv) five years and (v) 10 years of standard pension age. [177421]
Jim Knight: The information requested is not available at local authority or constituency level.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which trust has donated money to the Islington Green Academy via the City University; and if he will make a statement. [177221]
Jim Knight: City University London is a joint sponsor, together with the City of London Corporation, of the City of London Academy, Islington which is expected to replace Islington Green School from September 2008. The university has raised funds from four sources to provide sponsorship: the Cass Foundation, the Saddlers Company, the Kitchin Fund and a philanthropic benefactor who has expressed a wish to remain anonymous. The university and Department are respecting that wish. The donations are being made to the university, not to the academy and the donors will have no say in the running of the academy. This anonymous donor has been subject to a due diligence check by the university.
The rules relating to charitable foundations generally, not just academies, mean that not all donations need to be made public. It is commonplace for charities to receive donations from benefactors who do not wish publicity. An Academy Trust, as a charitable company, has to record its income in published annual accounts, and has to include a note with accounts on any amounts received as a charitable donation.
Sponsors of academies cannot themselves act anonymously and must be named in the Funding Agreement.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has to extend modern foreign language teaching in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools; whether he plans to make the study of a modern foreign language at school compulsory; and if he will make a statement. [177922]
Jim Knight: The Childrens Plan, published in December 2007, confirmed that the primary curriculum will be reviewed, including introducing languages as a compulsory subject. This takes forward the recommendation in Lord Dearings Languages Review that languages should become a compulsory part of the primary curriculum, and builds on the existing entitlement for all Key Stage 2 pupils to learn a language in class time by 2010. Progress so far is good and already over 70 per cent. of primary schools are offering languages in class time. We are extending language teaching in primary schools through: a teacher training programme in a primary languages specialism, which has so far trained nearly 3,000 teachers, with thousands more to be trained over the next few years; increased funding for local authorities to support the delivery of primary languages; and access for teachers to sources of support for use in the classroom.
At secondary level, languages are compulsory at Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14). The new secondary curriculum, which will be taught from September 2008, extends the range of languages pupils can study at this level by
relaxing the requirement that schools first teach a working language of the European Union so that they can offer any major world or European language.
As a result of the continued decline in take up of languages at GCSE following their removal from the compulsory Key Stage 4 curriculum (ages 14-16) in 2004, Lord Dearings Languages Review looked at how best to increase participation in language learning. He did not recommend making languages compulsory at Key Stage 4 because he felt that a one size fits all approach was not the best way to motivate learners. Instead, he recommended a package of measures to extend language learning post-14 which we are now implementing. These include: two new performance indicators in the Achievement and Attainment Tables from 2008 to measure attainment and participation in languages; a more engaging secondary curriculum; more and better support for language teachers; a major communications campaign to promote the benefits of language teaching to pupils, parents and the school workforce; and the Open School for Languages, a major web-based initiative which will offer innovative approaches to the learning of languages.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families where the London Academy is ranked amongst schools for results at each key stage; and what the Academy's value-added measures were in the latest period for which figures are available. [177680]
Jim Knight: The following tables provide data on:-
(a) Where the London Academy is positioned amongst all maintained, mainstream schools (including CTCs and Academies) for 2007 (Amended) Revised KS4 results and 2006 (Amended) Revised KS3 results.
(b) The 2007 Revised CVA measures for the London Academy.
2007 Revised KS4 | ||
London Academy | Result | Position out of 3044 schools( 1, 2) |
2006 Revised KS3 | ||
London Academy | Result | Position out of 3109 schools( 1,2) |
(1) All positions based on unrounded results. A rank of 1 being the highest school/measure. (2) All maintained mainstream schools including CTCs and Academies whose results were published in the 2006 or 2007 Achievement and Attainment tables. |
(b) 2007 Revised CVA measures for the London Academy
Source: 2007 Amended KS4 and 2006 Amended KS3 school level attainment files |
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families for how many weeks on average three and four-year-old children received the free nursery entitlement in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06, (c) 2006-07 and (d) 2007-08; how many children (i) were eligible for and (ii) took up the entitlement in each of those years; how much was provided in the dedicated schools grant for the entitlement in each of those years; what the average staffing cost per child of the entitlement was in each of those years; what the average expenditure per child was on the entitlement in each local authority in each of those years; and if he will make a statement. [178357]
Beverley Hughes: Information is not available in the form requested.
Since April 2004 all three and four-year-olds have been entitled to a free part-time early education place for 12.5 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. From 2010, this offer will be extended from 12.5 to 15 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year.
The following table provides information on the number of three and four-year-olds taking up or benefiting from early education places for the years 2004-07.
The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release (SFR) 19/2007 Provision for children under five years of age in England: January 2007, available on my Department's website at:
Next Section | Index | Home Page |