Statement from the Director of Children’s Services for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

Improving education on the Isle of Wight

Statement from the Director of Children’s Services for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

October 2013

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APPENDIX

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Statement from the Director of Children’s Services for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight October 2013 Contents Background and introduction 3 The current situation (as at September 2013) 3 The underlying explanations for current performance 4 School improvement strategy - overview 7 School improvement strategy – individual institutions within the maintained sector 8

School improvement strategy – inadequate schools becoming sponsored academies 10 School improvement strategy – professional development 12 School improvement strategy – governance 13 School improvement strategy – attendance 14 Post 16 Provision 15 Creating the space for rapid improvement 15 Wider partnerships and school improvement 16 Conclusion 17 Appendix 1: Ofsted letter following its inspection of the Local

Authority’s arrangements for school improvement Appendix 2: Detailed action plan to address issues identified by Ofsted

in its inspection of the arrangements for school improvement

Appendix 3: Action plan to address improvements in outcomes in the early years

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Appendix 4a: Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College – Offer for schools subscribing to the Isle of Wight schools

learning and development package Appendix 4b: Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College – Subscription offer to the Isle of Wight Council Appendix 5: Supporting school improvement: Improving Governance.

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1 Background and introduction

1.1 Ofsted inspected the Isle of Wight’s arrangements for safeguarding towards the end of 2012. They were judged to be inadequate. Further inspections by Ofsted and analysis by the Department for Education (DfE) revealed that the school system on the island was significantly underperforming. GCSE results in 2012 were in the region of fifteen percentage points below the national average; Key Stage 2 results were poor and children failed to make adequate progress through that key stage. Exclusions from school in the secondary sector were high and school attendance in that sector by far the worst in the country. The most recent figures from Ofsted, as of June 2013, show that the island has half the proportion of outstanding schools as in England as a whole and five times the proportion of schools that are inadequate.

1.2 It was against this background that the DfE issued a direction to the Isle of Wight Council to enter into a strategic partnership with Hampshire County Council so that the latter’s Children’s Services department could take over the running of the services that, statutorily, are the responsibility of the Director of Children’s Services under the 2004 Act – children’s social care and education.

1.3 That direction included a request for a statement setting out the Director of Children’s Services’ view of the current state of the island’s maintained schools and the strategies that will be employed to improve them and the work being done to support schools that need to become sponsored academies. This is that statement, but it also sets out how the many deficiencies identified in July by Ofsted through its inspection of the Isle of Wight Council’s school improvement service will be addressed and that service improved. The letter following that inspection appears at Appendix 1 and the detailed action that will be taken appear at Appendix 2.

2 The current situation (as at September 2013)

2.1 Outcomes at the end of early years are below national averages and the performance of more vulnerable children is poor. However, Ofsted inspections of early years’ settings are generally more positive.

2.2 Key Stage 2 results in reading, writing and mathematics, taken together, remained at 71% in 2013 – among the poorer performing authorities but some way from being the worst.

2.3 The progress made by children during the four years from the end of Key Stage 1 until the end of Key Stage 2 is still likely to appear to be poor in 2013. This is widely attributed – and probably correctly – to an historical inflation of Key Stage 1 scores on the island and this makes it difficult to secure good progress through Key Stage 2

2.4 Currently, there are four primary schools that are judged to be inadequate and there may be more to come. Ofsted gave the island’s

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system some time to adjust to the new primary/secondary organisation that replaced the previous middle school system and some primary schools have not been inspected in their new form.

2.5 Discussions with the DfE have been initiated for all four of the inadequate primary schools around sponsored academy status.

2.6 Some improvement in headline GCSE results has been seen in all but one of the secondary schools in 2013 (although results are not yet validated). No secondary school is below the government’s ‘floor standards’ of 40% 5 A*-C GCSEs including English and mathematics. However, the results for the island’s 16 year olds are still likely to be in the region of 10 percentage points below the national average for 2013. Exclusions remain high in the island’s secondary schools and attendance poor. There was some reduction in the number of young people who were persistently absent in 2012-13 but the percentage absence overall was almost as weak as last year when it was by far the worst in the country.

2.7 All six secondary schools have now been inspected. Three of them are in special measures, one has serious weaknesses, one requires improvement and one is good. Only an estimated 11% of the island’s secondary aged children currently attend a good school. Generally, however, monitoring visits by Ofsted are testament to an improving picture in most of the schools.

2.8 Two of the six secondary schools are sponsored academies and new arrangements involving an executive headteacher over both schools have been put in place by the sponsoring trust. Three are in the process of negotiation to become sponsored academies and the Local Authority is involved in those discussions.

2.9 In summary, despite some improvement in 2013, the quality of the island’s schools taken together lags a long way behind the standard achieved in most of the rest of the country. A major and concerted effort is needed to bring educational outcomes to, and beyond, the national average.

3 The underlying explanations for current performance

3.1 The partnership between the Isle of Wight Council and Hampshire County Council began on 1 July 2013 although some preliminary work took place before then. There have been extensive discussions with elected members, existing Local Authority staff, headteachers both in their schools and at three island-wide conferences, chairs of governors, teacher unions and several conversations with Ofsted and the DfE. All of these and the letter to the island’s council following Ofsted’s inspection of its school improvement service have informed this analysis of why things are as they are. There are some clear hypotheses that will become more nuanced as more work is done.

3.2 There is no one event, policy, person or action that has led to the current situation. It has come about through a combination of

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separate but often inter-related factors, some in the recent past and some that are part of history, culture and geography.

3.3 There is a view on the island that many of the current ills can be attributed to the relatively recent re-organisation of the school system. Middle schools were removed and replaced with a 4-11, 11-18 system. The reorganisation was not well done. There were several administrative failings in relation to the new arrangements and the professional development for staff, including headteachers, being asked to work with unfamiliar year groups was not forthcoming. A large number of surplus places remained within the system creating inefficiency in the use of the resources. The work of schools was disrupted, particularly in the year 2011-2012, and this is, to a degree, represented in the GCSE results of 2012. The improvement in 2013, then, takes GCSE performance close to where it had been in 2011, not to heights that have never been achieved before.

3.4 The way in which the school system was reorganised inflicted temporary damage on outcomes for children and young people but this is not the only, or most serious, factor that has produced the current situation. The Local Authority made other mistakes that were far more damaging in their potential consequences. Simply, it failed in a number of statutory duties vis a vis schools. It had insufficient regard for the responsibilities set out in the 2006 Education Act and the statutory guidance on the role of the Lead Member for Children’s Services and the Director of Children’s Services of 2005 and 2009. It also missed the reiteration of those duties by Sir Michael Wilshaw in his speech to the North of England Conference in 2012.

3.5 The Authority took neither rapid nor decisive action in relation to poorly performing schools. In fact, its use of data and information was so poor that it had no accurate sense of which schools were performing poorly, or well, and in what ways. It failed to develop robust school improvement strategies, leaving itself, and others, without direction and leaving schools broadly to their own devices. This lack of focus for the work of the whole system allowed those without authority to fill the space, putting forward solutions and schemes that frequently lacked coherence and aimed at different goals. Rather than seeking to lead schools forward towards educational excellence on behalf of the island’s community the Authority used schools’ growing self management, indeed autonomy, as a chance to cut them adrift. It reduced its capacity to such an extent that it was no longer possible to offer leadership, challenge, support and intervention where that was necessary and although the few staff left worked very hard to fill the void, there is little evidence of concerted action by the Authority, across the island, to tackle problems common to a number of schools, little evidence of the kind of school to school collaboration that leads to higher standards and scant evidence that the Authority involved the school community often enough in the decisions it took. Neither headteachers nor governors were properly supported. In short, many of the island’s schools felt

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abandoned. Some primary headteachers, in particular, were deflected from their work in overseeing teaching and learning because they had to spend their time procuring support services, only tangentially related to their core purpose, with little guidance from the Authority.

3.6 It would be wrong to assume that these recent events taken together explain all the ills that afflict the island’s school system. There are more deep-seated reasons around culture, beliefs, expectations and insularity that are at play. The system has been heavily self-referential with insufficient regard paid to what happens across the country or in the areas of statistical neighbours. It has seemed enough for a school to consider itself the best in its area and scant attention has been given to the fact that across the country the school might well be closer to the bottom than the top.

3.7 There are major issues around aspirations and expectations. Although there have been some suggestions that the island’s children and young people have low aspirations a recent Children’s Society survey has shown that this not the case. It is those of many of the adults that are too low. There is insufficient press for achievement and visits to all the maintained schools by school improvement professionals since September 2013 reveal that some of them simply believe themselves to be better than they are. Benchmarks for what constitutes high quality have been inaccurately calibrated.

3.8 There are serious issues around school leadership and the quality of teaching - and there is clearly a relationship between the two. A relatively large number of Ofsted inspections report insufficient attention by leaders, and governors, to improving the quality of the classroom experience for children and even in the good schools there is too little outstanding teaching. The systems to support high levels of challenge and the quality of teaching are not in place in many schools. Performance management is weak; the tracking of children’s progress is, at best, at an early stage of development in many of the schools; approaches to evaluation are immature and there is little evidence of quality in school improvement planning.

3.9 The island’s teaching force is unusually static. Most teachers develop their careers within the same school or by moving to another on the island. Some move from the mainland to the island to work but this is relatively rare. Of the eight schools that appointed new headteachers to take up their posts in September 2013, only one was not from the island. This need not, of itself, present a problem. Good quality leaders and teachers can work on the island just as they can anywhere else. The problem is rather concerned with the professional development of headteachers, staff – and governors. This has not happened with sufficient regularity or quality and it has not been sufficiently sharp to impact positively on outcomes for children and young people.

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4 School improvement strategy - overview

4.1 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.

4.2 It needs an infusion of people to energise the system, articulate a statement of what constitutes quality, establish sharply focused improvement programmes in individual schools, institute and implement an island-wide professional development programme and make such engagements with partners and the wider island community that will service the interests of improving the outcomes for children and young people.

4.3 Key to improvement will be a growing belief on the island that the school system can be improved and that children and young people can do better. Hampshire Children’s Services can help that to happen but the real work and commitment will be needed from the people already there.

4.4 For that reason, this school improvement strategy should be seen as the first step, the first indication of what work is needed. Through the autumn of 2013 and the early part of 2014 it will be important to do further work, based on this plan, to produce the island community’s vision and strategy for education, bold statements and detailed actions for what the island will do for itself and its children. Schools will need to identify what their individual contributions will be towards improving the whole system, raising standards sufficiently and meeting the criteria that will constitute success.

4.5 Those criteria have been developed for a three-year period, for September 2016, though there are milestones along the way. They are based on the aspirations of elected members on behalf of the island community. Improved outcomes for children and young people always lag behind the process improvements so the bulk of the numerical improvement is envisaged for the second and third years and only modest changes to results in September 2014. The details are set out at the beginning of Appendix 2 but the headlines are below.

4.6 The percentage of children attaining a good level of development in the early years will be two points above the national average by September 2016.

4.7 Performance at the end of Key Stage 2 at level 4 for reading, writing and mathematics, taken together will be two percentage points above the national average by September 2016.

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4.8 Performance at the end of Key Stage 2 for level 5 for reading, writing and mathematics taken together will be 1 percentage point above the national average by September 2016.

4.9 Performance at the end of Key Stage 4, 5A*-C GCSE including English and maths, will be at the national average by September 2016.

4.10 The gap between days lost in absence on the island and nationally, and the incidence of persistent absence, will be halved by September 2015 and removed altogether by September 2016.

4.11 During the whole three-year period all schools judged to be inadequate will be out of that category within the national timescale, all Local Authority statements of action will be fit for purpose and all Ofsted monitoring visits to inadequate schools will report reasonable progress.

4.12 By September 2016 the proportion of island schools, including academies, judged good or outstanding will outstrip the national average by 2 percentage points.

4.13 All these success criteria represent a significant improvement on the current position but there is a huge willingness to work for better outcomes from the school system across the island. School leaders and chairs of governors are well aware of the issues. Few people were surprised by the letter that followed the inspection of the Council’s school improvement service – not staff in schools, the Council’s staff or the elected members – and all are now committed to taking the action that is needed. In particular, initial conversations with the headteacher community indicate a genuine willingness to bring about positive change and a desire to transform the quality of education being offered across the island. If this energy and goodwill can be harnessed and sustained and if it can lead to concerted action, avoiding ‘noises off’, there is the promise of success. The prize is moving the island’s system from one of the worst in the country to one of the best and thus ensuring a better-educated population for the future.

5 School improvement – individual institutions within the maintained sector

5.1 While some early years’ work is of good quality, outcomes for children at the end of that stage are not good enough. Actions have been planned to address this and the action plan appears at Appendix 3.

5.2 The Ofsted inspection of the Local Authority’s school improvement work conducted between 10 June and 14 June 2013 was highly critical of the challenge offered to individual schools, the monitoring of their progress and the support available to them. It came to the

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judgement that the Authority did not know its schools well enough, how good or bad they were and in what ways and did not know in which direction they were going. There was, as well, insufficient capacity to offer, or broker, the sort of support to which schools should be entitled. This needs to be put right urgently.

5.3 Maintained schools received an initial visit from their Leadership and Learning Partner during July 2013 and this has been followed in September 2013 by a more formal visit that sought to establish a baseline in terms of the current position of the school and also to determine the level of support each requires, and the nature of that support. The visit is preceded by analysis of the school’s data and followed by a written report. Leadership and Learning Partners are school improvement professionals, many with long experience in that field, and some who are highly effective serving headteachers who have received additional training. This work has been offered free of charge to maintained schools but some academies that hold the funding for this service have elected to pay for it.

5.4 Of the schools visited 29% have been judged to need high support, 35% if schools with large deficits are included but are sound in terms of quality, 43% medium support and 22% low support. Schools that require low support may have issues to address but they are showing all the signs of being able to do that with limited guidance from outside. This is where the Authority would like all schools to be as quickly as possible. It wants to avoid a dependency culture and all the support that will be provided is focused on helping schools to become, and remain, effective under their own steam.

5.5 The visits have confirmed that there is a higher proportion of schools on the island that require support than there would be in other places but also that schools are, in the very vast majority of cases open to that support and, also, to the challenge that accompanies it. The main themes emerging where development is needed – though these are far from present as issues in every school – are:

What constitutes high quality in a 21st century school

Expectations of what children can achieve

Developing leadership capacity at all levels including governance

Quality of teaching

Analysis of pupil focused data

Use of pupil focused data

Tracking pupil progress

Intervention if children are failing to keep up

Improvement focused classroom observation

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Improvement focused work scrutiny

School improvement planning.

5.6 Some schools are already financially committed to their current providers for services. For this financial year, 2013-14 maintained schools will subsidise the support being provided, in most cases. For future years, however, there is an expectation that they will need to pay for it. Only the core LLP programme will be funded by the Isle of Wight Council and that only for maintained schools. Academies are free to purchase it. .

5.7 Although 15% of the island’s schools are currently judged by Ofsted to be inadequate, there are more that are at risk of becoming inadequate. Discussions are currently taking place about those and the use of formal powers is being considered at the same time. Formal powers will not be used as a first resort but they will be used if the judgement is made that they provide the speediest route to improvement.

6 School improvement strategy – inadequate schools becoming sponsored academies

6.1 All the schools on the island need to see themselves as part of the same system, improving together with none left behind. All educational leaders on the island need to see themselves as responsible together for the improvement of the whole system. It will not be enough for some parts to improve and others to stay the same or go backwards and it would not be healthy for the system for schools to see themselves as islands within an island. The relationships that the Authority has with academy sponsors and their schools have to be positive and have to be forged to drive system-wide improvement together. This is not always easy. Academy ‘chains’ have their own ways of doing things but these difficulties will need to be overcome through negotiation, centred always on what is best for the island’s children.

6.2 A good start has been made. The new school improvement team has been in discussion with the existing sponsors operating on the island and with potential new sponsors. There has been no resistance to working together and with some sponsors there has been an enthusiastic desire to be fully part of the whole system on the island. Information is being shared and discussions of strategies for improvement at individual school level are taking place.

6.3 There are regular meetings between the school improvement team, Ofsted and the Department for Education and these, too, have been helpful in coming to common understandings about what is needed. A position has been developed that recognises that while academies are autonomous and responsible for their own decisions, they educate the island’s children for whom the Director of Children’s Services and the Executive Lead Member also have responsibility.

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Some responsibilities and accountabilities are shared and it therefore makes sense to work together, not apart.

6.4 The Authority is working productively with the DfE broker and with other DfE officials to consider sponsored academy status for the four inadequate primary schools and two inadequate secondary schools that are not already sponsored. It is seeking, specifically, sponsors with a good track record in school improvement and in playing their full part within the local educational community. The Authority recognises the additional capacity that sponsoring trusts can bring and is eager to tap that capacity for what it can bring to the rest of the system on the island.

6.5 There are, however, particular pinch points in the relationship with academies and there will be more in the future. The attendance of children and young people, for example, needs to be improved across the island. In secondary schools it continues to be the worst in the country and it is also getting worse in primary schools. A common approach across the island, agreed and adhered to by all schools and supported by the Authority, is essential as a first stage in its improvement. The early signs are that it will be possible to negotiate such an approach because even though academies, in particular, do not have to enter into such arrangements, it clearly makes sense to them for them to do so.

6.6 Each school also has its own way of analysing and using its data. The Authority intends to share data more openly across the system in both the primary and secondary systems. The purpose is to identify island-wide strengths and weaknesses that are clear to all and to benchmark the attainment of the island’s children against those within the areas of statistical neighbours and across the country. All the data are already in the public domain but they are not currently shared. Although academy chains have their own processes and systems for handling and using data there is evidence that the sponsored academies on the island would nevertheless wish to be part of these data ‘clubs’ and contribute to the discussion around improvement strategies.

6.7 The school improvement team is ‘status blind’. The focus of its work is the impact of schooling on improving outcomes for children and developing successful adults. The status of the school, in that context, is somewhat irrelevant. The question is not ‘is it an academy?’ or ‘who sponsors it?’ but rather ‘how good is it?’, ‘how could it be better?’, ‘how can we share the good practice it has’ or ‘what can we do to help?’

6.8 When the large majority of the secondary schools on the island are sponsored academies and have the resource for school improvement that the Authority currently has for them, consideration will need to be given to finding the resource to maintain the partnership working.

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7 School improvement strategy – professional development

7.1 Considerable professional development will take place through the relationship between each Leadership and Learning Partner and headteachers and chairs of governors. In addition to the forensic analysis of schools’ strengths and weaknesses, the report writing and the brokering of support for areas that need work, the LLP is also charged with ‘adding value to schools thinking’ in particular in relation to the quality of teaching and the various processes leaders should have in place to make sure it is as good as it possibly can be. Additional capacity is being added to the LLP resource by involving effective headteachers on the island in the improvement of other island schools.

7.2 There will be professional development activity to support improved standards and progress in English and mathematics. Some of this will be free to schools. The details are being developed with individual schools.

7.3 The whole of the Hampshire professional development offer, through the Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College will be open to staff on the island on the same terms as for Hampshire heads, teachers, and non-teachers. The agreements and offers appear at Appendix 5a and 5b to show the work already done to make a much larger CPD offer available to the island’s schools and as an example of the way in which other services will be available too. This offer includes a substantial programme in leadership and management development and training, including programmes for new headteachers, existing headteachers, aspiring leaders and middle leaders and a wide variety of subject based development.

7.4 Isle of Wight headteachers are already taking part in the New Headteachers’ Induction Programme with colleagues on the mainland; Newly Qualified Teachers on the island are participating in the NQT programme and island governors in training alongside Hampshire governors. This participation is likely to grow and help considerably with the cross fertilisation of ideas and in breaking down a sense of isolation that the island’s staff and governors have sometimes felt.

7.5 A particular professional development programme for headteachers and chairs of governors will be launched in October 2013. It has been designed around the main themes identified during the school visits. All the activity and input into that programme will focus on ‘how to create and sustain a coherent whole-school system that delivers high achievement for all’. It will be delivered by Hampshire staff, teaching school colleagues, Ofsted colleagues, National and Local Leaders in education and will contain case studies of the most outstanding schools on the mainland – not just in Hampshire.

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7.6 It will offer practical solutions to issues evident in many of the island’s schools in the search for more of them to become good. It will focus on:

how to monitor and evaluate school performance and the progress of children;

how to triangulate the evidence;

how to build intelligent accountability into the school, exposing the variations in the outcomes for different groups of pupils;

how to undertake sharply focused reviews of pupils’ work;

how to secure capacity through layers of leadership;

how to manage performance and tackle underperformance;

how to bring all this together in one system.

7.7 This will begin with one full-day session and then sub-groups will be formed to work on particular aspects in more depth.

7.8 Some facilitated time at the end of the full day’s session will be provided to co-construct the CPD programme for the next year to support rapid improvement within and across institutions.

7.9 Although the central strategy will be to improve the quality of teaching of teachers already on the island thought will be given to different ways to increase teacher supply. In particular the Authority has begun to negotiate with those involved in national initiatives such as Teach First and SCITT.

8 School improvement strategy – governance

8.1 The island has had little capacity to support governing bodies until the beginning of the partnership with Hampshire. That capacity now exists and will be used to develop systems and processes so that the Authority has sufficient intelligence to support and challenge governance.

8.2 That intelligence will be used to inform decisions about which governing bodies to work with intensively and to identify any governors who may wish to work to support other schools.

8.3 The training offer to support the induction of new governors, chairs of governors in their role of leading the governing body and individual governors in effective governance will be improved and made more relevant to the island’s needs.

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8.4 The training and development of clerks to governing bodies will be improved, consistent with the offer already available to clerks in Hampshire, Somerset and Bath. Access will be provided to the management information package, Governor Manager.

8.5 The Service Level Agreement currently available to Hampshire schools, and taken up by schools in other areas, will be available of the same basis to schools on the island.

8.6 More comprehensive plans setting out the actions to be taken to support and improvement governance appear at Appendix 6.

9 School improvement strategy - attendance

9.1 Compared with the rest of England school attendance is very poor and all the research evidence shows that, on average, the poorer the attendance the worse the attainment. Only 3% of young people who miss half their schooling achieve 5 A*- Cs GCSE including English and mathematics whereas 75% of them who attend for at least 95% of the time attain 5 A*-Cs. Children and young people who have a large amount of absence risk their futures. Improving school attendance is one of the island’s highest priorities.

9.2 Particular activities to address poor attendance have already been planned and are being carried out. They include:

Work to produce a common approach to school absence across the community of the island’s schools, which is agreed by all and implemented consistently by all.

Work with parents and the wider community on the importance of good school attendance

The appointment of additional Local Authority staff (on fixed term contracts) to work with schools and families on tackling persistent absence

The establishment of a three tiered approach ranging from termly discussions where attendance is good through to intensive intervention where it is a serious cause for concern.

The development of better strategies to avoid exclusions from school.

Greater synergy between improving school attendance and the troubled families programme

Training for schools beginning on 24 October 2013

A bid to the Education Endowment Fund to support an island-wide project relating to attendance and the attainment of more disadvantaged children and young people.

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An exploration of the relationship between attendance on the island and the structure of the school year.

9.3 The intention is to halve the gap between the island’s absence rate and the national average in 2013-14 and eradicate it altogether by July 2016.

10 Post-16 Provision

10.1 The outcomes for 18-19 year olds on the island are mixed. Although progression into post 16 is high, retention levels are less secure. Level 3 success is good for those who persist until the end of year 13 but the percentage of students who attain A* or A at A level is poor and progression into higher education is not good enough.

10.2 Each secondary school has sixth for provision although one is a shared 6th form. The Isle of Wight College, which is judged outstanding by Ofsted, also provides for post 16 students. To this will be added provision in the studio school in Cowes and, potentially, provision in the free school in the Ventnor area. There is considerable over-capacity and duplication in post 16 education on the island and the planned new provision will make this worse. There is a direct correlation between inefficiency and ineffectiveness. In many settings there are too few post 16 students to make a broad curriculum offer possible, too few students to make group sizes viable without funding them from the resource that should be used for pre 16 students and settings that are too small, in most cases, to produce the level of challenge that the students require.

10.3 Planning post 16 provision is not in the hands of the Local Authority and the Authority cannot impose solutions. There is, however, some evidence that the providers on the island would welcome further discussions to explore how more coherence could be brought to the offer for post 16 students and the quality improved. Those discussions will take place.

11 Creating the space for rapid improvement

11.1 Chairs of governors and headteachers do not need their time consumed by activities that deflect them from their core business of achieving the best possible outcomes for children and young people. Circumstances have meant that much time in the recent past has been spent concerned about reorganisation and in procuring the best support services.

11.2 There are continuing issues around surplus places, despite the reorganisation, but the Authority does not wish to embark on another whole-scale reorganisation, intending instead to provide the time for school governors and leaders to concentrate on school improvement.

11.3 Similarly, the Authority intends to help schools with their procurement of services, in two ways. It will make available to any school that wants them the specification of the services that are sold to schools

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under Hampshire Service Level Agreements. It will also make those services available for sale to the island’s schools on the same terms as to Hampshire schools. Hampshire did not enter into the partnership with the Isle of Wight to market its services or to increase its market share. If the island schools want to purchase them, however, to release more time for their core business then the services will be available to them.

