Older Workers: Termination of Employment
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will assess recent trends in termination of employment of (a) employees in the public sector and (b) employees in the private sector over the age of 65 prior to the removal of the default retirement age. [44240]
Mr Davey: Overall redundancies have varied over the past 15 years and are higher in recessions. The level of total redundancies ranges from 91,000 in the final quarter of 2008 to 39,000 in the last quarter of 2010.
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For the over-65s, redundancies are not a major feature for either the public or private sectors. In the labour force survey, the number of redundancies in any one year is always below a weighted count of 10,000, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) conventional threshold for statistical publication.
In general, employment of older workers has increased by more than the national average in recent years. The ONS has recently provided a report on this at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=2648
Part-time Education: Student Numbers
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has plans to regulate the number of part-time students; and if he will make a statement. [44577]
Mr Willetts: The Government only seek to control student numbers in order to manage overall public spending. We are currently considering future systems to manage student support costs under the new arrangements. A decision on the most appropriate type of cost control, including in respect of part-time students, will be considered in consultation following the forthcoming Higher Education White Paper.
Regional Development Agencies
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to abolish regional development agencies sooner than currently planned. [43726]
Mr Prisk: Final closure is subject to parliamentary consideration of the Public Bodies Bill, and associated secondary legislation. Subject to these considerations we expect the regional development agencies to be closed by March 2012 or as soon as is practical after this.
Regional Growth Fund
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the budget is for the Regional Growth Fund for Yorkshire for (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [44532]
Mr Prisk: The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) is a £1.4 billion fund that will operate for three years from 2011 to 2014. The RGF is a challenge fund and not ring-fenced or pre-allocated to any area although the fund will operate in England only.
Students: Finance
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many undergraduate students resident in (a) Suffolk, (b) the East of England and (c) England have declared themselves bankrupt in each year since 1997. [44202]
Mr Willetts: The number of undergraduate students who have declared themselves bankrupt is not held centrally.
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The following table shows the number of students in England who have student loans and who have notified the Student Loans Company (SLC) of their bankruptcy while studying. However, the table does not include students who have not applied for student finance and students who have student loans but who have not notified the SLC that they are bankrupt. Student loans have been excluded from a borrower's bankruptcy debts since 2004.
| Students who have notified SLC of bankruptcy while studying | |
| Financial year | Students(1) |
| (1) English domiciled students with student loans who have notified SLC of their bankruptcy while studying. Figures may include postgraduate ITT students. As the table covers bankruptcies notified to SLC, figures could change slightly in future If further bankruptcies are notified, especially for the most recent years. Figures rounded to the nearest 5. (2) Since 2004 student loans are no longer written-off due to bankruptcy. From that time the number of students notifying the SLC of their bankruptcy has declined. Source: Student Loans Company | |
Figures for Suffolk and the East of England cannot be supplied as they are so small as to potentially identify individuals.
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consideration he gave to introducing bursaries rather than tuition fee remission for students from low-income backgrounds attending university under the National Scholarship Scheme. [44972]
Mr Willetts: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 February 2011, Official Report, column 568W.
Vinyl Acetate
Mr Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) if he will discuss with his EU counterparts provisional measures to prevent the dumping of imports of vinyl acetate originating from the US; [44533]
(2) whether his Department plans to request to be heard by the European Commission investigation services as part of the investigation into imports of vinyl acetate originating from the US; [44534]
(3) what plans he has to contribute to the European Commission's investigation into the alleged dumping of vinyl acetate from the US; [44564]
(4) what recent representations he has received on the alleged dumping of vinyl acetate from the US into the European market; and if he will make a statement; [44565]
(5) whether he has made an assessment of the effects on British industry of alleged dumping of vinyl acetate from the US in Europe; and if he will make a statement. [44568]
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Mr Davey: The European Commission investigation into alleged dumping of imports of vinyl acetate from the US is at an early stage having been initiated on 4 December 2010. We are satisfied that there was a prima facie case of alleged dumping requiring the European Commission to initiate the investigation. The Government judges each anti-dumping case on its own merits based on an economic analysis of the results of the Commission's investigation and representations received from relevant interests (e.g. producers, users and others). To date one meeting has been held with INEOS Oxide Ltd, a UK producer and the complainant in this case. As in all anti-dumping cases we will discuss this case with the Commission and other member states as appropriate. The Commission will in any event consult all member states through the Anti-Dumping Committee before any measures are taken.
