Children: Abuse
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2012, Official Report, column 619W, on children: abuse, if the survey to be conducted by Ofsted on safeguarding in outstanding schools will include face to face interviews with pupils in these schools. [135438]
Mr Timpson: Ofsted has not yet determined the precise methodology for this survey. We will be discussing with Ofsted how best to gather the views of pupils as part of this study.
Children: Disability
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what arrangements he has made to ensure that each service listed in a local offer is sufficient to meet the needs of local disabled children and their families. [134338]
Mr Timpson: The Government published draft legislative provisions for special educational needs in September 2012, including proposals for local authorities in England to publish a local offer of services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN), including those who are disabled. We anticipate that in many cases this would cover services that are accessed by both disabled children and young people with and without SEN. The local offer would enable families to see readily what they can expect from mainstream services across education, health and social care; how to access more specialist support; how decisions are made including eligibility criteria for accessing services, where appropriate; and how to complain or appeal.
Local authorities would be required to involve local children, young people and families in developing their local offer to take account of their needs and aspirations.
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Each service would be accountable for delivering what is set out in the local offer and, if families are unhappy with what they receive or what is available, they would be able to take this up with those services.
The draft special educational needs provisions are being scrutinised by the Education Select Committee. The Government will give careful consideration to the Committee's report when framing the legislation for introduction to Parliament.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of families with disabled children who cannot access local services; and if he will bring forward proposals to assist such families to access such services. [134859]
Mr Timpson: No such recent estimate has been made. Initiatives by Government have aimed to increase the access of disabled children and their families to services. For example, during a period of Government support, the number of disabled children receiving short breaks rose from 57,383 in 2008-09 to 162,831 in 2010-11—an increase of over 105,000 children. Between 2011-12 and 2014-15, the Government are making available £800 million to local authorities in un-ringfenced grants for short breaks services.
Under the Equality Act 2010, all providers of public services must not discriminate against disabled people when offering their services, such as in respect of the terms the services are offered, and must also have due regard to eliminating discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations among protected groups such as disabled people.
Children: Protection
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent steps he has taken to improve (a) child protection procedures in school and (b) co-operation between schools and local authority childrens’ services; and when he intends to appoint a lead officer on child protection in his Department. [134741]
Mr Timpson [holding answer 20 December 2012]: We plan shortly to consult on updated statutory guidance for schools on safeguarding generally, “Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education”. As well as giving advice on child protection arrangements, the guidance recommends that all schools should work closely with local authorities and others as part of their local safeguarding children board (LSCB) inter-agency safeguarding procedures. We also consulted in the summer on revising “Working Together to Safeguard Children” statutory guidance which sets out clearly the child protection responsibilities of all agencies, including schools, and we will publish this shortly. Setting a strong policy on child protection is a priority for this Department: we have clear lines of accountability from lead officials working on child protection and safeguarding to the permanent secretary. In addition, we hope to appoint two chief social workers early this year.
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Children's Centres
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what change there has been in the number of Sure Start children's centres in each local authority area since May 2010. [128769]
Elizabeth Truss: The following table shows the breakdown of children's centre numbers by local authority at April 2010 and at 13 November 2012. The table is based on information supplied by local authorities.
In April 2010 there were 3,631 children's centres. On 13 November 2012 the reduction of 401 since April 2010, includes only 25 which were outright closures (data as at 13 November 2012). The further 376 of the reduction in number has been as a result of reorganisations including the merging of two or more centres.
| Region | Local authority | Number of designated children's centres at 30 April 2010 | Number of designated children's centres at 13 November 2012 |
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Citizenship: Education
Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what qualifications are required to teach citizenship in schools. [134693]
Mr Laws: To teach in a maintained school a person must hold qualified teacher status or qualified teacher learning and skills status, or the person must be an instructor with special qualifications or experience, an employment-based trainee teacher or an overseas trained teacher within four years of his or her first day of teaching in England. Teachers in academies must meet the same requirements as in maintained schools if the academy's funding agreement requires this.
The Government do not require particular qualifications to teach citizenship. Individual head teachers are best placed to decide the basis on which to appoint and deploy teachers in the interest of the pupils in their schools.
Conditions of Employment
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of (1) officials in his Department have requested (a) part-time, (b) job-share or (c) other flexible working arrangements in each of the last five years; and how many such requests were granted; [133655]
(2) staff in his Department requested (a) part-time, (b) job-share or (c) other flexible working arrangements in each of the last five years; and how many such requests were granted. [134993]
Elizabeth Truss: The Department has a range of flexible working arrangements which can be put in place. Discussions and agreements to these arrangements are managed locally with line managers and are reviewed regularly to ensure that any agreement meets business needs. Possible arrangements include working from home, job share, part-time working and compressed hours.
No information is available on the number of requests made for different working arrangements. Where there
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has been agreement to a different working arrangement, information is only held centrally where these impact on payroll.
