ATTAINMENT IMPROVEMENT BOARD

Transcription

1 ITEM NO: 6 Report To: EDUCATION ATTAINMENT IMPROVEMENT BOARD Date: 14 January 2014 Reporting Officer: Subject: Report Summary: Heather Loveridge Head of Education, Children s Services OUTCOMES OF RECENT INSPECTIONS OF TAMESIDE SCHOOLS The HMCI Annual Report North West 2012/13, also published in December 2013, highlighted The proportion of children in North West primary schools judged good or better is the highest in England and the performance of secondary schools in the North West is patchier and access to good or outstanding secondary education is a postcode lottery for too many young people. It goes on to state that children identified as being the most able at age 11 often do not go on to fulfil their potential in GCSE examinations. In Tameside children currently have less than a one in two chance of attending a good or outstanding secondary school. Ofsted inspections of Tameside primary schools over the past 2 years have rapidly improved from 57% to 73%, and Tameside is ranked 114 nationally. However, in the secondary sector there has been a decline from 54% in 2012 to 46% in 2013, and Tameside is ranked 142 nationally. Currently 73% of Tameside schools are good or better. Many Tameside schools inspected under the revised Ofsted framework have received a judgement of where previously they were judged as good. Consequently there is a significant number of Tameside schools which need to accelerate the rate of progress their pupils make, and improve their performance, particularly in secondary schools. This is clearly a cause for some concern and places Tameside in a vulnerable position in terms of attracting the attention of HMCI. However, Officers are working closely with the regional HMI who is fully aware of the Authority s strategy for challenging and supporting schools and has fully endorsed the approach which is being adopted. Recommendations: Links to Community Strategy: Policy Implications: That Members note the content of this report and receive further update reports at future meetings of the Board. The proposals in the report support three elements of the Community Strategy - Prosperous, Learning and Supportive Tameside The criteria set out in the Authority s policy document for Schools Causing Concern will provide a clear and transparent process for challenge, intervention and support in schools.

2 Financial Implications: (Authorised by the Borough Treasurer) Legal Implications: (Authorised by the Borough Solicitor) Risk Management: Access to Information: An increase in schools Requiring will impact on the capacity of the Schools Performance & Standards Unit to be able to deliver an effective service. Associated resourcing implications are currently being considered to mitigate the impact. Under the new legal landscape local authorities will continue to have a strong strategic role in relation to education and will be judged by how they are holding schools to account and providing the necessary support where required. In order to appropriately and effectively focus both challenge and support it is necessary to have relevant information about performance and standards. There are significant reputational risks to the Council if it does not have in place sufficient capacity and expertise to monitor schools performance and standards of education, and intervene where appropriate. Ofsted has set out its intentions to inspect local authority education support services where these are deemed to be insufficient and are having an adverse impact on the overall performance of schools. Where these are judged to be inadequate, Ofsted has the power to remove these functions from the local authority. The background papers relating to this report can be inspected by contacting Heather Loveridge, Head of Education, by: Telephone: heather.loveridge@tameside.gov.uk

3 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The expectation that local authorities are proactive in challenging schools where they are judged to be underperforming, and that they will use the powers available to them to ensure that schools are making the appropriate level of improvement, has never been more prevalent, as the landscape of school inspections reveals a number of schools being downgraded in the Ofsted inspection programme. 1.2 Tameside has witnessed rapid improvement in the proportion of good or better primary schools over the past year from 57% in 2012 to 78% in 2013 at its highest; it is currently 73%. However, the proportion of good or better secondary schools in Tameside has fallen from 54% in 2012 to 46% as of 31 August 2013, and is currently at 40%. In addition, Tameside is ranked bottom in the North West for the proportion of good or better primary and secondary schools, as published in the HMCI Annual Report for Schools - North West Region December The School Performance and Standards Unit has conducted its own analysis of likely inspection outcomes for our schools over the coming years and whilst it is likely that there will be a dip in performance in the short term, there are good prospects that by 2015/16, the performance of schools in Tameside will have significantly improved. 2. OFSTED INSPECTION OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES 2.1 HMCI s Annual Report for 2012/13, published in December 2013, continued to draw national attention to the marked inequality of access by children and young people to a good education across England. In addition, the HMCI Annual Report North West 2012/13, also published in December 2013, highlighted the proportion of children in North West primary schools judged good or better is the highest in England but the performance of secondary schools in the North West is patchier and access to good or outstanding secondary education is a postcode lottery for too many young people. More particularly, children identified as being the most able at age 11 often do not go on to fulfil their potential in GCSE examinations. It also highlighted In Tameside, children currently have less than a one in two chance of attending a good or outstanding secondary school. 2.2 This is clearly a cause for some concern and places Tameside in a vulnerable position in terms of attracting the attention of HMCI. Ofsted now has a more focused regional presence which involves closer scrutiny arrangements of local authorities but also greater support for schools and other education providers. Officers are working closely with the regional HMI who is fully aware of the Authority s strategy for challenging and supporting schools and has fully endorsed the approach which is being adopted. 2.3 Our regional HMI, Anne Seneviratne has also contributed to a Headteachers Conference on the Ofsted Framework on 15 November 2013, and also a Chair of Governors Conference on the Ofsted Framework which was held on 17 December Further input by HMI is being provided at the Deputy Headteachers Conference on 5 February 2014, and subsequent Governor training programmes. In addition, Anne Seneviratne is the HMI supporting the vast majority of our Tameside schools which have been judged as, and our mutual working relationship is already beginning to help schools to rapidly improve outcomes for children and young people in Tameside. 2.4 The Local Authority s policy for challenging and supporting Schools Causing Concern to improve their performance, reflects very closely the guidance issued by the Department for Education in 2011 but which has been updated to reflect the more recent demands of the Ofsted Framework. Again, meetings with Ofsted have confirmed that the approach which is being adopted by the Local Authority is ensuring that schools are benefiting from a good

4 level of support and this is featured in many of the recently published Ofsted reports and monitoring letters. 3. OFSTED INSPECTIONS OF TAMESIDE SCHOOLS 3.1 Overall, 73% of Tameside schools are good or better according to the HMCI Annual Report 2012/13. However, recent Secondary inspections which took place in December 2013 have resulted in a further decline to 40% of Secondary schools judged as good or better, and one further Secondary inspection result is to be confirmed. However, there continues to be an improving trend in the number of good or better Primary schools which is now 74% as at 31 December Many schools inspected under the revised Ofsted framework introduced in September 2012 and subsequently amended in September 2013, have received a judgement of where previously they were judged as good. As a result of recent inspections the proportion of good or better schools overall in Tameside is closer to 70% and this may reduce further in the short term under the new more rigorous framework. However, some schools have also moved from satisfactory to good and it is therefore it is a fluctuating picture. The current position in relation to inspections of Tameside schools is set out in the tables below: Table 1 Tameside Secondary Schools, including special schools and pupil referral services, as at 31/12/13 Ofsted Judgement No. Percentage Outstanding 3 16% Good 7 37% 7 37% Satisfactory (under old Ofsted framework) 2 10% Serious Weaknesses 0 0% Special measures 0 0% % Good or better secondary schools in, including 9/19 53% special schools and pupil referral services % Good or better secondary schools only 6/15 40% Table 2 Tameside Primary Schools, including special schools, as at 31/12/13 Ofsted Judgement No. Percentage Outstanding 8 10% Good 48 63% 15 20% Satisfactory 4 5% Serious Weaknesses 0 0 Inadequate 0 0 Overall Good or better primary schools 56/76 74% 3.2 The position in relation to recent inspections demonstrates the impact the revised framework, as of September 2013, has had on schools which were previously judged as good. As at July this year, 76% of primary schools were judged as good or better, and 56% of secondary schools were judged as good or better. Since September, 14 schools

5 have been inspected and 8 have been judged as and 1 result is yet to be confirmed, as shown in Table 3 below: Table 3 Tameside school inspection outcomes between 1 st September and 31 st December Provider Primary Date of inspection Previous Judgment New Overall Effectiveness Judgment Bradley Green Primary School 17/12/13 Good Good Hollingworth Primary 28/11/13 Satisfactory Good Ashton West End Primary School 27/11/13 Satisfactory Good Greswell Primary School 19/11/13 Good Good St James Catholic Primary School 12/11/13 Satisfactory Corrie Primary and Nursery School 23/10/2013 Good Dane Bank Primary School 01/10/2013 Satisfactory Micklehurst All Saints Church of England Primary School 16/10/2013 Good Good St James Church of England Primary School (Ashton) 10/09/2013 Good St Raphaels Catholic Primary School 01/10/2013 Good Secondary West Hill Academy 17/12/2013 Good Audenshaw Academy Outstanding Denton Community College 15/10/2013 Satisfactory Longdendale Community Language College 18/09/2013 Satisfactory To be confirmed 4. TAMESIDE S POLICY FOR SCHOOLS CAUSING CONCERN 4.1 It is now clear from advice from Ofsted, that the Local Authority has a responsibility to monitor the quality of education across all of its schools and any concerns in relation to Academies should be referred to the DfE at the earliest opportunity. The Schools Performance and Standards Unit, as part of Tameside Education Service, is already working proactively with a number of Academies in Tameside and some Academies are now commissioning the services of the Unit to support them in responding to their Ofsted inspection and in rapidly improving their schools. 4.2 However, the challenge for the local authority is to ensure that all schools, including academies, are fulfilling their duties in providing at least a good standard of education and that the local authority is challenging and intervening where appropriate and brokering school to school support to promote a self-sustaining school improvement system.

6 5. RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 That Members note the content of this report. 5.2 That the Education Attainment Board receives regular updates in relation to the performance of schools.