Education
Boarding Schools
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department provides to education providers in the state boarding school sector; and if he will make a statement. [24536]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 16 November 2010]: The Government support state boarding schools in England and want to see the sector continue to thrive. All state boarding schools receive enhanced levels of capital formula funding based on the number of boarding pupils they have.
There are currently three academies developing boarding provision which are all due to open in September 2011. These are:
Harefield Academy in Hillingdon, London—50 boarders
Priory LSST Academy in Lincolnshire—60 (post 16) boarders
Wellington Academy in Wiltshire—100 boarders
There are 34 state boarding schools in England (31 are maintained schools, one is an academy and two are Sixth Forms).
Children in Care
Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many looked after children in each (a) local authority area and (b) type of placement were absent for more that 24 hours from their agreed placement in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [39726]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 14 February 2011]:Information on the number of looked after children in each local authority area who were absent for more than 24 hours from their agreed placement in each of the last three years is shown in the following table.
Information on the number of looked after children by type of placement who were absent for more than 24 hours from their agreed placement in each of the last three years can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
| Children looked after during the year ending 31 March who were missing from their agreed placement (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ) Years ending: 31 March 2008 to 2010 . Coverage: England | |||
| Number | |||
|
|
2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
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| x = Figures not shown in order to protect confidentiality. n/a = Not available (1) England totals have been rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000, and to the nearest 10 otherwise. Regional totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. Other numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5. (2) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements. (3) Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. (4) Children who were missing on more than one occasion during the year have been counted once. (5) Includes looked after children who were missing from care for a period of more than 24 hours. (6) In 2009, Cheshire local authority split into Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester. Similarly, Bedfordshire LA split into Bedford borough and Central Bedfordshire. Source: SSDA903 | |||
Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average cost was of looking after a child in care in the last year for which figures are available. [41698]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 28 February 2011]: Returns from local authorities indicate that their expenditure on looked after children in 2009-10 was some £2,888 million. This supported around 80,000 children who were in care for some or all of that year. This would equate to an average expenditure of £36,000 per child. However the cost will vary considerably between individual children.
Children: Day Care
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with representatives of playgroups and other providers of early years care on their ability to provide 15 hours free care for the statutory amount they are paid; if he will assess the merits of enabling them to charge top-up fees from parents to cover additional costs; and if he will make a statement. [15342]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 14 September 2010]: Good quality early education helps tackle disadvantage and improve children’s life chances. We announced in the spending review that funding has been protected so that all three and four-year-olds will continue to receive 15 hours per week of free nursery education, delivered more flexibly, and that this will be extended to every disadvantaged two-year-old from 2013.
Fairness is at the heart of the Government’s agenda. Local authorities have a statutory duty—under section 7 of the Childcare Act—to secure nursery places free of charge, effectively prohibiting top-up fees. This ensures that there are no barriers to accessing the benefits of nursery education for all children, but particularly the most disadvantaged. Parents are free to purchase additional hours and services outside of the hours for which providers receive funding from local authorities.
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Many providers up and down the country are offering an excellent service to parents and their children within existing funding levels. The Government are listening to the views of early years providers and their representative bodies concerning funding issues. The Government are seeking to improve the efficiency with which funding is distributed to providers, through the Early Years Single Funding Formula (EYSFF) reforms, as well as reducing bureaucratic burdens on providers who deliver free nursery education. Many providers will also be benefiting from other support that local authorities provide for early learning and care. Providers will want to take into account this whole package of support before deciding whether delivering free places fits with their business model.
Children: Separated People
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has held with the (a) Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and (b) Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential effects on levels of child poverty of the rules concerning eligibility to child and other benefits for separated parents with joint custody arrangements. [34971]
Sarah Teather: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend, has frequent discussions with Ministers about all aspects of his portfolio.
Children: Solvents
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many individuals aged under 18 years old were treated for the effects of solvent abuse in each of the last five years. [38072]
Sarah Teather: The number of young people aged under 18 who accessed specialist support, primarily for solvent misuse, in each of the past five years is as follows:
2005-06: 210
2006-07: 301
2007-08: 305
2008-09: 284
2009-10: 274.
In each year this represented 1% of the total number of young people under 18 accessing specialist services for substance misuse.
Source:
Substance Misuse Amongst Young People 2009 - 10, National Treatment Agency.
Children's Centres: Disadvantaged
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that vulnerable families living in areas not identified as disadvantaged have access to a children’s centre. [39461]
Sarah Teather: Sure Start children’s centres are at the heart of the Government’s vision for early intervention.
The Government have included enough funding within the early intervention grant to maintain the national network of children’s centres and local authorities have a statutory duty to consult before opening, closing or
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significantly changing children’s centres and to secure sufficient centre provision to meet local need so far as is reasonably practical. We have provided important new investment in 4,200 additional health visitors who will play a key role in supporting those families most in need.
Children's Centres: Teachers
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the number of Sure Start centres which will no longer employ both a qualified teacher and a staff member with early years professional status following the phasing out of this requirement. [31012]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 16 December 2010]: The Department for Education does not collect this data. Decisions on staffing in Sure Start Children’s Centres are a matter for local discretion.
We have removed the overly prescriptive requirement for all Sure Start Children’s Centres in the most disadvantaged areas to provide full day care. We have also removed the associated requirement that this provision be delivered by both a Qualified Teacher (QT) and an Early Years Professional (EYP), so that children’s centres may chose to employ just one of a QT or an EYP.
In the past, children’s centres in the most disadvantaged areas were required to provide full day care, i.e. 10 hours a day, five days a week, for 48 weeks a year. However, the National Audit Office Memorandum for the Children, Schools and Families Committee, December 2009, suggested that in some areas, when demand for full day care is low, money intended for other Sure Start services—like family support and outreach to vulnerable families—is subsidising the provision of early education and care.
We expect children’s centres to continue to play a critical role in early education and care, including providing and encouraging take-up of free nursery education for two, three, and four-year-olds and additional hours where there is demand. Furthermore, we know the quality of early education is a key driver of good outcomes, particularly for disadvantaged children. So, where children’s centres offer early education, it is crucial that this is of high quality.
The Government remain committed to investing in the quality of the early education and child care workforce, and will develop proposals to support this later this year. The recent local authority and school funding settlement provides for the ongoing support and development of the workforce. Continued national investment in the early years workforce includes the funding of places on the Early Years Professional Status programme and the New Leaders in Early Years programme which began in November.
College of Social Work
Mr Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department has allocated to the Social Care Institute for Excellence since the announcement of the College of Social Work; and how much funding he has allocated to the Social Care Institute for Excellence for each of the next five years. [41233]
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Tim Loughton: The Social Care Institute for Excellence has been asked to facilitate the establishment of the College of Social Work, providing administrative support and expertise in a developmental phase of two years. The Department of Health has made £2.5 million available for this work. The Department of Education has committed to match this funding and officials are in discussions as to the appropriate time to make funds available to meet the emerging business development plan.
Commercialisation and Sexualisation of Children Review
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will ensure that the Bailey review on the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood considers the role of the family. [32762]
Sarah Teather: Reg Bailey’s review is independent of Government. However, the terms of reference for the review make clear that Mr Bailey’s recommendations should be informed by the views of parents. Mr Bailey has also been asked to examine how the pressures on children to grow up too quickly also create barriers to parents exercising their responsibility in raising their children.
Curriculum: Religion
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the place of religious education in the national curriculum. [39044]
Mr Gibb: Religious education RE is a statutory part of the basic curriculum of maintained schools in England, but not a part of the national curriculum. This means that there are no statutory national programmes of study, attainment targets or assessment arrangements. However, the locally agreed syllabus, which is designed by standing advisory councils on religious education (SACRE) and adopted by the local authority, is statutory, and that means that local authorities must provide such a syllabus and that maintained schools must follow it. Schools with a religious character can either follow the locally agreed syllabus, or use a syllabus which has been agreed by their governing body. It is the responsibility of the head teacher, governors and local authorities (LAs) to make the necessary provisions for RE in all maintained schools.
The Government do not intend to make any changes to the statutory basis for RE.
Departmental Procurement
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what single tender contracts his Department has awarded since his appointment; and what the monetary value is of each contract above the EU public procurement threshold. [36278]
Tim Loughton: The Department does not maintain a central record of all single tenders and a complete answer could be provided only at disproportionate costs. However, from the information we do hold centrally, I can provide the following list of single tenders:
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Education
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) with reference to page 22 of his Department's Business Plan 2011-2015, what his policy is on the publication of information on readiness to progress to next stage of schooling by (a) school, (b) local authority and (c) nationally for children aged five years; and if he will make a statement; [42968]
(2) whether he has made an assessment of the effects of publication of information on readiness to progress to next stage of schooling by (a) school, (b) local authority and (c) nationally for children aged five years on levels of mental stress of (i) children, (ii) school staff and (iii) parents. [42969]
Tim Loughton: Although the draft transparency section of the Department for Education draft business plan published in November suggested that achievements of children at the end of the early years foundation stage (EYFS) might be published at school level in addition to data already published on children's attainment at the end of the primary school phase, this is not our intention. The final version of the business plan will contain definitions of our impact indicators and the data we will publish to increase transparency. Information about children's achievement at age five has been published at local authority and national level since 2003 and our plan is to continue to publish the information in this way.
The Department has not undertaken research on the impact of publication of this information on levels of mental stress.
Education: Assessments
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what estimate he has made of the average number of separate (a) AS, (b) A2 and (c) A level examination or other evaluation sittings taken per student by the end of year 13 in maintained schools and sixth form colleges in academic year (i) 1996-97 and (ii) 2009-10; [27595]
(2) what estimate he has made of the average number of separate GCSE examinations or other evaluation sittings taken per student by the end of school year 11 in academic year (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2009-10; [27597]
(3) what the average number of public examination entries per student was in maintained schools and sixth form colleges in school year (a) 10, (b) 11, (c) 12 and (d) 13 in academic year (i) 1996-97 and (ii) 2009-10. [27600]
Mr Gibb:
The information requested is not held centrally. The Department does not hold information on individual examinations or modules sat by pupils towards achieving qualifications. Only the grade awarded for the overall qualification is collected from awarding
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organisations for use in constructing measures of achievement in the school and college performance tables.
We believe there is a clear danger that modularisation and re-sits are undermining confidence in the grades awarded in key examinations and are undermining in-depth study. We have asked the qualifications regulator Ofqual to look at the impact of recent changes to A-levels and whether further action is needed to ensure that re-sitting does not become widespread and undermine confidence in the exams. We have also asked the regulator to advise on how to bring an end to modular GCSEs and return to a system where students are examined on everything they have learnt at the end of their course.
Education: Music
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the trends in the teaching of musical instruments in schools and the effect of such trends on the playing of musical instruments by children. [39012]
Tim Loughton: In 2007 the Department for Children Schools and Families published a report, ‘Local Authority Music Services Provision (2007) for Key Stage 1 and 2’ which collected data relating to the implementation of an initiative which aimed to widen opportunities for pupils to learn a musical instrument. The study revealed that 73% of responding local authorities in England had introduced whole class instrumental tuition. The percentage of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 schools receiving regular instrumental or vocal tuition was 71%.