Information is available for the number of staff working part-time for the last three financial years.
| Number of part-time staff | Total number of staff | % part-time staff | |
The majority of the Department's staff who work from home on a regular or irregular basis are managed under flexible local arrangements which are not recorded centrally. However, the Department has some staff whose home is considered their normal place of work because their job involves them travelling around sites at a distance from departmental offices. A manual survey undertaken last year indicated that there are around 4% of staff in the Department who fall within this category.
The Department undertook a manual survey of staff to identify those working compressed hours as at summer 2012. This established that around 8% of staff work compressed hours.
Curriculum
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects the timetable for the National Curriculum Review to be announced and published. [119700]
Elizabeth Truss: The timetable for the review of the national curriculum was originally published on the Department’s website when we launched the review in January 2011. It set out that the review would be conducted in two phases. Phase 1 would introduce new Programmes of Study for English, mathematics, science and physical education for first teaching from September 2013; and phase 2 would introduce any other subjects that form part of the new national curriculum from September 2014. In December 2011, however, we announced a change to this timetable which means that we will now implement the new national curriculum for all subjects from September 2014.
Domestic Violence
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department takes to identify, assess and address risks to women and children of domestic violence as a result of private law Children Act proceedings. [135310]
Mr Timpson: The Private Law Programme requires courts to identify risks or allegations of abuse at an early stage in residence and contact proceedings brought under the Children Act 1989 (‘the Act’), and if necessary hold a fact-finding hearing to determine the risk to parties before deciding how contact is to proceed.
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The Act requires courts to have the welfare of the child as its paramount consideration when making decisions. The Welfare Checklist in the Act specifies that courts must have regard to particular issues, including the physical and emotional needs of the child, and any harm which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering. Risk of harm to the child may relate directly to harm the child has experienced themselves or which he or she has witnessed; for example, domestic violence.
Additionally, CAFCASS officers have a duty to conduct a risk assessment during private family law proceedings when they suspect that a child is at risk of harm. The results of that risk assessment are provided to the court so that it may make well-informed decisions.
Education: Assessments
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure that pupils from Northern Ireland who sit GCSE examinations through English and Welsh examination boards will be catered for in any new examination arrangements introduced. [124292]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 22 October 2012]: Qualifications policy is a devolved matter and it is for each government to decide on the reforms they believe are necessary to ensure that examinations at 16 are rigorous and prepare young people to succeed in further and higher education and the world of work.
In England, we seek to reverse the long-term decline in standards by providing schools with new, high quality qualifications—to be known as English Baccalaureate Certificates—that match the world's best.
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupil results at key stage four were discounted from schools results in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12. [132097]
Elizabeth Truss: “Discounting” in the School Performance Tables is intended to ensure that, where a student has taken more than one qualification in the same subject area, the Tables only give credit once for teaching a single course of study by counting the best result achieved.
At present, discounting may occur if:
i. A student re-sits a qualification before the end of the key stage (perhaps with a different awarding organisation);
ii. A student has obtained qualifications in the same subject but at different levels before the end of key stage 4 e.g. a GCSE and an AS level;
iii. The student has completed a single course of study, but is then entered for two or more very similar qualifications e.g. a GCSE and an iGCSE. Discounting ensures that only the best grade obtained is counted.
Information in the following table shows the number of pupils re-taking the same qualification (i.e. a GCSE) and those taking a different qualification (e.g. an AS-level or GCSE in addition to an iGCSE) in the same subject area.
These figures should not be combined as a single pupil may retake the same qualification within one subject area, but take multiple different qualifications in another subject area. A pupil may also retake the
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same qualification in a number of subject areas, in all cases within each cell below a pupil is counted only once.
| Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 with results discounted | |||
| Year: 2010/11 (final), 2011/12 (provisional) | |||
| Coverage: England (all schools) | |||
| Number of pupils with results discounted due to: | |||
| Retaking at least one similar qualification in the same subject area(1) | Taking at least one different qualification in the same subject area(2) | Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 | |
| (1 )The similar qualification is defined here as being of the same level in the same subject area (e.g. all GCSE geography). (2) Examples of 'different qualifications' in the same subject may include GCSE mathematics and AS level mathematics. In this situation, this in all likelihood demonstrates good progression. It may also include pupils taking both GCSEs and iGCSEs in the same subject. Note: The Performance Tables also now include 'exception discounting rules' for linked qualifications in English, mathematics and the sciences e.g. to determine what counts when pupils have sat GCSEs in individual sciences but also obtained core and additional science GCSEs. We are not able to easily account for this within this analysis. | |||
Education: East of England
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many compensation claims have been made against local education authorities in the East of England in each of the last three years; and how much was paid to compensation claimants by local education authorities in the East of England in each of the last three years. [135029]
Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not hold this information. Local authorities in the East of England will no doubt hold this information but the Department for Education does not collate the information centrally.