12 Wider partnerships and school improvement

12.1 The wider community’s influence needs to be brought to bear on the enterprise to improve educational attainment on the island. Most of the work in bringing together the ideas and energy of the island’s people will need to be done by the Authority not by individual schools. Most of those have enough to do in establishing the internal systems that will lead to improved quality and in undertaking the day-to-day work of school improvement without having to give time to island wide schemes. Nevertheless, such schemes will become important as time goes on.

12.2 Until the partnership with Hampshire, education was separated within the Council’s structure from the rest of the Council’s work. Already it is more central, part of a Children’s Services directorate and benefits need to be drawn from the synergy that brings. In particular, the Children and Young People’s Partnership – the Children’s Trust arrangements – and the Improvement Plan relating to safeguarding and services for children in care will, increasingly, focus on children as a whole, their health, their safety, their hopes and aspirations and the degree to which they take ownership for their own lives and futures. The other services, apart from education, need to understand their responsibility to play their part in improving educational outcomes, as happens in the best Children’s Services authorities. This is partly a matter of mindset – and positive mindsets can be developed by effective leadership and management.

12.3 This is not only a matter for the Council’s services. It extends to joint working with others, specifically those in the health services, and especially in connection with school attendance. GPs are important figures in the drive to reduce school absence especially since 74% of the recorded absence is explained by illness compared with 51% nationally. Joint working between headteachers and the local doctors’ practice has significantly improved school attendance in one area of south west Hampshire and that model will be introduced on the island.

12.4 Business and community leaders on the island want to see the standard of education improved and young people better equipped for work. They are keen to play their part and it will be important to work with them, harness their ideas for the development of the vision and strategy for the improvement of education on the island and to enlist their help in implementing that strategy.

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12.5 Consideration will be given to the development of an island-wide strategy seeking to help parents to support their children’s learning at various stages of their educational journey - through providing advice on how to help them to become ready for school, to supporting their early reading and progress through Key Stage 2, to strategies to assist them with learning in secondary schools, especially with homework and revision. Most of the material will be on-line and the work will be done in conjunction with schools but they will not be asked to shoulder the bulk of the burden.

13 Conclusion

13.1 Education is in a parlous state on the island but the partnership between the Isle of Wight Council and Hampshire County Council has the promise of success. Children and young people can make better progress, attain higher standards and achieve more.

13.2 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 educational 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.

13.3 In the period from September 2013 until April 2014, under the oversight of elected members, we will seek to harness the energy that is there and produce the second part of this plan that will set out the island’s vision and the island’s strategy, developed and agreed by the people who live there.

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Appendix 1

Ofsted letter following its inspection of the Local Authority’s arrangements for school improvement

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18 June 2013

Mr Ian Anderson

Director for Community Wellbeing and Social Care

Isle of Wight Council

County Hall

Newport

PO30 1UD

Dear Mr Anderson

Inspection of local authority arrangements for supporting school improvement

under section 136(1) (b) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006

Following the recent inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectors on 10-14 June 2103, I am writing

on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to

confirm the inspection findings.

We are grateful to you for your cooperation, and to your staff, the elected members,

contracted partners, headteachers and governors who gave up their time to meet with us.1

This inspection was carried out because outcomes for children and young people on the Isle of

Wight are too low. Pupil’s progress between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 is the lowest in the

country. As a result, attainment is significantly below the national averages in English and

mathematics. At Key Stage 4 attainment and progress are also well below national and

regional averages, and the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils is too wide.

The poor outcomes of the focused inspection activity in March and April did not signal quick

enough improvement. These inspections raised considerable concerns about the quality of

education being provided by schools on the island and how the local authority’s efforts to

support and challenge schools to improve were perceived by school leaders.

1 During the inspection, discussions were held with senior and operational officers, elected members of the local

authority, headteachers, governors and other stakeholders. Inspectors scrutinised available documents, including

strategic plans, and analysed a range of available data.

Tribal Education 1–4 Portland Square Bristol BS2 8RR

T 0300 123 1231 Textphone 0161 618 8524 [email protected] www.ofsted.gov.uk

Direct T 0117 3115247 Direct email

[email protected]

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Context

In 2011, Isle of Wight schools changed from a three-tier (primary, middle and high school) to

a two-tier system (primary and secondary schools). The number of local authority education

personnel has reduced considerably in recent years. From 1 July 2013, the Isle of Wight

Council will enter into a strategic partnership with Hampshire local authority to deliver

Children’s Services as directed by the Secretary of State for Education.

Summary findings

The local authority arrangements for supporting school improvement are

ineffective.

Poor corporate and strategic leadership has left the current administration with considerable

and significant challenges. The approach to school improvement has lacked coordination and it

does not have the confidence of schools. Key decisions about resource deployment, school

organisation and place planning have been characterised by poor analysis, limited consultation

and weak implementation. This has resulted in a large proportion of requires improvement or

inadequate schools.

A lack of rigour in monitoring and challenge, mostly due to poor use of performance data,

means that the local authority neither knows the schools well nor intervenes early enough.

Senior leaders in the best schools are not commissioned to help weaker schools improve as

part of a coordinated strategy. Where specialist teachers and consultants are used, evaluation

of their impact is weak.

School leaders, governors and local authority officers describe significant improvement in the

short period of time since the appointment of the interim Head of Schools and Learning. This

includes better communication, clearer direction and more consultation with stakeholders.

However, this has not resulted in authoritative challenge to weaker schools. As a result, too

many children and young people on the Isle of Wight still lack access to a good quality of

education.

Areas for improvement

To improve achievement, and ensure that all pupils on the Isle of Wight attend a good or

better school, the local authority should:

agree and publish a strategic approach to school improvement that prioritises high

aspirations and achievement for all groups of pupils, and ensure it is understood by all

introduce detailed urgent arrangements for reducing the number of inadequate schools

and increasing the number of schools that are good or better

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make effective use of performance data when evaluating school performance so that

rigorous challenge and coherent support can be given to all school leaders and governors,

and in secondary schools in particular

establish a new framework for monitoring and evaluating the impact of all school

improvement work that is undertaken or commissioned by the local authority, including

the work of system leaders

ensure greater efficiency, value for money and better transfer between key stages for all

pupils by enabling and encouraging more collaborative relationships between schools

ensure decision-making about the allocation of resources to schools is understood by all,

evaluated to ensure impact and provides value for money.

The local authority arrangements for school improvement require re-inspection

within nine to 12 months.

Corporate leadership and strategic planning

Weaknesses in strategic and operational arrangements for supporting school improvement

have resulted in ineffective support and challenge for schools. The leadership of the new

political administration recognises the need to improve schools but turbulence in local

authority staffing has been a significant barrier to implementing a strategic approach to

school improvement.

There has been no co-ordinated strategy for school improvement in recent years. Many

headteachers, particularly in the secondary phase, have lost confidence in the local

authority’s capacity to support and challenge.

The local authority’s approach to school improvement has been reactive and not proactive

and there is little evaluation of its impact; for example, the 2010-13 strategic plan does

not indicate how officers monitor the success of any actions taken.

School leaders, including governors, have been insufficiently involved in local authority

consultation about strategic and operational education policy. Headteachers, governors

and teachers were inadequately prepared for school reorganisation and for teaching year

groups with which they were unfamiliar.

The delegation of funding to schools and the simultaneous reduction of local authority

support were poorly managed. This resulted in school leaders lacking expertise in areas in

which they had no previous experience. The Schools Forum has not been consulted

effectively about policy decisions.

Participation in post-16 education and training is good and, as a result, the proportion of

students who are not in education or employment (NEET) is well below the national

average. The one further education college on the island is outstanding.

There is a strong commitment on the part of Elected Members across the political

spectrum to work with local authority officers and the Hampshire partnership to improve

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schools on the Isle of Wight. School leaders and officers welcome this new strategic

partnership.

Monitoring, challenge, intervention and support

The local authority does not know the Isle of Wight schools well, particularly at secondary

school level. A lack of high quality detailed data about school performance results in

inability to challenge schools or commission support effectively. The local authority does

not have an accurate view of the likely trajectory of school performance.

Schools at risk of decline are not identified quickly enough. Four out of six secondary

schools are inadequate. The local authority has not used its formal powers of intervention

in schools causing concern effectively.

Beyond summary discussion with the schools, based on limited data, there is little

knowledge or analysis of variation in school performance across the island. Where it does

exist it is too broad in nature and is not focused enough on specific cohorts of pupils.

Although this is partly a consequence of the poor quality of data, it is also because of the

inconsistent nature of school level conversations.

There is no formal system for commissioning, or evaluating the quality and impact of, the

external support provided to schools. While some attempt is made to evaluate what

schools think about the quality of external advice and support, this relies heavily on

perception rather than on pupil outcomes.

The system for brokering additional support for schools is largely led by the individual

school needing help, especially at the secondary level, with little or no leadership or quality

assurance from the local authority. As an example, the local authority knows that

recruitment to leadership posts is difficult on the island but there is no strategic view of

how to develop future leaders from within.

Communication between the local authority and schools is ad hoc. This is especially true

for higher performing schools. Many such schools report that they do not know how the

local authority views their performance.

Support and challenge for leadership and management, including governance

The local authority has failed to identify where support and challenge to headteachers and

governors are required. The strategic management of school reorganisation on the island

was poor and deflected attention away from improving schools. The reduction of centrally-

based services happened without sufficient support for school leaders to take on these

responsibilities.

Poor quality assurance of services that are brokered or recommended by the local

authority has resulted in schools wasting money on external consultancy that does not

give an accurate view of strengths and weaknesses.

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The local authority’s Challenge and Review meetings offer only superficial challenge to

school leaders and governors. Discussions are not informed by detailed achievement and

attendance data that are benchmarked against national averages.

The local authority does not have a strategic overview of the strengths and weaknesses of

governance in schools. Universal support for governance focuses solely on statutory

duties. However, a reasonable range of governor training courses exist as part of traded

services and completed course evaluations show they are broadly well regarded.

Use of resources

Decision-making about the allocation of resources has lacked transparency. Schools are

unclear about how, or why, funding decisions are made. The most significant example of

this is the lack of a coherent strategy for managing surplus pupil places. Links between the

allocation of additional resources and any subsequent evaluation of impact are weak.

There was no coherent analysis or management of training needs of school staff in the run

up to, and during, school reorganisation. Since reorganisation, a fragmented process for

identification of training needs has meant that this has declined further.

The local authority has begun the process of producing business plans for each central

team, which has the potential for improving coherence. However this is very new and has

not been implemented yet.

I am copying this letter to the Secretary of State, the Chief Executive and the Leader of the

Isle of Wight Council. I am also copying it to the Director of Children’s Services (or their

equivalent) of Hampshire Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

Yours sincerely

Pauline Robins

Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Appendix 2

Detailed action plan to address issues identified by Ofsted in its inspection of the arrangements for school improvement

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Appendix 2

1

Detailed Action Plan related to the Summary Findings following Ofsted’s inspection of the Isle of Wight’s School Improvement Services The letter from Ofsted (Appendix 1) sets out the Key Areas for Improvement and provides more detail under the headings Corporate Leadership and Strategic Planning; Monitoring, Challenge, Intervention and Support; Support and Challenge for Leadership, Management, including Governance; Resources. This plan details the actions to be taken to address the Areas for Improvement and then sets out actions to be taken in specific areas related to these sections where those actions have not already been covered in the Areas for Improvement section. 1 Success Criteria Setting out the accountabilities of local authorities and schools is not straightforward. The 2006 Act and the two iterations of the Statutory Guidance on the Role of the Lead Member for Children’s Services and the Director of Children’s Services make clear the responsibilities that the Authority has, for example, for promoting excellence in education but not for ensuring it. They set out the actions expected of the Authority in respect of poorer schools, less of better schools. Local authorities have few powers to intervene in good and outstanding schools and yet the success of an area’s school system is as dependent on the skill, knowledge and drive of the governing bodies and headteachers to maintain those schools as good and outstanding, and to see that reflected in test and examination results, as on the improvement made by poorer schools that may be as a direct result of the Authority’s efforts. The growth of academies has complicated this further. These ‘state funded, independent’ schools have the budget for school improvement that the Authority used to have. They have full autonomy in relation to the Local Authority and lines of accountability to their sponsoring trust if they are sponsored academies, or directly to the Department for Education if they are not. Any sense of accountability that academies feel towards the local community that is wider than their own children and parents has to be created or negotiated, and sustained through goodwill and a commitment to achieving more together. There is no statutory basis. In these circumstances an action plan of this nature cannot precisely follow the post inspection statements of action that schools produce. The governance and line management arrangements are entirely different. 5 of the 6 secondary schools on the Isle of Wight are soon likely to be ‘outside of the local authority’s control’ as they become sponsored

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Appendix 2

2

academies. A number of the primary schools either are, or are likely to become, academies. The Local Authority through the Lead Member and the Director of Children’s Services has continuing responsibility for the outcomes achieved by every child but the statutory means to achieve many of these lie in different hands. The territory is complicated and confused but the community and all the people who work for improved educational outcomes on the island will expect to know what success will look like and some milestones towards that success. The following are the top-level criteria and milestones and cover the period from September 2013 to September 2016. 1.1 Early Years Performance in the Early Years is 7 percentage points below the national average in 2013 (unvalidated).

Performance in the Early Years Foundation Stage will be 2 percentage points above the national average by September 2016

Performance in the Early Years Foundation Stage will be 2 percentage points below the national average by September 2015

Performance in the Early Years Foundation Stage will be 5 percentage points below the national average by September 2014.

1.2 Key Stage 2 – level 4 Performance at the end of Key Stage 2 at level 4 for Reading, Writing and Mathematics, taken together, is 4 percentage points below the national average in 2013.

Performance will be two percentage points above the national average by September 2016 Performance at the end of Key Stage 2 will be at the national average by September 2015 Performance at the end of Key Stage 2 will be three percentage points below the national average by September 2014. 1.3 Key Stage 2 – level 5 Performance at the end of Key Stage 2 for level 5 for Reading, Writing and Mathematics taken together is 5 percentage points below the national average in September 2013.

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Appendix 2

3

Performance will rise 2 percentage points a year, 2014, 2015, 2016, to be 1 percentage point above the national average by September 2016.

1.4 Key Stage 4 Performance at the end of Key Stage 4 in terms of 5 A*-C including English and mathematics is 9 percentage points below the national average (school reported and unvalidated national data) in September 2013.

Performance will at the national average by September 2016. Performance will be five points below the national average by September 2015. Performance will be seven points below the national average by September 2014. 1.5 School Attendance The gap between days lost in absence on the island and nationally, and the incidence of persistent absence, will be halved by September 2015 and removed altogether by September 2016. 1.6 Improving poorer schools Throughout the period September 2013-September 2016:

All schools judged to be inadequate will be out of that category within the national timescale, or more quickly than that All Local Authority statements of action will be fit for purpose All Ofsted monitoring visits to inadequate schools will report reasonable progress. 1.7 Improving the whole school system In September 2013 the island had 64% of its schools judged as good or outstanding by Ofsted against 78% nationally.

By September 2016 the proportion judged good or outstanding will outstrip the national average by 2 percentage points.

By September 2015 the proportion will be seven percentage points below the national average.

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Appendix 2

4

(No great improvement is expected from the period September 2013 to September 2014. A number of schools are due to be inspected that have not been inspected for a long time, the framework is tougher than it was and those schools, in some cases, have not kept up with the increased expectations. 2 Monitoring and Evaluation All the actions set out below in section 3 will finally be judged by their impact on the indicators in paragraph 1. It will not be enough simply to record that the actions have been completed. Close monitoring of that will take place but detailed evaluation of impact will also take place at the right time. Evidence will be drawn from test and examination results, attendance and exclusions data, the reports of Leadership and Learning Partners, Ofsted inspections and monitoring visits, and the views of headteachers and chairs of governors. Each half term, there will be a report to the Deputy Director, Education and Inclusion, from the island’s school improvement team and it will be co-ordinated by Melanie Saunders who has a particular brief for performance. Each term a summary report will also be presented to the Executive Lead Member and, separately, to Ofsted and the Department of Education at their termly meeting with the senior members of the island school improvement team. Annually, a detailed report will be produced when the test and examination results have been validated and reliable national comparators are available. This will show the progress that has been made and will also forensically analyse what has made the difference. As well as analysing the performance of the whole system, the impact of the work of school improvement professionals will be evaluated against the improvement made by individual schools, using techniques already developed in Hampshire. This report will be available to the Isle of Wight Council’s Cabinet, its Overview and Scrutiny Committee and, finally, to Full Council.

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Appendix 2

5

3 Actions Areas for

Improvement Actions Timescale People

3.1 Agree and publish a strategic approach to school improvement that prioritises high aspirations and achievement for all groups of pupils and ensure it is understood.

The actions are in two parts. The main plan, of which this document is an appendix, sets out the strategic approach that is being taken. The second action will relate to the development of an island-wide vision and strategy, co-constructed with the schools and the island’s community that will set out the commitment to improvement and the degree of improvement that the education community will pledge. People need time to glimpse what is possible through working in a different way before they can be expected to commit to something that expects much more of them than ever before.

October 2013 By March 2013

John Clarke and senior school improvement managers working with the whole educational community and those who support it.

