Agenda item

9.1

The Committee received a presentation from Antony Hughes, Children’s Commissioner, and Director of Inclusion and Learning, on an interim update in terms of City-wide educational attainment in 2015.  He provided a general overview in terms of education in the City and referred to the Ofsted outcomes, as at 28^th October 2015, of all schools in the City.  Mr Hughes referred to statistics in terms of attainment at Foundation Stage and Key Stages 1, 2 and 4.  It was stated that the full, detailed attainment report would be submitted to the Committee’s meeting to be held in January 2016.

9.2

Also in attendance for this item were Pam Smith, Head of Primary and Targeted Intervention, and Kate Wilkinson, Service Manager, Performance and Analysis Service.

9.3

Members of the Committee raised questions and the following responses were provided:-

·                The Authority’s performance, relative to all other local authorities, was considered when assessing performance, including Sheffield’s quartile position for every key stage; the ambition was to perform in the top quartiles, not just exceed national averages. It was noted that, on key measures, Sheffield was improving at a rate equal or above the national average.

·                The triggers for the type of local authority interventions described in the presentation applied to all sectors, not just primary, and there was positive evidence of similar interventions in secondary performance. The Council analysed all school performance, regardless of school status.

·                The recent letter from Ofsted had been sent to most authorities in the Yorkshire and Humber region, in connection with concerns regarding school performance at Key Stage 2 being below the national average.  Discussions had been held with Ofsted and the Department for Education, and the Authority had a clear strategy in terms of future action to address the concerns raised, including the creation of Learn Sheffield.

9.4

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)       notes the information reported as part of the presentation, together with the responses to the questions raised; and

(b)       thanks officers for attending the meeting, and notes that a full, detailed report on City-Wide Attainment in 2015 would be submitted to its meeting to be held in January 2016.