Inspection of. Caerphilly Local Education Authority. School Improvement including Support for Attendance and Behaviour.

Transcription

1 Inspection of Caerphilly Local Education Authority School Improvement including Support for Attendance and Behaviour February 2007 by Estyn, Her Majesty s Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales

2 The purpose of Estyn is to inspect quality and standards in education and training in Wales. Estyn is responsible for inspecting: nursery schools and settings that are maintained by, or receive funding from, local education authorities (LEAs); primary schools; secondary schools; special schools; pupil referral units; independent schools; further education; adult community-based learning; youth support services; LEAs; teacher education and training; work-based learning; careers companies; and the education, guidance and training elements of Jobcentre plus. Estyn also: provides advice on quality and standards in education and training in Wales to the National Assembly for Wales and others; and makes public good practice based on inspection evidence. Every possible care has been taken to ensure that the information in this document is accurate at the time of going to press. Any enquiries or comments regarding this document/publication should be addressed to: Publication Section Estyn Anchor Court Keen Road Cardiff CF24 5JW or by to This and other Estyn publications are available on our website: Crown Copyright 2007: This report may be re-used free of charge in any format or medium provided that it is re-used accurately and not used in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the report specified.

3 Contents Page 1 Context 1 2 Summary 5 3 Recommendations 9 4 Findings How good is the LEA s performance? Strategic planning School improvement Support for attendance at school Support for behaviour in schools Will the local authority s performance improve? The authority s response to the report findings 24 6 The grade profile 25 7 The composition of the inspection team 26

4 1 Context Inspection of Caerphilly Local Education Authority The Inspection 1 In April 2006, a new cycle of LEA inspections under section 38 of the Education Act 1997 and the Children Act 2004 began. The cycle of LEA inspections covers the period from April 2006 to March The inspection framework for the cycle was published in May The framework was used as the basis for the Section 38 inspection and this report. 2 This inspection took place in February The focus of the inspection is school improvement, including support for attendance and behaviour. The findings are reported using the relevant sections of the framework. Before the inspection, Caerphilly County Borough Council undertook a review and produced a self-evaluation report on school improvement including support for attendance and behaviour as a part of its own review process. 3 The inspection team makes two key judgements about each service. These are: (1) How good is the local authority s performance? 4 The local authority s performance in discharging its responsibilities is rated on a four-point scale as follows: Grade 1 good with outstanding features (***) Grade 2 good features and no important shortcomings (**) Grade 3 good features outweigh shortcomings (*) Grade 4 shortcomings in important areas (2) Will the local authority s performance improve? 5 The prospects of improvement are rated on a four-point scale as follows: Grade 1 improvement prospects are good, with significant improvements already in place Grade 2 improvement prospects are good, with no major barriers Grade 3 some good prospects, but barriers in important areas Grade 4 many important barriers to improvement 1

5 6 In order to make the two key judgments, inspectors evaluate the authority s performance in relation to each of four key questions. These four key questions contribute towards the two key judgements. The key questions are: i How effective is the authority s strategic planning? ii How effective are the authority s services? iii How effective are leadership and management? iv How well do leaders and managers monitor, evaluate and improve services? 7 The evaluations of these four key questions are recorded as grades, using the four-point scale set out at (1) and (2) above. All of the grades are included in the Grading Profile (Section 6). Background to the authority 8 Caerphilly County Borough covers three major valley areas: Rhymney, Sirhowy, and Ebbw, together with the smaller Aber Valley. It stretches over 40 kilometres from Cardiff and Newport in the south to the Brecon Beacons in the north. More than three-quarters of this area is rural and includes remote upland communities such as Abertysswg, Fochriw and Rhymney as well as the urban centres of Blackwood, Ystrad Mynach, Risca and Caerphilly. 9 The county borough has a population of about 169,500, of which 49% is male and 51% is female. Since the 1991 census there has been a decrease of 0.62% in the total population of the borough. This is largely as a result of outward migration. Although out-migration from the heads of the valley areas is an issue, this is balanced by population growth in Caerphilly and Blackwood. 10 The authority anticipates that, by 2011, there are likely to be 1,600 fewer pupils in schools than in 2001; a reduction of 5.4%. Most of the residents were born in Wales. Caerphilly has a predominantly white population with a very low representation of residents from ethnic communities. 11 The county borough has 33 electoral divisions and 110 Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) 1, 12 of which are amongst the top 10% most deprived in Wales. The three most deprived LSOAs are Twyn Carno, Bargoed and St. James. Three-quarters of the LSOAs in the county borough fall within the 50% most deprived LSOAs in Wales. Higher than average levels of Caerphilly LSOAs fall within the top 10% most deprived LSOAs in the employment, health, education and physical environment domains and the overall index of multiple deprivation. 12 The county borough has 13 wards and six sub wards designated as Communities First 2 areas, most of which are in the north of the county borough. 1 Lower Layer Super Output areas are part of a new geography developed by the Office for National Statistics with the aim of improving the report of statistics for small areas. LSOAs are smaller than electoral divisions and each electoral division contains one or more LSOA. 2 Communities First is a long-term programme by the Welsh Assembly Government. The aim of the programme is to improve opportunities and the quality of life in the most disadvantaged communities in Wales as identified by the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. 2