Education: Halton
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the level of central Government expenditure on education in Halton borough council area has been in each financial year since 2009-10. [133926]
Mr Laws: Funding allocated by the Department for Education for schools and academies in Halton borough council, for each year from 2009-10 to 2012-13, is shown in the following table:
| £ million | ||
| Financial year | Revenue funding | Capital funding |
Revenue funding includes funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant and:
other specific grants up to 2010-11;
Pupil Premium since 2011-12; and
School Sixth Form funding for maintained schools.
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The figures do not include sixth form funding paid direct to academies by the Education Funding Agency (previously the Young People's Learning Agency). Capital funding for 2012-13 is provisional at this point in the financial year.
EU Law
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which EU directives his Department transposed in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 to date; which EU directives his Department expects to transpose in (i) 2013 and (ii) the next two years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such directive to the (A) public purse and (B) private sector. [133691]
Elizabeth Truss: The Department has not transposed any EU directives in 2011 and 2012. I do not expect the Department to transpose any EU directives in 2013 or in the following two years.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which regulations his Department introduced as a result of EU legislation in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 to date; which regulations his Department expects to implement as a result of EU legislation in (i) 2013 and (ii) the next two years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such regulation to the (A) public purse and (B) private sector. [133692]
Elizabeth Truss: The Department has not introduced any regulations as a result of EU legislation in 2011 and 2012. I do not expect the Department to implement any regulations as a result of EU legislation in 2013 or in the following two years.
Free Schools: Newham
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how much funding his Department has provided to Newham Free Academy; [119003]
(2) what information his Department holds on the number of applications Newham Free Academy has received from prospective pupils; [119012]
(3) how many meetings have taken place between representatives of Newham Free Academy and his Department; [119013]
(4) how many of the prospective parents of the Newham Free Academy reside in the London borough of Newham; [119581]
(5) from which postcodes prospective parents applied for their child or children to attend the Newham Free Academy. [119582]
Elizabeth Truss: Officials from the Department have had regular contact with representatives from Newham Free Academy, as they do with all free school groups whose application is approved. Details of the funding provided to all free school proposals approved to open in 2012 will be published in 2013.
London borough of Newham's Pupil Services received a total of nine applications for a Year 7 place at Newham Free Academy for September 2012. No information is held by the Department on the postcodes or residency of prospective parents for the school. The proposal has been withdrawn from the free school programme.
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GCSE
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what matters were taken into consideration when setting the floor target for the proportion of pupils achieving five or more A* to C GCSEs. [135003]
Mr Laws: The floor standard represents the minimum acceptable level of achievement of which secondary schools should be capable, and helps to identify those schools where urgent action is required to bring about improvement. We have set a higher floor standard, which we will raise over time, but one that is fairer because it includes expected standards of both attainment and progression.
Under the current standard, a secondary school will fall below the floor if fewer than 40% of pupils achieve five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including English and mathematics, and fewer pupils make good progress than the national average. The Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has made clear that we aspire to raise the standard to 50% by the end of this Parliament. It is unacceptable to have secondary schools where half of children are not secure in the basics by 16.
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people now aged 19 who were looked after at the age of 16 and who were not in employment, education or training on 31 March 2011 had achieved (a) five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents, (b) A* to C in both GCSE English and mathematics, (c) A* to C in English GCSE and (d) A* to C in GCSE mathematics. [135329]
Mr Timpson: The information requested on the educational outcomes of young people now aged 19 years who were looked-after at the age of 16 and who were not in employment, education or training on 31 March 2011 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Information on outcomes for children looked-after by local authorities in England, as at 31 March 2012, were published in a Statistical First Release on 12 December 2012:
http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/recentreleases/a00217266/outcomes-children-looked-after-las-england-march-2012
The attainment of looked-after children(1) at key stage 4, on all the key indicators, has increased between 2011 and 2012, and there are encouraging signs that the gap in attainment between looked-after children and non-looked after children is beginning to narrow.
The Government are committed to improving educational outcomes for looked-after children. In my letter of 12 December to Directors of Children's Services and Lead Members, I announced our intention to work with the National College and require all local authorities in England to appoint a Virtual School Head to champion the education of their looked-after children.
(1) Children looked-after continuously for 12 months in the year ending 31 March.
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GCSE: Leeds
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils in state schools in Leeds North West constituency achieved five GCSE passes, including mathematics and English, in each year since 2007. [133506]
Elizabeth Truss: The information requested is given in the following table:
| Numbers and percentages of pupils(1,2,3) achieving five or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent including mathematics and English GCSEs(4,5) and five or more A*-G grades at GCSE and equivalent including mathematics and English GCSEs(4,5) in Leeds North West constituency(6). Years: 2006/07 to 2010/11 | |||||
| Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 | Five or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs | Five or more A*- G grades at GCSE and equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs | |||
| No. achieving | % achieving | No. achieving | % achieving | ||
| (1)Percentages are based on all pupils at end of key stage 4 in Leeds North West parliamentary constituency. (2) Figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (3) Figures include all state-funded schools (including CTCs and academies). (4) From 2009/10 iGCSEs, accredited at time of publication, have been counted as GCSE equivalents and also as English and mathematics GCSEs. (5) Including attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (6) Parliamentary constituency figures are based on the postcode of the school. Source: National Pupil Database (final data) | |||||
GCSE: Wales
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Welsh Government in respect of GCSEs in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [119569]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 6 September 2012]: Qualifications policy is a devolved matter. It is for each government to decide on the reforms they believe are necessary to ensure that examinations at 16 are rigorous and prepare young people to succeed in further and higher education and the world of work. Education Ministers have not had discussions with Ministers in the Welsh Government about GCSEs in Wales. Officials of the Department for Education share information about qualifications policy developments with their counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland. The qualifications regulators for England, Wales and Northern Ireland continue to discuss with their fellow regulators issues across the three countries.
Health Education: Sex
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to update the sexual relationship education guidance for personal, social and health education lessons. [134813]
Elizabeth Truss:
The Secretary of State's Guidance on Sex and Relationships Education already provides schools with a sound set of principles to ensure that
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pupils receive age-appropriate support through their physical, emotional and moral development.
The Guidance is being considered as part of an internal review of personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE). We have conducted a consultation and are considering its conclusions.
Herringham School
Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects Herringham School to convert to Academy status; and if he will make a statement. [121238]
Elizabeth Truss: Herringham Primary School, Thurrock received an Academy Order on 16 November 2011. Officials are working with the school and Thurrock borough council to achieve a conversion date set by the school. The school will be joining the Gateway Academy Trust, part of the Ormiston Academies Network.
Immigration
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the additional cost of the delivery of those public services for which his Department is responsible arising from inward migration since 1997. [134305]
Mr Laws: Schools and providers of children's services do not monitor the migration status of children and young people and have never been required to do so. We cannot, therefore, estimate the additional cost to the Department for Education arising from inward migration.
Internet
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much has been spent on (a) strategy and planning, (b) design and build, (c) hosting and infrastructure, (d) content provision and (e) testing and evaluation for his Department's websites in each of the last two years; and how much has been allocated for each such category of expenditure in 2012-13. [132123]
Mr Laws: The Department has spent a total of £9,073,100 (including VAT) on the Department's websites in the past two years. A detailed breakdown is contained in the following table:
| £ | |||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 (Budget allocation) | |
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A total of £4,364,145 has been allocated to the website in 2012-13. The content provision costs for 2012-13 include the sum of £350,000 which has been allocated to cover the cost of migrating content to the gov.uk platform.
Languages: GCSE
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of students sitting GCSE examinations in (a) Hindi, (b) Arabic, (c) Portuguese, (d) Russian, (e) Punjabi, (f) Mandarin and (g) Cantonese passed at A* to C level in each of the last 10 years. [126218]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 1 November 2012]: The information requested for each of the last five years is included in the following table. To provide this information for earlier years would incur a disproportionate cost. There are no entries for GCSE Hindi over this time period; however, a Cambridge International Certificate in Hindi was entered by 23 pupils who were at the end of key stage 4 in 2011/12. We are not able to identify GCSE Mandarin and Cantonese, therefore, GCSE Chinese has been given.
| GCSE achievements(1) in selected subjects of pupils at the end of key stage 4 in schools, 2007/08 to 2011/12(2), England | |||||
| Final | |||||
| 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11(3) | 2011/12(3) (Provisional) | |
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| (1) For each subject only one attempt is counted—that which achieved the highest grade. (2) Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (3) Figures for 2010/11 and 2011/12 include pupils in alternative provision, earlier years do not. | |||||
Meetings
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many meetings have been conducted by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Childcare since September 2012; how many such meetings have included hon. Members from (a) the Conservative and Liberal Democrat and (b) other parties; how many such meetings have included charities; and how many have included other types of organisation. [133962]
Mr Timpson [holding answer 17 December 2012]: Since September 2012, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Childcare, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss), has conducted 109 external meetings. There have been 19 meetings which included hon. Members from the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties and one meeting which included hon. Members from other parties. Charities have been present at nine meetings and 78 meetings have included other types of organisations.
Official Cars
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) Ministerial Car Pool journeys and (b) Red Box movements he has undertaken in the last 12 months. [114006]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 28 June 2012]: The Department for Education has one allocated ministerial car. For other official journeys, Ministers use public transport or the Ministerial Car Pool Service.
