Agenda item

To receive and discuss a report submitted by Tony Shepherd regarding Primary and Secondary school outcomes for 2023.

Councillor Ali, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, presented the Primary and Secondary Schools Performance report.

The report informed the Board that Key Stage (KS) outcomes for 2023 show that Oldham school standards are recovering from the negative impact of the pandemic in primary and are improved since the last comparable resultsin secondary. Most gaps to national averages are narrowing and benchmarked performance shows consequent improvement. Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils continues to be a strength. The impact of additional resource over time and local partnership strategic prioritisation has been pivotal to improvement.

The Board was further informed that School-age children take standardised national assessments in year 1 and at the end of KS1, KS2 and KS4. The data from these assessments is shared to enable comparison of performance across schools, boroughs and regions.

Pupils take the phonics screening check at the end of year 1, typically aged 6. Those who do not meet the expected standard take the check again at the end of year 2, typically aged 7.

Pupils are assessed at the end of KS 1 (year 2) in reading, writing, maths and science. Teachers are responsible for judging the standards in English reading, English writing, mathematics, and science. To help inform those judgements, pupils sit national curriculum assessments in English and mathematics, commonly called SATs.

Pupils are assessed at the end of KS 2 (year 6) in English grammar, punctuation and spelling, English reading and mathematics. English writing and science are reported as a teacher assessment judgement.

During KS 4 most pupils work towards national qualifications - usually GCSEs. Pupils are assessed at the end of KS 4 (year 11) in the compulsory national curriculum subjects of English, maths and science and a range of foundation and other subjects.

In response to a query, Matt Bulmer, Director of Education Early Years and Skills, informed the Board that children are referred to as disadvantaged according to the income of a family and this is determined by a test being completed by families.

With to another query with regard to more children in Oldham achieving better than the national average, Matt Bulmer informed the Board that Primary school performance have achieved 90% or better and this is as a result of a great deal of hard work over the last 5 years by Primaries to bring them up to that standard. With regard to Secondary schools there is a great deal of work needed to mirror the improvement of Primary schools. Currently this is shown in the raw attainment data and in terms of the Ofsted outcomes which currently stand at 46% good or better in Secondary schools. He informed Members that the Department of Education had made significant investment over the last 5 years in Oldhams schools. All but 3 of the schools are local authority maintained. The remaining 3 are Trusts. Teacher recruitment and retention is high on the list. Every effort is being made to keep the best teachers as is recruiting good quality teachers. He advised that there is a long way to go on secondary school performance, probably years, to achieve the Primary school levels.

Tony Shepherd, , emphasised that the vast majority funding in public schools is a direct result of central government policies. The local authority has a role in the Strategic Management and this is done through the Oldham Learning Partnership who bring together any group who work in education in the Borough and this mechanism drives the authority’s education forward.

In response to a query regarding the elements that make the foundations of secondary schools good, Matt Bulmer acknowledged the fact that keeping Headteachers and stable Leadership Teams in place together with schools having adequate number of spaces and progressing the disadvantaged children in schools were all key elements for schools.

Resolved: that

(i)         the Primary and Secondary schools performance outcomes for 2023 be noted; and

(ii)       a further update report be submitted to the Board in 6 months.