| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
14 Dec 2009 : Column 686W—continued
Education: Class Sizes
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what his Department's most recent estimate is of the average class size in secondary schools; [305771]
(2) what his Department's most recent estimate is of the average class size in primary schools. [305772]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: Final information on average class size for 2009 was published on 11 August 2009 as an update to the Statistical First Release "Schools, Pupils and Their Characteristics: January 2009" (which was originally published on 13 May 2009) and can be found in Table 8 at:
EU Law
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what (a) statutory instruments and (b) other regulations his Department has brought forward in this Parliament to meet obligations arising from EU law. [304172]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The Department for Children, Schools and Families has made one set of regulations by way of statutory instrument in this Parliament to meet obligations arising from EU law, namely the Electronic Commerce Directive (Adoption and Children Act 2002) Regulations 2005. The key policy areas within the Department's remit (education in schools, children's social care and substantive family law) fall outside Community competence.
Every Child A Talker Programme
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what proportion of money from the Every Child A Talker programme has been allocated to (a) local authorities and (b) national strategies; [305049]
(2) what recent progress has been made under the Every Child A Talker programme; and if he will make a statement; [305051]
(3) how many children in England have received support through the Every Child A Talker programme; [305052]
(4) how much has been spent on the Every Child A Talker programme to date. [305053]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: A total of £41.2 million over a three-year period has been made available to all local authorities as part of the Every Child a Talker programme. This includes up to £50,000 per year for each local authority (and slightly more for areas where it is more expensive to recruit and retain staff) to employ an early language consultant.
The rest of the funding-the majority-is for staff in early years settings to access training and professional development. No local authority spending data are yet available for the period covering ECaT since its launch in September 2008.
None of the £41.2 million was allocated to National Strategies. Their role in supporting LAs to implement the ECaT programme is part of their ongoing contract with the Department.
We do not have details of the number of children who have received support through ECaT as the programme is aimed at improving practitioners' understanding of early language development so that they can focus on raising the speaking and listening skills of children in settings where there is the greatest need. Over 3,500 practitioners will receive training and support through the programme.
The programme has been widely welcomed by participating local authorities, who have recruited early language consultants and are working with targeted settings. Because of the age of the children expected to benefit from the programme, we do not expect to see a significant impact on Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results until 2010. However, it is encouraging to see significant improvements in the 2009 results of many of the local authorities involved in the first wave of the programme.
Extracurricular Activities
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) out-of-school and (b) holiday play schemes there were in (i) each local authority area in the north-west and (ii) England in each of the last five years. [304676]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The following shows the number of out-of-school clubs in England, and each local authority area in the north-west Government office region in each of the last five years for which data were collected. The last year that Ofsted collected information on out-of-school clubs was 2008 as changes in legislation meant that new categories were introduced for the collection of child care data.
Information on the number of holiday play schemes is not available as Ofsted do not collect these data.
| Number( 1) of out of school clubs for children under eight years of age | |||||
| Position at 31 March each year | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| (1) Figures over 100 have been rounded to the nearest 100 and figures under 100 have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Ofsted | |||||
Foster Care
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many assessments of friends and family foster carers were carried out in each (a) region and (b) local authority area in each of the last five years; [305369]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of kinship foster carers aged (a) 50 to 64 years and (b) 65 years and over. [305367]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not held centrally by the Department.
Free School Meals
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of students in school sixth forms were entitled to free school meals in the latest 12 month period for which data are available; and if he will make a statement. [304751]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The requested information is shown in the following table:
| State-funded secondary schools( 1, 2) : School meal arrangements of sixth-form pupils( 3, 4, ) as at January 2009, in England | |
| Number/percentage | |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Include city technology colleges and academies. (3) Sole and dual (main) registrations. (4) Sixth form defined as pupils in National Curriculum year groups 12, 13 and 14. Source: School Census. | |
Pupils are recorded as eligible only if a claim for free school meals has been made by them or on their behalf by parents and either (a) the relevant authority has confirmed their eligibility and a free school meal is currently being provided for them, or (b) the school or the local authority have seen the necessary documentation that supports their eligibility, and the administration of the free meal is to follow as a matter of process. It is not known how many pupils could be eligible but are not submitting a claim.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools the proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals has decreased by more than (i) five, (ii) 10, (iii) 15 and (iv) 20 per cent. between 2005 and the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [305176]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The requested information is shown in the table.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |