BOROUGH OF POOLE
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
24 JANUARY 2012
THE PROGRESS OF PUPILS FROM ONE KEY STAGE TO ANOTHER IN EXAMINATION AND TEST OUTCOMES 2011 REPORTED AT THE END OF THE FOUNDATION STAGE, KEY STAGE 1 AND KEY STAGE 2
1. PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1. To report on the progress of pupils in their educational attainment from Key Stage to Key Stage as measured by examination and test outcomes, where nationally validated data is available.
1.2. To compare the rates of progress of children in Poole, relative to others, in order to judge where attainment or progress is satisfactory or good and what actions are required to bring about improvements in progress or attainment.
1.3. To inform the Committee of the Government’s Statement of Intent with regard to the School and College Performance Tables.
2. DECISIONS REQUIRED
2.1. To consider the judgements and recommendations for action made by the Chief Adviser about the performance of children in Poole and to accept, reject or modify these.
2.2. To note the content of the attached Appendices and the Government’s Intentions with regard to the School and College Performance Tables.
3. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
3.1. Appendices are attached with this Report on the attainment and progress of groups of pupils from one key stage to another in examination and test outcomes 2011. This provides some of the detail from more complex data for groups of children provided to the Committee’s Working Group on School Standards.
3.2. The Appendices cover the Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, where validated data is available. In the case of these recommendations and judgements can be confirmed by the Committee. A report with other appendices for Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 will be provided later in the Committee’s Forward Plan due to the delay in the validation of national data by the Department of Education (DfE). The release date is now to be 26 January.
3.3. From time to time the Government can change the measures it uses for children’s attainment and a further appendix provides background information on their Statement of Intent for future testing and reporting.
4. REPORT CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1. Foundation Stage: The performance of the Local Authority in Early Years is good compared to past performance and other LA’s, with increased attainment and a narrowing of the gap between the median score and the lowest 20%.
4.2. The recommendation is for actions on the part of schools and the Local Authority Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Team to continue to improve the percentage of all pupils in achieving 6 points+ in Personal, Social and Emotional Development and in Communication, Language and Literacy Development, and on boys attainment overall. Focus should also be on the continued reduction of the gap between the median and lowest 20% (national indicator).
4.3. Key Stage 1 (KS1): Performance remains good overall; however there has been some decline in standards of speaking and listening, writing and mathematics, which now leaves Poole satisfactory in these aspects.
4.4. The recommendation is for actions on the part of schools and the Local Authority to improve the performance of boys in both reading and writing though collaborative school to school work and external support where necessary, and to continue to improve the attainment of all pupils at Key Stage 1 to ensure that they are consistently above national performance.
Consideration should also be given to the continued development of the LA moderation process throughout the academic year to support the accuracy of teachers’ judgments and to share teaching strategies to improve pupils’ attainment and progress.
4.5. Key Stage 2 (KS2): The performance of the LA in English and mathematics is good with increased attainment in both subjects. Boys, in particular, have made significant improvements in English from previous years.
4.6. Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 Progress: Initial indications show that girls in Poole are still out-performing boys in both English and Mathematics in achieving two levels of progress between the two Key Stages. However, when compared to the national progress indicators, both girls and boys are slightly below the national progress.
4.7. The recommendation is for actions on the part of schools and the Local Authority to continue to raise attainment in English, with particular focus on the vulnerable groups where the data is showing underachievement. Actions should also be taken to increase the number of pupils achieving level 4 + and 5 + in both English and Mathematics and to focus on pupils achieving two levels of progress from KS1 to KS2.
4.8. The role of the School Improvement Support Group (SISG): The recommendation is to request the SISG to commission activities which support and develop school to school collaboration, in order to address key issues arising from the 2011 results and trends over time. Consideration should also be given as to the role and areas of work for the teaching school, within their defined remit and that of the LA School Improvement Advisers.
Stuart Twiss
Head of Children and Young People’s Services;
Strategy Quality and Improvement
Contact Officer: Sue Langdon
Telephone No: 01202 633557
APPENDIX 1
EARLY YEARS AND FOUNDATION STAGE
Background:
The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) assesses Reception year pupils in the June before they start in Year 1. Most children turn 5 during the year. There are 13 areas assessed using a 9 point scale. The Government is specifically monitoring each Local Authority on:
· the percentage of pupils achieving 6 points or more in Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED);
o Communication, Language and Literacy Development (CLLD);
o both PSED and CLL together; and
· the percentage difference between the average score of the lowest scoring 20% of pupils and the median score.
The aim is for as many pupils as possible to score an average of 6 out of 9 points (the average nationally is 5/6 points) for all 13 areas of the EYFSP. This gives a total of 78 points out of a possible 117. The range between the top and the bottom nationally is wide, and Local Authorities (LA) have been asked by the Department of Education (DfE) to work with teachers, to raise the average points for the bottom 20% of pupils in the LA and thereby narrow the gap between this average and the median point.
Key Headlines:
There have been significant increases in the standards attained for EYFS
· 62.5% of pupils achieved 6 points+ in PSED + CLL (Average National attainment was 56% 2010) which is a significant increase of 6.4% from 56.1% in 2010
· The schools are maintaining a very high level of attainment – 14 schools have raised pupil attainment overall.
· PSED attainment has risen by 2.4% from 83.5% in 2010 to 85.9% in 2011 (National average 2010: 77%).
· CLLD attainment has risen significantly by 6.8% from 57.8% in 2010 to 64.6% in 2011 (National average 2010: 59%).
· LA attainment in writing (67.3% at 6+) remains low compared to the same level of attainment across the other scale points (these are in the range of 82.4% – 93.3%), however it is still higher than the national average of 65% (2010).
· Boys continue to underperform girls in Poole – mainly in CLL.
· In 10 schools, both girls and boys attain above the national average across all
scale points.
· The gap between the median score and lowest 20% has been reduced by 2.6% to 28.7% (from 31.3% in 2010)
14 schools narrowed the gap in attainment for the lowest performing 20% of pupils 7 of those 14 are in areas of deprivation
Chief Adviser’s view:
The performance of the Local Authority in Early Years is good compared to past performance and other LA’s, with increased attainment and a narrowing of the gap between the median score and the lowest 20%.
Recommendations:
· To continue to improve the percentage of all pupils in achieving 6 points+ in Personal, Social and Emotional Development and in Communication, Language and Literacy Development
· To improve boys attainment overall.
· Focus should also be on the continued reduction of the gap between the median and lowest 20% (national indicator).
APPENDIX 2
KEY STAGE 1
Background:
Key Stage 1 is assessed by teachers using test materials provided by the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) and teacher assessment using national criteria. National Curriculum assessment provides a measurement of achievement against the attainment targets of the National Curriculum rather than any generalised concept of ability in any of the subject areas. The National Curriculum standards have been designed so that most pupils will progress by approximately one level every two years. This means that by the end of KS1 (Year 2 in school) pupils are expected to achieve Level 2.
The assessments of Reading, Writing and Mathematics are subject to statutory moderation by the Local Authority team, consisting of a small team of experienced staff from schools working with the LA Senior adviser. The aim of moderation is to check that assessments are made to a common national standard. Exchanges with neighbouring local authorities help to maintain a common standard across the country which is periodically checked by QCDA.
Key headlines:
· To date, results in Poole are similar to national figures (2010) for all indicators
The nationally expected standard of level 2 or better has been achieved by –
· 89% of pupils in Speaking and Listening, 2 percentage points lower than last year
· 87% of pupils in Reading, 1 percentage point higher than last year
· 84% of pupils in Writing, 1 percentage point lower than last year
· 91% of pupils in Mathematics, 2 percentage points lower than last year
· 90% of pupils in Science, 2 percentage points lower than last year
The higher level (level 3) has been achieved by
· 29% of pupils in Speaking and Listening, 1 point lower than last year
· 33% of pupils in Reading, the same as last year
· 19% of pupils in Writing, the same as last year
· 28% of pupils in Mathematics, 1 point lower than last year
· 27% of pupils in Science, 4 points lower than last year
2011 KS1 Teacher Assessment
Level 2+ (KS1) / Reading / Writing / Mathematics / ScienceBoys / Girls / All / Boys / Girls / All / Boys / Girls / All / Boys / Girls / All
Poole / 83 / 92 / 87 / 78 / 90 / 83 / 89 / 92 / 91 / 88 / 92 / 90
SN average* / 82.2 / 89.9 / 86.0 / 76.8 / 87.8 / 82.1 / 89.4 / 92.0 / 90.5 / 89.0 / 91.7 / 90.5
National average / 81 / 89 / 85 / 75 / 87 / 81 / 88 / 91 / 89 / 87 / 90 / 89
*Statistical Neighbours
Chief Adviser’s view:
Performance remains good overall when compared to our statistical neighbours and national averages; however there has been some decline in speaking and listening, writing and mathematics, which leaves Poole satisfactory in these aspects.
Recommendations:
· Improve the performance of boys in both reading and writing though collaborative school to school work and external support where necessary.
· Continue to improve the attainment of all pupils at Key Stage 1 to ensure it is consistently above national performance.
· Consideration should also be given to the continued development of the LA moderation process throughout the academic year, to support the accuracy of teachers’ judgments and to share teaching strategies to improve pupils’ attainment and progress.
APPENDIX 3
KEY STAGE 2
Background:
At the end of Key Stage 2 pupils are assessed using teacher assessments and externally marked statutory tests in English (writing and reading) and Mathematics. Science is tested in some selected schools only, none being selected in Poole for 2011.
Key headlines:
Early test results (subject to change) from the DfE show that at the national expected standard of Level 4 or above pupils in Poole have made a significant improvement in the standards attained against national indicators.
· English, at 85%, is 4 percentage points higher than in 2010 and is also 4% points higher than the national 2011 average. Poole was ranked 53 out of 153 in 2009 and is now ranked 23.
· Mathematics, at 81%, is 4 percentage points higher than in 2010 representing the highest score ever in Poole. It is also 1 point higher than the national figure. Poole was ranked 117 out of 153 in 2009 and is now ranked 65.
· The key indicator of pupils gaining both English and Maths benefited from the higher English score, with 74% gaining both, a rise of 1 percentage point.
· Boys have made significant improvements in English (7%) from last year which is mainly responsible for the rise in standards and this has also closed the attainment gap between boys and girls.
· Whilst some individual schools have made significant gains (10- 22%) in one or both of the core subjects, there are also some schools whose standards have declined.