Agenda item

Report ED14024

The Portfolio Holder for Education introduced a report that outlined the standards achieved in schools across Bromley during the academic year 2012-13, based on an analysis of recently published National Curriculum assessments and GCSE/GCE examination results from Summer 2013. 

The overall percentage of pupils achieving a good level of development across all seven areas of learning at the Early Years Foundation Stage was 61% across all Bromley schools against a national average of 52%, with girls outperforming boys both locally and nationally.  At the Early Years Foundation Stage, 39% of pupils in receipt of free school meals reached a good level of development, against 63% of pupils who did not receive free school meals, which was a gap of 24% against a national gap of 19%.

Across Key Stage 1 teacher assessments, Bromley’s performance remained above the national average at all levels.  At Level 2+, pupils who did not receive free school meals outperformed pupils in receipt of free school meals in all areas, however there was evidence of a slight improvement in the last year with an increase of 15% in reading, 20% in writing and 13% in mathematics for pupils in receipt of free school meals against respective national increases of 12%, 15% and 10%.

Overall Bromley’s Key Stage 2 attainment results were consistently above the national average, but there remained a wide range of achievement across Bromley primary schools.

At Key Stage 4, the percentage of pupils gaining 5+ A*-C grades including English and mathematics who were eligible for free school meals in Bromley had improved at 48% compared with 76% of pupils who did not receive free school meals, which was a gap of 28% compared with a gap of 32% in the previous year and against a gap of 27% nationally.  Although attainment in Bromley schools was generally above the national average, groups of pupils, particular those who were eligible for free school meals, did not make the desired rate of progress, and there were small but significant numbers of schools where sustainable improvement was not yet achieved.  This remained a priority for Bromley schools.

In considering the report, the Chairman was concerned that although the standards achieved in schools across Bromley were generally higher than the national average, there continued to be a gap in attainment for pupils who were eligible for free school meals.  The Chairman requested that more detailed information on the use of Pupil Premium by schools be provided to the next meeting of Education Budget Sub-Committee.

A Co-opted Member noted the gap in attainment for pupils who were eligible for free school meals at the Early Years Foundation Stage.  It was hoped that the increase in free early education funding for two year olds would reduce the gap in attainment, and this should be supported by working to ensure early years provision across the Borough continued to be of the highest standard.  In response to a question from a Member, the Head of Schools and Early Years Commissioning and Quality Assurance confirmed that work had previously been undertaken to track the early years settings of each pupil in Key Stage 1, however due to the small numbers involved at each school, results had proved inconclusive.  It was confirmed that  once free early education was expanded to 40% of two year olds, the possibility of tracking children would be revisited.

The take-up of free school meals was currently used to allocate Pupil Premium funding to schools, and a Member queried how this would be affected by the provision of free school meals to all pupils at Key Stage 1.  The Head of Schools and Early Years Commissioning and Quality Assurance confirmed that the existing free school meal data held by schools would be used in 2014/15.  To support this, schools had encouraged parents who might be eligible to apply for free school meals in advance of the January census date to ensure funding was maximised for 2014/15.  The future mechanism for Pupil Premium funding had yet to be confirmed, but was likely to draw data from other information held by the Department for Work and Pensions. 

The Vice-Chairman emphasised the need to focus on continuous improvement for all groups and requested that attainment figures for Local Authorities that were similar to Bromley be provided to the next meeting of Education Budget Sub-Committee for Members’ consideration.  Another Member underlined issues in reporting attainment for the small schools in the Borough, where the performance of an individual child could significantly affect the attainment data of the school.  The Head of Schools and Early Years Commissioning and Quality Assurance confirmed that a wide range of information was taken into account when the Local Authority was considering if a school needed additional support

In considering the overview of Ofsted outcomes at Bromley Local Authority Maintained Schools, a Member queried the categorisation of two schools which had previously had ‘Good’ Ofsted judgements.  The Head of Schools and Early Years Commissioning and Quality Assurance confirmed that the Local Authority had identified some concerns at Princes Plain and Southborough Primary Schools, and that targeted support was being provided to these schools to address the issues identified and support sustainable improvement.

RESOLVED that:

1)  The annual report on the standards of attainment and progress in Bromley schools during 2012/13 be noted;

2)  Ofsted outcomes for academies in Bromley be noted; and,

3)  The update of Ofsted outcomes for Local Authority Maintained Schools in Bromley, including detail in respect of schools identified as underperforming, an outline of the Local Authority support and challenge provided and a rating of risk be noted.