6 13 In its Community Strategy, the County Borough Council and its partners state that education for life is one of the four key themes that relate to everything the partnership is trying to achieve. Each of the themes has visions that describe the future we are aiming for in Caerphilly county borough. The vision of the education for life theme is to develop our range of interests, knowledge and activities. Schools in the authority 14 Caerphilly has a school population of 29,754. There are 15 secondary schools, 10 of which are comprehensives with sixth forms of varying sizes. There are 74 primary schools, one pupil referral unit and one special school. In the mainstream settings, there are 23 resource bases offering specialist provision for pupils with special educational needs. All schools with infant classes have nursery provision. The authority provides Welsh-medium education in nine primary schools and one secondary school. 15 The percentage of pupils with a statement of special needs is 3.23%, which is broadly in line with the Wales average of 3.21%. The proportion of pupils of statutory school age entitled to free school meals in Caerphilly in January 2006 was 20.6% which is above the Wales average of 17.4%. School improvement including support for attendance and behaviour 16 Caerphilly County Borough Council is organised into four directorates, one of which is the Education and Leisure Directorate. The Education and Leisure Directorate is organised into four functional areas under the Group Director. The four functions are: school effectiveness; planning and strategy; inclusion services; and lifelong learning and leisure. 17 The School Effectiveness Service (SES) includes the Education School Improvement Service (Caerphilly ESIS) and the School Effectiveness Unit (Caerphilly SEU). The School Effectiveness Service monitors standards and the quality of education and improvements made in Caerphilly schools. Other functions include the provision of advice, resources, training and in-school support, the development and sharing of good practice, and the provision of data and information for schools, elected members and other directorates and agencies. The SES collectively constructs, revises and evaluates the authority s Single Education Plan. 3

7 18 The School Effectiveness Service (SES) also includes: the Governor Support and Development Unit (GSDU), which aims to support school governing bodies in their endeavours to raise standards in education within a safe and secure environment for pupils; and the Curriculum Development Unit, which is responsible for co-ordinating, implementing and managing the reforms needed to transform educational provision for year olds. 19 Caerphilly s Inclusion Services include the: Education Welfare Service, which assists schools in carrying out their statutory duties related to school attendance and the monitoring of children engaged in employment and entertainment performances; and Psychology and Behaviour Support Service, which applies psychology to meet the needs of all children, especially those with special needs and in recognised vulnerable groups. 20 The Inclusion Services and the School Effectiveness Unit work together to improve attainment and achievements for all children and young people in Caerphilly. Funding 21 The Welsh Assembly Government s Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) 3 per head of population for Caerphilly Council is slightly above the average for local authorities in Wales. Within this, the education component (education Indicator-Based Assessment (IBA) 4 ) amounts to 121 million for 2006/2007. This represents 4,085 for each pupil in 90 schools, the thirteenth highest level of IBA per pupil in Wales. 22 The net education budget 5 for was set at 101.2% of the education IBA. However, the apparent spending above IBA was distorted by accounting for a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme. In practice, education spending is around the IBA level. It is the intention of the authority to retain this level of spending for The resulting net education budget is 4,134 per pupil in , slightly higher than the average of 3,995 per pupil for other authorities in Wales. 3 SSA is the means by which the Welsh Assembly Government distributes Revenue Support Grant to local authorities. 4 Education IBA is that part of SSA relating to the delivery of education services. Education IBA is not intended as a spending target, and councils are free to spend at levels above or below IBA, in accordance with their priorities. 5 The net education budget excludes income from specific grants. 4

8 2 Summary 23 The scoring chart displays information in two dimensions, one for each of the two key inspection judgements. The inspection judgements are represented by the position of the black circle in relation to the grades at the left-hand side and at the foot of the chart. Scoring chart Caerphilly LEA: School Improvement including support for attendance and behaviour How good is the local authority s performance? Grade1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 3 Grade 2 Grade 1 Will the local authority s performance improve? School Improvement including support for behaviour and attendance How good is the LEA s performance? Grade 2: Good features and no important shortcomings 24 The good features of the local authority s performance: well-linked planning documents focus clearly on national and local priorities; strategies and polices are of high quality; 5

9 although results dipped slightly in 2006, between 1997 and 2005 the increase in the percentages of pupils gaining the core subject indicator (CSI) in the key stage 1, key stage 2 and key stage 3 National Curriculum tests and assessments and in the percentage of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C was faster than the all Wales average; the increase since 1997 in the percentages of pupils gaining the CSI in the key stage 2 and key stage 3 National Curriculum tests and assessments has been among the best authorities in Wales; initiatives to raise standards of literacy at key stages 1, 2 and 3 are of a very high quality and effective; standards in both English and mathematics have improved steadily and faster than the Wales average at each of key stages 1-3 between 1997 and 2006; training in teacher assessment at key stage 2 and to improve transition arrangements is outstanding; the authority has successfully intervened in a number of schools identified as causing concern and has provided sustained support and training that has improved their performance; the authority has provided very good support to help those schools in special measures 6 improve standards significantly; in , 84% of grades awarded by Estyn section 28 inspection teams for the seven key questions, across 15 schools, were either grades 1 or 2; there is a range of good quality support in areas such as the music service, the Athrawon Bro service, which supports Welsh second language learning in primary schools, and the Physical Education and School Sport (PESS) initiative to enhance the curriculum and provide extra learning opportunities; the governor support unit provides a comprehensive training programme to help governors carry out their functions; the creation of inclusion teams based on school clusters has significantly improved the level and quality of support to improve attendance and behaviour; the establishment of a curriculum development unit represents an innovative approach to supporting the relevant strands of Learning Pathways; 6 Section 44 of the Education Act 2005 states that special measures are required to be taken in relation to a school if: (a) the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education; and (b) the persons responsible for leading, managing, or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. 6

10 very effective lines of communication between the School Effectiveness Unit and Inclusion Services are improving services for learners who are disengaged; significantly increased levels of investment reflect the authority s priorities in relation to school improvement and inclusion services; and the authority consults schools and young people well about improvement strategies. 25 The following areas require attention: the targeting of resources to specific initiatives within strategic plans is often not clear; the under-performance of boys, particularly at key stage 4, is not addressed adequately across the authority; the performance of looked-after children is well below the average for Wales; attendance rates are well below the average for Wales; and rates of permanent and fixed-term exclusions remain high although there has been a significant decrease in permanent exclusions since September School Improvement including support for behaviour and attendance Will the local authority s performance improve? Grade 3: Some good prospects, but barriers in important areas 26 Factors that are likely to support improvement: elected members have a clear understanding of their role and demonstrate their commitment to school improvement by allocating significant resources to educational priorities; senior officers demonstrate clear vision and provide effective leadership for education; officers responsible for specific initiatives lead and manage them well; there is a good track record of joint working through strong partnerships with schools and colleges of further education and in local cluster groups 7 ; the authority s advisory service provides schools with access to a wide range of educational expertise, support and training; performance management systems in education are improving; 7 Cluster groups are families of secondary and partner primary schools. 7

11 in the last year elected members have received more performance data than previously and now scrutinise this data effectively at an overall level; lead members and senior managers work effectively together; and the authority s self-evaluation report is comprehensive and reflects a good understanding of the authority s strengths and areas for development. 27 The factors that are likely to hinder improvement are set out below: members do not have enough knowledge and understanding of the performance of individual schools to facilitate robust challenge; monitoring procedures for the early identification of under-performance are not consistent or rigorous enough; the work of the authority s advisory service is not targeted consistently sharply enough to meet the authority s priorities and identified needs; the effectiveness and impact of some aspects of the work of the authority s advisory services are not evaluated rigorously enough by the authority and its schools; there is insufficient clarity in the respective roles, responsibilities and accountability of the authority s partnership with Caerphilly ESIS; strategic links between the Children and Young People s Framework Partnership and education services are not robust enough; and the performance management systems have not yet been used effectively in all parts of the education services. 8

12 3 Recommendations In order to secure the improvements that are needed, the local authority should: R1 challenge schools more rigorously to: continue to improve performance at the end of key stage 4, particularly the performance of boys; increase attendance; continue to reduce exclusions; and raise the achievement of looked-after children; R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 use performance data and its knowledge of schools to target intervention and support where they are most needed to raise standards and the quality of provision; make self-evaluation and quality assurance more rigorous so as to be able to measure the impact and efficiency of service delivery and to plan for further improvement; review the effectiveness and efficiency of the authority s partnership with Caerphilly ESIS; provide elected members with clearer details of individual school performance so that they are able to monitor changes in pupils performance and provide appropriate challenge to the services; and strengthen the strategic links between the Children and Young People s Framework Partnership and education services. 9

13 4 Findings Inspection of Caerphilly Local Education Authority 28 The two judgements for the field inspected are shown in the table below. How good is the LEA s performance? What are the prospects for improvement? Grade 2: Good features and no important shortcomings Grade 3: Some good prospects, but barriers in important areas How good is the LEA s performance? Grade 2: Good features and no important shortcomings Strategic planning 29 The authority s key strategic documents set out clear and appropriate aims that reflect both national and local priorities. The vision for the role of education is expressed clearly through a set of aims and targets in the Community Strategy. The Community Strategy is based on the work of a partnership of public, private and voluntary organisations and local communities. There is consistency in the priorities set out in plans, including the Corporate Improvement Plan, the Single Education Plan (SEP) and individual service plans. The plans comply with the requirements of relevant Welsh Assembly Government guidance. 30 The SEP is comprehensive, detailed and well-structured. It provides a framework and context for 11 improvement strategies. In particular, it explains how the improvement strategies contribute significantly to the four broad themes of the Community Strategy, which are: Living Environment; Regeneration; Education for Life; and Health, Social Care and Wellbeing. 31 For each strategy, the SEP includes clear, specific and appropriate activities. These activities are mostly supported by a good range of improvement actions by the education service to achieve the desired objective. 32 There are clear and comprehensive operational plans for all services that are well-linked to corporate strategies. The plans set out improvement targets for service performance. However, not enough of the targets are specific, measurable, resourced and time-based. This means that the authority is not able to evaluate fully 10

14 the impact and efficiency of its initiatives nor can it use such information in future planning. 33 A corporate medium-term financial strategy is securely in place. Officers and members determine overall levels of spending and allocate funds appropriately to service areas on the basis of the authority s priorities. Budgetary control overall is good. In recent years, there has been overspending on support for Additional Learning Needs but further resources have now been put into the base budget for this area. 34 The authority has increased resources available for education since 2004 under the current administration. This has resulted in the education budget being at the level of the education IBA. In line with the corporate priority to improve attainment, the authority has substantially increased spending for school improvement, inclusion and the initiative. 35 Total expenditure on school effectiveness has increased from 1.75 million in to 2.84 million in , including 350,000 to fund the initiative. Expenditure on inclusion has increased from 2.33 million in to 3.63 in The increases accord with the authority s key education priorities. 36 There is a strong partnership between the authority and the schools. This ensures that all partners are in general agreement about key strategic educational priorities. Senior officers of the authority consult schools well through a regular series of structured meetings. Headteachers value the openness of this approach to consultation and the accessibility and approachability of LEA officers. Overall, this approach helps to create a positive ethos within the authority. 37 Appropriate arrangements are made by senior education officers to consult children and young people about the strategic direction of the education service. In particular, the arrangements for members of school councils and the Youth Forum to comment on the SEP and the proposed provision were very effective. School improvement 38 The following table compares the performance of pupils in Caerphilly schools at National Curriculum teacher tests/assessments with that of pupils throughout Wales. The percentage of pupils attaining the core subject indicator (CSI) 8 in each key stage in Caerphilly and Wales in 2006: Key stage 1 Key stage 2 Key stage 3 Key stage 4 Caerphilly 79.1% 70.7% 53.4% 31.8% Wales 80.6% 74.2% 58.2% 39.7% 8 The core subject indicator (CSI) shows the percentage of pupils who attain the level expected of them in mathematics, science and either English or Welsh as a first language 11

15 39 Overall, between 1997 and 2006, there has been generally good progress in the performance of pupils in National Curriculum teacher tests/assessments, particularly at key stages 2 and 3, and in the percentages of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs both at grades A* to C and at grades A*-G. 40 Between 1997 and 2005, the increase in the percentages of pupils gaining the core subject indicator (CSI) in each of the key stages 1-3 National Curriculum tests and assessments and in the percentage of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C was faster than the all-wales average. The increase in the percentages of pupils gaining the CSI in the key stage 2 and key stage 3 National Curriculum tests and assessments was among the best authorities in Wales. 41 The authority s performance, based on value-added data provided by the Fischer Family Trust (FFT) 9, shows that at key stage 4, on all GCSE indicators, attainment has been generally higher than expected for each year between 2002 and The most recent value-added data 10 for indicates that in all of the GCSE indicators, the authority is placed in the better performing half of authorities. 42 In 2005, for the first time, Caerphilly moved out of the bottom four authorities in Wales in respect of both key stage 2 and key stage 3 National Curriculum test and assessment results and in relation to the percentages of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C. However, in 2006, overall, pupils performance in these indicators dipped slightly when compared to 2005, although still better than in previous years. The percentage of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C was poor in relation to Fischer Family Trust predictions. 43 The authority s procedures to monitor the performance of its schools have many good features but, overall, are not rigorous enough. For example, advisers do not challenge primary schools sufficiently robustly and consistently to ensure that performance targets are appropriate. The authority has recently refined these monitoring procedures, partly in response to two schools being placed in special measures in the past year. Advisers now monitor lessons and scrutinise pupils work more consistently in primary schools. This gives advisers a greater understanding of the performance of the schools that they monitor. In addition, each cluster has a dedicated Caerphilly ESIS adviser. This arrangement means that advisers knowledge of schools and their needs can improve. The revised procedures have ensured that there is a greater level of challenge in certain aspects of the monitoring process. 44 The authority s senior education management team carries out annual performance reviews with senior management teams in each secondary school. This arrangement is improving the robustness of challenge to schools about pupils achievements. 9 The Fischer Family Trust (FFT) project provides analyses and data that help local education authorities and schools to make more effective use of pupil performance data. The Fischer data uses pupils prior attainment data to estimate future performance based on a number of characteristics. 10 Value-added data takes into account each pupil s prior attainment, gender and month of birth. It also includes a range of school context indicators such as the percentage of pupils entitled to free school meals, mean level and distribution of intake and demographic data to allow for the performance of similar schools. 12

