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25 Feb 2009 : Column 812W—continued
Schools: Boilers
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in Gloucestershire are heated by oil-powered boilers; and if he will make a statement. [256873]
Jim Knight [holding answer 23 February 2009]: The Department does not hold this information. However, we have contacted South Gloucestershire Council and Gloucestershire county council and they have told us that in South Gloucestershire there are 23 schools heated by oil-fired boilers out of a total of 115 local authority maintained schools and in Gloucestershire 40 schools out of a total of 310 schools are heated by oil. The majority of these schools are rural primary schools which do not have a gas supply.
Schools: Health Education
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to inform school children of the adverse effects of (a) smoking and (b) alcohol abuse. [254605]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Currently all schools should teach pupils about the effects of smoking and alcohol abuse, as part of drug education, through a well planned programme of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. The Department's guidance, “Drugs: Guidance for Schools” (DfES 2004) sets out in broad terms what should be covered in each key stage.
We announced our intention to make PSHE education statutory in October 2008, in recognition of the key role it plays in equipping children and young people with the knowledge and skills they need to lead healthy and successful lives. At the same time we launched an independent review of how this might be achieved in the most effective and practicable way. Sir Alasdair Macdonald, the headteacher of Morpeth school in Tower Hamlets, is conducting the review and will report in April 2009. Proposals for the statutory implementation of PSHE will be the subject of a full public consultation.
We cannot expect drug and alcohol education on its own to “solve the drug problem” in this country. That is why we are also increasing our focus on intervening with families at risk and continue to improve the support and treatment that the vulnerable young people who are most likely to develop a problem need.
We need parents and Children's Services to join with schools and colleges to raise awareness amongst young people of the risks and impacts of drug and alcohol use.
It is important that Government presents information to young people in ways that they find accessible. For that reason, on 29 January 2009, we launched a consultation on ‘Children, Young People and Alcohol’ alongside the chief medical officer’s guidance on ‘safer drinking’ to find out what information and advice parents and young people would find useful to inform their decisions about young people's drinking and to help reduce harm caused by it.
Schools: Standards
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in how many and what proportion of schools where the proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is (a) less than 10 per cent., (b) 10 per cent. to 20 per cent. and (c) over 20 per cent. Ofsted has evaluated teaching as (i) inadequate, (ii) satisfactory, (iii) good and (iv) outstanding in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [254868]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 10 February 2009:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.
Since the introduction of the current school inspection framework (commonly known as section 5) in September 2005, Ofsted has evaluated teaching as part of the judgement 'How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of learners’ needs?'
Table A shows that, of 7,862 school inspections carried out by Ofsted in 2007/08, 3,704 were of schools with less than 10% of pupils eligible for free school meals, 1,737 were of schools with between 10% and 20% of pupils eligible for free school meals, and the remaining 2,421 were of schools with greater than 20% of pupils eligible for free school meals. The table includes the inspection outcomes for each of these groups.
| Table A: The effectiveness of teaching and learning in meeting the full range of learners’ needs for schools inspected in 2007/08 | |||||||||
| How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of learners’ needs | |||||||||
| Outstanding | Good | Satisfactory | Inadequate | ||||||
| Percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals | Number of inspections of schools | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
Data on proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals are taken from the DCSF's 2008 Annual Schools' Census and are calculated as the percentage of compulsory school age pupils in the school. There are schools for which Annual Schools' Census 2008 data are available, but the free school meals eligibility field is blank. It has been assumed that they had 0% of pupils eligible for free school meals.
Please note that in 2007/08 one school was inspected twice and has been counted twice in this analysis. Four schools inspected in 2007/08 have been excluded from this analysis: two of these only have provision for pupils aged 16 to 18, and there was no Annual Schools' Census 2008 data available for the remaining two.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Rt. Hon Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Science: GCE A Level
Michael Gove:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils
eligible for free school meals gained an A grade in (a) mathematics, (b) physics and (c) chemistry A level in 2008. [251110]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information is provided in the following table:
| Candidates( 1) in schools( 2) aged 16-18( 3) eligible for free school meals achieving grade A in math ematics, physics and chemistry A- level in 2008( 4) | |
| Number of pupils eligible for FSM achieving grade A | |
| (1) 16-18 year old candidates entered for GCE/VCE applied A-levels and Double Awards in 2008. (2) Maintained schools only. Pupils taking A-levels in independent schools or FE sector colleges are not included. (3) Age at the start of the 2007/08 academic year i.e. 31 August 2007. (4) Figures are based on amended data. Source: National Pupil Database | |
Sixth Form Education: Finance
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent discussions he has had with the Learning and Skills Council on the funding of schools with sixth forms where the number of pupils exceeds the stated anticipated number; and if he will make a statement. [256876]
Jim Knight [holding answer 23 February 2009]: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is currently agreeing with school sixth forms the funding allocations for 2009/10. Those allocations will take account of the number of pupils schools recruited and retained in 2008/09 and whether this was above or below planned expectations. We anticipate that where numbers exceeded plans in 2008/09, this above planned growth will be consolidated into 2009/10 allocations. However, this will be subject to affordability.
Under the current system, grant funded providers (schools and further education colleges) do not have their funding allocation varied during the year unless they can demonstrate their allocation causes them financial difficulty. Where this is the case the LSC will consider, on a case by case basis, the need for extra funding in exceptional circumstances. However, as announced in the LSC's Annual Statement of Priorities, published in November 2008, the DCSF and LSC are currently considering whether a more flexible system of funding is needed to best ensure that funding matches learner choice.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families under what circumstances schools receive exceptional funding support for sixth forms; and if he will make a statement. [256877]
Jim Knight [holding answer 23 February 2009]: Exceptional funding for a school sixth form is only available on a case-by-case basis either from a local authority (LA) or from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).
The financial viability of a sixth form cannot be distinguished from the overall financial viability of the school, which is the responsibility of the local authority.
Local authorities have the discretion, through the School Finance (England) Regulations 2008, to support schools in financial difficulty providing that they have agreed with their schools forum the arrangements for implementation of such support. Where a school gets into a deficit it must agree a deficit recovery plan with the LA.
The only circumstances in which the LSC would consider exceptional financial support to a school sixth form would be if one year’s funding allocation caused the school a particular financial difficulty. The LSC would consider such exceptional action only in relation to the individual circumstances arising in the school’s sixth form.
Social Services: Children
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families into which children's services he has sent intervention teams in the last 12 months; what the remit of those teams has been; and whether he will make their findings public. [250375]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 22 January 2009]: Officials from the Intervention Unit in DCSF are routinely sent to each local authority that receives an inadequate judgment by Ofsted in their annual performance assessment (APA) and/or their joint area review (JAR). Judgments are published on Ofsted's website:
Ministers subsequently receive advice on the nature of any intervention considered necessary to bring about improvements in children's services. Ministers' decisions are communicated to the local authority and to other interested parties.
Social Services: Greater London
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many social workers in each London borough were agency employees at the latest date for which figures are available. [258200]
Beverley Hughes: Social workers are directly recruited by their employers. The Department for Children, Schools and Families does not collect information on how many agency staff are employed within these settings.
In their Children’s, Young People’s and Families’ Social Care Workforce Survey 2006, the local authority workforce intelligence group estimated that the total number of children’s social care work force agency staff employed by London boroughs was 1,290. The survey went on to suggest that around a third of these agency staff covered field social work posts.
In December 2008, we announced a social work taskforce which will make recommendations for long term development of social work; social worker recruitment and retention will be considered as part of this.
Special Educational Needs: Disadvantaged
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in each decile of income deprivation affecting children indices had statements of special educational needs in each of the last five years. [256892]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested for 2004, 2007 and 2008 is shown as follows. The full-time series can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Number( 1) of pupils( 2) with statements of special educational needs by IDACI( 3) decile of known residence, 2004, 2007 and 2008( 4) | ||||||
| Primary Schools | Secondary Schools( 5) | |||||
| 2004 | 2007 | 2008 | 2004 | 2007 | 2008 | |
| (1 )Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. (2 )Excludes dually registered pupils. (3 )Income Deprivation Affecting Children Indices. (4 )0-10% = most deprived. (5 )Includes CTCs and academies. Source: School Census | ||||||
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