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Lord Knight of Weymouth
Type
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Knight of Weymouth, Lord (55)
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To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what measures his Department has introduced to improve levels of (a) literacy and (b) numeracy in the north-east since 1997.
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what measures his Department has introduced to improve levels of (a) literacy and (b) numeracy in the north-east since 1997.
Asked by
Ashok Kumar
(Labour)
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
3 February 2009
For answer on
5 February 2009
Answered on
10 February 2009
There have been significant improvements in standards of literacy and numeracy in the north-east region since 1997 due to a range of policies including increased investment; new primary and secondary teaching frameworks; better use of pupil data; the targets schools and local authorities have set for their pupils; challenge and support to local authorities through the national strategies; and targeted intervention to tackle school failure.Our Children's Plan goal is for 90 per cent. of 11-year-olds to achieve level 4+ in both English and mathematics by 2020. Extra one to one and small group tuition is being rolled out and by 2010 this will have helped 300,000 children nationally in English and in mathematics. Every Child a Reader, Every Child a Writer and Every Child Counts programmes are being introduced and a new primary school improvement strategy will be published later this year.At secondary level the National Challenge and 'Gaining Ground: Improving progress in coasting secondary schools' are now in place and a number of schools in the north-east will benefit from the additional funding provided to help them improve outcomes for pupils.The following table shows results for the north-east for pupils at the end of primary and secondary school:Further statistical information on educational performance in the north-east region, parliamentary constituencies and at district and ward level are available on the In Your Area website at"www.dcsf.gov.uk/inyourarea"
| Key stage 2 and 4 results for north-east Government office region | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | ||
| KS2 Level 4+ | ||||||||||||
| English | NE | 62 | 68 | 74 | 74 | 72 | 73 | 77 | 78 | 78 | 80 | 80 |
| England | 65 | 71 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 78 | 79 | 79 | 80 | 81 | |
| Mathematics | NE | 58 | 68 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 73 | 75 | 75 | 77 | 78 | 79 |
| England | 59 | 69 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | |
| KS4 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
| 5 A* to C inc. English and mathematics | NE | 28.4 | 30.8 | 32.9 | 33.6 | 34.8 | 34.7 | 35.7 | 38.1 | 40.4 | 41.8 | 44.9 |
| England | 37 | 38.6 | 40 | 40.7 | 42.1 | 41.9 | 42.6 | 44.7 | 45.6 | 46.3 | 47.6 | |
| Notes: | ||||||||||||
| 1. KS2 results for 2008 are provisional. The coverage of data for the north-east region was 93 per cent. for English and 97 per cent. for mathematics. | ||||||||||||
| 2. KS4 results prior to 2005 relate to the performance of 15-year-old pupils. From 2005, figures relate to the performance of pupils at the end of key stage 4. | ||||||||||||
| 3. All figures are published in Statistical First releases. |
Subjects
North East; Literacy; Numeracy
Date
10 February 2009
Reference
487 c1952-4W; 254910
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government has taken to improve numeracy skills among key stage 2 children.
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government has taken to improve numeracy skills among key stage 2 children.
Asked by
Jim Cunningham
(Labour)
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
3 October 2008
For answer on
7 October 2008
Answered on
14 October 2008
The primary framework for literacy and mathematics offers access to a broad range of guidance and resources to support teachers in planning and ensuring their teaching is personalised to the needs of every child. Through the Assessing Pupil Progress materials which underpin the framework, teachers can make secure judgments on where children are in their learning and what the next steps in their teaching should be.The Independent Review of Mathematics Teaching in Early Years Settings and Primary Schools carried out by Sir Peter Williams reported on 17 June 2008. The Government accepted all 10 recommendations which focused on improving mathematics teaching and learning. The review's main recommendation was that every primary school should have access to a mathematics specialist by 2019. We are developing the training programme for mathematics specialists through a pathfinder project.In addition, our Every Child Counts programme is in its development phase and will aim to help approximately 30,000 children by 2011. Pilots have started this term. By improving attainment and progression in the bottom 5 per cent. of achievers in key stage 1, this should have a knock-on effect on attainment and progression in key stage 2.We have set up the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics to provide better access to good quality continuing professional development opportunities for all teachers of mathematics.We have published a directory of mathematics enhancement and enrichment activities for schools that aim to improve pupils' attitude, motivation and enthusiasm for mathematics.The Making Good Progress Pilot is trialling tuition to pupils who entered key stages 2 and 3 behind the expected level in mathematics and who are not on track to make two levels of progress. Lessons learned from the pilot will inform a wide scale roll-out of tuition to reach 300,000 children a year in each of mathematics and English by 2010-11. 2010-11 will also see the introduction of an entitlement to individual tuition in mathematics for any pupil in key stage 2 who meets this criterion.
Subjects
Primary education; Numeracy
Date
14 October 2008
Reference
480 c1111-2W;480 c1105-6W; 224989
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how much has been spent on the Primary National Strategy in each year from 2006 to 2008;
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how much has been spent on the Primary National Strategy in each year from 2006 to 2008;
Asked by
Lord Gove
(Conservative)
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
3 October 2008
For answer on
7 October 2008
Answered on
14 October 2008
The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies were introduced in 1998 and 1999 respectively and developed formally into the Primary National Strategy in 2003. From 1998-99 to 2003-04 the Department has allocated £531.2 million to primary schools and local authorities through the Standards Fund to support the National Literacy Strategy and £480.6 million between 1999-2000 to 2003-04 to support the National Numeracy Strategy.From 2004-05 to 2008-09 the Department has allocated a further £915.9 million to support the Primary National Strategy.The following table shows a breakdown of Standards Fund grants by year since 1998.
In addition to these grants the Department also holds a contract for the central delivery of the National Strategies. The contract spend is approximately £80 million annually, of which approximately £7 million specifically is for primary mathematics and £11 million for primary English. There are also a number of other cross-phase programmes which impact on the Primary phase. The contract includes the provision of an education field force to support local authorities and schools, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) materials and training events provided free to schools.
| £ million | ||||||||||||
| 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | Total | |
| National Literacy Strategy | 62.7 | 72.8 | 84.5 | 102.6 | 101.2 | 107.4 | — | — | — | — | — | 531.2 |
| National Numeracy Strategy | 0 | 73.8 | 95.2 | 103 | 101.2 | 107.4 | — | — | — | — | — | 480.6 |
| Primary National Strategy | — | — | — | — | — | — | ¹131 | 185 | 198 | 206.5 | ²195.4 | 915.9 |
| ¹ Reduced to reflect transfer of £96 million from the NS school targeted Standards Fund grants to the School Development Grant. Schools have freedom to spend the SDG on any purpose to support improvement in teaching and learning, leading to higher standards of attainment for every learner. Schools can draw on the support available from the NS when considering the most effective way of using this grant to meet their targets. | ||||||||||||
| ² Provisional figure. |
Subjects
Expenditure; Primary education; Literacy; Numeracy
Date
14 October 2008
Reference
480 c1136-8W;480 c1130-2W; 224570
House
House of Commons
(2) how much was spent on the National Literacy Strategy in each year from 1997 to 2006;
(2) how much was spent on the National Literacy Strategy in each year from 1997 to 2006;
Asked by
Lord Gove
(Conservative)
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
3 October 2008
For answer on
7 October 2008
Answered on
14 October 2008
The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies were introduced in 1998 and 1999 respectively and developed formally into the Primary National Strategy in 2003. From 1998-99 to 2003-04 the Department has allocated £531.2 million to primary schools and local authorities through the Standards Fund to support the National Literacy Strategy and £480.6 million between 1999-2000 to 2003-04 to support the National Numeracy Strategy.From 2004-05 to 2008-09 the Department has allocated a further £915.9 million to support the Primary National Strategy.The following table shows a breakdown of Standards Fund grants by year since 1998.
In addition to these grants the Department also holds a contract for the central delivery of the National Strategies. The contract spend is approximately £80 million annually, of which approximately £7 million specifically is for primary mathematics and £11 million for primary English. There are also a number of other cross-phase programmes which impact on the Primary phase. The contract includes the provision of an education field force to support local authorities and schools, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) materials and training events provided free to schools.
| £ million | ||||||||||||
| 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | Total | |
| National Literacy Strategy | 62.7 | 72.8 | 84.5 | 102.6 | 101.2 | 107.4 | — | — | — | — | — | 531.2 |
| National Numeracy Strategy | 0 | 73.8 | 95.2 | 103 | 101.2 | 107.4 | — | — | — | — | — | 480.6 |
| Primary National Strategy | — | — | — | — | — | — | ¹131 | 185 | 198 | 206.5 | ²195.4 | 915.9 |
| ¹ Reduced to reflect transfer of £96 million from the NS school targeted Standards Fund grants to the School Development Grant. Schools have freedom to spend the SDG on any purpose to support improvement in teaching and learning, leading to higher standards of attainment for every learner. Schools can draw on the support available from the NS when considering the most effective way of using this grant to meet their targets. | ||||||||||||
| ² Provisional figure. |
Subjects
Expenditure; Primary education; Literacy; Numeracy
Date
14 October 2008
Reference
480 c1136-8W;480 c1130-2W; 224573
House
House of Commons
(3) how much was spent on the National Numeracy Strategy in each year from 1998 to 2006.
(3) how much was spent on the National Numeracy Strategy in each year from 1998 to 2006.
Asked by
Lord Gove
(Conservative)
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
3 October 2008
For answer on
7 October 2008
Answered on
14 October 2008
The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies were introduced in 1998 and 1999 respectively and developed formally into the Primary National Strategy in 2003. From 1998-99 to 2003-04 the Department has allocated £531.2 million to primary schools and local authorities through the Standards Fund to support the National Literacy Strategy and £480.6 million between 1999-2000 to 2003-04 to support the National Numeracy Strategy.From 2004-05 to 2008-09 the Department has allocated a further £915.9 million to support the Primary National Strategy.The following table shows a breakdown of Standards Fund grants by year since 1998.
In addition to these grants the Department also holds a contract for the central delivery of the National Strategies. The contract spend is approximately £80 million annually, of which approximately £7 million specifically is for primary mathematics and £11 million for primary English. There are also a number of other cross-phase programmes which impact on the Primary phase. The contract includes the provision of an education field force to support local authorities and schools, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) materials and training events provided free to schools.
| £ million | ||||||||||||
| 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | Total | |
| National Literacy Strategy | 62.7 | 72.8 | 84.5 | 102.6 | 101.2 | 107.4 | — | — | — | — | — | 531.2 |
| National Numeracy Strategy | 0 | 73.8 | 95.2 | 103 | 101.2 | 107.4 | — | — | — | — | — | 480.6 |
| Primary National Strategy | — | — | — | — | — | — | ¹131 | 185 | 198 | 206.5 | ²195.4 | 915.9 |
| ¹ Reduced to reflect transfer of £96 million from the NS school targeted Standards Fund grants to the School Development Grant. Schools have freedom to spend the SDG on any purpose to support improvement in teaching and learning, leading to higher standards of attainment for every learner. Schools can draw on the support available from the NS when considering the most effective way of using this grant to meet their targets. | ||||||||||||
| ² Provisional figure. |
Subjects
Expenditure; Primary education; Literacy; Numeracy
Date
14 October 2008
Reference
480 c1136-8W;480 c1130-2W; 224574
House
House of Commons
Westminster Hall debate on a motion for the adjournment on school pupil testing and assessment. [Relevant documents: Children, Schools and Families Committee third report session 2007-08, HC169; and the Government and Ofsted responses, HC 1003.]
Westminster Hall debate on a motion for the adjournment on school pupil testing and assessment. [Relevant documents: Children, Schools and Families Committee third report session 2007-08, HC169; and the Government and Ofsted responses, HC 1003.]
