Agenda item

Ambition for Education - Update

To consider an update report on the Ambition for Education, and to seek approval for the work to be progressed in relation the challenges in relation to the financial sustainability of schools, and on taking the necessary steps to progress work.

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning took the opportunity to congratulate the children and young people in the borough on their recent achievements in the first summer examinations since the pandemic began.  Early indications suggested an overall improved performance at both Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 compared to 2019 outcomes.

 

Cabinet received a report outlining the key elements and ambitions in the White Paper ‘Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child’ and the Green Paper ‘Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Review: Right support, Right place, Right time’.  The report outlined the strategic challenges facing the education system in North Tyneside, the work already underway and further work required to tackle these challenges in partnership with educational leaders and partners.

 

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

 

The Authority believed that education was the catalyst for social mobility and the mitigation of deprivation; championing the learner continued to sit at the heart of the Authority’s decision making.

 

Historically, schools and colleges in the Borough had performed well in public examinations and against inspection frameworks with 95% judged to be good or better by Ofsted, but the Authority also recognised that for disadvantaged pupils there was more to do. At the end of the academic year 2019, performance data showed that despite pupils’ overall outcomes comparing favourably with national outcomes, those of disadvantaged pupils continued to lag those of their non-disadvantaged peers and remain stubbornly below the national average. The picture was compounded further for those pupils identified as long-term disadvantaged for whom the gap between them and their peers was stark.

 

Gaps in disadvantaged pupils’ attainment widened as they moved through the education system. The abandonment of public examinations in 2020 and 2021 meant the longer-term impact of COVID-19 would only begin to be seen in 2022 and beyond. 

 

As well as the updated Council Plan Policy Framework recent key strategic documents had also been developed and approved in recent months:

 

·         Children and Young People Plan 2021-2025

·         Ambition for Education Strategy in North Tyneside 2020-2024

·         Joint School improvement Strategy

·         North of Tyne Education Challenge

·         Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Inclusion Strategy 2021-2024

·         Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Strategy 2021-2026

 

The ‘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’. The Authority’s targets aligned with the ‘North of Tyne Education Challenge’ and ‘Joint School Improvement Strategy’ together with the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Inclusion Strategy.

 

Officers continued to work with schools to tackle the priorities within the Ambition for Education document to improve outcomes for all pupils, to build on the Authority’s partnerships to transform lives, uncap the potential of children and young people, and mitigate against the longer-term impact of COVID-19.

 

In March 2022 the government published its White Paper – ‘Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child’.  The vision within the white paper was to introduce and implement standards that would improve children’s education, deliver the right support and give them the tools to lead a happy, fulfilled, and successful life.

 

Delivery of this vision would be underpinned by the following principles:

 

·         Excellent teacher for every child

·         Delivering high standards of curriculum, behaviour and attendance

·         Targeted support for every child who needs it

·         A stronger fairer system

 

In 2019 the government commissioned a SEND review in response to growing concern about the challenges facing the SEND system in England and the future of the children and young people it supports.  The Green paper ‘Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Review: Right Support, Right Place, Right Time’ focused on ensuring a system where every child and young person could access the right support with the following being key areas for change:

 

·         Excellent provision from early years to adulthood

·         A reformed role for alternative provision

·         System roles, accountabilities and funding reforms

·         Delivering change for children and families

 

The report set out the key strategic challenges facing education provision in the Borough.  This included financial sustainability of schools in particular secondary provision; increasing demands in relation to Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities; post 16 provision across the borough; local plan proposals on school places and catchment areas, and schools rebuilding programme and capital investment.

 

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

 

Resolved that (1) the key elements and ambitions in the recent White Paper ‘Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child’ be noted;

(2) the key elements and ambitions in the recent Green Paper ‘Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Review: Right support, Right place, Right time’ be noted;

(3) the key strategic challenges facing the education system and SEND and the work done to date be noted;

(4) the following work is progressed in relation to the following challenges:

 

a)     Financial sustainability of Schools in particular Secondary Provision:

 

Working with Monkseaton High, and other stakeholders:

·         carry out option appraisals to address the structural deficit issues,

·         enter pre-publication engagement and consultation, and

·         bring forward proposals to achieve educational and financial sustainability across the system.

 

b)     Increasing demand in relation to Children & Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and associated resource pressures:

 

·         progress the work identified within the Dedicated School Grant Management Plan.

(5) the Director of Commissioning and Asset Management and the Director of Children and Adults in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources and the Director of Resources be authorised to take all necessary steps to progress the work set out in recommendation (4) above; and

(6) further reports be received as required on the progress made in relation to the challenges set out in recommendation (4) above.

 

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

 

 

Supporting documents: