§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much was spent by schools on(a) literacy and (b) numeracy in Shrewsbury and Atcham (i) in May 1997 and (ii) on the most recent date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [156492]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisThe Department does not collect information on the level of spending by individual schools on particular areas of expenditure. In 1997–98, Shropshire LEA received £233,000 for books for schools. Since 1998–99, Shropshire LEA has been allocated total funding of £3,846,472 to support the implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies in primary schools, including funding for books for schools. This also includes the allocations now made for 2001–02 of £619,405 for literacy and £669,904 for numeracy. For 2001–02, Shropshire has also been allocated funding of £399,823 for the English and mathematics strands of the Key Stage 3 Strategy.
§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of 11 year-olds in Shropshire attained marks above the national average in(a) English and (b) mathematics (i) in May 1997 and (ii) at the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [156644]
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§ Ms Estelle MorrisThe percentage of eligible pupils attaining level 4 or above in the English and mathematics Key Stage 2 assessment tests for 1997, 1998 and 2000 in the Shropshire local education authority are shown in the table;
Percentage English Mathematics Year Shropshire England Shropshire England 1997 162 63 161 62 1998 69 65 64 59 2000 79 75 77 72 11997 figures for Shropshire relate to the local education authority prior to the local Government re-organisation of April 1998. The Government have set themselves the target of 80 per cent. of 11 year-olds reaching the expected level in English and 75 per cent. reaching the expected level in mathematics by 2002.
In 2000, the percentage of children reaching level 4 in English rose by 4 per cent. from 71 to 75 per cent., building on the previous year's 6 per cent. increase. This means that there has been a 10 percentage point rise since 1998. In mathematics, the percentage of children achieving level 4 has risen by 3 per cent. from 69 to 72 per cent. This means that there has been a 13 percentage point rise since 1998. In Shropshire, between 1998 and 2000, the increase in performance of pupils in both English and mathematics was the same as the national rate.
The results show teachers and pupils are firmly on track to meet the targets. There is also more evidence beneath the headline figures of the success of the literacy and numeracy strategies. The results show that standards are also being raised in the earliest years of primary education.