Issue - meetings

(a)       That the work undertaken by the School Performance Monitoring Group be noted; and

(b)       That the Committee endorses the School Performance Monitoring Group to continue to work in the same way with targeted schools.

The Chief Officer presented an update report on the work of the School Performance Monitoring Group (SPMG) which was a mechanism for supporting school improvement.

The approach taken by the SPMG was to provide a constructive and robust process to identify - together with schools - any areas of improvement in need of support.  It was reported that the number of schools subject to the process had significantly reduced.  A list of common themes identified key areas on which the regional service GwE could respond and target support appropriately, with two key areas being the quality of middle leadership at secondary level and the tracking pupil performance.

The Chairman congratulated the School Improvement Senior Manager on her appointment and commended the progress which had been made.

In response to comments from Councillor Heesom on the composition of the SPMG, it was explained that membership had been by open invitation.  Members expressing an interest in joining the group were encouraged, including Councillor Heesom who wished to represent his area.

Whilst acknowledging the importance of school improvement, David Hÿtch said that greater emphasis should be placed on support rather than challenge, due to the range of pressures faced by schools.  The Chief Officer spoke about her statutory responsibility for education standards for the interests of learners.  She said that there were various reasons why schools could find themselves in difficulty and that both challenge and support were necessary to understand the reasons and work effectively with GwE to target support.  Feedback from schools going through the process had been positive and meetings were conducted in a professional manner involving School Improvement Advisors.

Having participated on the SPMG membership, Rebecca Stark felt that the experience was positive in identifying the support required.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the work undertaken by the School Performance Monitoring Group be noted; and

(b)       That the Committee endorses the School Performance Monitoring Group to continue to work in the same way with targeted schools.