To brief scrutiny members on a number of areas of work within Children’s Services and to invite questions and debate around these key areas which are attendance, attainment, behaviour, exclusions and drugs education.

The Committee received a briefing on a number of key areas of work within Children’s Services and debated issues around the key areas of attendance, attainment, behaviour, exclusions and drug education.

Attendance

The Head of Children’s & Student’s Services reported that Children’s Services continued to work closely with schools to reduce truancy rates which locally continued to be below the national average.  The Service embraced the Government’s ‘Penalty Notice’ initiative as an alternative to prosecuting parents/carers.  Herefordshire was one of the leading authorities using the initiative.  During the 2004/05 academic year 204 Penalty Notice Warnings had been issued resulting in 43 full Penalty Notices.  ‘Truancy sweeps’ continued to be carried out, however, the majority of young people stopped had legitimate reasons for being out of school.

The Committee noted that contact was made with the parent/guardian after 10 unauthorised absences and that, depending on circumstances, a Penalty Notice Warning may be issued after 20 unauthorised absences.  Appropriate support was offered to the parent in an attempt to resolve the situation.  The Committee felt that unfortunately there was still a minority of parents who didn’t value education and for whom court action wouldn’t make a difference.  The Committee appreciated that despite the best efforts of the parents some pupils were still absent during the day.  It was further noted that despite headteachers actively discouraging holiday absences during term time a number of such absences still occurred.

Attainment

The Head of School Effectiveness presented the provisional 2005 results for Herefordshire the details of which were set out in the report.  He highlighted that past experience indicated that, due to re-marking of exam papers etc, the 2005 figures may be revised upwards by between 1% and 2%.  He commented that in general, it looked like a ‘steady’ performance rather than one marked by very significant gains.  The English performance at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 was good but it was disappointing that the mathematics results at level 4 (Key Stage 2) had not improved.  In addition, the 5A*-C figure at GCSE had apparently plateaued for a second year, although some individual schools had done well.

The Committee noted that the Service was working on getting an improvement in mathematics.  However, at KS2 the two stumbling blocks seemed to be that the level of parental assistance/involvement declined and that some pupils had difficulties adjusting to the more complex use of mathematics.

The New Ofsted Inspection System for Schools

The Head of School Effectiveness reported that from September 2005 a new school inspection system was being introduced whereby every school would be inspected every three years.  The new system would mean that schools would receive no more than one week’s notice of inspection; there would be fewer inspectors, who would be in school for no more than 2 days, and schools must have an up-to-date self-evaluation form, together with appropriate performance data.  A school’s overall effectiveness and efficiency would be graded either: Outstanding; Good; Satisfactory or Inadequate.  While outcomes could not be guaranteed, the Council had high expectations that no school should be graded inadequate.

The Committee noted that teachers had received training on the wide range of data available to schools to help identify trends and improve performance.   It was suggested that a seminar for the Committee and other members of the Council be arranged to explain the range of data and its uses.

Behaviour Support

The Head of Children’s & Student’s Services reported upon the range of initiatives and support available to schools and parents, as set out in the report, who had to deal with children who presented unacceptable behaviour.  Good links were maintained with other agencies, highlighted by the current Behaviour Support Plan, which was regularly monitored by the Behaviour Forum.  Evidence of improvement in behaviour in schools generally was reflected in the gradual but steady decrease in permanent exclusions from 35 in the academic year 01-02, to 29 in 04-05.

The Committee debated issues or questions relating to: an alleged lack of parental involvement during pupil counselling; whether Government pressure on schools to reduce the number of pupil exclusions had resulted in the apparent reduced numbers; whether data was collected on instances of abuse directed towards teaching staff; while there had been no shortage of places at PRUs there had been pressure on the system due to staff shortages and what input the Youth Service could make on the issue.

The Head of School Effectiveness reported that a national report on pupil behaviour was expected later in the year and suggested that, in view of the range of issues involved the Committee may wish to discuss the subject further in a workshop setting.

Social Inclusion

The Manager of Pupil, School and Parent Support reported that in most cases exclusion from school would be the last resort after a range of measures had been tried to improve pupils’ behaviour.  The report outlined the measures available to headteachers; the services available and the number of permanent exclusions over the last 6 years.

Drug education in schools

The Manager of Pupil, School and Parent Support reported that Herefordshire had demonstrated its commitment to this important area of work in local schools by appointing a specialist Drugs Education Development Officer, who offered advice, guidance and support to schools, worked with various agencies and had been the key officer for developing local resources for schools as indicated in the report.  In line with the latest research the Directorate took the approach of harm reduction rather than the less effective ‘Just Say No’ campaigns. In schools the Directorate encouraged lessons that were teacher led and focused on making decisions about personal risk and whether or not students understood all the consequences of their actions concerning particular drugs or substances.

The Committee noted a suggested link between drug use, particularly skunk, and the increase in mental health problems, particularly in younger people.  It was also noted that a new package of training was available for KS1 pupils.  The Committee were informed that while drug education was taken very seriously in schools the take up of resources was not always good due to the wide range of pressures already on schools.  The Committee noted a comment that new teachers from teacher training colleges seemed to be inadequately trained in drug education issues.  It was appreciated that a range of measures were needed to tackle the drug problem.  Unfortunately some parents still had a very casual attitude towards alcohol and drugs.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted and the following member events be arranged:

·                     A seminar to explain the range of data available to schools and its use in improving school performance.

·                     A workshop on the range of issues concerning pupil behaviour in schools.