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15 July 2008 : Column 381W—continued
To nominate authorities whose schools are well on the way to meeting the extended school core offer.
To nominate authorities according to the Government office's judgment of LA's capacity to deliver the pathfinders.
Fair Trade Initiative
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2008, Official Report, column 1539W, on the Fairtrade initiative, what Fairtrade products are (a) available for purchase in his Department's staff catering facilities and (b) offered at official departmental meetings and engagements; what value of Fairtrade produce was purchased in his Department's staff catering facilities in each of the last three financial years; and what percentage this represented of total revenue. [208709]
Kevin Brennan: Fairtrade products that are available for purchase within the Department for Children, Schools and Families include: coffee, tea, fruit juices, confectionery, snack bars and fresh fruit. Proceeds from the sale of bottled water are used by the charity ONEWATER to fund the provision of clean water projects in Africa. All tea and coffee supplied for official internal departmental meetings and engagements is Fairtrade.
Information on breakdown of sales in respect of fair-trade products is not held by the Department and would incur disproportionate costs to obtain from the commercial supplier.
Food
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from which five countries of origin the greatest amount of food was procured by his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what the (a) cost and (b) quantity procured was in each case. [214888]
Kevin Brennan:
The Department for Children, Schools and Families catering service is contracted out and the information requested could only be provided at disproportionate costs. A report was produced by DEFRA and issued to Parliament on the proportion of domestically produced food used in Government Departments during the period 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007. DEFRA proposes to publish data on the value of contracts let for food
and catering contracts (including the value of food provided under the catering contracts) by the end of 2008 which will allow calculations to be made.
GCE A-level
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many schools for pupils aged 11 to 18 years old do not offer an A-level physics course; [217186]
(2) how many schools for 11 to 18 years olds do not offer an A-level course in a modern language. [217187]
Jim Knight: The Department does not hold information on schools that offer particular subjects at A level.
The number and percentage of secondary schools that entered pupils into physics and a modern foreign language in 2006-07 are given in the following table.
| Number of secondary schools with sixth forms that entered pupils into subject | Percentage of secondary schools with sixth forms that entered pupils into subject | |
| Notes: 1. The figures relate to 16-18 year olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August 2006) in secondary schools that entered pupils into GCEA levels. 2. Other Modern Languages' include 'Arabic', 'Bengali', 'Chinese', 'Dutch', 'Gujarati', 'Italian', 'Japanese', 'Panjabi', 'Persian', 'Polish', 'Portuguese', 'Russian', 'Turkish' and 'Urdu' | ||
General Certificate of Secondary Education
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils did not obtain a C grade or above at GCSE, excluding equivalents, in 2007. [217175]
Jim Knight: This question has been answered in the reply to PQ 187634 on 25 February 2008, Official Report, column 1276W.
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils who gained five GCSEs at A*-C in 2007 gained a good GCSE in (a) English, (b) mathematics, (c) science, (d) a modern foreign language and (e) either history or geography. [217613]
Jim Knight: In 2007, 402,411 pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieved 5+ A*-C at GCSE and equivalent. Of these, the numbers and percentages of pupils gaining an A*-C GCSE in the subjects listed is given in the following table.
| Number | Percentage | |
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many pupils eligible to sit (a) mathematics, (b) English and (c) science GCSEs in 2007 were not entered for an examination in each subject; [217619]
(2) how many pupils did not gain a GCSE in (a) English, (b) mathematics and (c) science in the last period for which figures are available. [217623]
Jim Knight: The following table shows how many pupils at the end of key stage 4 were eligible to sit GCSEs in English, mathematics and science in 2007, and of these pupils how many were not entered for the exams or did not gain a GCSE in these exams.
| Subject | Number of eligible pupils | Number of eligible pupils not entered for an examination | Number of eligible pupils attempting examination but not achieving an A*-G grade |
These figures can be derived from figures in tables 1 and 10 of the Statistical First Release ‘GCSE and Equivalent Examination Results in England, 2006/07 (Revised)’, available at:
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what effect he expects the introduction of functional skills to have on GCSE results compared with previous years; and if he will make a statement. [218228]
Jim Knight: Functional skills qualifications are currently being piloted and our intention is that, for GCSEs awarded from 2012, students taking mathematics, English or ICT should have to achieve the relevant FS qualification at L2 in order to obtain a grade C or above at GCSE. Level 2 functional skills qualifications are designed to be of a similar level of challenge to GCSE grade A*-C. As they assess different skills the pilot will test the potential effect on GCSE attainment, through analysis of results in the pilot assessments.
General Certificate of Secondary Education: Disadvantaged
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils eligible for free school meals gained 10 good GCSEs in 2007. [217617]
Jim Knight: 77,776 pupils gained 10 or more GCSE grades A*-C in 2006/07. This was 13.1 per cent. of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in maintained schools.
2,533 pupils eligible to receive free school meals gained 10 or more GCSE grades A*-C in 2006/07. This was 3.3 per cent. of eligible pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in maintained schools.
Mathematics: General Certificate of Secondary Education
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils sitting GCSEs in (a) mathematics and (b) English in 2007 received a grade (i) D, (ii) E, (iii) F, (iv) G and (v) U. [217622]
Jim Knight: Table 13 of the Statistical First Release 'GCSE and Equivalent Examination Results in England, 2006-07 (Revised)' shows GCSE results of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in schools, by subject and grade. This SFR is available at:
Music: Education
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of key stage (a) 1 and (b) 2 pupils received specialist instrumental and vocal tuition within maintained schools in the latest period for which figures are available. [218757]
Jim Knight [holding answer 14 July 2008]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 19 November, Official Report, column 637W. While this information is not routinely collected by the Department, the Institute of Education, University of London, was commissioned in 2007 to collect data on local authority music services provision. The 2007 survey built on previous surveys and there was a 90 per cent. response rate.
The following tables provided in my reply last November have now been updated with the 2007 data.
| Academic year | Percentage of KS1 pupils reported as receiving specialist instrumental or vocal tuition | Percentage of KS2 pupils reported as receiving specialist instrumental or vocal tuition |
| (1) Data not available for KS1 Note: Figures do not take account of music tuition provided by those operating outside of local authority arrangements. | ||
Specific national funding to support the widening of opportunities for primary children to access instrumental and vocal provision began in 2003. Data from the surveys on participation in these programmes, which largely involve specialist music teachers, are reported in the following table.
| Academic year | Percentage of KS1 pupils reported as being involved in wider opportunities activities | Percentage of KS2 pupils reported as being involved in wider opportunities activities |
| (1) Data not available | ||
The survey data predicted that the average percentage of children expected to be involved in a widening opportunities programme during the whole school year 2007/08 would rise to 12.5 per cent. for key stage 1 and 50.6 per cent. in key stage 2.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many applications were received for funding from the fund established for the professional development of music teachers; how many have completed programmes funded as a result of such applications; and what the cost of the scheme has been to date. [218765]
Jim Knight [holding answer 14 July 2008]: After a tender exercise in 2006, the contract to develop and deliver a programme of professional development for practitioners involved in music in primary schools was agreed with the Open university and Trinity college London. The £2 million funding for the programme has been for both the development and delivery of a national CPD programme, which is free for participants.
Initial applications were received from just over 1,300 teachers and this resulted in 915 practitioners actively engaging with the programme. Of those who did not end up engaging with the programme, most withdrew before starting, due to change of circumstances and/or time constraints. Every practitioner has a mentor and an individualised training programme. A total of 312 mentors have been appointed and trained. Practitioners have been completing their portfolios for moderation and certification, and 132 completed portfolios have been received so far.
The announcement of £332 million for music education over the next three years which was made last November includes £1 million a year for continued support for the programme of professional development for practitioners involved in music in primary schools: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2007_0216 We expect to train at least a further 3,000 key stage 2 practitioners during that time.
Mr. Hunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effects of the £2 million fund for professional development of music teachers on instrumental and
vocal tuition in maintained schools; and if he will make a statement. [218766]
Jim Knight [holding answer 14 July 2008]: Evaluation of the programme of professional development for practitioners involved in music in primary schools is ongoing and extensive. Processes which support review and evaluation are integral to the programme and are crucial to ensuring the best possible outcomes in terms of impact of professional practice and the continuing development of the programme for the next three years.
Formal evaluation is central to all aspects of the programme and includes: mentor’s observations of practitioner’s lessons; practitioner’s evaluations of all the workshops they attend as well as online evaluation at the end of their programme; online forums for workshop leaders to inform and support each other; and the regular observation of workshops and visits to practitioners in schools to evaluate the impact of the programme on practice. The final report on the impact of the programme to 2008, including case studies, is expected to be provided to the Department in the autumn.
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