Agenda item

Rani Dady (School Improvement Officer / Governance / Moderation Manager), and Iris Cerny, (Senior School Improvement Link), introduced the report detailing Hillingdon’s draft School Improvement Strategy for 2020-2023. It was confirmed that the proposed strategy had been updated to reflect new Schoosl Causing Concern guidance issued by central government, and had been designed to be school-led and collaborative in nature.

The Committee asked a number of questions, including:

Parents appeared to be absent from the consultees/stakeholders listed in the report. In addition, there did not appear to be any opportunities for whistle-blowers to liaise with the Council. Why was this?

The strategy set out working partnerships between the Council and the Borough’s schools. Schools were felt to be best placed to consult directly with their parents and could then notify the Council of any issues, if identified. Whistle-blowers would follow the Council’s complaints process.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

What was the budget available to the service? How many children were classed as Special needs, and how much did it cost to educate a non Special Needs child versus a Special Needs Child? How was value for money assessed?

Budget and costs could be shared following the meeting. However, it was recognised that there was a big difference when allocating resource for a Special needs child versus a non-Special Needs Child. Each case is looked at individually, and an assessment of need is undertaken, before any funding is allocated.

The report referenced the Strategic Partnership Board. Was this a new board, and what were its responsibilities? Were sufficient financial resources available for it to meet those responsibilities?

The Board had been in place since 2015, and was comprised of represntaions form schools, governors and the lcoal authority. The Board had also been responsible for the previous School-led Improvement Strategy. Though the Local Education Area Partnership (LEAP) had been in place for approximately a year, the Board would be responsible for driving and delivering the new strategy. Regarding finances, it was expected that the strategy would be delivered within current resources.

How effective was the previous strategy? How were children performing at key stages?

The forthcoming Standards and Quality in Education report would contain government-validated data that set out the effectiveness of the previous strategy and the subsequent attainment of the Borough’s children.

How was the Council working with schools who were facing challenges due to pupil demographics and other external issues?

Academy schools were liaised with through the Regional School’s Commissioner’s office, to understand the context they were working within and ensure any inspection was fairly taking into account said context. Maintained schools were also supported through the School Improvement Link officers, who worked with all schools across the three borough ‘patches’ – North, Central and South. Academy schools who were not engaging with the local authority would be approached through the office of the Regional School’s Commissioner.

Schools who were facing challenges due to the make up of their student body would be supported to always put the children first. Through the creation of development opportunities and other support mechanisms such as their own speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, parent support groups etc. The Civic Centre was central, to allow easy dialogue with colleagues across service areas as required.

Did the Council support schools where special needs children did not have Education and Healthcare Plans (EHCPs)?

The Council supported such schools in partnership with the SEN service, through observation to ensure quality of teaching, student performance tracking, etc. The Council often sought reassurances on how the schools were challenging their most able students, or how they were meeting the needs of the children who required additional support, and would hold the schools to account should the feedback not be satisfactory.

Support would be provided, should a school advise the Council that it was struggling to cope. 

Did the Council have sufficient resourcing within the school improvement team? If extra resources were made available, where should these be allocated?

The team was resourced appropriately in order to meet its objectives. If extra resources were made available, these would be used to grow LEAP, further strengthening partnership working and supporting schools that were at risk of decline. It was important to ensure that all resources were used effectively.

How was the Council learning from alternative schools and other education providers, e.g. for those pupils who had been or were at risk of permanent exclusion?

Intelligence collected from the Admissions Service and a variety of schools was used to signpost schools to those that were performing well. Some excellent work was being carried out at schools that had specialist units attached, which was available as a resource that could be shared. For example, the success of autism units was recognised as a valuable source of sharable learnings.

How was the Council obtaining and measuring feedback from schools to the proposed strategy?

The strategy has been developed with schools, and through the LEAP and the Schools Strategic Partnership Board (SSPB), with further consultation to take place in order to obtain and incorporate feedback before being finalised. The SSPB had wide representation from primary, secondary and special schools, as well as the governing body, which allowed for engagement with all stakeholders to enable true partnership working within the strategy.

RESOLVED: 

1.    That the report be noted;

2.    That detail on the service budget, costs for providing education to Special Needs and non-Special Needs pupils, and the relevant SEN value for money assessment be provided to the Committee following the meeting.