Agenda item
Brent Virtual School - 2016 Provisional LAC Outcomes
This briefing paper is intended to update the committee on the provisional outcomes for Brent LAC at the end of Key Stages 1, 2 and 4 (outcomes published nationally). Brent’s published 2016 data, will be based on children in care for at least a year. This paper features the results of the 3 cohorts which will be included in the national data.
Minutes:
Janet Lewis (Head of Virtual School) introduced a briefing paper updating the Committee on the provisional Looked After Children (LAC) academic outcomes for 2016 for Key Stages 1, 2 and 4. The cohorts for each stage were small and only included children and young people who had been in care for at least a year. Members were reminded that a full report analysing the confirmed outcomes and including details of the Early Years’ Foundation stage would be presented to the Committee in February 2017. At this time, a briefing would also be provided to the Committee on the introduction of new performance measures (Attainment 8 and Progress 8) for KS4 and the implementation from 2017 of a numerical results system for GCSEs. The figures presented for KS4 in the paper before the Committee referred to the previous performance measure of five A to C grades at GCSE.
Janet Lewis highlighted that the results for KS1 were encouraging and compared favourably to national averages. There had been significant changes to the national assessment for KS2, which meant that outcomes could not be compared to previous years. As part of these changes, a higher expected standard had been introduced, resulting in a sharp decline nationally in the percentage of children meeting this standard. Brent’s LAC KS2 cohort had achieved mixed results and all were being provided with additional support in year 7. Nearly all children in this cohort had a Personal Education Plans (PEPs) and four children had Education, Health and Care plans. Three young people (seventeen per cent) of the Brent LAC KS4 cohort had achieved five A to C grades at GCSE, which compared favourably with the national average of fourteen per cent. It was highlighted that the percentage of young people in this cohort who were in employment, education or training (EET) had decreased slightly from July 2016, reflecting a move to Year 12 and subsequent decisions by some young people not to proceed with courses. The virtual school was supporting the production of PEPs for all Year 12 and 13 pupils who were looked after by the local authority and contact was being made with social workers and personal advisors.
In the subsequent discussion, Members queried whether the results achieved by the KS2 cohort of LAC represented good or poor progress for those particular children. Questions were also raised regarding how the Virtual School would support children in meeting the new, higher expected standard and Members expressed concern that thirty-three per cent of children had a placement change and eleven per cent a school change in their GCSE year.
Janet Lewis noted that progress was measured for children and that there had been some very good progress made by the KS2 cohort. A full analysis of this progression would be provided in the report due to be considered by the Committee in February 2017. The local authority ensured that all LAC were placed in good or outstanding schools, with a few exceptions to support continuity for a child. It was considered that the academic progress made by children reflected both the quality of education received in school as well as the support and encouragement they received from carers and other significant adults in their lives. The local authority therefore had an important role to play in assisting carers in nurturing a child’s educational development. Addressing Members’ concerns regarding placement or school changes, Chris Chalmers (the Council’s Head of Looked After Children and Permanency) advised that it was highly likely that those changes would be considered positive moves, for example a move to a permanent placement.
RESOLVED: that the briefing paper be noted.
Supporting documents: