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16 Jan 2008 : Column 1278W—continued
The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) was only introduced in 2006-07. We do not separately identify the amount of funding in the DSG for early years. It is up to the local authorities to decide how to distribute their overall allocation.
In 2004-05 and 2005-06 LAs received funding to provide free nursery education for three and four-year-olds through the under-fives sub-block of their education formula spending share (EPS). In 2004-05 £3,208 million was funded through the under-fives block of the education formula spending (EFS) and in 2005-06 £3,456 million was funded. EFS was not ringfenced, so funding for education—including the notional under five's funding—could be spent on other sectors and vice versa.
Parenting Orders
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many parenting contracts have been issued in each year since 2004. [177299]
Kevin Brennan: The information is set out in the table.
The Department has collected data on local authorities’ use of parenting contacts (in cases of irregular school attendance and exclusion) since September 2004.
| Parenting contracts offered by local authorities and accepted by parents | ||
| School academic year | Irregular attendance | Exclusion |
Additional data on parental responsibility measures are provided at local authority level and are published at:
Pre-School Education: Greater London
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children in (a) Hendon and (b) Barnet aged (i) three and (ii) four are benefiting from the free early years programme; what plans he has to expand this provision in (A) Hendon and (B) Barnet; how much has been awarded to Barnet as part of the dedicated schools grant to support the costs in increasing early years education for (1) 2007-08 and (2) 2008-09; and how many registered childcare places for under eights there (x) are and (y) were in 1997 in (X) Hendon and (Y) Barnet; and if he will make a statement. [177691]
Beverley Hughes: 3,500 three-year-olds and 3,800 four-year-olds in Barnet benefited from the free early education entitlement in 2007. Numbers broken down to constituency level are not available.
At present all three and four year olds are entitled to 12.5 hours of free early education per week for 38 weeks a year. That will rise to 15 hours a week for 38 weeks by 2010. Barnet's most disadvantaged three and four-year-olds will become eligible for the extended offer in 2009 and all children in the Borough in 2010.
Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocations do not separately identify the amount of funding for early years. Local authorities are responsible for the distribution of their overall allocation in the light of local priorities. The final 2007-08 dedicated schools grant (DSG) allocation for Barnet was £185.129 million. The indicative DSG allocation for 2008-09 is £196.451 million. (This figure will be finalised in spring 2008 using actual January pupil counts. Additional funding to support the increase of the free entitlement to 15 hours is being made available through the standards fund. The indicative allocations for 2009-10 and 2010-1, in Barnet are £484,000 and £2,154,000,
In 1997 there were 7,900 (1)registered childcare places for under eights in Barnet.
There were 9,000 (2)registered childcare places for children under eight years old in Barnet, in (3)2007.
(1)( )Data Source: Children's Daycare Facilities Survey
(3)( )Figures for 1997 and 2007 quoted above are not comparable as they are derived from different data sources.
Pre-School Education: Southern Region
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 10 July 2007, Official Report, column 1404W, on pre-school education: southern region, if he will publish local authorities’ estimates of funding allocated to early years. [178584]
Beverley Hughes: The Department published local authorities’ estimates of the average per pupil amount allocated by local authorities to maintained providers and to private, voluntary and independent sector providers for delivery of the free entitlement early years provision in August 2007. The Free Entitlement to Early Years Provision Table for 2007-08 can be found on the DCSF website at:
Private Education: Registration
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on what dates changes were made to the wording of his Department’s consultation document on the transfer of responsibility for the registration of independent schools and the regulation of independent and non-maintained special schools to Ofsted following its initial publication; whether any such changes were made to electronic versions of the consultation document only; and if he will make a statement. [177800]
Jim Knight: I can confirm that minor changes were made to the electronic versions only of the consultation document on 31 July and 5 September 2007, to provide greater clarity, following feedback from consultees. These changes did not materially affect the proposals on which we consulted.
Pupils: Allergies
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he plans to issue guidance to nursery schools on the provision of spring-activated automatic injection device pre-loaded with adrenaline for staff supervising children with allergies; and if he will make a statement. [178513]
Beverley Hughes:
The ‘National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding’ covers the provision and administration of medication to children in early years settings. The standards will be subsumed and replaced by the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which will underpin the provision of child care from birth to five, when it comes into effect this September. The EYFS sets out specific legal requirements and statutory guidance for providers, including
the provision of necessary training for staff on administering prescription medicines requiring technical/medical knowledge.
Pupils: Drugs
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will introduce compulsory and random drug tests in all state schools for pupils over 15 years old. [178103]
Jim Knight: This Department has no plans to introduce compulsory and random drug testing in schools.
Decisions about whether to employ drug testing rest entirely at school level. The Department's guidance, Drugs: Guidance for Schools (DFES 2004) offers guidance on voluntary drug testing in schools and makes clear that such an approach should be clearly stated in the school's drug policy, which should be developed in consultation with pupils, parents, staff, governors and the whole school community.
