Children in Care: Ethnic Groups
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children in care are from an ethnic minority background. [48500]
Tim Loughton: 26% of children looked after at 31 March 2010 are from an ethnic minority background. This information can also be obtained from table A1 in the Statistical First Release, titled “Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England (including adoption and care leavers)—year ending 31 March 2010”. This can be found at the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000960/index.shtml
Table A1 is located within the Excel link titled “England Summary tables”. An extract of this table is as follows:
| Children looked after at 31 March by ethnicity (1,2) , year ending 31 March 2010, Coverage: England | ||
|
|
Number | Percentage |
| (1) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000, and to the nearest 10 otherwise. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements. (3) Negligible. Percentage below 0.5% . Source: SSDA 903. | ||
Children in Care: Social Workers
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effects of rate of turnover of staff social workers in children’s homes on the level of care for looked after children. [48472]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education does not collect information on the recruitment and retention rates of social workers working with looked after children; this information is held by the organisations that employ them.
However, we know that for looked after children the stability of a child's relationship with their social worker can be vitally important. This is made clear by Roger Morgan, the Children's Rights Director, in his reports “Children's Views on Social Workers” (2006) and “Life in Children's Homes” (2009). These reports can be found at:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Care/Children-s-rights
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Children: Disability
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much money his Department plans to spend on mobility for disabled children in residential schools in each local authority area in the financial year (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15. [47635]
Mr Gibb: The Department does not hold the information requested. It is for local authorities to determine how they spend their funds locally.
Children: Social Services
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for his Department’s funding of disabled children’s services (a) after March 2011 and (b) in Sunderland from 2010 to 2015; and if he will make a statement. [26375]
Sarah Teather: Funding for short breaks for carers of disabled children will be provided through the new Early Intervention Grant (EIG) from April 2011. Local authorities received details of their EIG allocation in December 2010. We have made over £800 million available to local authorities over the spending review period for the provision of short breaks for disabled children and their families, which represents a small increase in available funding compared to the 2010-11 financial year. As this funding is not ring-fenced it will be for local authorities to determine how they use that resource to best effect, including what services would be funded for families with disabled children. However, local authorities must consider how they will meet the new legal duty to provide a range of short breaks to carers of disabled children.
We have recently introduced “The Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011”, these regulations prescribe how local authorities must perform their duty in primary legislation to provide short break services in order to assist carers of disabled children.
Children's Plan
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the status is of the 2007 Children’s Plan. [48242]
Tim Loughton: The Children’s Plan was published by the previous Government and set out the priorities for the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
In November 2010 the Department for Education published a business plan which sets out the Department’s structural reform priorities. Since then we have published a Schools White Paper—“The importance of Teaching” and a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Green Paper—“Support and Aspiration”. All these publications are available on our website.
Departmental Advertising
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department and each of its non-departmental public bodies spent on advertising in the latest period for which figures are available. [32321]
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Tim Loughton: Advertising spend by the Department and its non-departmental public bodies as part of marketing activity from the beginning of the financial year 2010/11 until today is outlined as follows:
Parent Know How: £122,846
Teacher Recruitment: £1,456,610.
Departmental Relocation
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement. [43473]
Tim Loughton: The Department is currently nearing the end of its national estates strategy review. The current spending controls on Government property, including the moratorium on lease breaks and expiries, mean it is already clear that the Department is very unlikely to be acquiring or relocating to any new buildings or locations in the UK. The Department has three of its four main sites located outside of London and is committed to achieving efficiency savings through further rationalisation and reduction of property in London and elsewhere across the education family.
Should this position change, we will make an announcement of our plans. Any consideration will be based on the Department having a workforce capability to deliver the coalition Government’s challenging education agenda as well as live within the Department’s recent spending review settlement.
Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on (a) salaries and (b) pension entitlements for special advisers in the financial year 2010-11 to date. [46584]
Tim Loughton: Details of special advisers pay bands were released by the Cabinet Office and are available at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/special-adviser-data-releases.
The website lists the names of the special advisers in post in each Department and details each special adviser’s pay band, actual salary where it is £58,200 or higher, together with details of special advisers’ pay ranges for 2010-11. It also shows the total pay bill cost of special advisers for the period up to 31 March 2011. The estimated pay bill includes pension costs, and details of pension arrangements are set out in the “Model contract for Special Advisers”, available at the same link.
Departmental Pay
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will ensure his Departmental organisational chart includes the names and responsibilities of all staff paid over £58,200 per annum in his Department and in the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible. [43542]
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Tim Loughton: The coalition Government are committed to improving transparency and the coalition programme includes commitments to publish salary information for the most senior civil servants and to publish organograms for the entire organisation.
As a first step, the Government published the details of 345 senior officials in Departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies in post at 31 March 2010 whose rate of pay was £150,000 or more. Publication of name, job title and base salary details was then extended to some lower levels of the senior civil service (SCS) as part of the organograms that were published last October.
Although individualised salary details for the most junior level of the SCS (Pay Bands 1 and 1A) were not released, the numbers and grades of staff in each of their teams and the total salary costs of that team were published. Organograms will next be updated by the end of May to show structures as at 31 March 2011.
Good progress is being made across the civil service and beyond in improving transparency of how Government works and uses its resources. We are now in a period of consolidating and embedding transparency processes into business as usual. We are always looking to go further and we will continue over the coming months to review, and where necessary improve, the quality and extent of data being released.
Departmental Procurement
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the cost to the public purse was of the (a) procurement and (b) outsourcing function of (i) his Department and (ii) each (A) non-departmental public body and (B) non-ministerial Department for which he is responsible in the last financial year for which figures are available. [43959]
Tim Loughton: The costs of the procurement function in the Department and the non-departmental public bodies are presented in the following table. In all cases there is no separate outsourcing function. The cost of administering outsourcing arrangements is included within the procurement functions of those organisations.
| 2009-10 | |
| Organisation | £ |
Costs of the procurement and outsourcing functions for Partnership for Schools, Schools Food Trust, General Teaching Council for England and the Office for the Children’s Commissioner are not available and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
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Disabilities: Public Expenditure
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has carried out on the effects of measures announced as a result of the June 2010 Budget and the Comprehensive Spending Review on people with disabilities. [34325]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 18 January 2011]: The Department for Education seeks to promote equality of opportunity for people with disabilities, in particular children and young people, in all its policy development. The Department has taken this into account, in the development of all policies resulting from announcements made at the June 2010 Budget and the 2010 Spending Review.
A number of specific measures have been announced that show the Department’s commitment to people with disabilities: The recently published SEN Green Paper set out proposals for the biggest programme of reform in the education and health support for children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities in 30 years. The Department has also made over £800 million available to local authorities over the spending review period for the provision of short breaks for disabled children and their families which represents an increase in available funding compared with the 2010-11 financial year.
Education: Assessments
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what proportion of students measured as having obtained five or more GCSEs at grade C or above or equivalent of that achievement included a non-GCSE qualification in the last academic year for which figures are available. [46927]
Mr Gibb: Overall, 75.4 per cent of pupils achieved five or more GCSEs at grade C or above which could include equivalent qualifications in the year 2010.
56.3 per cent of pupils achieved five or more GCSEs including short courses but not including equivalents at grade C or above in the year 2010.
19.1 percent of pupils achieved five or more GCSEs at grade C or above using equivalent qualifications in the year 2010.
Source:
Statistical First Release “GCSE and Equivalent Results in England, 2009/10 (Revised)”- Table 5
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000985/index.shtml
Education: Finance
Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department plans to provide sustainable funding for Aids to Communication in Education centres through continuation of the Alternative and Augmentative Communication grants programme. [42720]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 1 March 2011]: We are looking to make provision for grants to support augmentative and alternative communication in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Voluntary and Community Sector Prospectus. The Prospectus was announced in our Green Paper “Support and aspiration: a new approach to special educational needs and disability: A consultation”, published on 9 March 2011.
