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29 Apr 2009 : Column 1391W—continued


Teaching Methods

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he plans to take to encourage teachers to (a) increase their awareness of the value of classroom resources and (b) undertake training on the matter available from educational suppliers. [271079]

Jim Knight: Since September 2007 the revised professional standards for teachers provide clear career pathways for teachers from Qualified Teacher Status to Advanced Skill Teachers. These clarify what is expected at each career stage, including expectations about teachers' ongoing engagement in their own continuing professional development (CPD) and make clear that teachers are expected to teach challenging, well organised lessons and sequences of lessons across the age range they teach in which they, for example, use an appropriate range of teaching strategies and resources, including e-learning, which meet learners' needs.

To support the professional standards we introduced revised and robust performance management arrangements in September 2007 which ensure that teachers' performance is regularly reviewed and that all teachers have clear and robust development plans which take account of their own individual needs and the school's improvement priorities. Teachers play a key role in this process through engaging with their line mangers to agree their professional development plans.

In this way teachers are fully involved in identifying potential training professional development needs and work within their schools to access the appropriate training.

It is, of course, for schools to determine how to spend the funding they allocate for staff professional development from the delegated budgets they receive.

Young People: Apprentices

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students are participating in the young apprenticeship schemes at the ages of 14 to 16 in school years 10 and 11. [270803]


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Jim Knight: The Young Apprenticeship programme for 14 to 16-year-olds is a successful pilot available in selected areas since 2004. A total of 17,012 young people are currently on a Young Apprenticeship programme. 8,090 as part of cohort 4, the current year 11 group who will be achieving this year; and 8,922 in cohort 5, the year 10 group which started last September.

Young People: Unemployment

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many young people aged 16 and 17 years are not in education, employment and training. [270849]

Beverley Hughes: Estimates of participation in education, training and employment for those aged 16-18 are published by the Department in a Statistical First Release (SFR) each June and can be found on the Department's website:

This publication includes the Department's official estimate of the proportion of young people not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).

The latest estimate shows that 35,900 16 year olds (5.4 per cent. of the 16-year-old population) and 61,100 17-year-olds (9.1 per cent. of the 17-year-old population) were not in education, employment or training at the end of 2007.

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of the parents of 16 to 24 year olds who are not in employment, education or training are (a) separated and (b) living as a couple or married. [271323]

Beverley Hughes: The following table derives from data collected as part of the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE). The information on the main activity of the young person (and hence whether they are not in employment, education or training or “NEET”) comes from the young person themself; the information on marital status comes from their main parent, that is the parent that has principal responsibility for the young person.

The survey took place in spring 2007 when the young people would have been aged 16-17 years old.

Married, or living with a partner Separated (inc divorced)

All parents of young people

68

19

Parents of a NEET young person

52

26

Source:
Wave 4, LSYPE


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