Improving Education on the Isle of Wight John Clarke Deputy Director, Children’s Services Children’s Services DMT John Coughlan Director of Children’s Services Steve Crocker Deputy Director Children and Families Felicity Roe Assistant Director Access, Performance & Resources John Clarke Deputy Director Education and Inclusion The current situation • Early years declining • Primary results flat-lining below the national average • Some improvement in secondary schools but a long, long way to go -10 points below national • 1 in 6 children who would get what they need to become successful adults in Southampton, on the island, don’t. • Attendance is very poor in secondary schools Ofsted judgements as of June 2013 • 20% of schools nationally have been judged to be outstanding; 10% on the island • 3% of schools nationally have been judged to be inadequate; 15% on the island. • 78% of schools have been judged good or outstanding nationally; 64% on the island • Only an estimated 11% of secondary aged children attend a good school on the island. Underlying explanations • The manner of the reorganisation • Council not fulfilling its statutory responsibilities with sufficient vigour • Issues around geography, history and culture. Reorganisation • • • • • Insufficient consultation Poor communication Administrative failings Little attention to professional development Should 4 year olds be sitting in rows? Statutory Responsibities • Poor use of data and information • No accurate sense of schools’ performance • Little promotion of educational excellence and no identification of common issues • Inadequate work with poorly performing schools • Insufficient challenge • Reduced capacity Geography, history and culture • Too self referential • Little understanding of the idea that schools are there to make talented people - not to wait for children to show their talents. • Widespread belief that children have been doing OK – about what can be expected • “If things have gone awry, then it’s the reorganisation or the Council to blame” • A generally expressed view that ‘this is the island’ “It is the aspirations of the adults that are too low. There is insufficient press for achievement in the schools and some of them simply believe themselves to be better than they are. Benchmarks for what constitutes quality have been inaccurately calibrated.” Improving education on the island • There is a huge amount to do • We have to know how good each school is, what it needs to improve, convince it of that and provide the support and on-going challenge. • We have to develop the people to become a modern educational workforce, working together to achieve things they don’t yet understand are possible • We have to mobilise the island community to support the enterprise to improve the island’s education “The situation in most of the island’s schools requires urgent attention. It is not possible to approach improvement as though the island is in a steady – and acceptable – state that has occasional difficulties but is broadly effective. This is far from the case.” A two part development of strategy • Statement and plan from the DCS • Development of the island’s plan for the improvement of education • Working towards success criteria that are already set. Success criteria: September 2016 • 2% more children reaching a ‘good level of development’ at the end of their early years than across the country • 2% more children reaching the expected standard in reading, writing, maths at the age of 11 than across the country. • GCSE performance and attendance in secondary schools at the national average • The percentage of good and outstanding schools 2% higher than nationally. School improvement : institutions • 35% of schools require and will receive high levels of challenge and support • 43% require and will receive medium levels of support and challenge • 22% require limited support and these will be asked, in some cases, to help with the improvement of other schools. • For 2013-14 much, though not all, of this work will be funded by the IOW Council. Subsequently the burden of paying for their own improvement will largely, though not entirely, pass to schools. School improvement : Focus • What constitutes high quality schooling in 2013 • Higher expectations of children – and their teachers • Leadership to improve teaching and attainment • Development of systems for assessment, using data, tracking pupil progress, intervention if children are not keeping up • School improvement planning ‘Structural’ solutions for poorer schools • • • • Already two sponsored secondary academies 2 or 3 other secondary schools will need sponsors 4 primaries will probably require structural solutions Crucial to ensure that all schools, irrespective of status, work together on the island education enterprise. No islands within the island! • Relationships have to be built and sustained. Professional development • The great majority of the people who are going to improve education on the island are already here! • Seeking to add some fresh blood but can’t expect too much soon • Vast amount of professional development activity now available – through Hampshire, teaching schools etc. • Specific programmes for island headteachers (and governors) on the areas they need most – already begun . Governance • Capacity to challenge and support governing bodies considerably enhanced by the partnership • Particular programmes being put together for chairs of governors, new governors, clerks as well as bespoke training for individual governing bodies • Service level agreement for governors’ support now available for the island’s governing bodies. Attendance • Most school absence is related to illness, not holidays, but it is just as damaging. • Island-wide approach to attendance agreed and implemented by all schools • Support for schools in improving attendance • Work with partners – especially GPs – in common approach to school attendance • Appointment of further staff – fixed term contracts • Marketing new approaches with the island community Post-16 Provision • Inefficient and ineffective • Too many students travel off-island for post 16 study • Too few progress to Russell group universities • The powers of the Council in post-16 provision are almost non-existent • The challenge of leadership is to get the support of people who don’t have to follow Creating the space for improvement • Headteachers and chairs of governors need to pour their energy into improving teaching and raising standards in their schools • Large numbers of surplus places can be tackled when opportunities present themselves not by another proposed reorganisation • Service level agreements for everything a school might need will be available. • Headteachers will be held to account for standards – whatever purchasing decisions they take Wider Community • Improving education on the island is an island challenge not just a challenge for schools. • If you work for the council or simply live in the community it’s your challenge too. • Seeking mechanisms to involve the wider community, business community, other partners and the people themselves. • Most of the 138,000 island’s residents – and ALL parents - should know that there’s a massive project to improve education and they should know what they can do to help. “There is a sense of optimism on the island and a determination to do better. That needs to be built upon and lead to a commitment to improve – from the education community and the wider community – that goes far beyond a mere desire to improve. Adults will need to expect more of the children and more of each other. Children will need to expect more of themselves.” Key issues in relation to child protection, safeguarding and children in care Background • Social Care review throughout the summer • Not a ‘re-inspection’ but “How do we put this right?” • Assessing processes and systems • Testing what can be lifted and shifted from Hampshire and what is bespoke to the IsIand Current analysis • Current business processes are flawed • Evident by failure of front door to social care services for children • No process by which child can receive support under s17 of 1989 Children Act • Much ‘early help’ delivered by non-social care professionals Current analysis • There are many children receiving early help and many receiving specialist services but not much in between • Roughly 50/50 • From experience ratios more effective if; 25/40/35 (40% being Children in Need) Current analysis • Ensuring services are delivered for children in need means fewer of those children will ultimately need specialist services. • But unrealistic to expect non-social care professionals to deliver those services. Current analysis • • • • Backlog of assessments Cases ‘stuck’ in assessment Historic lack of data Lack of analysis of data that does exist Improvement Strategy • Front door to safeguarding to be delivered via Hantsdirect (4th November) • Own IoW number and calls will be differentiated from Hampshire calls • From Jan 2014 intended to introduce the multi-agency safeguarding hub Improvement Strategy • Considerable piece of work undertaken which proposes new robust structure for children’s social care • Creates teams for • • • • • Referrals and Assessments Children in Need (child protection) Children in Care Care Leavers Intensive Support Teams Improvement Strategy • More front line practitioners; Less managers • An end to the reclaiming social work model as currently implemented • Significant changes to the way services are structured • Service improvement not cuts; within the existing staffing budget Views of the partnership • Professionals have generally welcomed the contact thus far from Hampshire • Staff are though feeling somewhat ‘battered’ by the process Other partnerships • Children and Young People Partnership (Children’s Trust) re-established • IoW Safeguarding Children Board has new chair • Critical partnerships are beginning to show evidence of improvement Next steps • • • • • • • • Backlog of assessments cleared (end of October) New management structures (Oct 2013) Redesigned business processes (Nov 2013) Hantsdirect as Front Door in place (Nov 2013) Updated SWIFT system (Nov 2013) Consistent data set in place (Dec 2013) Redesigned Quality Assurance process (Dec 2013) Sensible ratio between early help/children in need/specialist services (March 2014) Children & Families Steve Crocker Deputy Director – Children and Families Steve Handforth Area Director Isle of Wight Steph How Service Manager IW Operations 2 CIN Teams CIC Team Referral and Assessment Team ISS Team Leaving Care Team Specialist Support Service Sara McWilliam Service Manager Quality, Improvement, Performance and Commissioning Commissioning Officer ICS Project and Implementation Officer Workforce Development Officer Business Information Officer Children’s Champion PLO Case Manager Business Support Manager Kathy Marriott Service Manager Early Help Children’s Centres Rob Winfield Service Manager Disabled Children’s Service Disabled Children’s Team CAF Amanda Sheen Service Manager Safeguarding Unit 4 CP/IROs LADO Beaulieu House Localities FIZ Short Break Team 18-25 Team Safeguarding Manager Admin Team Early Help Services