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24 Feb 2010 : Column 649W—continued
The information for 2005-07, for the former Department for Education and Skills (DfES), is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate costs. Non-consolidated performance payments are used to drive high performance and form part of the pay award
for members of staff who demonstrate exceptional potential, for example by exceeding targets or meeting challenging objectives. The percentage of the pay bill set aside for performance-related awards for the senior civil service is based on recommendations from the independent senior salaries review body. Non-consolidated variable pay awards are funded from within existing pay bill controls, and have to be re-earned each year and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs.
Departmental Responsibilities
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many meetings Ministers and officials in his Department have had with members of the public in the last three years. [317050]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of people on a regular basis as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland of 2 February 2010, Official Report, column 292W, on education maintenance allowance, if he will direct the acting chief executive of the Learning and Skills Council to send a copy of the letter to the Editor of the Official Report for publication. [317136]
Mr. Iain Wright [holding answer 22 February 2010]: The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) received, on 9 February, a copy of the letter Geoff Russell, the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) acting chief executive, sent to my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland (Dr. Kumar) with the information requested. A copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
Free School Meals
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of students in (a) Romford and (b) the London borough of Havering are eligible to receive free school meals. [315908]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The requested information is shown in the table.
Gifted Children: Salford
Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of pupils in Salford have participated in gifted and talented programmes in each year for which information is available. [317389]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: Through the School Census, schools are asked to confirm the number of gifted and talented pupils they have identified.
The tables show the number and percentage of children identified as gifted and talented in the Salford local authority in the January census between 2006, when the question was first asked, and 2009.
2006 records include Secondary G&T pupil data only. Otherwise, figures include Primary(1) and Secondary(1,2) school data broken down by the number(3) and percentage of gifted and talented pupils.
(1) All data include middle schools as deemed.
(2) All data include City Technology Colleges and Academies.
(3) All data show solely registered pupils only.
| Salford local authority | ||||||
| As at January each year | ||||||
| Maintained Primary Schools | State-funded Secondary Schools | Primary and Secondary Schools | ||||
| Number of gifted and talented pupils | Percentage of gifted and talented pupils | Number of gifted and talented pupils | Percentage of gifted and talented pupils | Number of gifted and talented pupils | Percentage of gifted and talented pupils | |
| Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census | ||||||
A data table showing information for all local authorities in England has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Learning Disability: Salford
Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps have been taken to improve educational outcomes for children with (a) moderate and (b) severe learning difficulties in Salford; and what vocational training opportunities are available to such people. [311672]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: Salford has been focusing on narrowing the gap in achievement between all pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and their peers, working with schools on using the inclusion development programme, which improves the skills of the workforce in meeting the needs of children with SEN and preparing to roll-out progression guidance, which supports schools in setting high expectations for what children with SEN should achieve.
Salford's special schools are increasingly providing outreach support to mainstream schools to build their capacity and better support their pupils.
Salford is also part of the Greater Manchester Challenge and is benefiting from additional investment to extend the great practice that already exists within the city region, finding innovative methods and local solutions to crack the cycle of disadvantage and educational underachievement.
As a result, Salford has narrowed the gaps between pupils with SEN and their peers at both key stage 2 and key stage 4. The percentage of pupils with SEN making three levels of progress across key stage 3 and 4 has also risen significantly.
The LSC has invested funding into a variety of projects which focus on improving educational outcomes in Salford. It is recognised that a high proportion of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) when they leave school will have SEN. Current projects include:
Providing additional support and personalised learning programmes to young people who, during key stage four, are identified as becoming at risk of disengaging from learning.
Working with learners in an individual way through foundation learning to deliver clear progression pathways; and
Engagement with employers to develop supported work placements and training and to provide progression routes for learners with more complex learning difficulties and/or disabilities. It will also help partners to build capacity and provide adult learners with opportunities to develop their skills.
The funding set aside for expenditure on SEN in 2009-10 by Salford LA is £23,803,000(1).
(1) These figures include the Individual Schools' Budget for special schools, spending in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools identified as "notional SEN", the centrally retained element of the school budget, and the SEN element of the LA budget.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he plans to take to ensure that teaching of personal, social, health and economic education meets the specific needs of (a) deaf and (b) disabled children. [312704]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The Children, Schools and Families Bill currently before Parliament will make personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education statutory. We will be discussing with the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency and with external organisations, including those representing special educational needs and disability, on the support teachers will require to implement the statutory requirements.
For the current non-statutory framework at key stages 1 and 2, the Training and Development Agency has produced a training toolkit "Including Pupils with SEN and/or Disabilities in Primary PSHE and Citizenship". The toolkit explains how teachers need to anticipate the barriers to taking part and learning particular activities, what lessons or a series of lessons may pose for pupils with particular SEN and/or disabilities; and how teachers need to consider ways of minimising or reducing those barriers so that all pupils can fully take part and learn. It includes advice on pupils with sensory needs and pupils with disabilities.
Primary Education: Pupils
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils attended primary schools with more than (a) 400, (b) 500, (c) 600, (d) 750 and (e) 1,000 pupils in the most recent year for which figures are available. [316182]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The requested information is in the table.
School Meals: Finance
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2009, Official Report, column 1072W, on school meals: finance, what political and policy opinion formers were identified by the stakeholder mapping exercise of the School Food Trust; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the desk research report produced by Tetra Strategy. [315278]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: This information is not held by the Department and is a matter for the School Food Trust. Following the hon. Member's previous question, the terms of reference were placed in the Library.
Schools: Health Hazards
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he has made an assessment of the merits of ensuring that there are no wireless device radiations in (a) schools and (b) child-care centres. [316541]
Mr. Coaker: The Department considers the merits of wireless device radiations in schools or child care centres on the basis of assessments and advice provided by the Health Protection Agency (HPA). The HPA advises the Government in relation to the protection of communities from radiation hazards, including those associated with exposure to non-ionising radiation such as the radio waves from wireless communication systems. The HPA concluded that there is no consistent evidence to date that exposure to radio waves from wireless networks adversely affects the health of the general population and that there is no reason why schools and others should not use wi-fi equipment.
Schools: Standards
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) secondary schools, (b) pupil referral units and (c) special schools (i) were in the National Challenge and (ii) had been in the National Challenge for more than (A) one year, (B) two years and (C) three years on the latest date for which information is available. [316721]
Mr. Coaker: Currently there are 247 secondary schools below the National Challenge benchmark (less than 30 per cent. of pupils achieving five A*-C grade GCSEs including English and maths). The programme started in June 2008 and therefore no secondary schools have been in receipt of National Challenge support for more than two years.
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