Children in Care: Individual Savings Accounts
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department has allocated to support junior ISAs for looked-after children; and if he will make a statement. [89220]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 12 January 2012]: The Government have already announced its intention to provide a payment, into a Junior ISA, of £200 for every child looked after for 12 months or more and not previously eligible for a Child Trust Fund. These payments are expected to cost some £16.7 million over the period April 2012 to March 2015. The Department for Education is currently considering bids to operate the scheme. The appointed supplier will also seek to raise additional funds for these accounts from charitable sources.
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he is taking steps to encourage local authorities to make regular contributions to junior ISAs for looked-after children; and if he will make a statement. [89221]
Tim Loughton
[holding answer 12 January 2012]: The Government have already announced their intention to provide a payment, into a junior ISA, of £200 for every child looked after for 12 months or more and not previously eligible for a child trust fund. The supplier appointed to operate the scheme will also seek to raise additional funds for these accounts from charitable sources. Local authorities will be encouraged to contribute
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to the accounts. It is recognised, however, that many local authorities already support the savings of looked-after children and may wish to continue with these arrangements alongside the junior ISA provided by the Government.
Children: Research
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what research his Department has commissioned to measure the subjective well-being of children. [90137]
Tim Loughton: Following an invitation by the Prime Minister last November, the National Statistician is producing new measures of subjective well-being. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is developing well-being measures for children and young people as part of the overall Measuring National Well-being Programme. The Department is working with the ONS to help them develop these measures.
The Department has also included subjective well-being questions in the 2012 wave of the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Survey which covers 11 to 15-year-olds. We expect to obtain results from this survey in August 2012.
In addition, the Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre (CWRC), funded by the Department, has been scoping ways of developing a measure of well-being for use when evaluating children's services. The initial report can be accessed here:
http://www.cwrc.ac.uk/news/documents/Developing_CYPOC_Report_Summary_March_2011.pdf
Curriculum: Design
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the study of design and technology in schools; and if he will make a statement. [89968]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 16 January 2012]:Design and Technology is currently a foundation subject within the national curriculum and is compulsory at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. The current review of the national curriculum is considering the future status of the subject.
Provisional figures show that in academic year 2010/11 there were 226,400 entries at GCSE in the subject.
Apprentices
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many apprentices were employed by each public body for which his Department is responsible between (a) April 2010 and March 2011 and (b) April and December 2011; and how many apprenticeships he expects each public body to sponsor between (i) January and March 2012 and (ii) April 2012 and March 2013. [88703]
Tim Loughton: The Department does not hold information centrally on apprentices for its public bodies.
The contact informaiton for our ALBs can be found at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/armslengthbodies/a00432/ndpbs-associated-with-the-department
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Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in each of the public bodies for which his Department is responsible between (a) April 2010 and March 2011, (b) April 2011 and March 2012 and (c) April 2012 and March 2013. [88704]
Tim Loughton: The Department does not hold information centrally on apprentices for its public bodies.
The contact informaiton for our ALBs can be found at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/armslengthbodies/a00432/ndpbs-associated-with-the-department
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in his Department in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and how much such funding he plans to allocate in 2012-13. [89148]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education allocated funding to sponsor apprenticeships as follows:
| £ | |
Allocation of funding for 2012-13 has still to be finalised.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many apprentices were employed by his Department between (a) April 2010 and March 2011 and (b) April and December 2011; and how many apprenticeships he plans that his Department will sponsor between (i) January and March 2012 and (ii) April and March 2013. [89217]
Tim Loughton: Apprentices in the Department are contracted for a period of up to 18 months. The Department employed 12 apprentices between April 2010 and March 2011 and 11 between April 2011 and December 2011.
The Department plans to recruit apprentices during 2012 but has yet to agree the numbers.
Speechwriters
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many speechwriters his Department employs at each pay grade. [89402]
Tim Loughton: The Department employs fewer than five speechwriters and all are senior information officers.
Recruitment
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which of his Department’s staff who have been employed since May 2010 were previously political appointees. [89048]
Tim Loughton: Fewer than five staff employed by the Department since May 2010 were previously political appointees.
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Internships
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidelines his Department issues to its non-departmental public bodies on the employment of unpaid interns. [89401]
Tim Loughton: The Department's NDPBs maintain their own human resources functions and agree internally their own approach to internships. For that reason the Department has not issued official guidelines on these matters.
Education: Children
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the relationship between levels of subjective well-being of children and their educational attainment. [90138]
Tim Loughton: There is a well-evidenced relationship between children's well-being and their educational attainment—happier children tend also to do well in school. See, for example, research from the Centre for the Wider Benefits of Learning which can be accessed at:
http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/2050/1/Gutman2008Children.pdf
However evidence on whether these links are causal—that higher subjective well-being in children leads to improved attainment, or whether higher levels of attainment lead to higher subjective well-being—has been less well-researched.
Research from the Centre for the Economics of Education has investigated this link and found that pupils who experience higher levels of enjoyment of school at age 14 go on to have higher levels of attainment at age 16 compared to pupils with lower levels of enjoyment of school at age 14 who are otherwise similar in their characteristics. This suggests—but does not prove—that higher well-being is causing improvements in attainment.
The research also found that children who have higher achievement at age 11 go on to enjoy school more at age 16, although this is not a strong relationship.
On other indicators of well-being, pupils who experience higher levels of bullying at age 14 subsequently have lower levels of-academic achievement at age 16 compared to pupils with lower levels of bullying at age 14 who are otherwise similar.
The research can be accessed on the Centre for the Economics of Education's website:
http://cee.lse.ac.uk/ceedps/ceesp04.pdf
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what steps have been taken to secure the contents of private e-mail accounts of departmental staff relating to official business; [89055]
(2) whether (a) Rachel Woolf and (b) any staff of the New Schools Network contacted him or his staff via a private e-mail account (i) during the tender process for the free schools pre-application support grant and (ii) before the tender criteria were discussed for the grant; [89056]
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(3) whether he plans to conduct a review on the use of private e-mail accounts by his staff for official business. [89057]
Tim Loughton: The Information Commissioner published guidance on 15 December 2011 concerning information held in private e-mail accounts. The Cabinet Office is considering this and will issue further guidance to Departments.
EU Law
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many of the regulations his Department brought into force through (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) other means originated from proposals by the European Commission in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011. [88967]
Tim Loughton: During 2010 and 2011, the Department for Education did not bring into force any legislation which originated from proposals by the European Commission.
Free School Meals
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of children receiving free school meals for whom such meals are the only hot nutritious meal of the day. [89066]
Mr Gibb: The Department has not made any estimate of the number of children receiving free school meals for whom such meals are the only hot nutritious meal of the day. While local authorities and schools are responsible for providing free school meals, there is no requirement that a free school meal should be a hot meal.
Free Schools
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department employs staff to promote and encourage free schools. [89049]
Mr Gibb: The Department's Communications Directorate works across a broad range of projects in parallel rather than dedicating full-time individuals or teams on any one policy. A number of communications officials have therefore been engaged in communicating the free schools' programme at different stages.
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reason academies and free schools opened since September 2010 are not required to adhere to mandatory nutritional standards. [89435]
Mr Gibb: Academies and free schools are required to provide lunches where there is demand and free school meals where appropriate. Those opening from September 2010 are free to promote healthy eating and good nutrition as they see fit. We have no reason to believe that they will not provide healthy, balanced meals that meet the current nutritional regulatory standards.
In order to assess any changes in school food provision in schools which have converted to academy status, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend
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the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has asked the School Food Trust to undertake a qualitative study of the approach taken by academies to providing healthy school food. We expect the results to be published in the spring this year.
Free Schools: Finance
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many applications his Department has received for the free schools pre-application support grant since its creation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each such application; [89046]
(2) what reasons applicants for the free schools pre-application support grant were not interviewed; [89047]
(3) whether the New Schools Network has disclosed any conflict of interest to his Department since June 2010. [89052]
Mr Gibb: The Department received two applications for the grant to provide pre-application support to free school proposers. In line with normal practice with such grants, the Department does not intend to place these applications in the Library. In this instance, we decided to conduct a paper-based exercise with clear published criteria for assessment, allowing applicants to demonstrate their relevant skills and knowledge. In line with the terms of the grant, New Schools Network routinely declares its current and potential conflicts of interest to the Department to ensure a transparent and productive working relationship.
