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4 Feb 2008 : Column 923W—continued


The £5.5 million in 2005-06 in 2005-06 includes £0.9 million in respect of a targeted capital fund (TCF) scheme, and the £53.9 million allocation in 2006-07 includes £20.2 million in respect of TCF schemes and £27.4 million for a One School Pathfinder.

Science: Teachers

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many maintained mainstream schools did not have a specialist science teacher in the latest period for which figures are available. [182232]

Jim Knight: This information is not available in the format requested.

A sample survey of heads of science departments in maintained secondary schools carried out for the DFES in 2005 found that 1 per cent. of schools had no biology specialists, 7 per cent. had no chemistry specialists and 16 per cent. had no physics specialists.

Secondary Education: Standards

Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps his Department has taken to raise standards in secondary schools. [178716]

Jim Knight: The Children’s Plan, published in December 2007, includes an overview of the key activities we are undertaking to raise standards in secondary schools. Some key facts are:

Special Educational Needs: Somerset

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children in Somerset had special educational needs in each year since 2001, broken down by category of special educational need. [183449]

Kevin Brennan: Since 2004, the Department for Children, Schools and Families has collected data on pupils' type of special educational need (SEN) as part of the School Census. There are a range of factors which may affect the data recorded, including:


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To minimise the impact of these factors, revised guidance was available to schools from October 2005. The data collected on pupils' type of need is suitably reliable and robust to analyse at local authority level from January 2006 onwards. The available figures covering 2006 and 2007 have been placed in the Library. Information on the primary type of need is only collected for pupils with statements of special educational needs or at “School Action Plus”. It is not collected for pupils at “School Action”.

The information has been taken from the Statistical First Release “Special Educational Needs in England” which is published annually. The latest figures, for 2007, can be accessed at:

Teachers

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many qualified teachers trained in (a) food technology, (b) history and (c) a modern language in each year since 1997. [182280]

Jim Knight: The tables show the number of teachers gaining Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for history and modern foreign languages by Mainstream and Employment Based Routes (EBR) Initial Teacher Training (ITT). Data for food technology are not available separately as they are included within aggregate figures for design and technology.

Table 1 Mainstream ITT; Teachers gaining QTS: Academic years 1997/98 to 2005/06 —England
Modern foreign languages History

Secondary s ubject

1997/98

1,490

870

1998/99

1,410

790

1999/2000

1,290

760

2000/01

1,390

770

2001/02

1,340

790

2002/03

1,350

840

2003/04

1,450

850

2004/05

1,360

830

2005/06

1,260

780

Notes:
1. Includes Universities and other Higher Education institutions, SCITT and Open University, but excludes employment based routes.
2. Rounded to the nearest 10.
3. Cases where QTS is granted on assessment without a course on ITT are not included in the table.
Source:
TDA Performance Profiles


4 Feb 2008 : Column 926W
Table 2 Employment b ased ITT t eachers gaining QTS: Academic years 2001/02 to 2005/06—England
Modern foreign languages History

Secondary s ubject

2001/02

170

50

2002/03

230

60

2003/04

230

90

2004/05

240

130

2005/06

220

130

Note:
Rounded to the nearest 10
Source:
TDA Performance Profiles

Teachers: Training

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many institutions have brought together training for early years professional status and qualified teacher status and awarded both concurrently; [178671]

(2) how many Bachelor of Education courses include training on working with children from birth to the age of three. [178699]

Jim Knight [holding answer 29 January 2008]: None so far, but the Training and Development Agency for Schools and Children's Workforce Development Council will soon be discussing this with training providers of initial teaching and early years professional status to explore the feasibility of such training being offered.

None. The Secretary of State's requirements for initial teacher training (which includes PGCE as well as BA and BEd courses) only covers the ages three to 19. However, beyond initial teacher training, degree courses to provide training on working with children in the 0-3 age-range are available via the Early Years Sector Endorsed Foundation Degree and the Early Years Study Degree. Training towards the award of Early Years Professional Status is also available for graduates who wish to develop their knowledge and experience of working with 0-3 year olds.

Urdu: Teachers

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many qualified teachers were trained to teach Urdu last year. [182277]

Jim Knight: The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) did not fund any initial teacher training (ITT) courses in Urdu for the academic year 2006/07.

Young People

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what mechanisms his Department has established to determine the prevalence of positive activities, as defined in its 2007 strategy, Aiming high for young people: a 10 year strategy for positive activities. [183203]

Beverley Hughes: The Government are putting in place a performance indicator to gather information on the participation of young people in positive activities. This will form part of the national indicator set which gathers data on the performance of local authorities. It is planned that the indicator set will be in place from April 2008.


4 Feb 2008 : Column 927W

Physical Education: Teachers

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many initial teacher training places were available for physical education teachers at Loughborough University in each of the last three years; and how many will be available in 2008-09. [183662]

Jim Knight [holding answer 31 January 2008]: In 2008/09, there will be 1,570 places available for physical educational initial teacher training (ITT). This includes school centred ITT and employment-based routes ITT, but does not include teach first.

The following table show the number of initial teacher training (ITT) places which were allocated for physical education at Loughborough university for academic years 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08.

Physical education ITT allocation to Loughborough university
Allocated places for physical education at Loughborough university

2005/06

80

2006/07

69

2007/08

59

2008/09

59

Source:
TDA’s ITT Trainee Number Census.

Duchy of Lancaster

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library a copy of the Cabinet Office guidance for civil servants on restrictions on political activity. [181306]

Mr. Watson: The restrictions on the involvement of civil servants in political activities are set out in Section 4.4 of the Civil Service Management Code, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

Departmental Marketing

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what products featuring departmental or Government branding were procured by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years. [179795]

Mr. Watson: The information requested for the Cabinet Office is not held centrally and is therefore available only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many posters or displays there are in the offices of his Department and its agencies displaying the names and photographs of Ministers; and what the cost has been of producing such posters or displays in the last five years. [179840]

Mr. Watson: The Cabinet Office has not produced posters or displays focused on Ministers for general display in office buildings.


4 Feb 2008 : Column 928W

On occasion the Department may produce material for display and distribution within the Department. For example, departmental organisation charts. Any such material is produced in-house and the costs are not separately identifiable.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mr. Walker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the special advisers employed in the Cabinet Office since 6 May 1997; and what the (a) start and (b) end date of employment was in each case. [184380]

Mr. Watson: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and numbers 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 147-50WS.

Information on the employment of special advisers prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and is available in the Library of the House.


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