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Pupils: Absenteeism
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the (a) overall absence rate, (b) unauthorised absence rate and (c) number of persistent absentees was at each state-funded secondary school in each London borough in each academic year from 2005-06 to the latest figures available. [94133]
Mr Gibb: Information on the overall and unauthorised absence rates and number of persistent absentees in each state-funded secondary school in each London borough for 2005/06, 2007/08 and 2009/10 has been placed in the House Libraries. To provide information for further years would incur disproportionate cost.
School Leaving
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of school sixth formers left school before completing their post-16 studies in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [94533]
Mr Gibb: The figures requested cannot be readily calculated from the school census data the Department collects from school sixth forms.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many additional 17-year-olds will need to participate in education or training by 1 September 2013 to meet the requirements of the Education and Skills Act 2008; and what proportion of such people he expects to be in (a) a school sixth form, (b) a sixth-form college, (c) a further education college and (d) employment with training. [94700]
Tim Loughton: The Education and Skills Act 2008 requires that from September 2013 young people must remain in qualifying education and training until they reach academic age(1) 17. From 2015, the requirement to remain in education and training will be extended further, until the young person reaches their 18th birthday.
How many more young people will need to remain in education and training can be estimated from the number of young people of academic age 16 who were in education and work-based learning at the end of 2010, the latest year for which we have information. This is regarded as the best proxy, from the National Statistics currently available, for provision that will satisfy the RPA requirements.
At the end of 2010, the proportion of young people of academic age 16 in education and work-based learning was 96.1%, or 604,600. Based on figures for 2010, this means an additional 3.9% or 24,600 young people in England would have had to remain in learning. In 2013, the number of additional learners required is likely to be lower than the estimate based on 2010 data. The population of academic age 16-year-olds is projected to be around 616,500 in the year 2013/14. As such, just under 12,000 additional learning places would be required under RPA in 2013 over and above the numbers in education and work-based learning in 2010. The Department for Education is committed to funding places in education and training for all 16 to 17-year-olds.
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Table 1 shows the range of activities or types of educational institution that young people attended at the end of 2010.
(1) Academic age is the age of the young person on the preceding 31 August, it effectively allocates young people into school years, so young people in year 11 will be academic age 15, actual age 15-16.
| Table 1: Academic age 16-year-olds in education and work-based learning (1) by route, end 2010 (provisional) | ||
| Percentage | Number | |
| (1) Source: DFE statistical first release “Participation in Education, Training and Employment by 16-18 Year Olds in England” (2) Discounted to allow for young people also participating in full or part-time education. (3) Figures may not add up due to rounding. | ||
Schools: Armed Forces
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children have received the service child premium since May 2010. [94790]
Sarah Teather: The service child premium is paid to schools on the basis of the number of full-time equivalent pupils in state-funded primary, state-funded secondary and maintained special schools recorded on roll as service children on the January 2011 School Census in year groups R-11. It was introduced in April 2011 and 45,070 pupils are eligible in 2011-12. Full details are available on the Department's website at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2012pupilpremium/a0075963/pupil-premium-2011-12
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were registered as a service child in each academic year since May 2009. [94791]
Sarah Teather: Children are registered as being service children on the January School Census. In January 2010 there were 38,170 pupils registered at nursery, state-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools as service children and in January 2011 there were 48,070. This is the total number of pupils registered and will include year groups not eligible for the service child premium.
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children have had the service child premium stopped since May 2010; and for what reasons. [94792]
Sarah Teather:
The service child premium is paid to schools on the basis of the number of pupils in the school registered as service children on the January School Census. As long as a child is registered as a service child the premium will continue to be paid. For the first year of the premium the January 2011 Census
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provided the number eligible for the premium from April 2011 to March 2012. As this is the first year of the premium no child has ceased to be eligible since it was introduced. The Department will not hold any information for the reasons a child ceases to be eligible. The service child premium for 2012-13 will be based on the January 2012 School Census, when available.
Schools: Rossendale
Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to improve the quality of school buildings in Rossendale and Darwen constituency. [93736]
Mr Gibb:
The Department for Education provides capital funding to all local authorities for investment in
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school buildings. It is the responsibility of Lancashire county council to prioritise the available funds across the schools in its estate.
On 13 December 2011, Official Report, columns 92-95WS, we announced capital allocations to schools and local authorities for 2012-13, including £44 million for Lancashire county council. The council and its schools were allocated £69.6 million in 2011-12.
Science: GCSE
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils were entered for three separate sciences at GCSE in each local authority in 2010-11. [95054]
Mr Gibb: The percentage of pupils that were entered for GCSEs in the three separate sciences in 2010/11 for each local authority is given as follows.