Playing Fields
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on allowing schools to take over the playing fields of an adjacent school that has closed. [89935]
Tim Loughton: The playing fields of maintained schools are protected by Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Schools and authorities must obtain the approval of the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), before they can dispose of publically funded land. Applications to dispose of school playing fields are approved only when it is demonstrated that the application meets published criteria. One of those criteria requires schools and local authorities to consider the needs of maintained schools within a one mile radius that are deficient in their playing field requirement, as prescribed by The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999.
Pupil Exclusions
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to (a) evaluate and (b) bring forward legislative proposals on a new approach to permanent exclusions. [89053]
Mr Gibb:
The new approach to school exclusion, which sees schools deciding where excluded pupils are educated, and retaining responsibility for their progress
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and attendance, is currently being tested in volunteer schools around the country. These trials are due to finish in July 2014.
The exclusions trials represent a significant change to current policy and thinking and it is important that the Government takes the time to understand all the implications. The trial will be independently evaluated throughout its three year term, and annual progress reports will be published.
The findings of the evaluation will inform the development of policy, and when we have a clear picture of the impact of the trial, we will bring forward legislative proposals.
Pupils: Per Capita Costs
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding was granted per pupil to Shropshire Council in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. [87817]
Mr Gibb: Per pupil unit of funding figures for 2009-10 and 2010-11 for Shropshire county council are provided as follows. The figures are for all funded pupils aged 3-19:
| Dedicated School Grants plus specific grants | ||
| Funding per pupil (£) | ||
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | |
| Notes: 1. This covers funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant, School Standards Grant, School Standards Grant (Personalisation) and standards fund as well as funding from the Learning and Skills Council; it excludes grants which are not allocated at LA level. 2. These figures are for all funded pupils aged 3-19. 3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £10. | ||
School Leaving
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children who had previously studied in a school (a) with and (b) without a sixth form, remained in education and training after the age of 16 in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [87861]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 16 January 2012]:The information requested is shown in the following table. In all cases age refers to age at the start of the academic year.
| 16 year olds in education or training (1) by whether their school at age 15 had a sixth form (2) | |||||
| Age 16 in: | |||||
| 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | |
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| (1) Defined as studying full or part-time or doing an apprenticeship during first year following completion of compulsory education. (2) Whether the school had a sixth form is based on its status at end of 2009/10. (3) Components may not sum to total due to rounding. (4) Coverage is pupils in mainstream state funded schools at age 15. Source: DfE Matched administrative data | |||||
Schools: Expenditure
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of average expenditure by schools on training events and seminars relating to examination and course work specifications; and what assessment he has made of (a) recent and (b) long-term trends in the level of such expenditure. [88323]
Mr Gibb: The Department does not collect data on expenditure by schools on such training events and seminars. We are therefore unable to make an assessment of trends in such spending.
Schools: Transport
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of children who have received support through discretionary subsidies for home to school transport in the last three years. [89073]
Tim Loughton: The Department does not collect any information from local authorities or other sources on the number of children for whom transport is provided, irrespective of whether the child is eligible for statutory free transport or discretionary support.
Schools: Warwick
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department and its predecessors have provided to (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Warwick and Leamington constituency in each of the last five years. [88392]
Mr Gibb: The Department allocates education funding to local authorities so the requested information for Warwick and Leamington constituency is not available.
Since 2006-07, the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) is the main source of school funding. As the DSG is distributed through a single guaranteed unit of funding per pupil, there is no apportionment made between the primary and secondary sectors.
Funding figures for 2006-07 to 2010-11 for Warwickshire county council are provided in the following table. These are for all funded pupils aged three to 19 and are in cash terms.
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| Cash terms funding—DSG plus grants pupils aged three to 19; Warwickshire | |
| £ million | |
| Notes: 1. This covers funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant, School Standards Grant, School Standards Grant (Personalisation) and Standards Fund; it excludes grants which are not allocated at LA level. 2. Price Base: Cash. 3. These figures are for all funded pupils aged three to 19 as funded through the DSG. | |
Students: Shropshire
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding will be granted to Shropshire council for each pupil for 2012-13. [87750]
Mr Gibb: Shropshire has been allocated £4,611.67 per pupil through the Dedicated Schools Grant for 2012-13. In addition, it will receive £600 for each pupil known to be eligible for free school meals at any time in the last six years; £600 for each pupil continuously looked after for six months; and £250 for each pupil with a parent in the armed services.
Indicative funding for sixth form pupils will be announced at the end of January 2012, with finalised allocations announced by the end of March 2012.