Lead member
Barry Sheerman
Answering member
Lord Knight of Weymouth
Department
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Adjournment debates
Subjects
Assessments; Curriculum; Qualifications; Pupils; Monitoring; National curriculum tests; Standards; Schools; Literacy; GCSE; Numeracy; GCE A-level
Date
9 October 2008
Reference
480 c147-86WH
Chamber / Committee
Westminster Hall
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government has taken to provide assistance to children who fall behind in writing and mathematics in school.
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government has taken to provide assistance to children who fall behind in writing and mathematics in school.
Asked by
Jim Cunningham
(Labour)
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
3 October 2008
For answer on
7 October 2008
Answered on
9 October 2008
The Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics offers access to a broad range of guidance and resources to support teachers in planning and ensuring their teaching is personalised to the needs of every child. In addition to this we have established the Every Child a Writer and Every Child Counts programmes. Our Children's Plan commitment is to ensure each programme reaches every local authority by 2010/11, and alongside Every Child a Reader we will invest £169 million in ensuring every child masters the basics. All local authorities and schools must have regard to the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice which provides advice on their statutory duties to identify, assess and make provision for pupils' special educational needs.
Subjects
Primary education; Literacy; Numeracy
Date
9 October 2008
Reference
480 c813-4W;480 c807-8W; 225199
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the timetable is for the national implementation of funding for local authorities to pay for one-to-one tuition for children in English and mathematics following the Making Good Progress pilot project; what other provisions of the project are to...
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the timetable is for the national implementation of funding for local authorities to pay for one-to-one tuition for children in English and mathematics following the Making Good Progress pilot project; what other provisions of the project are to...
Asked by
Harry Cohen
(Labour)
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
22 February 2008
For answer on
26 February 2008
Answered on
4 March 2008
The Government have committed to the delivery of national one-to-one tuition for 300,000 pupils in English and 300,000 pupils in mathematics by 2010-11. However, we expect that some tuition will also take place on a national basis in the financial year 2009-10.School progression targets to improve the proportions of pupils making two levels of progress within a key stage are being introduced in pilot schools in the academic year 2008/09, with national progression targets coming on stream for all schools from the academic year 2009/10.All other elements of the pilot, including the financial premium and single level tests, will be subject to further evaluation before any decision is made about whether to implement them on a national basis.
Subjects
Literacy; Teaching methods; Numeracy
Date
4 March 2008
Reference
189943; 472 c2465-7W
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of children met the Government's literacy and numeracy targets in (a) North East Lincolnshire and (b) North Lincolnshire in each of the last five years.
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of children met the Government's literacy and numeracy targets in (a) North East Lincolnshire and (b) North Lincolnshire in each of the last five years.
Asked by
Shona McIsaac
(Labour)
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
18 December 2007
For answer on
7 January 2008
Answered on
9 January 2008
The Government have set ambitious public service agreement (PSA) targets for the proportion of pupils nationally that should achieve the expected levels for their age in English and mathematics at the end of Key Stages 2 and 3.The expected level of achievement at age 11 (the end of Key Stage 2) is Level 4. The Government's PSA target is for 85 per cent. of pupils to achieve level 4 or above in English and mathematics by 2006 with this level of performance sustained to 2008.The following table gives the percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or more in Key Stage 2 English tests in North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and all English maintained schools.
The following table gives the percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or more in Key Stage 2 Mathematics tests in North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and all English maintained schools.
The expected level of achievement at age 14 (the end of Key Stage 3) is Level 5. The Government's PSA target is for 85 per cent. of pupils to achieve level 5 or above in English and in mathematics by 2007 with this level of performance sustained to 2008.The following table gives the percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or more in Key Stage 3 English tests in North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and all English maintained schools.
