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4 Feb 2009 : Column 1324W—continued
Health Education: Sex
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his Department's reasons are for permitting the use of pornography in sex and relationship education classes as a teaching aid. [253106]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not advocate the use of pornographic material in schools. However, all schools are required to have an up-to-date sex and relationships education policy which, among other things, sets out how sex and relationships education will be provided and how it will be monitored and evaluated. The Department's ‘Sex and Relationships Guidance (2000)’ for schools outlines their responsibilities in this area.
National Curriculum Tests
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many key stage 2 national curriculum test papers have been remarked in each of the last five years. [253137]
Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is responsible for the administration of the Key Stage 2 (KS2) National Curriculum tests, including the external marking and review service to schools.
The QCA publishes data on review volumes as part of its annual Test statistics. The Test statistics can be found at:
The total number of reviews requested at key stage 2 for the 2004 to 2007 rounds are as follows:
| Reviews requested | |
The QCA has not yet published 2008 figures for key stage 2 reviews. These figures will be published over the coming weeks, and will comply with the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice.
Outdoor Education
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effects of the Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto Partnership on the (a) number and (b) quality of school activities outside the classroom. [252916]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department has not made an assessment of the effects of the Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto Partnership on the quantity and quality of learning outside the classroom activities.
Prior to the launch of the manifesto in November 2006, the Department published an assessment of activity and practice in schools and local authorities. This found that provision had either increased over the last five years, or had remained broadly the same; and was predicted to remain steady or to increase, over the following academic year. The independent Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, which will take forward this work from April this year, is proposing a further study.
With our partners, the Department has brought together existing safety and quality badges into one easily recognisable Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge for provider organisations. From 30 January 2009, it will be awarded to providers who have demonstrated
that they meet six quality indicators. To support schools in planning, organising and evaluating these experiences, the Department published the ‘Out and About’ guidance in October 2008.
Personal Social and Health Education Review
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when the independent review of personal social and health education, led by Sir Alisdair MacDonald, will present its findings. [251466]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The independent review into making Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education statutory, being led by Sir Alasdair Macdonald, will report in April 2009. Proposals for the statutory implementation of PSHE education will be the subject of a full public consultation and the parliamentary process.
Primary Education: Curriculum
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which Qualifications and Curriculum Authority staff are undertaking support work for the Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum. [248596]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Qualifications and Curriculum Authority staff from within its Curriculum Group are undertaking work in support of Sir Jim Rose's Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum.
Private Education: Berkshire
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary school age pupils in (i) Reading and (ii) Wokingham attended independent schools in each of the last five years. [248871]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is given in the following table.
| Independent schools( 1) : Number and percentage of pupils aged five to 10 and 11 to 15( 2) (Position in January 2008) | ||||||
| Pupils aged five to 10 | Pupils aged 11 to 15 | |||||
| Number | Percentage( 3) | All pupils aged five to 10 | Number | Percentage( 3) | All pupils aged 11 to 15 | |
| (1) Excludes dually registered pupils. (2) Age as at 31 August in previous year (start of academic year). (3) Number of pupils in independent schools expressed as a percentage of number of pupils in same age group across all schools (excludes dually registered pupils). Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. | ||||||
Pupil Exclusions
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in how many schools over 30 per cent. of pupils received a fixed period exclusion in the last year for which figures are available. [241880]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is shown in the table:
| Primary, secondary and special schools( 1, 2, 3) : Number of schools by the percentage of pupils who receive a fixed period exclusion( 4, 5. ) 2006/07, England | ||
| Percentage of pupils who receive one or more fixed period exclusions per school | Number of schools | Percentage of schools |
| (1 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (2 )Includes CTCs and academies. (3 )Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. (4 )Based on the number of pupils who receive one or more episodes of fixed period exclusion while attending a particular school at some point during 2006/07, expressed as a percentage of the headcount of pupils recorded at the same school in January 2007, excluding dual registrations. (5 )Based on the number of schools open in January 2007. (6 )Includes three schools where all pupils in January 2007 were dual registrations. Source: School Census. | ||
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) fixed period and (b) permanent exclusions were of students at schools with (i) less than 10 per cent., (ii) between 10 and 30 per cent., (iii) between 30 and 50 per cent., and (iv) more than 50 per cent. of children eligible for free school meals in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [249111]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Pupils: Absenteeism
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals were classed as persistent absentees in the last year for which figures are available. [251294]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is shown in the following table;
| Persistent absentee( 1 ) in primary, secondary and special schools( 2,3 ) with free school meal (FSM) eligibility, 2006-07—England | |||||
| Pupil enrolments in schools during 2006-07( 4,5) | Percentage of half days missed( 6) | ||||
| Number | Percentage( 7) | Authorised absence | Unauthorised absence | Overall absence | |
| (1 )Persistent Absentees are defined as having more than 63 sessions of absence (authorised and unauthorised) during the year, typically over 20 per cent overall absence rate. (2 )Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. Includes maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (3 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (4 )Number of enrolments in schools from start of the school year to 25 May, 2007. Includes pupils on the school roll for at least one session who are aged between 5 and 15. Excludes boarders. Some pupils may be counted more than once (if they moved schools during the school year or are registered in more than one school). (5 )Enrolments for whom absence data are missing have been excluded. (6 )The number of sessions missed due to authorised/unauthorised/overall absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions of Persistent Absentees. (7 )The number of Persistent Absentee enrolments expressed as a percentage of the total number of enrolments with same gender or year group or SEN etc. (8 )Includes pupil enrolments for whom characteristic data were unclassified or missing. Total rates may be higher than rates for each subgroup. Note : Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census | |||||
and was also published in a Statistical First Release in February 2008 at:-
Pupils: Food
Mrs. Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils are known to have food intolerance in each local authority area; [250706]
(2) how many children of (a) primary and (b) secondary school age in each local authority area have been referred for food intolerance testing after having visited an educational psychiatrist or educational psychologist in the last 12 months. [250707]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information is not collected by the Department.
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority: Public Appointments
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he requested the resignation of the Chief Executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, Dr. Ken Boston; and if he will make a statement. [253417]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, made no such request.
Schools: Arson
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many schools closed for a period of two weeks or more as a result of an act of arson in the last 12 months; [251949]
(2) what estimate he has made of the cost of repair to school premises following acts of arson in each of the last three years; [251951]
(3) how many incidents of arson against schools have been recorded in the last 12 months; and what estimate he has made of the number of such fires which were started externally. [251952]
Jim Knight:
The Department does not have any figures for the numbers of schools closed as a result of an arson attack or for the cost of repairs to school premises following acts of arson in the last three years. The latest
information we have on the costs of repairs is that according to estimates made by Communities and Local Government the average cost of school fires for 2000-04 was £58 million per year.
According to the latest available provisional figures for 2007, there were 348 deliberate fires in schools in England, of which 73 (21 per cent.) were started externally. Figures are partially based on sampled weighted data.
Arson is a legal term not used in the national fire statistics collection; deliberate fires are those as determined by the Fire and Rescue Service in attendance at the fire.
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many school buildings have sustained structural damage requiring repair following acts of arson in each of the last three years. [251950]
Jim Knight: The Department does not hold this information.
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