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Class Sizes
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average adult-pupil ratio is in (a) primary, (b) secondary, (c) special and (d) all schools in England. [40407]
Mr Gibb: The following table provides the pupil:adult ratio in local authority maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools in England, January 2010.
| Table 15: Pupil:adult ratios (1, 2) in local authority maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools. Years: January 2010. Coverage: England | |
| 2010 | Ratios |
| (1) For statistical purposes only, pupils who do not attend both morning and afternoon at least five days a week are regarded as part-time. Each part-time pupil is treated as 0.5 FTE. (2) Excludes pupil referral units, other non education establishments, city technology colleges and academies. (3) The PAR is calculated by dividing the total FTE number of pupils on roll in schools by the total FTE number of all teachers and support staff employed in schools, excluding administrative and clerical staff. Source: School Census | |
Curriculum
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effects of the flexibility available to (a) schools and (b) academies in relation to the national curriculum on (i) science and (ii) sex and relationship education. [43073]
Mr Gibb: One of the freedoms academies and free schools enjoy is over the curriculum they deliver, provided it is a balanced and broadly based curriculum. The new model funding agreement requires academies and free schools to teach English, mathematics and science and to make provision for the teaching of religious education. Beyond that, they will be able to choose a curriculum that engages and meets the needs of their pupils.
Departmental Food
Mr Bain:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the proportion of the seafood procured for (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible that (i) was on the Marine Conservation Society's list of fish to avoid and (ii) complied with sustainability standards indicated by inclusion in either the Marine Conservation Society's
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list of fish to eat or by the list of fish species certified by the Marine Stewardship Council in (A) 2010 and (B) 2011 to date. [45030]
Tim Loughton: From April 2009, fish procured by the Department's catering supplier is sourced to the Marine Conservation Society' s traffic light categorisation of Green, Amber and Red with the department's core supplies falling into the Amber category of fish from a sustainable source of which 28% meets Marine Stewardship Council criteria. In our single arm’s length body with catering and restaurant facilities, the catering supplier has MSC accreditation with all fish supplied meeting their standards.
Departmental Telephone Services
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what provision his Department (a) makes to and (b) supports for advice lines providing a service to grandparents and extended families. [45496]
Sarah Teather: The Department currently funds a range of online and telephone support services, all of which are available to grandparents and extended families. These are largely provided by voluntary sector organisations. The Department is currently running a procurement process to award new contracts to organisations to deliver family support services over 2011-12. The contracts and grants for most of the current services are being extended to ensure continuity of service to families for the duration of the current procurement exercise. The procurement documentation is publicly available on the DFE website at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/policiesandprocedures/procurement/a0037/current-contracts-advertised-by-the-department
Discretionary Learner Support Fund
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what mechanism he plans to put in place to allocate the discretionary learner support fund according to region; and whether he plans to make provision to distribute the fund according to assessed need. [36095]
Mr Gibb: We are considering the replacement for the education maintenance allowance, including how the funds should be allocated to ensure that support is targeted on those young people who most need support to allow them to continue in education.
Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to permit further education colleges to distribute funds from the discretionary learner support fund to students aged 19 and over. [38792]
Mr Gibb: The current discretionary learner support funds for students aged 16-18 are funded by the Department for Education, whereas discretionary learner support funds for students aged 19 and above are funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
From September 2011 the EMA scheme and the current discretionary learner support scheme for students aged 16-18 will be replaced, with a package of financial support which is more closely targeted on those who face the greatest financial barriers to participation.
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Education: Personal Income
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of potential links between income inequality and educational achievement. [44093]
Mr Gibb: After prior attainment, poverty is the single most important factor in predicting a child's future life chances. Deprivation remains associated with poorer average performance at every stage of education; for example:
by the end of key stage 1, the likelihood of a pupil eligible for free school meals achieving national expectations in reading, writing and mathematics are one-third those of a child who is not eligible;
last year, at the end of key stage 2, just 56% of children eligible for free school meals achieved national expectations in English and mathematics combined, compared to 77% of children who were not eligible.
the likelihood of a child who is eligible for free school meals achieving five or more good GCSEs, including English and mathematics, are less than one third those of a child who is not eligible; and
a pupil from a non-deprived background is more than twice as likely to go on to study at university as their deprived peers.
