Agenda item

At the request of the Scrutiny Panel, Steve Walch, Principal School Improvement Adviser presented a report which gave a brief update on the impact of the Excellence in Cities Programme on the educational opportunities for Gifted and Talented children in Rotherham.

Excellence in Cities (EiC) is a targeted programme of support for schools in deprived areas of the country.  EiC provides resources linked to a range of coherent strategies that focus on learning and teaching, behaviour and attendance and leadership.

The initiative was launched in Rotherham in 1999 as a result of its high level of social deprivation and introduced to some schools within the primary pilot in 2000.

Strands within the EiC programme include:

Specialist Schools                                                      Learning Mentors (LM)

Learning Support Units (LSU)                         Leadership Incentive Grant (LIG)

Behaviour Improvement Programme (BIP)                City Learning Centres (CLC)

Education Action Zones (EiCAZ)                                Aim Higher

Gifted and Talented (G&T)

The Gifted and Talented strand of EiC sought to improve the education of gifted and talented children and young people aged 3-19 in schools and colleges who quite often find it difficult to fit into the classroom environment.  Its core objectives were to:

·        Raise the attainment, aspirations, motivation and self esteem of G&T children and students

·        Challenge and support the establishment of a differentiated learning and teaching environment that meets the needs of the individual

The report set out the following information:-

-           Areas of Strength

                  G&T Co-ordinators in both Primary and Secondary Schools

                  KS1 Enrichment Cluster Programme

                  Master-class Centres

                  The Rotherham Children’s Book Award

                  Summer Schools – 6 in 2004

                  Enrichment of the school curriculum

                  Cognitive Acceleration programmes – “Let’s Think” Programmes

                  Support for After School Science Clubs

                  Music Bursaries

                  National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth

                  World Class Maths Tests

                  Rotherham G&T website

                  Mentoring

                  Activities – Residential visits (including Oxford and Cambridge Universities) and currently working with Hull University

-           Areas for further Development

-           All Primary and Secondary Schools to have a trained G & T Co-ordinator

-           Assessment/monitoring systems at the individual student level

-           Funding – and future funding in order to sustain the work

-           Restructuring of the Partnership Management Board

The meeting was informed that in many ways Rotherham leads the field in the provision of this initiative, in particular in the Key Stage I programme, with parents being an integral part of this work.

Members raised the following issues:-

-           It was felt there was a need for a Borough-wide policy which would allow pupils to take GCSE examinations a year earlier, and for the potential for this to be recognised as young as in Year 9 in order to accelerate their learning programme.  Many non-public sector schools had adopted this policy.  This would allow students to spend three years taking a wide range of A and AS level examinations, which was felt to be the key to a successful entry into University.  Gifted and Talented children should be supported in the same way as children with special needs.

      As the teaching system moved towards developing new/alternative curriculum         in Key Stage 4 and as a result of the G&T philosophy of encouraging the       provision of accelerated learning opportunities, there has been an increase in             the number of early GCSE entries.

-           If the Gifted and Talented process was for the benefit of the child, it could be argued that such a child usually found it difficult to interact socially with other children and people around them.  Was this addressed in the G & T programme?

      The KS1 Enrichment Programme is about managing social skills and developing        relationships with children of like abilities.  However, it was not a short term     issue and relationship development continues across all activities.  Feedback   reflects that these children had integrated into the classroom and had     developed enormously as a result of the experience.

-           Was the issue of bullying addressed?

      Bullying of students within schools is monitored by teachers.   G and T            children are treated no differently to any other pupil.  It was recognised that all            children need to feel part of the normal programme within school.

-           One member felt the setting aspect was helpful but that it was important to segregate those children with above average abilities.

The Chairman remarked on the need to raise levels of expectation for all children, and particularly in an average 6^th Form, in order to achieve brighter children.

For more information on the G & T initiative members of the Scrutiny Panel were encouraged to access the Rotherham G&T Website on www.rotherham-gt.co.uk. which included schemes and work, case studies and examples of good practice.

A Showcase Conference will take place in October, 2005 to reflect the progress and activities within the Excellence in Cities programme in Rotherham.  An invitation was extended to all members of the Scrutiny Panel.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the contents of the report be noted.

(2)  That Steve Walch be thanked for an interesting and informative presentation.

(3)  That an update report on early examination entries be submitted to a future meeting.