V2.4 28 August 2014
Self Evaluation–Blaenau Gwent Education Services for Children and Young People August 2014Blaenau Gwent in Context
Background:
Blaenau Gwent is steeped in history with a rich industrial heritage. The County Borough has an ever changing landscape and whilst proud of its heavy industrial past is seeking to regenerate its former industrial sites, evidence of this can be found at the Works site including a significant investment into the Education infrastructure for the County Borough.
Over the past few decades, Blaenau Gwent has faced challenging economic times resulting from the loss of traditional employment opportunities that provided the majority of jobs for people living in the area. These circumstances, combined with external pressures such as the global recession, spending cuts, job losses and welfare reform changes, have resulted in many people, especially those most vulnerable, experiencing high levels of deprivation and financial hardship. Delivering good quality education services is critical in securing the long term social and economic wellbeing of Blaenau Gwent whilst securing improved outcomes for children, young people and their families. The Council and the Education Directorate acknowledge that a challenging economic and social status within Blaenau Gwent is no excuse for poor educational attainment levels but the scale of deprivation in the County Borough is illustrated in the general demographic context below;
· Lowest property values in the UK.
· High proportion of persons providing unpaid care to disabled family members.
· High unemployment levels in comparison to the rest of Wales.
· Low gross weekly earnings to the rest of Wales.
· Lower life expectancy compared to the rest of Wales.
· Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (2011) comparisons show that people in Blaenau Gwent have a greater degree of disadvantage than in other areas of Wales and the UK.
· 33.2% of children, aged 18 and under, living in out-of-work benefits households compared to the Wales average of 22.7% (Source: daffodilcymru.org.uk)
· In 2013, the percentage of pupils of compulsory school age eligible for free school Meals (25.2%) remained the highest in Wales at 29.84% across all schools, which is significantly higher than the Wales average of 19.53%.
· Blaenau Gwent is ranked 22nd of 22 LAs in terms of proportion of students eligible for Free School Meals
· The FSM gap between Blaenau Gwent and Wales has increased over the last 5 years but there are signs of stabilisation
The following summary provides a LA judgement of the services provided as set out in the Estyn Common Inspection Framework:
Key
Question
/ Quality Indicator / Aspect / Judgement1. Outcomes / 1.1 Standards / 1.1.1 results compared with national averages, similar providers and prior attainment
1.1.2 standards of groups of learners
1.1.3 not applicable
1.1.4 skills
1.1.5 Welsh language / Unsatisfactory
1.2 Wellbeing / 1.2.1 development of healthy and safe attitudes
1.2.2 participation and enjoyment in learning
1.2.3 community involvement and decision making / Adequate / Good
2. Provision / 2.1 Support for school improvement / 2.1.1 local authority support, monitoring, challenge and intervention
2.1.2 the authority’s work in raising standards in priority areas, including curriculum support
2.1.3 not applicable
2.1.4 support for school leadership, management and governance / Adequate
2.2 Support for additional learning needs / 2.2.1 work to meet its statutory obligations in respect of children and young people with additional learning needs (ALN)
2.2.2 work in raising standards for children and young people with ALN
2.2.3 provision for children and young people with ALN, including provision that is commissioned and/or provided by or with other agencies
2.2.4 work with parents and carers of children and young people with ALN / Unsatisfactory
2.3 Promoting social inclusion and wellbeing / 2.3.1 work to promote social inclusion and wellbeing of all children and young people
2.3.2 promoting attendance and keeping children and young people in education, employment and training
2.3.3 youth support services and personal support
2.3.4 safeguarding arrangements / Adequate
2.4 Access and school places / 2.4.1 the provision of an appropriate range and number of schools places
2.4.2 admissions to schools
2.4.3 co-ordination of early years and play to ensure sufficiency
2.4.4 co-ordination of youth support services to ensure access to entitlements / Adequate
3. Leadership / 3.1 Leadership / 3.1.1 the impact of leadership
3.1.2 strategic direction and meeting national and local priorities
3.1.3 elected members and other supervisory boards / Adequate
3.2 Quality improvement / 3.2.1 self-evaluation, including listening to learners and others
3.2.2 planning improvement
3.2.3 involvement in professional learning communities / Adequate
3.3 Partnership working / 3.3.1 strategic partnerships
3.3.2 joint planning, resourcing and quality assurance / Adequate
3.4 Resource
management / 3.4.1 management of resources
3.4.2 value for money / Unsatisfactory
Key Question 1: How good are outcomes?
