HC Deb 24 March 2000 vol 346 cc695-6W
Mr. Hilary Benn

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the average length of time it will take a primary school headteacher to assess an application for threshold status from a teacher. [116040]

Ms Estelle Morris

The Department has carried out a number of pilot studies with a variety of schools. These studies showed that the length of time required by a headteacher to assess an application varied depending on a variety of factors. These factors included the nature of the appraisal system in a school, the input provided by other members of staff and the extent to which headteachers used the Department's support materials.

Standards Fund Grant 35 will provide £20 million (at a 60 per cent. grant rate) to assist with the implementation of the new threshold assessment and performance management arrangements. Headteachers can use the Standards Fund grant to cover the costs associated with approved training or support activities. The grant has

Learning, (c) literacy programmes, (d) numeracy programmes, (e) books for schools, (f) truancy initiatives, (g) school security, (h) Standards Fund, school effectiveness, (i) excellence in cities, (j) new deal for schools, (k) voluntary aided schools capital grant, (l) energy efficiency, (m) music programmes, (n) year six booster classes and (o) education standard spending assessment. [116013]

Ms Estelle Morris

The figures requested are shown in the following table. For Standards Fund grants, the figures include both the Government's and the local education authority's contribution where appropriate. The figures shown for Education Standard Spending Assessment also include provision for the authority's contribution to the Standards Fund.

now been supplemented with a further £20 million (at a 100 per cent. grant rate). The intention of this additional support is to allow schools to free up time for key members of staff to participate in the assessment of threshold applications and in the preparations for the new performance management arrangements.