§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the current initiatives and reforms being undertaken by grant-maintained schools for raising education standards; and what legal obstacles exist which would prevent non-grantmaintained schools from undertaking similar initiatives and reforms.
§ Mr. ForthThe National Curriculum and assessment provisions together with the new arrangements for school inspections are designed to raise standards in all maintained schools. GM schools enjoy greater flexibility to channel expenditure away from administration and into teaching. The Government believe that this, coupled with an increased sense of independence and ownership, gives GM school heads and governors additional opportunities to raise standards.
§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what figures he has for the average pupil-teacher ratio during 1991–92 for schools which had achieved grant-maintained status by 1 April 1991.
§ Mr. ForthThe figures requested by my hon. Friend are not yet available. We hope to be able to publish figures in the spring. Recently published figures show that, in January 1991, when 50 secondary schools were GM, there were 36,450 pupils and 2,385 full-time equivalent teachers at GM schools, which gives a pupil-teacher ratio of 15.3.
§ Mr. FatchettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what is(a) the total number of ballots held on grant-maintained status, (b) in how many the proportion of parents voting yes has been more than 50 per cent. of the number of parents eligible to vote, (c) in how many the margin between the percentage voting yes and that voting no has been 60:40 or closer and (d) how many of those in (b) and (c) have been approved for grant-maintained status.
§ Mr. ForthThe information requested by the hon.
Member is as follows:
- (a) There have been 504 ballots on grant-maintained status.
- (b) In 200 of these the proportion of parents voting yes has been more than 50 per cent. of the number of parents eligible to vote.
- (c) In 56 the margin between those voting yes and those voting no has been 60:40 or closer.
- (d) 132 of the schools detailed at (b) and 44 of the schools detailed at (c) have been approved or are currently minded to approve.
§ Mr. FatchettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education how many ballots on grant-maintained status have been conducted over or during a school holiday period; and how many ballots have been held during each school term since September 1988.
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§ Mr. ForthThe dates of school holidays vary from institution to institution. The information requested is not therefore held centrally. However, out of a total of 504 ballots on GM status to date, five have closed in the month of August.
§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list(a) the number of schools in each education authority which have obtained grant-maintained status and (b) the number of such applications which he is still considering.
§ Mr. ForthThe information requested is as follows:
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(a) Number Kent 33 Essex 23 Lincolnshire 22 Norfolk 16 Surrey 14 Gloucestershire 13 Bromley 10 Berkshire 9 Hertfordshire 8 Hillingdon 8 Cumbria 7 Dorset 7 Northamptonshire 7 Hampshire 6 Lancashire 6 Warwickshire 6 Cambridgeshire 5 Ealing 5 Sutton 5 Birmingham 4 Buckinghamshire 4 Derbyshire 4 Wandsworth 4 Bedfordshire 3 Calderdale 3 Wiltshire 3 Avon 2 Barnet 2 Bexley 2 Bolton 2 Brent 2 Cheshire 2 Kirklees 2 Somerset 2 Walsall 2 Wolverhampton 2 Bradford 1 Croydon 1 Devon 1 Dudley 1 Hammersmith and Fulham 1 Humberside 1 Kensington and Chelsea 1 Lambeth 1 Leicestershire 1 Liverpool 1 Newham 1 Nottinghamshire 1 Rochdale 1 Sandwell 1 Sheffield 1 Shropshire 1 Southwark 1 Tameside 1 Tower Hamlets 1 Waltham Forest 1 Total 275 The table includes 217 schools that are operating as GM; 56 that have been approved but are not yet open; and two that are "minded to approve" for GM status.
(b)
There are 39 applications still under consideration.