Agenda item

This report aims to inform members about the lowest performing schools in Brent, the factors which contribute to their low performance and the actions taken by the LA and the schools themselves to address the challenges.

Faira Ellks (Head of School Improvement Service) introduced the report which aimed to inform members about the lowest performing schools in Brent, the factors which contributed to their low performance and the action which had been taken by the Local Authority and the schools themselves to address the challenges.  She began by highlighting that there were three schools which were currently in an Ofsted category, two of which had been issued Notice to Improve and one which had been judged to need special measures.  She advised that over the last few years there had been a decline in the number of schools which had been going into an Ofsted category.  Faira Ellks drew the committee’s attention to the second part of the report which set out other low performing schools, which were not necessarily in an Ofsted category. She stated that whilst there were some areas of concern, overall the picture was positive.

Faira Ellks set out some of the factors which contributed to attainment being below average, such as high levels of social and economic disadvantage, weak leadership and not enough good teachers.  She explained that the School Improvement Service regularly analysed the attainment and progress of pupils in each school, comparing these outcomes with Brent and national averages.  She set out some of the actions which had been taken by the School Improvement Service to improve standards and concluded by referring to some of the actions which schools had taken to raise standards. Faira Ellks then introduced Sarah Bolt, the head teacher of Newfield Primary School, who was present to share with the committee her experience of what it was like to work in a school which had been given Notice to Improve and how the school had managed to drive forward improvement.  She added that Notice to Improve had been lifted.

Sarah Bolt provided the committee with a handout which set out the key challenges the school faced and how they responded to these challenges. She drew the committee’s attention to some of the general points which had been made in the briefing note and explained that she was happy to answer questions from members of the committee. 

The committee congratulated Sarah Bolt and the rest of the staff on the excellent work which had been carried out to raise standards at Newfield Primary School.   In response to a question regarding what the council could do the help Newfield Primary School to improve further, Sarah Bolt explained that additional funding and the introduction of a two-form entry system would be of great benefit to Newfield Primary School.  Sarah Bolt explained that not only would a two-form entry help ensure that there would be more flexibility if one or two children did not do well in their results, but that it would also provide the school with the option to mix classes and would give the children the experience of mixing with a wider range of other children.  The committee noted that it recognised the need for two forms of entry atNewfield Primary School.   Councillor Wharton pointed out that the borough was short of school places and that if Newfield Primary School was to become two-form entry, it would help to achieve the needs of that area.  With regards to the funding, Sarah Bolt explained that the school had received funding last year, from London Challenge, which had helped towards the provision of one-to-one tuition for the pupils, but that this had been taken away once the school had improved.   

In response to a query regarding homework clubs, Sarah Bolt stated that Newfield Primary School had a free homework club which pupils could attend to gain support with their homework. She also advised that there was a lunchtime ICT club and an after school club which had to be paid for by parents.  She added that some children also had booster sessions.  Sarah Bolt advised that the school was also planning to hold a session for parents where they could come to visit the classroom to discuss with the teachers what their children had been learning.   In responding to a question regarding sharing best practice with other schools, Sarah Bolt explained that the head teachers in the area did talk regularly to share ideas and that she had found this to be very useful.  She stated that the sharing of best practice was also able to take place at the Harlesden cluster meetings, which were for head teachers in the area.   She added that the mentor she had, when she first became a head teacher, was also useful. 

It was noted that the work around community cohesion and the recognition of other cultures had played a large role in raising standards. In answering a question regarding the large amount of new arrivals that the school experienced each year, Sarah Bolt explained that there was a temporary housing estate situated near the school which a number of the children came from. She added that due to the nature of the housing estate, families could get rehoused at any time.  Following a question regarding the development of the health and wellbeing of staff, Sarah Bolt informed the committee that all the staff at the school were part of the wellbeing programme which provided free access to counselling and support.  She added that the staff also had wellbeing targets to meet, such as having to leave the building by a certain time. 

The Chair thanked Sarah Bolt for her presentation and asked members if they had any questions for Faira Ellks regarding the ‘supporting schools to succeed’ report.  A concern was raised by a representative from the Teachers’ Panel regarding paragraph 3.22 of the report, which stressed the need to ensure that all staff were held accountable for the outcomes achieved by pupils.  In response, Faira Ellks stated that it was not about punishing staff, but was about creating an atmosphere which enabled open dialogue to take place between head teachers and class teachers regarding pupils’ progress.   Another representative of the Teachers’ Panel raised a concern regarding the performance of academies in paragraph 3.24 of the report and that the local authority would be limited in what it could do to influence the outcomes of academies.    In response, Councillor Wharton explained that two of the academies mentioned only became academies last year and that they became academies because the schools were failing.  In answering a question regarding the two secondary schools which had been given a Notice to Improve due to the failure to meet safeguarding arrangements, Faira Ellks advised that Her Majesty's Inspectorate had found that these schools were making good progress in this area.  

RESOLVED:-

(i)         that the improvement made by a number of low performing schools be noted;

(ii)        that action taken by schools and the School Improvement Service to secure improvements be noted.