Agenda item

Report by the Chair of the Review Board

30.1     At its meeting on 27 June 2016, the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee appointed a Scrutiny Review Board to conduct a review of educational attainment at Key Stage 4.    The Board focused their investigation on the challenges schools and academies face in relation to the recruitment and retention of teachers and any impact this might have on educational attainment.  The Board consisted of Nicola Boulter (Parent Governor Representative and Chair of the Review Board) and Councillors Claire Dowling, Kim Forward, Roy Galley and Alan Shuttleworth.   

30.2     Councillor Galley introduced the report and highlighted some of the Board’s key findings.  The Board also asked that their gratitude to a range of professionals who assisted its investigations be acknowledged.   This included senior members of staff at local schools and academies, two consultant head teachers who attended the Board’s November meeting and relevant officers within the Children’s Services Department.      

30.3     Fiona Wright (Assistant Director) and Elizabeth Funge (Head of School Improvement) welcomed the Board’s report on behalf of the Department.  The report is regarded as being timely as the current East Sussex Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy is due for renewal this year.  As a result, the Department will be able to use the Board’s recommendations to help inform the development of the next version of the strategy.   In particular, the Department welcomed the Board’s focus on the issue of teacher retention as an area requiring further development within the strategy.

30.4         The Committee then discussed the Board’s report and recommendations.    A summary of these discussion points are set out below:

Progress 8 and Attainment 8.   The Committee welcomed the inclusion in the report of a table which provided a summary of Progress 8 and Attainment 8 scores.  However, more detail on how these measures operate was requested.  

In response to this request and with regard to Progress 8, the Committee were informed that a zero score within this measure represents the national average and is considered by Ofsted as acceptable.  With this context in mind therefore, a Progress 8 score of, for example, +0.14 would be considered as significant progress.  It was also highlighted that this is the first year these measures have been in operation.  As a result, relevant stakeholders are still developing their understanding of this measure.  The Committee were also informed that when compared more widely, the figures for East Sussex indicate local secondary school pupils have progressed significantly above the national average. 

The Department acknowledge the significant difference in Progress 8 scores between the top and bottom performing schools.  However, it is believed that this gap is likely to narrow as schools are still developing their appreciation of the relationship between the curriculum choices they offer and the potential impact this may have on Progress 8 scores.  As local schools develop their understanding of this relationship, it is likely this will result in a positive impact on those schools’ scores.  This in turn will help close the gap between the top and bottom performing institutions. 

The Committee were also informed that further information about the operation of the new performance measures will be circulated.    

Different contexts within which local schools operate.  The Committee accepted that the issue of teacher recruitment and retention is a national issue which may impact to varying degrees on local schools.  However, the Committee asked that it is acknowledged that some schools may face greater challenges than others.  For example, that the location of a school in terms of the quality of its transport links and whether it is situated within a deprived area may have a direct impact on its ability to recruit teaching staff.

Teaching Schools.    The Committee asked for more clarity about the Department’s interactions with local teaching schools and its future development plans.  In response, the Department acknowledged the need to increase teaching school capacity within the county and that this is indeed a key element within the school improvement strategy.   Julie Dougill (Senior Manager: Leadership and Governor Services) confirmed there are currently five teaching schools within the county.   These schools meet regularly as a group and also participate in the Initial Teacher Training Network.  This network involves local universities and all the schools within the county that offer ‘School Direct’.   The Department also confirmed they are waiting on the outcome of applications for a further four secondary schools to become teaching schools.   If applications are approved, this would result in an increase in teacher training capacity within the county.

30.5RESOLVED to:

1) agree the report of the Review Board and to submit the report to Cabinet on 18 April 2017 for comment and to full Council for approval on 23 May 2017.

2) circulate further information to the Committee regarding the Progress 8 measure.

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