§ Jim DobbinTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many children have benefited from the National Childcare Strategy; and if he will make a statement; [168496]
(2) how many child care places have been created in Heywood and Middleton since 1997. [168513]
§ Margaret HodgeThe Department is unable to provide details of childcare places for Heywood and Middleton. However, from April 1999 to December 2003 Manchester local authority created 6,086 new child care places helping some 11,101 children. This shows an increase in the stock of child care places, taking into account turnover, of 3,629 helping some 6,772 children.
§ Jim DobbinTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding was spent on computers for schools in Heywood and Middleton in each of the last seven years. [168506]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeMy department does not collect information on school spend on computers at constituency level. However Heywood and Middleton is in Rochdale LEA and since 1998–99 schools in Rochdale have benefited from the following funding through the Standards Fund Grant for ICT (including match funding from the LEA):
Allocation to Rochdale LEA (£) 1998–99 442,813 1999–2000 354,000 2000–01 728,370 2001–02 1,076,549 2002–03 1,304,709 2003–04 1,613,999 2004–05 1,826,570
§ Jim DobbinTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the effects on schools of changes since 1997 in the level of investment in school sports in Heywood and Middleton. [168576]
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggThe information is not held in the format requested.
1259WWithin the context of the statutory National Curriculum, where Physical Education (PE) is compulsory for pupils aged 5–16, it is for individual schools to use their budgets as they judge appropriate.
The Government are investing more than £1 billion in England to transform PE, school sport and club links. The funding will help deliver an ambitious Public Service Agreement target, shared with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to increase the percentage of 5–16 year olds who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum to 75 per cent. by 2006.
The Department is providing just over £330,128–00 to support the Siddal Moor School Sport Partnership in the Rochdale LEA area. The partnership includes five secondary schools (including the sports college hub) and 20 primary/special schools and provides enhanced sports opportunities for all young people to ensure that their pupils spend a minimum of two hours a week on high quality PE and School Sport.
The New Opportunities Fund has provided schools in the Rochdale LEA area with over £2.873 million specifically to enhance PE and school sport facilities.
Latest research, published by the Departments on 4 March shows that 68 per cent. of pupils in schools that have been in a Partnership for three years, are taking up the two hour entitlement, rising to 90 per cent. at Key Stage 3. Data has been collected from remaining Partnerships and will be published in April.
§ Jim DobbinTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many(a) free nursery and (b) pre-school places were available for (i) three and (ii) four year olds in Heywood and Middleton in each of the last seven years. [168581]
§ Margaret HodgeThe information is not available in the form requested.
Figures on the number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four year olds in Rochdale local education authority area are shown in the table.
The latest figures on provision for three and four year olds in England were published in a Statistical Bulletin Provision for children under five years of age in England-January 2003' which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
Since the beginning of April 2004, six months ahead of our original target, all three year olds in England whose parents want one, are eligible for a free, part-time early education place.
1260W
Number of free nursery education places1,2 taken up by 3 and 4-year-old children in maintained nursery and primary schools and
private, voluntary and independent providers—Rochdale local
education authority area—1997–2003
Position in January each year 3-year-olds 4-year-olds 1997 1,400 2,800 1998 1,500 2,800 1999 1,400 2,800 2000 2,300 2,700 2001 2,300 2,700 2002 2,500 2,700 2003 2,300 2,700
1Part-time equivalent number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four year old children. 2A free nursery education place comprises five, two and a half hour sessions of early years education per week, for thirty-three weeks of the year, usually three terms of eleven weeks.