HC Deb 30 January 1995 vol 253 cc494-5W
Mrs. Golding

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will outline his policy for dealing with emotionally disturbed children within the education system.

Mr. Forth

Children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, the term usually applied to children and young people whose symptoms lie between those associated with stressed but normal behaviour and those associated with psychiatric illness, have special educational needs. It is for schools and local education authorities to see that their needs are assessed and suitably met along with those of other children with learning difficulties. The code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs provides targeted advice and this is expanded in the joint Department for Education-Department of Health circular "The Education of Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties", DFE ref: 9/94, both documents being available in the Library. They point up the vital importance of close collaboration between services. The Office for Standards in Education continue to monitor the quality of the education provided for this group of children.

Mrs. Golding

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many institutions there are who deal with the education of emotionally disturbed children; and how many there were in each of the last 10 years.

Mr. Forth

Time series data are not available centrally, but recent returns from schools suggest that about 380 maintained and non-maintained special schools and independent schools would describe themselves as making special provision for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. In addition, all mainstream schools are required to identify and where appropriate make suitable provision for individual pupils who fall within this category, following the guidance in the code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs. Further provision is made within pupil referral units in most local education authorities.

Mr. MacShane

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children from the borough of Rotherham receive assisted places at independent schools.

Mr. Robin Squire

Information about the local education authority area from which assisted pupils originate is not collected centrally. There are no schools participating in the scheme within the borough of Rotherham.

Mr. Walden

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many assisted places have been awarded in the current academic year to pupils attending former direct grant schools.

Mr. Robin Squire

Figures are not yet available for the current academic year. In academic year 1993–94, 17,445 such pupils held assisted places.

Mr. MacShane

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of pupils with assisted places comes from households where the parents are in full-time salaried or waged employment paying pay-as-you-earn tax.

Mr. Robin Squire

Information concerning the occupations and tax position of parents in the assisted places scheme is not collected centrally.