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28 Apr 2008 : Column 184W—continued
Education: Assessments
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much schools spent on re-marking (a) GCSE, (b) A and AS level and (c) key stage 3 SAT papers in (i) 2005, (ii) 2006 and (iii) 2007. [200313]
Jim Knight: The fees for re-marking of national curriculum tests are published by the NAA (National Assessment Agency) test operations agency each year and can be found on the Qualification and Curriculum Authority’s website at http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_11997.aspx The NAA does not keep specific information on how much schools paid to the test operations agency for re-marking key stage 3 test papers via the review process.
The Department does not collect information on re-marking costs for GCSE, A and AS-level papers. The data could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the average annual cost to schools of delivering (a) Key Stage 1, 2 and 3 national tests, (b) GCSEs and (c) A-Levels and AS-Levels; and if he will make a statement. [201206]
Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority estimates the costs of delivering the national tests for Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 in 2007/08 to be some £51 million. This is the cost of the delivery contracts for tests. Schools do not pay fees for tests.
GCSEs, and AS and A-Levels are administered by independent awarding bodies. The costs incurred by all local authority maintained schools for test administration and examination entry fees and any accreditation costs related to pupils taking GCSEs, GNVQs, AS and A2 qualifications in 2006-07, which is the most recent year for which figures are available, totalled some £241 million.
The new independent qualifications regulator, Ofqual, will be responsible for regulating the awarding body market to ensure good value for money alongside its responsibilities for maintaining standards. Subject to legislation, we intend that Ofqual will report annually to Parliament on this issue.
Mr. Laws:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children attained (a) Level 1, (b) Level 2, (c) Level 3, (d) Level 4 and (e) Level 5 in (i) Key Stage 1 and (ii)
Key Stage 2 tests in each year since those tests were introduced; and if he will make a statement. [201320]
Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to the following links. The link
is for Statistical First Release "National Curriculum Assessments at Key Stage 1 in England 2007". Table 2 provides time series information (2001-2007) on average point scores and table 3 provides information about levels achieved by pupils assessed in 2007. The link
is for “National Curriculum Assessments at Key Stage 2 in England, 2007 (Revised)”. Table 1 provides time series information (1995-2007) about test levels achieved by pupils. Copies of these publications have been placed in the Library of the House.
Further information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Education: Expenditure
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of education spending in England as a proportion of gross domestic product, expressed to two decimal places, in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [201098]
Jim Knight: Education spend as a proportion of GDP is available only for the UK. The Government will increase UK spending in education as a proportion of GDP from 4.68 per cent. in 1996-97 to 5.55 per cent. in 2008-09 and 2009-10 respectively. The full run of figures from 1996-97 to 2010-11 is tabled as follows:
| Total Government UK education spend as a proportion of GDP | |
| Percentage | |
Educational Psychology: Manpower
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many full-time equivalent educational psychologists each children's services local authority in England employed at the latest date for which a figure is available; [200520]
(2) how many children and young people aged under 20 years old there are per educational psychologist in each children's services local authority in England at the latest date for which figures are available; [200521]
(3) if he will consider issuing guidance to children's services in local authorities in England on the number of educational psychologists who should be employed in each local authority; and if he will make a statement on ensuring an adequate supply of qualified educational psychologists. [200522]
Jim Knight: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of educational psychologists (EPs) and the number of children per EP employed in local authority maintained schools in each local authority in England in January 2007.
Some local authorities may purchase EP services from other authorities and therefore do not show any EPs in service.
EPs are a key means of supporting some of our most vulnerable children and young people. They play an important role both in assessing individual children's special educational needs and in helping schools to address those needs and behavioural, emotional and social issues.
EPs are employed by local authorities, and it is for those authorities to determine how many to employ in the light of their assessment of local needs and available resources.
It is clearly important that there should be a secure supply of trained EPs to match predicted vacancies. We have asked the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to act as an intermediary body to oversee subscription arrangements for local authority funding of EP entry training, which replace the previous topslice funding. The CWDC has written to local authorities requesting subscriptions to the 2008 entry training fund, and my noble Friend the Lord Adoins, the Under-Secretary of State responsible for schools and learners, has also written to local authority chief executive officers and directors of children's services emphasising the importance of authorities’ supporting training arrangements.
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