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8 Apr 2010 : Column 1579W—continued
Literacy: Primary Education
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department spent on (a) publication and distribution and (b) training in respect of the Letters and Sounds programme in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [318261]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The information is as follows:
(a) Full costs for 'Letters and Sounds' are detailed as follows. We cannot identify specific figures for publication and distribution. These costs form part of the National Strategies contract funding:
| £ | ||
| Description | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
(b) Training in respect of 'Letters and Sounds' forms part of the work of the National Strategy's regional consultants, and is included in their contract funding. It is not possible to break down specific costs for this.
National Curriculum Tests
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children achieved the national standard in each of the 13 assessment scales of the Foundation Stage Profile assessments in (a) England and (b) each London borough in each year since the inception of those assessments. [325566]
Dawn Primarolo [holding reply 6 April 2010]: Children who achieve six points or more are deemed to be working securely within the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. The percentage of children working securely in each of the 13 assessment scales has been published in an annual Statistical First Release since 2005.
The information available for 2007 to 2009 can be found in the "Six plus" columns of table A in the additional local authority and Government office region tables of the following Statistical First Releases:
SFR 32/2007, available at
SFR 25/2008, available at
and SFR 26/2009, available at
The information for 2005 and 2006 can be found in table B of the additional local authority tables of the following Statistical First Releases:
SFR 03/2006, available at
and SFR 03/2007, available at:
Please note that care should be taken when comparing 2005 and 2006 figures between local authorities, as the assessments were not yet well established which may have caused inconsistencies in moderation.
Opposition
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether his Department has undertaken costings of the policies of the (a) Conservative Party and (b) Liberal Democrat Party at the request of Ministers or special advisers in the last 36 months. [324243]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: Her Majesty's Treasury coordinates or clears any costing of Opposition policies. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on 30 March 2010, Official Report, column 1044W.
Pre-school Education
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many nurseries there were in (a) England and (b) each London borough in each year from 1997 to 2009; and what proportion of those nurseries in each area was assessed by Ofsted as inadequate in each of those years. [325565]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 6 April 2010]: This is a matter for Ofsted. The Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert will write to the hon. Member and copies of her reply will be placed in the Library.
Schools: Employment
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will issue guidance to school governors on their individual liability in respect of decisions on the employment of staff. [324776]
Mr. Coaker: The Governors Guide to the Law is a guidance document produced by the Department and issued to governing bodies of all maintained schools to provide advice in relation to their statutory roles and responsibilities. This guidance is reviewed and updated biannually to ensure governors are provided with accurate, up to date information. Chapter 3 of the Guide provides specific guidance in relation to governor liability.
Schools: Finance
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath of 9 September 2009, Official Report, columns 1937-8W, on schools, what proportion of the expenditure on curriculum is received by schools; and if he will make a statement. [314157]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: In 2010-2011, £3.5 million will be allocated directly to schools to support the delivery of the science curriculum and at least £21 million for primary languages. However, all planned expenditure on schools will assist them in the delivery of the curriculum.
Schools: Inspections
Michael Gove:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much on average an Ofsted inspection of (a) a nursery, (b) a children's
centre, (c) a primary school, (d) a secondary school and (e) local authority children's services cost in the latest period for which figures are available. [317081]
Mr. Coaker: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, will write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries.
Schools: Radicalism
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) on how many occasions Ofsted undertook an additional school inspection in response to concerns about the effect of possible links with extremism on the standard of education provided in a school in the last five years; and who is responsible for the decision to undertake such an inspection; [325140]
(2) on what occasions (a) Ofsted and (b) his Department has received information from each source on possible links between a school and extremism in the last 10 years; and what steps were taken in response to that information on each occasion; [325141]
(3) on what statutory basis Ofsted undertakes an additional or targeted inspection in response to concerns about the effect of possible links with extremism on the standard of education provided in a school; and what the (a) duration and (b) remit is of such inspections; [325142]
(4) what (a) guidance and (b) criteria are used by Ofsted to determine whether to undertake an additional inspection in response to concerns about the effect of possible links with extremism on the standard of education provided in a school; [325143]
(5) what definition Ofsted uses of extremism in assessing information on possible links between schools and extremism; and what criteria it uses to classify a school as having links with extremism. [325144]
Ms Diana R. Johnson [holding answer 30 March 2010]: Ofsted is required to carry out regular inspections of all maintained schools under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. All independent schools are inspected regularly against the standards for independent schools under s. 162A of the Education Act 2002.
In addition, the Secretary of State may require Ofsted to inspect a school outside of the routine programme of inspections under section 8(1) of the Education Act 2005 and section 162A of the Education Act 2002.
Section 8(2) of the Education Act 2002 enables the chief inspector to inspect a maintained school where she is not otherwise required to do so, including in response to a parental complaint.
In the case of independent schools, additional inspection visits can be commissioned by the Department if there is evidence that a school might not be meeting any of the independent school standards including concerns about the quality of education or procedures for safeguarding children. Any remedial action or deregistration would take place on the basis that one or more standard had not been met. If there was evidence of that the law may have breached, Ofsted would liaise with the police and other authorities as appropriate.
