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3 Jun 2009 : Column 598W—continued
Schools: Biometrics
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment his Department has made of the effects of the use of biometrics in schools; and if he will make a statement. [277064]
Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected; it is a school level decision to implement biometric systems.
Schools: Capital Investment
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many additional jobs his Department expects to be created by bringing forward its capital expenditure for school building projects in the next 12 months. [249118]
Jim Knight: A tentative estimate of the number of jobs that will be created in 2009-10 is 10,000.
Schools: Complaints
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many complaints have been made about schools to Ofsted by parents in each of the last two years; how many of those were investigated; and if he will make a statement. [273417]
Jim Knight [holding answer 7 May 2009]: 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 House Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 20 May 2009:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.
Under section 11A of the Education Act 2005, as amended by the Education and Inspections Act 2006, Ofsted may consider whether to investigate certain complaints, known as qualifying complaints, made about schools. Table A shows the number of complaints about schools made to Ofsted in the last two years and how many of these qualified for further investigation. Ofsted may consider a complaint about a school from any person, not just a registered parent. The data in Table A may include complaints from persons other than parents.
To qualify, the subject of the complaint must fall within one of the areas covered by Ofsted's school inspection remit, as defined by section 5 of the Education Act 2005 and the relevant regulations. These are:
The quality of the education provided in the school
How far the education provided in the school meets the needs of the range of pupils at the school
The educational standards achieved in the school
The quality of the leadership in and management of the school, including whether the financial resources made available to the school are managed effectively
The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils at the school
The contribution made by the school to the well-being of those pupils
From September 2008, the contribution made by the school to community cohesion.
In addition, a complaint must be made in writing and must not fall within the remit of another statutory complaints process. Furthermore, the complainant must normally have already exhausted local complaints procedures. Ofsted may waive this particular requirement, but will normally only do so in exceptional circumstances. This is because it is appropriate that a school and/or the relevant local authority have the opportunity to put right a complaint before it is referred to Ofsted.
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.
| Table A: Complaints about schools made to Ofsted, April 2007 to March 2009 | ||||||
| Year | Total written complaints about schools | Those concerning safeguarding issues( 1) | Those qualifying for consideration under Ofsted's powers of investigation( 2) | Those retained for the lead inspector for the next scheduled inspection( 3) | Those leading to an immediate inspection | Those leading to the next scheduled inspection being brought forward |
| (1) These complaints concerned safeguarding issues and were sent to Ofsted's safeguarding teams for further consideration. (2) The main reasons for complaints not qualifying are that complainants have either failed to exhaust local complaints procedures, or the complaint does not fall within the areas covered by Ofsted's school inspection remit. Ofsted responds to such complaints with advice on resolving their concerns through more appropriate authorities. (3) Ofsted considers all qualifying complaints. In the first instance, Ofsted may investigate by contacting the school or local authority, as well as consider the school's self-evaluation form, performance data, and their last inspection report. At this point, we are normally able to determine what action should be taken, which may lead to an inspection of the school or the information being retained for the next scheduled inspection. Alternatively, we may further investigate the issue raised by the complaint, which may include requiring the school or local authority to provide information relevant to the complaint or to hold a meeting of parents. We may also formally refer the complaint to the school or local authority. | ||||||
Schools: Inspections
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost of inspections of (a) schools and (b) nurseries and other pre-school provision was in each of the last 12 years. [274583]
Jim Knight: 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 House Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 20 May 2009:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
Ofsted is a non-ministerial government department and its funding is provided by HM Treasury. Table A shows Ofsted's total expenditure related to the inspection of schools, and the inspection and regulation of nurseries and other pre-school provision.
The financial data are derived from Ofsted's audited accounts, which reflect as consistently as possible the cost of inspection and regulation. The accounts do not separately distinguish the cost of inspecting nurseries and other pre-school provision, from the cost of regulating these services. The full cost of inspection and regulation activity is provided and includes direct, indirect and overhead costs.
Please note that while the inspection of schools has been a major element of Ofsted's work for the last 12 years, information included in Ofsted's audited accounts does not separately identify this cost until financial year 2003-04. The cost of school inspection has, therefore, only been provided from this point onwards. Similarly, Ofsted assumed responsibility for early years inspection and regulation from financial year 2001-02, and the cost of delivering our programme of early years inspection and regulation has been derived from Ofsted's summary accounts from this point onwards.
As outlined above, Ofsted has undergone considerable change since the financial year 1997-98. From 1997-98 to 2000-01, Ofsted was primarily responsible for the inspection of schools, local education authorities and teacher training. From 2001-02, Ofsted's remit expanded to include early years inspection and regulation. Since April 2007, Ofsted has also had responsibility for the inspection and regulation of care for children and young people, and the inspection of education and training for learners of all ages. Over the same period, improvements to the way we deliver inspection and regulation have enabled Ofsted to make substantial savings. These changes have affected the costs of regulation and inspection and year on year comparison of these costs. Further explanatory notes accompany the table below.
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.
Schools: Repairs and Maintenance
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average length of time was between the identification of a school for (a) rebuilding and (b) refurbishment and the completion of the project in the last five years in respect of (i) academies, (ii) primary schools, (iii) schools under the Building Schools for the Future programme and (iv) other secondary schools. [271771]
Jim Knight: Academies built through the Building Schools for the Future Programme (BSF) will follow a timeline similar to the average for that programme. The time taken for academies built through the traditional procurement model varies depending on the nature of the project. We do not hold precise data centrally and it would exceed the cost threshold to compile.
The average procurement time to completion for new or replacement schools in BSF has been 176 weeks. This includes the time in procuring authorities' private sector partners, Local Education Partnerships, each of which is responsible for rebuilding or refurbishing a package of several schools. Partnerships for Schools expect times to reduce, following changes in the procurement process.
The BSF Procurement Review, the outcome of a major consultation exercise with stakeholders including local authorities, contractors, industry groups and the design community, promises savings of up to £250 million across the national programme.
It will also make this part of the BSF process more timely, streamlined and efficient, reducing procurement times by up to two months.
The Department does not hold information on procurement times for other secondary schools, nor for primary schools.
Schools: Standards
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools were given a rating of (a) inadequate and (b) satisfactory for behaviour in their last Ofsted inspection; and what the date of each such inspection was. [274587]
Jim Knight: 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 House Libraries.
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools were rated (a) inadequate in their latest Ofsted inspection and either inadequate or satisfactory in the inspection before that and (b) satisfactory in their latest inspection and either inadequate or satisfactory in the inspection before that. [274589]
Jim Knight: 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 House Libraries.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils in each local authority area attended (a) primary and (b) secondary schools which were in special measures in each of the last five years. [274901]
Jim Knight: This is a matter for Ofsted. HMCI Christine Gilbert will be replying and a copy of her letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools have been in special measures (a) twice, (b) three times and (c) more than three times in the last 12 years. [275808]
Jim Knight: This is a matter for Ofsted. HMCI Christine Gilbert will be replying and a copy of her letter will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 22 May 2009:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for a response.
Tables A and B show which schools have been placed in special measures twice and three times. Between 1 September 1997 and 31 December 2008,1,940 maintained schools were placed in special measures once, and 67 schools were placed in special measures twice. One school, Malvern Hills Primary School, was placed in special measures three times. This school has now closed. No school has been placed in special measures more than three times.
Of the 67 schools that required special measures a second time, five were found to require special measures at their re-inspection without ever being removed from this category. Technically, they remained in special measures. They are included at the foot of Table B. Data for the spring term 2009 have not yet been published and are not included in these figures.
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.
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