Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Education and Schools introduced a report which gave an update on the achievement against the two overarching objectives within the Education Strategy 2014-2017, namely (1) a place in a good or outstanding school or early years setting for every child and young person, and (2) exceeding national standards and then London standards, together with details of attainment levels in national tests and exams in 2015 across the Borough’s schools.

The Cabinet Member advised that 90% of the Borough’s schools were expected to be at ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by the end of the year, with current projections suggesting that 25% of schools would be in the ‘outstanding’ classification which would exceed the Ofsted target of 20%.  Another significant achievement during the year was the achievement of Trinity School of its third consecutive ‘outstanding’ inspection rating, one of only a few special schools in the country to have done so.

In relation to exam results, the Cabinet Member expressed her disappointment that GCSE performance had dropped by 5% in 2015 against the headline 5 A* to C including English and maths indicator, although she clarified that the national and London statistics had also fallen against the backdrop of raised pass marks for a grade C.  There were, however, improvements in areas of Key Stage 1 and 2 and Post 16 performance which reflected positively on the excellent work being undertaken in schools in the Borough, one of note being an increase in the number of young people securing places at university, from 797 in 2013 to 853 in 2014 and with 170 (20%) of those places being at the country’s top third rated universities.  In response to a request from the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Social Care, it was agreed that comparative data on university placements would be included in a future report.

The Cabinet Member referred to the main areas of focus for 2015/16, which included working with partners to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETS).  A 14-19 Working Group was looking into the issue and the Technical Skills Academy in Barking was highlighted as offering excellent opportunities for those wishing to develop their skills after leaving school.  Members discussed the greater role that schools may be able to have in identifying those young people who were at risk of falling into the NEET category and it was also suggested that the issue should be referred to the Policy Forum in view of the Council’s corporate parenting responsibilities.

The Leader referred to the general improvement in educational attainments levels in Barking and Dagenham over recent years and warned of the dangers posed by the Government’s forced academisation programme which he felt would undermine the Council’s ability to positively influence school improvement. 

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Note the performance against the overarching objectives within the Education Strategy 2014-17, as set out in section 2 of the report;

(ii)  Endorse the priorities for 2015/16, as set out in paragraph 3.1 of the report;

(iii)  Reaffirm the Council’s commitment to continuing the strong partnership with all schools in the Borough to achieve the best possible outcomes and opportunities for children and young people; and

(iv)  Note the performance of schools in national tests and examinations during 2014/15, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.