HC Deb 07 January 2003 vol 397 cc122-3W
Mr. Jim Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what range of languages are included within the Government's plans to make foreign language learning standard in primary education. [88998]

Mr. Stephen Twigg

The entitlement for all pupils to study languages at Key Stage 2 must include one of the working languages of the European Union. It will be for schools to decide which European Union language is chosen. Over and above that, it is for schools to decide which and how many languages they choose to offer. Schools may decide for example to offer one main language, or one or two main languages and additional 'taster' sessions in other languages. In addition, by drawing in foreign language speakers, such as parents, those in the community and in business, schools will be in a position to offer and promote a much wider range of languages than has been possible before.

Mr. Brady

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what additional IT resources he will provide to assist primary schools in the development of language teaching at key stage 2. [89331]

Mr. Stephen Twigg

A total of £710 million has been made available to schools in England through the ICT in Schools Standards Fund over the 2002–04 financial years. This funding is targeted to improve schools' ICT infrastructure and connectivity. It is for individual LEAs to decide how the funding is distributed to schools in line with their ICT development plans.

An additional £30 million has been distributed to schools in September 2002 in the form of eLearning Credits (eLCs) for the sole use of buying certified curriculum online digital learning products. A further £20 million will be distributed in April 2003.

We will continue to work with public and private sector providers to increase provision, raise the quality and widen the range of online teaching and learning materials. The new curriculum online service will facilitate teacher access to high quality electronic materials across the curriculum and will stimulate the development of materials for languages as well as for other subjects. There are also many online and offline ICT resources already available for teachers, including the British Educational SoftwareDatabase and the National Grid for Learning website. The Department is currently considering other ways of using ICT to support the teaching and learning of Modern Foreign Languages at Key Stage 2.