In its 2009 report “Making More of Music, An evaluation of Music in schools 2005/08”, Ofsted reported that the best instrumental/vocal programmes were making a real difference to pupils’ musical education, but not all the programmes were of sufficient duration or quality to have a lasting impact.
The Secretary of State for Education asked Darren Henley to carry out a review of music education in September 2010. The Henley Review, together with the Government’s response, was published on 7 February 2011. It announces funding for music services of £82.5 million in 2011-12 and the publication of a national plan for music education.
Education: Reform
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information schools will no longer be required to collect after the implementation of his proposed education reforms. [36823]
Mr Gibb:
The Government are determined to reduce the data collection burden imposed on schools. To ensure that bureaucracy is kept to a minimum and that the value outweighs the burden, the central collection of information from schools is kept under constant review. Some collections have ceased in recent months and more are likely to do so as the result of a root and branch review of all the Department's data collections from schools. For example, we have already ended the Making Good Progress collection, the School and Local Authority Target Setting (SaLTs) collection and the Contact Module in the School Census. These changes are just the start of an ongoing programme of work and
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our intention is to reduce burdens further. We will ensure that any collections that remain reflect Government priorities and White Paper commitments.
Educational Visits
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what regulatory requirements apply to teachers wishing to take their class on a visit out of school. [33264]
Mr Gibb: Teachers wishing to take their class out of school on an educational visit are subject to the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. There are no further national regulations specific to such visits, though employers (local authorities for community, voluntary-controlled and community special schools; governing bodies or trusts for other schools) can have local rules and guidance, which their schools must adhere to. In accordance with the recommendations in the Government’s report, “Common Sense Common Safety” (October 2010), the Department for Education is working with the Health and Safety Executive to help schools comply with their duty of care in a sensible and proportionate way. This includes developing succinct guidance on all aspects of health and safety in schools including for educational visits. We are also supporting the Health and Safety Executive to develop a code of practice for off-site adventure activities (to take the place of validation by the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority).
English Baccalaureate: Crafts
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with representatives of (a) Firing Up and (b) organisations seeking to introduce craft skills to schools in developing his proposals for the English Baccalaureate. [39102]
Mr Gibb: Neither I nor the Secretary of State for Education have had discussions with Firing Up or any organisations seeking to introduce craft skills to schools in developing proposals for the English Baccalaureate.
English Baccalaureate: Religion
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will assess the effect on teaching of religious education of not including it in the definition of the English Baccalaureate for the purposes of school performance tables. [38974]
Mr Gibb: While religious studies GCSE will not count towards the English Baccalaureate the teaching of religious education remains compulsory throughout a pupil's schooling. However we will continue to monitor the teaching of religious education as we do at present through the School Workforce Census, which will collect information annually on the subjects being taught by all teachers in maintained secondary schools, through trends in GCSE entry, and through Ofsted's triennial subject survey report of religious education which will look at the quality of teaching.
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Extracurricular Activities: Impact Assessments
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether an impact assessment was made of the decision of the Training Development Agency to discontinue its support to local authorities in respect of the extended services programme. [35507]
Mr Gibb: The Training and Development Agency's remit from the Department was to support all schools to become extended service schools by September 2010. It was a time-limited programme with a clear end point. No separate decision to end the support which would have required an impact assessment to be completed was made.
Free Schools
Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many communications officials of his Department were working of free schools in the latest period for which figures are available. [37979]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 3 February 2011]:The Department’s communications directorate is not structured to dedicate full-time individuals or teams on any one policy. Their model for delivery is to work across a broad range of projects in parallel when required. A number of communications officials have therefore been engaged in free schools’ policy at different stages.
Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many of the 35 proposals for free schools are in the 35 most deprived areas. [39678]
Mr Gibb: As at 9 February 2011, there are 40 proposals approved to business case and plan stage. Of these, 10 are in the 35 most deprived local authority areas.
