Written Answers to Questions
Friday 6 June 2008
Children, Schools and Families
After School Clubs
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of parents used (a) after school clubs and (b) extended school provision in each of the last four years. [209396]
Beverley Hughes: Information is not collected centrally on the number and percentage of parents who use after school clubs or any elements of the extended school provision.
Children: Day Care
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) public and (b) private sector child care places there are in (i) Leeds Metropolitan District and (ii) Leeds West constituency. [209214]
Beverley Hughes: The information is not available in the form requested.
Since 2003 Ofsted has been responsible for the registration and inspection of child care providers. The table shows the number of places registered with Ofsted at 31 March 2008 for Leeds local authority.
| Number of registered child care places in Leeds, position as at 31 March 2008-06-06 | |||
| Childminders | Full day care | Out of school day care | |
| Notes: 1 Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100. 2. Excludes the number of child care places in sessional day care and crèche day care. Source: Ofsted | |||
Data from the 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey on the number and proportion of child care providers in England by type of ownership are only available at national level.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the level of provision of formal childcare during school holidays in each of the last four years. [209397]
Beverley Hughes: Information is not available in the form requested.
The estimated number of childcare providers in operation, from the Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey, is shown in Table 1.
| Table 1: Numbers of childcare providers | |||
| 2003 | 2005 | 2006 | |
| n/a = Not available. Notes: 1. Children's centres were included in the survey for the first time in 2006; therefore data are not available for previous years. 2. After school and holiday clubs were sampled differently in 2005 and comparable figures for this year are not available. | |||
There were 6,386 holiday clubs in 2006, an increase of 130 from the corresponding number of 2,781 in 2003. Other types of childcare providers were asked whether they were also open in school holidays. Table 2 shows the proportion of childcare providers who said that they were open in holidays, for each year available.
| Table 2: Proportion of childcare providers open during school holidays | |||
| 2003 (%) | 2005 (%) | 2006 (%) | |
| n/a = Not available. Notes: 1. Children's centres were included in the survey for the first time in 2008; therefore data is not available for previous years. 2. After school clubs were not asked about holiday opening hours, although 54 per cent. of after school clubs in the 2006 survey were open for 39 weeks a year. | |||
Departmental Data Protection
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the Personnel Security Standard expected of all external contractors before they are allowed access to his Department's information assets is. [209283]
Kevin Brennan: All external contractors are required to meet the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard as a minimum. Dependent on the nature and protective marking of the information assets to which they will have access, contractors will also be required to have undergone a CRB check or national security vetting clearance as per Cabinet Office guidance.
Education: Young Offender Institutions
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent on education in (a) publicly-run and (b) privately-run young offender institutions in each year since 1997. [208560]
Beverley Hughes: The information requested is as follows:
(a) Since the transfer of responsibility for offender learning and skills in 2001 from the Home Office to the Department for Education and Skills (now DCSF and DIUS) the following amounts were spent on education in publicly run young offender institutions:
| Spend (£) | |
(b) HMP YOI Ashfield is the only privately run YOI. It is not possible to give the amount that is spent on education as the contract is for a given price per place and does not extract the amount for education as a separate figure.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much money was spent per young offender on education in young offender institutions in each year since 1997. [208565]
Beverley Hughes: Youth Justice Board figures indicate that around £8,100 was spent on education for each juvenile young offender in young offender institutions in 2006/07.
Figures for the previous year’s spend on education per young offender are not routinely disaggregated and can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Leicester
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on how many occasions the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools and Learners has (a) visited schools and colleges in Leicester and (b) met teachers and local education officials from Leicester since May 2005. [209448]
Kevin Brennan: My noble friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools and Learners has not visited any schools or colleges in Leicester since May 2005. However, he has met with local authority officials from Leicester city council on one occasion since May 2005.
Pre-school Education
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the evidential basis in research is for the early learning goals for literacy in the early years foundation stage. [209398]
Beverley Hughes: The early learning goals relating to literacy in the Early Years Foundation Stage are the same as those which ware developed for the Foundation Stage in 2000 by experts in the National Strategies and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, with advice from a wide range of academics and professionals outside Government. More recent research and data evidence supports the view that children's early development and experience of early learning has a long term impact on their outcomes. For example, the Review found that by the age of five the majority of children have little, if any, difficulty in grasping key features of phonics and children who received good early teaching in literacy make better progress than those who did not. An Ofsted survey following the Rose review showed that children enjoyed learning about phonics around the age of five and gained satisfaction in putting their learning into practice in their reading and writing.
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what research he has commissioned on the developmental appropriateness of the early years foundation stage; and when he plans to publish the findings; [209419]
(2) what representations he has received on the developmental appropriateness of the early years foundation stage. [209420]
Beverley Hughes: I have had a great deal of discussion, and received a range of representations on, the early learning goals in the Early Years Foundation Stage, including about their developmental appropriateness. The early learning goals are developmental milestones for children at the end of the EYFS, most of whom are aged five and over. The very strong consensus is that the majority of the goals are pitched appropriately, but some representations have questioned two specific goals on aspects of early literacy.
These particular two goals are already included in the Foundation Stage currently used in early years settings. We know that around a third of children already achieve even the two goals which some representations have questioned, and that children who develop well in the Foundation Stage go on to do well in primary school. We need to make sure every child has the chance for a good start in life, and to develop and learn through enjoying active play.
Pupils: Assessments
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many and what percentage of children looked after by local authorities achieved the expected level in each key stage examination in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [206222]
(2) how many and what percentage of children looked after by local authorities achieved five or more GCSEs at grade C or above in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [206224]
(3) how many and what percentage of children looked after by local authorities were entered for (a) no, (b) one, (c) two, (d) three, (e) four and (f) five GCSEs in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [206225]
(4) how many and what percentage of children looked after by local authorities moved schools in the 12 months before the sitting of their GCSEs in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [206226]
(5) how many and what percentage of children looked after by local authorities passed a GCSE at grade A* to F in (a) English, (b) science and (c) mathematics in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [206227]
Kevin Brennan: The information is as follows.
PQ 206225—Information on how many and what percentage of children looked after by local authorities were entered for (a) no, (b) one, (c) two, (d) three, (e) four and (f) five GCSEs in each of the last five years is not collected centrally by the DCSF.
PQ 206226—Information on how many and what percentage of children looked after by local authorities
moved schools in the 12 months before the sitting of their GCSEs in each of the last five years is not collected centrally by the DCSF.
PQ 206227—Information on how many and what percentage of children looked after by local authorities passed a GGSE at grade A* to F in (a) English, (b) science and (c) mathematics in each of the last five years is not collected centrally by the DSCF.
Information relating to the following PQs is collected centrally but can be provided only at disproportionate costs:
PQ 206222—Information on how many and what percentage of children looked after by local authorities achieved the expected level in each key stage examination in each of the last five years.
PQ 206224—Information on how many and what percentage of children looked after by local authorities achieved five or more GCSEs at grade C or above in each of the last five years.
Schools: Sports
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans are in place to provide schools with funding to ensure children engage in a minimum of two hours of exercise per week. [209195]
Kevin Brennan: The PE and Sport Strategy for Young People will be investing £782 million over 2008-11 to offer five hours of PE and sport per week for all young people aged 5-16, and three hours for those aged 16-19.
School Sport Partnerships—which include all maintained schools in England—receive funding to raise participation levels in PE and sport.
The 2006/07 school sport survey showed that 86 per cent. of 5-16 year olds participated in at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport per week.
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