Agenda item

To consider the latest trends, priorities and pressures in terms of departmental performance as reported in the QSR for the second quarter of 2016/17 (July to September 2016) relating to Children, Young People and Learning, giving particular attention to outcomes of Ofsted school inspections, validated examination results and attainment data, Looked After Children, and primary and secondary fixed term exclusions and managed moves.

Panel members are asked to give advance notice to the Overview and Scrutiny Team of any questions relating to the QSR and to the Annual Reports on this agenda where possible.

The Panel received the Quarterly Service Report, July to September 2016, relating to Children, Young People and Learning. 

In response to discussion, the following points were noted:

·       An allowance had been made in the budget for the new Apprenticeship Levy which had been introduced in grant maintained schools.  However, the levy was not payable if the school employed an apprentice. 

·       Unacceptable treatment of apprentices – for example poor conditions or no travel allowance or sick leave – which made it hard for the apprentice to continue, should be raised in the first instance with the appropriate school or college governing board or Chief Executive if the employer was a private provider.

·       18 employees in Children, Young People and Learning voluntarily left the organisation during the quarter. All leavers were offered exit interviews, of which only 2 were taken up.  It was agreed this was a disappointingly low number as it was important for the organisation to understand the reasons why people had chosen to leave.

·       With regard to levels of attainment and pupil progress across all phases of learning for all pupils, the gap narrowed in phonics by 5% at Year 1 and 7% for pupils retaking in Year 2. The gap narrowed overall at Key Stage (KS)1 but this was not a direct comparison due to changes in testing. A significant gap remained at KS2 and although it narrowed marginally at KS4, the gap remained significant. This was a key priority for Children, Young People and Learning.  It was requested that data was provided to Members to show individual results for all schools, not just those that were not performing well.  The Director advised there had been a recent change in language and ‘narrowing the gap’ was now known as ‘diminishing the difference’.

·       The stability of placements of Looked After Children, length of placement (agedunder 16 and looked after continuously for at least 2.5 years, who were in the same placement for at least 2 years at the end of the quarter) was 51.9% against the target of 60%.  This was due to a number of different factors including children stepping down from residential to foster care, those being placed with adoptive families but not yet adopted and even those who stayed with the same foster carer but who had moved house, which the Department for Education (DfE) counted as a change.  It was noted however that sometimes older teenagers could prove very challenging for foster carers and this aspect was monitored on a monthly basis. 

·      With regard to fixed term exclusions, Ian Dixon, Head of Targeted Services, reported the following data to the end of July 2016:

• Brakenhale - 12 pupils accounted for 28 exclusions leading to 90 days lost
• Garth Hill – 29 pupils accounted for 37 exclusions leading to 117 days lost
• Sandy Lane – 8 pupils accounted for 14 exclusions leading to 28 days lost

The Head of Targeted Services said the majority of incidents were as a result of persistent disruptive behaviour but had also included aggression towards adults.

·      10 managed moves had taken place during the quarter which was felt to be a high figure at the end of an academic year.  2 pupils moved from Brakenhale to College Hall, 1 pupil moved from Garth Hill College to Brakenhale and the majority of the rest had moved from various other schools to College Hall.  Concern was raised that some managed moves had taken place between schools that already had problems which could lead to additional difficulties for those schools.  It was felt that it might be preferable for problem pupils to be moved to better schools so they could be exposed to better role models.  Members were advised that when planning managed moves, consideration had to be given to parental right of choice and perception and travel times and methods.  In particular, the better primary schools were located away from the town centre so could be too far away for some children to travel to.  However, managed moves were implemented to prevent permanent exclusion with some being to better schools and an example was given of where this had led to a successful outcome for the pupil.

Inspection Outcomes (Schools)

The Panel reviewed the published Inspection Outcome reports for schools to the end of December 2016.  The results showed that the number of schools rated as Outstanding and Good was 77% against a national average of 89%.  Councillor Dr Barnard said work was being undertaken to look at ways to change how school inspections were reviewed.  There would be an increased focus and targeted approach on schools that were causing concern to decide what steps were necessary towards making improvement.  The Panel noted that some of the Outstanding and Good results were historic and schools could move to a different category if they were inspected now so there would also be a focus on ensuring the better results were maintained.

Councillor Dr Barnard said that good leadership and a good school environment were key factors in attaining good results and the ‘make up’ of schools – number of pupils receiving free meals, the school located in a deprived area – did not and should not be used to explain poor results.

Looked After Children Update

The Panel received a handout showing the percentage of Looked After Children by Ward to the end of March 2016.  Members noted that the highest percentage of Looked After Children came from Old Bracknell (16%), Great Hollands North (14%) and Harmans Water (13%).  Lorna Hunt, Chief Officer: Children’s Social Care said a number of children had been on Child Protection plans before being removed whilst a few had gone straight into care following a significant or serious incident.

The number of Looked After Children in the Borough equated to 38.7 per 10,000 population compared to the national rate of 60 children per 10,000 population.

A request was made for future data to include the actual number of Looked After Children by Ward as well as by percentage.