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10 Mar 2008 : Column 171W—continued
Assessments: Maladministration
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many cases of maladministration in respect of Key Stage (a) 2 and (b) 3 tests were investigated by the National Assessment Agency in each year since 2000-01; and if he will make a statement. [192571]
Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is statutorily obliged to investigate any matter brought to its attention relating to the accuracy or correctness of the results of any pupil in respect of the key stage 2 and key stage 3 national curriculum tests. Such matters are referred to as allegations of maladministration. The term ‘maladministration’ refers to any act, accidental or intentional, that could jeopardise the integrity, security of confidentiality of the tests. For example, the opening of test papers at the wrong time by accident would lead to an investigation.
Investigations are carried out by the National Assessment Agency (NAA), part of the QCA. The NAA's remit in investigating cases of alleged maladministration is to determine whether there is doubt over the correctness or accuracy of pupil results. The sanction applied where a case of maladministration is proven is the annulment or change of results for individual pupils or for the whole school.
Numbers of maladministration cases investigated by the NAA in each year from 2001-02 to 2007-08 for key stage 2 and key stage 3 tests are provided in the following table. As maladministration data were not collected until 2001, information for 2000-01 is not provided.
| Key stage 2 | Key stage 3 | |
The total cohort is approximately 600,000 pupils at the end of each key stage who take the tests each year.
The information contained in the table was provided by the QCA.
Building Schools for the Future Programme
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what schools are under construction through the Building Schools for the Future programme in each local authority area. [192642]
Jim Knight: The following table shows the schools which have started construction under the Building Schools for the Future programme in each local authority area:
| School | Local authority | Parliamentary constituency |
Children: Asylum
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what sources of funding are available for the provision of English language and life skills to unaccompanied minors who are seeking asylum (a) up to the age of 16 years and (b) after they are 18-years-old; and if he will make a statement. [190189]
Jim Knight: All unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) of compulsory school age receive the same educational entitlement as citizen children. All unaccompanied minors are cared for by the local authorities and therefore have the same entitlement as all looked-after children. Unaccompanied asylum seekers aged 16-18 are eligible for courses funded by the Learning and Skills Council. Asylum seekers who have not received a decision on their application after six months and are aged 19 and over are eligible for English for speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). This also applies to asylum seekers who are unable to leave the country for reasons beyond their control.
My Department provides funding to local authorities to support provision for those for whom English is an additional language (EAL) and pupils from minority ethnic groups at risk of underachieving through:
a substantial provision for EAL through the ring fenced Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG), which has risen from £162 million in 2004-05 to £179 million in 2007-08 and will rise to £208 million by 2010-11, a 9 per cent. increase on the 2004-05 level;
an element within the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for primary schools which was some £256 million in 2004-05, rising to £299 million in 2007-08, with a further rise to over £330 million in 2010-11, an 11 per cent. real terms increase on the 2004-05 level;
an Exceptional Circumstances Grant (ECG) which has been introduced to reflect changes in local authorities’ pupil numbers which occur after the three year indicative allocations of DSG have been announced.
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