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Publisher
To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the comprehensive spending review on (a) major science research projects in the North West and (b) physics departments in North Western universities.
To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the comprehensive spending review on (a) major science research projects in the North West and (b) physics departments in North Western universities.
Asked by
Louise Ellman
(Labour; Co-operative Party)
Answered by
Ian Pearson
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
6 December 2007
For answer on
11 December 2007
Answered on
18 December 2007
[holding answer 11 December 2007]: Funding for science over the three years of the comprehensive spending review will increase in real terms by 2.7 per cent. per annum in line with the Government's commitment given in the 10 Year Science and Innovation Framework 2004-14 to increase funding in line with GDP growth. The Government have commissioned two reviews of particular relevance to the future of major science research projects and physics departments in the North West. It has asked Sir Tom McKillop to advise on the best way to implement the Government's vision for the Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus as part of his independent review into the future of the Manchester City Region and the North West economy. The Government have also asked Research Councils UK to conduct a number of further reviews of the health of disciplines in the UK. Bill Wakeham, Vice Chancellor of Southampton University, will lead the first of these reviews, which will address the health of physics in the UK.
Subjects
Science; North West
Date
18 December 2007
Reference
469 c1243W; 173088
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of pupils in Suffolk have studied (a) chemistry, (b) biology and (c) physics A-Level in each of the last five years.
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of pupils in Suffolk have studied (a) chemistry, (b) biology and (c) physics A-Level in each of the last five years.
Asked by
Lord Risby
(Conservative)
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
6 December 2007
For answer on
10 December 2007
Answered on
18 December 2007
The number of GCE A level entries by 16 to 18-year-olds in chemistry, biology and physics in Suffolk are provided in the following table. These numbers, as a proportion of all GCE A level entries in Suffolk, are also provided.
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007¹ | |
| Number of entries | |||||
| Biology | 609 | 557 | 598 | 606 | 683 |
| Chemistry | 428 | 439 | 444 | 483 | 470 |
| Physics | 416 | 378 | 391 | 361 | 402 |
| Proportion of all entries (percentage) | |||||
| Biology | 7.2 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 7.2 |
| Chemistry | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.0 |
| Physics | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
| ¹ Figures for 2007 are provisional and subject to change. |
Subjects
Suffolk; Science; GCE A-level
Date
18 December 2007
Reference
469 c1270W; 173452
House
House of Commons
This is a question for the Secretary of State. From September next year, every 14-year-old will have the right to study the society, health and development diploma if they wish to do so, and from 2009, they will have the right to study the hair and beauty diploma. Apart from those achieving level 6 in science, however, no student will have the right to study the three separate sciences—physics, chemistry and biology—at GCSE. Does not this confirm the comment by the Nobel laureate Sir Martin Evans that the Government lack an understanding of science and underestimate its importance to society?
This is a question for the Secretary of State. From September next year, every 14-year-old will have the right to study the society, health and development diploma if they wish to do so, and from 2009, they will have the right to study the hair and beauty diploma. Apart from those achieving level 6 in science, however, no student will have the right to study the three separate sciences—physics, chemistry and biology—at GCSE. Does not this confirm the comment by the Nobel laureate Sir Martin Evans that the Government lack an understanding of science and underestimate its importance to society?
Asked by
Nick Gibb
(Conservative)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Topical questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
17 December 2007
We entirely reject that. We have a cross-Government strategy in respect of improving science learning in this country. It was published by the Treasury following last year's Budget. As a result of that strategy, we are now increasing the number of specialist science teachers coming into the profession, and we are seeing improvements in the numbers taking science A-levels. At level 3 in schools we have seen, for the first time in many years, increases in the number of pupils taking physics as well as good increases in the numbers taking chemistry and biology. The results are there. We are seeing significant improvements in science learning and the latest PISA––programme for international student assessment—results show that we have the third highest achievement of any country in Europe in science learning for 15-year-olds.
Subjects
Curriculum; Science
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c593-4
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons
My right honourable friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Andy Burnham) has made the following Written Statement. Following representations by political parties in Northern Ireland, the Government commissioned Sir David Varney in March 2007 to carry out a review of tax policy in Northern Ireland. His terms of reference...
My right honourable friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Andy Burnham) has made the following Written Statement. Following representations by political parties in Northern Ireland, the Government commissioned Sir David Varney in March 2007 to carry out a review of tax policy in Northern Ireland. His terms of reference...
Member
Lord Davies of Oldham
(Labour)
Department
Treasury
Type
Written statements
Subjects
Business; Corporation tax; Cross border cooperation; Finance; Innovation; Employment schemes; Private sector; Northern Ireland; Republic of Ireland; Taxation; Research; Tax rates and bands; Reviews; Science; USA; Foreign investment in UK; Trade competitiveness; Trade promotion
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
697 c90-2WS
House
House of Lords
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will consult on changes to the science curriculum.
