§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have not been classed by Ofsted as well led over the last five years; and what proportion this is of all schools inspected. [75256]
§ Mr. MilibandThese are matters for the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED). The HM Chief Inspector for Schools, David Bell will write to the hon. Gentleman and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on whether the performance inequalities between(a)primary schools and (b) secondary schools have narrowed since 1997. [75258]
§ Mr. MilibandThere has been a significant narrowing of the performance inequalities between primary schools, following the introduction of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. At Key Stage 2, for example, the average performance of the lowest attaining 20 per cent. of schools improved from 41 per cent. in 1997 to 61 per cent. in 2001, an increase of 20 per cent. points compared to the national average increase of 13 per cent. points.
We are committed to narrowing the performance gap between secondary schools through the implementation of our plans to transform secondary education.