GCE A-level
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils achieved three or more A grades at A level in each local education authority in England in each year between 2003 and 2010. [28643]
Mr Gibb: The information available has been placed in the House Libraries.
Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the relative academic merits of A Level qualifications in different subjects for the purposes of gaining admission to universities; and what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on this subject. [42672]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 3 March 2011]: I have been asked to reply.
Higher education institutions are independent and autonomous organisations. Decisions about admission, including the importance and requirement of different A-Levels for different courses, are a matter for individual universities, and not for Government.
We have welcomed the publication of information by the Russell Group on the value of different A-Levels contained in its new guidance on post-16 study choices ‘Informed Choices’ published, in collaboration with the Institute of Careers Guidance, on 4 February 2011.
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GCE AS-level
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the future participation of sixth form students in AS level examinations; and if he will make a statement. [34987]
Mr Gibb: The Government set out in the White Paper “The Importance of Teaching” their commitment to restore A levels to their place as rigorous, highly respected qualifications.
The Government believe there is a danger that modularisation and multiple re-sits are undermining confidence in grades awarded in key exams and undermining in-depth study. We have asked the independent qualifications regulator, Ofqual, to examine the impact of recent changes to A levels and consider how we can ensure that the number of re-sits is minimised. We will also consider whether linear A levels should be available to test the depth of students’ understanding.
GCSE
Mr Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of GCSE students in each local authority area attained a C grade or above in (a) mathematics, (b) English and (c) mathematics and English in each year from 1990 to 2009; and if he will make a statement. [24360]
Mr Gibb: The requested information from 1994 to 2009 has been placed in the House Libraries. Information from 1990 to 1993 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Members: Correspondence
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North of 10 December 2010 on the English Baccalaureate. [38479]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 4 February 2011]: Following discussion, the hon. Member has clarified that the letter referred to in her question was not sent to the Secretary of State for Education on 10 December, but on 2 December. A reply to this letter was issued on 8 February and the hon. Member has confirmed she has received this. I apologise for the delay in the response.
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Office of the Schools Adjudicator: Complaints
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many complaints the Office of the Schools Adjudicator received relating to the Admissions Code for secondary schools for (a) Academies and (b) other secondary schools in each of the last three years; and how many (i) schools and (ii) year 7 pupils there were in each category in each year; [37042]
(2) how many complaints were received by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator relating to the application of the admissions code for secondary schools in respect of (a) Church of England schools, (b) Catholic schools, (c) other faith schools and (d) other secondary schools in each of the last three years; and how many (i) schools and (ii) year 7 pupils there were in each such category of school in each year. [37046]
Mr Gibb: Objections in respect of Academies are dealt with by the Young Persons Learning Agency, with advice from the Office of the Schools Adjudicator which the YPLA is required to follow unless otherwise directed by the Secretary of State for Education. As signalled in the White Paper—The Importance of Teaching—we intend to change this so that the Office of the Schools Adjudicator will review specific complaints about admission arrangements for all schools including Academies and Free Schools.
Between 1 April and 31 December 2010 the YPLA dealt with one complaint about the admission arrangements of Academies. Information is not available prior to this point.
The following table gives the number of objections received broken down by type of school for each of the last three years.
| Complaints received by OSA re application of the admissions code | ||||
|
|
CofE | RC | Other faith | Other secondary schools |
The number of objections do not directly relate to the number of schools in an area as it is possible for prescribed person to object to the admission arrangements in an entire local authority area. There were 58 such objections in 2010, 16 in 2009 and 26 in 2008.