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will consult on changes to the science curriculum.
Asked by
David Heathcoat-Amory
(Conservative)
Answered by
Lord Knight of Weymouth
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
11 December 2007
For answer on
17 December 2007
Answered on
17 December 2007
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has consulted widely on the key stage 3 science curriculum that will be introduced into schools for first teaching from September 2008.
Subjects
Curriculum; Science
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c1048W; 174123
House
House of Commons
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?
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?
Asked by
Jon Trickett
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
17 December 2007
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.
Subjects
Disadvantaged; Equality; Education; Standards; Curriculum; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; 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
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?
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?
Asked by
Lord Gove
(Conservative)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
17 December 2007
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.””"
Subjects
Education; Standards; Literacy; Curriculum; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Science; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c579-80
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
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
It is interesting that the Minister is now rubbishing the OECD figures, although in 2000 his own Government used those figures to claim, ““We are the stars.”” The Government quote those figures liberally when they are convenient, but when they are inconvenient, they run away from the truth. What the Minister did not tell us is that in his children's plan published last week there is not a single mention of the tried-and-tested method of teaching reading which works—synthetic phonics. There is not a single mention of that, two years after the Government appeared to accept Sir Jim Rose's report; synthetic phonics has been buried under a torrent of strategies on rusks and gloop from the Secretary of State. Should not Ministers, instead of caving in to the educational establishment by getting rid of rigorous testing, simply concentrate on getting children to read?
It is interesting that the Minister is now rubbishing the OECD figures, although in 2000 his own Government used those figures to claim, ““We are the stars.”” The Government quote those figures liberally when they are convenient, but when they are inconvenient, they run away from the truth. What the Minister did not tell us is that in his children's plan published last week there is not a single mention of the tried-and-tested method of teaching reading which works—synthetic phonics. There is not a single mention of that, two years after the Government appeared to accept Sir Jim Rose's report; synthetic phonics has been buried under a torrent of strategies on rusks and gloop from the Secretary of State. Should not Ministers, instead of caving in to the educational establishment by getting rid of rigorous testing, simply concentrate on getting children to read?
Asked by
Lord Gove
(Conservative)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
17 December 2007
Certainly the hon. Gentleman should listen more carefully. I was not rubbishing the OECD; that was the OECD rubbishing him. Researchers from the OECD itself said that"““the results do not show any evidence of a real decline in standards.””"
In terms of the other stuff that the hon. Gentleman said—[Interruption.] It really was ““gloop””, which is the word that he likes to use. The importance that we place on Jim Rose's synthetic phonics is embedded in the fact that we have asked Jim Rose himself to carry out the review of the primary curriculum, which will ensure that the work he did on synthetic phonics will be carried out and integrated into a reformed primary curriculum.
Subjects
Education; Standards; Literacy; Teaching methods; Curriculum; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Science; Numeracy; Programme for International Student Assessment
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c580
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
House
House of Commons
Following representations by political parties in Northern Ireland, the Government commissioned Sir David Varney in March 2007 to carry out a review of tax policy in Northern Ireland. His terms of reference were to examine ““how current and future tax policy, including the tax changes announced in the Budget 2007,...
Following representations by political parties in Northern Ireland, the Government commissioned Sir David Varney in March 2007 to carry out a review of tax policy in Northern Ireland. His terms of reference were to examine ““how current and future tax policy, including the tax changes announced in the Budget 2007,...
Member
Andy Burnham
(Labour)
Department
Treasury
Type
Written statements
Subjects
Business; Corporation tax; Cross border cooperation; Finance; Innovation; Employment schemes; Private sector; Northern Ireland; Republic of Ireland; Taxation; Research; Tax rates and bands; Reviews; Science; USA; Foreign investment in UK; Trade competitiveness; Trade promotion
Date
17 December 2007
Reference
469 c74-6WS
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
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?
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?
Asked by
Philip Hollobone
(Conservative)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Oral questions - 1st Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
17 December 2007
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.
Subjects
Education; Standards; Literacy; Curriculum; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Science; 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 international study, which the Minister mentioned, showed that the UK had fallen from eighth to 24th in the maths league table. Why is that?
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?
Asked by
Lord Harper
(Conservative)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Oral questions - 1st Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
17 December 2007
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.
Subjects
Education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Standards; Science; Mathematics; Programme for International Student Assessment; Curriculum; Primary education; Literacy; Numeracy
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
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?
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?
Asked by
Rob Marris
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Answered on
17 December 2007
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.
Subjects
Education; Statistics; Standards; UNICEF; Curriculum; Primary education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; 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 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