Agenda item

Provisional Performance of Cardiff's Schools 2018/2019

To receive details of the provisional A level and GCSE results across Cardiff’s Schools for 2018/19

 

Minutes:

Members were  advised that this report provided the Committee with the Provisional School Results for 2018/19 and that the briefing paper attached provided members with the provisional school results, together with a more detailed analysis across various areas. 

 

The Chairperson welcomed Councillor Sarah Merry (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills), Nick Batchelar (Director of Education and Lifelong Learning) and Mike Tate (Assistant Director of Education Lifelong Learning) to the meeting.

 

The Assistant Director reminded Members that there had been significant changes in the assessment and reporting arrangements for schools and pupils performance in Wales this year.  Members were then provided with an outline of the key performance results at both primary and secondary levels.  Sixth form provisional data was also outlined.  A more detailed report will be prepared in January looking at specific schools and the wider data. 

 

The Chairperson invited questions from Members:

 

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Members discussed broader changes and felt that it will only benefit schools to take part in the improvement groups and queried whether this will have a positive impact.  The Assistant Director advised that it was about linking schools with the appropriate partners in particular where the performance is lower, it will also help engagement in the improvement groups.  It was also felt important to look at the whole raft of measures to aid the performance issues being faced by some schools at the present time.

 
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Members were concerned that the new reporting mechanisms were hiding poor performance and not highlighting specific schools or areas within schools that are failing or starting to fail. 

Members were advised that the percentage decrease is minimal, it allows a dialogue to be started to try and understand why it is happening.  The measures need to be able to provide information as to how the whole school is performing and not just a segment of it.  There needs to be transparency in respect of the whole school. Governing Bodies need to be able to ask and receive assurance that what they have been told is validated by some hard measures.

 

AGREED – That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations discussed during the Way Forward.

 

Supporting documents: