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26 Nov 2008 : Column 1866W—continued
Schools: Transport
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children (a) walked, (b) cycled and (c) were driven to school in each of the last five years according to school census returns. [235584]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not hold complete data relating to mode of travel to school. Provision of this information is only compulsory for those schools with an approved Travel Plan. The scope of collection includes: maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools, city technology colleges, academies and special schools.
In the spring 2007 school census, mode of travel data was supplied for almost 70 per cent. of pupils. In the spring 2008 school census, mode of travel data was supplied for just over 85 per cent. of pupils. The available information relating to maintained primary, state-funded secondary and all special schools is provided in a table which has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Gibb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether the guidance document Home to school travel for pupils requiring special arrangements (reference: LEA/0261/2004) and the 2007
report by his Department's predecessor. Procurement of home to school transport services for children with Special Educational Needs in London, are still in use. [239444]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: “Home to School Travel for pupils requiring special arrangements” (ref: LEA/0261/2004) is still in use and can be downloaded from www.teachernet. gov.uk search by its reference or title. Hard copies can be obtained from the Department's publications centre by phoning 0845 602 2260 or email dfes@prolog.uk.com.
The report “Procurement of home to school transport services for children with Special Educational Needs in London” is in use, only available from www.teachernet. gov.uk, and can be found by searching using the report's title.
Schools: Vetting
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many notifications his Department and its predecessor sent to each of the schools inspectorates under the automatic transfer arrangements in relation to (a) independent and (b) maintained schools in each year since April 2005; and how many notifications his Department and its predecessor received from independent and grant maintained schools in each such year. [238396]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Secondary Education: Admissions
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many unfilled secondary school places there were in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire on the latest date for which figures are available. [237126]
Jim Knight: The Department collects information annually from each local authority on the number of surplus places which exist within maintained schools, via the Surplus Places Survey. The most recent data available relate to the position as at January 2008.
At January 2008 the number of unfilled places in maintained secondary schools within Hemel Hempstead was 836 (11 per cent.), and the number of unfilled school places in maintained secondary schools within Hertfordshire was 8,644 (10 per cent.).
Secondary Education: Drugs
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what programmes are in place to educate secondary school pupils on the dangers of illegal drugs. [238046]
Jim Knight: All maintained secondary schools must teach about the effects of drugs and drugs misuse as part of the National Curriculum Science Order. We expect schools to deliver drug education through the non-statutory personal well-being programme of study which provides a context for schools to fulfil their legal responsibilities to promote the well-being of pupils and provide a programme of drugs education.
We have issued comprehensive guidance to schools to help them deliver more effective drugs education. The guidance makes it clear that teachers should be the main providers of drug education and maintain responsibility for the overall drug education programme in their schools. It is for schools and local authorities to decide whether to use particular resources or programmes of study to support the overall drug education programme in their schools.
Sixth Form Education
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects to implement the changes to the presumption in favour of school sixth forms set out in paragraph 4.21 of the Raising Expectations White Paper; and if he will make a statement. [239964]
Jim Knight: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Sixth Form Education: Disadvantaged
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will estimate the number of 16 to 17-year-olds entitled to free school meals who attend a sixth-form college; and if he will make a statement. [236317]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The power of local authorities to provide free meals is for registered pupils at a school, this is covered by Section 512 of the Education Act 1996. If a pupil is eligible for free school meals then the local authority or school governors have a duty to provide the lunch free of charge. Every registered pupil at a school is entitled to free school meals if they or their parents qualify under Section 512. This includes sixth formers in a school but does not apply to pupils at a sixth form college, or in further education, as these establishments are not classified as schools. The number of sixth form pupils aged 16 and 17 who are eligible for free school meals is shown in the table.
| State funded secondary schools and special schools( 1,2) : Number of 16 and 17-year-old sixth form pupils eligible for free school meals( 3 ) as at January 2008—England | |||
| Number of roll( 3) | Number of pupils eligible for free school meals | Percentage of the school population( 4) | |
| (1) Includes CTCs and academies. (2) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. (3) Pupils aged 16 and 17 following national curriculum year 12, 13 and 14; includes dual registrations. (4) Percentage of pupils aged 16 and 17 in national curriculum years 12, 13 and 14 eligible for free school meals. Includes dual registrations. Source: School Census. | |||
Social Services
Chris Ruane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what rules apply to the out-of-county placement of vulnerable (a) adults and
(b) children; what procedures are employed to monitor such placements; and how the costs of such placements are shared. [238299]
Beverley Hughes: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Social Services: Complaints
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many complaints were made against children's social services departments in each London borough in the latest period for which figures are available. [236460]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Special Educational Needs
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many maintained special schools there were in each year since 1997. [226439]
Jim Knight: The numbers of maintained special schools are shown in table A1 of the following statistical first release: ‘Pupil Characteristics and Class Sizes in Maintained Schools in England’:
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made in developing a project to test ways of improving the system of providing accessible versions of text books for blind and partially sighted pupils. [227390]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Good progress has been made on the accessible resources pilot project. The invitation to tender was advertised and circulated to interested organisations on 22 September. The deadline for bids is 11 November and interviews will take place in December, with the project commencing in early 2009.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what sign language qualifications a communication support worker working with deaf children is expected to hold; and what measures are in place to ensure all communication support workers hold such a qualification. [227392]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: We do not specify minimum competence in signing for teaching assistants or communication support workers but we would expect them to assist teachers with mandatory qualifications during lesson times by providing educational support for deaf and hearing impaired children.
All schools receive a school development grant which they are able to use to support improvements in any aspect of teaching and learning and it is for individual teachers and their schools to determine their own particular
training and development needs. Local authorities may also retain a proportion of this grant, under conditions, to provide specific training and development of Special Educational Needs.
We are committed to providing a suitable education for all children. In the Children’s Plan we announced new resources to increase the number of teachers taking mandatory qualifications for teaching deaf and hearing impaired children, with some free places available from September 2009.
Specialised Diplomas
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of 14 year-olds-he expects will be enrolled on a diploma course in 2013; and if he will make a statement. [238346]
Jim Knight: It is too early for us to know how many or what proportion of 14 year olds will be enrolled on a Diploma course in 2013. The national entitlement will come into effect from September 2013, which will ensure that the right provision, including Diplomas, will be in place for all young people across England.
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the estimated cost is of providing diploma courses for (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12. [239866]
Jim Knight: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) male and (b) female pupils of each ethnicity (i) receiving and (ii) not receiving free school meals are studying one or more diploma courses. [239871]
Jim Knight: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Specialised Diplomas: Suffolk
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils have been entered for diploma qualifications in Suffolk. [240004]
Jim Knight: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Specialist Schools: Disadvantaged
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of children attending (a) language, (b) sports, (c) technology and (d) arts specialist schools are eligible for free school meals. [237153]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is given in the following table.
| School meal arrangements( 1) ; position as at January 2008—England | ||||||
| Number of schools | Number of pupils (used for FSM calculation) | Number of pupils taking free school meals( 2) | Percentage of pupils taking free school meals | Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals | Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals | |
| (1) Includes pupils with sole and dual registration of all ages. (2) Number of pupils who took a free school meal on the day of the census in January. Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census | ||||||
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