§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to evaluate the effect of introducing national homework guidelines. [74789]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeInspections of schools by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) look at the effect of homework polices on the quality of education provided and the standards achieved by pupils. Inspection reports will therefore provide important evidence about the effect over time of introducing national guidelines. We are also considering other ways in which the guidelines might usefully be evaluated, once schools have had time to develop and implement their own homework polices in the light of them.
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§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received about the introduction of national homework guidelines. [74788]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThere were 379 written responses to the consultation on these guidelines, which ran from 21 April 1998 to 30 June 1998. Most of the responses were from primary schools. They raised a range of issues, many of which we addressed in the final version of the guidelines, published in November 1998. Since the guidelines were published we have received 81 letters from schools and members of the public.