My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare an interest as a governor of an inner London primary school.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the impact of literacy and numeracy hours in primary schools.

My Lords, since 1998 the percentage of 11 year-olds achieving the expected level for their age has increased by 13 percentage points in English and by 15 in mathematics. In his annual report published this February, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools stated:

"There have been significant improvements in literacy and numeracy standards since the introduction of the national strategies".

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply. I see that we have some primary school pupils in the Gallery.

Noble Lords:

Order!

I apologise, my Lords. Apart from academic benefits, could my noble friend comment on other outcomes of the literacy and numeracy hour; for example, the social benefits and group benefits that enable young people to talk with and relate to adults and each other?

My Lords, the evidence is that the benefits are positive. Indeed, as we build on the literacy and numeracy strategies in the document Excellence and Enjoyment, published by my Right Honourable Friend the former Secretary of State, we are encouraging primary schools to broaden their range of learning for children, including music, art and languages, building on the success that has been achieved in the basics.

My Lords, does the Minister think that phonics teaching should be more consistently observed in schools? Would he also venture a word about adult literacy, not least in Her Majesty's prisons?

My Lords, phonics teaching is at the centre of the national literacy strategy and has been since its beginning in 1998. However, we are always anxious to learn from best practice, because our only concern in this matter is that the maximum number of children should learn to read as soon as possible.

We have asked Mr Jim Rose, a distinguished former deputy chief inspector of schools, to examine the evidence on different methods of teaching phonics in primary schools, including the experience of the Clackmannanshire experiment in Scotland, to see if there are lessons that can be learned. He will report to us at the beginning of next year and we will make any appropriate changes in the literacy framework following that report.

So far as prisons and adult literacy are concerned, we place great importance on tackling the problems of literacy in prisons and it is a high priority of my department.

My Lords, given recent reports that the £1 billion campaign to raise literacy standards in primary schools has failed to make a difference to GCSE results, will the Minister agree with my Honourable Friend in Another place, Nick Gibb, and me that we must return to pure synthetic phonics—or, in plain English, the traditional method of reading—in our primary schools? Is there any way that he could speed up the process which he has explained to the House today?

My Lords, we wish to see improvements, which is why we have asked Mr Rose to conduct his inquiry. However, we do not accept that there have not been improvements at GCSE and at secondary level. We do not recognise the figures that were quoted in the Sunday Times article this week. In fact, since 1997 there has been a six percentage point improvement in the good pass rates in GCSE English and a 6.9 per cent improvement in mathematics. We see that as building on the success of the literacy and numeracy strategies.

There has been an even larger improvement in the tests that 14 year-olds now take, where, since 1997, there has been a 14 percentage point improvement in English and a 13 percentage point improvement in mathematics. We are not in any way complacent about the further improvements that are required, which is why we are also looking to reform the curriculum for 14 to 19 year-olds in particular to promote vocational pathways that will further motivate young people and lead in to apprenticeships and other vocational courses. We have made great progress, and we pay tribute to our teachers, who have achieved that increase in results.

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the introduction of the literacy and numeracy hours had an immediate one-off effect in raising standards in primary schools, but that—according to the 11 year-old SAT tests—that effect has plateaued in the past few years? Performance has not continued to increase. Is there any reason why we should continue to see it increase in that way?

My Lords, I do not agree. The English results went up by three percentage points last year, which was a very welcome improvement.

My Lords, has the Minister been monitoring the impact of the literacy and numeracy hours on children in local authority care? Have they been benefiting as much as their peers? What proposals does he have to improve outcomes in educational attainment for children in care, perhaps by more use of boarding schools?

My Lords, I cannot give the noble Earl the precise figures but will write to him. We have changed admissions procedures for schools to give greater priority to looked-after children to meet those concerns, and we are exploring the issue of whether boarding education can be extended, particularly for the groups that he mentioned.

My Lords, would it not be a really great burden for very young children under eight years to have to spend 10 hours away from home and to be kept studying?

My Lords, I am not sure precisely which children the noble Lord is referring to. Extended days take place only where parents wish to see extended days. We are not requiring any child to remain away from their parents for one moment longer than those parents wish them to be looked after.

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Quirk, drew attention to the importance of reducing illiteracy among prisoners. Is the Minister aware of the increasing body of evidence that backs up the subjectively obvious fact that an increase in literacy in children will eventually reduce the number of prisoners? Will he therefore put as much energy as he can into all methods of increasing literacy among children of all ages?

My Lords, I give that assurance. There is no higher priority for the Government than improvements in literacy standards in our schools. That is why we have asked Jim Rose to report to us, to see whether we can make further improvements, including, crucially, improvements in catch-up reading schemes for those who have started to fall behind within the first and second years of starting primary school.

My Lords, I am impressed by the real improvements that the Government have made with literacy and numeracy in the primary sector, but my impression was that there are still signs of evidence that, in the early years of secondary school, children who have improved in primary school sink back from their achievements, and also that the proportion of children leaving secondary school illiterate and innumerate has not improved greatly in recent years. Is the Minister able to respond to that?

My Lords, the noble Lord's impression is correct about the falling-off at the beginning of secondary education, but there has been a significant improvement in GCSE English standards at age 16.