Agenda and minutes

Resolved:-  That the minutes of meetings of the Cabinet Member, Education, Culture and Leisure Services held on 1^st and 8^th February, 2005 be received.

The minutes of a meeting of the Tourism Panel held on 7^th February, 2005 were received.

- to inform members of the progress and impact of the intensifying support programme now operating in ten primary schools

Consideration was given to a report of the Strategic Leader School Improvement regarding the progress and impact of the Intensifying Support Programme now operating in ten primary schools.  The intended purpose of this programme is to raise attainment in those schools with results consistently below the DfES floor target of 65% of pupils achieving Level 4 or above at the end of Key Stage 2 for English and/or mathematics.

The Intensifying Support Programme, which arose out of and builds upon the work of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, was initially piloted in 2002 in thirteen LEAs to support low-achieving schools.  As a result of this successful pilot, the programme was extended in 2004 to a further seventy-six LEAs including Rotherham.

The report set out the following:-

-                       Aims of the programme

-                       How schools were identified

-                       Amount and nature of support

-                       Evaluation of support and success of the programme

The Programme is supported through the Standards Fund and this funding will continue at the same level for a second year (2005/06) to ensure that progress is maintained.

In addition, those primary schools causing the LEA most concern, draw significantly on additional support from the School Improvement Service and across the Programme Area.  It is anticipated that the focus within the programme on improving leadership and management will enable these schools to become more autonomous and need less support in the future.

The meeting was informed of the work taking place within the LEA in order to ensure new systems are implemented in schools, and the challenges the work posed for schools.

The benefits of raising the attainment of children in all year groups and schools was beginning to emerge.

A model of curriculum target setting is being encouraged for use by all schools.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the report be received.

(2)  That, subject to continued funding, the programme is sustained in all schools presently on the programme until standards improve and the school leadership has the capacity to sustain that improvement.

(3) That a copy of the final report and improvement actions be placed on a future termly agenda of Governing Body meetings.

(4)  That the attention of Members of the Lifelong Learning Opportunities Scrutiny Panel be drawn to the excellent work that is taking place within Rotherham schools to raise the attainment of pupils.

- to inform of A2 and AS Level examination results for 2004

Consideration was given to a report of the Strategic Leader School Improvement containing details of A2 and AS Level examination results for 2004 and how they compare to previous years, national averages and the results of Statistical Neighbours.

Eight out of the sixteen secondary schools make provision for post 16 students.   Schools offer two types of course; Advanced Level General Certificate of Education (GCE) and Vocational Courses.  The report covers the schools’ achievements in GCE Advanced Level examinations.

Since September 2000, major changes have occurred to the curriculum delivered in school sixth forms.  Young people in post 16 learning have been encouraged to study a broader range of subjects beyond the traditional three “A” levels with a large number of new subjects being introduced.

The study of General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQ) has been supported as both individual courses and in combination with A Levels.  Key Skills have also been encouraged to support learning in areas such as Communication and ICT.  These changes were designed to give breadth to the Post 16 curriculum.

Advanced level qualifications – A level and Advanced General National Vocational Qualifications have also changed in order to create more common features between advanced level qualifications and to increase flexibility by breaking large qualifications down into smaller blocks which could be combined into broader learning programmes.

These changes mean that individual learners now have an opportunity to develop complex programmes of study that can be assessed by a wide range of qualifications.  This makes it very difficult to make comparisons using data collected over recent years.

The report gave details on the following areas:-

·                    Results Overall

·                    Results by Entry

·                    Results by gender

·                    Additional information by school and subject

Resolved:-  That the report be received and the information noted.

- to inform of GCSE examination results for 2004

Consideration was given to a report of the Strategic Leader School Improvement which contained details of the GCSE examination results for 2004 and how they compare to previous years, the national average and the results of statistical neighbours.

The presentation of GCSE results is complicated by the different ways in which the results are expressed.

A new system has been introduced this year to calculate the average point score of pupils, this includes a wider range of GCSE equivalent qualifications.   Comparisons for this indicator can only be made, therefore, against other figures for this year and not against performance in previous years.

The percentage of pupils achieving 5+ GCSEs at the higher grade A*-C has increased by 1.5% to 45.9% in 2004 (including pupils in special schools) against a national average of 53.7%.  This is an improvement of l.5% on 2003 against a national improvement of only 0.8%.  The gap between the performance of schools in Rotherham and the national average has narrowed from 8.5% in 2003 to 7.8% in 2004.

The percentage of pupils achieving 5 A*-G grades has fallen slightly this year and remains slightly below both the national average and the average for Statistical Neighbours.

Only 5% of pupils in Rotherham left school in 2004 with no GCSE equivalent passes.  This is slightly below both the national average and the average for Statistical Neighbours.

The Council, through its OFSTED Action Plan and Educational Development Plan is striving to raise the attainment of pupils in Rotherham schools.  Nine schools improved their 5+ A*-C results in 2004.

The focus for support will continue to be on those schools where the progress of pupils from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4 is less than that which would be expected in similar schools nationally as indicated by the Value Added tables and the Fischer Family trust data.

Resolved:-  That the report be received.

- to inform of proposed framework for Ofsted inspections from September, 2005 and beyond

Consideration was given to a report of the Strategic Leader School Improvement on the proposed framework for Ofsted Inspections from September 2005 and beyond.

The report drew attention to the following:-

Summary of implications for schools of the proposed framework:

·        Minimal notice of forthcoming inspection – two to three days

·        Maximum period between inspections will be three years to provide more up to date reports on every school

·        Reduced inspection days

·        Need for schools to be prepared for inspection at all times

·        Critical role of School Self Evaluation (S.E.F.)

Summary of implications for the Council of the proposed framework:

·                    Challenge and support will need to be targeted towards schools’         self evaluation processes

·                    Maintain an up to date perspective on schools’ capacity for      rigorous self evaluation

·                    Revisions will be needed to the present system for categorising           schools to inform level of intervention required

·                    Increase the number of schools reflecting the characteristics of          autonomous self improving school

The report set out the following information:-

-           Outline of Proposals

-           Children’s Services agenda

-           Pilot School’s Experience

-           School Evaluation Form (SEF)

-           Current strengths in schools’ self evaluation

-           Necessary developments in schools’ present self-evaluation

Features of the pilot school’s experience were highlighted.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the report be received.

(2)         That the implications for both the schools and the Council of the proposed framework be noted.

- to inform of revised OFSTED framework

Consideration was given to a report of the Strategic Leader School Improvement on the revised OFSTED Framework which is scheduled to be introduced from September 2005.

The revised framework will place a much greater emphasis on school self-evaluation and on the governing body playing a critical role in that process in terms of how well they know their school’s strengths and weaknesses and of the leadership and management of their school.

Allied to the reduced notice of inspection, from the present 6-10 weeks to 2-5 days, schools and governing bodies will be unable to use this time to “prepare” for the inspection.  It is crucial therefore that schools and governing bodies know their schools well.  Equally important however, is the governing body’s ability to assess their own effectiveness because, as studies have shown, an effective governing body will have a direct impact on the success of the school by setting the climate for improvement.

The Audit of Governing Body Effectiveness is a tool that has been developed by the Governor Development Service to support governing bodies in assessing their own effectiveness and it is expected that governing bodies complete this Audit during the Spring Term 2005 and subsequently on an annual basis.  The outcomes of this self review process could then feed into the overall school self review process and, where appropriate, the School Improvement Plan.

How the Audit is completed has to be determined by each governing body. 

The report contained a number of options available for consideration, however, the governing body can determine another option if this meets their needs more effectively.

Action Plans will be drawn up at the conclusion of the Audit exercise.

It was suggested that two key elements of this exercise are in strengthening the role of key Governor, and LEA Governor training.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the report be received.

(2) That the introduction and use of the “Audit of Governing Body Effectiveness” be supported.

A nomination was sought for the Management Group of the Hospital Teaching and Home Tuition Service.

Resolved:-  That consideration be given for a Member of the Council to fulfil this role.

The following item is likely to be considered in the absence of the press and public as being exempt under Paragraph 8 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972:-

Resolved:-  That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 8 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (information relating to expenditure proposed to be incurred by the Authority under a particular contract).

- to request approval to invoke Standing Order 35 given the specific circumstances outlined

Consideration was given to a report of the Strategic Leader Culture, Leisure and Lifelong Learning regarding the need to invoke Standing Order 35, given the specific circumstances outlined in the report, in order to allow consultants that have been used to support the selection of management partners for Grange Park Golf Course to be paid additional expenses.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the report be received.

(2)  That the invoking of Standing Order 35 be agreed to enable an additional payment to be made to GDG Acornbridge as a consequence of the circumstances outlined in the report submitted, and having regard to the representation of the Officer.