To consider any questions with notice from Members received in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules No 219 and No. 219A.

A question had been received from Miss G Waller.  The question had been circulated to members in advance of the meeting:

There have been press reports recently about education and school results.  First was a report that disadvantaged pupils in rural secondary schools are performing far less well than their counterparts in urban schools and, more recently, that the “Northern Power House” developments will not succeed because young people are not getting the results they should.  In this latter case the Chief Inspector of Schools highlighted Liverpool and Manchester and made it clear that these local authorities should be doing more –despite the preponderance of academies in these areas.

This Panel, in this municipal year, has considered Rutland’s Education Strategic Plan but has had no report on its impact nor has the Panel received reports on Key Stage 2 (end of primary school) nor Key Stage 4 (GCSE) following national verification of the results for 2015.  We have not been advised, therefore, of how Rutland’s schools are performing compared with statistical neighbours, that is similar authority areas, nor on improvement/deterioration over time.

Can the Portfolio holder for Lifelong Learning therefore assure us that each child in a Rutland school is receiving the best education possible and that each school leaver in 2015, whether a primary or secondary leaver, achieved the best possible result he/she was able to achieve and if this is not the case when members of this Authority might be provided with a report on educational outcomes and the opportunity to discuss education in the County?

Mr Wilby, Portfolio Holder for Lifelong Learning, gave the following answer:

Councillor Waller, thank you for your continued interest in education and your tabled question which I received on Tuesday. You cite a recent address by Sir Michael Wilshaw which was a very hard hitting statement regarding the achievements of our education system throughout the country – it was not good reading but I would be delighted to forward it to members if required. There would also seem to be differing interpretations of what the Local Authority should or should not do in terms of Academies and, perhaps more importantly, what their funding should allow. I am hoping to discuss this with the Secretary for Education in the near future.

I will deal with your further points by first addressing last year’s results at both primary and secondary schools and then go on to give you a feel for whether we are doing our best for the educational needs of our young people in Rutland.

Whilst no formal report has been made to Scrutiny Panel, reports on standards have been made to:

* Education Performance Board: 4 November;

* Head teachers: 2 November (prior to Board);

* Chairs of Governors: 9 February;

* Informal Cabinet: 5 January.

You asked for Rutland’s latest results for the end of primary school (Key Stage 2) and secondary school key stage 4. This was initially reported on at the dates above. I am giving you the headline news here for KS2 and KS4. You are welcome to consider the detail by consulting the report to which I referred earlier and which I can forward to you if required. The report also covers the excellent results that we have achieved in early years, Key Stage1 and Post 16.

PRIMARY SCHOOL, KEY STAGE 2 HEADLINES

*There has been a substantial improvement overall in achievement at KS2.

*Rutland is now well above national average and higher than all our statistical neighbours (see Addendum Table One).

*The improvement on 2014 results is significant with increases of at least 6% and up to 12% across reading writing and maths.  (See Addendum Table Two.) 

SECONDARY SCHOOL KEY STAGE 4 HEADLINES

*Rutland average for GCSE 5 A* - C including English and Mathematics has improved from 60.8% in 2011 to 67% in 2015.

*The current performance is:

*well above national average;

*well above regional neighbours; (see Addendum Table Three) and, importantly;

*above all our statistical neighbours (see Addendum Table Four).

Now that fully validated data are available, a final analysis of last year’s performance is possible. This will be presented to the Education Performance Board and, with the Chair’s permission, to the Scrutiny Committee.

Not least, you further asked for a general appreciation as to whether this Authority was providing the best possible outcomes for all our school leavers at all stages.

My simple answer is no, because there will always be room for improvement and, in this modern world of rapid change and technical advancement in all fields, we must never be complacent. We need to strive to remain on the leading edge at all times.

For example, we have seen, as I said, substantial improvements in attainment across the board, including that of disadvantaged pupils.  Despite these improvements, the performance of these children remains a concern.  

I can assure you that we are doing our best to provide the best facilities and the best practice to raise our game and our standards. Our recent sets of meetings of head teachers and chairs of governors has shown a real willingness from most of the education community to work together and we are continuing to expand our efforts in this direction.  You will not be surprised to learn that good and willing governors are in short supply.

You will well appreciate that funding is tight and, although we are blessed with some excellent facilities like the Catmose Campus, still growing, we have others that need attention. I think it would be fair to say that we are still trying to get to grips with the new funding procedures that are associated with the governmental push for academies and what clear responsibilities remain with the Local Authority.

With this in mind, we are reviewing our structure to make sure that it is also focused on and meets the emerging needs of academies and our statutory mandates.

Moreover, we are looking very closely at how we can attract and retain our educational specialists and preclude expensive interim staff.  However, we must not allow these deliberations to reduce our effectiveness and service to the community –and the current good progress that is beginning to find some traction.

Good teachers will always be the catalyst that inspire interest and motivation in our pupils at all levels. Easy to say but more difficult to find because it takes training,

dedication and passion – and better salaries! None of these can be produced at will. Further complications arise when time is required for young teachers to start their own families and take a break from their profession and, for our small county, we also have the military factor and the uncertainty that brings.

You will know better than me that during the last year we have seen major changes in leadership in many of our schools.  Recent Ofsted reports have been most encouraging and would indicate that these changes have been extremely positive and that our results are moving in the right direction.

The move of the sixth form from Barleythorpe to Casterton and the full establishment of Harington Free School will inevitably cause some blips in working practice but, hopefully, these will be taken in stride. Plans are also developing for the new Barleythorpe Primary School and the move of the children’s centre to allow for expansion at Catmose Campus to meet an expected increase in intake that the Oakham North development will generate.

Looking a little further ahead, there are discussions on providing our own SEN establishment to negate expensive and exacting needs to find this capability  outside the County. In addition, Casterton College will require attention ere long and consideration is also been given to building a new primary school outside the confines of Kendrew Barracks.

For all these plans, we are hoping that the newly-commissioned County Transport Study will produce an efficient and affordable solution to our rural and complex travel-to-school needs. We are also looking at ways to keep improving our Further Education opportunities. Our staff at RALSS continue to look for innovative ways of providing an alternative vocational avenue for the less academic minded, or those who see their future taking a non-university path into commerce and industry. In this respect, you may have seen our recent article in the Rutland Times.

Our job now is to make sure that we continue to sustain this progress and to also address the other areas of shortfall.  In these regards any feedback or observations that Members glean in their wards would be most helpful.

I thank you for your kind attention and interest in this important subject for our young people.

As a supplementary question Miss Waller asked whether the Portfolio Holder was able to provide any further information regarding the work that was being done to close some of the gaps highlighted in his response?

Mr Wilby confirmed that further information would be circulated as soon as it became available.

Note:  The tables referred to can be found at the addendum to these minutes