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16 Oct 2008 : Column 1494W—continued

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which companies bid for the education maintenance allowance contract which was awarded to Liberata; and by what criteria such bids were assessed. [226047]

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). The LSC contracts with Liberata UK Ltd to carry out the helpline, assessment and payment function. Mark Haysom, the LSC’s Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.

Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 15 October 2008:

Education Maintenance Allowance: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people in West Lancashire constituency have received education maintenance allowance since its inception. [225758]

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and hold information about payments made under the scheme. Mark Haysom, the LSC’s Chief Executive, will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.


16 Oct 2008 : Column 1495W

Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 15 October 2008:

Number

2004-05

7,081

2005-06

10,564

2006-07

12,995

2007-08

13,396

2008-09

(1)4,120

(1) To end September 2008

Families

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children under 11 years of age live in single-parent families in (a) Bassetlaw constituency and (b) England. [225344]

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October2008:

Area Number of children under 11 in single-parent families in 2007

England

1,383,000

Bassetlaw constituency

3,000


General Certificate of Secondary Education

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of children taking GCSEs in (a) grammar schools, (b) comprehensive schools, (c) secondary modern schools and (d) independent schools were awarded five or more GCSEs, broken down at (i) A* to A and (ii) A* to B grades in the most recent year for which figures are available. [224526]

Jim Knight [holding answer 6 October]: The information broken down at A*-C can be found in table 3 of the following Statistical First Release (SFR):

Further breakdown of grades can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

General Certificate of Secondary Education: Special Educational Needs

Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in what formats GCSE examinations are available for children (a) with a (i) visual and (ii) hearing impairment and (b) who are dyslexic; and how many times each such format has been used in the last three years. [221705]

Jim Knight: The regulation of public examinations in England is the responsibility of Ofqual. Ofqual requires awarding bodies to provide examination papers in appropriate formats to ensure candidates with disabilities have access to examinations.

It is the responsibility of the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) to coordinate these formats on behalf of the awarding bodies.

Details of these formats are published in the JCQ guidance “Regulations and Guidance Relating to Candidates who are Eligible for Adjustments in Examinations”. This guidance is available online at

The following table sets out how many times these formats have been approved for children with (a) (i) visual and (ii) hearing impairment and (b) who are dyslexic in the last three years.


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16 Oct 2008 : Column 1498W
Number of requests approved for: 2005 2006 2007

Reader

55,640

67,390

80,798

Scribe (including voice-activated computer)

28,324

34,821

40,275

Computer/word processor

14,222

16,996

21,713

Extra time (more than 25 per cent. extra time)

3,383

2,393

2,489

Alternative venue

1,582

1,948

1,993

Use of signer

942

613

952

Practical assistant

814

953

1,049

Notes: 1. These figures cover AQA, Edexcel and OCR only; the three awarding bodies based in England. 2. These figures are for the number of awarding-body approved arrangements rather than the number of candidates. An individual candidate may require a number of arrangements for each examination they take and they may take examinations from more than one awarding body.

Home Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the total number of children under 16 years of age who are home educated in England. [226441]

Jim Knight: We have made no estimate of the number of children who are home educated in England.

Pre-school Education

Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children in the 10 per cent. (a) most and (b) least deprived local authority areas were working securely within each of the 13 assessment scales of the Foundation Stage Assessment Profiles in each year since 2005. [226005]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 13 October 2008]: Information is only available for seven of the 13 assessment scales and for children resident in the 30 per cent. most deprived areas. This is shown for 2007-08 in the tables which have been placed in the House of Commons Library. Further information on the proportion of children working securely within the additional six assessment scales and for earlier years can be compiled and checked only at a disproportionate cost.

The most recent information on the Foundation Stage Profile was published in the Statistical First Release 25/2008 “Foundation Stage Profile results in England 2007/08” on 18 September 2008, which is available on the Department’s website

Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children in (a) Basingstoke, (b) Hampshire and (c) each region were working securely within each of the 13 assessment scales of the Foundation Stage Assessment Profiles in each year since 2005. [226006]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 13 October 2008]: The available information for 2005 to 2008 is shown in the tables which have been placed in the House of Commons Library. Information is not available at parliamentary constituency level.

The most recent information on the Foundation Stage Profile was published in the Statistical First Release 25/2008 “Foundation Stage Profile results in England 2007/08” on 18 September 2008, which is available on the Department’s website

Pre-school Education: Finance

Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment his Department has made of the (a) adequacy of the funding for the extension of the free entitlement to nursery care to all two-year-olds nationwide and (b) the ability of the private, voluntary and independent sector to meet the costs of these places. [227441]

Beverley Hughes: We are currently working with our delivery partners to develop plans to extend the free early education entitlement for two-year-olds. 63 local authorities are currently delivering up to 15 hours of free provision to the most deprived two-year-olds. £100 million funding is available to fund this pilot until April 2011. The child care strategy announced in June and to be published by the end of this year, will set out next steps. The funding for the next stages of the child care strategy will be taken in the light of the wider fiscal position.

Pupil Exclusions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many pupils received more than (a) 10, (b) 11, (c) 12, (d) 13, (e) 14 and (f) 15 or more fixed period exclusions in a 12-month period in each of the last five years; [226443]

(2) how many pupils have been given more than three fixed period exclusions in the last three years. [226444]

Jim Knight: Information on the number of pupils who have received fixed period exclusions was collected for the first time for the school year 2003/04. The available information is shown in the tables. Information on pupils who have received more than (a) 10, (b) 11, (c) 12, (d) 13, (e) 14 and (f) 15 fixed period exclusions can be provided only at disproportionate costs. Due to changes in the underlying data collection, information for the school year 2005/06 is only available for secondary schools.


16 Oct 2008 : Column 1499W
Maintained primary, secondary and special schools( 1, 2) : number of times pupils were excluded for a fixed period. England, 2003/04
Number of fixed period exclusions per pupil Number of pupils Percentage

1

130,410

65

2

37,870

19

3

16,290

8

4

8,120

4

5

4,180

2

6

2,180

1

7

1,160

1

8

660

0

9

400

0

10

200

0

More than 10

310

0

Total

201,780

100

Percentage of school population

2.63

(1) Includes middle schools as deemed.
(2) Excludes non-maintained special schools.
Note:
Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
Termly Exclusions Survey.

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