§ Mr. HepburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how the education authorities in Tyne and Wear have performed in relation to the Government's inspection programme for autistic education; [130741]
(2) what inspection provision the Government has in place to measure the quality of autistic education; [130742]
(3) how much is spent on average on each autistic child in each education authority in Tyne and Wear in the current financial year; [130743]
(4) how many specialist teachers for autistic children there are in each education authority in Tyne and Wear; [130744]
(5) how many autistic children there are in each education authority in Tyne and Wear. [130745]
§ Margaret HodgeThe quality of educational provision in schools and local education authorities is the subject of inspections by the Office for Standards in Education. Ofsted look at how schools and local education authorities provide for all children, including those with special educational needs such as autistic spectrum disorders. They are currently carrying out a thematic study of how local education authorities and schools are implementing the inclusion framework introduced as a result of the SEN and Disability Act 2001 and this should be published in 2004. Information about Ofsted reports can be found at www.ofsted.gov.uk.
Data is not collected centrally on:
the spending of each local education authority on children with autistic spectrum disorders,the number of specialist teachers for autistic spectrum disorders in local education authorities, orthe numbers of children with autistic spectrum disorders.Spending by local education authorities and schools on special educational needs is estimated at around £3.12 billion in 2002–03—some 12.6 per cent. of the total overall spending on schools.
Data on the numbers of children with different types of special educational needs, including autistic spectrum disorders, will he collected as part of the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census from January 2004. We anticipate that provisional data from the survey will be available in May 2004 and that final figures will be published in November 2004.
1126WGuidance from the Autism Working Group on good practice in provision for autistic spectrum disorders was issued to local education authorities in July 2002 and provides a practical tool for authorities to review and improve their provision for children on the autistic spectrum.