Single

Education

Plan

Hywyn Williams

Chief Learning and Achievement Officer

31 August 2006

SINGLE EDUCATION PLAN 2006 - 2008

CONTENTS

  1. Introduction 03
  1. Corporate Priorities 03
  1. Vision and Principles 04
  1. How well is our Education Service doing? 05
  1. Key Priorities 06
  • Priority 1: Raising Educational Achievement 07
  • Priority 2: Improving Inclusion and Participation 11
  • Priority 3: Improving Access to Education 14
  • Priority 4: Improving the Co-ordination of Services to

Children and Young People 17

  1. Targets 19
  1. Additional Statements
  1. Monitoring and evaluating 21
  2. Equalities 21
  3. Sustainability 22
  4. Welsh Education Scheme 22
  5. Community-Focused Schools 23

Annexes

Annex 1a – Summary of Authority Targets for adoption in SEPs 26

Annex 1b – School Pupil Numbers: Primary 27

Annex 1c – School Pupil Numbers: Secondary 30

Annex 2a – Projections of Pupil Numbers 2007- 2011: Primary 31

Annex 2b – Projections of Pupil Numbers 2007- 2011: Secondary 33

Annex 3a – Special Units in Maintained Settings: Primary 34

Annex 3b – Special Units in Maintained Settings: Secondary 35

Annex 3c – Special Units in Maintained Settings: Special 36

1. Introduction

It gives me great pleasure to present you with the first draft Single Education Plan for Wrexham. Over the years, we have had to prepare too many plans covering a wide range of issues that influence the delivery of services to children and young people. It is, therefore, easy to see why there could be confusion and possible duplication. Worst still, there may be gaps in provision. This is why, following Wales Assembly Government (WAG) guidelines, we have now produced the Single Education Plan that will span the period 2006 – 2008.

The purpose of this document is to set a vision and strategic direction for children and young people in Wrexham for the next two years, and to pave the way towards the creation of a single plan for children and young people in 2008. In order to set out an effective way forward to secure further improvements to the service, a clear assessment of where we are at the moment is crucial. The plan contains such an analysis.

This plan is a plan for everyone involved in the delivery of improved education standards and quality in Wrexham. Partnerships with many organisations and groups will be crucial to the success of the plan. The Council, as the lead organisation, will work in an unrelenting manner to achieve better outcomes for children and young people, signifying the importance Wrexham County Borough Council places on the next generation of our citizens.

The approach within the plan is to “deliver what matters” in order to provide a first rate education, and I am confident that the journey we undertake will be a rewarding one.

  1. Corporate Priorities

Wrexham’s Community Strategy Partnership is leading the community vision process designed to set out the vision, priorities and goals to improve the Wrexham area over the next 16 years. The priorities for action are set out in Wrexham Refreshed – Wrexham’s Community Vision 2004 - 2020.

The Chief Executive’s change programme ‘Y:MCD’ is designed to enable the Council to build upon its previous successes and help it to ‘…deliver what matters to people to an excellent standard.’

The Council interprets ‘Delivering what Matters’ as making sure that they, as a Council, deliver on the six strategic priorities by making sure that the people of Wrexham:

  • are safe and secure;
  • have pride in our children and young people;
  • are healthy and cared for;
  • are respected; and
  • care for the environment.

The Council is also developing its medium term agenda through the identification of corporate priorities. This work has included extensive Member involvement and resulted in narrowing down the range of priority activities for the period 2005 - 2008. Eight of the fifteen activities were identified as requiring immediate attention and have been included on the Improvement Plan for 2005 - 06. Members have selected six focal areas for 2006 - 07 namely:

  1. Key Stage 4 achievement.
  2. Education of excluded children.
  3. Footway maintenance.
  4. Recycling rates.
  5. Old peoples cared for in their homes.
  6. Anti-social behaviour.
  1. Vision and Principles

The Single Education Plan seeks to sustain the longer-term vision with regard to Children and Young People. Before undertaking the journey outlined in the plan it is necessary to develop a vision of where the journey will end.

Together we will work to ensure that children and young people will be healthy, safe and valued and encouraged to make the most of learning opportunities, whilst appreciating their environment and making a positive contribution to their community

We will ensure that every child and young person:

  • will be treated equally and there will be no discrimination on the basis of race, gender, beliefs or socio-economic background;
  • achieves her/his full potential for learning and achievement;
  • becomes a confident learner with high aspirations and high levels of self-esteem;
  • will be heard and realise that s/he has a voice;
  • gives and receives respect;
  • will be protected from harm, especially those in vulnerable groups;
  • makes positive and healthy life choices and becomes an emotionally strong individual.

Principles

This is a plan for everyone involved in the delivery of improved educational standards and quality in Wrexham. The approach within the plan is one of ‘Delivering what Matters’. In order to do this we will:

  • work closely with elected Members and all partner agencies;
  • ensure that resources are well-targeted to raise achievement and remove barriers to learning;
  • continually strive to improve the quality of the indoor and outdoor learning environment, including the availability of learning resources;
  • engage fully with parents and the community to gain their support to improve achievement;
  • make sure that there is a good level of healthy challenge at all levels in order to inspire achievement and to secure further improvements;
  • work hard to ensure that the workforce is well-trained, suitably recruited and rewarded for their work in Wrexham in order to maximise the quality of teaching and learning;
  • continually evaluate our actions, seek further improvements and ensure that effective changes are implemented.
  1. How well is our Education Service doing?

It is now 10 years since Wrexham County Borough Council was established with a statutory responsibility for education. There has been significant progress during this time and schools, staff and partners, together, have achieved a great deal for our children and young people.

  • School inspections indicate that overall standards are improving, with over three quarters of schools now achieving the top two grades.
  • Overall performance in Wrexham primary schools indicates a continued trend of improvement. National Assessment at both Key Stages 1 and 2 are above the national average for Wales.
  • There are encouraging signs that overall performance at Key Stage 3 is still improving, and in 2005 this was in line with the national average. However, although some schools exhibit a positive improvement trend against agreed indicators, standards of achievement at Key Stage 4 have been too static over a period of 4 - 5 years.
  • Overall attendance figures in secondary schools, whilst improving, are below the average for Wales. The numbers of permanent exclusions are low. However, whilst fixed term exclusions are improving they remain considerably higher than the Welsh average. We are not currently ensuring that 25 hours tuition is provided for all pupils not in schools.
  • There has been significant capital investment in building and refurbishing schools since 1996. Members recognise the continuing need to address the serious shortcomings in school buildings and the need to reduce the numbers of surplus places to make the best use of available funds.
  • Good provision is made for Early Years Education in particular, by ensuring a place for all 3 year olds. Class sizes in primary schools comply with WAG requirement and expectations.
  • Estyn Inspectors recognise the efficient management of admissions to schools and the strategy for ensuring that home-to-school transport becomes even more cost-effective.
  • Schools recognise the increased openness, consultation and the improving pace and transparency of the Authority’s work.

It is important now that we build on the achievements of the last ten years. In Autumn 2005 Members adopted a strategy to transform achievement in the secondary sector. Challenging targets have been set which include increasing the percentage of pupils obtaining five or more good GCSE passes to 60% by 2008. Members recognise that achieving these results is important for the life chances of young people in Wrexham.

Achieving the targets will, however, require sustained effort, particularly by school staff and Governors who, directly, have most of the influence to achieve improvements.

As an Authority, we need to implement more robustly the Targeted Support and Intervention (TSI) Strategy for the identification of under-performing schools/departments and the categorisation of support needs.

  1. Our Key Priorities

Our analysis of local needs and the educational agenda of the Welsh Assembly Government have led us to identify the following main priorities:

Priority 1: Raising educational achievement.

Priority 2: Improving inclusion and participation.

Priority 3: Improving access to education.

Priority 4: Improving the co-ordination of services to children and young people.

As required by the regulations this plan provides a strategic view of the direction and focus of the authority’s work and sets intended outcomes in keeping with the policies set out in the Learning Country.

Details of the activity required to take forward the plan are set out in Service Management and Operational Plans in accordance with Corporate Service Planning guidance.

Whilst brief reference is made to the ways which strategies contained in the plan will be monitored and reported on – monitoring and evaluation arrangements themselves are set out in operational plans.

This plan will be replaced by a Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) which will need to be in place by 2008.

Priority 1: / Raising Educational Achievement

Where we are now?

Overall performance in Wrexham Primary schools indicates a continued trend of improvement. National Assessments at both Key Stage 1 and 2 are above the national average for Wales. Despite the overall very positive picture, there remains significant variation in the performance of individual schools.

Generally, standards of achievement in Wrexham Secondary Schools has been too static over a period of 4 - 5 years, especially at Key Stage 4, although some schools exhibit a positive improvement trend against agreed indicators. Overall performance at GCSE, particularly the percentage achieving 5 A*- C grades, lags behind the Welsh average. There are encouraging signs that overall performance at Key Stage 3 is still improving and is now in line with the national average. Performance, at A level in the three Wrexham secondary schools with sixth forms has been consistently above the national average.

The performance of different genders in Wrexham schools reflects the national trend of girls outperforming boys. At Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 the gap between boys and girls is narrower in Wrexham than across Wales. At Key Stage 1 and 2 the performance of boys and girls has improved on previous years’ levels. Girls are now performing at the All-Wales average. Boys’ performance has improved by a greater percentage as a result of successful implementation of Authority’s strategies. At Key Stage, 3 boys outperformed girls in Science. In the other indicators of Mathematics, English and Core Subject Indicators girls outperformed boys but by less than the figures for Wales (based on 2004 data). At Key Stage 4 girls outperformed boys at 5A*- C and 5A*- G but slightly higher for the CSI.

Inspections of Wrexham schools carried out in accordance with the new Estyn inspection framework (introduced in September 2003) indicate that overall standards are improving, with three quarters of schools now achieving the top two grades. Where pupil progress is less secure there is a continued need to:

  • set high expectations of what pupils can do;
  • develop pupils’ key skills, including thinking and learning skills;
  • make better use of assessment to plan for pupils’ needs; and
  • deal more effectively with pupils whose poor behaviour and lack of attention make it difficult for other pupils to work.

The LEA has successfully bid for funding from the Basic Skills Agency to support initiatives for improving the Basic Skills of under-attaining pupils in both primary and secondary schools. Currently 97% of primary schools and 100% of secondary schools hold the Basic Skills Quality Mark. All secondary schools are involved in the Key Stage 3 training for teachers programme.

A secondary school Head of English has been seconded to lead on the secondary basic skills agenda. This post will include working with schools to ensure that pupil performance for the identified target group is monitored and tracked. This will include monitoring the performance of boys and girls and continuing to work on this with those schools which appear to have an issue in relation to this, and liaising with Link Officers who challenge schools in relation to all aspects of performance as part of the termly Quality Developmen Dialogue (QDD) meetings with Headteachers.

A member of the Learning and Teaching Advisory (LTA) team will be given the responsibility for Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 transfer from September 2006. Transition was the focus of Wrexham’s annual cross-phase conference for Headteachers in 2000, and a great deal of work has been done in this area since that time, especially in respect of strengthening the pedagogical bridge which lead Year 6 pupils into Year 7. A number of excellent bridging units have been developed by primary/secondary consortia, and shared across the Authority. The LTA with lead responsibility will support and monitor all schools to ensure that effective Transition Plans are in place.

Estyn inspection reports indicate that, in common with other schools in Wales, leadership, governance and performance in Wrexham schools continues to improve. Where shortcomings exist, these are generally in the areas of:

  • setting targets for improvement, and monitoring and assessing the standards pupils achieve;
  • equipping middle managers to become more accountable for the quality of learning and teaching in the areas for which they are responsible; and
  • helping Governors to investigate standards and quality in their schools.

Estyn and the Audit Commission inspected the Council’s School Improvement Service in December 2004 and found that the service was good with promising prospects for improvement. However, the report identified issues about the low attainment of pupils in Wrexham‘s secondary schools and recommended that the Council should:

  • identify, articulate and communicate the reasons why the overall attainment of pupils, particularly in the secondary schools, is too low and what needs to be done to raise it:
  • use measurable outcomes as a central feature of its performance management procedures;
  • find ways to improve the ability of Governing Bodies to challenge school managers.

A recent Audit Commission review of action planning for secondary school improvement (February 2006) concluded that the actions being taken are sensible and accord well with strategies of other successful councils.

Through the use of Fischer Data and other information available, under-achieving pupils have been identified by schools. Individual pupil target setting and monitoring processes have been put in place by schools to support these pupils. This work is supported by the Learning and Teaching Advisors through the Catch-Up Programme in supporting schools’ progress in the Basic Skills Agenda.

Wrexham’s Targeted Support and Intervention (TSI) Strategy sets out clearly this Authority’s approach to supporting schools in maintaining and improving standards, including the need to intervene in inverse proportion to success. The TSI Strategy was developed in response to one of our primary schools being placed in Special Measures following inspection by Estyn. The Strategy has been strengthened and refined over the intervening years, and closely linked to the Authority’s school self-evaluation toolkit SBR: Sustain, Boost, Remodel. Evidence of the ongoing success of these approaches lies in the fact that standards in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 are solid and improving in Key Stage 4. It should also be noted that no Wrexham school has been found to require special measure or significant improvement since the TSI was put in place.

Detailed analysis of external assessments at both Key Stages 3 and 4 identify schools and departments that are under performing. In line with the Targeted Support and Intervention Strategy schools/departments (in the core subjects) are placed in three categories of intervention, Low, Medium or High. The Learning and Teaching Advisers hold Quality Development Dialogues with secondary Heads of Department, and strategies are put in place to address issues identified as causing concern. Quality Development Dialogues are conducted termly with Headteachers and Case Conferences are convened to enable more in-depth discussions with schools identified as needing more support.

We will raise educational achievement by:

1implementing the strategy agreed by Members to transform Secondary achievement in Wrexham;

2increasingly targeting resources at areas of greatest need in order to narrow the gap in achievement and reduce variance wherever it exists;

3improving accountability for, and management of, performance at all levels;

4further developing strategies that enhance learning opportunities for our youngest learners eg. Flying Start;

5continuing to develop educational provision for 3 year olds using a multi-sector approach; preparing for the Foundation Phase of children’s learning; and developing a rich curricular provision for pupils in the 14 – 19 age;

6ensuring that important issues such as pupils’ well-being, healthy lifestyles, physical, social, moral and spiritual development are capitalised upon fully to support the process of raising achievement.