Agenda item

To seek approval for the priorities set out within the Ambition for Education – Education Strategy for North Tyneside 2020-2024 and agreement to continue to support the work of the North of Tyne Education Challenge.

Cabinet received a report seeking approval for the priorities set out the Ambition for Education – Strategy for North Tyneside 2020-2024 and agreement to continue to support the work of the North of Tyne Education Challenge, which set out the Authority’s vision and priorities for ensuring that all children and young people in North Tyneside had access to a high-class education in order to achieve their full potential.

Central to the Authority’s ambition for education was a desire to equip all students with the knowledge, skills and resilience needed to contribute to an unknown future and the world of work which may not be fully understood.

The report covered the following areas:

·         A recap and update on the work associated with the Education Review;

·         A summary of the ‘Ambition’ for Education strategy document which outlined the current priorities the Authority believed to be most important to its children and young people;

·         The scope of the Post 16 Review of provision across the borough;

·         A summary of the aims of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Inclusion strategy; and

·         The current financial position of the Authority’s schools, including some of the pressures and challenges faced.

North Tyneside had an Education system to be proud of. A strong performer regionally and nationally, this reflected the hard work done by Head Teachers and their teams, governing bodies, Elected Members, Authority staff and children and young people.

Whilst there were some areas of North Tyneside in the 10% least deprived areas nationally, there were other areas of significant deprivation. Although the Authority’s overall outcomes remained favourable compared to national averages, the learning and progress gaps between many disadvantaged students and their peers were wider than those seen nationally. Such gaps were forecast to have increased significantly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tackling this and mitigating effects would be the overriding priority for all services that supported education in North Tyneside.

The success of the partnership to date was evident in improved indicators, including overall attainment figures versus national averages, Ofsted judgements, reductions in exclusions and reductions in financial deficits; however, there was a great deal of work still to do to work towards the ambition of ‘Making North Tyneside an even greater place for children and young people to thrive; where all can access a high-class education with a culture of inclusion and achievement.’

The Authority’s ‘Ambition for Education in North Tyneside’ document set out the priorities and targets for education from 2020 to 2024. It built on the vision provided by ‘Our North Tyneside Plan’ and the ‘Children’s and Young People’s Plan’ and the Authority’s targets aligned with the ‘North of Tyne Education Challenge’ and ‘Joint School Improvement Strategy’

The priorities for the Authority’s Ambition for Education were:

·         Ready for School and Learning: Focusing upon the importance of early language development and the continued focus upon developing key reading and speaking skills. In North Tyneside, statistics for reading in the primary phase compared favourably to national averages. However, gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their non-disadvantaged counterparts varied markedly.

The Authority would work collaboratively to improve early language acquisition and reading attainment across the borough. By 2024, through targeted solutions, gaps in speech, language and communication attainment at the end of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) would be reduced, gaps in reading achievement would be closing and the Authority aimed to see significant and sustained improvement in reading attainment. In Reception, 10% of pupils were very overweight and 25% had excess weight.  By Year 6, these figures increased, so that 21% of pupils were very overweight and 35% had excess weight. The Authority would work to reduce the increase in the proportion of pupils who were classed as very overweight or who had excess weight by the end of Year 6.

·         Achievement for All: Working together to develop a culture of inclusion where the achievement of the most vulnerable children and young people was prioritised to level up outcomes and work tirelessly and determinedly to close achievement gaps.

To facilitate a culture of ‘Achievement for All’ across North Tyneside through ambitious expectations for student progress, work would be carried out to improve academic transition practices and continue on the ‘keeping children in school agenda.’ The Authority aimed to see a reduction in the spike of exclusions seen at Year 7 and Year 8 across the borough following transition from primary to secondary school, the Authority would see improvements to the progress of key stage 2 pupils within the middle school system and despite more recent inspections against the new inspection frameworks, a high proportion of schools would remain rated Good or better by Ofsted by 2024.

·         Ambition and Employability Skills: The Authority would continue to reduce the proportion of young people who were NEET, including minimising the impact of COVID-19 on these statistics.

The Authority would ensure there were an appropriate range and quality of progression pathways for young people leaving school and further education, an increased entry to EBacc and strength and depth across a suite of subjects and qualifications.

