HC Deb 06 March 1973 vol 852 cc83-4W
Mr. Madel

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers and nursery assistants are currently employed to teach children in nursery classes in the administrative county of Bedfordshire; and how many more teachers and nursery assistants on her proposed staffing ratio of about 1:13 she estimates would need to be recruited by 1982 for the administrative county of Bedfordshire in order to provide full-time education for 15 per cent. of three-and four-year-olds, and part-time education for 35 per cent. of three-year-olds and 75 per cent. of four-year-olds as proposed in paragraph 2 of Circular No. 2/73. "Nursery Education".

Mr. St. John-Stevas

In January 1972 Bedfordshire's nursery classes, containing 173 full-time equivalent pupils, were staffed by eight teachers and nine full-time equivalent nursery assistants. In addition there were about 675 other full-time equivalent pupils under five in primary schools, staffed—on the basis of the county's average primary school pupil of 24.6:1—by nearly 30 teachers. No realistic estimate can be made of the number of children under five in 1982 in the areas of individual local education authorities, but they were asked in Appendix B of circular 2/73 to estimate the number of three-and four-year-olds in January 1976.

Mr. Madel

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many three-and four-year-olds, respectively, are currently receiving part-time nursery education in the administrative county of Bedfordshire; and what percentage of their age groups each represents; and

(2) how many three-and four-year-old children, respectively, are currently receiving whole-time nursery education in the administrative county of Bedfordshire; and what percentage of their age groups each represents.

Mr. St. John-Stevas

In January 1972 numbers of pupils under five in maintained nursery schools and classes were:

Full-time pupils Part-time pupils
3-year-olds 18 36
(as a percentage of 0.3 0.6
births in 1968
4-year-olds 84 106
(as a percentage of 1.5 1.9
births in 1967)