Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement introduced the annual report on educational and participation performance during 2019/20 and progress against the key priorities of the Education and Participation Strategy 2018-2022, and opened by thanking the Schools and teachers for their creative work in keeping schools open safely during the pandemic.

The Cabinet Member referenced a recent Ofsted Panel meeting where members heard about the measures schools had introduced to ensure safe teaching and learning practices and the steps taken to prepare pupils should it prove necessary for them and teachers to self-isolate.  The wellbeing of pupils and staff was a high priority for all schools with a wide range of training and support available. She welcomed the report detailing the response of schools to the pandemic and how it had worked with Public Health and Children Services, providing valuable lessons for the future.

The principle purpose of the report was to review progress against the five objectives of the Education & Participation Strategy 2018-22 as detailed within the context of Covid-19. The Cabinet Member highlighted the achievement of a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rating of 91.5 % by the schools, which was well above the national benchmark and just below the London average of 93%.  In respect to exam performance, it was noted that performance at GCSE and A level were largely based on teacher assessment, and that following a U-turn by Government there was no national benchmarking.  That said, the Cabinet Member was pleased to report that the number of young people going onto higher education had increased and most obtained their preferred choice of University. 

Other issues in the report highlighted by the Cabinet Member included:

·  the strengthening of the Early Years’ Service;

·  the important roles played of B&D School Improvement Partnership (BDSIP) in offering a wide range of training and support, and the Education service in working with schools striving for continuous improvement, as well as responding through campaigns with partner agencies to Black Lives Matter and youth violence and knife crime;

·  the role of the local Further Education college which was well placed to respond to the various regeneration opportunities in the Borough offering state-of-the-art vocational training; and

·  the financial pressures on the Dedicated Schools Budget (DSG), particularly those areas not covered as a result of the effects of the pandemic.

In conclusion, the Cabinet Member stated that whilst there was still a lot to do she was confident that the Schools, the Early Years’ Service and partners would rise to the challenges ahead and achieve the objectives set out in the report.  The Chair echoed those sentiments and added that the Council was rightly proud of what the staff, governors and teachers do for the Borough’s young people who, despite such challenging times, had performed amazingly. 

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Renew the Council’s commitment to continuing to strengthen and develop partnerships with Barking and Dagenham’s family of schools, BDSIP, Barking & Dagenham College, CU London and other key partners to achieve the best possible outcomes and opportunities for the borough’s children and young people; and

(ii)  Note performance against the priorities of the Education and Participation Strategy 2018-22 as set out in section 3 of the report and in the dataset at Appendix A to the report, acknowledging that 2019/20 updates had been made to lines 25-28 of the dataset only and were provisional.