Families
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what research he has considered on the number and percentage of children who are happy with their family life. [99605]
Mr Gibb: The Department has considered two recent research studies looking at children's happiness with their family life.
The ‘Good Childhood Report’ 2012 was published by the Children's Society and reported the latest findings from their research programme examining children's well-being. The report found that the majority of children aged eight to 15 were happy with their family relationships, with a mean happiness score of 8.5 out of 10. Just 3% of children gave a score of less than five out of 10. The report also found that how children felt about their family relationships was strongly linked to their overall well-being. A copy of the report is available on the Children's Society website:
http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/tcs/good_childhood_report_2012_final.pdf
The early findings from the ‘Understanding Society’ study were published in 2011 and included an analysis of family relationships. The study found that young people aged 11 to 15 were in general very happy with their family situation. It included an analysis of young people who were ‘completely happy’ with their family situation. The study found that these young people tended to be younger, to live in households where their parents judged their relationship with their partner to be better, to eat a family meal and to discuss important matters with their parents. It also found that they tended not to live in households with younger siblings, not to live in lone-parent families and not to quarrel with their parents. A copy of the report is available on the Understanding Society website:
http://research.understandingsociety.org.uk/findings/early-findings
Food Procurement
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of food procured by his Department (a) meets the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering and (b) is from British sources. [99807]
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Tim Loughton: The information requested is as follows.
(a) The Department for Education, through its catering provider, meets all of the mandatory requirements set-out in the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering. In some the Department is already meeting the defined best practice standards.
(b) In 2010-11 the proportion of food procured from British Sources by the Department was 54.4%. The latest figures suggest that for 2011-12 this figure will have risen to 59.9%.
GCE A Level
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils from (a) grammar schools in Northern Ireland and (b) independent schools in England achieved (i) three A grades at A level and (ii) three A level passes in 2011. [99947]
Mr Gibb: The Department is not responsible for education in Northern Ireland and does not hold the requested information for Northern Irish schools. The Department for Education Northern Ireland (DENI) have published A and AS level headline statistics for 2011 on their website, which are available at:
http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/80-curriculum-and-assessment/115-curriculum-and-assessment-qualifications-pg/a_and_as_level_headline_statistics_2011.htm
The information requested for England is shown in the following table:
| Percentage of students (1,2,3) achieving three or more A levels graded A or A* and three or more A level passes at independent schools; coverage England, year 2010/11 (revised) | ||
| Percentages | ||
| Admissions policy of school (4) | Students achieving three or more A levels graded A or A* | Students achieving three or more A level passes at any grade |
| (1) Students entered for a GCE or Applied GCE A level or double award, not including equivalent qualifications. (2) Including attempts and achievements by these students in previous academic years. (3) 16 to 18-year-old students entered for GCEA/CE A level qualifications. (4) School type as recorded in Edubase. (5) Excluding non-maintained and independent special schools. (6) Including non-maintained and independent special schools. Source: 2011 Post 16 School and College Performance Tables (Revised data) | ||
GCSE
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils who had achieved (a) level four and (b) level five at key stage 2 did not achieve at least five GCSEs at grade C or above including English and mathematics in each local authority area in the last year for which figures are available. [99743]
Mr Gibb: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Percentage of pupils who did not achieve at least five GCSEs at grade A*-C or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs, whose prior attainment was Level 4 or Level 5 at Key Stage 2, by local authority (1,2 ) Year: 2010/11 (Revised), Coverage: England | ||||
| Percentage of pupils who did not achieve at least five GCSEs at grade A*-C or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs whose prior attainment was : | ||||
| Region/ l ocal authority | LA number | Number of pupils at end Key Stage 4 | ( a ) Level 4 at Key Stage 2 (%) | (b) Level 5 at Key Stage 2 (%) |
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| (1) Figures in this table do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. Figures cover achievements in maintained schools including academies but exclude hospital schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and Alternative Provision (AP). (2) Figures are calculated as a percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. (3) Not applicable. (4 )Figure suppressed due to small numbers. Source: School and College Performance Tables. | ||||
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Geography: GCSE
Mr Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reason changes to the geography GCSE are being implemented in September 2012, when updates to GCSEs in history and English literature will not be implemented until September 2013. [98161]
Mr Gibb: This is a matter for the statutory regulator of qualifications (the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation, Ofqual). Glenys Stacey, the chief executive of Ofqual, has written to my hon. Friend, and a copy of the letter has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Glenys Stacey, dated 8 March 2011:
I am writing regarding your parliamentary question about the changes to GCSE subjects (Geography, History and English literature) being implemented at different stages during the next two academic years.
As you will be aware, redeveloping qualifications to a high standard takes time. So we are dealing with this in stages—asking awarding organisations to focus on Geography first of all as this is the subject that initially caused us concern. They will then be asked to focus on the new qualifications in History and English literature with an implementation date of September 2013.
If you would like more information, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Grammar Schools
Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which agency is responsible for regulating the eligibility criteria for admission to grammar schools. [99653]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 13 March 2012 ]: The School Admissions Code, which came into force on 1 February 2012, sets out a national framework that ensures that all state-funded school places are awarded in a fair and open way. It is the responsibility of every admission authority to ensure that the admission arrangements they determine are compliant with the code. For a grammar school, the admission authority is either the local authority or the academy trust.
As a result of the changes in the Education Act 2011, anyone can object to these determined arrangements and the Office of the Schools Adjudicator will consider these objections. If any arrangements are found to be unlawful, it is the responsibility of the relevant admission authority to modify their admission arrangements as quickly as possible.
This is separate to the ability of parents and governors to decide upon whether to continue to operate with selective arrangements as governed by Sections 105 to 109 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 and the associated grammar school ballot regulations, or the individual Funding Agreement of former grammar schools that have converted to academies.
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History: Schools
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the teaching of the history of the European Union in schools. [99211]
Mr Gibb: We want to ensure that pupils have a firm grasp of history, and especially British history. The current national curriculum for history does not require schools to teach their pupils about the history of the European Union. The Government are reviewing the national curriculum in England, including the place of history in the school curriculum and how we can best ensure that pupils gain a sound knowledge of key historical events and personalities, and in particular a firm grasp of British history.
Teachers: Pensions
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to publish the next valuation of the teachers' pension scheme; and when he expects the next actuarial review of the teachers' pension scheme to take place. [99829]
Mr Gibb: The next actuarial review of the teachers’ pensions scheme (TPS) will take place in advance of the implementation of the scheme reforms in 2015. The reforms stem from the work of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission (IPSPC) and discussions with teacher and employer representatives, which have led to the proposed final agreement on reforms to the TPS that was published on 9 March 2012.
Young People: Unemployment
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people aged between 16 and 19 years were not in education, employment or training in each quarter of 2011. [99948]
Tim Loughton: Quarterly data 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 23 February 2012 at the following web link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001058/index.shtml
The following table shows the number and proportion of young people of academic age 16 to 18 who were NEET in each quarter of 2011.
| Number and proportion of 16 to 18-year- olds NEET , Q1 to Q4 2011 | ||||
| Q1 2011 | Q2 2011 | Q3 2011 | Q4 2011 | |
| Note: These figures are not seasonally adjusted. The NEET rate is known to be seasonal, with rates tending to rise throughout the academic year, so comparisons should only be made with the same quarter in previous years. | ||||