Teachers
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many new graduates he expects to enter the teaching profession in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014. [86731]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 19 December 2011]: The number of teachers that schools employ in future years will, as now, be a matter for them to decide, according to funding, local needs and subject to statutory requirements on class sizes where appropriate. When setting annual initial teacher training (ITT) targets to ensure an adequate pool of teachers for schools to recruit from, the Department takes into account data relating to the number of trainees entering ITT courses and the typical success rates for achieving Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) through these courses.
Teachers entering the profession in a given year will typically have started their ITT in one of the four preceding academic years. It therefore follows that the number of new graduates who wish to enter the teaching profession will be indicated by the number of trainees commencing ITT courses in the previous one to four years. In 2009/10 39,500 trainees started an ITT course; in 2010/11 this number was 38,300 and in 2011/12 this number was 35,410(1).
The proportion of final year ITT trainees who went on to achieve QTS in the three academic years to 2009/10 can be found in the following table:
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| Proportion of final year ITT trainees achieving QTS status by academic year | |||
| Final year outcome for ITT trainees | |||
| Academic year | Achieved QTS (%) | Did not achieve QTS (%) | Total ITT trainees in final year |
| Notes: 1. Percentages rounded to the nearest 1% and total rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Includes both undergraduate and postgraduate courses through mainstream and employment-based routes. Source: TDA Performance Profiles | |||
(1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and taken from the DfE School Workforce in England Statistical First Release, TDA Census Cohort data and the TDA Census Publication for successive years.
Teachers: Ex-servicemen
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress he is making in enrolling former service personnel into the teaching profession. [89522]
Mr Gibb [holding answer16 January 2012]: The Government launched the Military to Mentors programme in September 2011, which will aim to train up to 100 service leavers to work with some of our most vulnerable young people in schools this year. We are also working closely with the Ministry of Defence to develop the wider Troops to Teachers programme with the aim of encouraging high quality service leavers to transfer their talents to schools, where they can become inspirational teachers and role models.
We will announce further details of the programme shortly.
Teachers: Training
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to improve regulation of teacher training seminars designed to improve knowledge of examination specifications in Key Stage 4 examinations run by (a) examination awarding bodies and (b) non-awarding body private providers. [89323]
Mr Gibb: In December 2011, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), asked the independent qualifications regulator, Ofqual, to investigate and report on the serious allegations levelled against awarding bodies of malpractice in seminars that they had provided to teachers. Ofqual issued an interim report on 20 December, with an update on 6 January. These reports can be found on Ofqual's website at:
www.ofqual.gov.uk/files/2011-12-20-awarding-organisation-seminars-for-teachers.pdf
www.ofqual.gov.uk/files/2012-01-06-letter-to-secretary-of-state-statement-january-series.pdf?itemid=145
We welcome Ofqual's review into the future role of both regulated and unregulated seminars. It is clear to the Government that if such events are to continue, greater control is needed over the information that can be shared. Qualifications must be true tests of ability
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across a suitably broad and challenging syllabus. Ofqual will report on the outcome of their review by the summer.
University Technical College
Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many officials in his Department are working on the proposed creation of a University Technical College in Plymouth. [89316]
Mr Gibb: The Department's Free Schools Group, which includes the University Technical Colleges (UTCs) and Studio Schools Division, works across a broad range of projects in parallel, rather than dedicating full-time individuals or teams on any one project. A number of officials will therefore be engaged in supporting delivery of the Plymouth UTC at different stages.
Vocational Guidance
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that pupils receive high-quality information, guidance and advice on future education and career options. [89076]
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Mr Gibb: From September, schools will be placed under a duty to secure access to independent and impartial careers guidance for their pupils. The guidance must include information on the full range of 16 to 18 education and training options, including apprenticeships. Statutory guidance will set expectations about the type and quality of support schools should offer under the new duty, including the need to secure face-to-face careers guidance where it is the most suitable support, particularly for the disadvantaged.
In support of the new duty, schools will be able to access high-quality support from providers who have achieved a national quality standard for careers guidance. This quality standard will assist schools in making well-informed decisions about which provider to use.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to answer question 88686, on private email accounts, tabled on 20 December 2011 for answer on 10 January 2012. [90375]
Tim Loughton: A response to the hon. Member's question was issued on 12 January 2012, Official Report, column 425W.