§ Vernon CoakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what extra grant he has made available to schools for laboratory technicians. [84755]
§ Mr. MilibandIn 2003–04 we are making available to local education authorities, through Standards Fund Grant, £268 million to cover the costs of recruiting extra school support staff and extra administrative help, particularly for small schools, and £37.45 million for the training and development of support staff.
This additional funding should contribute significantly to the transformation of the school workforce, of which school science laboratory technicians, as well as many others who work to support teachers in the classroom, are vital members. We estimate that, during this Parliament, schools should have the capacity to recruit at least an extra 50,000 full-time equivalent support staff, including science technicians. In addition, the new National Network of Science Learning Centres will provide training and professional development opportunities for technicians.