1.1 Standards / Unsatisfactory
1.1.1 Results and trends in performance compared with national averages, similar providers and prior attainment
RECOMMENDATION 1 – Raise standards at all key stages, particularly at the end of key stage 4
Outcomes – Current Performance / Evidence
Foundation Phase
· Performance in the Foundation Phase is higher than expected for a LA with the highest FSM rate in Wales. The percentage of pupils achieving the Foundation Phase outcome indicator is ranked 17th in Wales when compared to other local authorities. 72% of schools are in the top 2 quarters based on performance in the Foundation Phase outcome indicator when benchmarked against similar schools in Wales.
· The percentage of pupils achieving the expected outcome level 5+ each of the mandatory areas of learning remains lower than the national average but higher than the LA’s FSM ranking of 22nd. Performance in English Language, literacy and communication skills is ranked 16th in Wales, performance in Welsh Language, literacy and communication skills and Personal and social development, well-being and cultural diversity are ranked 19th in Wales. Performance in Mathematical Development is ranked 21st in Wales. The percentage of schools in the top 2 quarters based on the percentage of pupils achieving outcome level 5+ when benchmarked against similar schools in Wales is above 50% in LLC English and PSDWCD, and 48% in mathematical development.
· The percentage of pupils achieving outcome level 6+ improved in all areas of learning in 2013 other than LLC English which remained constant. However, the rate of progress in LLC Welsh and PSDCWD was at a faster rate than for Wales as a whole. The percentage of schools in the bottom quarter based on the percentage of pupils achieving outcome level 6+ when benchmarked against similar schools in Wales is ranked between 15th and 17th in Wales for LLC English, mathematical development, and PSDCW.
· The 2014 provisional data shows that in the Foundation Phase, there has been a 2.3% increase on the 2013 result for the headline indicator; this was a slightly bigger increase than seen across the South East Wales Consortium (SEWC).
Key Stage 2
· Performance in key stage 2 continued to improve in 2013, but remains 21st or 22nd in Wales for all indicators. The percentage of pupils achieving the Core Subject Indicator improved by 1.8 percentage points in 2013 compared with a 1.7 percentage points increase across Wales. Performance has increased year on year for the last 5 years. 50% of schools are in the top 2 quarters based on performance in the core subject indicator when benchmarked against similar schools in Wales.
· The percentage of pupils achieving the expected level 4+ in English is the lowest in Wales and performance in Welsh first language, mathematics and science is 21st in Wales. The percentage of schools in the top 2 quarters based on the percentage of pupils achieving level 4+ when benchmarked against similar schools in Wales is at least 50% in English, mathematics and science.
· The percentages of pupils achieving level 5+ are below national averages for all core subjects, although progress in 2013 was at a faster rate than for Wales as a whole in English, mathematics and science. However, the percentage of schools in the top 2 quarters based on the percentage of pupils achieving level 5+ when benchmarked against similar schools in Wales is above 50%.
· The 2014 provisional data shows that At Key Stage 2, performance was 3.7% higher than in 2013, nearly 3% better than the average increase seen across the SEWC authorities.
Key Stage 3
· Performance at key stage 3 continues to improve but remains ranked 21st or 22nd in Wales. The percentage of pupils achieving the Core Subject Indicator is the lowest in Wales at 64.5% (Wales average 77%). Performance has increased year on year for the last 5 years. In 2013 there were no schools above the median based on performance in the core subject indicator when benchmarked against similar schools in Wales.
· The percentages of pupils achieving the expected level 5+ are below national averages for all core subjects, ranked 22nd in Wales for English and mathematics and 21st for science. However, the percentage of schools in the top 2 quarters based on the percentage of pupils achieving level 5+ when benchmarked against similar schools in Wales is at 50% for maths and science and one school is in the top quarter for English.