16 45 The authority has a clear programme of review for all departments in secondary schools. However, the authority does not accurately prioritise where support is most needed. In addition, review procedures are not always sufficiently robust in assessing whether effective progress has been made against agreed targets. This is because reviews often concentrate on processes rather than the standards learners achieve. 46 The advisory services provide a good programme of training and support that has helped schools develop more effective self-evaluation systems. As a result, schools identify appropriate areas for improvement and incorporate these into school development plans. Since September 2005, Estyn inspectors have judged the quality of self-evaluation to be at least grade 2 or better in about 80% of schools inspected. In , 84% of school inspection grades, covering all seven of Estyn s key questions, were either grades 1 or The recently developed school alert system has the potential to provide officers with information to challenge performance and intervene at the earliest possible moment where schools give cause for concern. Currently, officers do not always analyse data closely enough. This means that they do not challenge schools enough on specific aspects of performance such as significant differences in the performance of girls and boys or between the performances of core subjects at GCSE. 48 All governing bodies now have access to their own school s performance data. However, the extent to which governors use this information varies too much. The authority provides a wide range of data. However, this is not always presented in a sufficiently useful format to allow governing bodies to track data and assess performance nor to identify issues of concern and challenge schools. 49 Headteachers report that advisers provide good support to schools to develop teaching and learning strategies. SEU and Caerphilly ESIS advisers have effectively supported many initiatives that have enhanced provision in schools and helped raise standards. Initiatives such as assessment moderation, the transition project 11 and work to improve levels of literacy, especially writing, have had the greatest impact on school improvement. 50 The authority has successfully intervened in a number of schools identified as causing concern. It has provided high quality, on-going support and training to ensure that the performance of these schools improves. In addition, schools in special measures are very well-supported to help them improve standards significantly. Apart from two schools placed in special measures in the last twelve months, two other schools, placed in special measures in 1999 and 2001, moved out of this category within a two year time scale. 51 The authority has appropriately identified literacy as a key element in its strategies to raise standards across the curriculum, particularly in key stages 2 and 3. There is a range of initiatives, many of which, such as writing development, oracy and moderation, relate closely to each other and directly reflect agreed authority priorities. 11 The transition project aims to improve continuity and progression in teaching and learning between key stages 2 and 3 as part of the authority s strategy to raise standards in key stage 3. 13

17 Teachers are well supported in implementing these initiatives because they include planned training and classroom support over a period of time. 52 The Catch-Up programme has been introduced in primary schools where pupils are significantly underachieving. As a result improvements in reading are good. 53 The writing project is effectively raising standards of teaching and the quality of pupils work. The writing project s excellent features are: embedding improvements through a sustained programme of support; the involvement of staff from all schools; the focus on improving the quality of pupils writing in a range of styles across the curriculum; and good quality training for teaching and assessment that is constructive, practical, classroom-based and evaluated on the evidence of outcomes. 54 The assessment support programme is also very effective. It provides high quality materials such as samples of pupils work and portfolios of assessed work, uses clear criteria for assessment and makes available on-line materials, support and guidance. Through using these materials in joint moderation sessions, key stage 2 and 3 teachers across the county borough reach more accurate and consistent assessments. These arrangements have also improved teachers ability to show pupils what they have to do to improve. 55 These related strategies have improved the quality of teaching and standards of reading, oracy and writing in Years 6 and 7. They have had a positive impact on standards achieved at the end of key stage 2 and improved the progress that pupils make when they transfer from primary to secondary school. 56 The authority s policy and guidance on transition are good and in line with national guidance. Transition strategies to help pupils move more easily between primary school to secondary school have been in place for a number of years. Projects that involve feeder primary schools with their secondary school are of a good quality and advisory support is very good. Most groups of schools are well prepared to formalise arrangements through statutory transition plans. In many areas, primary and secondary school teachers plan work and moderate assessments together for Years 6 and 7 to prevent a dip in performance when pupils change school. The impact of these strategies on standards at key stage 3 will be first assessed formally in The authority has introduced useful initiatives to develop a more coordinated approach to improving mathematical skills, enhance the quality of cross-curricular teaching resources and promote more effective teaching and learning. As a result of these initiatives all of the authority s secondary schools have been awarded, or are working towards, the achievement of the Basic Skills Quality Mark. An internal review judged mathematics provision at key stage 3 across the LEA and across the curriculum to be good overall. The review identified many examples from across the curriculum of mathematical provision making a positive impact on the development of 14

18 subject knowledge and understanding. The improved performance of key stage 3 pupils in National Curriculum mathematics assessments, in 2006, supports this judgement. 58 Partly as a result of these initiatives, overall standards in both English and mathematics have improved steadily and faster than the Wales average at each of key stages 1-3 between 1997 and However, in about one-third of schools, key stage 4 pupils are not making good enough progress in maths compared with their progress in other core subjects. 59 The authority has information and communications technology (ICT) projects related to inter-active whiteboard technology; delivery of the Diploma in Digital Applications (DIDA) qualification; and development of schemes of work in key stage 3. These projects have resulted in useful links between teachers that have enabled them to share good practice and resources. However, the authority has yet to evaluate the impact of the projects on standards and the quality of teaching. 60 The SEU, Caerphilly ESIS and the Early Years and Childcare Development Partnership (EYCDP) work in partnership to provide good support to both schools and non-maintained settings to implement the Foundation Phase. Wherever possible, there has been similar training provision for the schools and non-maintained settings. The authority promotes the use of a topic-based approach for the delivery of the Foundation Phase. Initiatives that encourage the use of the outdoor learning environment have been particularly successful. Children in the early years with special educational needs have responded particularly well to these opportunities and the behaviour of some less-engaged pupils has improved. The authority, in conjunction with the EYCDP, has provided training for staff on multiculturalism and bilingualism. However, there has not been enough time for the authority to evaluate the impact of the training on teaching approaches in these areas. 61 The authority has appropriate strategies to address differences in achievement between boys and girls in the curriculum. In particular it has focused on raising standards of literacy and numeracy. As a result, in almost all of the key indicators at key stages 1, 2 and 3, the gap between boys and girls performance has been reduced at a greater rate than the all Wales average. 62 There is, however, considerable underperformance by boys compared with girls in most key indicators especially at key stage 4. The percentage of boys gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C was lower than all other authorities in Wales. In nine schools, the gap in the percentages of boys and girls gaining a grade A*-C in English was more than 20 percentage points. 63 The establishment of the Curriculum Development Unit represents an innovative approach to supporting the strands of the Learning Pathways. The authority has committed significant additional funds to the establishment of the unit, and made good progress in securing general approval for the initiative from secondary headteachers, further education college principals and other stakeholders. To date it has appointed key personnel and set out the key principles that will direct the unit s work. 15

19 64 The Area Network Plan builds well upon current collaborative arrangements and vocational provision within the authority. The plan reflects a clear commitment by schools and colleges of further education to collaborate more closely in establishing future priorities to broaden opportunities for all learners. The authority recognises that the range of provision on offer to young people both pre-16 and post-16 is variable. Approximately 130 pupils are currently involved in pre-16 link courses involving partners in further education. However, there are not enough opportunities for key stage 4 pupils to participate in vocational learning. The plan sets out clear targets for the numbers of pupils and students who will participate in vocational courses by March The schools have agreed a common timetable structure for post-16 provision from September 2007 that will allow for many course options to be rationalised across the partnership. 65 Caerphilly LEA has developed a range of appropriate policies on equal opportunities, bilingualism and combating racial harassment. Advisers have provided a comprehensive training programme on race equality and cultural diversity to the majority of the authority s schools. There are plans for advisers to visit the remaining schools to ensure they receive the necessary training. 66 There are effective partnerships between the authority and a variety of agencies that promote both cultural diversity and support for ethnic minority pupils within Caerphilly. The LEA supplements the funding it receives via the ethnic minority achievement grant (EMAG) to respond effectively to increasing and changing demands such as the increasing number of Polish and Portuguese families living in the borough. For example, a jointly funded project with Family Learning 12 addresses the language needs of families of Polish origin by providing English lessons for both parents and children. 67 The LEA works effectively with the Gwent Education Multi-ethnic Support Service (GEMSS). This service provides trained staff to teach English as an additional language and increases the skills of mainstream teachers to support pupils of minority ethnic groups, travellers and asylum-seeker learners. Advisers have reviewed the quality of support for race equality and cultural diversity in approximately one-third of the authority s schools. These reviews, and Estyn section 28 inspection reports, indicate that minority ethnic pupils are making generally good progress and achieving standards that are in line with their ability. 68 The standards achieved by looked after children in Caerphilly remain below the average for that group throughout Wales. The authority is improving its strategies to meet the additional learning needs of this vulnerable group of learners. In partnership with the Social Services Department, the education service recently organised a conference highlighting the specific needs of this group. The network is committed to meeting the needs of these young people and those who are not in education, employment and training by guaranteeing them a post-16 education place. Learning mentors are helping these pupils to be more aware of the learning opportunities available to them. The authority monitors out-of-county placements effectively and fulfils its legal duties for those pupils with statements of SEN who are 12 Family Learning is an element of the authority s Community Learning Project that offers classes to people, who perhaps have been out of the learning environment for a long time, in essential skills, including literacy and numeracy. 16

20 placed out-of-county. The authority also collects a wide range of data on these vulnerable groups and their whereabouts is monitored well. The LEA does not, however, always use this data as effectively as it should. This means that there has been limited impact on improving the educational standards of these pupils. 69 The authority actively supports an appropriate range of activities to broaden pupils learning experiences. The music support service, for example, provides a wide range of free instrumental and vocal tuition and about one-quarter of learners benefit from this. In addition, all schools are involved in participating in wider musical experiences that develop musical skills such as the Caerphilly music showcase at the St. David s Hall in Cardiff. 70 Athrawon Bro provides high quality training and support to school staff. This provision develops teachers confidence to deliver Welsh second language lessons effectively. This regular support has had a positive impact upon pupils standards. 71 The schools library service is responsive to schools needs and provides high quality resources to support teaching and learning across the curriculum through an efficient lending service. 72 The authority provides significant levels of additional funding for the Physical Education and School Sport (PESS) initiative. The PESS initiative has raised the status and profile of physical education through effective training, the development of learning resources of good quality and an emphasis on health related education (HRE) and healthy lifestyles. This has led to enhanced provision and higher standards, particularly in the areas of dance and gymnastics, in primary schools. 73 The Dragon Sports scheme has successfully supported the extension of Opportunities for Out of Schools Hours Learning (OSHL). Most schools offer extra-curricular clubs in one or more sports. 74 The Governor Support and Development Unit (GSDU) provides a comprehensive training programme to help governors carry out their functions. The information and support the GSDU provides is of a consistently high quality and is easily accessible. The service is beginning to monitor and evaluate the overall strengths and weaknesses of governance. It is using this information to provide a range of effective training to meet Welsh Assembly Government and LEA priorities, as well the needs of individual governing bodies. Governors particularly value the training on schools performance data analysis and preparation for inspection that the GSDU, together with Caerphilly ESIS, delivers. 75 The authority provides good support to potential National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) candidates. There is a well-developed and effective mentoring system, based on the Professional Headship Induction Programme (PHIP) initiative, to support both new headteachers and leaders in schools where there are difficult issues. 76 Annual Planning in Partnership meetings between headteachers and Inclusion Service staff enable the Inclusion Services to take account of each school s specific priorities and better support schools in raising standards for all pupils. The annual 17

21 headteachers conference provides good opportunities for the exchange of ideas. These meetings raise awareness of issues such as sustainable development in schools through, for example, the Eco Awards scheme. 77 The authority and its advisory service have also provided good support to assist schools to efficiently introduce workforce remodelling and performance management systems. 78 The value for money obtained from expenditure on school improvement overall is good. This is due to the overall effectiveness of the service and the improvements that have taken place as a result of the evaluation of initiatives. The authority has increased school improvement spending. In it budgeted to spend 114 per pupil compared with the Wales average of 76, making the expenditure per pupil the third highest in Wales. This high expenditure is in line with the key challenge in the authority s corporate priorities to improve attainment in Caerphilly. The resources that are being invested in the establishment of the Curriculum Development Unit also address the important priorities of improving poor staying on rates and developing appropriate curriculum opportunities for all pupils. 79 A Wales Audit Office report 13 identified that the authority needed to develop more comprehensive information systems to evaluate the effectiveness of expenditure on school improvement. In response to this, senior education officers produced a helpful report for members 14. This identifies issues that have affected indicators at particular key stages, including the poor key stage 4 examination results in 2006 and issues about the quality of education in schools. This report has contributed to the introduction of more robust strategies to improve performance at key stage There are good examples where the effectiveness of initiatives such as the writing project has been evaluated and of the transfer of resources away from projects that were judged to be of lower priority. However, the authority needs to extend the processes for evaluation of the effectiveness of school improvement initiatives to cover all school improvement activities. In particular, the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of Caerphilly ESIS is a service area that is not evaluated robustly enough. Support for attendance at school 81 The authority clearly understands the issues it faces regarding pupils attendance. Attendance levels in Caerphilly have consistently been among the lowest in Wales. There was a year-on-year improvement in attendance figures from 2000 until 2005, albeit from a relatively low base. In , however, there was a reduction in attendance levels in line with the national trend in Wales. 82 Schools collaborate well with the Behaviour Support Team and the Education Welfare service. The Education Welfare service strongly supports pupils through the welfare branch of the service. The service has grown over the years and there is now one education welfare officer (EWO) for each secondary school and its feeder primary schools. 13 School Improvement and Planning School Provision - Wales Audit Office, September Evaluation of the effectiveness of expenditure on school improvement - Report by Director of Education and Leisure to Council members, January

