Agenda item

Purpose: This report sets out the attainment of Children and Young People in West Berkshire and is intended to brief members on the issues this presents for our cohorts of children and young people, and the implication therefore to act within our powers and responsibilities.

Councillor Heather Codling (Executive Portfolio Holder for Children and Family Services) presented the report on Education Outcomes (Agenda Item 6).

Standing Orders were suspended to allow Dame Kate Dethridge (DfE Regional Director for the South East) and Leah Fernandes (DfE Schools Team Leader for Buckinghamshire and Berkshire) to address the Committee.

Dame Kate highlighted the following concerns in relation to non-academy schools in West Berkshire:

·       West Berkshire’s performance in relation to Good Level of Development (GLD), phonics, and Key Stage 2 combined reading/writing/maths were below expectations, with the authority placing near the bottom of national rankings on some measures.

·       Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils (including those eligible for free school meals) were extremely poor.

·       While the School Improvement service had capable staff, it lacked sufficient capacity, with a very small team for such a large number of maintained schools. This limited the ability to hold school leaders to account and provide support.

·       Dame Kate noted that school improvement had been a traded service and queried whether the £325,000 identified in the budget for school improvement was additional funding. Councillor Codling confirmed that it was not, but that the funding was now ring-fenced.

·       Concerns were expressed in relation to a recent universal RISE offer organised by the DfE, which had a disadvantaged-focused programme. Despite being free to attend, only 16 of 20 available places were taken up.

·       It was highlighted that children entered Reception broadly at/above national average levels of attainment, but attainment was not sustaining through primary school.

·       The new Ofsted inspection regime had a greater focus on attendance and attainment, and it was suggested that West Berkshire schools may be negatively affected by this.

·       Dame Kate discussed how scrutiny could focus on performance data and use available DfE tools (e.g., GLD breakdown, phonics trajectory, attendance benchmarking, take-up of hubs/networks).

Dame Kate responded to questions from Members of the Committee:

·       It was confirmed that the DfE challenged Academy Trusts as responsible bodies, and they encouraged local authorities to highlight any concerns they may have in relation to academies with DfE staff.

·       Dame Kate stated that there were no additional direct finances for local education authorities, but she highlighted existing free universal offers, school networks, maths/English hubs, and targeted support. Officers were encouraged to promote these and monitor take-up.

·       It was highlighted that there were examples of good practice in West Berkshire (e.g., a local school had a RISE advisor who would be running a Reception network).

·       Portsmouth was cited as a local authority where some schools had up to 75% of pupils on free school meals, but 90% of pupils achieved GLD. Dame Kate emphasised the importance of having high expectations for disadvantaged children.

·       It was noted that successful headteachers were usually happy to share their experiences, and DfE sought to match schools across the South East. Also, there were plans to expand existing networks for KS2 and KS3 and to look at transitions between primary and secondary schools.

·       Dame Kate stressed the importance of scrutinising performance data in detail (e.g., understanding which parts of GLD were an issue, and looking at progress in phonics at the end of Reception not just at the end of Year 1). She indicated that all schools should look at their GLD data and engage with other schools to learn lessons.

The following points were raised in debate with officers and the Executive Member for Children and Family Services:

·       Members expressed disappointment at the lack of additional funds for school improvement, which would make it difficult to deliver on local aspirations for improvement. It was noted that the Council was in receipt of Exceptional Financial Support and it would be difficult to turn things around quickly. However, funding was expected from central government at the end of September in relation to the High Needs Block deficit. This would release funds currently being used to service interest payments, which could potentially be directed to school improvement, but this would require the agreement of the Executive.

Action: Councillor Heather Codling to make the case to the Executive for investing additional funding in school improvement.

·       Officers set out intended actions to improve performance, including:

o   Codifying and strengthening the school improvement visit model with greater rigour and links to outcomes data.

o   Developing earlier, non-statutory intervention before escalation to warning notices and Interim Executive Boards.

o   Strengthening governance and governor training and linking headteacher performance management to outcomes.

o   Convening system leadership to focus on equity and disadvantaged pupil outcomes.

o   Auditing schools’ use of pupil premium funding to ensure it is spent effectively.

·       Officers were encouraged to look to academies, including those outside West Berkshire for examples of best practice. Tony Wilson offered to provide support with this.

·       It was suggested that it may be challenging to carry out a School Places Sufficiency Review alongside school improvement. Officers confirmed that this would be managed in consultation with schools and stressed that it was important to retain a focus on learning, and for schools to use the funds they received as effectively as possible.

·       Concern was expressed around the mental health implications for pupils who did not reach expected levels of attainment and how they might be supported. It was noted that the Family First reforms would help pupils not currently engaged with the education offer. Work was also proposed to support disadvantaged pupils make the transition from KS2 to KS3. Dame Kate stressed that pupils who did not achieve GLD, generally did not catch up by age 16, which impacted on their self-esteem and their life chances, and served to highlight the importance of investing in early years education.

·       Officers highlighted the need for Members to engage with schools in their wards and encourage leadership teams to engage with the RISE universal offer.  It was stressed that although funding for school support remained unchanged, it would be directed in different, more evidence-based ways. The aim was to deliver the best outcome for children in West Berkshire.

Members proposed a number of actions as set out below.

Actions:

·       Officers to run a Member development session to coach them on what they could do to encourage schools to do better.

·       Develop a performance dashboard for education services, with regular updates for the CYP Scrutiny Committee.

·       For a progress report to be provided at the next meeting, to include greater clarity on funding for school improvement and the uptake of the universal RISE offer.

RESOLVED:

·       To note the report and the data relating to attainment.

·       To endorse the activity underway to enhance the school improvement offer and improve education outcomes for all pupils.