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Educational Psychology
Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many educational psychologists are employed by each local education authority. [48580]
Sarah Teather: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of educational psychologists in service in local authorities in England in January 2009. Figures for 2010 will not be available until April 2011 when the results of the November 2010 school workforce census are published.
| Full-time equivalent educational psychologists in service in local authority (1) maintained schools by local authority and Government office region, January 2009, England | |
|
|
Number (FTE) |
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| (1) Maintained sector only. Teachers in academies (including those that were previously maintained schools) are not included. (2) Nil or neglible. Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Annual Survey of Teachers in Service and Teacher Vacancies, Form 618g. | |
Free Schools
Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the powers of local authority scrutiny committees to overturn decisions on the location of free schools. [48369]
Mr Gibb: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, has had no discussions with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the role of local authority scrutiny committees in relation to the location of free schools.
GCSE
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children (a) in care and (b) not in care (i) gained five GCSEs and (ii) subsequently went to university in each year of the last 10 years. [48484]
Tim Loughton: Information on the percentage of looked after children who achieve five GCSEs is available in table 3.1 of the Departments Statistical First Release, Outcomes for Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England, as at 31 March 2010. This shows the percentage of children looked after continuously for 12 months at 31 March who achieved five or more GCSEs (including equivalents) for all years since 2006. Information on years prior to 2006 is not available from this data source. The publication can be found at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000978/index.shtml
Information taken from table 3.1 is as follows; this follows the current practice of comparing the GCSE performance of children looked after continuously for 12 months with that of all children. Information on the GCSE performance of children not in care can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Table 1: Key stage 4 performance of children who have been looked after continuously for at least 12 months at 31 March (1) compared to key stage 4 performance of all children. Years: 2006-2010; Coverage: England | |||||||
| Percentage of children who achieved (GCSE or equivalent): | |||||||
|
|
Number eligible to sit GCSEs (2) | Entered for at least one GCSE or equivalent | Entered for at least five GCSEs or equivalent | Any pass | 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-G | 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C | 5+GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and mathematics |
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| (1) Children looked after continuously for at least 12 months as at 31 March excluding those children in respite care. (2) Number of eligible children based on those aged 15 at the start of the academic year, i.e. 31 August. (3 )Figures for all children are taken from Statistical First Release, GCSE and Equivalent Results in England, 2009/10 (Revised). Figures on GCSE entries are taken from equivalent earlier publications. Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. Source: CLA-JPD matched data | |||||||
Information on the GCSE attainment of children looked after continuously for 12 months for years prior to 2006 relates to all children looked after continuously at 30 September each year. Please note that because these data have been derived from a different data source and include a different cohort of children, the percentages given in the following table below are not directly comparable with those shown in table 1 above. Information on the percentage of children looked after continuously for 12 months at 30 September who achieved five or more A* to C grade GCSEs including English and mathematics or the percentage of these children entered for GCSEs is not available. The available information is shown in table 2:
Information on the number of looked after children who go on to university is not available. However the Department does collect information on the number of former care leavers now aged 19 but who were looked after when aged 16, who are in higher education. This information is published in table G1 of the Department’s Statistical First Release, Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England (including adoption and care leavers)—year ending 31 March 2010. This publication can be found at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000960/index.shtml
An extract of this table showing information for all years since 2002 is given in table 3. Information for years prior to 2002 is not available.
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Information on the percentage of children not in care attending university is not available. Information on the participation of all 19-year-olds in higher education is produced by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. Information on participation has been provided and is shown in table 4.