The following tables provide the number of schools and pupils.
| Number of state-funded secondary schools (1,2) by religious character and the number of pupils in national curriculum year group 7 attending those schools, in January each year—England | ||||||||
| Secondary schools (1,2) | Year 7 pupils (3) | |||||||
|
|
Church of England | Catholic | Other Faith (4) | Other (no religious character) | Church of England | Catholic | Other Faith (4) | Other (no religious character) |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Excludes dually registered pupils. (4) Includes schools of mixed denomination or other Christian beliefs. Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census and Edubase | ||||||||
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| Number of academies and secondary schools and the number of pupils in national curriculum year group 7 attending those schools, in January each year—England | ||||
| Secondary schools | Year 7 pupils (1) | |||
|
|
Academies | Other secondary schools (2,3) | Academies | Other secondary schools (2,3) |
| (1) Excludes dually registered pupils. (2) Includes middle schools as deemed. (3) Includes city technology colleges. Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census | ||||
Pen Green Children and Families Research Centre
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what (a) representations he has received and (b) discussions he has had on the funding of Pen Green Children and Families Research Centre. [39464]
Sarah Teather: I have received a number of representations from pen green centre for children and their families and from those involved with the centre about funding. The Government have ensured there is enough money in the system to maintain the network of Sure Start children’s centres, however, it is for local authorities, in consultation with local communities to determine the most effective way of delivering future services to meet local need. They have a duty to consult before opening, closing or significantly changing children’s centres and to secure sufficient centre provision to meet local need so far as is reasonably practical.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2010, Official Report, column 572W, on health education, for what reasons the review of Personal, Social, Health and Economic education is to be an internal review; and if he will make a statement. [37989]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 4 February 2011]:The review of Personal, Social, Health and Economic education is described as “internal” to reflect that it will be led by the Department and not an external body or panel. Further decisions relating to the process and timescale for the internal PSHE review have not yet been taken. The Department for Education is currently considering options and further information will be available in due course.
Pre-school Education: Finance
Mr Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the level of funding to be allocated to early years education for children from disadvantaged families in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement. [37500]
Sarah Teather:
The Government’s recent funding announcements reflect our commitment to ensuring all children, particularly those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, have access to high quality early education.
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The spending review confirmed that all three and four-year-olds will continue to receive 15 hours of free early education per week, delivered more flexibly. Funding for free early education places for three and four-year-olds is provided through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), which supports the majority of education provision for children aged three to 16. Local authorities, in consultation with their Schools Forum, decide how best to distribute funding across their locality, and local authorities set their own local rates of funding to early years providers. No national funding allocation figure is available.
The spending review statement also included a commitment to extending the entitlement to free early education to all disadvantaged two-year-olds from 2013. The investment over the next four years will be: £64 million in 2011-12; £233 million in 2012-13; £331 million in 2013-14; and, £380 million in 2014-15. For the first two years of the spending review period, this funding will be provided to local authorities through the Early Intervention Grant.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education from which of his Department's budgets funding for the expansion of free early years provision to 3 and 4 year olds will be drawn. [37959]
Sarah Teather: The Government extended free early education to three and four-year-olds, from 12.5 hours to 15 hours a week, from September 2010, and pledged through the spending review to protect this free provision. The extension has been funded in the current financial year through the Standards Fund. From April 2011, funding will be provided through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), which supports the majority of education provision for children aged three to 16.
Primary Education: Teachers
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to use the expansion of Teach First to primary school level to increase the proportion of teachers who are male. [35237]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 25 January 2011]: The expansion of Teach First in Primary is not to increase the number of male teachers in primary schools. In selecting the best possible candidates, Teach First is concerned with the quality of applicants and their suitability for the programme.
Progress Project
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding was allocated to the Progress project administered by the Children's Workforce Development Council in each region in 2010-11. [41011]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 15 February 2011]: A total of £2,122,750 has been allocated to the regions under the Progress project as follows:
| £ | |||
| Region | Project administration | Training delivery | Accreditation bursaries |
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Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will continue to fund the Progress project administered by the Children’s Workforce Development Council in 2011-12 and 2012-13. [41012]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 15 February 2011]: The Progress project is part of a three-year programme of development for the young people’s work force which is coming to a natural end in March 2011. It has succeeded making a significant contribution to the environment and infrastructure for the work force to develop and work together effectively. It is now for the sector and employers to build upon the outcomes of the programme and to manage their development in order to best meet local needs.
