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17 Mar 2008 : Column 914W—continued
Gifted Children
Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families by what method gifted and talented pupils are defined by his Department. [193277]
Jim Knight: I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West (Mr. Brady) on 5 February 2008, Official Report, column 1097W.
Gifted Children: GCE A-Level
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many gifted and talented pupils gained three A grades at A-level in 2007; [192883]
(2) how many and what proportion of gifted and talented pupils of the appropriate age took A-levels in 2007; [192885]
(3) how many and what proportion of gifted and talented pupils of the appropriate age did not go on to study A-levels in the last year for which data are available; [192886]
(4) how many gifted and talented pupils of the appropriate age gained no GCSEs in the latest period for which figures are available; [192887]
(5) what proportion of gifted and talented pupils of the appropriate age achieved five A* to C GCSE grades including English, mathematics, science and a foreign language in the latest period for which figures are available; [192888]
(6) how many gifted and talented pupils received a fixed term exclusion in the latest period for which figures are available; [192889]
(7) how many gifted and talented pupils received a permanent exclusion in the latest period for which figures are available. [192891]
Jim Knight: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Health Education: Sex
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the career of each member of the review of sex and relationship education has been to date; what criteria were used in selecting them; if he will make it a requirement that the review (a) hears evidence from pro-life and pro-choice experts and (b) appoints a balance of pro-life and pro-choice advisers; how (i) hon. Members and (ii) members of the public may submit comments to the review; if he will place in the Library material published by the review; and if he will make a statement. [192525]
Jim Knight: The names and job titles/positions of the people that have been invited to oversee the review of sex and relationships education (SRE) in schools, are set out as follows. Members were selected on the basis that they have either: expert knowledge on the delivery of SRE; expert knowledge on young people's sexual health; or represent groups who have a key interest in the outcome of the review.
The Steering Group therefore includes: professionals who plan and deliver SRE programmes in schools; senior managers and governors who have overall responsibility for the SRE programmes that schools deliver; experts in young people's sexual health; representatives of faith organisations; and young people themselves.
Members of the Steering Group have not been selected with regard to their attitudes to abortion, but we believe that different shades of opinion are represented on the Group.
We are considering how to extend opportunities for individuals and organisations which are not represented on the steering group to feed ideas and comments into the review, and will announce decisions on this issue shortly. Any material that is published will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
SRE review steering group: membership
Jim Knight (co-chair)
Jackie Fisher (co-chair)—principal, Newcastle college
Joshua McTaggart (co-chair)—member of UK Youth Parliament
John Freeman—Director of Children' Services, Dudley
Hazel Pulley—primary school head teacher, Leicester
Hilda Hodson—secondary school deputy head teacher, Wigan
Charlie Ware—school governor, Camden
Desmond Flood—school PSHE co-ordinator, Birmingham
Annie Hargreaves—local authority adviser on PSHE and healthy schools, Hounslow
Anna Martinez—head of sex education forum
Chris McDermott—school nurse manager, Surrey
Professor Roger Ingham—University of Southampton
Gill Frances—head of child development, National Children's Bureau
Simon Blake—chief executive, Brook
Jan Campbell—PSHE Subject Association
Margaret Jones—Ofsted PSHE lead
Gareth Davies—Terrence Higgins Trust
Oona Stannard—Catholic Education Service
Rev'd David Whittington—Church of England National Society
Anthea Cox—Methodist church
Shaila Sheikh—local authority education equalities adviser, East Sussex
David Kesterton—Manager of fpa's ‘Speakeasy’ programme
Robert Sassoon—member of UK Youth Parliament
Katrina Mather—Member of UK Youth Parliament
Institute of Education: Finance
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2008, Official Report, columns 8541-2W, on Institute of Education: finance, what assessment he has made of the recent report of the Institute on the teaching of patriotism in schools; what plans he has to review the level of funding to the Institute; and if he will make a statement. [194149]
Jim Knight: The Department noted the findings of the recent report on the teaching of patriotism in schools by the Institute of Education. We believe that the engagement of young people in society and their understanding of what it is to be a citizen is central to creating a diverse but cohesive country. There are opportunities within the revised citizenship programmes of study for secondary schools for pupils to explore what it means to be British as part of a wider discussion of their identities, and the values associated with them.
The Department has no current plans to review the level of funding to the Institute of Education.
Parental Contributions
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many parental contribution orders have been made in the last 12 months; what the value of contributions to be made under them was; how many contributions have been made; and what value of contributions has been made. [162270]
Beverley Hughes: Information about the making of contribution orders, made in accordance with Part 3 of Schedule 2 of the Children Act 1989, is not collected centrally.