Raising the attainment of children from low income families is at the heart of our school improvement policy. That is why we are introducing the pupil premium from April of this year, providing an additional £430 for every disadvantaged child to help ensure they reach their full potential We are also establishing a £110 million Education Endowment Fund which will fund bold and innovative ways of raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils in underperforming schools.
In the early years, we are gradually extending 15 hours per week of free early education and care to all disadvantaged two year olds from 2012-13, at a total cost of around £300 million a year. The Early Intervention Grant will not only fund universal programmes and activities, but also specialist services where more intensive support is needed. In the first two years of the Early Intervention Grant, £2,212 million (in 2011-12) and £2,297m (in 2012-13) is being allocated to local authorities in England.
EU Strategic Framework for Education and Training
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the (a) likely effect on and (b) cost to his Department of the implementation of the EU Strategic Framework for Education and Training; which policies of his Department will be affected; and if he will make a statement. [44283]
Mr Gibb:
There are no direct policy implications for the Department from the implementation of the EU Strategic Framework for Education and Training. In line with Articles 165 and 166 of the EU Treaty, the Strategic Framework recognises that each member state is responsible for its own education and training systems and that action at European Union level is limited to supporting member states. The Strategic Framework also proposes changes to the Open Method of Co-ordination (OMC), the process through which mutual understanding and sharing of good practice is promoted across member states. We have not quantified the direct
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cost to the Department of involvement in the Strategic Framework. It involves a small amount of staff time in fulfilling the UK's contribution, through attending relevant meetings and providing information on UK policies. The Government will continue to examine the proposals from the Strategic Framework, to ensure that they support and supplement domestic policy, and do not increase EU competence in the field of education.
Faith Schools
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the (a) faith and (b) year of foundation is of each faith school in England. [42174]
Mr Gibb: Faith schools make up around 34% of all maintained mainstream schools in England (37% primary, 19% secondary)—almost 7,000 faith schools from a total of just over 20,000 maintained mainstream schools. The majority represent the major Christian faiths.
The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.
Free School Meals
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the compatibility with provisions of (a) domestic and (b) EU legislation of his policy on (i) provision of free school meals and (ii) provision of such meals to those in further education or sixth form colleges; and if he will make a statement. [38282]
Mr Gibb: Free school meals are provided to eligible pupils aged up to 18 years in schools maintained by a local authority, as defined in the Education Act 1996. Pupils aged 19 or over are also eligible as long as their course of study began before attaining the age of 18. Pupils attending FE or Sixth Form Colleges that are not part of a school do not therefore qualify for free meals and the legislation has never applied to these pupils.
There is no provision in either domestic or EU law that is incompatible with the current arrangements in England for free school meals.
Free Schools
Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent to date on supporting and promoting applications for free schools. [37970]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 3 February 2011]: The Department does not provide direct support, either financial or in the form of other resources, to free schools applicants until their proposal has been approved by Ministers to proceed to business case and plan stage.
At application stage, support to groups or individuals is provided by the New Schools Network (NSN), an independent charitable organisation that is funded by the Department. To date the cost of the grant provided to NSN has been £130,359.
Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what communications and media support his Department is providing for free school groups. [37971]
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Mr Gibb [holding answer 3 February 2011]:At the free schools conference on 29 January, we ran a communications training workshop. This 50 minute session was run at no cost by an individual who had previously set up a school and therefore was well placed to provide practical advice to proposers. Otherwise, individual free school proposers are responsible for their own communications and engagement with their communities.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what estimate he has made of the average number of pupils in free schools; [39929]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of pupils who will attend each free school (a) in their first year of operation and (b) at planned full operating levels. [39930]
Mr Gibb: As at 8 March 2011, 40 proposals for free schools have been approved to business case and plan stage. It is not possible at this point to provide details of pupil numbers for these schools as this will vary widely and be dependent on the admissions process.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much he expects to provide in capital funding (a) for each free school and (b) in total. [40241]
Mr Gibb: Every free school is different and the capital costs will vary between projects.
We have allocated £50 million in 2010-11 to meet the capital needs of free schools. Beyond that, provision forms part of the overall spending review settlement for schools. Allocations for free schools have yet to be decided and will be dependent in part on the conclusion of the capital review which is due to report shortly.
GCSE
Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to encourage more schools to offer GCSEs in (a) religious education and (b) geology. [45202]
Mr Gibb: We believe that schools are best placed to decide which individual subjects and which GCSEs, or other qualifications, they offer, in order to meet the needs of their pupils.
