Agenda item

To receive details of the performance of children and young people in  Croydon schools for the academic year 2019/2020.

The Interim Director of Education introduced the report and the following was noted:

·         Performance data for KS4 and KS5 were not included as national examinations did not take place due to Covid-19 Pandemic.

·         The focus of the report was more on changing education for children.

·         Meeting were being held by the Local Authority to discuss any support needs in the bid to strengthen partnerships. To date, 115 schools have attended the meetings and this highlights the importance of the strength of the relationships in place.

Following the overview of the report given, Members took the opportunity to direct questions at officers.

A Member stressed the importance for the Regional Schools Commissioner to be invited to a future meeting to provide reassurance on the alignment of their roles and the Council. Officers said that throughout the pandemic they had met with their link every week in order to collaborate, gain insight and support as needed and would welcome the opportunity to extend a meeting invite as required by the Sub-Committee.

In response to Members’ questions on what was being done to  maintain levels of teacher recruitment , in particular during this period due to the challenges presented by the pandemic, officers said recruitment was still ongoing despite challenges.

It was further asked what was being done to retain high standards of quality teachers and maintain quality of delivery which was even more needed during this time to ensure positive outcomes for children. Officers acknowledged that it was vital to focus on what was being done now to deliver good quality education to children despite current events. Quality was important with recognition of positives and also consideration given to areas of increased focus. Ofsted had made a decision not to inspect during lockdown but were making visits to schools and raising challenge where appropriate whilst recognising all the work that had gone into changes to ways of working.

A Member commented that it would be valuable to be provided with information that teased out things for further consideration that had not gone as well as planned as well as strategies that had not been well received or worked well. Officers agreed to provide this following the meeting.

There was concern raised regarding the level of vacancies of senior posts, officers advised that there was currently a review taking place of this with proposals in consideration.

The Chair thanked officers for their engagement

Request for information

·         A link on Teaching Schools to be circulated

·         A briefing to be provided on lessons learnt and areas for improvement

·         A short briefing on teacher recruitment and retention.

The Sub-Committee came to the following Conclusions:

1.    It was important that future reports present a balanced view by providing information on areas for improvement, things that could have been done better or strategies that did not receive high take up by schools.

2.    The Regional Schools Commissioner to be invited to future meetings and for the interim Director of Education to facilitate a meeting between the Commissioner and the Chair of the Sub-Committee in the first instance.

3.    The Sub-Committee to keep abreast of details of recruitment to key posts such as that of Heads of Departments that were now vacant or had been deleted.