| Percentage of Pupils (1,2,3,4) entered for GCSEs in separate sciences by local authority: year 2010/11 (revised), coverage: England | |||||
| Three separate sciences | |||||
| Percentage entered for GCSEs in: | |||||
| Region local authority | LA region number | Number of pupils at end Key Stage 4 | Physics | Chemistry | Biological Sciences |
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| n/a = Not applicable. (1) Figures are based on pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. (2) For each subject, only one attempt is counted—that which achieved the highest grade. This is including attempts by these pupils in previous academic years. (3) Local authority, region and the England (maintained sector) figures in this table do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (4) Figures cover achievements in maintained schools including academies but exclude hospital schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and Alternative Provision (AP). Source: 'GCSE and Equivalent Results in England, 2010/11 (Revised)' available at the following link: http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001056/index.shtml | |||||
Sixth Form Education: Assessments
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of post-16 students studied (a) A levels and (b) the international baccalaureate in (i) Dartford constituency, (ii) Kent and (iii) the UK in each of the last five years. [95077]
Mr Gibb: The information requested for Dartford, Kent and England can be found in the following table for the academic year 2007/08 to 2010/11. Data for 2006/07 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Number of students (1) aged 16-18 (2) and percentage entering A levels (3) and the international baccalaureate in Dartford (4) , Kent (5) and England (6) , 2007/08 to 2010/11, maintained schools (including CTCs and academies) and further education sector colleges | ||||
| Number of students (1) aged 16-18 (2) | Percentage entering A levels (3) | Percentage entering the international baccalaureate | ||
| (1) 16 to 18-year-old students entered for level 3 qualifications at least equivalent in size to one GCE/applied GCE A level. (2) Age at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August 2010 for 2010/11. (3) Those students entered for GCE/applied GCE A levels and double awards. (4) Parliamentary constituency figures are based on the postcode of the school. (5) Local authority figures are based on the local authority area of the school. (6) England figures are the sum of all local authority figures. Source: 2007/08 to 2009/10: National Pupil Database (final data). 2010/11: Key stage 5 attainment data (revised data). | ||||
Special Educational Needs
Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people with (a) autism and (b) a disability will enter the education system when the participation age is raised in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2015; and what steps he is taking to ensure such demand for places can be met. [94094]
Sarah Teather: All 16 and 17-year-olds who are able to do so will be expected to participate in education or training when the participation age is raised to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015. We do not know how many of those young people will have a disability or autism. However, work to assess the financial implications of raising the participation age took into account that more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds will be accessing education, including more who will need extra support to participate.
The Green Paper “Support and Aspiration: A New Approach to Disability”, sets out our aspirations to help young people with special education needs or disabilities make the most of their future, and to give them the best chance of a fulfilling adulthood with employment, good health and independence. Our proposals include access to better quality vocational and work-related learning options to enable young people to progress in their learning post-16, and the development of supported internships. We are considering responses to the consultation on these proposals and will be publishing a report with our progress and next steps shortly.
Young People: Unemployment
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to his statistical release dated 29 November 2011, what proportion of people aged (a) 16, (b) 17 and (c) 18 years old who were not in education, employment or training were not qualified to at least Level one in each of the last five years. [95416]
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Tim Loughton: Quarterly data from the Labour Force Survey on the number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET in England are published in the statistical release (SR) ‘NEET Quarterly Brief’. The most recent version was released on 24 November 2011.
The Labour Force Survey does not distinguish between those at Level 1 or below Level 1, but does indicate whether respondents are above or below Level 2, based on the qualifications they report. Sample sizes in the Labour Force Survey are not sufficient to produce robust estimates of qualification levels for young people NEET by single age group, so estimates for 16 to 18-year-olds combined are provided in this response.
The following table shows the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds who were below Level 2 in Quarter 3 of each year since 2007, for both the NEET group and those in education, employment or training (EET).
| Proportion of young people below Level 2 (1) | |||||
| Percentage | |||||
| Q3 2007 | Q3 2008 | Q3 2009 | Q3 2010 | Q3 2011 | |
| (1) Confidence intervals around these estimates at the 95% level are around +/- 5 percentage points for the NEET group, and +1-2 percentage points for the EET group. These confidence intervals are based on sampling error alone. The results will also be subject to respondent error, because the attainment levels in the LFS are assigned based on self-reported qualifications. | |||||
Young People: Voluntary Work
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people took part in the National Citizen Service pilot in summer 2011; and what the cost to the public purse was of the programme. [95125]
Tim Loughton: This information is being finalised as part of the evaluation of the 2011 pilots. Early indications are that at least 8,300 young people participated in NCS. The allocation of Government funding towards the 2011 pilots was £14,900,000.
The interim NCS evaluation report will be published in March.
Youth Services: Expenditure
Ms Buck:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much each local authority reported in its Section 251 financial returns as outturn expenditure on (a) youth work, (b) Connexions and (c) all
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provisions for young people per capita in 2010-11; and what proportion of the equivalent figures for 2008-09 this represents. [94627]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 9 February 2012]: The information requested on individual local authorities' spend on youth provision in 2010-11 and comparison with spending in 2008-09 requested has been placed in the House Libraries.
The categories used to record spending on services for young people between 2008-09 and 2010-11 have changed. This means that it is not possible to make reliable year on year comparisons for spending in specific areas. The new method of collection meant that some LAs did not fill in certain fields properly, or at all, and so some figures should be used with extreme caution as it is unlikely they reflect the actual situation and spend within the LA. For example, it is thought to be highly unlikely that an LA would have zero spend on Youth Work across a financial year. Data on spending on student support have not been included in the figures on provisions for young people but have been provided separately in the table.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the capacity of the Connexions Caseload Information System to monitor participation of 16 to 18 year-olds in education or training. [94703]
Tim Loughton: The Client Caseload Information System (CCIS) has been maintained by local authorities since 2003. It is an important tool that they use to gather and record information about the participation of young people in their area in education or training. This enables local authorities to fulfil their statutory duty to support young people to engage in learning.
Each local authority is able to develop their own CCIS system to best meet the needs of young people in their area. These local CCIS databases provide aggregate data automatically to the National CCIS system, which can be used by local authorities to compare their position with neighbouring areas, improving joint working and performance on young people's participation.
Monitoring and supporting young people's participation in education and training will become increasingly important as we raise the participation age to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015. As we have made clear in statutory guidance, local authorities will continue to use their CCIS databases to accurately record young people's participation so that they can support those young people who are not participating. Local authorities fund their work to support young people's participation through the Early Intervention Grant.