1.Strategy for Change in Stockton-on-TeesAppendix 1

Context

1.1.The Children and Young People’s Plan for Stockton-on-Tees 2006-09 sets out an agreed policy of planning for the delivery of all services for children and young people based on five geographical areas across the Borough. This submission for BSF relates to two of those Integrated Service Areas, North Stockton and Central Stockton, which together make up a single geographical area for Building Schools for the Future.

1.2.The two areas, and the schools within them, are different in nature, and our strategy for BSF will reflect those differences. Each area includes three mainstream secondary schools, and this document generally refers to them collectively as “the three northern schools” and “the three central schools.”

1.3.The northern area is characterised by large areas of significant deprivation in social housing estates, separated by an isolated area of affluence that includes an independent school. Deprivation in these communities is illustrated by the level of entitlement to free school meals in the mainstream schools (37.8% in total) and the number of pupils with special educational needs (34.5%, of whom 6.3% have statements). Around 500 secondary pupils resident in the north are able to access schools outside this area. This leaves the three schools in the north with very local catchment areas and an intake that cannot be called truly comprehensive. All three schools are relatively small (520 to 810 pupils), and located some distance apart on the fringe of their communities. One of them includes a 40-place unit for pupils with physical disabilities. This northern area also includes two special schools, one of them taking pupils from 11 to 19. There is access to post-16 provision, although not directly within the northern area, and staying-on rates here are below average for the Borough.

1.4.Central Stockton also includes some areas of great deprivation, but there are larger areas of affluence. Entitlement to free school meals across the three central schools totals 16.1%, while 18% of pupils are recorded as having special educational needs (1.7% with statements). The schools include one Catholic and one Church of England Voluntary Aided School. The third, a community school, is the largest 11-16 school in the Borough. In total these three schools draw about 500 pupils from the areas around the three northern schools. The central schools are located quite close together and within easy reach of post-16 provision.

What is good about present secondary provision in Stockton?

Diverse schools with strong community links

1.5.The six mainstream schools all have different and complementary specialisms in technology, maths & ICT, sport, modern foreign languages, humanities, and visual/performing arts (aspiring but not yet designated). There are four community schools, one Church of England VA and one Roman Catholic VA. Schools vary in size from 520 to 1310 with the smaller schools generally located in the more disadvantaged areas. One mainstream school includes a special unit for pupils with physical disabilities. Abbey Hill Special School and Technology College (recently awarded autism accreditation by the National Autistic Society) is the lead school in a Leading Edge Collaborative with the local secondary and two primary schools, and is federated with Westlands School in the south of the Borough. The three northern schools draw the majority of their pupils from their immediate area and have very strong links with these deprived communities. In these areas the local school is often the first port of call for families in need or distress. The two denominational schools serve defined faith communities. All three central schools include an above-average proportion of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Pupil Attainment and Achievement

1.6.Four of the six schools perform in line with national average standards – or above them – at KS3 and KS4. This includes two of the northern schools which have made very significant progress in recent years. Pupil attainment at two schools is below average, but Contextual Value Added scores show that their pupils achieve well compared to those in similar schools elsewhere.

Collaboration

1.7.The three northern schools have a history of shared training initiatives as part of an Education Action Zone. Their governing bodies have now agreed to pursue formal collaboration, focused initially on dealing with challenging behaviour. They all use other providers to broaden their 14-16 curriculum offer, sometimes sharing transport. All are part of a developing Extended School Cluster which forms an Integrated Service Area for delivering children’s services.

What are the challenges facing secondary education in Stockton?

Raising attainment

1.8.In spite of very significant progress over time, pupil attainment at two schools remains below national averages (although in line with schools in similar circumstances). There are areas of weakness in specific subject areas (including in the core subjects of maths and English) at different schools.

Improving behaviour and attendance

1.9.Attendance figures of around 90% are below national averages at several schools, while the rate of permanent exclusions is above average.

Falling rolls

1.10.Only two of the six schools have more than 900 pupils, and total pupil numbers are projected to fall below 4,000 in the next ten years. The consequential loss of funding is likely to create staffing problems and affect the curriculum offer at all schools. This may appear to threaten the future viability of one or more schools.

Improving the curriculum offer

1.11.The introduction of fourteen diploma strands in addition to the core curriculum will challenge all these schools, particularly the smallest. Flexibility in curriculum provision is also an essential element in personalised learning and in engaging the disengaged.

