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29 Mar 2010 : Column 750W—continued
The following tables show the number of young people in Birmingham who have benefited from EMA and E2E. Data are not held on the number of young people in Birmingham who have benefited from the BIP.
| EMA | |||
| Area type | Area name | Number of people | |
| (1 )Year to date for 2009/10 (up-to-date as of 17 February 2010) (2 )Year to date - 28 August 2009 to 31 January 2010. | |||
In 2008/09 and 2009/10 some applicants were not recorded against any particular local authority or region but were included in the total take-up figure for England. In consequence, LA and regional data may be underestimated.
| E2E | |
| Number of young people | |
| (1 )Year to date for 2009/10 (up-to-date as of 17 February 2010) | |
Educational Maintenance Allowance: City of York
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many education maintenance allowances have been paid to young people from the City of York in each year since 2004-05. [322120]
Mr. Iain Wright: This information is held by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). I have asked the LSC's chief executive, Geoff Russell, to write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Geoff Russell, dated 22 March 2010:
I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question 322120 that asked:
"How many education maintenance allowances have been paid to young people from City of York in each year since 2004-05."
EMA take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year. EMA take-up for York Local Authority area during each academic year since inception is as follows:
| Number | |
In comparing across years, it is important to understand that national roll-out was phased over several years. In the first year EMA was available to all 16 year olds across England and to 17 and 18 year olds in former pilot areas. In 2005/06 EMA was available to all 16 and 17 year olds nationally. From 2006/07 EMA was available to all 16, 17 and 18 year olds nationally.
EMA take-up data showing the number of young people who have received one or more EMA payments during 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 is available on the LSC website, at the following address:
Home Education
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what mechanisms are in place to ensure home-schooled children have (a) information about and (b) access to examination centres. [319342]
Mr. Iain Wright: The "Report to the Secretary of State on the Review of Elective Home Education in England" (the Badman Report) recommended that local authorities should support home-educated children and young people in finding appropriate examination centres, and provide entries free to all home-educated candidates who have demonstrated sufficiently their preparedness, for all DCSF funded qualifications. The Government have accepted this recommendation, and the Department's statutory guidance to local authorities on registration and monitoring will set out the steps they should take to work with schools and FE colleges to identify suitable examination and assessment centres for home-educated children. A draft of this guidance will be issued for consultation later this year.
The Government also welcome the work of the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) and the Association of Colleges (AoC), who are considering how they can encourage and support schools and further education colleges to provide a better service to home educators and other private candidates. QCDA recently published a leaflet, "Accepting Private Candidates", to provide examination centres with practical advice, and to alleviate any unjustified concerns they might have.
Music: Education
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage participation in specialist instrumental or vocal tuition amongst (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils in maintained schools. [313771]
Ms Diana R. Johnson
[holding answer 28 January 2010]: The standards fund music grant to local authorities has, since 2006-07, included a formula-based allocation
for children to be given the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and/or receive specialist vocal tuition at key stage 2. The allocation of an extra £23 million a year since 2007-08, along with our strong guidance to local authorities to focus efforts on reaching 100 per cent. of the key stage 2 population, has had a significant impact on widening access to instrumental and vocal tuition. In addition, Sing Up, the national singing programme, has received £10 million a year from 2007 to provide resources and professional development for teachers to lead singing in primary schools. While support has focused on widening access to instrumental and vocal tuition for primary school pupils, "Tune In-Year of Music" was launched last September and this initiative is promoting musical activities across the country for 0 to 19-year-olds.
Playgrounds
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made in the construction of the (a) 3,500 outdoor play areas and (b) 300 staffed adventure playgrounds referred to in the 2007 Children's Plan. [318417]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 24 February 2010]: Following the commitments made in the Children's Plan in 2007 and the national Play Strategy in 2008, every top-tier local authority in England has been receiving funding through the play capital investment programme since April 2009.
Of the 152 top-tier local authorities, 30 are play pathfinder authorities and the remaining 122 local authorities are all play builder authorities. On average every play pathfinder authority receives around £2 million capital funding and £500,000 revenue funding over the current spending period 2008-09 to 2010-11. They will use this funding to deliver a minimum of 28 play areas plus a staffed adventure playground. The play builder authorities receive around £1 million capital and £45,000 revenue funding over the same spending period and will deliver a minimum of 22 play areas. The play areas that are delivered can be either completely new areas or existing areas which are significantly refurbished.
Decisions on where the allocated capital funding is spent within local authority boundaries are taken locally, based on grant requirements which state that: improved play spaces must be provided where they are most needed, and as a result of a robust consultation process involving local children and young people, families and wider communities.
The number of outdoor public play areas delivered by local authorities since the programme began in April 2008 is 1,152 and plans are well under way to ensure that the target of 3,500 play areas completed by the end of March 2011 is achieved. Of the 30 staffed adventure playgrounds, 20 are due to be delivered by the end of March 2010 with local authorities managing the impact of the recent extreme weather. The remaining 10 adventure playgrounds will be delivered by the end of March 2011.
Schools: Preston
Mr. Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in Preston deemed to be failing have since reached a satisfactory standard since 1997. [311240]
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 19 January 2010:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
Prior to September 2005 inspections were carried out under the school inspection frameworks commonly known as Section 10. Since September 2005, inspections have been carried out under the school inspection frameworks commonly known as Section 5.
Under the current and previous inspection frameworks, Ofsted inspections do not use the term 'failing'. Instead, if inspectors judge that a school's overall effectiveness is inadequate or very poor, the school will be placed into a category of concern. Under Section 10 these categories were called 'serious weaknesses' and
'special measures'. Under Section 5 the categories are called 'notice to improve' and 'special measures'. This response takes into account any school in the parliamentary constituency of Preston which has been placed into any category of concern since September 1997.
Of all the inspections carried out by Ofsted in maintained schools in Preston between September 1997 and August 2009, sixteen have resulted in the school being placed in a category of concern. One school has been placed into a category of concern on two separate occasions and so appears twice in the figures. Three of the fifteen schools affected closed before being removed from the category of concern. The remaining twelve have all been removed from any category following a reinspection. As at the end of August 2009, no school in Preston was in a category of concern. Table A below provides a list of the individual schools.
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.
| URN | School name | Phase | Inspection framework | Category of concern | Date removed from the category |
|
Bamber Bridge St. Saviour's Church of England Primary School | |||||
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