Agenda item
Improving educational achievement of Black Caribbean boys
Members of the scrutiny committee discussed the underachievement of certain groups among Brent’s pupils, including boys of Black Caribbean heritage, when it discussed the annual School Standards and Achievement report in March 2018. As part of the committee’s discussions to agree its new work programme for 2018/19, members agreed they wanted a dedicated report on the underachievement of boys of Black Caribbean heritage in Brent. This report covers the items requested for inclusion by the Chair of the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee.
Minutes:
At the invitation of the Chair, Councillor Agha (Lead Member for Schools, Employment and Skills) introduced the report on improving educational achievement of Black Caribbean Boys, noting that there was a commitment to raise the attainment of particular groups among Brent’s pupils, including that of boys of Black Caribbean heritage, to narrow the gap with their peers. The committee was advised that school partnership colleagues Martine Clark (Executive Headteacher, Byron Court Primary School and Brent Teaching School Alliance), Georgina Nutton (Headteacher, Preston Park Primary School) and Rose Ashton (Headteacher, Chalkhill Primary School and Interim Executive Headteacher, Leopold Primary School) were in attendance to discuss the report, alongside officers Gail Tolley (Strategic Director, Children and Young People), Brian Grady (Operational Director, Safeguarding, Partnerships and Strategy) and John Galligan (Head of Setting and School Effectiveness).
Setting out the key highlights of the report, John Galligan informed the committee a Schools Project Raising the Achievement of Black Caribbean Boys Strategic Group had been established by the Brent Schools Partnership (BSP), chaired by Rose Ashton as the Headteacher for the BSP Specialist Centre for Black Caribbean Achievement (Chalkhill Primary School). The strategy group had developed a strategic framework setting out actions to be taken by a range of stakeholders to strengthen capacity and expertise in schools and to support parents to contribute to their children’s learning and personal, social and emotional development. To deliver this, in March 2018, the Strategic School Effectiveness Partnership Board (SSEPB) agreed to develop a proposal from the Director of Children’s Services to Schools Forum. The proposal was agreed by the SSEPB in May 2018 and presented to Schools Forum in June, at which time the initiative was approved and funding of £561,750 over two years agreed. The initiative included the following strands: a supported rigorous and robust analysis of the performance of pupils of Black Caribbean heritage and the effectiveness of key aspects of schools’ practice; the designation of a Black Caribbean Achievement Champion in every school in Brent for a period of two years, with a programme of half termly training; the development of online resources for parents on strengthening their role and contribution to improving their children’s learning and progress, and reducing the likelihood of their children being excluded from schools; and, leadership and management of the overall schools based Black Caribbean Strategy. In concluding the overview of the report, John Galligan emphasised that approximately 40 per cent of boys of Black Caribbean heritage in Brent were achieving in line with national averages.
The Chair thanked the Lead Member and Officer for the introduction to the report.
The committee subsequently questioned whether attainment for this group had improved over the past year and how current figures compared with other London boroughs. Members questioned the value of exclusions, highlighting the risk of further alienating pupils and their families and sought clarity on the numbers of exclusions for boys of Black Caribbean heritage. Further queries were raised regarding the support put in place for excluded children. Members then questioned the efforts made to demystify the schools’ system for parents in the borough, noting the importance of the parental engagement. Members sought details of how parents were informed of the academic expectations for their children and what was done to gather parents’ perceptions of the issue of attainment for this group. Queries were raised regarding the recruitment and retention of BAME staff in schools. It was noted that the council had received a Caribbean delegation in past years which had been keen to address issues of education and it was queried what had resulted from these discussions. In concluding their questioning, the committee asked whether similar action would be taken to address the underperformance in attainment of other groups.
In response to the queries raised, John Galligan advised that the most recent data evidenced that attainment of this group had increased; however, it had also increased across London and therefore the attainment gap remained the same. It was not possible to undertake direct comparisons with other boroughs as attainment figures were not reported in this way.
Rose Ashton spoke on the role of exclusions in schools, emphasising that permanent exclusions were always a last resort and should come only when a school had exhausted every other response. Fixed term exclusions were more common and were a short episode of exclusion during which time additional support should be put in place to help resolve the issues at hand. John Galligan advised that the numbers of permanent exclusions were low compared to fixed term exclusions and had reduced between 2017 and 2018. Fixed term exclusions overall had slightly increased but for boys of Black Caribbean heritage had decreased slightly, though they remained overrepresented in these figures. Gail Tolley advised that there had been 47 permanent exclusions across Brent for this period. It was emphasised that each year group had approximately 4,000 pupils and therefore, as a proportion of the overall school population, 47 exclusions was a very small number. Nonetheless, this figure represented a very difficult outcome for those children. Children of primary school age who were permanently excluded were likely to be placed at another primary school for a fresh start. At secondary school, it was more likely that a child would go to Brent River College, or another alternative provision.
Rose Ashton advised that higher numbers of Black Caribbean pupils accessed further education at an older age and noted that whilst the role of parents was significant, it was also necessary to consider the breadth and inclusivity of the curriculum at school. With regard to engaging parents, it was important to recognise that aspirations may need to be encouraged and children exposed to opportunities they may not otherwise have, for example music lessons. Another facet of the work being undertaken via the Brent Schools Partnership was audits of schools. The audits involved questioning staff and were designed in such a way to explore perceptions and identify fixed mind-sets. The audits also involved conversations with parents and provided all with an opportunity to share their views on the matter. Martine Clark advised that the Black Caribbean Achievement Champions were a key link to the schools’ governing boards and the community. Part of this role was to speak with and engage parents around this issue. The planned website resource would also help to guide families through the complexities of the education system and provide connections between families. This resource was currently in the development stage and represented a large piece of work but was due to be delivered in line with the project plan. Gail Tolley added that the council’s plans to establish Family Hubs would also contribute to this agenda, as unlike children’s centres, Family Hubs would provide support to the whole family irrespective of the age of the children.
Commenting on the recruitment of BAME staff, Martine Clark, advised that the Brent Teaching School Alliance had successfully applied to deliver both the National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for Middle Leadership and the NPQ for Senior Leadership and were required to monitor the numbers of BAME staff recruited to the programmes. Brent was also part of the Mayor of London’s ‘Getting Ahead London’ scheme which supported the progression of senior leaders to future Headteachers and had a target for BAME applicants. Gail Tolley advised that whilst role models were important, the overall quality of leadership and teaching in a schools had a significant impact on performance.
Brian Grady confirmed that the Caribbean Qualifications Authority had previously visited to discuss the introduction of a Kitemark qualification. An update on the outcome of these discussions with Brent’s schools could be obtained for the committee.
John Galligan advised that there were gaps in attainment for other groups and each school was responsible for addressing these, with appropriate challenge provided by the School Effectiveness Team. At the Annual Governors Conference, the attainment of Brent’s pupils was explored and the role of governors in analysing and challenging leaders on this matter was emphasised. Gail Tolley identified that the gap between the achievement of Somali Boys and Girls for instance, narrowed as they progressed through the school system and noted that there was significantly greater uptake of Early Years provision for Somali children compared to Black Caribbean children, particularly boys. It was emphasised that 94 per cent of Early Years provision in Brent was rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted and that uptake of these early years’ opportunities could be an important factor in supporting progress for children in the latter stages of their education.
The Chair thanked everyone for their contribution to the discussion.
RESOLVED:
i) That the Strategic Director, Children and Young People, note and present the following recommendations of the committee to the Setting and School Effectiveness Board and the Brent Schools Partnership.
a) Robust parental engagement should be undertaken by schools to enable parents to navigate and participate in the school system, allowing them to better support their children to succeed.
b) Consideration be given to bringing together parents of Asian students, a group which achieved well academically both locally and nationally, with parents of Black Caribbean students to share and discuss approaches to educational support and other related matters.
ii) That the Strategic Director, Children and Young People, seek confirmation from the Brent Schools Partnership of the timeline for delivering the online resource for parents, and communicate the view of the committee that this would be a valuable resource and should be delivered at the earliest opportunity.
Supporting documents: