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18 Feb 2008 : Column 215W—continued
Pupils: Zimbabwe
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children of Zimbabwean nationals are being educated in English schools. [185802]
Jim Knight: The requested information is not collected centrally.
Schools: Admissions
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools had more than (a) 30 per cent., (b) 50 per cent. and (c) 70 per cent. surplus places in each of the last 10 years. [185400]
Jim Knight: We cannot provide the information requested because it would require us to manipulate large volumes of data which could be undertaken only at a disproportionate cost.
Schools: Manpower
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the staffing costs of (a) teachers and (b) all school staff were in the latest year for which figures are available. [185206]
Jim Knight: The available information requested is as follows:
| Staffing expenditure by all local authority maintained schools in England for 2006-07 | |
| £ million | |
| (1) Including recruitment, development and training costs. | |
Schools: Offensive Weapons
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding has been allocated to provide intensive education warnings about guns and knives in secondary schools. [185196]
Jim Knight: No specific funding has been allocated by this Department to support education about guns and knives in secondary schools. However, there are opportunities for schools to address this issue throughout the curriculum and in particular through the statutory citizenship curriculum, at key stages 3 and 4 as it relates to legal and human rights and responsibilities and the importance of resolving conflict fairly. Through personal, social and health education, pupils are taught to recognise and manage risk and make safer choices and to recognise when pressure from others threatens their personal safety.
Schools: Rural Areas
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many rural schools he has agreed to close since the presumption against such closure was introduced; which such schools have closed; and on what dates, broken down by local authority. [184992]
Jim Knight: The Secretary of State has not agreed to close any rural school since the presumption against closure of such schools was introduced in 1998. Local authorities are responsible for taking decisions on proposals to close schools, including rural schools. Where there is an appeal against a proposed closure the schools adjudicator makes the decision. Ministers do not have a role in this process.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 31 January 2008, Official Report, column 24WS, on the future of rural schools, and the letter placed in the Library, what estimate he has made of the percentage of rural schools which may need to (a) close and (b) merge; and if he will make a statement. [185024]
Jim Knight: The Department has not made an estimate of the number of rural schools which may need to close or merge. Local authorities are responsible for planning school places in their area and they, or the schools adjudicator, make the decisions about school closures. Both must have regard to statutory guidance which contains a presumption against closing rural schools.
We do not expect local authorities to rush to close rural schools. They should consider other options first such as rationalising school space, for example by removing temporary accommodation, or broadening the services their schools offer in line with the likely future pattern of children’s services and the needs of local communities. We also encourage authorities to look at promoting shared governance arrangements between small primary schools as a way of addressing financial and educational challenges resulting from falling primary school rolls.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 31 January 2008, Official Report, column 24WS, on the future of rural schools, and the letter placed in the Library, how much of the £188 million of funding referred to in the dedicated schools grant 2007-08 for the extra costs of primary schools which arise due to sparsity of population has been allocated to Herefordshire; and if he will make a statement. [185025]
Jim Knight: For the financial year 2007-08 we calculate that £2.87 million of Herefordshire's funding for schools through the Dedicated Schools Grant is for the extra costs of primary schools which arise due to sparsity of population.
Bill Wiggin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 31 January 2008, Official
Report, column 24WS, on the future of rural schools, and the letter placed in the Library, under what circumstances his Department's policy is that a (a) primary and (b) secondary school should remain open in a rural area when there is in excess of 10 per cent. surplus spaces; and if he will make a statement. [185026]
Jim Knight: The Department's policy is that it is for local authorities to plan school provision in their area and to develop strategies for removing high levels of surplus places, where they exist, with particular attention to poorly performing schools.
We accept that in order to preserve access for young children there may be more empty places in rural areas than in urban areas. In preparing their plans authorities must take into account the presumption against closing rural schools contained in statutory guidance. Reducing surplus places need not mean school closures. It can also be achieved by removing temporary accommodation, or consolidating, or adapting accommodation for alternative community use, or federating groups of schools together.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which rural schools are (a) on and (b) not on the list of rural schools for which there is a presumption against closure; and if he will make a statement. [185330]
Jim Knight: The presumption against closure applies to all rural schools. Rural primary schools are designated by the Secretary of State under the provisions of Section 70(3) of the Education Act 2005. There is no designation process for rural secondary schools. The rural classification is based on the Office of National Statistics rural indicator.
A copy of the list of rural primary schools has been placed in the Library. The list is also available on
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when his Department drew up the list of rural schools for which there is a presumption against closure, with reference to his letter of 31 January 2008 to Directors of Children's Services in England. [185331]
Jim Knight: The order designating the list of rural primary schools to which the presumption against closure applies under Section 70(3) of the Education Act 2005 came into force on 16 March 2007.
Science: GCE A-Level
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many secondary schools did not enter any candidates for at least two science A-levels in 2007; [186228]
(2) how many secondary schools courses which offer A-levels did not offer at least two science A-level courses in 2007. [186229]
Jim Knight: The Department for Children, Schools and Families does not hold information on the subjects offered by individual schools.
In 2006/07, the number of maintained schools that did not enter any candidates for at least two science A-levels was 306. This was 16.6 per cent. of all maintained schools published in the Achievement and Attainment Tables (AATs).
The figures relate to 16 to 18-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August 2006).
Special Educational Needs: Surrey
Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children in the Administrative County of Surrey area had special educational needs statements in each of the last five years. [185176]
Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of pupils in all schools living in the local authority of Surrey that had special educational needs with statements in each of the last five years.
| Number of pupils | |
| Source: SEN2 Survey | |
This information can be found for all local authorities in England in Table 16 of the Statistical First Release ‘Special Educational Needs in England: January 2007’, available at:
Specialised Diplomas
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many secondary schools in each local authority have not joined a consortium with other schools and colleges to provide diplomas. [186221]
Jim Knight: There has been a very positive response from secondary schools to the delivery of diplomas. Of 3,053 secondary schools in England, only 552 (18 per cent.) are not currently members of consortia. A breakdown of numbers by local authority is set out in the following table.
By 2013 there will be a national entitlement to all 14 diplomas; we expect every secondary school to be involved so that all young people can access diplomas if they wish.
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