Eitem Agenda

Education Performance update – Estyn Recommendations 2 and 4 – This report provides the Committee with a progress report, as at June 2015, on the objectives identified to address recommendations 2 and 4 of the Estyn Monitoring Letter.

(a)        Councilor Sarah Merry (Cabinet Member for Education and Skills) will be in attendance and may wish to make a statement;

(b)        Nick Batchelar (Director of Education and Lifelong Learning), Carol Jones (Assistant Director Education) and Suzanne Scarlett (Performance Manager) will present the report and be available to answer questions Members may have;

            (c)        Questions from Committee Members.

The Chairperson welcomed Councillor Sarah Merry (Cabinet Member for Education), Carol Jones (Assistant Director of Education and Lifelong Learning), Angela Kent (Head of Achievement and Inclusion) and Phil Norton (Achievement Leader - Targeted Support).

The Committee agreed that as part of its work programme it would receive regular monitoring reports from the Education Directorate on the Estyn monitoring visit’s six recommendations. This report provided the Committee with an opportunity to receive an update on the progress being made in addressing the Estyn monitoring recommendation 2  (that exclusions should be reduced) and recommendation 4 (that the effectiveness of joint planning across the range of partnership working should be improved).

Recommendation 2 – Reducing Exclusions

Phil Norton gave a presentation, following which the Chairperson invited questions from the Committee.

The Committee noted that the report seems very positive but suggested that the accompanying data does not seem to support what it says.  The Committee noted that the report refers to ‘extraordinarily high rates of exclusions in 3 schools’.  The Committee was advised that a lot of support has been given to those schools; on-site exclusion is being used, leadership teams have been changed and pastoral care in schools has been strengthened.  The Committee was advised that good leadership puts a clear behaviour policy in place, which teachers then apply consistently across the school.  There is no evidence that exclusions for eight or ten days are any more effective in improving behaviour than exclusions for only six days.

The Committee asked whether all three of those schools referred to in the report are in a position to improve and was advised that there is a lot of confidence that there will be improvement in one of them.  The situation at one of the other schools is relatively new but if it follows the same pattern then there should be improvement at that school as well.

The Committee asked if there is any specific training that could be targeted at the governing bodies of those schools where there are problems.  The Committee was advised that problem schools have a plan of support and part of that involves training for governors.  Executive officers take governor training three times a year.  Part of the problem is that across the city there is no consistent tariff on exclusions.  It is important that consideration is given to the alternatives to exclusion.

The Committee asked whether it is thought that the Challenge Advisers have the necessary skills to address the problem of exclusions and whether sufficient progress is being made.  The Committee was advised that it is important that there is partnership working between the Achievements – Targeted Support team and the  

Central South Consortium Joint Education Service, so that there is a balance between the expertise of the Achievements team and the knowledge and skills that the Challenge Advisers have to challenge the school.  Not enough progress has been made this year but it is thought that there will be an acceleration in improvement.  The local authority now has a clearer picture on exclusions and will be able to give more targeted support.  It will be able to demonstrate to Estyn the impact of what has been done this year and further work will build on that. 

The Committee was concerned about the high number of short, fixed-term exclusions in the city’s schools and about the extent of behaviour problems in schools.  The Committee asked about the A ‘Hard to Place/Managed Admissions Protocol’ and about how, when it is used, decisions are made about placing difficult children.  The Committee also asked if schools with a high level of exclusions are being paired with schools with fewer exclusions, so that each can learn from the other.  The Committee was advised that there is some official pairing around a number of things, including behaviour.  The protocol is there to recognise that some children will need a fresh start in another school.  The Step 3 and Step 4 programmes offer alternatives to exclusion, some of which will be work-based and some school-based.

Recommendation 4 – Improving Joint Planning     

The Committee asked how partnership working is being evidenced and was advised that this would depend on the type of partnership.  On NEETs the partnership between Education and Families First is very strong.  The Committee suggested that sometimes schools enter into partnerships as a result of the professional relationships that exist between headteachers, and that this may be another way for the local authority to evidence partnership working.

The Committee requested more information on the Prevent Strategy, an initiative involving a number of partners and aimed at reducing vulnerability around extremism.  The Committee noted that there have been some concerns about young people in relation to three particular Islamic Centres in the city and asked whether these centres are receiving public money.  The Committee was advised that local authority officers are working with the centres to address these concerns.  Initially it was difficult to get the centres to engage.

The Chairperson thanked the Cabinet Member and officers for attending the meeting, for their presentation and for answering questions from Members.

AGREED: That the Chairperson on behalf of the Committee writes to the Cabinet Member highlighting the issues raised during the Way Forward discussion.