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21 Feb 2008 : Column 850W—continued
Extended Schools
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what funding he plans to make available to support extended schools in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11; what estimate he has made of the number of (i) primary and (ii) secondary extended schools which charge parents who wish their children to attend activities outside regular school hours; and if he will make a statement; [187191]
(2) what the average weekly cost is of extended school provision in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools, which is payable by parents, in each local authority. [187211]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 19 February 2008]: In 2008-09 to 2010-11 a total of £1.3 billion of funding will be made available to support the development of extended schools. This is set out in the table:.
| £ million | ||||
| Extended schools total funding 2008-11 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | Total CSR period |
The Department has announced the individual local authority allocations for the next three years for the start up, sustainability and capital funding streams outlined in the table.
Information is not collected centrally on the number of schools which charge parents for their children to attend extended activities, and what the levels of charges are. Schools have different systems and variable rates around charging parents for services and activities. A cost benefit analysis carried out as part of the evaluation of full service extended schools, published in June last year, showed that there is some variability in the method
of charging. It showed that with the exception of child care where schools made charges to cover costs, levels of charging tend to be ad hoc and small scale.
The Government have issued guidance to schools on charging through the “Planning and Funding Guidance: a guide for schools, local authorities and their partner organisations.” This explains the law on charging and makes clear that school governing bodies must devise and publish a charging and fee remission policy in consultation with parents. It also explains how charging enables schools to enhance the quality and frequency of the extended opportunities they offer and to make these more sustainable and so more reliable for families in the long term.
Parents on lower incomes may be eligible for help with meeting the cost of child care, through the child care element of the working tax credit. We are also making £265.5 million of funding available, as part of the £1.3 billion total extended schools funding, to ensure that children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are able to access high quality extended activities and are not prevented from doing so on grounds of cost.
General Certificate of Secondary Education: Greater London
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in each London local education authority area had fewer than 30 per cent. of pupils achieving five A* to C grade passes at GCSE, including mathematics and English, in each of the last eight years. [186475]
Jim Knight: The information for 2001/02 onwards can be found in the achievement and attainment tables and the 2005 English and maths pilot in the Library. Information for the other years can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Geography: Educational Visits
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what estimate he has made of the percentage of GCSE geography students who had the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending (a) 2005 and (b) 2007; [182812]
(2) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level (a) geography and (b) biology students who had the opportunity to participate in a half-day field trip in the school year ending (i) 2005 and (ii) 2007; [182813]
(3) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level (a) geography and (b) biology students who (i) did not and (ii) had the opportunity to conduct course-related field-work in the school year ending (A) 2006 and (B) 2007; [182814]
(4) what estimate he has made of the percentage of GCSE science students who took a residential field trip in the school year ending (a) 2007 and (b) 2006; and what percentage he expects to do so in 2008; [182818]
(5) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level biology students who had the opportunity to participate in a half-day field trip in the school year ending 2006; [182819]
(6) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level geography students who had the opportunity to participate in a half-day field trip in the school year ending 2006; [182820]
(7) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level biology students who had the opportunity to participate in a half-day field trip in the school year ending 2005; [182821]
(8) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-Level geography students who did not have the opportunity conduct course-related fieldwork in the school year ending 2006; [182822]
(9) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level biology students who had the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending 2005; [182823]
(10) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level biology students who did not have the opportunity to conduct course-related fieldwork in the school year ending 2005; [182824]
(11) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level geography students who had the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending 2006; [182825]
(12) what percentage of GCSE science students had the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending 2005; [182827]
(13) what estimate he has made of the percentage of GCSE science students who took a residential field trip in the school year ending 2005; [182828]
(14) what estimate he has made of the percentage of GCSE geography students who had the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending 2006; [182829]
(15) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level geography students who will have the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending 2008; [182831]
(16) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-Level geography students who will have the opportunity to participate in a half-day field trip in the school year ending 2008; [182860]
(17) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-Level geography students who will not have the opportunity to conduct course related fieldwork in the school year ending 2008; [182861]
(18) what estimate he has made of the percentage of (a) biology GCSE and (b) geography students who will have the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending 2008; [182862]
(19) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-Level biology students who (a) will and (b) will not have the opportunity to participate in a course related field trip in the school year ending 2008; [182869]
(20) what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-Level biology students who will have the opportunity to participate in a half-day field trip in the school year ending 2008; [182870]
(21) what estimate he has made of the percentage of GCSE students who (a) will have the opportunity to participate in a course related field trip in the school year ending 2008 and (b) had the opportunity in the school year ending in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2006. [182872]
Jim Knight: The Department for Children, Schools and Families does not collect this information broken down by subject and qualification. However, research carried out by the Scouts Association and the Duke of Edinburgh Award in 2005 found that 86 per cent. of primary schools and 99 per cent. of secondary schools offer pupils at least one residential education opportunity, outdoor education being by far the most popular type.
Research into Education Outside the Classroom published by NFER in November 2006 also found that there has been little evidence of a decline in numbers of school trips in recent years.
Fieldwork is and will remain a compulsory part of the geography curriculum in secondary schools, both at key stage 3 (ages 11 to 14) and in GCSE syllabuses. Fieldwork is not currently compulsory in A level geography courses but will be a specific requirement in the A level criteria from September 2008.
The new key stage 3 science curriculum says that pupils should be offered the opportunity to experience science outside the school environment, including in the workplace, where possible.
Pre-School Education
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of participation rates in early years education, broken down by social class; and if he will make a statement. [187145]
Beverley Hughes: 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.
Figures for January 2007 show that virtually all four-year-old children receive some form of free entitlement. The figure for three-year-olds is 96 per cent.
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:
The 2007 Parents’ Childcare Survey collected information about take-up of the free entitlement for three and four-year-olds to 12.5 hours of formal child care per week, by child and family characteristics, enabling an estimate of the proportion of three to four-year-olds who had taken-up this entitlement by social class, using the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC) to be made. The findings from the 2007 survey are planned to be published shortly.
Comparable estimates are not available for earlier years as specific questions about the take-up of the free entitlement to early years education for three and four-year-olds were not asked in previous surveys. The 2004 survey showed that take up of any early years provision (which would include the free entitlement, as well as other early years education) was lower among more disadvantaged groups. For example, 80 per cent. of three and four-year-olds in families with an annual income of below £10,000 used any early years provision, compared with 95 per cent. of those in families with income above £32,000.
Primary Education
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which local authorities have been given early warning of specific issues to be addressed in their primary school strategy for change, as indicated in paragraph 42 of the guidance issued to local authorities on 6 December 2007; and if he will make a statement. [185336]
Jim Knight: None to date. We are reviewing how best to manage this commitment and will notify local authorities in due course.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he is taking to encourage the awareness of Key Stage 2 pupils of the world of work. [186119]
Jim Knight: Over the next three years we plan to extend the range of enterprise education activity in primary schools, building on our success in secondary schools. In particular, we will encourage and support more secondary schools to work with feeder primary schools on enterprise projects, building on schools’ expertise.
We have appointed Sir Jim Rose to lead an independent root and branch review of the primary curriculum. He will make recommendations on all aspects of the primary curriculum by April 2009. The review of the primary curriculum will ensure that children receive a strong foundation in the key areas of learning and begin to develop and understand the essential skills they will need to progress in learning and the workplace.
Primary Education: Free School Milk
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children in primary schools received free school milk in the most recent period for which figures are available. [187241]
Beverley Hughes: The Department for Children, Schools and Families does not collect this information.
Schools
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) rural and (b) urban (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools there were in (A) Cornwall, (B) the south west and (C) England in each year since 1999. [186623]
Jim Knight: The numbers of (a) urban and (b) rural (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in (A) Cornwall, (B) the south west and (C) England as at February 2008 as shown in the following tables. To provide the information requested for previous years would require the manipulation of large volumes of data which could be undertaken only at a disproportionate cost.
| Primary | Secondary | ||||
| 2008 | Urban | Rural | Urban | Rural | Total |
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