§ Mr. Gibb:To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the educative value of ability grouping for English lessons. [142988]
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§ Mr. Miliband:A review of research conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in 1998, concluded that there are no significant differences between ability grouping, setting, mixed ability teaching and streaming in terms of outcomes, and that the overall effects are inconclusive. However, the review suggested that it is possible to identify a list of benefits and limitations for the main kinds of grouping at the level of the institution, teacher and pupil.
Pupil grouping by ability is not mandatory for English lessons. It is for schools to develop and determine for themselves, the best form of pupil grouping to meet the learning needs of all their pupils. To support this, both the Primary and the Key Stage 3 National Strategies in English have produced a range of resources for schools to use in meeting the needs of their pupils, particularly those below the expected levels. This allows schools the flexibility of being able to provide for their pupils whole class teaching; short-term optional modules suited to needs and abilities; within class pupil grouping for better differentiation of teaching; mentoring, booster and master class arrangements.