Qualifications: Hendon
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of GCSE students in schools in Hendon constituency achieved five or more A* to C grades inclusive in (a) 1997 and (b) 2007; what the value added score for each school in Hendon constituency was in 2007; what the average point score at A level was (i) for each school in Hendon constituency (A) per candidate and (B) per exam entry, (ii) for all schools in Hendon constituency and (iii) nationally in 2007; what the percentage of (1) A and B and (2) A to E grades achieved at each school in Hendon constituency was in 2007; and if he will make a statement. [177927]
Jim Knight: The figures to answer part (a) and (b) are as follows:
| 1997 | 2007 | |
| Notes: 1. Figures include GCSEs and equivalents. 2. The 1997 figures are for pupils aged 15 at the beginning of the academic year, i.e. 31 August. 3. The 2007 revised figures are for pupils at the end of key stage 4. | ||
Information required to answer the rest of the question can be found in the achievement and attainment tables that have been placed in the Library.
School Meals: Finance
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what financial support his Department provides to schools in Hendon to improve school food; and if he will make a statement. [177928]
Kevin Brennan:
The Government have invested £220 million over the three years 2005-06 to 2007-08 to assist authorities and schools in improving school lunches
and other school food. Barnet local authority received over £770,000 of that funding, with a further £473,000 going to schools. Schools, including those in Hendon, received a lump sum of £1,070 per primary school and £1,500 per secondary school, with an additional 50p per pupil.
Further funding of £240 million over the three years from 2008-09 to 2010-11 is also being made available to local authorities, to help manage the direct costs of providing a school lunch. For 2008-09, Barnet local authority will receive over £480,000.
Schools: Buildings
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress his Department has made on bringing around 3,500 secondary school buildings up to 21st century standards; and if he will make a statement. [178495]
Jim Knight: In 1997, investment in school buildings was under £700 million a year and schools had suffered from many years of under investment, with a large backlog of condition and suitability needs. This year, Government funding for investment in school buildings and facilities is £6.4 billion and it will rise to over £8 billion a year by 2010-11—a seven-fold increase in real terms under this Government.
Since 1997, every school in England has benefited from this growth in funding. Since 2000, every school has been given money directly to invest in its own priorities. By 2010-11, a typical secondary school, for example, will have received over £900,000 to improve its buildings and facilities.
In the 10 years to 2007, there were 162 new secondary schools built, and a further 26 new or significantly refurbished academy buildings. Additionally, over 6,600 science laboratories were built or refurbished, and over 430 sixth form blocks built or refurbished, Many other secondary schools benefited from new general classrooms, new kitchens or dining rooms, improved sports facilities and the replacement of decayed temporary accommodation with permanent.
Ensuring that all secondary school have 21st century facilities is now driven by Building Schools for the Future, which with the academies programme aims to rebuild or renew all secondary schools in England where there is need in 15 waves of investment.
There are now 72 local authorities in the first six waves of the programme, supported in developing their projects by our delivery agent, Partnerships for Schools. The first all-new school in this programme was opened in September in Bristol. Additionally, 39 authorities not yet in Building Schools for the Future are being offered One School Pathfinder funding to renew their neediest secondary school. There are a further 106 academies buildings in development outside of the BSF programme. In all, almost 1,000 schools are now in planning or procurement through Building Schools for the Future, Academies, or as One School Pathfinders. Further, we will provide £8 million of funding by 2010-11, to each of 76 authorities not yet in Building Schools for the Future, to improve diploma provision for 14-19 year olds and to improve facilities for young people with special educational needs.
Full details of our school improvement programme are in my written statement of 10 October 2007.
Schools: Hendon
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average (a) level of school attendance and (b) number of exclusions per pupil was in Hendon schools in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [177493]
Kevin Brennan: The latest available information for absence relates to autumn term 2006 and spring term 2007 and is shown in the table.
The latest available information for exclusions relates to the academic year 2005/06 and is shown in the table.
| Primary and secondary schools( 1) —Number of permanent and fixed period exclusions 2005/06—Hendon parliamentary constituency | ||||
| Permanent exclusions( 2) | Fixed period exclusions | |||
| Number of exclusions | Percentage of the school population( 3) | Number of exclusions | Percentage of the school population( 4) | |
| n/a= Not available (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. Secondary data include figures for one academy. Exclude special schools and independent schools (2) Number of permanent exclusions as reported by schools. (3) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) in January 2006. (4) The number of fixed period exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) in January 2006. (5) Less than three or a rate based on less than three. Source: School Census | ||||
| Primary and secondary schools( 1) pupil absence—autumn term 2006 and spring term 2007—Hendon parliamentary constituency | ||||
| Percentage of half days missed( 2) | ||||
| Number of pupil enrolments( 3) | Authorised absence | Unauthorised absence | Overall absence | |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. Secondary data include figures for one academy. Exclude special schools and independent schools. (2) The number of sessions missed due to authorised/unauthorised/overall absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions. (3) Number of pupils enrolments in schools between 1 September 2006 and 9 April 2007. Includes pupils on the roll of the school for at least one session who are aged between five and 15, excluding boarders. Some pupils may be counted more than once (if they moved schools during the school year or are registered at more than one school. Source: School Census | ||||
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