Increasing participation in post-16 education and training

1.12.Staying-on rates are below average in the northern schools, where access may be an issue. The Authority will seek to improve participation and achievement post-16 in collaboration with the local LSC, colleges and training providers.

Provision for special needs

1.13.Most of these schools receive an above-average proportion of pupils with special educational needs, whether with statements or without. Engaging them more fully is a key challenge.

Delivering integrated services

1.14.Many people in these communities do not have access to (or do not take up) opportunities for education and culture, health and social care, training or employment advice. Improving access to local provision is at the centre of our plans for integrated service delivery based on geographical areas.

How will our BSF strategy address these challenges?

1.15.Consultation meetings with secondary headteachers and college principals have demonstrated a consensus in support of the following principles:

  • The importance of partnerships – schools and colleges working together to share resources, ensure complementary provision and reduce duplication.
  • Schools serving the needs of their particular communities – whether defined by geographical area, by faith group, or by special needs.
  • Enhancing diversity and promoting choice – building on the existing range of specialisms.
  • Integrated service provision – schools as a gateway to services beyond education, in line with Every Child Matters.
  • Inclusion – the best possible provision for all appropriate to individual need.
  • Schools of appropriate size for their local communities.
  • Innovation – forward-looking in building design and curriculum provision, maximising the potential of new technologies.

1.16.The following paragraphs reflect these principles and the wider objectives of the Council and its partners.

Collaboration

1.17.The three northern schools developed collaborative models as part of an Education Action Zone and are now working closely together at governing body level to share expertise in their specialisms and to widen the curriculum offer at 14-16. It is the view that large schools are inappropriate for these deprived communities. Pupils there need easy access to local learning centres, small in size, linked by ICT to provide a personalised learning experience. With the experience of two successful City Learning Centres located in the Borough, Stockton is well placed to develop new models of networked local learning centres appropriate to the needs of these disadvantaged communities.

1.18.A collegiate approach is at the heart of the Expression of Interest submitted for Stockton’s 14-19 Partnership. Building on the effective collaboration that enabled Stockton-on-Tees to be in the first wave of 14-19 Pathfinders, the Collegiate encompasses all secondary schools, two sixth form colleges, the FE college, local LSC, training providers, universities, Connexions, Aim Higher, Excellence in Cities and employers. Building on the specialisms of the schools and colleges (including a Centre of Vocational Excellence for Performing Arts) and the needs of the local economy, the Partnership has identified five specialised diploma strands for early introduction at different centres in Stockton. A varied menu of post-16 options easily accessible to all will be a key element in our strategy to raise participation and achievement.

Integrated service areas

1.19.Stockton-on-Tees moved quickly to appoint a Corporate Director for Children, Education and Social Care in 2005, followed by a Head of Strategy for Children and Young People (a post jointly funded by North Tees Primary Care Trust). The Borough has been divided into five geographical Integrated Service Areas with the intention that the majority of services for children, young people and families will be commissioned, delivered and managed within each area. This will include multi-disciplinary teams located within the Integrated Service Areas to provide early intervention and support. Schools will be at the heart of this strategy, not just in delivering education and extended school activity, but also in signposting services that can be accessed on other sites in the area. This function is particularly important in the more deprived communities, and both the Council and the Children’s Trust Board place a high priority on maintaining secondary schools within those communities.

Personalised learning

1.20.The strategy for personalised learning in Stockton-on-Tees has five components:

  • Assessment for learning
  • Effective teaching and learning
  • Curriculum entitlement and choice
  • Organising schools for personalised learning
  • Learning beyond the classroom.

1.21.All of these will impact on our BSF strategy as we aim to help schools organise their staff and buildings to support greater curriculum choice within the school day, and study support outside it. Through BSF we will look to create flexible learning environments that can adapt to different teaching and learning styles with learning groups of different sizes. Building design and layout will need to support increased use of new technologies as set out in our e-learning strategy.

School organisation

1.22.Pupil numbers across this group of schools are projected to decline by 1,000 over the next ten years before beginning to rise again. Present patterns of parental preference suggest that the northern schools may be more severely affected than those in the centre, but parents’ perceptions of individual schools may change in response to published attainment data. It will clearly be necessary to examine options for changing the number, size or location of schools. This will include considering the possibility of an academy. Full consultation with parents, school staff and governors will take place when options have been identified and appraised. The Authority will seek to ensure that any proposals for change are consistent with parents’ preferences, with integrated service delivery and with the Council’s regeneration programme.

1.23.Large-scale regeneration is under way on brownfield sites close to Stockton town centre and along the north bank of the River Tees. When completed, these projects will create up to 2,000 new homes as well as new commercial outlets and employment opportunities. The Council and its partners on the Local Strategic Partnership Renaissance believe that Building Schools for the Future will help to ensure the success of these ambitious schemes as renewed school provision attracts new residents and businesses to these areas. As part of this strategy we would aim to integrate BSF developments with improvements to primary school provision under the Primary Capital Programme.

Inclusion and special needs

1.24.A recent review of provision for pupils with complex needs produced a development strategy that aims to create world class local, integrated services for children with complex needs, with delivery centred upon schools as the hub of provision. This will involve the co-ordination of services delivered across the four special schools, linked to the PRUs and mainstream schools, and integrated with health care and social care provision. There is an urgent need to improve year-round residential provision and facilities for respite care, and also to rationalise day provision so that pupils are taught in the setting most appropriate to their needs. One priority project is to enlarge Abbey Hill School so that a greater number of pupils with learning difficulty or autistic spectrum disorder may benefit from the excellent provision at this accredited school. Abbey Hill has recently federated with Westlands School in Thornaby, and this expansion would allow governors to rationalise provision across the two centres.

Innovation

1.25.The Authority has an ambitious e-learning strategy encompassing the full continuum from early years to post-16 and beyond into lifelong learning. We are committed to transforming teaching and learning through ICT and fully embedding ICT and e-Learning across the curriculum to offer learners:

  • more flexible, safer learning;
  • more choice, more enjoyment and fun;
  • more personalised learning;
  • e-Learning available beyond the working day;
  • more challenge and support.

1.26.We recognise the limitations imposed on teaching and learning by the design and layout of traditional school buildings. We aim in the future to provide educational establishments that offer flexible community learning environments, with multipurpose, modular spaces. Driven by the requirements of teaching and learning, these dynamic spaces will be able to change to meet diverse requirements. Children in the future will not learn in boxes designed for groups of thirty. Their teacher may be in a different building or in a different country. At different times their “classroom” may be in a school, a library, a workplace or their own home: a virtual school, but real learning. We see this as the way to engage the disengaged, to raise aspirations and attainment, to maximise the potential of all our young people in Stockton-on-Tees.

1.27.The Stockton-on-Tees strategy for Building Schools for the Future is at an early stage of development, and the Council acknowledges that much further work needs to be done in consultation with stakeholders and partners. Our first priority in this process will be to complete the ongoing work on the education elements of a Strategy for Change (i.e. teaching and learning, ICT developments, 14-19 curriculum, workforce remodelling). This will then feed into our estate strategy and integrated service area strategy, including carrying out option appraisals to identify potential school organisation proposals and specific building projects. We envisage that by summer 2007 a complete draft Strategy for Change will be available for general consultation.

2.BSF Estate Strategy for Stockton-on-Tees

Diversity of provision and parental preference

2.1.The three mainstream schools in the northern area (Bishopsgarth, Blakeston, and The Norton) are all 11-16 community schools. Their diversity lies in their complementary specialisms: sport, humanities, and maths &ICT. Bishopsgarth includes a special unit for pupils with physical disabilities. Abbey Hill Special School offers 11-19 provision.

2.2.The three schools in the central area also have diverse specialisms: technology, languages, and performing arts (not yet designated). There is one community school (Grangefield), one Catholic VA (Our Lady & St Bede’s) and one Church of England VA (Ian Ramsey). They draw pupils from a wide area, due to the distribution of faith communities and also to parental preference. All are 11-16, but are in close proximity to a sixth form college.

Demographic trends

2.3.Total pupil numbers for the six schools are projected to decline from almost 5,000 to around 4,000 in ten years before starting to rise again. All six schools are likely to be affected by falling rolls. Empty places in the central schools may be taken up by residents in the northern area. Two schools are projected to fall below 500 pupils within two years. Significant housing development is planned in these areas, but the long-term viability of the northern schools must be in question unless patterns of parental preference change.

Community and regeneration factors

2.4.The three northern schools serve highly deprived communities and are very active in developing out of school activities for children, parents and the wider community. The Council sees retaining school buildings in these areas as essential as bases for integrated service provision for hard to reach communities. Improved educational facilities will be consistent with the aims of large-scale regeneration programmes in this area.