Previous references:  Minutes 38 (2015/16) and 36 (2016/17)

A report will be submitted by the Deputy Director, Education, Employment and Skills (Document “T”) in relation to the achievements of the Authority’s Children Looked After in Early Years and Key Stages 1, 2 and 4 for 2017.  The data concerns those young people who have been in care continuously for a minimum period of twelve months.

Recommended –

(1)       That the contents of Document “T” be welcomed.

(2)       That the continued work of the Virtual School be supported.

                                                                        (Ken Poucher – 01274 439623)

Previous references:  Minutes 38 (2015/16) and 36 (2016/17)

A report was submitted by the Deputy Director, Education, Employment and Skills (Document “T”) in relation to the achievements of the Authority’s Looked After Children (LAC) in Early Years and Key Stages 1, 2 and 4 for 2017.  The data concerned those young people who had been in care continuously for a minimum period of twelve months.

The Virtual School Head introduced the report and highlighted the following points:

·         In Early Years, the cohort was 24 children. The percentage achieving a Good Level of Development (GLD) had risen from 29% in 2016 to 50% which was the highest ever figure achieved. The figure for all Bradford children was 68%, which was closing on the national figure of 71%.

·         There had been a continued improvement in Key Stage 1. In Reading, Writing and Maths the percentage of LAC meeting the national age related expectations was better than achieved by LAC nationally in all subjects and closer to the figure for non LAC in Bradford.

·         In Key Stage 2; 32% of LAC nationally had achieved the new combined expected standard which was a 7% increase. In Bradford this figure had increased by 11% to 28%. More work was needed specifically with boys in reading writing and maths but the gap to the national figure was closing.

·         In Key Stage 4 there had been 65 children in the cohort. The grading system had been changed to a number based system between 1 and 9, 4 being a low pass. The Progress 8 score was a key measure which recorded progress across 8 key subjects and a figure between -1 and + 1 was classed as average. Bradford LAC had achieved  -1.02 but this was much better than LAC nationally. Bradford LAC’s Attainment 8 score (average attainment across the 8 subjects by the end of Key Stage 4) was in line with that achieved by Virtual Schools nationally but lower than that for non LAC. The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) score (numbers of pupils achieving A* to C in core academic subjects) was also in line with the national figure.

·         Overall the results were at least equal to or above national figures at all key stages; this was down to the work done by the teachers within schools and the Virtual School.

He responded to questions from Members:

·         In Bradford 75% of Pupil Premium was directed to schools and 25% retained for bespoke intervention.

·         The aim was to improve upon the existing figures in the next year but each cohort was unique so it could be difficult to compare year on year.  Changes in the way data was processed nationally could also make comparison with previous years problematic.

The Portfolio Holder referred to the Area Opportunities Fund and schools being invited to bid for funding for ‘life skills’ additional to those in the curriculum. It was suggested that the Virtual School (VS) should make a request for funding.

It was suggested that links should be made between the Virtual School and the CICC; its members would provide good role models for younger LAC.

It was noted that this report was a positive story and that Bradford was very much a leader in this field; there was a strong focus on attainment outcomes as well as the pastoral element.

The Virtual School Head said that the collection and use of data as if all these young people were within one school was a challenge for the team but the work was outcome and attainment driven.

In response to questions he confirmed that:

·         The VS also provided challenge to schools and each school had a designated teacher for LAC.

·         A member of VS staff was designated to specifically focus on attendance. The attendance figure for Bradford Virtual School children was 96.1% which was better than the national figure and the figure for Bradford children.

Resolved –

(1)       That the contents of Document “T” and the positive progress being made be welcomed and that the continuing work of the Virtual School be supported.

(2)       That the Interim Deputy Director, Education and Learning be requested to approach the Bradford Opportunity Area Partnership Board in respect of the possibility of the Virtual School accessing Essential Life Skills Funding.

(3)       That it be noted that the Virtual School Head will attend a future meeting of the Children in Care Council.

ACTION:       Interim Deputy Director, Education and Learning

                        Virtual School Head