Agenda and minutes

None

The minutes of the meeting were approved as a true and accurate record subject to the following amendment; Cllr Laura Lacey was in attendance.

Education

Performance Measures

Invitees;

-          Andrew Powles – Assistant Head of Education – Engagement and Learning

-          Cllr Gail Giles – Cabinet Member for Education and Skills

-          James Harris – Strategic Director - People

The Committee were advised that the Chief Education Officer was unable to attend the meeting.

The Cabinet Member presented an overview of the performance within the service area to the Committee. All performance measures were Green, with Primary school attendance increasing by 0.3% on the last academic year, a 0.4% increase for Secondary school attendance which improved the ranking for Newport from 22^nd to 18^th. The Cabinet Member advised that Primary and Secondary school attendance remained a priority and thanked all the schools and Head Teachers for the hard work in achieving this.

The Committee asked the following:

·         Why were performance measures PAM/004 % Pupils achieving the expected outcome at end of KS2 and PAM/008 Attendance Secondary Year End % showing within target for the year, however the direction of travel for both was showing as going down. The Officer advised that this was because there was a significant level of sickness in the schools, twice the amount of last year for the same period, and that this had impacted on the figures for this performance measure. The adverse weather conditions, along with the timing of the Christmas holiday had contributed to this increased figure. The Officer advised the Members that the Education Welfare Service had looked into this. Members then asked if this could be included in future reports on matters relating to attendance, for information purposes.

·         Members queried the 0.4% increase in attendance for Secondary schools, and asked how many students the percentage equates to. The Officer estimated that 0.1% equated to 10,000 sessions over the course of the year, and agreed to check this figure and confirm this with the Committee.

·         Members asked if there were any improvements with exam and GCSE results for schools that were in special measures. The Cabinet Member advised that it varied between schools.

·         Was there a link with school attendance and attainment? It was confirmed that there was a link between attendance and attainment, and that for every 2 weeks a young person was absent, this could result in as much as half a grade lower GCSE result. The Cabinet Member provided assurances that the Council was working to ensure good attendance for young people, with the figures being checked monthly and a meeting with parents being triggered if attendance was below 80%.

·         PAM/004 (% Pupils achieving the expected outcome at the end of KS2) PAM/005 (% pupils achieving the expected CSI outcome at the end of KS3)

Both of these measures were on target for the year. The Committee requested a breakdown of these figures in terms of the numbers in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM).

·         The Committee discussed the financial support available through the Pupil Deprivation Grant, it was noted that it was be up to the individual schools how  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Overview and Scrutiny Officer presented the report to Members and outlined the purpose of the report in seeking the Committees approval for items on its work programme for the next two meetings.

The Committee approved the report and the items to be considered during the next two meetings.