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9 July 2009 : Column 1015W—continued
Teachers: Licensing
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the statement of 30 June 2009, Official Report, columns 165-80, on 21st century schools, (1) what process a prospective teacher will be required to follow to obtain a licence to teach; whether a licence to teach will be required of holders of a postgraduate certificate of education qualification; how often the licence to teach will have to be renewed; whether he proposes that a teacher should undertake a minimum number of hours of teaching to keep the licence to teach; whether teachers will be required to make a payment to obtain a licence to teach; and what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of administering the licence to teach scheme in the first 12 months of operation; [284065]
(2) what arrangements he plans to make to enable teachers from overseas to obtain the licence to teach. [284066]
Mr. Coaker: Initial details of our plans for the roll-out of a ‘licence to teach’ were set out in our White Paper ‘Your child, your schools, our future’ published on 30 June 2009. In setting up specific arrangements, we want to build on the best elements of the existing registration arrangements for teachers but place more emphasis on a teacher's record of professional development and practice.
Our intention is to begin to roll out the new arrangements for qualified teachers and head teachers teaching in maintained schools, non-maintained special schools and short-stay schools (formerly pupil referral units) from September 2010. We envisage that, as with current registration arrangements for teachers, the ‘licence to teach' will follow the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and any qualification, for example a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, that a teacher may have attained as part of their initial teacher training.
As we set out in our White Paper, we envisage a ‘licence to teach’ being valid for five years, at the end of which the licence holder would have to undergo a process of revalidation, building on the performance management arrangements and including other feedback.
We are mindful that this represents a major change for the teaching profession and we will, therefore, work and consult closely with the many stakeholders here, including our social partners. These discussions will help inform the precise shape and details of the ‘licence to teach’ including: whether or not we set a minimum number of hours of teaching practice to keep the licence current; and what arrangements we may make to enable teachers from overseas to obtain the licence to teach.
In relation to cost, all qualified teachers working in maintained schools, non-maintained special schools and short stay schools (formerly pupil referral units) are currently required to pay an annual fee to the General Teaching Council for England (GTC) in order to be fully registered with the GTC.
This provides them with the right to teach in the maintained sector. The fee must also be paid by those teachers who work in academies who have to pay the fee as part of their employment contract, and any other teachers who wish to register with the GTC. As part of consulting stakeholders, we will consider how the ‘licence to teach’ will interact with the current annual registration fee and will be seeking the views of the profession before making a final decision.
Teaching Methods
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) pursuant to the Statement of 30 June 2009, Official Report, columns 165-80, on 21st century schools, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of implementation of his proposals for one-to-one tuition at (a) primary and (b) secondary level; and how many hours of such tuition per pupil per week he plans to provide; [284063]
(2) pursuant to the Statement of 30 June 2009, Official Report, columns 165-80, on 21st century schools, what estimate he has made of the number of pupils between Years 3 and 6 who will require additional one-to-one tuition in (a) English and (b) mathematics in each of the next three years; how many hours of additional tuition per child he expects to provide; and how much he plans to allocate to the budgets of (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools to fund such tuition. [284067]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: One-to-one tuition is already being implemented nationally. In the spring and summer terms 2009 we have allocated £15 million to support 36,000 pupils in years 5 and 6. In 2009-10 we are providing £138 million to support around 150,000 pupils in each of English and mathematics across key stage 2, key stage 3 (and in national challenge schools key Stage 4). In 2010-11, £315 million is available to offer one-to-one tuition to 300,000 pupils in English and 300,000 pupils in mathematics across primary and secondary schools.
It is for local authorities working with their schools to identify the pupils in each of the key stages who should benefit from the additional funding for one-to-one
tuition that we have provided. Local authorities will be responsible for allocating funding to their schools to support these pupils.
Once they are identified for one-to-one tuition, pupils receive 10 hours of additional support.
Third Sector
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what terms and conditions are set by his Department in relation to the provision of funding from his Department's budget to (a) charities, (b) voluntary organisations and (c) social enterprises. [284210]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) does not make a distinction between (a) charities, (b) voluntary organisations or (c) social enterprises in relation to provision of grant funding. As per the Cabinet Office definition, DCSF regards charities, voluntary organisations or social enterprises as Third Sector Organisations.
The DCSF pays most of its funds through local authorities and children's centres. These organisations commission locally, thereby benefiting the local third sector.
DCSF has two established grant funding agreement templates covering funding under and over £200,000. Managers responsible for the management of a grant programme have the flexibility to decide which agreement template to use, based on the level of the agreed funding. Each grant funding agreement has clearly defined terms and conditions governing funding including:
how the grant should be used
responsibilities and accountabilities of the grant recipient
terms and conditions of payment
Intellectual property right arrangements
capital asset management
access to information in order to monitor compliance and performance
accounting and financial management controls and
repayment of unspent funds.
Grant funds are never paid before they have been formally approved and the grant recipient has accepted the terms and conditions of the grant agreement by signing and returning the agreement. Funding is usually
paid in arrears. However, funding may be paid in advance when a request is made and a clear need for advance payment can be shown.
The funding offered will reflect the full cost of the service, including legitimate overhead costs, and is paid for up to three years.
Contract funds adhere to Government procurement policy, based on value for money, and the EU procurement rules. This ensures that all sectors within the market are treated equally.
DCSF guidance reflects the recent guidelines on proportionate monitoring issued by the Cabinet Office. Monitoring must be proportionate to the risks and benefits involved.
Young People: Unemployed
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of people aged 16 to 24 years were not in education, employment or training in each region in the first quarter of 2009. [280896]
Mr. Iain Wright: The following table shows estimates taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) of the number and proportion of people of academic age(1) 16 to 24 who were not in education, employment or training in the first quarter of 2009, by region.
(1) Academic age is defined as age at the start of the academic year, 31 August.
| 16 to 24-year-olds not in employment, education or training by region, Q1 2009 | ||
| Number | Proportion (percentage) | |
| Note: It is important to note that as with all survey estimates these estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling error. The confidence interval for regional estimates of NEET is typically plus or minus 2 to 3 percentage points. Figures should therefore be treated with caution. Source: Labour Force Survey | ||
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