Issue - meetings

That the attainment of Flintshire children and young people for the year 2015?16 be noted.

The Senior Manager (School Improvement Systems) presented the report on pupil attainment in statutory assessments, attendance and exclusions across the primary and secondary school phases for the school year 2015-16.

The detailed breakdown of data showed a general improvement in learner outcomes for the period, with marginal progress in Foundation Phase.  The need for further improvement was recognised and schools continued to receive support to provide a platform for future development.  The projected ranking of Key Stage 2 outcomes in Flintshire as the 6^th best in Wales (based on free school meal data) would be the first time of exceeding the benchmarking level and reflected strong performance in primary schools.  Whilst Key Stage 3 performance also remained strong, concerns on outcomes at Key Stage 4 were mirrored in national support category levels.

In welcoming the results of earlier key stages, Councillor Nigel Steele-Mortimer praised the effectiveness of the school network and felt that greater concentration should be directed towards improving outcomes in the secondary sector.

Councillor Colin Legg referred to the range of support and assessments available to help teachers’ development, in addition to those who sought self-improvement by other means.  In view of this, he questioned the purpose of GwE as a remedial service and asked for anonymised examples where GwE had added value to outcomes.  The Chairman agreed that this would be useful.

The Senior Manager advised that the support programme published annually by GwE set out levels of support given to schools and that there was clear evidence of a positive impact on school journeys, particularly those with improved support categories.  There was increasing recognition amongst schools on the impact of GwE, since its inception, with examples of invaluable support and the sharing of best practice which benefited the whole of the region.

Councillor Chris Bithell gave assurances that performance at secondary school level was recognised as an issue and that resources and support were being diverted accordingly.  He pointed out that issues were not generally identified until external examinations were taken at Key Stage 4.  Whilst referring to negative comments made by Estyn on the quality of teaching across Wales, he said that a range of courses were publicised by GwE to offer development opportunities to teachers and that ongoing learning was a necessity in dealing with changes in education.

Mr. David Hÿtch spoke about positive feedback from some primary sector colleagues at the School Standards Monitoring Group.  He suggested that a greater level of secondary expertise may be required in GwE and welcomed the narrowing of gaps in performance of various pupil groups.  In response to queries, the Senior Manager provided clarification on the ‘value added’ table and agreed to check whether Flintshire’s outcomes on Language, Literacy & Communication (Welsh first language) in Foundation Phase were above the GwE average, as stated in the report.  Mr. David Hÿtch also welcomed the attendance figures for Flintshire and commented on the effect on teaching when pupils were taken out of school for term time holidays.

In response  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53