Minutes of the Standards Committee Meeting held in school Monday 17th November 2014 at 9.15am
Present:Mrs D Cavill (Chair), Mr D Finlay, Dr J Jackson, Mrs C Swan and Mrs C Jones.
In attendance:Mrs R Morrison (Clerk), Ms J Oatridge (Associate member) (from 9.30am), Mr M Ingall (Headteacher) (for item 2).
The Clerk confirmed that the meeting was quorate.
1.Welcome and Apologies
1.1The Chair welcomed governors to the meeting. Apologies had been received from Mr R Farmer andMrs L Pearson.
2.Raiseonline report
2.1The Headteacher tabled extracts from the Raiseonline data. At Key Stage (KS)2 attainment is significantly above the national average, progress raises some questions. The Headteacher presented each element of the data in detail and answered governors’questions:-
i) Year 1 Phonics–78% of pupils achieved the expected standard, nationally the figure is 74%. The school would like the % to be in the 80s. 3 out of the 8 disadvantaged pupils, (defined as looked after children and those attracting the pupil premium) reached the expected level, equating to 38% against nationally 78%. Progress and attainment for these pupils is being looked at to ensure appropriate support is in place. The aspiration is that disadvantaged pupils do as well as other pupils.
ii) Year 2 Phonics–46% of all pupils re-taking the Phonics test reached the expected standard. Nationally the figure is 66% for re-takes. The figures are similar for disadvantaged pupils. This is an area of concern. Governors asked if teaching Phonics 5 days a week since September is having an impact. The Headteacher confirmed that this has had a positive impact and advised that some pupils are having 2 sessions a day.
iii) Attainment at KS1– The committee was pleased that attainment in Writing is above the national average and significantly above in Reading and Mathematics. Attainment for all subjects is good.
iv) Attainment at KS2–Attainment in Mathematics is above the national average at all levels with the exception of level 6. The committee acknowledged that a discussion will be required regarding if potential level 6 pupils should be targeted.
Ms Oatridge joined the meeting.
The committee was pleased that all pupils had achieved a level 4+ in Reading. Governors noted that Writing is teacher assessed, 96% had reached a level 4+.
v) Average Points Score (APS) at KS2–Attainment is significantly above the national average for all subjects. The Headteacher explained how the Raiseonline report disregards some data such as a pupil achieving a GCSE A* result. If this anomaly is taken into account the correct APS is 30.3 not the 29.9 shown in the report, nationally the figure is 28.7. 30.0 would be the highest ever APS at KS2; 29.9 equals the previous highest score (2011).
vi) Progress Measures from KS1 to KS2–Progress in all subjects is incorrectly shown as significantly down due to the attainment data used. Governors noted that whilst the data cannot be changed it can be explained.
vii) Reading progress–94% of pupils made expected progress against the national figure of 91%. The Headteacher explained that the criteria for identifying disadvantaged pupilshad changed. The report shows there were 4 disadvantaged pupils but the school has identified 5 such pupils.
viii) Writing progress–100% of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, made expected progress against the national figure of 93%.
ix) Mathematics progress–92% of pupils made expected progress against the national figure of 89%. All pupils achieving a level 3 at KS1 achieved a level 5 at KS2, but none achieved a level 6: nationally the figure is 35%. The committee discussed the teaching of level 6 and noted that it is a different curriculum requiring additional resources. Without these resources pupils’attainment would be limited. The committee felt it would be useful to see if achieving a level 6 helped pupils’attainment at KS3.
x) Closing the Gap at KS1–The APS for disadvantaged pupils is 1.7 below the APS for other pupils; the Headteacher explained that this is less than a third of a level.
xi) Closing the Gap at KS2–When the data is adjusted to take into account the 5 disadvantaged pupils rather than the 4 shown in the report, the APS for disadvantaged pupils is 29 compared with 30.1 for other pupils.
2.2Key Points–The Headteacher summarised the key areas that will be focused on:-
i) Phonics–To continue to do better than nationally and to teach Phonics 5 days per week.
ii) Disadvantaged pupils in KS1 and KS2 –To close the gap between these pupils and other pupils.
iii) Mathematics–To ensure all level 2s at KS1 are converted to level 4s at KS2.
iv) Mathematics–To discuss with the Governing Body teaching level 6 to pupils achieving a level 3 at KS1.
2.3Progress–The Headteacher tabled and presented Progress data for each current year group in Reading, Writing and Mathematics. This shows that progress is good over years 3 to 6 as measured by APS.
2.4Questions–Governors questioned why some of the key points had been a surprise. The Headteacher explained that some of this was due to the data used by Raiseonline and that it was not known that level 6 attainment would be so high nationally. Governors asked what is being done to address the key points. Ms Oatridge reported that individual pupils are being monitored and strategies put in place to support their learning. Extra support is being given to pupil premium pupils. The committee acknowledged that the data showed lots of positive results.
The committee thanked the Headteacher for the useful presentation. The Headteacher withdrew from the meeting.
3.Minutes of the meeting held on 22-9-14
3.1The minutes were agreed and signed as an accurate record of the meeting.
4.Matters arising from the minutes of 22-9-14
4.1Terms of reference (minute 7.1) –The committee’s terms of reference had been approved by the full Governing Body. An additional responsibility regarding ensuring the statutory requirements of the school web site are published had been added by the Governing Body.
4.2Write to parents where phonics and attendance is aconcern (minute 4.3) –Ms Oatridge confirmed that this is now happening on an ongoing basis.
4.3Governors’book shelf (minute 4.4i) –Ms Oatridge advised that the scheme is being re-launched and a display has been produced to promote it in the library.
5.Teacher assessment data overview
5.1Levels - Ms Oatridge reported that she had attended a Partnership meeting the previous week where she had presented her work on a replacement scheme using target grids, now that SATs levels have been removed. The school has received some funding for this work.
5.2Update – Ms Oatridge explained how the grids are being used in school:-
i) Grids - The grids are completed by teachers as a continuous process. The grids, including targets, are sent home for parents, usually on a Monday.
ii) Blogs – Governors suggested that Ms Oatridge could blog explanatory information about the grids and targets. Alternatively information could be included in the newsletter.
iii) Writing targets – Ms Oatridge explained the new target cards for writing. These had been re-organised for ease of use.
iv) Tracking – Ms Oatridge demonstrated how progress is tracked on the grids using an example grid for Maths. The grids are totaled; at the end of the year the expected total is 16. Pupils’ attainment can then be identified as, emerging, expected or exceeding the levels. Ms Oatridge confirmed that staff support the new system.
v) Other subjects – Governors asked how subjects other than Reading, Writing and Maths are being tracked. Ms Oatridge advised that a progression of skills system is being used for all subjects which is colour coded.
vi) Assessment data – The first assessment date is 28-11-14. Governors expressed concern that the committee is not meeting to look at the data before the next full Governing Body meeting on 2-12-14. The Chair and Ms Oatridge agreed to meet to look at the data before then. ACTION CHAIR & MS OATRIDGE
6.Curriculum policy
6.1The full Governing Body had requested some changes to the previously agreed policy to bring it into line with the Accessibility Plan. The committee agreed to defer this item until the next meeting. ACTION MS OATRIDGE
7.Governors’book shelf
7.1This item had been covered by minute 4.3 above.
8.Retrospective pupil premium report
8.1The committee agreed to defer this item until the next meeting.ACTION MS OATRIDGE
9.Any other business
9.1There was no further business to discuss
10.Date of the next meeting
10.1Thursday 11th December at 3.30pmSubject Leader meeting for English, Maths, Science, RE and Computing (previously IT)
Reports from the Subject Leaders will be circulated via the Clerk.
The meeting closed at 11am
Standards Committee meeting 17-11-14
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