The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), uses official cars for official business and to transport
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classified papers in the Red Box in line with the Ministerial Code. In the last 12 months (from June 2011 to the end of May 2012), he has used the Ministerial Car Pool for 176 journeys and 78 Red Box deliveries.
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which Ministers in his Department have been allocated Government cars; and what the last dates were on which such cars were used by each Minister for (a) individual and (b) pool car use. [133797]
Elizabeth Truss: No Ministers have Government cars allocated to them individually; however one departmental pool car is contracted to the Department. Not all journeys are logged, therefore the latest dates the car was used by each Minister is not known.
Ofsted
Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he received concerning Ofsted's use of lay inspectors prior to the introduction of the revised section 5 Inspection Framework in September 2012; and what representations he has received since the introduction of the revised framework. [135001]
Mr Laws: Her Majesty's Chief Inspector (HMCI) has the specific responsibility to determine the qualifications and experience required of all inspectors who undertake inspections on his behalf. Additionally, under the Education and Inspections Act 2006, HMCI is required to publish a report on the qualifications, experience and standards required of additional inspectors undertaking inspections on his behalf. The Department has not received any formal representations on this matter. However, we have received a small amount of correspondence concerning this matter prior to, and since, the introduction of the revised ‘framework for school inspection’. HMCI has ceased using former lay inspectors in the delivery of inspections under the revised framework. All inspectors of schools are required to have appropriate teaching qualifications.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which groups he has met with to discuss relationship education in the latest period for which figures are available; and which groups he intends to meet for discussions on relationship education in the next 12 months. [134973]
Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), met my hon. Friends the Members for Peterborough (Mr Jackson), Chelsea and Fulham (Greg Hands), Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey) and Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burrowes), to discuss sex and relationship education on 8 February 2011. The Secretary of State has no such meetings planned in the next 12 months.
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Physical Education
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the English Baccalaureate on the teaching of physical education in secondary schools. [134190]
Elizabeth Truss: A survey conducted recently by Ipsos Mori on behalf of the Department for Education found no evidence that the introduction of the English Baccalaureate has had an impact on the teaching of physical education (PE) in secondary schools. PE is a compulsory part of the National Curriculum at all four key stages and will remain compulsory following the current review of the National Curriculum. Although pupils studying PE at key stage 4 do not have to take an examination in the subject, they do have to follow the full programme of study for PE for that key stage.
Primary Education: Admissions
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the point at which any peak in numbers of additional primary school forms of entry will occur in (a) Huddersfield, (b) Yorkshire and (c) England. [133938]
Mr Laws: As part of the strategic management of their schools, we require local authorities to produce a forecast of the number of pupils, by year group, in their primary schools five years ahead and seven years ahead for secondary schools. The Department collects the pupil forecast information from each local authority through an annual survey. The most recent data available relate to forecasts produced in 2011 which are available at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001050/index.shtml
The published data show the forecasted number of reception pupils over the next five years by local authority and inform the point at which any peak in numbers of primary aged pupils will occur.
Primary Education: Yorkshire and the Humber
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average number of pupils is at each primary school in (a) Hull, (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire, (c) North East Lincolnshire and (d) North Lincolnshire. [134742]
Mr Laws: The average number of pupils at each state-funded primary school by local authority can be derived from the tables published as part of the Statistical First Release “Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2012”. Specifically table 7a which details the total number of state-funded primary schools by local authority, and 7b which details the total number of pupils at state-funded primary schools by local authority. These data are available on the Department's website:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001071/index.shtml
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The number of state-funded primary schools and the total number of pupils in each of the four local authorities specified are given in the following table with an average number per primary school derived from this data.
| Number of state-funded primary schools, pupils in state-funded primary schools and average number of pupils per state-funded primary school, January 2012 | |||
| Number of primary schools | Headcount of pupils | Average number of pupils per primary school | |
| Note: Includes middle schools as deemed and all primary academies including free schools. Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. Source: School Census, January 2012 | |||
Psychometric Testing
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has made an assessment of the Values in Action profiling of character strength in developing positive character strength. [120085]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 7 September 2012]: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has made no assessment of the Values in Action profiling of character strength.
Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answers of 5 July 2012, Official Report, columns 808-11W, on publications, how much his Department has spent on (a) circulars, (b) consultation documents and (c) publications since May 2010. [117914]
Elizabeth Truss: Consultations produced by the Department incur no cost as they come from the e-consultation system. Production of consultation publications in hard copy has not been done for a few years as part of the Government’s cost saving exercise.
The Department’s total spend on publications since May 2010 was £164,520.15.
The Department’s finance system is unable to differentiate specific costs on how much was spent on circulars.
Pupils: Bullying
Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many children in each local authority area are receiving elective home education as a result of severe bullying; [134930]
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(2) what support his Department makes available for severely-bullied children who are not attending school. [134931]
Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not collect information on the number of children being home educated. This Government want schools to take firm action against bullying and prevent it from occurring in the first place. To help schools, this Government have strengthened teachers' powers to tackle poor behaviour and bullying through the Education Act 2011, and updated our advice to schools on preventing and tackling bullying.
The Department for Education does not provide specific support to severely-bullied children who are not attending school. Schools, and where appropriate local authorities and other agencies, are best placed to support victims of bullying who cannot, or do not wish to, attend school. In such circumstances the emphasis should be on working with the pupil and parents to support a successful reintegration to school.
Pupils: East of England
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on each school pupil in each local education authority area in the east of England in each of the last five years. [134839]
Mr Laws: The available information on how much has been spent on each school pupil in each local education authority in the east of England for the last five years has been placed in the House Libraries. The information for 2011-12 will be available in January 2013 when it will be published as Official Statistics.
Pupils: English Language
Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils there are for whom English is a second language in schools in (a) England and Wales, (b) Greater London and (c) Crawley constituency. [134059]
Mr Laws: Information on pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English is shown in the table.
The latest published information on first language is available in the ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2012' Statistical First Release at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001071/index.shtml
The Department does not collect information on pupils in Wales. This is a devolved matter for the Welsh Assembly.
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| State-funded primary(1,2), state-funded secondary(1,3), special schools(4) and pupil referral units: number and percentage of pupils by first language(5) January 2012, England, London and Crawley parliamentary constituency | |||||||
| Pupils of compulsory school age and above(5) | |||||||
| No of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English | % of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English(6) | No of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be English | % of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be English(6) | Unclassified(7) | % unclassified(6) | Total | |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (1) Includes all primary academies, including free schools. (3) Includes city technology colleges and all secondary academies, including free schools. (4) Includes maintained special schools, special academies and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (5) Pupils of compulsory school age and above were classified by first language. Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. In pupil referral units includes pupils registered with other providers and further education colleges. (6) The number of pupils by their first language expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils of compulsory school age and above. (7) Information was not sought or refused or pending classification. Note: National, regional and total figures have been rounded to the nearest 5. Source: School Census | |||||||
Pupils: Per Capita Costs
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding each school received per pupil in the latest year for which figures are available. [135330]
Mr Laws: The Department published, on 13 December, details of each maintained primary school's income and spending data for 2011-12. The information forms part of the 2012 Performance Tables data and it can be found at the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download_data.html
Spend by pupil data can be accessed at the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download/School_spend_per_pupil_2011-2012-Grouped_data.zip
2011-12 data for secondary schools will be published in January 2013.
2010-11 school spend data for primary, secondary schools and academies can be found at the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/2011/download_data.html
Runaway Children
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to make independent return home interviews a statutory duty for every child who runs away from home and care. [134381]
Mr Timpson [holding answer 18 December 2012]: The need for return interviews is addressed in statutory guidance on young people who run away and go missing from home or care. The current guidance stresses the importance of them in providing a link to other services and care planning, but carrying them out is not a statutory requirement. The statutory guidance is currently being revised and we intend to consult on it early in the new year. However, at the moment, there are no plans to make return interviews statutory as this should be a matter for local authority discretion.
School Meals
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will introduce mandatory nutritional food standards in all state schools. [134173]
Elizabeth Truss: Compulsory standards for all food and drink provided by maintained schools during the school day have been fully in place since September 2009.
Free Schools and Academies set up from September 2010 are not required to comply with the standards.
The Government want all pupils to have the opportunity to select a healthy, balanced school lunch. The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has appointed Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent as independent reviewers to examine school food across the country, in order to produce an action plan for schools. The reviewers will present their findings in 2013.
Schools: Equality
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with Ofsted on that body's inspection of the implementation of the public sector equality duty in schools. [135449]
Mr Laws:
Discussions between Ofsted and the Department on school inspection regularly focus on aspects of equality, such as narrowing gaps in achievement between different groups of pupils. Equalities principles are embedded throughout the school inspection framework and inspection handbook. Importantly, when inspecting
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against the four core areas of achievement; teaching, behaviour, safety, and leadership, inspectors need to have due regard to the needs of the range of pupils, with specific reference to disabled pupils and those with special education needs (SEN).
Schools: Inspections
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education to which primary and secondary schools he has written to congratulate them on achieving a grade of outstanding in Ofsted inspections since May 2010. [113628]
Mr Laws: A revised Ofsted framework for school inspection was introduced from September this year and the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), will be writing to all schools that are judged outstanding under these new arrangements.
Schools: Measurement
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to improve and extend teaching of imperial measurements in schools to ensure an understanding of their use on roads and amongst the public. [120084]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 7 September 2012]: As part of the review of the National Curriculum, we propose to include imperial units within the new Programmes of Study for mathematics. We have undertaken an informal consultation on the draft primary mathematics curriculum which was published in June, alongside English and science. The draft goes further than the current National Curriculum in terms of what pupils are expected to learn in relation to imperial units, including explicit reference to miles. We are currently considering feedback on these proposals and the Government will publish a revised draft for full public consultation in early 2013. The consultation will also include proposed changes to the secondary curriculum.
Schools: Mental Health
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has assessed the teaching of mindfulness in (a) infant, (b) junior and (c) secondary schools. [120090]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 7 September 2012]: The Department for Education has not conducted a systematic review or assessment of the teaching of mindfulness in infant, primary or secondary schools. The Department has conducted a review of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education, which includes the teaching of issues such as emotional well-being and social skills. The review identified a core body of knowledge that pupils need and identified ways to improve the quality of teaching. The PSHE review considered information from a variety of sources: submissions of evidence and good practice, and an in-depth evaluation of existing research evidence on PSHE education and its teaching.
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Schools: Playing Fields
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2012, Official Report, column 778W, on schools: playing fields, on how many occasions Government decisions to (a) approve or (b) reject applications to dispose of school playing fields have matched the relevant recommendation made by the Schools Playing Fields Advisory Panel in each year since 2001. [134568]
Mr Laws: The Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), weighs up all factors when deciding whether or not to grant consent to any disposal of school playing field land by a local authority or school, including the recommendations of the School Playing Field Advisory Panel. Disposal is only approved where the sports and curriculum facilities remain sufficient or will be improved, and where proceeds of sale are earmarked to improve sports or education facilities.
Government decisions to reject or approve applications to dispose of school playing fields have matched the relevant recommendation made by the School Playing Fields Advisory Panel on all except eight occasions since 2001:
In 2003 one case was approved where the panel recommended rejection.
In 2007 one case was approved where the panel recommended rejection.
In 2008 one case was approved where the panel recommended rejection.
In 2011 two cases were approved where the panel recommended rejection.
In 2012 three cases were approved where the panel recommended rejection.
Schools: Standards
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will reform school league tables to reflect the prior level of attainment of pupils when they first entered secondary school. [135005]
Mr Laws: The 2011 School Performance Tables, published in January 2012, provided information on the attainment of pupils on entry to secondary school, compared with local authority area and national averages. Performance measures showing the attainment and progress of pupils were also broken down to show the respective performance of pupils in each of the ‘low’, ‘middle’ and ‘high’ prior attainment groups. These included new value added measures.
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the valued added measure in school league tables. [135131]
Mr Laws: New school-level value added (VA) measures were introduced to the 2011 Performance Tables, showing the progress made by pupils between the ends of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 for primary schools, and between the ends of Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 for secondary schools. No assessment has been made of these measures since their introduction.
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We will shortly launch a consultation on further reforms to secondary school accountability. The consultation will ask how we can ensure that the performance tables recognise schools that support all their students to achieve their best, and how we can minimise the perverse incentives in the accountability system.
Science: Finance
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding was provided by his Department to the (a) British Science Association, (b) Life Science Centre, (c) Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network and (d) UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 to date; and if he will make a statement. [133157]
Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education funded the Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network (STEMNET) £1,974,150 in 2010-11, £1,500,000 in 2011-12 and £250,000 in 2012-13. The Department funded the British Science Association £250,000 in each of these years, and funded the Life Science Centre £48,756 in 2010-11 only. The Department has not provided any funding to the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology in any of these years.
The funding for STEMNET supports the STEM Clubs Programme which provides pupils with opportunities to be inspired by exploring science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects beyond the formal curriculum. The funding also supported STEMNET's work with LOCOG to deliver nine themed STEM challenges linked to the 2012 Olympics. The funding for the British Science Association is to expand their CREST Awards Scheme which gives pupils nationally recognised accredited awards for challenging science projects. The Life Science Centre funding was used to provide practical courses for secondary school pupils.
Special Educational Needs
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on special educational needs in the financial years (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13; and how much he expects it to spend in each financial year to 2015-16. [125512]
Mr Timpson: It is for local authorities to determine, how they spend their funds locally. During the 2011-12 financial year local authorities in England reported in their section 251 budget statements net planned expenditure of £5,645,585,000. In 2012-13 financial years, the net planned expenditure was £5,623,111,000.
The information for the next three financial years is not due to be collected until the start of each financial year.
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) further education colleges and (b) sixth form colleges have been involved in each of the Pathfinders established to test proposals to reform provision for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities. [134038]
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Mr Timpson: We are funding 20 pathfinders, made up of 31 local authorities and their health partners, to test the Green Paper reforms for disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs. Each pathfinder is involving a broad range of partners. In the majority of cases this includes one or more local further education college, sixth-form college or independent specialist provider in the pathfinder area. 12 of the 20 pathfinders are focusing specifically on preparation for adulthood, and are focusing closely on working with post-16 providers.
The evidence from the pathfinders themselves, our support partner Mott Macdonald, the Preparing for Adulthood delivery partner and from the independent evaluation is that the pathfinders are engaging well with FE colleges and other post-16 providers, particularly where the pathfinder has a strong preparing for adulthood focus.
We are committed to building on this engagement. We have recently written to pathfinders to say that specific grant conditions for next year's pathfinder funding are likely to include a requirement to demonstrate how they are working with post-16 providers and ensuring sufficient coverage in the programme of post-16 learners.
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding will be transferred from the Education Funding Agency to each local authority to enable them to take responsibility for the education of 16 to 25 year olds with a special educational need or disability in each of the next three years. [134039]
Mr Laws: In August 2012, the Education Funding Agency wrote to local authorities advising them of their indicative budgets for the 2013-14 financial year, as a basis on which to plan. The total indicative budget to transfer was £175 million.
The financial year 2013-14 is transitional because some relevant costs falling in the 2012/13 academic year will be met from other budgets and are not therefore included in this transfer. The final budgets have yet to be calculated and will be issued to local authorities by the end of December 2012.
Local authorities already commission placements for these students. There is no additional transfer specifically to fund local authority administration, but the rules governing the use of the Dedicated Schools Grant allow it to be spent on associated administrative costs and overheads.
Budgets beyond 2013-14 have not yet been agreed.
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of additional learning support funds are being spent on supporting individual disabled students to participate on accredited mainstream courses. [134394]
Mr Laws [holding answer 18 December 2012]: During the academic year 2011/12 the Education Funding Agency provided £253 million to fund additional learning support. Of this, £202 million supported courses for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. This is 80% of the funding provided.
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All EFA funded students in further education are required to take accredited qualifications, unless they are unable to benefit from such a qualification. Therefore, almost all students are taking at least one accredited qualification as part of their overall programme. A more precise figure for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities on accredited qualifications is not currently available but will be provided in a follow up letter once the necessary analysis to ascertain this has been completed.
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of additional learning support funds are spent on providing or subsidising courses for people with learning difficulties and disabilities. [134395]
Mr Laws: During the academic year 2011/12 the Education Funding Agency provided £253 million to fund additional learning support. Of this, £202 million supported courses for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. This is 80% of the funding provided.
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure disabled learners who are at college receive a direct payment in lieu of education support from college. [134396]
Matthew Hancock [holding answer 18 December 2012]: The forthcoming SEN reforms propose that parents of children or young people with special educational needs, will have an entitlement to a personal budget where they have an Education, Health and Care plan. This will apply to special educational support provision in schools or colleges and may, where appropriate, include direct payments. This will offer families and young people increased choice and control.
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons children with special educational needs statements at university have an entitlement to an individual support package whilst those who attend college do not. [134397]
Mr Timpson [holding answer 18 December 2012]: Young people aged 16 to 24 who had a statement of special educational needs (SEN) at school continue to receive individual support when they access further education at a college. Local authorities have a duty to arrange a learning difficulty assessment (LDA) which sets out the provision and support young people need. This support is delivered through colleges' Additional Learning Support (ALS) funding or, for those with complex needs in specialist placements, from the Education Funding Agency's specialist placement budget. From 2013, we are introducing new funding arrangements for 16 to 24-year-olds with high needs, giving local authorities greater responsibility and flexibility to commission packages of education and support for those with SEN in further education.
Students studying on a higher education course who have a disability (including a long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia) can apply for a disabled students allowance (DSA) regardless of whether they are at
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university or college. DSAs are non means-tested, non-repayable grants awarded in addition to the standard package of student support.
The forthcoming SEN reforms will improve the support available to young people in further education by introducing a single, birth to 25 integrated assessment process and Education, Health and Care Plan. The plan will replace statements and LDAs and will be tailored to the individual's needs and aspirations, delivering, for the first time, a continuous package of individual support, rights and protections throughout school and further education for children and young people with SEN.
Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what (a) funding and (b) personnel his Department has allocated to developing the local offer element of the Government’s planned Children and Families Bill; and if he will make a statement. [135010]
Mr Timpson: The Department is funding 31 local authorities and their local health partners to test the Government’s special educational needs reforms. The development of the draft provisions on the local offer were directly informed by the local pathfinders. Support for the pathfinders has been extended until September 2014 to make sure that the effective practice they develop will continue to influence the forthcoming legislation on special educational needs at every stage, including the regulations and the statutory guidance in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice.
The local offer is designed to set out clearly what services are available to support children and young people with special educational needs and their families. It will reflect the services that are available from within existing local resources. Clearer local information on the support that is available for families from mainstream services could help reduce the need for parents to invest time and energy in searching for basic information, and in seeking assessments and making appeals to tribunal in order to get the right support, as well as saving local authorities and local services the expense of this process.