Agenda item

(To receive a report from Matt Spoors, Head of Service – Children’s Education, which updates the Committee on standards within the sector led system and the recovery response following the Covid-19 pandemic)

Consideration was given to a report by the Head of Service for School Standards on standards within the sector led system and the recovery response following the Covid-19 pandemic. The following was reported:

·       Scheduled Ofsted inspections in early years and childcare providers were cancelled at the start of the pandemic and routine inspections did not take place although regulatory work continued.

·       Ofsted carried out ‘interim visits’ to early years and childcare providers from 28 September to 21 December 2020.

·       Ofsted resumed their routine inspections in April 2021.

·       Early Years and Childcare team re-focussed their support for early years and childcare providers based on recovery following the easing of pandemic public health measures. The team also provided a universal offer of support for all early years providers.

·       Throughout the pandemic the county’s 48 children’s centres had been maintained and prioritised antenatal visits. Children’s Centres were now operating at pre-pandemic levels.

·       Statutory testing of pupils had been paused throughout the pandemic, and data pertaining to test scores was that which had been previously cited – reflecting 2019 performance.

·       Ofsted had judged 84.1% of Lincolnshire Schools to be good or better , as of December 2021 – an increase from the 83.9% which was published in the report, as at November 2021. Statistical neighbours had dropped in this period to 83.9%.

·       Boston Borough and the City of Lincoln were the lowest performing districts in Lincolnshire; North Kesteven and South Kesteven were the pest performing; and the most improved districts were South Holland and East Lindsey.

·       The Teaching School Hub, in Lincoln, replaced the seven Teaching Schools across the county.

·       The Lincolnshire Learning Partnership Board was responsible for driving sector led improvements in Lincolnshire’s schools.

·       Lincolnshire had been identified as an education investment area by the Government’s Levelling-Up White Paper.

·       The Education White Paper was due to be published soon, which may allow local authorities to establish their own education trusts.

In response to questions raised by the Committee, the following points were confirmed:

·       Support was in place to help parents access English as an additional language for children in early years settings. The contract was currently being reviewed and a report detailing its commissioning was due to come before the Committee later in the year.

·       The Council was focused on SEND capacity to meet needs early and allocate resources effectively. SEND performance was higher than the national average but work was underway to meet capacity and resourcing issues. A report on the High Needs Transformation Programme had been brought to the Committee previously and was due to come before the Committee later in the year.

·       A report detailing an analysis of educational attainment for the different categories of SEND in different school settings could be brought to the Committee at a future meeting.

·       Schools’ curriculum and pathways were being reviewed to help close the gap between male and female performance in school, which included a review of apprenticeship provision and vocational education.

·       A report on education investment areas was scheduled for the July meeting.

·       Members discussed that the recruitment and retention of teaching staff were important factors in educational performance. However, data was difficult to quantify as it was reliant upon anecdotal accounts.

Members were concerned that support for English as an additional language was not effective in Lincoln and Boston and welcomed the opportunity to scrutinise the review of the contract. Members discussed that deprivation and health were also important factors in educational performance and recognised that data may be masked by the county’s selective grammar school system.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee reviewed the report and was satisfied with the recovery response and actions being undertaken following the Covid-19 pandemic.