§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what estimate he has made of230WS learning. These young people are likely to be involved with a number of different professionals engaged in education, social welfare, health and housing.
Young people also receive advice and guidance in a variety of group activities, through targeted mail shots and via Connexions websites, however this information is not collected by age group.
the percentage of children in maintained schools learning a foreign language at Key Stage 2; and what he expects the percentage to be in (a) September 2003, (b) September 2004 and (c) September 2005; [89328]
(2) by what date he expects that every primary school should have a language co-ordinator. [89332)
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggWhile the Department does not hold precise information about the numbers of children learning a modern foreign language at Key Stage 2, we are aware from a recent survey conducted by Warwick University that approximately 20 per cent. of primary schools currently offer some form of language teaching. We plan to carry out research this year to verify that percentage, and Ofsted will take account of language learning programmes in the primary schools they inspect. This will allow us to estimate the percentage of children who will be learning a foreign language at Key Stage 2 for the years cited and beyond.
We expect that, by the end of the decade, every pupil at Key Stage 2 will be offered the opportunity to study at least one foreign language. To support this offer, we are concentrating on building capacity and supporting best practice, enabling schools to introduce early language learning at a pace which is right for them.