Primary Education: Closures
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many village primary schools have been closed since 1998. [194967]
Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of rural primary schools that have closed between 1998 and 2007.
| Number of rural school closures( 1) | |
| (1 )Figures show actual school closures and do not include school amalgamations (eg. infant and junior schools amalgamating on one site). | |
Primary Education: Tamworth
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children at key stage 1 in Tamworth were taught in classes of 31 pupils or more in (a) 1997 and (b) 2007. [193601]
Jim Knight: The information can be found in the following table.
| Maintained primary schools( 1) : number and percentage of pupils in key stage 1 classes( 2,3) —position in January: 1997 and 2007—Tamworth parliamentary constituency | ||
| Key stage 1 classes | ||
| 1997 | 2007( 4) | |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Class as taught in a selected period on the day of the census in January. (3) Classes taught by one teacher. (4) Also includes reception classes. Source: School Census | ||
Pupils: Hay Fever
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what work his Department (a) has undertaken and (b) plans to undertake on provision of clinical care to children with hay fever in schools; and what measures are in place to ensure that such children receive appropriate medication during the examination season. [193347]
Jim Knight: The Department has no plans to develop the provision of clinical care to children with hay fever in schools.
Schools and their employers have responsibilities towards the health and safety of all staff and pupils, and this may include making arrangements for individual pupils with medical needs, where it is reasonable to do so. There is, however, no legal duty on school staff to manage a pupil’s medicine or support a child’s medical need.
Schools and their employers are responsible for developing their own policies on managing pupils’ medicines and supporting children with medical needs. This should be developed in light of their assessment of local needs and resources.
“Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings”, published in 2005 jointly by the then Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health, was written to help schools to develop such policies.
This guidance suggests that it is good practice to support and encourage children, who are able, to take responsibility to manage their own medicines.
The Joint Council for Qualifications seeks to take into account a range of different conditions and circumstances which can affect performance in examinations. Under present arrangements, candidates who suffer from hay fever on the day of an examination may apply via their examination centre for “special consideration”, which can result in an increase in their marks by up to 2 per cent., depending on the circumstances.
Pupils: Personal Records
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which public authority oversees the allocation of unique pupil numbers to each child in state education. [193859]
Jim Knight: The Department is responsible for the policy on UPN allocation. The responsibility for allocating unique pupil numbers (UPNs) lies with schools and local authorities (LAs).
Recreation Spaces: Finance
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which local authorities (a) were invited to and (b) submitted a bid to become a play pathfinder; and if he will make a statement. [194188]
Beverley Hughes: The following 65 local authorities in England have been invited to bid to become play pathfinders. They are listed by region. Almost all authorities invited to submit a bid will be doing so. DCSF will be considering bids shortly.
15 local authorities will be selected as play pathfinders from April 2008. Successful bids will demonstrate proposals for safe, inclusive play areas that offer exciting and stimulating opportunities and sit within a wider strategic approach to deliver a sustainable and far-reaching play agenda. The bids will also clearly demonstrate how local authorities will work with children, their local communities and local MPs.
Play pathfinders will each receive around £2 million capital funding plus significant revenue funding. These play pathfinders will work with children, young people and their communities to develop innovative play sites with challenging equipment and natural landscapes, which will give all children the opportunity to play actively outdoors. The play sites will also be accessible for disabled children. The bids should include plans for building a new staffed adventure playground, with indoor and outdoor facilities, specifically aimed at improving play opportunities for eight to 13-year-olds where they currently lack places to go and things to do, and often in disadvantaged areas.
Any of the 65 local authorities who are unsuccessful in becoming a pathfinder, but who submit satisfactory bids, will be offered capital funding of approximately £1 million to become ‘playbuilders’, to develop public play areas, with the first allocations starting April 2008. This will support our aim of developing up to 3,500 public play areas by 2011. By 2010 all local authorities
will have been offered capital funding and a chance to be a part of this agenda in partnership with their local communities.
A second round of pathfinder bidding will take place autumn 2008 and this will be open for all local authorities to apply. A further 15 play pathfinders will be selected so that by 2011, 30 pathfinders in total will deliver 30 new adventure playgrounds.
List of 65 local authorities in England invited to bid to become play pathfinders
Durham
Gateshead
Middlesbrough
Newcastle
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Stockton
Sunderland
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackpool
Bolton
Bury
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