· The percentages of pupils achieving level 6+ are significantly below national averages for all core subjects. However, the percentage of schools in the top 2 quarters based on the percentage of pupils achieving level 6+ when benchmarked against similar schools in Wales is at 50% for maths and science.
· Performance in KS3 is unsatisfactory and BG is expecting a much faster rate of progress that the Wales average so that by 2017 it is within 5% of all indicators.
· The 2014 provisional data shows that the greatest gain has been at Key Stage 3 where a 11.9% increase on the previous year was over 8% better than the average improvement seen in SEWC schools.
Key Stage 4
· The proportion of pupils achieving the Level 2 threshold inclusive of English/Welsh first language and mathematics has improved in all schools in Blaenau Gwent from 34.3% in 2012 to 38.7% in 2013. However, improvements have been made across Wales and Blaenau Gwent remains joint lowest in Wales for this indicator, and bottom in Wales for all other indicators.
· This increase is supported by increases in the Level 1 and 2 thresholds overall, the CSI, and in Level 2 mathematics and science. However, English performance at Level 2 has declined from 51.8% in 2012 to 49.83% in 2013.
· When FSM benchmark data is used to compare the performance of similar schools nationally, the proportion of schools in the bottom quarter reduced for the key indicators in 2013, with the exception of science.
· Performance has remained below both LA benchmarks for performance modelled on FSM entitlement for the past four years. However, the gap between estimated and actual performance has reduced over the last four years for the capped points score from 32 points in 2010 to 14 points in 2013.
· In 2013, the number of pupils leaving full-time education without any recognised qualification remained unchanged but the percentage increased to 0.7%. As a result, the Blaenau Gwent percentage is the highest in Wales having been at the Wales average in 2011. However, numbers remain low across Wales and therefore rankings fluctuate from year to year.
· Performance in KS4 is still unsatisfactory though improving and BG is expecting a much faster rate of progress than the Wales average so that by 2017 it is within 5% of all indicators
School Banding
· There has been little change in the distribution of Blaenau Gwent Secondary Banding with the exception of one School whose banding has improved from Band 5 to Band 3.
School / 2013 / 2012 / 2011
Abertillery Comprehensive / 5 / 5 / 4
Brynmawr Foundation School / 3 / 3 / 3
Ebbw Fawr Learning Community / 4 / EV 4
GC 3 / EV 2
GC 4
Tredegar Comprehensive / 3 / 5 / 5
School Categorisation
· Each school in Blaenau Gwent is categorised by the EAS according to a number of criteria including Safeguarding, Standards, Attendance, Leadership, School Banding and Inspection Reports.
2012/13 / 2013/14 / Movement
No / % / No / % / No
Strong / 2 / 6.9% / 3 / 10.0% / 1
Minor / 14 / 48.3% / 11 / 36.7% / -3
Significant / 5 / 17.2% / 8 / 26.7% / 3
Particular / 5 / 17.2% / 7 / 23.3% / 2
Critical / 3 / 10.3% / 1 / 3.3% / -2
· Although the socio-economic context of Blaenau Gwent means that low performance might be anticipated, expectation should not to be at or near the bottom of the all-Wales rankings. It is vital to raise expectations at all levels i.e. with pupils, parents/carers, school staff, governors, LA officers and elected members.
· Language skills at all stages are critical and KS4 results indicate that insufficient progress is made across all four stages.
· Target setting needs to be more rigorous and provide a greater degree of challenge.
· With girls’ performance tailing off in more than one key stage, attention needs to be given to ensuring that there is no culture of girls’ underachievement developing.
· There are relatively few learners achieving the higher levels or grades.
· The Post Inspection Action Plan for the LA must have a clear focus on raising standards across the board and be implemented through a collective will to bring about improvement.
Summary of 2014 Provisional Results FP – KS3:
· Until the all-Wales results are available and the school and local authority outcomes are set within context, it is not possible to draw firm conclusions from this provisional data. However, at this stage it strongly indicates that the rate of progress will exceed that seen across Wales as a whole which will improve Blaenau Gwent’s relative position. This represents an encouraging set of results and should give further momentum to school improvement, without leading to complacency.