Agenda item

A report from the Corporate Director is attached providing the annual overview of pupil performance at the end of each key stage and comparing Wiltshire’s attainment with national, south west and statistical neighbours for all phases.

David Clarke, Interim Head of School Effectiveness, will attend to answer members questions.

David Clarke, Interim Head of School Effectiveness and Cllr Richard Gamble, Portfolio Holder for Schools, Skills and Youth were in attendance to discuss the Pupil Performance in Public Tests and Examinations 2013 report, which provided an overview of pupil performance at the end of each key stage and compared Wiltshire’s attainment with national, south west and statistical neighbours for all phases. Cllr Gamble outlined the report with particular focus on the headline performance as follows:

KS2 & 3 Performance

- On headline indicators both academies and voluntary aided schools have the highest levels of attainment and high levels of progress, however foundation schools do least well with lower attainment and progress measures.

KS4 Performance

- 5+A*-C (inc English and Maths) results rose by over 1%.  This was above all local and national comparator figures, however, there was a slight national decline on this indicator from 2012.

- Expected progress measures between KS2 and 4 improved by around 3%, putting Wiltshire in line with comparators in English and above in Maths.

KS5 Performance (age 18)

-  Although point score performance was not as high as in the past, outcomes are in the top quartile showing that performance remains at a high level.

The Committee also considered a late paper which outlined performance for the vulnerable group in KS4. The key details of the paper were as described as follows:

- A 3% fall in the number of students eligible for free schools meals who achieved 5+ A*-C at GCSE, compared with a 1.7% rise nationally.

- A 5.7% rise in the number of SEN students with a statement achieving 5+ A*-C at GCSE.

- A rise in performance of pupils with mixed race ethnicity and a 12.4% rise in the performance of students with black ethnicities. There was also a 4.6% fall in the performance of Asian students.

The Committee noted that the performance for Children in Care was not reported due to the small number of students, but that attention should still be given to the most deprived pupils as evidenced in  the performance of the pupils eligible for free schools meals. The Committee discussed the current approaches that are in place to support children who receive free school meals.

The Committee drew reference to the number of students who travel out of county for post 16 provision and stated that the date was therefore representative of Wiltshire Schools, and not necessarily Wiltshire children.

Questions were asked regarding statemented children and a disparity between KS3&4 performance. The Committee also discussed the number of maintained schools across the county and questioned if the data could be comparable with privately funded schools. It was clarified that many private schools take different qualifications, and do not participate in SAT’s, and so as a result, comparable data cannot be drawn.

Carolyn Godfrey also stated that the £13m provided to schools through the Pupil Premium to support disadvantaged students should be accountable, and questioned how this was being used to raise performance in these areas.

At the end of the discussion, the Committee commended the performance of Wiltshire Schools and pupils, and praised the achievements in light of the national funding challenges. It was;

Resolved:

1.     To note the Pupil Performance in Public Tests and Examinations 2013.

To request that future Pupil Performance reports include the numbers and percentages of students to provide more context, and contain a breakdown of performance for small schools.