Pupil Exclusions
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has to provide school appeal panels with the power to insist that a school reinstates a suspended pupil. [38090]
Mr Gibb: As set out in the Education Bill introduced on 26 January 2011, we are proposing changes to the exclusion system. The Bill will reform the unduly adversarial process which can sometimes follow when a head teacher must, as a last resort, exclude a pupil. It will establish independent review panels to replace the current independent appeal panels.
A review panel will be able to direct a school's governing body to reconsider a permanent exclusion decision but it will not be able to direct the governors to reinstate the pupil. Review panels will have the power to impose a financial penalty in circumstances where a school whose decision was quashed by the panel reconsidered the exclusion but still decided not to reinstate the pupil.
Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress his Department has made on its plans to improve discipline in schools by providing alternative provisions in special units for excluded pupils. [44031]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 3 March 2011]: The current Education Bill includes provisions to encourage more private and voluntary sector involvement in alternative provision by creating the opportunity for them to establish free schools that deliver alternative provision more effectively and economically. The Bill also includes provisions for pupil referral units (PRUs), to apply for academy status.
The Education Bill also includes provisions which empower teachers and heads to enforce discipline, and for heads' decisions to exclude not to be overturned.
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Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department plans to run boot camp-style pilot schemes for excluded pupils in (a) England and (b) Merseyside. [44032]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 3 March 2011]: The Department has no plans to run boot camp style pilot schemes for excluded pupils in either Merseyside or anywhere else. We will however, be making £1.5 million grant to the charity SkillForce to run three programmes aimed at using the skills and experience of ex-service personnel to help young people either excluded or at risk of exclusion.
The three programmes to run from September 2011 will:
Expand the core SkillForce programme working with disadvantaged pupils struggling with their behaviour and/or academic achievement;
Run a Zero Exclusion pilot of intensive support to 100 pupils at risk of exclusion;
Train 100 ex-service personnel to work as mentors for young people in and out of schools across England.
SkillForce deliver inspiring programmes that increase the number of young people entering further education, employment and training on leaving school. It helps young people earn vocational qualifications, and develop life skills through appropriate and structured classroom and outdoor activities.
Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department plans to seek tenders from (a) businesses and (b) existing providers to run special units and alternative provision for excluded pupils. [44033]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 3 March 2011]: The current Education Bill includes provisions to encourage more private and voluntary sector involvement in alternative provision by creating the opportunity for them to establish free schools.
The Department has already received a number of applications from organisations who wish to establish free schools specifically for those pupils who are excluded from mainstream school or are at risk of exclusion and we are working with these organisations to establish suitable criteria for this type of provision. Once these criteria have been agreed we will invite more applications from both new and established organisations, subject to parliamentary approval of the Education Bill.
Pupils: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children under the age of 11 years received support in schools as a result of a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in each of the last five years. [39193]
Mr Gibb: Information on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is not available.
A table showing the number of pupils with statements of special educational needs or at School Action Plus whose primary need has been identified as behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) is provided. Pupils with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as their primary need are included in the BESD category.
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| Maintained primary (1) , state-funded secondary (1, 2) and special (3) schools: number and percentage of pupils (4) whose primary type of need is BESD (5) , under the age of 11 (6) , as at January each year, England | ||||||
| Maintained Primary (1) | Stale-funded Secondary (1, 2) | Special (3) | ||||
|
|
Number of BESD pupils | Percentage of pupils with BESD (7) | Number of BESD pupils | Percentage of pupils with BESD (7) | Number of BESD pupils | Percentage of pupils with BESD (7) |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) Excludes dually registered pupils. (5) Pupils at School Action Plus and those pupils with a statement of SEN provided information on their primary need and, if appropriate, their secondary need. Information on primary need only is given here. (6) Age as at 31 August of the previous year. (7) Number of pupils with BESD as their primary need expressed as a percentage of all pupils at School Action Plus or with a statement of SEN in the same school type. Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School census. | ||||||