It would work closely with North of Tyne and local business forum to create pathways 

appropriate to pupils needs and interests. This included a review of Post 16 provision across the borough.

·         Leadership, Recruitment and Retention: The Authority would utilise the economy of scale across the North of Tyne Combined Authority footprint to ensure access to high quality, cost effective skills training for current and aspiring school leaders.

School leaders would be confident and competent to manage change and manage the impact of extended school closure, and any future surge of COVID-19 and there would be clear well supported and well signposted pathways for future leaders to become exceptional, inclusive leaders of the future.

·         Emotionally Healthy Schools: Identifying the Authority’s commitment to working with schools and colleges to tackle the increase in mental health and wellbeing issues and to promote positive mental health and wellbeing support for all.

Mental health conditions affected about 1 in 10 children and young people and it was estimated that 75% of mental health problems in adult life, excluding dementia, started before the age of eighteen. Pre-COVID-19 had seen an increase in Education Health and Care Plans, approximately a quarter of which were accountable to Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.

The Authority would work to develop resilience, confidence and independence, and reduce the level of mental ill-health in children and young people. There would be strong commitment from all stakeholders to embed a strong emotionally healthy culture and to provide robust support for school communities of North Tyneside post-COVID-19.

At the forefront of the development of the Authority’s ‘Ambition for Education’ was recovery from the impact of COVID-19, this was instilled within the priorities and targets of the Authority’s strategy. The Authority must adapt its practices to respond to the ongoing presence of COVID-19 within the community and work with schools to recover from the potential impact of an extended period of school closure.

The Authority aimed to continue to have all North Tyneside schools open, to ensure the continuity of learning throughout the remainder of this period despite any further partial or full closures. The Authority would have effective procedures in place to control infection and manage any localised COVID-19 outbreaks. Schools would have a secure understanding of the term ‘blended curriculum’ and of the impact of extended school closure on pupils attainment levels, allowing the Authority to work collaboratively to target intervention and catch up programmes, particularly in specific groups of pupils who had been greatly impacted by school closures and periods of self-isolation.

The North of Tyne Cabinet had agreed its priorities for an Education Challenge proposal as Ready for School; Achievement for All; and Leadership, Recruitment and Retention.  As part of this, the North of Tyne Cabinet had also agreed six Ambitions, which were:

•           Making sure every young person is ready for school;

•           Making sure all schools North of Tyne are Good or Outstanding;

•           Aiming to make sure no one is left behind;

•           Developing and delivering a universal mental health offer to all schools;

•           Creating a North of Tyne Teacher Deal; and

•           Creating a North of Tyne Leadership Deal.

The appointment of a Strategic Lead for Education across the North of Tyne had led to the development of a Joint School Improvement Strategy that identified key actions that the Authority, as part of a Combined Authority, would take to work collectively to improve the outcomes of children and young people across the region.

Priorities and actions within the Joint Improvement Strategy aligned with the Authority’s ‘Ambition for Education’ to gain the economies of scale and synergy required for success. The Joint Improvement Strategy, attached as Appendix 4 to the report, had been agreed by the Combined Authority Cabinet in July 2020.

Cabinet considered the following decision options: to accept the recommendations as set out in paragraph 1.2 of the report, or alternatively, to not approve the recommendations.

Resolved that (1) the priorities set out within the Ambition for Education, which will be important to secure future success for the Authority’s children and young people, be agreed;

(2) the Post 16 Review which the Authority is leading on be noted;

(3) the work undertaken with the partnership in producing the SEND Inclusion Strategy be noted;

(4) the work undertaken with schools in relation to SEND provision be noted and approval be given to enter pre-publication consultation with schools, parents and other interested parties in relation to the amendment of the structure of provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs;

(5) the continued financial challenges faced by schools and the joint work to deal with those challenges be noted;

(6) the work of the North of Tyne Education Challenge continue to be supported; and

(7)  Cabinet receive further reports as required.

(Reason for decision: It reflects the priorities agreed by the Elected Mayor, Cabinet Member, Head Teachers and Chairs of Governing Bodies.)