*Presented to Audit Committee on 25 May 2010
STRATEGIC RISK REGISTER UPDATE – LIFE CHANCES INLCUDING ATTAINMENT
1.0Matter for consideration
1.1The Committee to consider an update with regard to Educational Attainment and the Council’s strategy to improve GCSE outcomes for young people aged 16.
2.0Recommendation(s)
2.1To note the report and make any recommendations as considered appropriate.
3.0BlackpoolSecondary School Context
3.1In Blackpool more than 22,000 young people attend Early Years settings, 29 primary schools, three all-age special schools, eight secondary schools, a pupil-referral unit and two colleges.
- Blackpool has a very mobile pupil population with only 76.6% of pupils on roll in their secondary school for the full Key Stage 3 period, and 86% of pupils on roll for the full Key Stage 4 period.
- 23.0% of all pupils are eligible for free school meals.
- 45.5% of pupils registered to Blackpool schools live in areas shown to be in the bottom 20% on the indices of multiple deprivation.
- 27.5% of Blackpool’s children, equivalent to 7,405 children, live in households where parents claim working age benefits; the highest rate in Lancashire, and the fifth highest in the North West. This is 8% higher than the national average.
- Many families fall below the 60% median income poverty line, despite one or more parents being in work.
3.2Seven out of eight Blackpool secondary schools are judged to be satisfactory overall by Ofsted, with one judged as good. All three special schools are judged to be outstanding. The town’s post-16 provision is judged to be outstanding or having outstanding features. No schools have been judged as being inadequate.
3.3 By the end of Key Stage 4, 58.7% of pupils achieved an A*-C grade in English in 2009compared with national figure of 62.4%. In maths, 42.3% of pupils achieved an A*-C grade in 2009, compared to 59.1% nationally. Blackpool’s 5A*-C including English and maths in 2009 was 38.7% which is below the national 2009 figure of 50.4% but is nevertheless an increase of 4.2% in the last year.
3.4The gap in attainment between children eligible to receive free school meals and those who are not is greater than the national average. In 2009 63.2% of Blackpool pupils eligible to receive free school meals achieved the expected level in English at the end of Key Stage 2, compared with 84.4% of non-FSM pupils. At GCSE 21.1% of Blackpool pupils eligible for FSM achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A*-C including English and maths, compared with 45.9% of those who did not receive FSM.
3.5After the age of 16, 43.0% reached the level 2 threshold (five or more GCSEs grade A*-C or equivalent), compared to a national average of 55.4%. By age 19, 66.0% had achieved level 2 (compared to national figures of 76.7%). 36.0% reached level 3 (two A levels grade A-E or equivalent) by age 19, compared to national averages of 49.8% (all 20008 figures).
3.620.0% of Blackpool’s young people are not in education or work-based training, compared to 16.0% nationally.
3.7Progress made to date
3.7.1In recent years Blackpool has steadily narrowed the gap between local and national performance.
3.7.2In 2004 the proportion of Blackpool pupils attaining five GCSE grades A*-C was 36.8% compared with a national figure of 52.0%, a difference of 15.2%. In 2009 however, 65.6% of Blackpool pupils attained five A*- C grades compared with 70.0% nationally, a difference of just 4.4 percentage points. Our national ranking moved from 147th out of 149 to 125th out of 152 local authorities. Our performance at five GCSEs (or equivalent) grades A*-C including English and maths was, in 2004, 26.7% compared with a national average of 40.4%, a gap of 13.7%. In 2009, this gap had decreased to 11.1% (Blackpool 38.7% c.f. national 49.8% (DCSF data Jan 2010)).
3.7.3Since 2004 Blackpool’s English GCSE results (pupils achieving A*-C) have risen from 37.6% to 58.7%, a rise of 21.1 percentage points. Nationally there has been an increase of 8.1 percentage points to an average of 62.4% in 2009.
3.7.4Since 2004 Blackpool’s maths GCSE results (pupils achieving A*-C) have risen from 37.6% to 42.3% but are still some way below the national average in 2009 of 59.1%.
3.7.5Since 2006 the number of exam entries by pupils registered to Blackpool schools resulting in the highest GCSE grades of A and A* has risen from 8.9% to 12.8%, a rise of 3.9 percentage points.
3.8Blackpool Challenge
3.8.1The Blackpool Challenge is led by Blackpool Children and Young People’s Department. It is delivered in partnership with Blackpool’s eight secondary schools, Blackpool Sixth Form College, Blackpool and the FyldeFurtherEducationCollege and all those working with children and young people in Blackpool. Blackpool Challenge is supported by the National Challenge programme and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).
3.8.2In 2008 four secondary schools performed below the national floor targets of 30% and although this figure improved to two schools in 2009 it is unacceptable to have any Blackpool school performing below floor targets. All schools are on track to outperform floor targets in 2010, showing that the link between deprivation and attainment can be cut.
3.8.3In 2009 five Blackpool schools were supported by the National Challenge Programme. PalatineHigh School’s latest Ofsted inspection report stated “the school has been well supported by the National Challenge programme’. The additional financial support has enabled wider-reaching development programmes to be implemented more quickly in the five schools. Each Blackpool secondary school has an appropriate structural solution, which includes federations, National Challenge Trusts, trusts and a studio school academy.
3.8.4All Blackpool Challenge schools benefit from a bespoke Team around the School:
3.9The Team around the School
3.9.1The Team around the School is co-ordinated and led by a dedicated Children’s Services Adviser / School Improvement Partner (SIP) and is made up of the National Challenge Adviser, specialists in English, maths, science and ICT, teaching and learning, assessment for learning, attendance, behaviour and leadership. The team produce a local authority provision plan based on the school’s self-analysis and the local authority’s analysis of need. The menu of school improvement services ranges from support with data analysis and pupil tracking, target setting, access to consultants, programmes for pupils to improve learning and aspirations, behaviour support, EAL (English as an Additional Language) support, help and guidance for pupils of ethnic minority groups, Virtual School support for Children Looked After and programmes to improve leadership at all levels and teaching and learning across the school.
3.9.2The team around the school have devised a wide range of creative solutions to meet particular needs, including whole school raising aspiration sessions for staff and pupils, reward schemes for pupils to promote good attendance and positive behaviour and programmes to raise attainment of underperforming groups of pupils in school and in after-hours additional study sessions. Blackpool’s ‘Food 4 Thought’ initiative encourages schools to be creative around where and when they hold revision workshops, providing pupils with a meal as well as study support. Blackpool’s Aimhigher programme has led to many higher education students working to support Blackpool pupils, proving to be excellent role models as well as study support mentors.
3.9.3In recognition of the challenges brought about by Blackpool’s social context, the Team around the School approach is adopted for schools that are achieving well above floor targets, but are still judged as satisfactory by Ofsted. Our aim is to move these schools from satisfactory to good and then outstanding. These schools are supported by their School Improvement Partner who works with the school to identify areas for improvement and brokers support from the Team around the School.
3.9.4Blackpool schools are developing school-to-school partnerships to support their continuing journey of improvement. SIPs and the local authority have brokered partnerships for some Blackpool schools with schools in Halton and Salford.
3.9.5Blackpool schools have joined the Extra Mile initiative to share best practice nationally as well as locally.
3.9.6The key priorities for the next phase of Blackpool Challenge are to:
- Minimise the effect of deprivation on pupil achievement
- Address underperformance
- Create more good and outstanding schools
3.10Our 2013 Pledges
By 2013 the Authority is determined that:
- The proportion of Blackpool pupils achieving five or more GCSE grades including English and maths will be in line with the national average
- 50% of Blackpool schools will be good or outstanding
- 50% of Blackpool young people will go on to higher education and achieve good outcomes there.
- Outcomes will be improved for pupils entitled to free school meals at 11 and 16 and to narrow attainment gaps by 50%
- Every Blackpool school will have a partner school.
- The numbers of young people who go on to further and higher education and training will be at least in line with national averages
4.0Witnesses / representatives
4.1As requested by the Committee members, the following persons have been invited to attend the meeting to speak on the matter:
- Sue Harrison, Assistant Director Learning and Schools
Relevant officer:
Sue Harrison, Assistant Director Learning and Schools
Tel: (01253) 476530, e-mail
Appendices attached:
None
Background papers:
None
Websites and e-mail links for further information:
None
Glossary:
FSM – Free School Meals
DCSF – Department for Children, Schools and Families
SIP – School Improvement Partner