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21 July 2009 : Column 1449W—continued
Mr. Coaker: For more than a decade we have worked with the Teacher Training Agency, now the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA), and training providers to secure the continuous quality improvement of Initial Teacher Training (ITT).
The standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) were revised in 1998, 2002 and 2007 setting out progressively more demanding expectations of beginner teachers. Statutory requirements apply to all accredited providers of ITT to ensure training is designed to make sure new teachers have met all of the standards. The TDA uses quality categories derived from Ofsted inspections when allocating ITT places and funding to higher education institutions and school-based providers.
In the 10 years that this allocation approach has been used in full, the percentage of undergraduate and Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) ITT places allocated to high quality ITT providers has increased from 68 to 96 per cent. This approach has helped secure positive results from the TDA's annual survey of newly qualified teachers. Currently 85 per cent. of primary newly qualified teachers and 86 per cent. of secondary newly qualified teachers rate their training as good or very good.
The outcomes of the first full inspections by Ofsted of the Graduate Teacher Programme will be available in the autumn of 2009 which will assess quality of training through that route. Since 2003 Teach First has brought into teaching many high quality graduates who would otherwise not have considered the profession. Ofsted said that some of their trainees were the best it had ever seen. Currently around half of teachers trained on this route remain in the profession at the end of their induction year.
The agency's special educational needs (SEN) and disability programme of work has been developed within the context of the Government's long-term strategy: "Removing Barriers to Achievement" (2004), the "Children's Plan" (December 2007) and other evidence. Resources have been put in place to ensure that all trainees are well-prepared to teach children and young people with SEN and disabilities.
Since 2000 the agency has invested nearly £20 million of its funding from the Department to support Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in initial teacher training alongside the Government's investment in ICT in schools. The aim is to ensure that all NQTs have strong skills in using ICT to support teaching and learning.
TDA have worked with schools and ITT providers to ensure that ITT is up-to-date, responds rapidly to changes in the schools' curriculum, that ITT partnerships are secure and that every trainee has effective school based training.
The SEN modules on dyslexia, autism and other frequently encountered special needs that were developed for primary ITT, were launched in June 2008 and have been well-received. Similar modules for secondary training were launched on 25 June 2009. PGCE materials are due to be launched later in 2009.
Evaluation shows that the great majority of trainee teachers have access to a personal laptop and have opportunities to use ICT to support teaching and learning while on school experience. Research indicates that trainees and ITT providers have integrated the effective use of ICT in practice.
"The Teacher Training Resource Bank" (www.ttrb.ac.uk) provides access to up-to-date materials and relevant research to support ITT. Over 5,000 articles are viewed daily and the site has 18,000 registered users. Evaluation shows that the resources support quality improvement by giving trainers access to key materials cost-effectively.
In 1997 there were approximately 27,000 trainees requiring schools experience as part of their ITT programme. Currently the figure is approximately 38,000. Ofsted indicates that this expansion has been achieved effectively.
DCSF and TDA monitor and support training providers to implement the approach to the teaching of early reading recommended by Sir Jim Rose based on the teaching of phonics.
TDA has a range of programmes t o improve the recruitment of mathematics and science teachers by means of a targeted campaign. The target for the training of primary teachers of modern languages with 900 new teachers having an enhanced experience in teaching French, German or Spanish in 2008/09 has been met.
The TDA have boosted the numbers of trainees who report having had a 'very good' or 'good' grounding in phonics from 35 per cent. in 2006 to 49 per cent. in the 2008 cohort. TDA have ambitious targets for further progress.
The diversity of routes to teaching and programmes such as Transition to Teaching has boosted the supply of new science and maths teachers. The agency works to help provide additional training both pre-service and in-service to develop the subject knowledge of specialist teachers in science and mathematics.
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many teachers entered the profession via the Graduate Teacher Programme in the latest year for which figures are available; [288347]
(2) how many new primary school teachers had B.Ed degrees in the latest year for which figures are available. [288348]
Mr. Coaker: In 2006/07, 5,140 trainees gained qualified teacher status (QTS) through the graduate teacher programme. There were 5,090 trainees who gained BA or BSc with QTS or BEd via a primary initial teacher training course.
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much money has been spent on developing the Masters course in teaching and learning. [288349]
Mr. Coaker: Since the Masters in Teaching and Learning was announced by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in March 2008, £1,482,070 has been spent on developing the programme. A further £3,250,123, split between the Training and Development Agency for Schools and MTL providers (schools and higher education institutions), is budgeted for the development of the programme between now and its launch in April 2010.
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students are registered to begin the Masters course in teaching and learning in the next academic year. [288350]
Mr. Coaker: The latest figures available show that as of 17 July 2009, 2,893 trainee teachers had expressed an interest in the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) via the TDA's website, of which 1,871 intend to teach in an eligible school and enrol for MTL in 2009/10. Eligible newly qualified teachers will be able to enrol with their MTL provider in January 2010, to commence MTL from the summer term 2010.
Teaching Methods
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of classes in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools were set by ability at the most recent date for which figures are available. [286403]
Mr. Coaker: 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 16 July 2009:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
Table A shows the data Ofsted holds on the use of setting, streaming or banding in lessons observed during inspections carried out in the academic year 2007/08. Inspectors record whether classes are in sets, streamed or banded (as one category), mixed ability or grouped by criteria other than ability.
Please note that these data do not enable us to estimate how many classes in England are set by ability. Since the introduction of the current school inspection framework in September 2005 (commonly known as section 5), the recording of how lessons are organised has been based on discussions with the headteacher or teacher during the inspection, or by reference to the lesson plan at the time of observation. A much smaller number of lessons are observed than would have been seen under the previous inspection framework. Lessons seen may not, therefore, represent the way pupils are grouped in the school as a whole.
For clarity, setting is the term used to describe the organisation of pupils in classes on the basis of their prior attainment in the particular subject being taught. The term banding, which is similar to streaming, is used when the decision as to which pupils are included in a class is based on the prior attainment in a range of subjects. Ofsted does not currently differentiate between setting, streaming and banding in the data collected during lesson observations.
It is of some concern to me that we do not have ready access to a comprehensive data set about pupil groupings. As a consequence, from September, headteachers have been asked to record the detail of the pupil groupings in use in their schools in their Self-Evaluation Forms.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Young People: Connexions Service
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of 13 to 19 year olds received one-to-one careers guidance from a Connexions adviser in each local authority in each of the last five years. [287244]
Mr. Iain Wright: The information is not available in the form requested.
Young people: Unemployment
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2009, Official Report, column 1018W, on young people: unemployed, how many and what proportion of people aged 16 to 24 years old were not in education, employment or training in each region in the second quarter of 2009. [288021]
Mr. Iain Wright: Quarterly estimates of the number of people aged 16-24 who were not in education, employment or training are produced from the labour force survey (LFS). The LFS data relating to the second quarter of 2009 are not available until 12 August 2009.
Youth Services: Greater London
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what (a) capital and (b) other expenditure from the public purse per 1,000 of the population between 11 and 18 years old was in respect of youth services in real terms in each London local authority in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2008. [288336]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government do not set a budget for spending on youth services. Local authorities receive funding from Government through the revenue support grant for youth services and it is for them to decide how much funding should be spent based on Government priorities and local needs. Information on local authority capital expenditure on youth facilities is not collected by the Department.
Since 2006, the Department has provided capital funding to local areas through the Youth Capital Fund and from 2008, the 'myplace' initiative.
The following table sets out expenditure in respect of youth services for each London local authority from 2001-09 and funds allocated in respect of the Youth Capital Fund and 'myplace' initiative for 2008-09. The Department does not hold information as far back as 1997.
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