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7 Jan 2010 : Column 598W—continued
Independent Safeguarding Authority
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what communication there has been between the National Safeguarding Delivery Unit and the Independent Safeguarding Authority since July 2009. [307852]
Dawn Primarolo: The National Safeguarding Delivery Unit (NSDU) does not routinely communicate with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). The ISA has been asked to join the Partnership Network, a broad coalition of partners, including key voluntary sector and professional stakeholders, which has been established to work with the NSDU to pursue specific issues impacting on effective front-line safeguarding practice.
Sir Roger Singleton provides advice and challenge to the NSDU in his independent capacity as chief adviser on the safety of children.
Personal Social and Health Education
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether education about homosexual relationships is a compulsory part of the school curriculum for (a) primary school and (b) secondary school pupils. [304224]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: Under existing legislation, secondary schools are required by law to provide sex education, but there is no requirement for primary schools to provide sex education. Both primary and secondary schools are also required to deliver the statutory science curriculum, which includes age-appropriate information on human biology. In addition we expect schools to provide a much broader programme of sex and relationships education (SRE) through well planned and non-statutory personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. As part of this programme schools should teach about all types of relationships that exist within society, including homosexual relationships.
SRE should be taught gradually, so that learning can be built upon year-by-year in a way that is appropriate to the age and maturity of each child. For example, SRE in primary schools will address issues of differences and bullying.
We have announced our intention to legislate to make PSHE education, including SRE, a statutory subject within the national curriculum at key stages 1-4.
Provisions are included within the Children, Schools and Families Bill which will give effect to this change. Further information is available in the written ministerial statement by the Secretary of State on 5 November 2009, Official Report, columns 49-52WS.
Pupils: Epilepsy
Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) if he will produce an action plan to improve the results achieved at school by children with epilepsy; [307918]
(2) what recent discussions he has had with epilepsy representative groups to improve educational outcomes for children with epilepsy. [307919]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The Government are committed to closing the gap in educational achievement between children with special educational needs and their peers.
The Department for Children Schools and Families and the Department of Health are currently engaged with key stakeholders, including those from organisations representing epilepsy, in developing revised guidance to schools on how to support children and young people with medical needs. The guidance will support schools to develop policies in relation to managing the health needs of children and young people: this will include advice to teachers and support staff on how to administer medicines. We have a stakeholder meeting scheduled for January at which we will discuss how the organisations representing the conditions can enhance the guidance.
In the Children's Plan progress report, we announced £31 million for the two-year Achievement for All project to improve outcomes for all children and young people with special educational needs and disability which would include children with epilepsy who have additional needs. The project is taking place in around 450 schools across 10 local authorities for two years from September 2009 until September 2011.
Pupils: Religious Freedom
Robert Neill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether his Department has made an assessment of the
implications for his Department's policies of the European Court of Human Rights ruling in the case of Lautsi v Italy on educational institutions in England. [308765]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: We are currently considering the implications of this ruling but our early conclusions are that we believe that the circumstances in Italy are clearly different from those in England and that such a ruling would have no impact on our schools provision. This is because the concerns of the court in this case, which lead to the breach of human rights conclusion, were around the lack of pluralism in the Italian education system-that there was no choice for non-Christian parents/pupils in Italy since every classroom in every school must be adorned with a crucifix-as set out in a Royal Decree. This is certainly not the case in England where there is no such universal display of religious imagery. Parental choice is a key feature of our education system and the majority of schools are maintained schools of no particular religion but there is also the choice available of faith schools catering for many different faiths.
School Meals
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the average cost of providing a school meal in the latest period for which figures are available. [308977]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The Department does not collect this information. However, the Fourth Annual Survey of Take-up of School Lunches in England, published in November 2009 by the School Food Trust and the Local Authority Caterers Association, gives average lunch prices in 2008/09 of £1.77 in primary schools, and £1.88 in secondary schools. Information on the average cost of providing a school meal is not collected by the survey.
Schools
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools were (i) opened and (ii) closed in each region in each year since 1997. [305058]
Mr. Coaker: The information is provided in the following tables.
Source:
EduBase 2
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