3.2 Introduce detailed urgent arrangements for reducing the number of inadequate schools and increasing the number of schools that are good or better

Institute a programme of improvement work for each maintained school based on a forensic analysis of strengths and weakness, especially in governance, leadership and the quality of teaching. Ensure that each is visited and reported on in writing and a judgement made as to what support is needed. Work with DfE and governing bodies to establish the sponsors most likely to effect improvement in inadequate schools or develop alternative solutions

Baseline established by the end of September 2013 and support and challenge work is on-going September 2013 and on-going

Brian Pope and School Improvement Team Brian Pope, Melanie Saunders and John Clarke Senior School

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Appendix 2

6

Challenge and work with existing sponsors to ensure effective improvement in their academies. Institute a programme of effective professional development for headteachers, teachers, non-teachers and governors, sharply focused on those things that make most difference to outcomes for children and young people.

August 2013 and on-going September 2013 and on-going

Improvement managers Delivery from a large number of individuals and institutions

3.3 Make effective use of performance data when evaluating school performance so that rigorous challenge and coherent support can be given to all school leaders and governors, in secondary schools in particular

A suite of data – raw scores, value added performance, Fisher Family Trust, RAISE, the performance of particular groups of children and young people, attendance, exclusions etc, and showing comparisons with national figures and those of statistical neighbours – is prepared and used with each school. Work with academy sponsors and future sponsors to ensure that effective use of data is made by them. Training in the use of data is provided for headteachers and governing bodies both in their own schools with their own data and in more formal group sessions. Groups are established so schools can work with each other’s data as well as their own, understanding common issues and discussing best practice in addressing them

From September 2013 but also when validated national data are available each year From October 2013 Informally from September 2013; formally from November 2013 From November 2013 and on-going

Hampshire CS data team, Steve Cottrell and Leadership and Learning Partners Senior School Improvement managers School Improvement Team Headteachers but led by member of the School Improvement Team

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Appendix 2

7

3.4 Establish a new framework for monitoring and evaluating the impact of all school improvement work that is undertaken or commissioned by the local authority, including the work of system leaders.

Make outcomes for children and young people central to the framework for the evaluation of school improvement work Establish a series of feedback mechanisms for judging the effectiveness of school improvement work including that undertaken by universities, teaching school alliances, NLEs, SLEs as well as Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Council’s staff Extend the Hampshire performance management system to staff working on the island. Develop arrangements for reporting the effectiveness of work to the emerging Children’s Trust and to elected members and thus to the island community in general.

By November 2013 By November 2013 By December 2013 By November 2013

Melanie Saunders Brian Pope and Steve Cottrell Senior School Improvement Managers John Clarke

3.5 Ensure greater efficiency, value for money and better transfer between key stages for all pupils by enabling and encouraging more collaborative relationships between schools.

Encourage school to school collaboration through the work of Leadership and Learning Partners Support secondary/primary collaboration and new governance arrangements where appropriate Provide more frequent opportunities for headteachers to meet together for professional development purposes. Bringtogether headteachers of schools with common issues.

From September 2013 From September 2013 and as opportunities present themselves. From September 2013 From June 2013 and on-going

School Improvement Team Senior school improvement managers Steve Cottrell Steve Cottrell

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Appendix 2

8

Engender a sense of collaborative enterprise in improving education across the whole island in the interests of all the children, through work on the vision and strategy.

From June 2013 and on-going

Whole school improvement team

3.6 Ensure decision making about the allocation of resources to schools is understood by all, evaluated to ensure impact and provides value for money. Ensure that school leaders and governors are involved in the development of island-wide strategic and operational policy.

Develop a more open approach to decision making with the school community generally, ensure greater clarity in respect of funding and the work done by Schools Forum and evaluate the effect of decisions made by Schools Forum More regular meetings with headteachers. Developa regular dialogue with Chairs of Governors. More resource-focused sessions for schools on resources and budgets.

Beginning July 2013 and on-going From July 2013 From September 2013 Beginning with a conference in September 2013 and on-going

Felicity Roe, Senior School Improvement Managers School Improvement managers and others Hampshire Governor Services Felicity Roe and her teams

Corporate Leadership and Strategic Planning (points not already dealt with above)

3.7 Turbulence in local authority staffing

Establish a new structure within the Isle of Wight Council that has the capacity and expertise to lead the school

October 2013

John Clarke, Felicity Roe,

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Appendix 2

9

has been a significant barrier to implementing a strategic approach to school improvement

system and support the schools to improve. Identify Hampshire school improvement professionals to act as Learning and Leadership Partners with all the island’s maintained schools. Identify Hampshire school improvement professionals to work with sponsored academies and sponsoring trusts. Enlist the support of highly effective professionals on the island to work in other schools than their own and across the system. Enlist the support of the Pioneer Teaching School Alliance and the Wildern Teaching School Alliance from Hampshire, other individuals from the mainland as well as the island’s teaching school, to help with school-to-school support. Enlist the support of local universities – Portsmouth, Southampton, Winchester and the Centre for Real World learning. Bid for support from the Education Endowment Fund in a project related to improving attainment through improving attendance.

July 2013 From August 2013 By December 2013 and on-going July 2013 and on-going Beginning in July 2013 Bid submitted in October 2013

Steve Crocker Brian Pope Brian Pope The school improvement team Melanie Saunders School Improvement senior team John Clarke, Helen Fenton

3.8 School leaders lack expertise in areas where they have little previous experience.

Make Hampshire Service Level Agreements available to the island’s schools. The purpose is NOT to increase the volume of Hampshire’s traded services but to provide service specifications for schools that wish to purchase services. If they choose Hampshire’s services then that

From the autumn of 2013 onwards

Heads of Hampshire’s services led and co-ordinated by Felicity Roe.

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Appendix 2

10

is a by-product of this action. The purpose is to provide schools with help and to make sure that more headteachers are able to devote their time to improving teaching and learning in their schools.

3.9 Participation in post16 education and training is good. The proportion of NEETs is low. The Isle of Wight College is outstanding.

The good work around participation and NEET is continued. Discussions are held with post 16 providers on the island to explore efficiencies and greater effectiveness for the future. These discussions to take account of, and involve, new sponsors on the island and new providers in the shape of the Studio School and the Free School.

From September 2013 Initially during the autumn of 2013 and on-going

Phillip Walker Senior school improvement managers and Phillip Walker.

Monitoring, Challenge, Intervention and Support (points not already dealt with above)

3.10 The local authority does not know the island’s schools well – particularly secondary schools – and does not have a likely trajectory of school performance.

The Leadership and Learning Partner programme will be implemented and detailed reports written and analysed. On-going support work will take place in those schools that need it and this will add to the quality of information. Intelligence about individual schools will grow over time becoming more nuanced and sharp in its judgement of quality and trajectory. Relationships will be established with the secondary

July and September 2013 Autumn 2013 and on-going Autumn 2013 and on-going August 2-13 and

Brian Pope, Jackie Boxx and Steve Cottrell and the school improvement team. School Improvement team Senior school

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Appendix 2

11

schools that become sponsored academies – and with the sponsors directly – and regular discussions about those schools will take place with senior school improvement managers.

on-going improvement managers

3.11 Schools at risk of decline are not identified quickly enough. The authority has not used its formal powers in schools causing concern.

Schools will be identified mainly through the LLP programme but also in relation to on-going data in respect of attendance and exclusions. Steps will be taken immediately to arrest potential decline. Formal powers will be used but not for their own sake. They will be used where other methods are likely to fail. The prime directive is to improve the schools and the outcomes for children, not just to use the formal powers. Decisions will be taken on a case by case basis.

A process to begin in October 2013 when all schools will be categorised according to the level of support that is needed. From September 2013 and on-going

Steve Cottrell and Jackie Boxx working with other senior managers of the school improvement team Decisions taken by senior school improvement managers.

3.12 There is little knowledge or analysis of variation in performance across the island.

Further analysis will be undertaken and shared with schools, and others, following the annual publication of results.

September 2013 and ongoing

Hampshire data team; LLPs, senior school improvement managers.

3.13 The system for brokering additional support is largely led by the individual schools needing help. There is, for

An outline programme has been produced to address the most urgent issues – Appendix 2 ‘Professional Development Activity’. A large range of activities in respect of improving teaching and leadership, or preparing for leadership, will be available through what is already happening on the

September 2013 From October 2013

School Improvement Senior Managers Co-ordinated by Melanie Saunders.

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Appendix 2

12

example, no strategic view of how to develop future leaders from within.

island, and through the large menu of activity available through the Hampshire teaching school alliances and the professional development arm of school improvement in Hampshire, the Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College. Bespoke activity for individual schools will continue where needed.

From September 2013

LLPs

3.14 Communication between the authority and schools is ad hoc and many higher performing schools do not know what the authority thinks of their performance.

Embed a slick system of communication that gives schools the information they need without swamping them with things they do not need. Issue a report periodically on each maintained school for consideration by headteacher and governing body

From September 2013 Beginning in the autumn of 2013, annually for most schools but far more frequent for poorer schools

Felicity Roe Steve Cottrell and the team of LLPs.

Support and challenge for leadership and management including governance (points not already dealt with above)

3.15 The local authority’s challenge and review meetings

Embed the system of Leadership and Learning Partners that has served Hampshire schools well.

September 2013 and on-going

Brian Pope, Steve Cottrell and the LLP team

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Appendix 2

13

offer only superficial challenge to school leaders and governors. Discussions are not informed by detailed achievement and attendance data and are not benchmarked against national averages.

The schools will be challenged at a level of detail but that challenge will be met with support to address any deficiencies.

3.16 The local authority does not have a strategic view of the strengths and weaknesses of governance in schools. There is some well regarded training.

LLPs, together with support from Hampshire Governor Services will develop that view of the strength and weaknesses of governing bodies. Hampshire Governor Services will make its programme of training for governors, chairs of governors and clerks to governing bodies available to island schools.

September 2013 and on-going November 2013

Steve Cottrell and the LLP team Mandy Parsons and Governor Services

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Appendix 3

Action plan to address improvements in outcomes in the early years

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Appendix 3

Action plan to address improvements in outcomes in the early years

Aim: To improve outcomes for young children through support which enables the provision of sufficient, high quality, early years education and childcare.

Objectives: A. Secure sufficient provision to meet families’ childcare needs and children’s early years education entitlement

B. Improve outcomes for children at the end of Early Years Foundation Stage and beyond

C. To ensure strategies are in place to meet learning and development needs of children who are at risk of poor outcomes

Management Actions Who By when

Establish an EYs management group TS/EB Aug 2013

Review roles and responsibilities of management group

Management Group Sep 2013

Negotiate changes to structure TS & Mgmt Group Sep 2013

Amend existing role profiles Line Managers Oct 2013

Hold visioning event to draft strategic plan TS/LB Sep 2013

Agree launch of strategic plan TS & Mgmt Group Oct 2013

Conduct ½ termly management group meetings

TS & Mgmt Group Nov 2013

Review 2013-14 budget TS & Mgmt Group Autumn Term 2013

Plan 2014-15 budget (to include review of staffing model)

TS & Mgmt Group Jan 2014

Implement staff consultations as required TS & Mgmt Group Jan 2014

Revise strategic plan TS & Mgmt Group Feb 2014

Launch 14-15 plan TS & Mgmt Group Mar 2014

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Early Years Strategic Plan

CHILDCARE SUFFICIENCY

Priority Success Measure Tasks Who By when

1. Review recruitment , induction, support and training process for Childminders

Review CM pathway

EB & EY development team

March 2014

2. Review Quality Improvement processes

Classification processes

Support levels from team

EB & EY development team

March 2014

3. Review terms & conditions of funding partnership

Rewrite T & C

Consult providers

Update marketing

GP,KW, JG March 2014

4. Secure sufficient 2 year old provision

Establish 2YO funding group

Develop and implement plan for revenue trajectory

EB & Janet Giles Oct 2014

Dec 2014

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funding

Plan and implement process for capital funding

Dec 2014

5. Provide access to inclusive childcare places across the sector 0-19

Ensure take up of appropriate inclusion training

Inclusion support for holiday provision

EB, EY development team & inclusion team

March 2014

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

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6. Improve transition processes for settings and schools

Survey – what’s working well

Review current transition process to ensure fit for purpose

Briefing sessions for H.T.

Create liaison opportunities between schools and providers

LB/Early years team

LB/Early years team

LB/Early years team

Gary Booth/AB-Vikki

Dec 2014

Dec 2014

March 2014

March 2014

7. implement targeted support programmes to develop children PSED and CLL in areas of need

to review data at a school level

Plan and deliver appropriate interventions

EB & EY team Jan 14 onwards

8. Provide quality improvement Audit need Gary Booth March 2014

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support to schools

Develop action plan

Develop HT briefings

Training – new to EYFS

Review moderation process

EYFS Training for reception teachers

Establish peer support process for reception teachers and settings

EB & SF

EB & SF

EB & SF

EB & SF

EB & SF

March 2014

March 2014

March 2014

March 2014

March 2014

9. Establish consistent tracking process system across IOW

Review process

Deliver briefings to schools and providers

Gary Booth

Simon Francis

AB

10. Review 2YO check process Meet monthly LB/AB

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health partners

Draw up 2YO integrated check protocol

SEN

11. Clarify the roles and responsibilities (title, team, name) of SEN team and EY team

Allocation of tasks

Determine localities

Clarification of support

Systems for sharing and recording notes of visits

Develop partnership working

KS & LB

EY steering group

EY steering group

KS & LB

KS & EY steering group

Jan 2014

Dec 2014

Dec 2014

March 2014

March 2014

12. Clarify funding processes available for settings and parents

Review inclusion funding system

Launch new

KS & inclusion team

Dec 2014

March 2014

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process

13. Supporting the role of SENCO Produce handbook for settings

Run SENCO support groups

Inclusion team March 2014

14. Establish information sharing protocols with NHS for notification of children born with a disability

KS March 2014

SAFEGUARDING

15. Establish process for notification of child deaths

Cascading information

Offer support

KM

KS & Inclusion team

March 2014

16. Develop formal process for critical incidents for early years settings

Establish process

Develop communication

Inclusion team March 2014

17. Identifying LA support for setting Specific network

KM, KS & inclusion March 2014

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safeguarding leads settings

Communication of policy

Practice and information sharing

teams

STRENGTHENING LINKS WITH CHILDRENS CENTRES

18. Review current strategic links with EY teams , CCs and core monitoring meetings & set up process for information sharing between EY teams & CCs

Establish appropriate attendance at care monitoring group and EYs meeting

KM & LB March 14

19. Strengthen EYFS support to CC

Review CM drop in/support session

Review EYFS input into CC & CPD for CC staff

KM & LB March 2014

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Review CC EYFS tracking process

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Appendix 4a

Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College – Offer for schools subscribing to the Isle of Wight schools learning and development package

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Contents

Subscription to Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College (HTLC) 1

The offer 1

Duration 1

Intent 1

Services to be provided to the client 1

Delivering the service 2

Client responsibilities 2

Cancellation policy 2

Quality and review 2

Charges 3

Billing and payment method 3

Resolving disagreements 3

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HIAS HQ - HTLC subscription offer to IoW Schools that subscribe to IoW L&D 1

Subscription to Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College (HTLC)

The offer

The Isle of Wight Council has entered into an agreement with the Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College (HTLC), which enables those Isle of Wight schools that subscribe to the Isle of Wight schools learning and development package the opportunity to attend HTLC courses at the advertised subscription price.

Duration

The offer will initially run up to 31 March 2014.

Intent

The intent is to regulate dealings between the parties by setting out respective obligations relating to performance and payment for services.

Services to be provided to the client

HTLC is committed to helping schools manage and meet their training needs effectively with the aim of improving outcomes for all children and young people. HTLC will promote training and development by providing access to high quality training opportunities communicated through the web site and Local Authority publications.

Subscription gives an entitlement to a discount of up to 20% against the full price booking of most Directory courses (for the small number of exceptions, where no discount applies, this will be clearly communicated in advance).

HTLC will, upon request, provide information to subscribing schools regarding course attendance by their staff.

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2 HIAS HQ - HTLC subscription offer to IoW Schools that subscribe to IoW L&D

Delivering the service

The HTLC support team is based in Twyford and will provide the services offered through the HTLC website and training publications.

HTLC will ensure that schools’ queries are referred to and dealt with by the right person speedily and effectively.

The business hours of the administration service (excluding Bank Holidays) are:

Day Hours

Term time - Monday-Thursday 8:00am-5:00pm

Term time - Friday 8:00am-4:30pm

Outside term time 8:30am-4:00pm

Contact details For administrative queries, e.g. joining instructions or to book/cancel a place on a course, please contact HTLC Admin team on 01962 718600 or [email protected].

For more information about HTLC services, please email: [email protected], tel: 01962 874820

Client responsibilities

Delegates are expected to provide as much notice as reasonably possible if they are unable to attend any training or event which they have booked. Non attendance without notification can have a negative impact on the experiences of other delegates by altering the group dynamic.

Cancellation policy

If you cancel a place with less than 10 working days notice or fail to attend the event, your school will be charged the full cost of attendance except in exceptional circumstance.

Quality and review

HTLC is committed to offering schools the highest quality of training and programme provision. This is monitored through evaluation questionnaires provided to all delegates.

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HIAS HQ - HTLC subscription offer to IoW Schools that subscribe to IoW L&D 3

HTLC will provide a courteous, reliable and efficient service and offer training at fair and reasonable prices by seeking high quality provision at cost effective venues.

Charges

Schools will be invoiced at the subscription price advertised for individual courses.

Billing and payment method

Course charges will be invoiced half-termly by HTLC.

Resolving disagreements

Any concerns or complaints about the level or quality of service should firstly be made to the HTLC Workforce Development Support Team Supervisor.

Clients who consider they have not received an adequate response from the Workforce Development Support Team Supervisor may appeal in writing to the School Workforce Adviser at Falcon House, Monarch Way, Winchester, SO22 5PL.

If there are still matters to be addressed, a formal written complaint can be made using the Children’s Services complaints procedure which can be found at:

www.hants.gov.uk/cs-complaints

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Appendix 4b

Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College – Subscription offer to the Isle of Wight Council

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Contents

Subscription to Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College (HTLC) 1

Parties 1

Duration 1

Intent 1

Services to be provided to the client 1

Delivering the service 2

Client responsibilities 2

Cancellation policy 2

Quality and review 2

Charges 3

Billing and payment method 3

Resolving disagreements 3

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HIAS HQ - HTLC subscription offer to IoW Learning and Development 1

Subscription to Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College (HTLC)

Parties

This agreement is made between The Isle of Wight Council (the client) and the Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College (HTLC), Hampshire County Council (the service provider).

Duration

This agreement will run up to 31 March 2014 and will be renewable annually unless varied by agreement between the parties. This agreement can be terminated by giving six months’ notice in writing to the Business Support Manager (Education and Inclusion).

Intent

The intent is to regulate dealings between the parties by setting out respective obligations relating to performance and payment for services.

Services to be provided to the client

HTLC is committed to helping schools manage and meet their training needs effectively with the aim of improving outcomes for all children and young people. HTLC will promote training and development by providing access to high quality training opportunities communicated through the web site and Local Authority publications.

Subscription gives an entitlement to a discount of up to 20% against the full price booking of most Directory courses (for the small number of exceptions, where no discount applies, this will be clearly communicated in advance).

HTLC will provide information on course attendance to The Isle of Wight Workforce Development Team for subscribing schools.

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2 HIAS HQ - HTLC subscription offer to IoW Learning and Development

Delivering the service

The HTLC support team is based in Twyford and will provide the services offered through the HTLC website and training publications.

HTLC will ensure that schools’ queries are referred to and dealt with by the right person speedily and effectively.

The business hours of the administration service (excluding Bank Holidays) are:

Day Hours

Term time - Monday-Thursday 8:00am-5:00pm

Term time - Friday 8:00am-4:30pm

Outside term time 8:30am-4:00pm

Contact details For administrative queries, e.g. joining instructions or to book/cancel a place on a course, please contact HTLC Admin team on 01962 718600 or [email protected]. For more information about HTLC services, please email: [email protected], tel: 01962 874820

Client responsibilities

Delegates are expected to provide as much notice as reasonably possible if they are unable to attend any training or event which they have booked. Non attendance without notification can have a negative impact on the experiences of other delegates by altering the group dynamic.

Cancellation policy

If you cancel a place with less than 10 working days notice or fail to attend the event, your school will be charged the full cost of attendance except in exceptional circumstance.

Quality and review

HTLC is committed to offering schools the highest quality of training and programme provision. This is monitored through evaluation questionnaires provided to all delegates.

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HIAS HQ - HTLC subscription offer to IoW Learning and Development 3

HTLC will provide a courteous, reliable and efficient service and offer training at fair and reasonable prices by seeking high quality provision at cost effective venues.

Charges

Subscription to HTLC for a period of 7 months from 1 September 2013 to 31 March 2014, for those IOW schools whom subscribe to the IOW Schools Learning and development package. £1455 plus VAT

Billing and payment method

The subscription is payable annually in advance and collected by invoice.

Course charges will be invoiced half-termly by HTLC to the respective schools.

Resolving disagreements

Any concerns or complaints about the level or quality of service should firstly be made to the HTLC Workforce Development Support Team Supervisor.

Clients who consider they have not received an adequate response from the Workforce Development Support Team Supervisor may appeal in writing to the School Workforce Adviser at Falcon House, Monarch Way, Winchester, SO22 5PL.

If there are still matters to be addressed, a formal written complaint can be made using the Children’s Services complaints procedure which can be found at:

www.hants.gov.uk/cs-complaints

If mutual confidence in the continuation of this subscription cannot be restored, it may be terminated by either party by giving six months’ notice in writing to the Business Support Manager (Education and Inclusion), The Castle, Winchester, SO23 8UG.

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Appendix 5

Supporting school improvement: Improving Governance

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Appendix 5

Supporting School Improvement: Improving Governance Objective 1 Objective 2 Objective 3 Objective 4 Objective 5 Objective 6

Improve the Governance of individual schools so that it is at least good. Develop systems and processes so that the LA has sufficient intelligence to support and challenge governance. Develop capacity to broker school to school support in governance. Develop a strong training and development culture in GBs. Provide access to sold services which meet the information, advice and support needs to improve governance. Support improved clerking to ensure clerks can fulfil their advisory role.

Context

Action

1. There is limited knowledge of these boards because the IoW service has not had sufficient capacity or involvement in school improvement issues. The immediate focus is those schools identified as needing urgent intervention and support to secure improvement although early indications are that may of the GBs would benefit from increased access to professional advice and development service focussed on core needs. There is a need to establish relationships and gain the trust of governors in these settings to grow a culture of engagement between the schools and the CSD so they have confidence in the support and challenge being provided.

Carry out a desk audit or review of governance in those schools identified by Ofsted or the LA as requiring immediate intervention and support to secure improvement.

Support improvement through an agreed action plan with the GB.

Work closely with School Improvement Service to monitor and evaluate progress.

Identify and build relationships with effective governors to develop capacity for deployment in other schools.

2 There is no central record of GB memberships. Intelligence about individual governors, boards and training history are not available. This lack of information creates difficulties in communicating with all

Provide access to Clerks and Training Liaison Governors to Governor Manager to record and manage GB membership. Provide access to the HGS web-site to enable on-line booking and course management, resulting in an integrated management

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Appendix 5

Context

Action

governors reliably, identifying area wide concerns ( like high levels of vacancies), and targeting training and development activity. The training administration systems in place are heavily paper-based and would benefit from some automation to make better use of the one TTO governor services officer and to increase uptake through accessibility and self-service for customers.

information system to support school improvement. Refocus the training offer so it is directed by informed training needs analysis and key skills and knowledge. Continue to encourage participation in the National College Chairs Development Programme to increase effective practice and net-working with peers.

3 There is insufficient knowledge of governance across the system so that the use of existing experienced governors to support under performing schools is severely limited, if it exists at all. There is a need to increase capacity to support improvement over time.

Shape the training offer to reflect priorities and key performance areas. Increase engagement with GBs through advice and support services where possible to identify potential. Mentor and support governors in additional governor roles to build experience and capacity of governing in schools in challenging circumstances. Where available use NLGs to support schools.

4 / 5 There is little data available about current uptake of training and a lack of engagement with the training provision, although it appears that the GS Officer does drive attendance to some extent and is the main conduit of information to clerks and chairs. Currently 67% of primary schools buy into the IoW SLA. It would significantly improve access to professional support and advice if

Improve relevance and quality of the training offer. Review the Induction and chairing offer currently available. Promote the training offer to individual governors through e-communication. Raise the expectation that GBs need to access training to be sufficiently well informed and skilled to fulfil the role.

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Appendix 5

Context

Action

the HGS SLA was used to support governors because of greater staff capacity/ web-based resources and e-learning provision. The current IoW SLA is in place for 3 years.

Increase take-up of whole governing body training and the SLA subscriptions.

6 Effective clerking is now seen as a key contributor to GB effectiveness. The IoW already uses HGS to assess clerks who undertake the accreditation process but take-up of the programme has been extremely poor. Approximately 50% of schools use an independent clerk and the remaining a member of school staff or other school associated person. There is no LA clerking service on the IoW.

Work with IoW governance officer to review training and development for clerks and develop a shared offer for clerks, consistent with delivery in Hampshire and Somerset and Bath. Raise the profile of clerking. Provide access to Governor Manager for membership records. Provide challenge where clerking is contributing to poor governance in schools eligible for intervention.

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Statement from the Director of Children’s Services for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

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