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25 Mar 2009 : Column 543W—continued
Figures given in an earlier response differ slightly to those given in the following tables. Some double counting of secondary school closures meant a higher number of closures were previously recorded.
Schools: Standards
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will take steps to ensure that primary schools which are rebuilt incorporate the same design standards as secondary schools in the Building Schools for the Future programme in respect of (a) drinking water and (b) toilet facilities. [266074]
Jim Knight: The Department has already taken a number of steps to ensure that new and re-modelled primary school buildings—including drinking water and toilet facilities—are built to a good design standard. This includes using the Primary Capital Programme website to promote the Department’s existing guidance and to showcase case study examples of good practice.
The Department is aware of the importance of well designed primary school toilets and is continuing to work with its partners to produce case study examples on this. It would not, however, be appropriate for primary school toilets to be built to exactly the same design standards as secondary school toilets.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make it his policy to encourage secondary schools not participating in the Building Schools for the Future programme to allocate funds for improving (a) drinking water and (b) toilet facilities for pupils. [266075]
Jim Knight: Devolved Formula Capital (DFC) is allocated at school level, to be spent on whichever capital improvement a school considers to be the most beneficial, based on local priorities. Other funds can also be added to DFC, from the local authority and elsewhere, to improve facilities. The purposes for which DFC is used vary widely, from improving drinking water and toilet facilities, to other infrastructure improvement, ICT, sports facilities, even transport such as a school minibus.
Given the wide variety of need, I think it best to continue to allow schools and local authorities discretion in deciding how resources are spent, rather than to steer schools towards expenditure on improving specific facilities such as (a) drinking water or (b) toilet facilities for pupils.
Social Workers: Children
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he plans to introduce a children's social work postgraduate qualification for experienced children's social workers. [264382]
Beverley Hughes:
Lord Laming's report recommends the introduction of a fully-funded, practice-focused children's social work postgraduate qualification for experienced children's social workers. The Government are committed to ensuring social work is a high quality, high status profession committed to excellent practice and respected by clients and the wider public. We agree with Lord Laming that social work should become a Masters-level profession. We expect this to be an important
element of the long-term and comprehensive reform programme for social work which will be informed by the advice of the Social Work Task Force and which we will set out in the autumn.
In immediate response to Lord Laming's recommendations, we have asked the General Social Care Council (GSCC) and the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to work together to define and consult on the content and implementation of a practice-based Masters for qualified children and families social workers.
This work builds on our current investment of over £73 million to improve the quality of social worker training, tackle recruitment and retention shortages and to improve the quality of practice and leadership.
Teachers: Males
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to his letter of correction of 4 December 2008 to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham, Deposited Paper DEP2008-2997, to the answer of 28 October 2008, Official Report, column 596W, on teachers: males, what the 2008 figures are, broken down by local authority area. [264682]
Jim Knight: The following table provides the full-time qualified number of male teachers employed in local authority maintained nursery/primary and secondary schools broken down by individual local authorities in England, January 2008.
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