Please note that this information gives the initial participation rates for 19-year-old English domiciled first-time participants at UK higher education (HE) institutions and English, Scottish and Welsh further education colleges. The figures relate to the number of students entering HE for the first time in that academic year, not the total number of 19-year-old students in HE in a given year. Please also note that a new method of calculation was introduced for 2006/07, figures from this year onwards are not comparable with figures for earlier years.
| Table 4: Higher education initial participation rates for 19-year-old English domiciled first-time participants—UK higher education institutions, English, Welsh and Scottish further education colleges. Academic years 2002/03 to 2009/10 | |||
| Academic year | Initial entrants | Population | Initial participation rate (%) |
| Note: Entrant figures have been rounded to the nearest five, and population estimates rounded to the nearest 100. Source: Participation Rates in Higher Education Statistical First Release. | |||
International Baccalaureate
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the (a) teaching and (b) funding of the post-16 International Baccalaureate diploma. [48185]
Mr Gibb: We want state schools and colleges to be able to choose from the best qualifications—hence schools are free to offer the accredited level 3 qualifications which they consider are right for their pupils, including the International Baccalaureate diploma.
Funding for the post-16 International Baccalaureate in 2011/12 is the same as it was in 2010/11. The 16-19 funding formula is currently being reviewed and we will ensure that we take into account issues relating to the delivery of the International Baccalaureate as part of that review.
Literacy: Teaching Methods
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to paragraph 10 of the executive summary of the Schools White Paper, if he will assess the potential effects of introducing a Year 1 phonics screening test on his Department’s aim to give teachers renewed freedom and authority; and if he will make a statement. [49304]
Mr Gibb: “The Importance of Teaching” describes how the Government will give teachers renewed freedom and authority to improve schools. It also makes clear the importance of setting clear expectations for what children must know and be able to do at each stage in their education.
It is of fundamental importance that all children learn how to read early in their education. Despite the efforts of teachers and parents, 15% of children did not reach the expected level in reading at the end of Key Stage 1 last year. It is vital that we identify those children at an early stage and ensure that they get the extra help they need.
Research evidence shows that systematic teaching of synthetic phonics is the best way of teaching reading. The Year 1 phonics screening check will confirm that children are able to decode using phonics by the end of Year 1 and identify those pupils who need additional support.
National Curriculum in England Review
Jon Trickett:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2011,
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Official Report,
column 1009W, on departmental procurement, what responsibilities Professor Dylan Wiliam, Professor Andrew Pollard and Professor Mary James were allocated on the expert panel for the National Curriculum Review; what were the periods of their contracts; whether they were contracted on a full-time basis; and what criteria were used to appoint the members of this expert panel. [49202]
Mr Gibb: The terms of reference for the Expert Panel have been published on the Department for Education's website. They can be viewed at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/nationalcurriculum
Professor Wiliam and Professor James have respectively entered into contracts with the Department to provide up to 50 days support to the review over a period of 10 months from December 2010, while Professor Pollard has been contracted to provide up to 75 days of support the review over that same period. Professors James, Pollard and Wiliam were selected to join the Expert Panel on the basis of their outstanding experience, expertise and standing in the education community.
Outdoor Learning
Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State of 15 December 2010, Official Report, column 290WH, on outdoor learning, what progress has been made in examination of the possibility of an insurance scheme for schools. [40234]
Mr Gibb: The Department for Education is investigating insurance related expenditure made by schools to determine whether a national approach for one or more types of insurance would save money for schools.
The focus so far has been on property insurance because of its significant value. Information published by the Department for Communities and Local Government show that in the financial year 2008/09, maintained schools in England spent a total of £236.7 million on insurance with £107.8 million on property insurance (45.5%), and £3.7 million on transport insurance (1.5%).
Partnership For Schools
Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what the salary was of the chief executive of Partnership for Schools in the last year for which figures are available; [48370]
(2) when he last met the chief executive of Partnership for Schools. [48372]
Mr Gibb: The 2009-10 salary of the chief executive of Partnerships for Schools was £216,199.
The chief executive of Partnerships for Schools (PfS) meets regularly with Ministers from the Department for Education, including the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove). The last meeting between the chief executive of PfS and the Secretary of State took place on 14 March 2011.
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Departmental Plants
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment. [48425]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education has a nil spend for the procurement of indoor and outdoor plants and trees since May 2010.
Pupil Exclusions: Dartford
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were permanently excluded from (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Dartford constituency in each of the last five years. [49082]
Mr Gibb: The information requested is shown in the table:
| Maintained primary and state-funded secondary schools (1, 2:) : Number of permanent exclusions (3 ) 2004/05 to 2008/09 in Dartford parliamentary constituency | ||
|
|
Maintained primary schools (1) | State-funded secondary schools (1, 2) |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Estimates based on incomplete pupil-level data. (4) Fewer than 5 pupils. Source: School Census | ||
Schools
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department holds on the proportion of (a) seven, (b) 10 and (c) 14 year olds who walk to school. [48237]
Mr Gibb: The requested information is shown in the following table.
| Maintained p rimary (1) , state-funded s econdary (1,2) and special s chools (3) : N umber and percentage of pupils who walked to s chool (4) as at January 2010 , England | ||
| Pupils aged (5) | Number | Percentage |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes genera! hospital schools. (4) Includes solely registered pupils only. Excludes boarders. (5) Age as at 31 August 2009. Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census | ||
The latest available information on pupils' mode of travel can be found in the 'Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics: January 2010' Statistical First Release in Table D.
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000925/index.shtml
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School Sports
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what schools he has visited for the purpose of formulating his policy on the Schools Sport Partnership programme; and if he will make a statement. [27202]
Tim Loughton: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and his ministerial colleagues have visited many schools and other organisations since May 2010 in order to gain a better understanding of education issues and to explore options relating to various policy areas. Some of these have been within their own constituencies, and some outside of them. Ministers have been able to use the visits to inform their thinking in relation to developing policy in this area.
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Schools: Assessments
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the weighted average Key Stage 2 to 4 contextual value-added results were in maintained schools (a) with and (b) without a sixth form (i) nationally and (ii) in each local authority area in each of the last five years. [43671]
Mr Gibb: Contextual value added was introduced into the Performance Tables in 2006 to replace the value added model. The following table shows the average contextual value added (CVA) score for the years 2006 to 2010 for maintained mainstream schools. The number of schools used in the calculation is given in brackets.
Providing these figures at local authority area can be done only at disproportionate cost.
| Secondary s chools without sixth forms | Secondary s chools with sixth forms | |||||
|
|
CVA s core | Lower confidence limit | Upper confidence limit | CVA s core | Lower confidence limit | Upper confidence limit |
| Notes: 1. For Contextual Value Added scores it is standard practice to give the upper and lower confidence limits. 2. The coefficients used in the CVA calculation are only calculated once in the CVA process on unamended (provisional) data. The school checking exercise generally sees some increase/improvement in results and therefore this can increase the national average to just above 1000 on the revised and final data. 3. Figures for 2010 are revised, all other figures are final. Source: The Secondary School Performance Tables | ||||||
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much of his Department’s funding for the Schools Sport Partnership in 2010-11 will be (a) retained by and (b) distributed via the School Grant Distribution Formula in 2011-12. [26448]
Tim Loughton: None of the funding for school sport partnerships is going into the school grant distribution formula in 2011-12. This is because we are continuing to fund school sport through other, more direct, means.
At the end of February this year, funding of £47 million was paid to school sport partnerships from the existing sport budget for the financial year 2010-11. This covers their work up until the end of the summer term 2011. This grant is being used to fund the provision of physical education and sport, to embed existing good practice throughout the system and to introduce sporting competitions for more pupils as part of the coalition Government’s school games. This is in addition to £71 million already paid to partnerships in October 2010, which included full swimming and coaching grants for the current school year.
Ring-fenced funding for school sport partnerships will not continue beyond the summer term 2011. Instead, the Department will make available £65 million of new funding for schools to enable them to provide more opportunities for competitive sport. The funding will cover the school year 2011/12 and 2012/13 and will pay for one day a week of a secondary PE teacher’s time to be spent out of the classroom, encouraging greater take-up of competitive sport in primary schools and securing a fixture network for schools to increase the amount of intra and inter-school competition. We are currently exploring the best way to get this money out to schools.
In addition, at the Sports Colleges conference in Telford in February, the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt) announced outline plans for a network of school games organisers from September 2011. These organisers will be funded by the Department of Health and Sport England for three days a week to help schools sign up for the nationwide school games. Further details on the funding for these organiser posts and their precise roles will be announced shortly. If they wish, head teachers could choose to pay for additional days for these school games organisers, if they deem them to be of value.
Taken together, I believe this package of funding will enable schools to maximise the opportunities for competitive sport that they can provide for their pupils.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for Health on his proposed changes to school sports funding; and if he will make a statement. [27182]
Tim Loughton: Ministers from all Departments with an interest in our proposals for school sport, including the Secretary of State for Health, have been involved in discussions about them. In addition, officials at the Departments for Education and for Culture, Media and Sport have weekly meetings with their opposite numbers at the Department of Health about the School Games.
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Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of (a) the change in the number of children able to participate in sports activities as a result of his proposed changes to school sports funding and (b) the number of children he expects to take part in his proposed School Olympics. [27184]
Tim Loughton: The proposed changes to schools sports funding will give schools greater freedom to decide what sports to offer and to provide pupils more opportunities to get involved in a variety of sports; this will benefit more students.
As set out in the Government’s recent White Paper, “The Importance of Teaching”, physical education and sport in schools are important issues for the coalition Government. We want all young people to be able to benefit from participating in the nationwide School Games. The Department for Education is working closely with the Departments for Health and for Culture, Media and Sport and with Sport England and the Youth Sport Trust to ensure that the new School Games will created opportunities for competitive sport for all pupils, whatever their abilities.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the likely effect on participation in non-competitive sport of his proposed changes to school sports funding; and if he will make a statement. [27185]
Tim Loughton: All schools will benefit from the planned changes in the Government's approach to school sport. In removing all the unnecessary targets and reporting arrangements placed on schools by the old system, we are freeing them up to provide more opportunities that are most appropriate for their own pupils.
The removal of centrally driven, top down programmes will also mean that schools will have more flexibility to use their front-line funding in areas which they identify as their own priorities. This includes non-competitive sport.
The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has announced that physical education will remain a compulsory subject at all four key stages following the current review of the national curriculum. This will ensure that every child has a statutory entitlement to a broad and balanced programme of physical education throughout their compulsory schooling.
In addition, over the next two academic years, we are making available £65 million to improve provision for school sport. This funding will cover the release from timetable of a PE teacher in every secondary school for one day a week to work with local primary schools to improve provision for PE and school sport.
Dr Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of schools not involved in competitive sports with other schools. [27554]
Tim Loughton:
The PE and Sport Survey 2009/10 collected data from schools relating to the provision and take up of PE and sport in schools. The survey showed that 270 schools with Key Stage 2 pupils and 70
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schools with secondary age pupils reported that none of their pupils were involved in any competitive sporting activities with other schools over the course of the year.
The survey also showed that 1,950 schools with Key Stage 2 pupils and 710 schools with secondary age pupils reported that none of their pupils were involved in regular competitive sporting activities with other schools over the course of the year.
Regular inter-school competitive sport was defined as three times or more during the year for pupils in Key Stage 2, and nine times or more for pupils in Key Stages 3 and 4.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of attainment in examinations by pupils at specialist sports colleges; and if he will make a statement. [27746]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education has made no recent formal assessment of the trends in levels of attainment in examinations by pupils at specialist sport colleges. However, data published by the Youth Sport Trust in February this year showed that 47% of pupils at specialist sports colleges achieved five or more GCSE passes at grades A*-C (including English and maths), compared to the national average of 50%. The Youth Sport Trust data also showed the trends in GCSE performance in this area, as follows:
| Percentage | ||||
|
|
2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of year one to 11 pupils took part in inter-school sport in the academic years (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2009-10. [28122]
Tim Loughton: Information about the proportion of year one to 11 pupils taking part in inter-school sport is only available from the 2006/07 academic year, and therefore we have provided figures for this academic year instead of 2003/04.
In 2006/07, 35% of pupils in years one to 11 in maintained schools and Academies took part in inter-school sport. In 2009/10 the proportion was 49%.
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which schools in Redditch constituency have received school sports grants; and how much was paid to each. [32244]
Tim Loughton: The table sets out the amount of grant paid to each institution in the Redditch constituency in 2009/10. Sports grant is paid to school sport partnerships via the ‘hub’ school. The grant is allocated on the basis of the number of schools in the partnership, based on the standard funding formula:
each secondary school has a school sport co-ordinator at £17,970 (£19,767 in London); and
each primary school has 12 primary link teacher days at a total of £2,015 (£2,156 in London).
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| Type of institution | School name | Amount of funding (£) |
In February 2011, the Department made payments of £47 million to cover the work of school sport partnerships up to the end of the summer term 2011. This was on top of grant of £71 million paid to them in October last year. In addition, from September 2011, the Department is making available funding of £65 million to pay for the release of a PE teacher from each secondary school, including those in Redditch, for one day a week to work with local primary schools to improve their provision and create more opportunities for competitive sport.
Special Educational Needs: Epilepsy
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to improve (a) assessments and (b) access to support for children with epilepsy and related conditions in mainstream schools. [49124]
Sarah Teather:
There is no legal duty on school staff to provide medical support, to administer medication or to supervise a pupil taking it and we have no plans to
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change this. But it is vitally important that children and young people with long-term medical conditions, such as epilepsy, do not miss out on school life or are treated less favourably because of it. Schools are encouraged to do all they can to support the medical needs of pupils.
To encourage schools to provide this support, this Department, together with the Department for Health, is currently reviewing the joint guidance to schools on “Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings”. Our aim in reviewing the guidance is to clarify expectations. We will also reinforce the importance of proper training for members of staff and of drawing up individual care plans for all pupils with long-term medical needs. Such plans will help identify the level of support that is needed for each pupil and to clarify for staff, parents and pupils the help that will be provided. This review will also be used as an opportunity to signpost good practice and it is hoped that expert organisations, such as the Joint Epilepsy Council, can help champion this work.
School Sports: Females
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will commission research on the effect on the participation in competitive sport by young women whose access to (a) dance and (b) aerobics classes will be affected by proposed changes to school sports funding as a result of the decision to scrap the Sport for All funding. [27183]
Tim Loughton: We have no plans to commission research specifically on the effect on the take up of (a) dance and (b) aerobics classes of our proposals for competitive sport as a result of changes to funding for school sport.
Teachers: Languages
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to increase the number of language teachers in primary and secondary schools. [47882]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 22 March 2011] : The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), wrote to the Training and Development Agency for Schools on 31 January 2011 with the details of the initial teacher training place allocations and training bursary amounts for Academic Year 2011/12. Despite falling secondary pupil rolls and reductions in the secondary allocation overall, the secondary language place allocation has been protected with 100 more places than the previous year to take account of the introduction of the English Baccalaureate. Future year allocations will continue to take account of the English Baccalaureate and other policy developments. We are also maintaining the training bursary level for modern foreign languages at £6,000 in 2011/12 to help with recruitment.
The Schools White Paper 2010, The Importance of Teaching, sets out the Government's commitment to attract more of the best graduates in shortage subjects, including modern foreign languages, into teaching. A strategy document will be issued for discussion later this year setting out our plans for funding initial teacher training from Academic Year 2012/13.
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We also continue to consider the funding and support structures that might best be used to improve language teaching in schools, including the primary school workforce.
Teachers: Pay
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what meetings (a) he and (b) each other Minister in his Department has had on pay and conditions for staff in academies since his appointment; and who was present at each such meeting. [44753]
Mr Gibb: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) and other members of the Ministerial team have held separate meetings which covered, among other things, the topic of staff pay and conditions in academies with the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers—Chris Keates, General Secretary and Patrick Roach, Deputy General Secretary; the National Union of Teachers—Christine Blower, General Secretary; the Association of Teachers and Lecturers—Mary Bousted, General Secretary; and the Association of School and College Leaders—Brian Lightman, General Secretary and John Fairhurst, President.
Teachers: Pensions
Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure that proposed reforms to the Teachers' Pension Scheme do not discourage potential new teachers from entering the profession. [43391]
Mr Gibb: The Government are committed to ensuring that any reform of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) will continue to give teachers access to high quality pension provision. The Government have accepted Lord Hutton’s recommendations for reform as a basis for consultation and will seek to engage with unions and employers to ensure the TPS remains an important part of the total remuneration that teachers receive, supporting the Government’s wider policies for recruitment in the teaching profession.
Teachers: Training
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the effects of higher tuition fee rates on the propensity of individuals to take up teaching careers. [49130]
Mr Gibb: There are ongoing discussions between this Department and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills about the changes to Higher Education and student funding and the implications for the initial training of teachers. As announced in the Schools White Paper 2010 - The Importance of Teaching, we will publish for discussion later this year our detailed proposals for the funding of initial teacher training from Academic Year 2012/13.
Vocational Education: GCSE
Ms Gisela Stuart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average points score will be from
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those vocational subjects to be included in the school performance measure of five GCSE grades at A* to C including English and mathematics. [32587]
Mr Gibb: In 2010, the average points scored per pupil across all qualifications equivalent to a GCSE at grades A*-C, was 361.6. This has been shown by different qualification types in the following table. The total points scored in each qualification type divided by the total number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 gives the average points per pupil in each category and shows that, on average, a key stage 4 pupil scored 103.9 points from non-GCSE qualifications equivalent to A*-C.
Voluntary Work
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on encouraging its staff to volunteer in each of the last five years; and how much it plans to spend in each of the next five years. [48622]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education is committed to supporting staff to volunteer. In order to support this, in previous years the Department has paid for the support of a voluntary sector brokerage organisation to help staff find and access volunteering opportunities. The total spent for this support was £4,250 in 2006/07; £10,634 in 2007/08; £13,000 in 2008/09; in 2009/10 £5,000; and £8,000 in the current financial year.
The Department is committed to encouraging more volunteering by its staff over the next five years, and is currently reviewing its approach to ensure that all staff are able to access volunteering opportunities.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to reply to Question 26375, on his Department's funding for disabled children's services, tabled on 22 November for ordinary written answer. [29616]
Sarah Teather: A response has been issued to the hon. Member today.
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Young People Substance Misuse Scheme: Finance
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department allocated to the Young People Substance Misuse scheme in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [40603]
Sarah Teather: £7.0 million was allocated by DfE (then DCSF) in each of (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. This funding was allocated to each top-tier local authority in England through the Area Based Grant. £4.0 million of this funding for each year was transferred from the Department of Health but distributed as part of the DfE allocation.
Youth Services: Standards
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will commission an evaluation of youth services in England. [40676]
Tim Loughton: The Department recently hosted a Positive for Youth Summit in association with the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS). A key theme of the Summit was the evidence for investing in youth services and the impact on outcomes for young people. The Department is now taking forward the lessons from the Summit and developing a Youth policy paper in partnership with young people and youth organisations. This will be published later in the year.
The Department has previously commissioned a number of evaluations looking at different youth service programmes. The most recent published study assessed the impact of the Youth Sector Development Fund on the effectiveness of Community Society Organisation (CSO) business models and the impact of CSO services on outcomes for young people. A copy of the report is available on the DfE website:
http://education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DCSF-RR169
The Department has also worked closely with a range of national stakeholders to develop a better evidence base for youth services. A recent published study by the Big Lottery Fund evaluated the set up of the myplace facilities and their plans for generating and sustaining revenue income. A copy of the report is available at:
http://education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/MYPLACE-INT-REP
The Department is committed to improving the evidence base to support the delivery of youth services. It recently commissioned an evaluation of the National Citizen Service and this will generate wider lessons for youth services. The Department will also continue to work closely with stakeholders and local youth service providers to evaluate future programmes.