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Primary Education

Volume 463: debated on Tuesday 24 July 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many primary schools in each local education authority have voluntarily introduced classes in foreign languages, music or art. (151155)

The following table details the proportion of schools in each local authority who reported in autumn 2006 that they were teaching languages in class time. These data were obtained from recent research commissioned by the Department, which estimated the proportion of schools teaching languages in class time based on a nationally representative sample.

Music and art and design are compulsory national curriculum subjects for all primary age pupils in maintained schools. All schools must teach the statutory programmes of study, but it is up to them to decide exactly how they deliver them. Schools may also provide extra-curricular activity in music and art, for example school choirs or art clubs that may be run after school, but no information is held centrally on the numbers of schools doing such activities.

Q1a: Do schools offer KS2 pupils the opportunity to learn a foreign language within class time?

Percentage

Yes

No

No response

Camden

100.00

Greenwich

78.57

21.43

Hackney

77.78

22.22

Hammersmith and Fulham

83.33

16.67

Islington

100.00

Kensington and Chelsea

83.33

16.67

Lambeth

81.25

18.75

Lewisham

50.00

42.86

7.14

Southwark

78.57

21.43

Tower Hamlets

25.00

66.67

8.33

Wandsworth

93.75

6.25

Westminster

100.00

Barking and Dagenham

100.00

Barnet

66.67

33.33

Bexley

100.00

Brent

71.43

28.57

Bromley

86.67

13.33

Croydon

63.16

36.84

Ealing

72.22

16.67

11.11

Enfield

86.67

6.67

6.67

Haringey

71.43

28.57

Harrow

100.00

Havering

86.67

6.67

6.67

Hillingdon

76.92

23.08

Hounslow

84.62

15.38

Kingston on Thames

66.67

33.33

Merton

91.67

8.33

Newham

90.91

9.09

Redbridge

57.14

42.86

Richmond upon Thames

100.00

Sutton

90.91

9.09

Waltham Forest

36.36

63.64

Birmingham

59.18

36.73

4.08

Coventry

88.89

11.11

Dudley

75.00

25.00

Sandwell

52.94

47.06

Solihull

88.89

11.11

Walsall

66.67

33.33

Wolverhampton

54.55

45.45

Knowsley

81.82

18.18

Liverpool

91.67

5.56

2.78

St. Helens

100.00

Sefton

83.33

16.67

Wirral

95.65

4.35

Bolton

96.00

4.00

Bury

94.44

5.56

—-

Manchester

74.29

22.86

2.86

Oldham

81.25

18.75

Rochdale

80.00

20.00

Salford

100.00

Stockport

87.50

12.50

Tameside

90.48

9.52

Trafford

100.00

Wigan

96.15

3.85

Barnsley

47.06

41.18

11.76

Doncaster

76.92

23.08

Rotherham

100.00

Sheffield

96.55

3.45

Bradford

86.84

13.16

Calderdale

85.00

15.00

Kirklees

80.00

15.00

5.00

Leeds

79.37

19.05

1.59

Wakefield

87.10

12.90

Gateshead

100.00

Newcastle upon Tyne

92.00

8.00

North Tyneside

100.00

South Tyneside

100.00

Sunderland

60.00

33.33

6.67

Bath and North East Somerset

93.33

6.67

Bristol

71.43

28.57

North Somerset

94.12

5.88

South Gloucestershire

92.31

7.69

Hartlepool

90.91

9.09

Middlesbrough

83.33

16.67

Redcar and Cleveland

100.00

Stockton on Tees

76.47

23.53

Hull

83.33

16.67

East Riding of Yorks

97.22

2.78

North East Lincolnshire

78.57

14.29

7.14

North Lincolnshire

100.00

North Yorkshire

86.11

12.50

1.39

City of York

91.67

8.33

Bedfordshire

72.50

22.50

5.00

Luton

76.92

23.08

Buckinghamshire

95.24

4.76

Milton Keynes

100.00

Derbyshire

94.81

2.60

2.60

City of Derby

88.89

11.11

Dorset

54.05

35.14

10.81

Poole

100.00

Bournemouth

100.00

Durham

79.69

17.19

3.13

Darlington

100.00

East Sussex

75.76

24.24

Brighton and Hove

83.33

16.67

Hampshire

74.19

22.58

3.23

Portsmouth

16.67

83.33

Southampton

20.00

80.00

Leicestershire

91.04

8.96

Leicester

72.73

27.27

Rutland

100.00

Staffordshire

78.13

17.19

4.69

Stoke on Trent

50.00

42.86

7.14

Wiltshire

90.57

9.43

Swindon

90.91

9.09

Bracknell Forest

66.67

33.33

Windsor and Maidenhead

75.00

25.00

West Berkshire

92.86

7.14

Reading

100.00

Slough

80.00

20.00

Wokingham

75.00

25.00

Cambridgeshire

69.77

27.91

2.33

Peterborough City

80.00

20.00

Cheshire

77.97

20.34

1.69

Halton

100.00

Warrington

95.83

4.17

Devon

85.71

12.70

1.59

Plymouth

91.30

8.70

Torbay

88.89

11.11

Essex

69.66

23.60

6.74

Southend

100.00

Thurrock

71.43

28.57

Herefordshire

95.24

4.76

Worcestershire

77.50

20.00

2.50

Kent

91.51

7.55

0.94

Medway

81.25

18.75

Lancashire

77.19

21.05

1.75

Blackburn

55.56

44.44

Blackpool

100.00

Nottinghamshire

83.93

16.07

Nottingham City

50.00

25.00

25.00

Shropshire

81.08

18.92

Telford and Wrekin

81.82

18.18

Cornwall

76.27

23.73

Cumbria

94.83

5.17

Gloucestershire

94.44

5.56

Hertfordshire

68.67

25.30

6.02

Isle of Wight

92.31

7.69

Lincolnshire

67.74

27.42

4.84

Norfolk

71.21

27.27

1.52

Northamptonshire

86.89

13.11

Northumberland

87.50

12.50

Oxfordshire

87.14

11.43

1.43

Somerset

80.77

15.38

3.85

Suffolk

69.14

28.40

2.47

Surrey

84.00

14.00

2.00

Warwickshire

77.14

20.00

2.86

West Sussex

84.44

15.56

Total

81.38

16.83

1.80

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government have taken to promote the teaching of foreign languages, music or art at primary school level. (151166)

One of the three overarching objectives in the National Languages Strategy, published in 2002, was an entitlement that by 2010 all 7 to 11-year-old pupils will be able to learn a language at least in part in class time. Already some 70 per cent. of schools are providing primary languages within class time, so are making excellent progress towards this goal. We have backed this by action on a range of fronts including: training over 2,000 primary teachers with a languages specialism and aiming to train 6,000 by 2010; committing £49 million over 2006-07 and 2007-08 to support the introduction of primary languages; developing new schemes of work for French, German and Spanish; and setting up the Primary Languages Training Zone, an interactive website for teachers, school leaders and trainers involved in the delivery of primary languages.

In October 2006, we commissioned a languages review, which was chaired by Lord Dearing and which reported in March 2007. We have accepted Lord Dearing's recommendation that languages should become a compulsory part of the primary curriculum when it is next reviewed. This will mean that all pupils will learn languages for seven years. We hope that learning languages earlier will inspire children with a love of languages and motivate them to continue learning languages post-14.

Music and Art and Design are compulsory National Curriculum subjects for all five to 14-year-olds. To begin to realise our aim that every primary pupil who wants to should have an opportunity to learn a musical instrument the Government have invested £30 million in primary instrumental and vocal tuition over the last two years. We are putting a further £10 million this year into a national singing programme aiming to make singing an integral part of every child's school day. The Government are investing £36.5 million this year in the creative partnerships programme which promotes schools working with creative artists.