Agenda item

[Alex Jones, Assistant Director of Education (School Standards), to present report on City’s current position with regard to Ofsted outcomes, end of key stage outcomes, partnership working and next steps.]

Julien Kramer, Director of Education, introduced the report and highlighted the improvements in educational performance. The panel welcomed the positive messages about the progress made since the previous report was presented.

The panel queried the reason for not including a reference to the performance of local Pupil Referral Units (PRU). The Director of Education commented that the annual report provides a summary of overall educational performance. The performance of PRUs is monitored by the Council and Ofsted.

Alex Jones, Assistant Director – School Standards, agreed to present a report on the performance of the PRU element of this service to a future meeting of the panel. The report will be jointly prepared with the Head of Service Early Help.

The panel suggested that a future report showing the performance ranking in league tables should include a date of all Local Authority schools. The panel suggested that the annual report should also include a table to show trend in performance.

The Director of Education accepted the suggestion and agreed to include the change in the next annual report.

The panel welcomed the increase to 78 per cent of primary schools and 81 per cent of secondary schools in Wolverhampton rated by Ofsted as good or outstanding. The Assistant Director commented on planned changes in the assessment criteria and the need to continue efforts to build on achievements.

The Assistant Director noted that the Council monitors the performance of maintained schools and uses intelligence from different sources to decide the level of support needed. The Assistant Director explained that schools are allocated a local authority category which will determine the level of support provided.

The Director of Education commented on the improving picture detailed in the report and the work done with schools to strengthen partnership working arrangements.

The panel commented on the quality of the post 16 education offer in Wolverhampton. The Director of Education responded that the quality of the offer is improving. The panel discussed the importance of providing children with special educational needs a wider choice of educational options and providing information on options. The Director of Education explained that the Council has a statutory duty to support children with special needs. The Director of Education explained that a systematic audit of the post 16 service provision in Wolverhampton is being completed.

The Director of Education agreed to bring a report on post 16 support for children with special educational needs to a future meeting of the panel.

Cllr Claire Darke, Cabinet Member for Education, thanked the panel for the comments on the annual report and welcomed the progress made and work done to support the improvements.

Resolved

1.    Assistant Director – School Standards and Head of Service Early Help to present report on the performance of pupil referral units in Wolverhampton to a future meeting.

2.    Assistant Director – School Standards agreed to include suggested changes to the presentation of school league table performance in 2017 annual report.

3.    Director of Education to present future report to panel on post 16 educational provision with a specific section on support offered to young people with special educational needs.