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21 Jan 2008 : Column 1725W—continued
Pupils: Data Protection
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to prevent school staff removing unencrypted sensitive pupil data from school premises. [178044]
Jim Knight: The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency is responsible for producing and publishing guidance for schools on how to ensure the security of their IT systems. BECTA's latest guidance was published in September 2007 and is available on its website. This guidance includes information for schools on monitoring the physical security of ICT equipment, data security and the security of pupil information and data.
Pupils: Drugs
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils were stopped on school premises for being in possession of (a) alcohol and (b) drugs in the most recent year for which figures are available. [179406]
Jim Knight: The requested information is not collected centrally.
Information on the number of exclusions (permanent and fixed period) from schools by reason for exclusion (which includes the category ‘drug and alcohol related’) has been placed in the Library.
Pupils: English Language
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children with English as a second language there were in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each English local authority in (i) 1997, (ii) 2001, (iii) 2005, (iv) 2006 and (v) 2007. [179954]
Jim Knight: The available information shows the number of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English. Figures for the years requested have been placed in the Library. Data for the earlier years (1997 and 2001) have been included in the workbook but as the information is not directly comparable owing to a change in the coding framework, it has not been amalgamated into the time series.
The information is published annually in Schools and Pupils in England: January 2007 (Final). The latest figures relate to 2007 and are available at:
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding was available to support pupils with English as a second language in each English local authority area in (a) 1997, (b) 2001, (c) 2005, (d) 2006 and (e) 2007 in 2005-06 prices; how much has been made available for 2008; and if he will make a statement. [179955]
Jim Knight: The Department does not collect this information. It is a matter for each local authority to determine locally the level of funding for each of its services in the light of local circumstances.
School Leaving
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of imposing sanctions on young people to keep them in education and training; and if he will make a statement. [163759]
Jim Knight:
Without compulsion, there is a risk that young people with lower aspirations, who may come from families and communities which have a poor experience of education and training, are missed as participation increases, and this group will become more marginalised. That is why we believe that to galvanise the system to provide better for this group we
must go further, and a different approach is needed. The experience of other countries suggests that if this policy is to have the impact we want, we need to be clear that it can be enforced if necessary. For example, Western Australia raised the participation age from 15 to 16 and has seen the participation rate at 16 rise from 80 per cent. to 98 per cent. The Netherlands has recently changed the law too, and we will look to learn from its experience. Under plans to raise the participation age, sanctions will only be used as a last resort and the focus will be on ensuring there is the right provision and the right support for young people to participate in education and training post-16.
School Meals
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether schools may spend profits on their school meal services in other areas of school expenditure; and if he will make a statement. [163319]
Jim Knight: Schools may spend all their income, whether from the Dedicated Schools Grant or other sources, including profit on school meals where the service is not contracted out, on expenditure for the purposes of the school or pupils in other maintained schools. Local Management of Schools means that schools are expected to budget within their resources however they are derived, and to manage their own expenditure in the way that best fits the priorities and local needs of the school.
Schools: Admissions
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which (a) academies and (b) other schools use their powers to admit up to 10 per cent. of children on the basis of aptitude. [164018]
Jim Knight: The Department does not collect this information.
Schools: Armed Forces
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many of the recommendations relating to his Department contained in the Defence Committee report “Educating Service Children” (HC (2005-06) 1054), have been implemented; and if he will make a statement. [180359]
Jim Knight: The Defence Committee recommendations for the then DfES that have been implemented are as follows.
We have included an indicator in the January 2008 school census which will facilitate research into service children’s outcomes;
We are working closely with the devolved Administrations on the MOD’s new cross border forum discussing provision for service children across the whole UK, particularly provision for those with statements of special educational needs (SEN) who move between countries within the UK;
To improve the transfer of pupil records when they move school, we have continued to publicise the statutory “15 school day rule” to ensure that all schools are aware of their responsibilities;
We are working with a group of heads of schools which have high mobility due to large numbers of service children, to
develop best practice guidance to help schools deal with the difficulties mobility causes, and to ease the impact that frequent moves can have on the children;
The School Admissions Code requires admission authorities to take account of service families’ needs and allows them to allocate places in advance where families are moving to their area, using the unit HQ address if necessary where families have yet to be given an address. These provisions have been welcomed by the MOD.
One recommendation about children with statements of SEN was not accepted. For those children with statements who move frequently, there are regulations governing the transfer of information between local authorities, and the timing of reviews of the statements and any necessary reassessments of the children’s SEN. Previously statemented children who return from abroad may have been away for a considerable period and their needs may have changed. It is right that their needs are reassessed on return.
Schools: Biometrics
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will commission an independent assessment of the security of biometric systems used in schools (a) in libraries, (b) in canteens and (c) for registration. [177867]
Jim Knight: The Department has no plans to commission an assessment of the security systems used in schools (a) in libraries, (b) in canteens and (c) for registration. The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency is responsible for monitoring this and other aspects of technology in schools and will take appropriate action as it considers necessary. BECTA published guidance on the use of biometric technology in July 2007.
Schools: Buildings
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local authority are using temporary mobile classrooms; and how many such classrooms there are in each local authority. [177828]
Jim Knight: Data on school temporary buildings were supplied to my Department by local education authorities in 2001, 2003 and 2005. However, checks on recent months indicate that the completeness and quality of the data was not good enough to accurately assess the number of buildings.
Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996-97 to £6.4 billion in 2007-08 and will rise further to £8 billion by 2010-11. Progress is being made year by year on improving the quality of the school building stock. The bulk of schools capital is now allocated by formula to authorities and schools so that they can address their local priorities, including the replacement of decayed temporary accommodation, on which we have set a high priority. Given the high levels of funding, authorities have the opportunity to replace temporary buildings when they are considered to be unsuitable.
Modern, high-quality mobile or demountable buildings provide a good environment for teaching and
learning where there is short-term need. When they are new, they are required to meet the same building environmental standards as buildings that are not demountable. They might, for instance, be needed to cope with a short-term increase in pupil numbers, or where extensive remodelling or rebuilding of permanent accommodation means providing temporary accommodation on the school site, rather than transporting children elsewhere.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will establish a national minimum expected condition for school buildings. [178496]
Jim Knight: The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 set out minimum standards for schools. These regulations are currently under review. The Department has also published a wide range of guidance and building bulletins on design and standards for school buildings.
Schools: Buses
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many designated school buses are fitted with seat belts. [179578]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 17 January 2008]: I have been asked to reply.
The Department does not hold information on the number of designated school buses that are fitted with safety belts.
Schools: Curriculum
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many schools have adopted the Opening Minds curriculum; [173812]
(2) when he will reply to question 173812, on the Opening Minds curriculum, tabled by the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton on 10 December 2007. [180586]
Jim Knight: We do not collect data about which approaches schools take to planning their curriculum. That is a matter for schools themselves, as long as they meet the statutory requirements. The Opening Minds website www.rsa.org.uk, however, suggests that
“there are now over 135 schools using the Opening Minds framework of competences”.
Schools: Finance
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the difference between budgeted and actual costs incurred in the construction of all new (a) schools and (b) academy schools; and if he will make a statement. [166105]
Jim Knight:
The schools for which the Department holds cost information are academies, as follows, with estimated costs including sponsorship. My Department does not hold cost information for other recently completed schools, which were procured locally,
Building prices vary significantly according to the size of school, site development costs and local prevailing construction pricing levels.
| Academy | Area | £ million |
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