§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Eduction, pursuant to her answer of 18 May,Official Report, columns 307–308, what definition of participation in education by under-fives was used in the calculation of the figures shown in the answer. [26563]
§ Mr. ForthThe under-fives participation rates, for which the United Kingdom rate was 53 per cent., were based upon the number of pupils in schools who were aged three and four at 31 December in the 1991–92 academic year expressed as a percentage of the population aged three and four at that date. The UK rate of 68 per cent., also for 1991–92, quoted by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education in her reply of 23 May,Official Report, column 691, was higher because, as requested, those aged five were also included.
In both cases, children attending playgroups or other forms of day care provision only, but not school, were excluded. International comparisons of nursery school provision only or of publicly funded provision only are not available. Both answers therefore covered pupils in all types of schools whether public or private.