22 83 The creation of three area teams of EWOs that work directly with schools has led to significantly improved approaches to tackling poor attendance. EWOs are appropriately involved in partnership meetings with other relevant services in the authority to better target individuals and schools. These strategies have helped to establish effective working relationships between the various partners and are leading to better coordinated approaches. The Education Welfare service provides comprehensive data for schools and sets challenging targets through discussion with schools. The improvement, by just over one percentage point, in attendance levels for the autumn term 2006 suggests that these approaches are beginning to have a positive impact. 84 A team of Youth Mentors works in secondary schools supporting pupils experiencing difficulties. This initiative by the authority has had a positive impact on both attendance and behaviour. 85 The authority maintains a wide range of data on the attendance of vulnerable groups of pupils including looked-after children and those pupils receiving education at a site other than a school. The Education Welfare service monitors this data effectively to ensure that any attendance issues for these groups of pupils are identified and addressed rapidly. Support for behaviour in schools 86 The numbers of pupils permanently excluded from Caerphilly schools has continued to rise over the last four years. In , 52 pupils were permanently excluded from secondary schools within the authority, a rate of 3.9 per 1,000 compared to the national average of 1.9 pupils per 1,000. However, in the current school year, the authority s initiatives to reduce exclusions are beginning to have a significant impact. There has been a drop in the rate of permanent exclusions in the autumn term 2006 and spring term 2007 compared with the same period in This is due to a number of factors, including: the increased intervention in schools of the Behaviour Support Service team; the developing managed moves 15 initiative for pupils at risk of exclusion; effective area multi-disciplinary teams; specific training on behaviour management for staff in schools; effective use of the Pupil Attitudes to Self and School (PASS) survey; the impact of nurture groups in primary schools; specific initiatives such as the Youth Mentor scheme; and the improved range of alternative provision available to pupils. 15 Managed moves is an authority-wide strategy where pupils identified as being at risk of exclusion, or who have already been excluded, are given a fresh start by being placed and supported in another school. 19

23 87 Despite the recent significant improvements in permanent exclusions rates, fixed-term exclusions continue to rise. There are, however, indications that figures for the spring term 2007 will be below those for the corresponding term in The continued high level of fixed-term exclusions is because, in a few schools, behaviour management overall is not good enough and fixed-term exclusions are being used too frequently as a strategy to help reduce permanent exclusions. The authority is therefore not doing enough to make sure that schools reduce the numbers of pupils excluded for a fixed term. 88 Pupils excluded permanently, or at risk of being excluded from school, have access to a generally good range of alternative provision. Access to this provision is through a multi-agency Alternative Placement Panel. The panel uses a set of criteria that has been agreed with schools to decide on appropriate placement. This approach has helped reduce permanent exclusions. 89 Pupils attending alternative provision do not always have access to appropriate accreditation of their learning or receive their entitlement to 25 hours of education and training. Whilst outcomes in terms of attendance and qualifications are monitored, value for money and curriculum monitoring across the whole range of provision is not robust enough. However, shortcomings in Fast Forward 16, one of the authority s settings, recently highlighted during Estyn s Youth Support Services inspection, were addressed promptly by the authority. It is too early to judge the impact of the authority s intervention. 90 Partnership work between education, social services and health providers is good. This is particularly so for specialist provision for children and young people with very challenging behaviour, mental health problems and complex medical needs. The cost of out-of-county specialist placements is shared appropriately between statutory partners. 91 The authority s planning and development of behaviour initiatives are clearly informed by careful analysis of need. The Behaviour Support Service team works effectively to identify need, plan and implement initiatives and provision, and evaluate outcomes. In particular, the work of monitoring and evaluating outcomes of specific initiatives provides the service with valuable data that enables them to target resources efficiently. Authority reviews of the effectiveness of behaviour support services have led to improved strategies that have enhanced the quality of support to schools. 92 The Behaviour Support Service works well with schools through regular consultation and planning meetings. The new area multi-disciplinary arrangements provide a useful, local forum for service development and provision. These arrangements are fairly recent and as yet show only minimal impact. However, they are well-received by headteachers and well-designed to respond to local needs and issues. 93 The system developed by the authority to monitor the use of the resources available to schools to tackle inclusion issues is very good. The resources are delegated to 16 The Caerphilly Fast Forward unit is a training and development organisation that provides a range of training programmes to many disengaged and economically inactive people in the county borough. 20