Decision details

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet note the key findings set out in the report.

Reasons for decision

Cabinet was provided with an overview of the standards and quality of education across Hillingdon schools and settings for Hillingdon’s children, young people and adults and noted the comments from the Select Committee.

The Cabinet Member for Families, Education and Wellbeing informed Cabinet that the report would usually focuses on academic achievement for the preceding academic year, however, due to the changes of statutory school tests and examinations during the Covid-19 pandemic, there was limited new data available so the report provided the last published data with an updated context.

It was noted that the Borough’s Early Years establishments remain all good or better as judged by Ofsted. For primary schools, it was noted that a priority was to make use of catch-up funding and targeted support. At secondary school level, the Cabinet Member explained changing in grading during the pandemic, which had led to results for GCSEs and A-Levels higher than the usual expectations and not comparable to previous years.

The Cabinet Member welcomed that Hillingdon was the top borough in West London for allocating school places for first choice preferences.

The Leader of the Council commented how high-quality schools were essential part of any successful Borough and welcomed the investment over many years in providing sufficient numbers of school places.

Alternative options considered and rejected

None.