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101360

	registered interest
	date	28/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Foster Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children in each local authority were in a foster care placement on 31 March (a) 2008, (b) 2010, (c) 2013 and (d) 2014; how many such children in each local authority were in a foster care placement with a relative or friend (i) inside and (ii) outside the authority boundary on each of those dates; how many such children in each local authority were under (A) an interim and (B) a full court order on each of those dates; and how many such children in each local authority area were looked after under a voluntary agreement under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 on each of those dates.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
	tabling member printed	Alan Johnson
	uin	212293
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>Data for 2008, 2010 and 2013 has been placed in the Library. Data for 2014 will be published in December 2014.</p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson question first answered 04/11/2014 17:38:07 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	376 label Biography information for Alan Johnson

101824

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Secondary Education: Teaching Methods
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children at secondary school are being efficiently grouped according to their academic ability.
	tabling member constituency	Romford
	tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
	uin	212550
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Education believes that individual schools are best placed to determine whether and how to group children by academic ability. There are many different models of pupil grouping, and schools themselves are best able to respond to their individual circumstances to meet the needs and capabilities of their pupils.</p> answering member constituency Yeovil answering member printed Mr David Laws question first answered 04/11/2014 14:34:32 answering member 1473 label Biography information for Mr David Laws
	tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

101738

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Teachers: Training
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there is an appropriate regional distribution of teacher training opportunities, in the light of the level of recruitment of teachers in rural and coastal areas.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Morris of Yardley
	uin	HL2547
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Education’s estimate of trainee teacher need is based on a number of factors, including the current stock of teachers and pupil number projections. This national estimate forms the basis of our allocation of teacher training places.</p><p> </p><p>The allocation of places for the 2015/16 academic year was based on the criteria identified in our published methodology, which is published online at: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/allocation-of-initial-teacher-training-itt-places-2015-to-2016" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/allocation-of-initial-teacher-training-itt-places-2015-to-2016</a></p><p> </p><p>Geographical impact was considered as part of the allocation of places for 2015/16.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 04/11/2014 17:59:38 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	305 label Biography information for Baroness Morris of Yardley

101886

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Primary Education: Swimming
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that all primary school children (a) learn to swim and (b) are knowledgeable about water safety.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
	tabling member printed	Charlotte Leslie
	uin	212712
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that swimming and teaching water safety takes place in schools. Swimming is compulsory for maintained schools in the national curriculum. All pupils must be taught to swim at least 25 metres unaided and be able to use recognised swimming strokes by the end of key stage 2 (age 11). It also requires that a child can demonstrate an understanding of water safety.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has committed over £450 million of ring-fenced funding up to and including 2015/16 for primary schools to improve their provision of PE and sport. Head teachers are best placed to decide how the funding should be used. They can choose to provide additional training and instruction in swimming and water safety but this must be over and above the requirements of the national curriculum.</p><p> </p><p>There are a range of resources to help schools provide high quality teaching, including from organisations such as the Amateur Swimming Association and from the Royal Lifesaving Society.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson question first answered 04/11/2014 17:55:05 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	3933 label Biography information for Charlotte Leslie

101368

	registered interest
	date	28/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Annual Reports
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons her Department's Annual Report and Accounts for 2013-14 has not yet been published; and when that report is due to be published.
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham East
	tabling member printed	Chris Leslie
	uin	212256
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>The 2013-14 Departmental Consolidated Accounts are the second set of accounts to include academy trusts information. The sheer size and complexity of the consolidation means that the accounts could not be laid within the usual Parliamentary pre-summer recess timeframe.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Education has advised the Public Accounts Committee it aims to lay the annual report and accounts in December 2014, a month earlier than was possible last year.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Mr Nick Gibb question first answered 04/11/2014 16:00:43 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	422 label Biography information for Mr Chris Leslie

101829

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Fees and Charges
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that schools do not use charges for uniform, school trips and other activities as a means of selection.
	tabling member constituency	Gateshead
	tabling member printed	Ian Mearns
	uin	212670
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>No child should be discouraged from applying to or attending a state-funded school due to the costs of uniform or school activities. The Department for Education has published clear guidance to schools on school uniform which advises schools to give high priority to ensuring the uniform is affordable for parents. We have also published guidance on charging for school activities which reminds schools of their statutory responsibilities regarding charging for school trips and other school activities.</p><p> </p><p>The school uniform guidance is available at: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform</a></p><p> </p><p>The guidance on charging for school activities is available at: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charging-for-school-activities" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/charging-for-school-activities</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Yeovil answering member printed Mr David Laws question first answered 04/11/2014 14:26:41 answering member 1473 label Biography information for Mr David Laws
	tabling member	4000 label Biography information for Ian Mearns

