Agenda item

To consider a report by the School Effectiveness Performance Officer: Secondary (copy attached) to review the performance of schools and that of looked after children; and GwE’s impact on the educational attainment of the County’s powers.

9.40 a.m. – 10.10 a.m.

The Head of Education (H of E) presented the KS4 Examination report (previously circulated) to provide information regarding the performance of Denbighshire school teacher assessments and external examinations.  She also tendered the apologies of GwE’s, the Regional School Effectiveness Service, Managing Director for his unavoidable absence from the meeting.  He was unable to attend as GwE was that week being inspected by both Estyn and the Wales Audit Office (WAO).

 

A report had previously been submitted for Performance Scrutiny Committees consideration in October 2014. 

 

The Committee considered information on the verified performance of Denbighshire’s schools external examination results at Key Stage 4 (KS4) and post 16, along with GwE, the Regional School Effectiveness Service’s Annual Report on its work in Denbighshire.

 

The overall results were extremely satisfactory, with the Level 2 results being particularly pleasing.  Whilst the Council had been achieving above the Welsh average at all KS4 indicators, it did not intend to be complacent and would continue to strive for excellence at all key stages in a bid to improve outcomes for all pupils and equip them with the necessary skills for the future.

 

Despite the improved performance in KS4 results, some individual schools’ performance had declined and scrutiny had been encouraged to support those schools’ improvement journeys.

 

In-depth discussion took place and in response to members’ questions, officers advised that:

 

·         Prestatyn High School had been receiving substantial support to facilitate improvement from both the county and GwE.  The impact of GwE’s support to the school would be evaluated in the near future

·         Education Department and GwE officials met on a fortnightly basis to discuss their work plans and to ensure that the schools receiving support were proceeding with their improvement

·          Support had been provided to Ysgol Brynhyfryd’s management team following the secondment of their Headteacher to GwE.  The impact of the support would be continually monitored in view of the fact that the school’s performance in some areas had declined

·         Discussions were taking place with business leaders at the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, as to how local authority education departments could best equip pupils with the relevant skills and qualifications to improve the local economy within the constraints of the national curriculum.  Part of this work would include the establishment of an Education Employers’ Forum

·         Within the Welsh Government’s secondary categorisation, Denbighshire were collectively ranked 4^th in Wales out of 22 education authorities.  Whilst Denbighshire did not have any individual schools in Category 4, the lowest category, there were two schools in category 3.  The County’s aspiration would be to have all schools in either category 1 or 2.  In order to achieve this, further work and support would be required for three schools.  It had been suggested during the meeting that scrutiny may have a role to play in securing this improvement

·         A long term strategy was in place to address the variance in performance between schools with respect to level 2 attainment, including language and maths.  This strategy included the identification of struggling pupils at Key Stages 1 and 2 and providing them with the required support to enable them to realise their potential later on at Key Stages 3 and 4.  This work would complement the aims of the national numeracy and literacy strategy

·         At the County Youth Forum, pupils views had been sought on educational matters e.g. subject matter and teaching methods

·         Whilst it had been acknowledged that the ethos of individual schools had some impact on the educational attainment, all schools and their staff were well aware of what standards of performance were expected of them, both locally and nationally.  It was also widely acknowledged that there was a correlation between good teaching and inspired pupils

·         The educational achievements of the County’s special schools and its Looked After Children (LAC) were highlighted.  However, both officers and members registered their continued disappointment that the Welsh Government did not report the educational achievements of special schools.  It had, therefore, been decided that a letter be sent to the Head of Education at Welsh Government conveying the Committee’s views that it takes steps to report annually in a valid and appropriate way on the achievements and educational attainment of pupils in special schools

·         Officers had similar concerns to members with respect to the extent of the recognition given by the higher education sector to the Welsh Baccalaureate qualification.  Officers had highlighted this concern to the WG, but it was suggested that scrutiny may also want to look into the problem and its impact on the County’s pupils

·         There was a need to improve the wider points score with respect to level 3 results with a view to improving the County’s ranking in Wales (currently 20^th) and support pupils to realise their full potential and follow their chosen educational/career path

·         The issue surrounding the fabric of school buildings and their suitability for modern teaching were being addressed through the Modernising Education Programme.  However, this was dependent on central government funding as well as local government funding and could potentially be severely affected in the long-term by the public sector financial cuts.  Issues regarding the suitability of certain buildings at Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn for a special school were raised

·         It was confirmed that the original Service Level Agreement (SLA) between all North Wales Local Authorities and GwE was a generic SLA aimed at targeting support for underperforming schools.  As the majority of Denbighshire’s schools did not fall into this category, it had only partly realised limited benefits from its investment in the service.  Nevertheless, the schools which had worked closely with GwE had nothing but praise for the service and support they had received.  Under the revised SLA for the current (2014/15) academic year a specific amount of money had been set aside for intervention in Denbighshire.  The plan was that some of this money could be used to intervene to support good schools to progress to become excellent schools

·         It was emphasised that funding for school improvement services from the Welsh Government had been protected against the budget cuts, this should ensure that the level of service provided by GwE should be sustained and be of consistent good quality.

 

Following the detailed discussion, the Committee congratulated education staff and schools on their performance.

 

RESOLVED that, subject to the above observations:

 

(i)            to endorse the performance of schools against previous performance and the external benchmarks currently available

(ii)          that a letter be sent to the Head of Education at the Welsh Government  conveying the Committee’s views that steps should be taken nationally to report annually, in a valid and appropriate way, on the achievements and educational attainment of pupils in special schools.

(iii)         that the Committee considers including in its Forward Work Programme, work in relation to:

a.    increasing the number of pupils achieving A* and A grades at Level 2 (GCSE) and Level 3 (A Level and Vocational Equivalent), including increasing the wider points score, through Local Education Authority and GwE support

b.    examining and monitoring the effectiveness of the support given to both Rhyl secondary schools to improve their Level 2 attainment levels and to continually sustain improvement at those schools

c.    examining and monitoring the effectiveness of the support provided to Prestatyn High School to improve its Level 2 and Level 3 attainment levels and to continually sustain improvement at that school

d.    examining and monitoring the effectiveness of the support provided to Ysgol Brynhyfryd with a view to it regaining its previous Level 2 and Level 3 attainment levels and further improving towards being an excellent school

e.    examine and monitor the Level 3 educational achievements of Rhyl Sixth students to determine whether their educational outcomes are being met to a satisfactory standard which supports them on their chosen educational/career paths

f.      examining ways of how the Council can work with the Welsh Government in a bid to widen the recognition given by higher education establishments to the Welsh Baccalaureate qualification.