We have recently introduced a new performance measure, the English Baccalaureate, to encourage more schools to offer a core of academic subjects—English, maths, science, history or geography and a modern or ancient foreign language. There is space for pupils to study religious education, and geology, alongside the English Baccalaureate. Religious Education continues to be a compulsory subject at key stage 4.
Music: Education
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effects on music education in schools of reductions in funding for music services. [39532]
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Mr Gibb [holding answer 14 February 2011]: On 7 February 2011, Official Report, column 8, in response to Darren Henley's review of music education, the Secretary of State for Education announced that the overall level of funding in 2011-12, £82.5 million, is at the same level as that which went to local authorities for music education in 2010-11. We have protected money to the front line so that all children have a chance to receive a high quality music education, and we shall be setting out our plans, later this year, in a National Plan for Music Education.
Consistent with our education strategy set out in the Schools White Paper ‘The Importance of Teaching’, we are safeguarding the very important front line delivery of music education services and providing smaller central funding for three important projects—Sing Up, In Harmony, and to develop a new programme with Teach First to develop a programme for the top music graduates.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to announce the allocation of the Music Standards Fund to local authorities. [40251]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 11 February 2011]: Local authorities were notified of their individual funding allocations for music education on 1 March 2011.
National Curriculum in England Review
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) when his Department expects to (a) complete and (b) implement in schools the findings of the second phase of its review of the curriculum covering non-core subjects; [41435]
(2) for which non-core subjects his Department plans to draft programmes of study. [41536]
Mr Gibb: With regard to non-core subjects, the first phase of the review will consider which, if any, national curriculum subjects in addition to English, mathematics, science and PE should be part of the national curriculum in future, and at which key stages. We will announce decisions on these issues, following consultation, in spring 2012.
In phase two we will produce draft programmes of study for any subjects other than English, mathematics, science and PE which will either be part of the national curriculum or have non-statutory programmes of study in future. We will publish proposals on these issues for consultation in early 2013 and announce final decisions in spring 2013. The new curriculum for subjects covered in phase two will be available to schools by September 2013, with teaching in maintained schools from September 2014.
Numeracy: Literacy
Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how much his Department has spent on training and support for the (a) Every Child Counts and (b) Every Child a Reader programmes in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10; and how much it plans to spend in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13; [43365]
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(2) how many posts for trainers for the (a) Every Child Counts and (b) Every Child a Reader programmes will be funded in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; [43366]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of pupils to participate in the (a) Every Child Counts and (b) Every Child a Reader programmes in the academic year (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13. [43367]
Mr Gibb: The breakdown of spending on the Every Child Counts (ECC) and Every Child a Reader (ECaR) programmes is as follows:
|
|
ECC (£ million) | ECaR (£ million) |
| (1)2010-11 includes an element of forecast for the final month of the financial year. The number of funded Teacher Leader (trainer) posts in 2010-11 for Every Child Counts is 61, with an additional 28 in training, and for Every Child a Reader 79, with an additional 21 in training. | ||
Funding for 2011-12 onwards is now included in the Dedicated Schools Grant, for individual schools to decide how best to spend. In addition, we will provide funding to facilitate the transition to open procurement of the Every Child a Reader and Every Child Counts programmes.
The number of pupils who have participated in the Every Child Counts and Every Child a Reader programmes in 2010-11 is 22,532 and 29,020 respectively. Future estimates for pupil participation are unavailable as these decisions will be taken at a local level.
Nursery Education: Fees and Charges
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on allowing nurseries to charge top-up fees in respect of free entitlement hours. [45222]
Sarah Teather: 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.
The Government are listening to the views of early years providers and their representative bodies concerning funding issues and in response are seeking to improve the efficiency with which funding is distributed to providers, through the early years single funding formula, as well as through reducing bureaucratic burdens on providers who deliver free nursery education. Providers around the country are offering an excellent service to parents and their children within existing funding levels.
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Parents: Fines
Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many parents of children in age group (a) 5 to 11 and (b) 12 to 16 were fined as a result of their children not attending school in each local education authority in each of the last five years. [46050]
Mr Gibb: Information from the Ministry of Justice court proceedings database show the number of defendants (parents/including carers) fined at all courts for offences relating to failing to ensure their children's regular school attendance in England and Wales for the years 2005 to 2009 can be viewed in table 1, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries. Data are held centrally at police force area level and not local education authority area. The information held does not identify the age group of the child.
The Department also collects and publishes data at local authority level for England on the number of penalty notices (fines) issued to parents for the offence of failing to ensure their children’s regular school attendance. The information held does not identify the age group of the child. Data provided in table 2, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries relates to each of the last five academic years from 2004 to 2009 for all local authorities in England. Fuller details are also available on the Department’s website at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/behaviour/parents/a0010302/parental-responsibility-data
Physics and Mathematics: Teachers
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent progress he has made in increasing the number of physics and mathematics teachers. [37435]
Mr Gibb: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education, has written to the Training and Development Agency for Schools with the details of the initial teacher training place allocations and training bursary amounts for academic year 2011/12. Places for secondary mathematics and physics have increased as a proportion of the total allocation. In line with our ambition to recruit more of the best mathematics and physics graduates, we will be offering training bursaries at the highest rate of £9,000.
The data from the School Workforce Census will enable the Department to monitor progress annually on the recruitment of mathematics and physics teachers and ensure resources and initiatives are targeted appropriately. From April this year information from the Census will be published on the qualifications and deployment of secondary school teachers as part of the School Workforce Statistical First Release.
Pupils: Disadvantaged
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many school children in (a) Harlow, (b) Essex and (c) England he expects to receive his proposed pupil premium in its first year of operation. [29353]
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Rory Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much he estimates each local authority will receive under the pupil premium in 2011-12. [38804]
Mr Gibb: The pupil premium for 2011-12 will be allocated to local authorities and schools with pupils that are known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM) as recorded on the January 2011 School Census, Pupil Referral Unit Census and Alternative Provision Census. Each pupil known to be eligible for free school meals will attract £430 of funding which will go to the school or academy via the local authority or YPLA if the pupil is in a mainstream setting or will be managed by the responsible local authority if the pupil is in a non-mainstream setting.
Local authorities will also attract the looked-after child pupil premium for 2011-12 which will be allocated to local authorities for pupils who at some point in the year to 31 March 2011 were looked after continuously for at least six months, and who were aged four to 15 on 31 August 2010 as recorded on the April 2011 local authority return. Each pupil will attract £430 of funding which will go to the responsible local authority who will pass it to maintained schools for pupils who have been in care for six months or more in the year to 31 March 2011.
The amounts allocated in 2011-12 will depend on the numbers of FSM and looked-after pupils recorded on the January 2011 censuses, so it is not possible to give precise figures for 2011 and subsequent years.
It is however possible to estimate how much schools and local authorities will receive based on the figures from the January 2010 census. Tables that contain these estimates, disaggregated by local authority, region and constituency have been placed in the Libraries.
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will extend the pupil premium to pupils aged above 15 years. [38659]
Mr Gibb: The 16-18 funding formula for 2010-11 already has an element that ensures disadvantaged students attending schools and colleges, or who are funded as an apprentice, receive a funding premium. The formula has two elements which provide disadvantaged students with a funding supplement. These are the funding linked to the disadvantage uplift within the formula and that for additional learning support. Details of the 16-18 funding formula for schools and colleges can be found on the website of the Young People’s Learning Agency at
http://readingroom.ypla.gov.uk/ypla/funding_rates_ and_formula_v2.2.pdf
and that for apprenticeships on the Skills Funding Agency website at
http://readingroom.skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/sfa/Apprenticeship-funding-requirements-2010_11-v1.pdf
The funding for disadvantage and additional education support has been increased to almost £770 million in total in 2011-12, an increase of more than one-third from 2010-11. We will continue to look at how we can better target support for disadvantaged 16 to 18-year-olds as part of the review of funding for 2012 onwards to make the system more transparent and fair.
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Rory Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) children eligible for free school meals, (b) looked-after children and (c) children of members of the armed forces in each local authority area he estimates will be eligible for the pupil premium in 2011-12. [38800]
Mr Gibb: The pupil premium for 2011-12 will be allocated to local authorities and schools with pupils that are known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM) as recorded on the January 2011 School Census, Pupil Referral Unit Census and Alternative Provision Census. Each pupil known to be eligible for free school meals will attract £430 of funding which will go to the school or academy via the local authority or YPLA if the pupil is in a mainstream setting or will be managed by the responsible local authority if the pupil is in a non-mainstream setting.
Local authorities will also attract the looked-after child pupil premium for 2011-12 which will be allocated to local authorities for pupils who at some point in the year to 31 March 2011 were looked after continuously for at least six months, and who were aged four to 15 on 31 August 2010 as recorded on the April 2011 local authority return. Each pupil will attract £430 of funding which will go to the responsible local authority who will pass it to maintained schools for pupils who have been in care for six months or more in the year to 31 March 2011.
The amounts allocated in 2011-12 will depend on the numbers of FSM and looked-after pupils recorded on the January 2011 censuses, so it is not possible to give precise figures for 2011 and subsequent years. We aim to extend the coverage of the pupil premium from 2012-13 onwards to pupils who have previously been known to be eligible for free school meals. We intend to consult on this, including the question of which deprivation indicator to use, in the summer.
Although it is not possible to give precise figures for 2011 and subsequent years it is possible to estimate how much schools and local authorities will receive based on the figures from the January 2010 census. Tables that contain these estimates, disaggregated by local authority, region and constituency have been placed in the Libraries.
Schools: Admissions
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has undertaken an equality impact assessment in respect of his proposal to remove the requirement for local authorities to establish an admissions forum. [37961]
Mr Gibb: The proposal to remove the requirement on local authorities to establish admissions forums for their area is part of our drive to remove bureaucracy from the system. That does not mean that they cannot be established if the admission authorities in that area feel it is in their interests to do so on a voluntary basis. Our changes to the admissions system seek to make the system simpler, fairer and more accessible. We want to give parents more choice in the system and ensure schools are held to account locally rather than centrally. Our proposals were first signalled in the Schools White Paper, “The Importance of Teaching”, for which an equalities impact assessment was published. It can be found at:
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http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/schools%20white%20paper%20overarching%20equia.pdf
Schools: Assessments
Ian Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the levels of attainment in examinations of pupils at specialist sports (a) schools
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and
(b)
colleges in the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [29055]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 6 December 2010]: The levels of attainment in GCSE and A-level examinations of students in state-funded mainstream schools and in further education colleges in the last three years are set out in the tables.
| Percentage of students at the end of key stage 4 achieving 5 or more GCSE grades A*-C or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs, by specialism | ||||||
| Type of school | 2008 (%) | Number of schools | 2009 (%) | Number of schools | 2010 (%) | Number of schools |
| Notes: 1. Coverage is students at the end of key stage 4 in state-funded mainstream secondary schools that were published in the School Performance Tables in the Year in question. 2. Schools are classed as sports specialist if either their main or second specialism is sport. | ||||||
| Average point scores achieved in A-level or equivalent qualifications by candidates at the end of advanced level study, by institution specialism | ||||||
| Type of school | 2008 | Number of schools | 2009 | Number of schools | 2010 | Number of schools |
| Notes: 1. Coverage is students aged 16-18 who are at the end of A/AS level study or equivalent in state funded mainstream secondary schools and in FE colleges. 2. Specialism allocated to state funded mainstream schools in the same way as key stage 4. No specialisms associated with FE colleges. | ||||||
Schools: Closures
Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what the (a) name, (b) local authority area and (c) book value was of each (i) primary and (ii) secondary school in England that closed in the last eight years; [44036]
(2) what the (a) name, (b) local authority and (c) book value is of each potential school site which meets the requirements contemplated in (i) paragraph 1 and (ii) paragraph 2 of Schedule 13 of the Education Bill. [44039]
Mr Gibb [holding answers 7 March 2011]:A table setting out the available information on school closures in the last eight years has been placed in the House Libraries. The Department does not hold any information on the book value of the land relating to these closures. The table only includes those maintained schools which have physically closed and not been replaced. It does not include any schools that have been closed only to be replaced by new schools.
Any land, in the eight years since the school closed, which had not been in use by another school, or which had not been disposed of with the Secretary of State’s approval under either schedule 35a of the Education Act 1996 or section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 in the case of playing fields, would meet the requirements specified in paragraph 1 of schedule 13 of the Education Bill.
It is not possible to supply information about the availability of specific school sites in the future, since this will depend on future decisions, principally by local authorities. Paragraph 1 of schedule 13 to the Education Bill applies to a situation in which local authority land may become available because a school has closed or is about to close, or is otherwise recognised as surplus to the needs of a school. Paragraph 2 of schedule 13 applies to land specified by the local authority as the site for a proposed new school under the arrangements for new schools in the Bill, and is dependent on future decisions by local authorities that new schools are needed. Decisions on school closures and the disposal of surplus land will normally be taken by local authorities (unless a school is in special measures, in which case a closure can be instigated by the Secretary of State).
Schools: Information and Communications Technology
Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the inclusions and recommendations of the Becta report on school management information systems and value for money in 2010. [43817]
Mr Gibb:
The report: “School Management Information Systems and Value for Money 2010” was published by Becta on their website and released to key stakeholders, including local authorities, on 29 October 2010. The Department has reviewed and welcomed the majority
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of the findings of the report. Much of the Becta advice and guidance is for local authorities, but the Department continues to work to implement its parts of the recommendations, particularly to support improved interoperability between school Management Information Systems (MIS), to support improved competition, to ensure that MIS procurements are compliant with EL) and UK procurement law, to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, and to help schools and local authorities to achieve value for money in these procurement areas, for example by reducing licensing costs.
Schools: Sports
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2011, Official Report, column 164W, on schools: sports, what steps his Department will take to ensure that the numbers of links between secondary schools and clubs will continue to rise. [38694]
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Tim Loughton [holding answer 7 February 2011]:I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 25 January 2011, Official Report, column 164W, on the steps the Government are taking to encourage links between schools and sports clubs.
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department allocated to school sport in (a) Bolton South East constituency and (b) Bolton in each of the last two financial years; and how much such funding he plans to allocate in each of the next two financial years. [44788]
Tim Loughton: Funding for school sport over the last two years has been passed to schools through the network via the hub school of each partnership. There are no hub schools of school sport partnerships within the Bolton south east constituency. School sport funding for schools in Bolton over this period was as follows:
| £ | ||
| School sport partnership | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
In addition, in academic years 2011/12 and 2012/13, all secondary schools in Bolton and in the Bolton south east constituency will receive funding to release a PE teacher for one day a week to enable them to create more opportunities for competitive sport for their pupils and for pupils in their local primary schools. Further details, including the amount of funding that each school will receive, will be announced shortly.
Schools: Transport
Mr Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the terms of reference for his proposed review of school transport, including transport for 16 to 18-year-olds; and on what date he expects the review to be completed. [45428]
Mr Gibb: The main focus of the review will be on considering how best practice can be shared across all local authorities and how the savings being made by some local authorities could be replicated more widely. We will make further announcements in due course.
Schools: Vocational Guidance
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the provision of careers guidance for young people prior to the introduction of the proposed all-age careers service. [38931]
Mr Gibb: We announced in December 2010 that the Early Intervention Grant would enable local authorities to continue to support vulnerable young people and would also support their transitional responsibilities in respect of careers guidance. Decisions as to how such services should be provided are a matter for local authorities, taking account of their statutory responsibilities.
Sixth Form Education
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many maintained schools there were (a) with and (b) without a sixth form there were (i) nationally and (ii) in each local authority area in academic year 2009-10. [43672]
Mr Gibb: Information on the number of state-funded secondary schools with or without a sixth form in England and each local authority area is shown in the following table.
| State-funded secondary schools (1, 2) : Number of schools with and without a sixth form (3) —January 2010 Government office region and local authority area in—England | |||
| State-funded secondary schools (1, 2) | |||
|
|
Number of schools with a sixth form (3) | Number of schools without a sixth form | Total state-funded secondary schools |
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| n/a = Not applicable. No schools of this type (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Schools with eight or more sole and dual main registered pupils aged 16 to 15 as at 31 August 2009. Source: School Census | |||
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Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils were enrolled in maintained schools (a) with and (b) without a sixth form (i) nationally and (ii) in each local authority area in academic year 2009-10. [43673]
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Mr Gibb: Information on the number of pupils in state-funded secondary schools with or without a sixth form in England and each local authority area is shown in the following table.
| State-funded secondary schools (1,2) : number of pupils (3) in schools with and without a sixth form—January 2010 | |||
| Government office region and local authority area in England | |||
| State-funded secondary schools (1,2) | |||
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Number of pupils in schools with a sixth form (4) | Number of pupils in schools without a sixth form | Total pupils in state-funded secondary schools |
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| n/a = Not applicable. No schools of this type. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Includes sole and dual main registered pupils. (4) Schools with eight or more pupils aged 16 to 18 as at 31 August 2009. Note: National and regional totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown. Source: School Census | |||