Agenda item

This report provides the Panel with an overview of early-years & school education performance in the academic year 2023-24, including information on the LA's approach to working with the academy sector to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding introduced the report to the Panel and highlighted the following points from it.

·  In the early years foundation stage (EYFS), the percentage of children reaching a good level of development increased to 72%, higher than regional and national averages.

·  Key stage 2 performance has not returned to the post-pandemic levels when performance in the combined reading, writing and maths (RWM) was higher than national and regional. This year, the percentage of pupils achieving this measure rose from 58% to 60%, higher than the southwest average of 58% but lower than the national average of 61%.

·  Key stage 4 attainment in grades 9 - 5 English and Maths and in Attainment 8 is once again higher than regional and national averages. This is to be commended.

·  B&NES A Level results were higher in all measures than regional and national measures.

·  Children with SEN support needs and those with an EHCP in KS4 have educational outcomes that are marginally higher than national. In KS2, attainment has generally been in line with or slightly above national; however, this year, it has experienced a slight dip below the national average.

·  KS4 attainment in the FSM cohort remained broadly in line with national. The attainment gap in B&NES does not widen in secondary education, and their KS4 outcomes align with national for this group.

·  Despite a slight improvement in EYFS and KS2 FSM outcomes, attainment within this cohort remains in the bottom quartile compared to all local authorities in England. Attainment is currently ranked 16^th lowest at EYFS and 6th lowest at KS2, showing progress from previously being ranked 3rd lowest and the lowest in the country, respectively, in 2022/23. However, the disparity between our area and the national average in terms of the percentage of FSM children meeting the expected standard in KS2 RWM remains substantial, at 33% and 46%, respectively.

·  B&NES, as a partner in the structures that govern a highly academised area, remains committed to playing its part in improving outcomes for our most disadvantaged group of children. We continue to fund and deliver projects in hand with the St John's Foundation and with partners, such as Black Families Education Support Group, in the early years and all schools.

·  Alongside these existing commitments, the council is now looking at a wider approach to improving disadvantaged education outcomes. As previously presented to the scrutiny panel, our Public Health team are leading this work and their final report and action plan will be presented later today.

Councillor Dave Harding asked if the data could be divided into specific areas of the Council to show any elements of rural deprivation. He also asked if the data could be categorised to show the performance of those young people who are also Young Carers.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that he did not have to hand the data relating to Young Carers and said that the data is not yet broken down geographically, but it was in the process of being so.

Councillor Liz Hardman referred to the under-achievement in Key Stage 2 and asked if any outcomes could be shared regarding the support provided by the St John's Foundation. She also asked what future support measures are to be put in place to support the FSM cohort.

The Early Years Adviser replied that the Language for Life project has now been rolled out to all early settings in Bath & North East Somerset, providing additional language development support to targeted children, with a focus on speech and language. She added that training for all staff on this issue really does make a difference.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding added that there were reports from the Primary Parliament and St. John’s that could be shared with the Panel.

Councillor Onkar Saini asked what interventions were planned to support progress within Key Stage 2.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that it was the responsibility of the Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) to attempt to improve the levels of achievement for their pupils. He added that the Local Authority is funding a number of programmes to enable the MATs to know more about what is considered to be best practice.

Kevin Burnett asked if it was felt that there was any correlation between the data for FSM pupils in EYFS and Key Stage 2.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that there had to be and felt that the Language for Life programme would be of help.

Councillor Robin Moss said that he wished to recognise where improvements in results had been achieved and where these figures were seen as above regional / national average.  He referred to sections 3.11 – 3.13 of the report and asked why the gap for FSM pupils remains despite the projects in place.

The Early Years Adviser replied that she had recently been analysing the data over the past 20 years and that for B&NES it was not always easy to talk about the attainment gap as the top end continues to increase. She said though that it should be noted that while the top end results increased this year by 1.5% FSM pupils increased their results by 8%. She added that the cohort size in a particular school / class was also a factor to be taken into account as it was seen that having more pupils from that cohort in a class was leading to better outcomes.

Councillor Joanna Wright commented that she would like to see further evidence of a plan being in place to improve these figures and said a process was required that would recognise the wealth disparity across the area.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that a plan was being developed and that he was willing to be challenged further, but again stressed that this was not something that solely the Council could solve.

The Chair said that she would welcome an update on the plan / its timescale in some form to the May meeting of the Panel.

The Panel RESOLVED to;

i)  Note our pupils' overall positive education performance in B&NES early years settings and schools for the academic year 2023/24.

ii)  Note that there has been a slight improvement in education outcomes for Free School Meal (FSM)-eligible children in KS2 during the academic year 23/24, but the gap remains significant.

iii)  Be assured that Local Authority Officers continue to collaborate strategically with schools and partners and the DFE Regions Group to improve educational outcomes for all pupils in B&NES. The DFE Regions Group are in attendance today to provide an overview of their role with academies and the work they do to address academy and trust performance.

iv)  Note that the Local Authority remains committed to delivering initiatives aimed at enhancing outcomes for Free School Meal (FSM) pupils. This includes direct collaboration with schools to offer Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and training, support for early years settings, and a partnership with the St John's Foundation to provide additional assistance to schools with greater numbers of FSM pupils.

v)  Note that this year, the Local Authority has taken additional steps by conducting extensive research through our Public Health team. This research aims to examine the broader determinants of educational disadvantage in B&NES and develop an action plan for the Local Authority.