Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive Officer of Camden Learning.

Camden schools continue work and learn from each other enabling a highly coherent local school system to the benefit of all of its pupils. Pupils undertook externally marked national examinations in 2022, for the first time since these were suspended due to the pandemic in 2020. No school or college level education performance data was published in 2020 or 2021. Comparisons with 2019 are discouraged. However, outcomes indicate that schools and young people have responded well to the disruption caused by school closures, through remote learning, catch up programmes and intervention. Camden schools overall continued to perform well compared to national and London averages. However, concerns remain over the impact of lost learning and the continuing attainment gaps for disadvantaged learners, particularly the writing and oracy skills of youngest disadvantaged learners. This report outlines outcomes for key groups in Camden schools and highlights where the differences lie. This report has been commissioned from Camden Learning by Camden Council

Consideration was given to the report of the CEO of Camden Learning.

The CEO of Camden Learning introduced the report and presented slides, included within the agenda, which set out: an executive summary of Camden’s school achievement and standards and Ofsted inspection update; outcomes by key stage and key groups; and attendance and exclusions. Camden schools had overall continued to perform well compared to national and London averages, however concerns remained over the impact of lost learning during the pandemic and the continued attainment gaps for disadvantaged children. In addition, it was stated that the results presented were from the first external examinations since 2019, where in the interim period students had been majorly impacted by pandemic lockdowns and school absences which had a multitude of consequences for young people.

The Chair thanked officers for the report and invited questions and comments from the Committee. The following was discussed:

-       Members praised the thorough report and detailed sections on ethnic groups, gender and intersectionality.

-       It was confirmed that there was a working party group focussed on post-16 and how to retain high performing students in Camden schools. This was attended by Camden secondary school colleagues. Work had begun and there would be a report coming next year.

-       Officers stated they would share information which explained the ‘open bucket’ subjects included in Key Stage 4 data to the Committee.

Action By – CEO Camden Learning

-       A Member commented that the Council should consider accessing external expert advice on how to support disadvantaged young Bangladeshi pupils in relation to attainment, because the challenges for some pupils had been reported for some years in Camden. This group was also disproportionately affected by the pandemic. In response, officers agreed the gaps that had existed for a long time were frustrating and complex. From an educational perspective, education in Britain had changed dramatically over the past 40 years, and then again in the past 10 years. There was now greater awareness, cultural engagement, and communication with communities which didn’t exist in decades past. In Camden, Bangladeshi pupils were performing well in comparison to national statistics.

-       In response to a Member asking if there was any targeted support for disadvantaged white British pupils, it was confirmed that attendance was a particular focus and ensuring that robust systems were in place to address persistent absences. Also, they were working on developing the curriculum to be more relevant for some groups.

-       In relation to the next steps of focus to support Caribbean and Somali pupils, a Co-opted Member asked what social justice leadership would look like in Camden. In response, it was stated that there was a series of sessions planned themed on how to understand system social justice leadership, led by Professor Paul Miller who was a leading thinker in the subject area. All Camden school leaders were invited to attend.

-       A Co-opted Member stated that it was overwhelmingly ethic groups presented in the data who were suffering from a systematic disadvantage and suffering nonrelevant curriculum and relatability. They asked how that was being addressed and progress was being measured. A Member asked how Camden Learning was measuring the success of their main action points in this area. In response, it was confirmed that it was important to look at the data where Camden was performing strongly and not so strongly, down to individual groups and schools. Standards meetings were held with schools at the beginning of each year and there were termly assessment windows where progress was discussed. There was work in trying to ensure the curriculum was relevant for Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students, that teachers were representative, schools were supporting high ambition for pupils, and that staff in schools understood systematic racism. There were targeted actions for different schools, as well as general wider development work taking place.

-       It was confirmed that the current Early Years screening process and phonics testing was expected to remain.

-       In relation to Early Years Good Level of Development (GLD) variations, a Member asked if there was a plan in response to the increased gap. Secondly, they asked how the weaker writing outcomes would affect children later in their education. In response, it was confirmed the impact on writing and oracy skills of children during the pandemic was quite profound. To mitigate the affects there was a large focus on catch-up and a focus on those children who did not achieve the expected targets, backed up with funding and tutoring and adjustments to the curriculum in schools.  At this stage, it was difficult to predict the long-term impact and they would be looking closely at achievement data in the following years.

-       It was confirmed that there was disparity in Early Years profile measuring, which could act as a blunt and subjective measure. Camden Learning was working with some schools to improve assessment practices in monitoring and assessment.

-       A Co-opted Member commented that the gaps closing between KS2 and KS3 were not capturing the same cohort of children, because it was known that many higher attainer pupils left Camden schools between those stages. The Co-opted Member suggested it would be helped for this change to be shown in the data.

-       A Co-opted Member stated they would like to see more variability data between schools and different areas of the borough, a particular example being able to see if children of the same ability perform differently between schools. Parents needed to be reassured their children would do well at any school in the borough. In response, it was stated there should be caution in comparing cohorts of children between schools, because this may reflect the varying of curriculums. Parents took into consideration many types of data when looking at prospective schools ranging from word of mouth through to Ofsted ratings. In addition, it was confirmed that Camden Learning had mobile pupil data which would be helpful to explore.

-       A Co-opted Member stated that school absence had always been an issue in Camden, particularly in secondary schools. They asked if it understood why this was a challenge in Camden, if mental health was a factor behind the trend, and if Camden Learning were facilitating peer-to-peer leaning hubs between schools to address the reasons sitting behind these absences. In response, it was stated that students who were at risk of absence and expulsion had often switched off from learning, complex factors that included teaching that may not have their needs or the curriculum was not perceived as relevant to them. This issue was especially prevalent for some SEND students if they were unable to access tasks set by teachers. This was a complex challenge and schools had the influence to change and adapt the curriculum.

-       In response to a Co-opted Member commenting that Camden Learning needed to address why some students were finding it hard to cope in the education system and enjoy learning, it was confirmed that one focus of Camden Learning was to look at the pastoral element of the curriculum. Education was about developing the whole child, including personal development. Also, there had been a mental health survey of children in Camden by the health and wellbeing team which showed pupils were under more pressure than ever.

-       It was confirmed that before Ofsted inspections in schools, Camden Learning was aware of the risk areas for individual schools and they prepared them to aim for success.

-       A Member stated that the health and wellbeing of teachers and support staff was not statutory data. They commented that the high cost of living and transport was having an impact of school staff, as well as all of the other challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic, and asked if Camden Learning considered this data.  In response, it was stated that there were wellbeing surveys given to teachers which fed back to the health and wellbeing team. To retain teachers, Camden had to be a good place to work, as well as providing professional opportunities.

RESOLVED -

THAT the report be noted.