Agenda item

The Committee received a presentation from Mark Taylor, Director of Schools and Young People’s Services, copy interleaved, during which the following main points were made –

·         The importance of benchmarking the Council’s education service was emphasised. Performance was considered in a national and London context and aims to exceed the performance of other inner London boroughs. It was noted that the performance of schools in London was generally higher than other areas of the country.

·         Evaluating the performance of schools assists matters of education policy. In particular, it was considered that evaluation helps parents and governors to secure improvements in schools. Supporting governors was a particular priority of the Council as they are well placed to instigate school-led improvement.

·         Islington was one of only six local authority areas in England where 100% of secondary schools are categorised as either good or outstanding.

·         Although Islington schools were achieving good results, the Council could not afford to be complacent as there were still gaps in attainment between schools. Although there were differences between schools, these were not considered significant enough to merit the attainment gap.

·         Attainment was also measured in terms of demography. In some schools attainment was a particular issue for white British pupils, whereas there were attainment issues in other schools among black Caribbean pupils.

·         The Council aspired for every school to be good or outstanding. It was commented that the Islington Community of Schools allowed schools to share knowledge and learn from each other to achieve the best outcomes for local children. It was thought that schools were particularly interested in why the performance of particular departments varies between schools.

·         Persistent absenteeism was being addressed and a target of 96% attendance in every school had been set. It was acknowledged that tackling this problem requires support from parents and governors.

·         A member raised the underachievement of more able pupils, suggesting that an emphasis can be placed on helping less able pupils meet minimum standards in core subjects, as opposed to helping more able pupils achieve their full potential. It was agreed that all schools should ensure that there was an equal motivation for helping pupils of all abilities across a broad range of subjects. 

·         A member suggested that the 60% of pupils attaining five or more A* - C grades at GCSE level (including English and Maths) was not good enough and queried what mechanisms were in place to help schools improve. It was agreed that the attainment of different cohorts should not significantly vary and it was explained that training was given to help school governors challenge headteachers on these sorts of issues. Best practice in teaching was shared between headteachers at meetings held twice per half-term. It was noted that one meeting per half term was chaired by the local authority, and one meeting was chaired by a headteacher. It was emphasised that the most successful schools have headteachers engaged in teaching and learning.

·         Following a query, it was confirmed that the best teachers may be placed in schools requiring improvement to increase performance.

·         A member queried the attainment of BME pupils. It was commented that this was a complex issue and at the best schools there were insignificant gaps in attainment between pupils of different ethnicities. For this reason greater importance was now placed on improving teaching and learning standards as opposed to focusing resources on specific groups. However, engagement with parents and community groups can improve attainment. A member of the Committee suggested that primary school pupils of some ethnic groups may benefit from a specific programme to prepare them for secondary education.

·         Following a query about teacher turnover in primary schools, it was advised that Islington did not have a problem with teacher recruitment as it was considered a desirable place to work. The turnover of teachers was attributed to teaching staff moving away from the Borough when starting a family and the Council was seeking to mitigate this issue by investing in professional development and making Islington a great place to work.

·         Following a query about young ‘NEET’ people, it was advised that although secondary schools had a statutory responsibility to provide careers education, the Council and local primary schools considered the reduction in NEET status to be a collective responsibility.

The Committee thanked Mr Taylor for his contribution.