The following table gives the percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or more in Key Stage 3 Mathematics tests in North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and all English maintained schools.
| North East Lincolnshire | North Lincolnshire | England (maintained only) | |
| 2002/03 | 69 | 72 | 72 |
| 2003/04 | 77 | 76 | 77 |
| 2004/05 | 79 | 79 | 79 |
| 2005/06 | 75 | 78 | 79 |
| 2006/07 | 77 | 80 | 80 |
| North East Lincolnshire | North Lincolnshire | England (maintained only) | |
| 2002/03 | 72 | 70 | 72 |
| 2003/04 | 72 | 72 | 74 |
| 2004/05 | 75 | 75 | 75 |
| 2005/06 | 75 | 74 | 76 |
| 2006/07 | 75 | 76 | 77 |
| North East Lincolnshire | North Lincolnshire | England (maintained only) | |
| 2002/03 | 61 | 69 | 69 |
| 2003/04 | 62 | 71 | 74 |
| 2004/05 | 69 | 71 | 74 |
| 2005/06 | 62 | 70 | 73 |
| 2006/07 | 67 | 72 | 74 |
| North East Lincolnshire | North Lincolnshire | England (maintained only) | |
| 2002/03 | 62 | 72 | 71 |
| 2003/04 | 67 | 72 | 73 |
| 2004/05 | 69 | 75 | 74 |
| 2005/06 | 72 | 77 | 77 |
| 2006/07 | 69 | 76 | 76 |
Subjects
Lincolnshire; Literacy; Numeracy
Date
9 January 2008
Reference
470 c651-2W;470 c651-3W; 176888
House
House of Commons
I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman is on the Prime Minister's Christmas card list, but to help launch the national year of reading next year the Prime Minister has commissioned an illustration for the front of his Christmas card from Shirley Hughes, an esteemed children's author. I am sure that that will set the national year of reading off to a good start. The national year of reading is an important initiative to encourage the whole country to read, and especially to read with their children.
The hon. Gentleman mentions Channel 4, and I was interested to read the Channel 4 fact-check on his claims that standards in literacy are declining, informed by the OECD report that we are talking about. It states that"““the OECD say that the results do not show any evidence of a real decline in standards.””"
It also says that he has"““failed his exams””"
and that"““a man of Gove's legendary intelligence really has no excuse for trotting out these obviously misleading stats one more time.””"
I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman is on the Prime Minister's Christmas card list, but to help launch the national year of reading next year the Prime Minister has commissioned an illustration for the front of his Christmas card from Shirley Hughes, an esteemed children's author. I am sure that that will set the national year of reading off to a good start. The national year of reading is an important initiative to encourage the whole country to read, and especially to read with their children.
The hon. Gentleman mentions Channel 4, and I was interested to read the Channel 4 fact-check on his claims that standards in literacy are declining, informed by the OECD report that we are talking about. It states that"““the OECD say that the results do not show any evidence of a real decline in standards.””"
It also says that he has"““failed his exams””"
and that"““a man of Gove's legendary intelligence really has no excuse for trotting out these obviously misleading stats one more time.””"
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Asked by
Lord Gove
(Conservative)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Oral answers to questions
May I join the Secretary of State in wishing you, Mr. Speaker, and every Member of the House a merry Christmas?
Among the torrent of Christmas cards that the Department will be receiving, last Friday the Secretary of State received a letter from more than 500 authors, co-ordinated by Channel 4, pointing out that 10 years after the Government came to power, our literacy performance was plummeting. As Ian Rankin said,"““this shouldn't be happening in the UK””."
They can have 100 per cent. literacy in villages in Kerala, in one of the most deprived parts of India, but here the Government are going backwards. New targets published under our new Prime Minister show that the Government have actually dropped their more ambitious literacy plans and are now happy to accept that one in six children will leave primary school without being able to read ploperly—I mean properly. [Laughter.] It is terrible—it is happening everywhere! Why is the Government's approach to literacy leaving children unable to read, and the nation's authors in despair?
Subjects
Curriculum; Education; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Standards; Science; Literacy; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c579-80
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons
If he will take steps to improve literacy levels in England against international benchmarks.
If he will take steps to improve literacy levels in England against international benchmarks.
Asked by
Philip Hollobone
(Conservative)
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Oral questions - Lead
Status
Answered
Tabled on
11 December 2007
For answer on
17 December 2007
Answered on
17 December 2007
England has participated in two recent international comparative studies: PIRLS, the progress in international reading literacy study, which looks at 10-year-olds' reading attainment; and PISA, the programme for international student assessment, which is on 15-year-olds' attainment in science, with limited surveys of reading and mathematics. Both enjoyed much higher levels of participation by other countries than previous studies. Independent analysis shows that educational standards in this country continue to improve. We have moved from below average to above average, but, as we said in the children's plan, we have further to go to achieve world-class standards. We have also recently commissioned a piece of research to benchmark our primary curriculum against high-performing countries in literacy, numeracy and science, the results of which will feed in to the review of the primary curriculum.
Subjects
Curriculum; Education; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Standards; Science; Literacy; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c577; 174112
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons
What international comparative assessments of school performance he has commissioned or evaluated in the last 12 months.
What international comparative assessments of school performance he has commissioned or evaluated in the last 12 months.
Asked by
Lord Harper
(Conservative)
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Oral questions - Lead
Status
Answered
Tabled on
11 December 2007
For answer on
17 December 2007
Answered on
17 December 2007
England has participated in two recent international comparative studies: PIRLS, the progress in international reading literacy study, which looks at 10-year-olds' reading attainment; and PISA, the programme for international student assessment, which is on 15-year-olds' attainment in science, with limited surveys of reading and mathematics. Both enjoyed much higher levels of participation by other countries than previous studies. Independent analysis shows that educational standards in this country continue to improve. We have moved from below average to above average, but, as we said in the children's plan, we have further to go to achieve world-class standards. We have also recently commissioned a piece of research to benchmark our primary curriculum against high-performing countries in literacy, numeracy and science, the results of which will feed in to the review of the primary curriculum.
Subjects
Curriculum; Education; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Standards; Science; Literacy; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c577; 174105
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons
England has participated in two recent international comparative studies: PIRLS, the progress in international reading literacy study, which looks at 10-year-olds' reading attainment; and PISA, the programme for international student assessment, which is on 15-year-olds' attainment in science, with limited surveys of reading and mathematics. Both enjoyed much higher levels of participation by other countries than previous studies. Independent analysis shows that educational standards in this country continue to improve. We have moved from below average to above average, but, as we said in the children's plan, we have further to go to achieve world-class standards. We have also recently commissioned a piece of research to benchmark our primary curriculum against high-performing countries in literacy, numeracy and science, the results of which will feed in to the review of the primary curriculum.
England has participated in two recent international comparative studies: PIRLS, the progress in international reading literacy study, which looks at 10-year-olds' reading attainment; and PISA, the programme for international student assessment, which is on 15-year-olds' attainment in science, with limited surveys of reading and mathematics. Both enjoyed much higher levels of participation by other countries than previous studies. Independent analysis shows that educational standards in this country continue to improve. We have moved from below average to above average, but, as we said in the children's plan, we have further to go to achieve world-class standards. We have also recently commissioned a piece of research to benchmark our primary curriculum against high-performing countries in literacy, numeracy and science, the results of which will feed in to the review of the primary curriculum.
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Asked by
Philip Hollobone
(Conservative)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Oral answers to questions
If he will take steps to improve literacy levels in England against international benchmarks.
Subjects
Curriculum; Education; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Standards; Science; Literacy; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c577
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons
Naturally, we are doing a number of things to improve literacy standards in this country, but it is simply wrong to suggest that they are falling; they are continuing to improve. It is great that other countries are improving their literacy standards too, and as I said, more of them are entering the comparative studies. It has been said that one of the studies of literacy should not be used for comparative purposes because the sample was too small, and the basis of most of this country's fall in the other was the fact that higher attaining readers are not spending enough time reading, and are being too distracted by computer games. Society as a whole needs to tackle that together.
Naturally, we are doing a number of things to improve literacy standards in this country, but it is simply wrong to suggest that they are falling; they are continuing to improve. It is great that other countries are improving their literacy standards too, and as I said, more of them are entering the comparative studies. It has been said that one of the studies of literacy should not be used for comparative purposes because the sample was too small, and the basis of most of this country's fall in the other was the fact that higher attaining readers are not spending enough time reading, and are being too distracted by computer games. Society as a whole needs to tackle that together.
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Asked by
Philip Hollobone
(Conservative)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Oral answers to questions
The English language is this country's greatest export, but our decline down the international league tables for literacy shows that hundreds of millions of children around the world are learning to read and write English better than children in our own country. Is that not a source of national shame? What is the Minister going to do about it?
Subjects
Curriculum; Education; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Standards; Science; Literacy; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c577-8
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons
England has participated in two recent international comparative studies: PIRLS, the progress in international reading literacy study, which looks at 10-year-olds' reading attainment; and PISA, the programme for international student assessment, which is on 15-year-olds' attainment in science, with limited surveys of reading and mathematics. Both enjoyed much higher levels of participation by other countries than previous studies. Independent analysis shows that educational standards in this country continue to improve. We have moved from below average to above average, but, as we said in the children's plan, we have further to go to achieve world-class standards. We have also recently commissioned a piece of research to benchmark our primary curriculum against high-performing countries in literacy, numeracy and science, the results of which will feed in to the review of the primary curriculum.
England has participated in two recent international comparative studies: PIRLS, the progress in international reading literacy study, which looks at 10-year-olds' reading attainment; and PISA, the programme for international student assessment, which is on 15-year-olds' attainment in science, with limited surveys of reading and mathematics. Both enjoyed much higher levels of participation by other countries than previous studies. Independent analysis shows that educational standards in this country continue to improve. We have moved from below average to above average, but, as we said in the children's plan, we have further to go to achieve world-class standards. We have also recently commissioned a piece of research to benchmark our primary curriculum against high-performing countries in literacy, numeracy and science, the results of which will feed in to the review of the primary curriculum.
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Asked by
Lord Harper
(Conservative)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Oral answers to questions
What international comparative assessments of school performance he has commissioned or evaluated in the last 12 months.
Subjects
Curriculum; Education; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Standards; Science; Literacy; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c577
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons
The OECD's study, and a more complete report that it produced a month ago, said that educational performance in England remained very strong. The OECD's PISA study said that the sampling for reading and maths was too small to use for comparative purposes. The science study, in which England's 15-year-olds were found to be among the best in the world, should be the baseline for future comparison, not historical comparison.
The OECD's study, and a more complete report that it produced a month ago, said that educational performance in England remained very strong. The OECD's PISA study said that the sampling for reading and maths was too small to use for comparative purposes. The science study, in which England's 15-year-olds were found to be among the best in the world, should be the baseline for future comparison, not historical comparison.
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Asked by
Lord Harper
(Conservative)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Oral answers to questions
The OECD international study, which the Minister mentioned, showed that the UK had fallen from eighth to 24th in the maths league table. Why is that?
Subjects
Curriculum; Education; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Standards; Science; Literacy; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c577
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons
My hon. Friend is right to suggest that we should not be too rigid about what we do for every child. We should ensure that every child has momentum in their learning and that we have more personalised learning. For example, he will be pleased to see that on page 71 of the children's plan there is an explicit mention of phonics. That does not bear out the reading of the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), who perhaps needs to read paragraph 3.85, which says:"““The review will build on Sir Jim Rose's review of the importance of phonics in teaching children to read””."
My hon. Friend is right to suggest that we should not be too rigid about what we do for every child. We should ensure that every child has momentum in their learning and that we have more personalised learning. For example, he will be pleased to see that on page 71 of the children's plan there is an explicit mention of phonics. That does not bear out the reading of the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), who perhaps needs to read paragraph 3.85, which says:"““The review will build on Sir Jim Rose's review of the importance of phonics in teaching children to read””."
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Asked by
Martin Linton
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Oral answers to questions
Is my hon. Friend aware that what the international comparative assessments agree on is that it is a profoundly mistaken idea to force children to learn to read at the age of five, and even more so to drag them off to primary schools a few days after their fourth birthday? The assessments show that the countries that start formal education at the later age of seven are those that do best in the international comparisons.
Subjects
Curriculum; Education; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Standards; Science; Literacy; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c580-1
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons
We do proceed with a certain amount of caution, but we do decide to participate in some of these projects. We need to take forward certain things as a result of the comparative studies—for example, the very large gap in performance between the lower achieving and the highest achieving pupils in this country. Such a gap seems to be more particular to the UK than to elsewhere, and that fact lies behind a lot of the policies in our children's plan. Concerns about such studies also exist, and we are taking some of those up with the responsible bodies. For example, it is odd that one week's literacy study shows one country at the top, whereas the following week's literacy study, carried out by a different organisation, shows that country way below the United Kingdom, in the second division.
We do proceed with a certain amount of caution, but we do decide to participate in some of these projects. We need to take forward certain things as a result of the comparative studies—for example, the very large gap in performance between the lower achieving and the highest achieving pupils in this country. Such a gap seems to be more particular to the UK than to elsewhere, and that fact lies behind a lot of the policies in our children's plan. Concerns about such studies also exist, and we are taking some of those up with the responsible bodies. For example, it is odd that one week's literacy study shows one country at the top, whereas the following week's literacy study, carried out by a different organisation, shows that country way below the United Kingdom, in the second division.
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Asked by
Rob Marris
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Oral answers to questions
May I urge my hon. Friend to be very cautious when looking at international comparisons? A couple of weeks ago, UNICEF published a report indicating that child poverty in Canada had worsened by 20 per cent. since 1989. Upon investigation, it turned out that a UNICEF official admitted that some of the figures were made up, and further investigation showed that there had been no marked change in child poverty in Canada since 1989. So will my hon. Friend be careful when examining statistics from bodies such as UNICEF?
Subjects
Curriculum; Education; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Standards; Science; Literacy; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c578
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons
My hon. Friend is right to say that we need to share responsibility for improvements in literacy with local authorities. National strategies resource is out there working both with local authorities and directly with schools to improve literacy, and to ensure that the findings of Sir Jim Rose's first review, which promoted the use of synthetic phonics, are used effectively throughout our primary schools so that we can continue to raise standards.
My hon. Friend is right to say that we need to share responsibility for improvements in literacy with local authorities. National strategies resource is out there working both with local authorities and directly with schools to improve literacy, and to ensure that the findings of Sir Jim Rose's first review, which promoted the use of synthetic phonics, are used effectively throughout our primary schools so that we can continue to raise standards.
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Asked by
Sally Keeble
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Oral answers to questions
On performance, my hon. Friend probably knows that my county has encountered substantial problems in schools, despite recent improvements. Will he say how he will work with some of the underperforming education authorities to ensure real sustained improvement in schools, so that children can benefit from the increased investment that has been made?
Subjects
Curriculum; Education; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Standards; Science; Literacy; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c578
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons
My hon. Friend will be pleased that the children's plan shows that we unambiguously set out to narrow the attainment gaps between those from advantaged areas and those from disadvantaged areas. He is right to highlight that aim. However, that is not to say that governance does not have a role. The most important factor in achieving educational success is to combine the engagement of parents with their child's learning, high-quality teaching driven by good leadership, and good leadership driven by strong governance. That is the model of school improvement that we want, so that we can narrow the attainment gap that my hon. Friend rightly points out.
My hon. Friend will be pleased that the children's plan shows that we unambiguously set out to narrow the attainment gaps between those from advantaged areas and those from disadvantaged areas. He is right to highlight that aim. However, that is not to say that governance does not have a role. The most important factor in achieving educational success is to combine the engagement of parents with their child's learning, high-quality teaching driven by good leadership, and good leadership driven by strong governance. That is the model of school improvement that we want, so that we can narrow the attainment gap that my hon. Friend rightly points out.
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Asked by
Jon Trickett
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Oral answers to questions
Has my hon. Friend noticed the PISA report on science competencies, which concluded that the governance of schools, especially autonomy, had little effect on educational outcome? What has a real impact is the steepness of socio-economic inequalities. Therefore, will my hon. Friend move the agenda on from school governance to offering opportunity to those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, who struggle so much to attain the educational level of the rest of the population?
Subjects
Curriculum; Education; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Standards; Science; Literacy; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c579
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons