Month: November 2018

The Department for Education (DfE) has issued 2017/18 provisional grades for key stage 4 (external link)  and key stage 5 (external link)  qualifications and 2016/17 data on the destinations of key stage 4 and 5 pupils (external link).  Amongst the key headlines, the data shows that:

• the average attainment 8 score for GCSE pupils in state-funded schools across England was 46.4, up by 0.4 compared to 2017
• the average grade at A-level remains the same as last year (at C+), whereas the numbers taking level 2 technical or vocational qualifications increased by nearly 10%
• the numbers of pupils in “sustained destinations” following key stage 4 and 5 remains stable (at 94% and 89% respectively) compared to last year, although the data shows that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are 5% less likely to stay in sustained education (such as University) after key stage 5
• Nationally and in London there has been a 0.2 increase on the Attainment 8 score from 2017 to 2018. Nationally the provisional 2018 score is 46.1 and 49.1 in London.
• Haringey’s provisional score is 0.4 points lower than 2017, but this is expected to increase once the results are validated.
• The average points score A level of 32.19 is similar to last year and remains above the national figure. Haringey’s vocational average point score has dropped from the previous year but has narrowed the gap with the national score.

While this data is useful for those governing to make broad comparisons between their school and others nationally, GCSE and A-level statistics are subject to change once grade appeals/remarks are taken into account and governing boards need to take into account the particular context of their school.

While the pressures of accountability measures sometimes lead schools to adapt their curriculum, those governing are reminded of their duties to protect pupil wellbeing and to ensure that they receive a broad and balanced curriculum. Part of this involves gaining assurances from the lead executive that pupils are being entered for qualifications which match their ability.

The Department for Education (DfE) has published (external link)  the allocations that schools will receive from the teachers’ pay grant, the additional funding being provided to cover the difference between the cost of the pay award and the 1% award that schools would have expected under the previous public sector pay cap. The DfE announced (external link)  in July that it would not be fully implementing the recommendation of the School Teachers’ Review Body, that all teachers and school leaders receive a 3.5% pay rise. Instead, those on the main pay scale will receive 3.5%, those on the upper pay scale will receive 2% and school leaders will receive 1.5%. NGA argued that this should have been a cost of living rise across the board and was disappointed that this was not fully funded for all teaching staff. Find out how much your school(s) will receive through the pay grant, here (external link). The DfE has published further guidance on school teachers’ pay and conditions which is available here (external link).

Governors and trustees can now access information on the attainment of pupils in the 2018 phonics screening check and KS1 teacher assessments (TA) which take place at the end of year 1 (typically aged 6) and the end of KS1 (year 2), respectively. This forms an important backdrop to individual school data and its role in school accountability.

This year’s provisional data (external link) reveals that more pupils (82%) are meeting the expected standard in phonics in year 1 – a one-percentage point increase from 2017. Attainment at the expected standard in KS1 TA is broadly similar to 2017 – a one-percentage point increase in maths (up to 76%), while attainment in reading and science remained the same. Changes made within the 2017/18 writing TA frameworks mean judgments made in 2018 (70% meeting the expected standard) are not directly comparable to those made in 2017.

The Department for Education (DfE) welcomes feedback on any aspect of the publication. Please email primary.attainment@education.gov.uk.

In Haringey KS1 outcomes at the Expected Standard and the higher Greater Depth standard are now above national averages in all subjects. Reading at the Greater Depth standard is also above London figures. All but two pupil groups performed better in Haringey than the equivalent group nationally, including Disadvantaged Pupils.

The Department for Education (DfE) has published its response (external link)  to recommendations laid out in the Education Select Committee’s report (external link)  on alternative provision. The report called for a “Bill of Rights” for pupils facing exclusion, for Independent Review Panels to be able to direct a school to reinstate pupils and highlighted inconsistency in the quality of alternative provision.

The government’s response acknowledges significant challenges and that there is more to be done to ensure that all children in alternative provision receive the high-quality education that they deserve. The review of exclusions led by former DfE minister Edward Timpson will report early next year and, although it does not intend to implement the proposal to increase the powers of Independent Review panels, the government has not ruled (external link) out measures to increase schools’ accountability for excluded pupils.

Alongside this, the DfE has published its research exploring the landscape of AP (external link)  and research into the market for AP (external link). These explore how pupil characteristics are taken into account during the exclusion process and characteristics of successful local systems.

The select committee’s report also includes a number of conclusions and recommendations which have relevance to Ofsted and the inspectorate’s response (external link)  promises to consider incentives for schools to be more inclusive and to continue to address “off-rolling” (the practice of removing pupils from roll to boost performance measures) in its inspections.

New statistics (external link) released by the Department for Education show that the overall pupil absence rate in schools in England has increased slightly to 4.7% in autumn and spring 2017/18, compared to 4.5% during the same period the year before.

The increase reflects a rise in the rates of authorised, unauthorised and persistent absence. As in previous years, illness was the most common cause of absence. There had been a slight increase in unauthorised absence due to family holidays. 

Absence rates were higher for some groups of pupils than others: those eligible for free school meals and those with special educational needs (SEN) were more likely to be absent. While this may be related to medical issues for some pupils with SEN, it is worth considering how pupil premium funds could be utilised to address low attendance among pupils eligible for free school meals. The highest overall absence rates were found among Traveller of Irish Heritage and Gypsy/Roma pupils; those governing schools with pupils from these groups may be interested in research published by LKMCo (external link) last year, which explores some barriers to achievement that gypsy, Roma and traveller pupil’s experience.

Governing boards should be aware of how attendance in their school(s) compares to national averages, including among different groups of pupils, and work with senior leaders to identify and address drivers of avoidable absence.

The Department for Education (DfE) has released further deals it has negotiated to enable schools to save money. You can find both the new and existing deals on the DfE website (external link).

Governing boards should bring the deals to the attention of their headteacher and school business professional.

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, has annoinced some of the changes Ofsted plans to make to the schools inspection framework (external link).

As well as the headline ‘overall effectiveness’ grade, Ofsted currently make judgements on four categories for all schools:

• effectiveness of leadership and management
• quality of teaching, learning and assessment
• personal development, behaviour and welfare
• outcomes for children and learners

There are additional categories for schools with early years or sixth form provision. Ofsted plan to alter these categories to be:

• quality of education
• personal development
• behaviour and attitudes
• schools’ leadership and management

The aim of these changes are to move Ofsted’s focus from headline data to how schools are educating pupils and the substance of the curriculum. A formal consultation on the new draft framework will take place from January with implementation planned from September 2019.