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18 Mar 2010 : Column 1058W—continued
| GCSE and equivalents( 1) results for pupils( 2) attending schools( 3) in the Manchester, Gorton constituency | |||
| Percentage of pupils gaining | 1997 | 2009( 5) | Percentage point improvement 1997 to 2009 |
| (1) From 2004 results incorporate GCSEs, GNVQs and a range of other qualifications approved pre-16. Prior to 2004 results are based on GCSEs and GNVQs only. (2) From 2006 figures are for pupils at the end of key stage 4. Prior to 2006 results are based on pupils aged 15. (3) Includes pupils attending all maintained schools (including academies and city technology colleges) and from 2000 does not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (4) England figures also include independent schools as well as hospital schools and PRUs. (5) Revised data. Source: School and College Achievement and Attainment Tables | |||
Further information by constituency is provided within the Department's 'In Your Area' website available at:
Information available at constituency level includes the number of specialist schools, number of operational academies, number of teaching assistants and other support staff, number of teachers and pupil:teacher ratios. Where information is not available at constituency level it has been provided at local authority level.
Additional information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Home Education: Inspections
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether all home educated children would receive a visit from a local authority inspector by April 2012 under the provisions proposed in the Children, Schools and Families Bill. [322663]
Ms Diana R. Johnson [holding answer 16 March 2010]: The Children, Schools and Families Bill places local authorities under a duty to make arrangements to hold at least one meeting with the child and the parents in the registration period. We envisage that regulations and guidance supporting monitoring will be in place by April 2011, which will enable monitoring to start. We have not consulted on the arrangements for rolling out the new provisions but we envisage that all home educated children known to the local authority will have had a visit arranged by April 2012 if they were on the register in April 2011.
Languages: Education
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the purpose was of his Department's Je suis un Rockstar advertising programme. [315164]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: Je Suis Un Rock Star was developed in partnership with Channel 4 as part of the Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) campaign. Its aim was to address the social and cultural barriers which prevent young people learning languages and focus on raising the value of languages. The message of Je Suis Un Rock Star to young people was "if you learn a language it will open up experiences and opportunities which you might otherwise be denied".
Literacy: Primary Education
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many primary schools in the maintained sector are using Letters and Sounds (a) exclusively and (b) in combination with one or more commercial phonics programmes; and how many are not using it. [315645]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: We do not collect information on "Letters and Sounds". Schools are free to choose whichever phonics product best suits their needs. We do not ask schools to supply us with information on the products they use.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether the Letters and Sound reading programme is owned by (a) his Department or (b) another organisation. [318411]
Ms Diana R. Johnson [holding answer 24 February 2010]: 'Letters and Sounds' is the Primary National Strategy's phonics teaching programme. It is owned by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
Primary Education: Drama
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he is taking to increase the quality and quantity of drama provision in the primary school curriculum. [321717]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: Drama forms a major part of both the Understanding the Arts and Understanding English, communication and languages areas of learning within the new primary curriculum. In both areas children should experience working with artists and performing to others. In addition, in both the Children's Plan and the Pupil Guarantee we have made clear our aspiration that all children and young people should experience five hours of quality cultural activity in and out of school each week. This includes both taking part in, and being part of the audience for, drama.
Public Holidays
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the introduction of an additional public holiday; and if he will make a statement. [315124]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The Department does not anticipate any additional salary costs resulting from the extra public holiday in 2012.
Schools
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children attended (a) two, (b) three, (c) four and (d) five schools in 1980. [311158]
Mr. Coaker: The information requested is not available. The pupil level data required to carry out such analysis have only been collected since 2005/06 for secondary schools and since 2006/07 for primary and special schools.
Schools: Fires
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many fires have been reported in schools in each year since 2005; [322414]
(2) how many fires in schools have been classed as arson in each year since 2005; [322415]
(3) how many fatalities and injuries have there been in fires in schools in each year since 2005; [322416]
(4) what estimate his Department has made of the average cost to the public purse of a school fire in the latest period for which figures are available. [322417]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 17 March 2010]: The latest confirmed figures we have from the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) for England and Wales cover the period 2005-07, and are shown in the following tables.
| Number of fires | (%) arson | Number | |
| Fires in schools by cause of fire, England, 2005-2007 | |||
| Total | Accidental | Deliberate | |
| Fatalities and injuries in schools in each year since 2005 | ||||
| All fatalities | Injuries aged 18 yrs or over | Injuries aged 0-17 years | Unspecified | |
The last year for which CLG has cost figures is 2004, when 1,229 fires were estimated to cost around £52 million(1), an average of £42,311.
(1) The costs are rounded to the nearest £1 million and are derived from the CLG's cost of Fire Estimates. They cover property damage and the costs of the fire and rescue services attending the fires. They do not include costs of any fires not attended by the Fire and Rescue Services.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/researchand statistics/statistics/
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many schools follow the Building Bulletin 100 guidance on fire sprinklers issued by his Department; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure this guidance is followed; [322898]
(2) how many schools in Coventry are fitted with fire sprinklers. [322899]
Mr. Coaker: On 1 March 2007 my right hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Jim Knight), the then Minister of State for Schools launched the policy to install fire sprinkler systems to protect the fabric of new schools. This was included in Building Bulletin 100 later that year. It is best practice to provide sprinkler systems in new school buildings and major refurbishments and DCSF encourages and expects client bodies to install them. Only those buildings which are unsuitable or of very low risk should not now include sprinklers.
Partnerships for Schools monitors which schools in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme include sprinkler systems and encourages local authorities and other client bodies to include sprinklers in all new schools through BSF procurement documents. This approach has resulted in over 70 per cent. of current new secondary schools in BSF including sprinkler systems. Before the introduction of the policy less than 10 per cent. of new schools had sprinkler systems fitted.
We do not have figures for how many schools procured outside the Building Schools for the Future Secondary School programme include sprinkler systems.
The legal requirements for fire safety measures in schools are set by Building Regulations, which prioritise the life safety of pupils, teachers and other users-not the protection of property. Sprinklers are not required for life safety as they are primarily a property protection measure. Therefore a school building designed to the Building Regulations should be safe whether or not it includes sprinklers.
Information is not collected centrally about which schools in Coventry have sprinklers fitted. However, Coventry city council has a policy to fit fire sprinkler systems in all its new and refurbished schools.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many school fires which have occurred since 2004 were investigated by police as suspicious fires. [322900]
Mr. Coaker: This information is not collected centrally.
Schools: Libraries
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his Department's policy is on whether books should be banned from school libraries in circumstances where they have been held to breach laws against incitement; and if he will make a statement. [311458]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The provision of a school library is not a statutory requirement. It is for schools themselves to determine the nature and extent of their school library provision. It is also for schools themselves to determine which books they stock in their libraries, while ensuring they are in line with their particular ethos and comply with their legal and regulatory obligations.
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council published in February 2009 guidance on the management of controversial material in public libraries, which schools can use to help them.
It is a criminal offence under section 19 of the Public Order Act 1986 to publish or distribute written material which is threatening, abusive or insulting and is likely to stir up racial hatred. It is an offence under section 23 of that Act to possess such material. Therefore a school library containing such material may be committing a criminal offence, and could be subject to prosecution.
Also, schools have a duty under section 71 of the Race Relations Act 1976 to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups. Holding books which breach laws against incitement could lead to intervention by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Finally, schools are under a duty to promote community cohesion, which is also inspected by Ofsted to ensure compliance. Any controversial books or material in schools which could lead to incitement could be a breach of this duty.
Schools: Special Educational Needs
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools for pupils with special educational needs have (a) opened and (b) closed in England since 1997. [321445]
Ms Diana R. Johnson [holding answer 10 March 2010]: We have data on the overall number of maintained special schools. In 1997, there were 1,171 maintained special schools. By 2009, there were 985 such schools-a net reduction of 186. The rate of reduction of maintained special schools has slowed down; between the years 1986 and 1997 there was a reduction of 234.
Since 1997-98, local authorities have:
built or rebuilt more than 100 new special schools;
significantly refurbished by more than 50 per cent. of the total floor space of a further 125 special schools;
delivered more than 430 new SEN units at mainstream schools;
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