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4 Nov 2008 : Column 426W—continued
Students: Grants
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of undergraduates entering higher education courses in 2008-09 received a maintenance grant of £50. [233051]
Mr. Lammy: The requested information is not yet available.
During November the Student Loans Company will publish the Statistical First Release Student Support for Higher Education in England, Academic Year 2008/09 (Provisional). This will include early provisional information on grants in 2008/09 and complete information on grants in academic year 2007/08.
In compliance with the National Statistics framework, information is embargoed until publication of the Statistical First Release.
Children, Schools and Families
Academies: Personal Social and Health Education
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he plans to make personal, social and health education a compulsory subject for academies; and if he will make a statement. [233125]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: There are no plans to make personal, social, and health education a compulsory subject in academies. However, we expect all academies to teach a broad and balanced curriculum, and ensure the curriculum meets the needs of their pupils.
Adoption
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what the average age was of children at adoption in each of the last 10 years, broken down by ethnicity; [231650]
(2) for how many children of each (a) ethnicity and (b) age was it decided that adoption was in their best interest in each of the last 10 years. [231651]
Beverley Hughes: Information on the date a decision is made that adoption is in the best interest is currently collected retrospectively only for those children who are adopted. However we shall be making a change to our data collection from 2008-09 which will mean we would be able to provide this information for children when the decision is made, irrespective of whether the adoption has taken place.
The available information on characteristics of looked-after-children who are adopted can be found in table E1, taken from the Statistical First Release (SFR 23/2008) entitled 'Children Looked After in England (Including Adoption and Care Leavers) Year Ending 31 March 2008'. This shows the number of looked-after-children adopted during the years ending 31 March 2004 to 2008 by gender, age at adoption, ethnic origin, category of need, final legal status, duration of final period of care and age on starting final period of care.
and table E1 can be found within the first set of Excel tables on the website.
This table includes information for the last five years and shows the average age at adoption. Information for each of the last 10 years and a breakdown by both age and ethnicity can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Children: Databases
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families the children of which groups of people will be excluded from having their details on ContactPoint; and if he will make a statement. [232241]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 3 November 2008]: ContactPoint will hold basic identifying information on all children in England until they reach 18. In the case of young people with learning disabilities or those leaving care, the record can be retained up to the age of 25, with their consent.
Children visiting England for their or their families’ holidays will not be recorded on ContactPoint. Provision has been made for the retention of a child’s record on ContactPoint for up to three years if they leave England with the full intention to return. This is to ensure that, for example, the records of children of service personnel or diplomats are not lost from the system when they are posted outside England with their family.
Class Sizes: East of England
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the pupil-teacher ratio was in each local education authority in the East of England at key stage (a) one, (b) two and (c) three in each year since 1997. [232620]
Jim Knight: Pupil-teacher ratios figures are not available by key stage because the teacher numbers from which they are derived are collected by phase of education only. Figures by phase of education are available through the following links for each local authority in England back to January 1998:
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average (a) middle and (b) upper school class size was in each constituency in the East of England in each year since 1997. [232621]
Jim Knight: The available information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
General Certificate of Secondary Education
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 23 October 2008, Official Report, column 577W, on the General Certificate of Secondary Education, if he will give an itemised breakdown of the calculation used to estimate the cost of providing the requested information in full. [233079]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 30 October 2008, Official Report, column 1305-06W.
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 did not obtain a (a) C grade or above in any GCSE, (b) C grade or above in mathematics GCSE and (c) C grade or above in English GCSE in 2008. [232418]
Jim Knight: The information required to answer this PQ can be derived from the National Pupil Database. Analysis of the 2008 key stage 4 data will be available once the NPD Statistical First Release has been published in December.
Inspections
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many inspectors were employed by his Department in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 1997-98. [228089]
Jim Knight: Inspection of provision related to the Department’s remit is the responsibility of Ofsted. At the end of 1998, Ofsted, as the Office for Standards in Education, employed 205 Her Majesty’s Inspectors, all of whom were responsible for school inspection. It subsequently took on responsibility for the regulation and inspection of child care, and the inspection of 16-19 provision in further education colleges. In April 2007, Ofsted became the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. Its remit expanded further to include adult learning, children’s social care and the administration of Cafcass, the children and families courts advisory support service. As of 30 September 2008, it employed 375 Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education, Children’s Services and Skills, 663 Childcare Inspectors and 172 Social Care Inspectors.
