HC Deb 19 January 1988 vol 125 cc616-8W
15. Mr. Matthew Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent representations he has received concerning the changes in funding for higher education contained in the Education Reform Bill.

27. Mr. Beith

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent representations he has received concerning the Education Reform Bill as it affects higher education.

Mr. Kenneth Baker

We have received a number of comments on various aspects of the higher education provisions.

16. Mr. Nellist

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals he has to ensure that any programme of national assessment in state schools is free from sex bias; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Rumbold

The report of the task group on assessment and testing, published last week, includes recommendations on ways of dealing with gender bias in the proposed assessment arrangements within the national curriculum. We have welcomed the broad framework of the report and will be considering its detailed recommendations, together with any comments received on them.

26. Mr. Fearn

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent representations he has received concerning the opting-out proposals in the Education Reform Bill.

37. Mr. Hind

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent representations he has received on the opting-out proposal in the Education Reform Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Bob Dunn

I refer hon. Members to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Kent (Mr. Rowe) earlier today.

39. Mr. Chapman

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received seeking further detail on the proposed foundation subjects in secondary schools in the Education Reform Bill.

Mrs. Rumbold

The overwhelming majority of the responses we have received were in favour of the fundamental principles of breadth and balance in the school curriculum. These principles were first set out by the Government in the White Paper "Better Schools"; the Education Reform Bill will guarantee them through the requirement for all pupils to study the national curriculum foundation subjects.

46. Mr. Clelland

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received with regard to the proposed national core curriculum and the promotion of equal opportunities for girls and boys in schools and colleges.

Mrs. Rumbold

Several responses to the consultation document on the national curriculum have referred to the promotion of equal opportunities for girls and boys. Many have welcomed our proposals as a means of ensuring that all pupils, regardless of sex, experience the same broad, balanced and relevant curriculum.

53. Mr. Hardy

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make it his policy to ensure that schools will be provided with sufficient resources in order to pursue the national curriculum to which he is committed.

Mrs. Rumbold

It will be for local authorities and schools to ensure that their spending is directed towards implementing the national curriculum within planned overall levels of resources. The Government will also assist the development of aspects of the national curriculum through the education support grants and in-service training grants programme.

59. Mr. Andrew MacKay

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has received further representations about the Education Reform Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Rumbold

My right hon. Friend welcomes the fact that he continues to receive many representations from organisations and the general public on the proposals in the Bill. To date, the Department has received more than 20,000 responses, all of which, except those from members of the public, are lodged in the Libraries of the House.

64. Mr. John Greenway

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what further representations he has received on the national curriculum since the Education Reform Bill was published.

Mrs. Rumbold

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, South (Mr. Yeo) earlier today.

65. Mr. Robert G. Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received on the religious education provision of the Education Reform Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Rumbold

My right hon. Friend has received some 50 letters commenting on the position of religious education in the Education Reform Bill. The Government believe strongly that religious education must continue to be taught in our schools in accordance with the relevant provisions of the 1944 Education Act. The Education Reform Bill reinforces these provisions and generally strengthens the position of religious and moral education in the school curriculum.

68. Sir John Biggs-Davison

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what guidelines have been issued for the establishment of temporary governing bodies for schools to be formed as the result of reorganisation.

Mr. Dunn

Annex 1 of circular 7/87, issued by the Department in August last year, gives guidance on the provisions of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 relating to the establishment of temporary governing bodies for new and newly-maintained schools, including new schools formed as a result of statutory reorganisations.

Mr. Leighton

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how the development of the technical and vocational education initiative curriculum will be reconciled with the core curriculum.

Mrs. Rumbold

TVEI will operate within the framework of the national curriculum, and the continuing updating of the TVEI curriculum criteria will take account of that framework. Within both TVEI and the national curriculum there will be much scope for innovative curricular planning and development, nationally and locally, in what is taught and how.

Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are his proposals in respect of schools with units for those with partial hearing which choose to opt out of the state system under the proposals in the Education Reform Bill as to how far they will be required to maintain the level of special provision.

Mr. Dunn

The Education Reform Bill provides that a school which becomes grant maintained may not undergo a significant change of character as part of the process of changing its status. My right hon. Friend would regard any proposal to cease existing provision for the partially hearing as a significant change of character. The admissions policies of grant-maintained schools will require the Secretary of State's approval and there will be arrangements for dealing with complaints if parents feel that these policies are not being complied with. The school's grant will equate to funding it would have received had it remained within local authority control. Additional costs incurred in respect of children with special needs will therefore be taken into account in exactly the same way as for a similar LEA-maintained school.