The duration and focus of an additional inspection depends on the individual circumstances but must relate to Ofsted's remit and the legal requirements relating to
maintained or independent schools. There is no statutory definition of extremism or extremist organisations other than those proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000. Therefore neither Ofsted nor DCSF are able to keep systematic central records of allegations about extremism, nor of alleged links between schools and extremist organisations.
Independent schools are inspected against regulatory standards which include a standard governing the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. This requires independent schools to enable pupils to distinguish right from wrong and respect the law and assist pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures in a way that promotes tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions.
Routine inspections of maintained schools include an assessment of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and the school's contribution to promoting community cohesion and the well-being of all of their pupils.
In the last three years Ofsted has conducted inspection work following allegations made in the press about extremism affecting the quality of education at the two schools belonging to the Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation and at King Fahad School.
Secure Training Centres: Children
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many (a) looked after, (b) eligible, (c) relevant and (d) former relevant children are in secure training centres; [323422]
(2) how many (a) looked after, (b) eligible, (c) relevant and (d) former relevant children are in custody with (i) an indeterminate sentence for public protection, (ii) an extended sentence and (iii) life sentence; [323423]
(3) how many (a) looked after, (b) eligible, (c) relevant and (d) former relevant children are in secure children's homes; [323424]
(4) how many (a) looked after, (b) eligible, (c) relevant and (d) former relevant children were in custody in 2008 after the date of their 18th birthday; [323425]
(5) how many (a) looked-after, (b) eligible, (c) relevant and (d) former relevant children there are in young offender institutions. [323506]
Dawn Primarolo: An "eligible child" is a young person aged 16-18 who has been looked after for the prescribed period (13 weeks) and is then eligible for services under the Children (Leaving Care) Act and who remains looked after by the local authority. A "relevant child" is a young person aged 16-18 who has been looked after for the prescribed period (13 weeks) and is then eligible for services under the Children (Leaving Care) Act and who is no longer looked after by the local authority.
A "former relevant child" is a young person aged 18+ (i.e. legally adult) who was either an "eligible" or a "relevant child" or both who as a result will remain entitled to continuing leaving care support from their responsible local authority until age 21 or longer if continuing in an agreed programme of education or training.
Information on the number of children placed in secure units and in young offenders institutions or prisons who were (a) looked after, (b) eligible, can be found in the statistical first release titled "Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2009".
Table A3 shows the number of children looked after at 31 March 2005 to 2009, aged up to 17 years (inclusive), who were placed in secure units and in young offenders institutions or prisons. This table can be found in the excel link titled (England Summary tables, included within PDF file).
Information on the number of (c) relevant and (d) former relevant children who are in secure training centres, secure children's homes, young offender institutions or in custody is not collected by the Department. Information on the numbers in custody with (i) an indeterminate sentence for public protection, (ii) an extended sentence and (iii) life sentence is also not collected by the Department.
Information on the number of former care leavers who were in custody around the time of their 19th birthday, who had previously been looked after aged 16, can also be found in the statistical first release titled "Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2009".
Table G1 shows the number of former care leavers who were in custody around the time of their 19th birthday. This table can be found in the excel link titled (England Summary tables, included within PDF file).
Social Workers
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many foster carers caring for children through special guardianship orders have reported to his Department allegations of (a) intimidation and (b) bullying by social workers in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [309026]
Dawn Primarolo: Data on allegations made about social workers are not collected by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. I am not aware of any allegations about intimidation or bullying by social workers having been reported to the Department by a Special Guardian in the last 12 months.
Social worker employers hold information on allegations made about social workers in their employment as it is their responsibility to investigate such allegations and take appropriate action.
The General Social Care Council also investigates allegations about social workers in its capacity as the regulator of the social work profession in England. The General Social Care Council's report "Raising standards: Social work conduct in England 2003-2008" which includes trend analyses of the cases referred to them in the period 2003-08 is available here:
http://www.gscc.org.uk/Conduct/Publications +and+useful+documents/
Specialised Diplomas
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many maintained schools enrolled no pupils on a diploma course in the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [303301]
Mr. Iain Wright: It is estimated that 78 per cent. (2,342) of maintained mainstream schools did not register any diploma learners on the Diploma Aggregation Service (DAS) during 2008/09. Published data on 2008/09 Diploma participation are obtained from the QCDA's DAS, which is used to award diplomas. Schools do not have to register learners on DAS until just before they intend to claim an award. It is possible that there are a number of schools who were delivering diplomas in 2008/09 who did not register any learners on DAS during 2008/09. Similarly, there will be schools which, as members of a diploma consortium, are participating in the delivery of diplomas, but if they are not the 'Home Centre' they will not have learners registered on DAS. The 'Home Centre' is the lead educational institution in the diploma consortium which is responsible for registering the diploma learner on DAS.
Information on the number of schools in 2009/10 currently delivering the diploma is not yet available.
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