Languages: Assessments
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in which modern languages are (a) A-levels and (b) GCSE qualifications available; and if he will make a statement. [232986]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: GCSE and A-level qualifications are available in the following modern languages: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Modern Greek, Bengali, Modern Hebrew, Panjabi, Polish, Dutch, Gujarati, Persian, Portuguese, Turkish, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Urdu and Russian.
New GCSE specifications, including new arrangements for oral assessment, will be taught from September 2009. Revised A-level specifications were introduced for first teaching from September 2008.
Learning and Skills Improvement Service
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department contributes towards supporting the Learning and Skills Improvement Service. [233085]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In 2008-09 this Department has provided £45.42 million in specific grants to the Learning and Skills Improvement Service.
Learning Disability: Young Offenders
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent discussions his Department has had with the Ministry of Justice on improving support for children with learning difficulties in young offender institutions. [232308]
Beverley Hughes: The Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Ministry of Justice have joint responsibility for policy for youth justice, including education and related services such as support for young people with learning difficulties. The Government published the Youth Crime Action Plan in July which included a commitment to consider how we best meet young offenders' special educational needs in juvenile custody. The document noted that plans will be developed within the context of the evidence and recommendations from the Bercow Review of provision for speech, language and communication needs, and Sir Jim Rose's recommendations on the identification and teaching of children with dyslexia.
Mathematics: Teachers
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to encourage (a) more mathematics graduates to enter the teaching profession and (b) more graduates to become mathematics teachers. [233279]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The measures to increase the number of teachers of mathematics focus both on increasing the number of mathematics graduates entering teaching and on enabling graduates of other subjects to train to become specialist teachers of mathematics.
Mathematics is a key priority in the targeted cross-media recruitment campaign promoting teaching as a career;
£9,000 training bursaries and £5,000 “Golden Hello” payments for mathematics trainees who go on to work in a state school;
Subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses—intensive conversion courses of four to nine months for graduates of other subjects to retrain as teachers of mathematics: this programme is being doubled in 2009;
Transition to Teaching, a new programme which works with employers to target graduates leaving employment and attract them into teaching.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many mathematics graduates entered the teaching profession at (a) primary and (b) secondary level in the last period for which figures are available. [233280]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Data relating to all mathematics graduates entering the teaching profession is not held centrally.
The following table shows the number of mainstream final year postgraduate secondary initial teacher training (ITT) trainees for whom the subject of their ITT training was mathematics and who have a first degree or a related degree in mathematics, and are known to have entered a teaching post six months after gaining qualified teacher status (QTS). Figures exclude those who have trained through employment based routes, and those seeking teaching posts, not seeking such posts, or with an unknown destination.
A similar analysis is not available for primary ITT Trainees.
| Number of final year mathematics secondary-ITT trainees known to enter a teaching post six months after gaining QTS | ||
| First degree in mathematics | First degree in mathematics related subject | |
| Notes: 1. Mainstream includes universities and other higher education institutions, SCITT and OU, but excludes employment based routes (EBR). 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Data relating to the employment status of trainees through EBR is not currently collected. 4. Performance profiles data is collected at the end of a trainees first year, therefore 2007/08 data is collected in autumn 2008 and will be published in July 2009. 5. The table only covers those who hold a first degree in the subject of their ITT training course, it does not cover those who have a first degree in mathematics but are entering an ITT course which is not mathematics. 6. There are additional postgraduate trainees on mathematics ITT courses where the first degree is unknown, so there are potentially more mathematics graduates entering teaching posts. 7. Figures include trainees who enter maintained schools, non-maintained schools and schools where the sector is unknown. 8. Trainees known not to be employed in teaching posts six months after gaining QTS include those who are seeking a teaching post and those who are not seeking a teaching post and those with an unknown destination. 9. The figures only cover those who are known to enter a teaching post six months after gaining QTS; therefore those who enter teaching after this will not be covered. This will also not include graduates who enter teaching who are not newly qualified teachers. Source: TDA's Performance Profiles. | ||
National Curriculum Tests
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils obtained level 2 or above in key stage 1 (a) English and (b) mathematics tests in 2003 but did not obtain level 4 or above in key stage 2 tests in 2007. [232420]
Jim Knight: The figures required can be found in the following table.
| Number of pupils | ||||
| Achieving level 2 or above in KS1 in 2003, and not achieving level 4 or above in KS2 in 2007 | Achieving level 2 or above in KS1 in 2003, and achieving level 4 or above in KS2 in 2007 | Achieving level 2 or above in KS1 in 2003 | With eligible results for both KS1 in 2003 and KS2 in 2007 | |
| (1) English is not a tested subject at key stage 1 and has been calculated from the results in reading and writing. | ||||
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