Issue - meetings

To receive the results of the Pupil Premium Consultation covering 13 schools in the Borough.

The scope of the Pupil Premium reviews extended to 11 schools identified by the School Improvement Team, including 3 secondary schools, and 1 additional school which opted for a self review.  The reviews took place between January and June 2017 and featured meetings with leaders, governors, pupils and staff and also teaching and learning observations.  The information resulting from the reviews was shared with all schools and a report with clear recommendations was provided to the relevant school following the review.

The reviewed schools looked at the systems in place to support disadvantaged pupils and were aware of the need to diminish the difference and have tracking systems in place to enable them to analyse data forensically.  The schools knew their strengths and areas for development in terms of the Pupil Premium and there were a number of new initiatives in place in some of the schools and in time these would show an impact.  Schools were aware of the need to secure quality first teaching for all pupils and also to monitor the teaching of the Pupil Premium pupils (particularly in KS3).  With the changes to the National Curriculum and the assessment processes for GCSE, the head teachers had focused attention and resources on the current Year 6 and Year 11 pupils to ensure that as many pupils as possible made good progress from their starting points.  There was a sense of urgency and determination to secure the best outcomes for all children within the Borough and the schools were working holistically as well as forensically with all pupils to make a difference.  In 7 out of the 12 schools, provisional data for July 2017 showed an overall improvement for Pupil Premium pupils.

Recommendations arising from the reviews focused on leadership and management; governance; teaching and learning; and personal development, behaviour and welfare.

In terms of leadership and management, Pupil Premium was to be kept as a standing agenda item in staff meetings, data analysis would include Double Disadvantaged pupils and outcomes for disadvantaged pupils should be a key element of self-evaluation.  Upskilling all members of the workforce to deliver quality first teaching consistently in a whole school approach and reviewing the impact of interventions, curriculum and assessment through the lens of disadvantage pupils was required.  Secondary schools were to make better use of measures to accelerate progress in KS3 and governors were to monitor the impact of Pupil Premium spending.

The reviews identified questions that governors should ask at each Full Governing Body meeting to establish whether there was a gap between disadvantaged and other students in the school and, if so, what actions were being pursued to narrow and close the gap.

Teaching and Learning was intended to set high aspirations; make better use of focused learning walks; mark disadvantaged pupils’ books first; undertake analysis of numbers of disadvantaged pupils in lower sets and of who was teaching them (secondary); strengthen and monitor the work of teaching assistants; focus on developing a love of reading; create more  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77