101830

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Poverty
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Children's Commission on Poverty report, At What Cost? Exposing the impact of poverty on school life, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that poverty does not prevent children and young people taking full advantage of school life.
	tabling member constituency	Gateshead
	tabling member printed	Ian Mearns
	uin	212664
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that all children, regardless of background, benefit from an education which allows them to achieve their full potential.</p><p> </p><p>This is primarily being achieved by additional Government investment to ensure that poor children do not miss out on a good education. For example, through our pupil premium, worth £2.5 billion a year, we are helping schools to transform the way they educate disadvantaged children. We have invested £340 million to support cultural education and announced an additional £18 million funding boost for music education, giving thousands more disadvantaged pupils access to instruments. A recent Ofsted report showed that our policies are working, and the achievement gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is closing.</p><p> </p><p>From 1 September the Government extended provision of free school meals to all children in reception, year 1, and year 2. As a result, 100,000 more poor children are receiving a hot, healthy and nutritious meal every day, saving low-income families around £400 per year per child.</p><p> </p><p>Together, these policies will help to achieve our goal of breaking the inter-generational cycle of poverty and closing the attainment gap for disadvantaged schoolchildren.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Yeovil answering member printed Mr David Laws question first answered 04/11/2014 14:33:11 answering member 1473 label Biography information for Mr David Laws
	tabling member	4000 label Biography information for Ian Mearns

101831

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Uniforms
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit schools from taking a commission on the sale of school uniform to parents.
	tabling member constituency	Gateshead
	tabling member printed	Ian Mearns
	uin	212672
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Education’s school uniform guidance is clear that schools should not seek to profit from the sale of school uniform. Revisions made in September 2013 emphasise the importance of ensuring that uniform is widely available and affordable for parents. The guidance sets out that governing bodies should be able to demonstrate that they have obtained the best value for money from suppliers, and that any savings negotiated with suppliers should be passed on to parents wherever possible.</p><p> </p><p>The school uniform guidance is published online at: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform</a></p> answering member constituency Yeovil answering member printed Mr David Laws question first answered 04/11/2014 14:24:15 answering member 1473 label Biography information for Mr David Laws
	tabling member	4000 label Biography information for Ian Mearns

100953

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Young People: Carers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support young carers in school.
	tabling member constituency	Norwich South
	tabling member printed	Simon Wright
	uin	905652
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>Recent research shows that young carers have significantly lower educational attainment at GCSE level than their peers, equivalent to nine grades lower overall. That’s the difference between nine Bs and nine Cs.</p><p> </p><p>That shows why it is so important that schools are able to identify and support pupils who are young carers. However a legislative approach compelling them to do so is not in keeping with our drive to reduce burdens on schools. It is important that headteachers and governors have the freedoms they need to meet their responsibilities for the welfare of their pupils in the way they consider is most appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>I am very grateful for the support of the National Governors’ Association in raising awareness about the needs of young carers and sharing resources with governing bodies. Whilst there is a lot of good practice in schools, there remains much to do to make this more widely available.</p><p> </p><p>That is why I welcome two exciting new developments led by the voluntary sector. The Big Lottery Fund are financing The Children’s Society’s “Young Carers in Focus” programme to launch a national award scheme that allows schools to be recognised for the quality of support for their young carers. The Queen’s Trust too are funding Carers Trust to develop and test best practice on young carer support in schools. Both of these initiatives will build on the work my Department has been doing with The Children’s Society and Carers Trust since 2011 to share existing tools and good practice. This includes development of an e-learning module for school staff to increase awareness in schools of young carers’ needs. We are planning to update this soon to reflect the new legislation but the current version is available on The Children’s Society’s website: <a href="http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Young-Carers-Web-Pub-v13/player.html" target="_blank">http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Young-Carers-Web-Pub-v13/player.html</a></p><p> </p><p>The Department of Health are also training school nurses to be champions for young carers. They will speak up on their behalf and help headteachers and governors decide how best to support them at school.</p><p> </p><p>At present we do not plan to extend the pupil premium eligibility criteria to cover young carers (or any other group). Our policy is to allocate pupil premium funding to those pupils who have experienced financial disadvantage but there is a significant cross-over between young carers and the current pupil premium target population. Research indicates that as many as 60 per cent of young carers could be eligible for free school meals, so already attract the pupil premium.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue to encourage schools to use the resources that are already freely available to them and to make links to their local young carers support group.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson question first answered 04/11/2014 17:03:12 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	4096 label Biography information for Simon Wright

101825

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many SENCO-accredited courses are being run in (a) colleges and (b) universities in 2013-14.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	212540
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>As a Master’s-level qualification, all SENCO-accredited courses are either delivered by or ratified by Higher Education establishments. In 2013-2014, SENCO-accredited courses are being run by 21 universities and 3 training providers, working in partnership with universities.</p><p> </p><p>Since the inception of the training, 10,119 SENCOs have been funded to take the award, which equates to approximately 40% of the schools in the country.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Yeovil answering member printed Mr David Laws question first answered 04/11/2014 14:36:44 answering member 1473 label Biography information for Mr David Laws
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe