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A message from Patrick Leeson:

7 November 2017 weekly update

7 November 2017

This week, Patrick summarises the attainment outcomes for Kent’s vulnerable groups in 2017 and our key priority to narrow pupil's achievement gaps for these groups, especially those supported by Pupil Premium.

Dear Colleagues

Outcomes for Vulnerable Groups in 2017

A key priority for us all has been to narrow achievement gaps for vulnerable groups, especially for those pupils supported by the Pupil Premium. As we know all achievement gaps at any age are of great significance to the life chances of children and young people as they move through their schooling. Children that fall behind in the earlier years of learning do not catch up sufficiently with their peers and our gaps in Kent have remained stubbornly wide. We continue to be determined to narrow these gaps and reverse the trend whereby achievement gaps get wider as children get older.

We are having some success with this, in that the actual attainment for pupils on free school meals is improving year on year, although the gaps continue to be unacceptably wide. In 2017 attainment outcomes also improved for children in care and pupils with special educational needs.

As we continue to raise attainment overall year on year, we need to work even harder to narrow achievement gaps for vulnerable groups, especially pupils supported by the Pupil Premium. Although Kent has performed above the national average for most Key Stages in 2017, gaps in attainment for pupils supported by the Pupil Premium, Children in Care (CiC), and for pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) remain wide, and are wider than the national gaps. However this year there has been encouraging progress and improvement, which is very welcome.

Early Years Foundation Stage

In the Early Years Foundation Stage the FSM gap has narrowed from 20% in 2016 to 10.1% this year which is very positive. This means that 64% of children on free school meals achieved a good level of development compared to 58% in 2016.

However, the SEN gap has widened from 52.8% in 2016 to 59.3% in 2017, which means fewer children with special educational needs (15%) achieved a good level of development in 2017, compared to 27% in 2016. This is very disappointing.

The gap for children in care relates to very few children (20 Kent and 7 Other Local Authority), but the gap has widened from 33.3% in 2016 to 49.4% in 2017. Once again this means that very few of the children in care (24%) in the Early Years achieved a good level of development by the age of five, compared to 28.6% in 2016.

Key Stage 1

At Key Stage I in 2017, the proportion of FSM pupils who attained or exceeded the expected standard in Reading was 61.8%, which is in line with the national figure and ranks Kent second amongst its statistical neighbours. This is slightly better than the 2016 figure of 60%.

The widest gap for FSM pupils was in Writing, but at the same time 53.6% attained or exceeded the expected standard compared to 50% nationally. This is better than the 2016 Kent figure of 51%. Although there is an attainment gap of 21.1%, which is 5% wider than the national figure, Kent is ranked first amongst its statistical neighbours for FSM attainment in Writing.

The proportion of FSM pupils who attained or exceeded the expected standard in Mathematics was 61.4%, compared to 58% nationally, which ranks Kent first amongst its statistical neighbours. This is better than the 2016 figure of 59%. The mathematics attainment gap is 19.1%, which is 4% wider than the national gap.

In 2017, the attainment gap for SEN pupils was wide across all subjects at Key Stage 1. In Reading, 33.6% pupils with SEN attained or exceeded the expected standard compared with 29.6% nationally. This is also better than the 2016 figure of 30.7%. The attainment gap is 47.8%, which is wider than the national figure.

The attainment gap is widest in Writing. The proportion of SEN pupils who attained or exceeded the expected standard was 21.5%, compared to 20.2% nationally. This is similar to 2016. There is an attainment gap of 58%, which is 4% wider than the national figure. Kent is ranked fifth for this measure amongst its 11 statistical neighbours.

In Mathematics, 35.8% of pupils with SEN attained or exceeded the expected standard, compared with 30.4% nationally. This is better than the 2016 figure of 32.4%. The attainment gap is 47.0%, which is 3% wider than the national figure. Kent is ranked fifth for this measure amongst its statistical neighbours.

In Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling, 30.7% of pupils with SEN attained or exceeded the expected standard. The attainment gap is 53.3% which is wider than the national figure.

In 2017, the proportion of Children in Care (CiC) who attained or exceeded the expected standard at Key Stage 1 in Reading was 61.9%, an attainment gap of 17%. This is a significant improvement on the 2016 figure of 38.3%. In Writing, 52.4% attained or exceeded the expected standard, a gap of 20.0%. Once again this compares very positively with the 2016 figure of 29.4%. The attainment gap was widest in Mathematics, at 30.9%, and 47.6% of CiC attained or exceeded the expected standard compared to 32.4% in 2016. Overall these outcomes are a significant improvement compared to the previous year.

Key Stage 2

At Key Stage 2 the attainment outcomes for FSM pupils improved in 2017 across all measures compared to 2016, but gaps remain wide due to improved outcomes for all pupils. In 2017, the proportion of FSM pupils who achieved the ‘expected standard’ in Reading, Writing and Mathematics combined was 42.3%, which is a six percentage point improvement compared to 2016. There remains, however, an attainment gap of 25.4%, which is similar to 2016.

In 2017, the proportion of FSM pupils who achieved the ‘expected standard’ in Reading was 55.9%, compared to 52% in 2016. This is an improvement of four percentage points, however the reading attainment gap of 21.0% is the same as in 2016.

The proportion of FSM pupils who achieved the ‘expected standard’ in Writing is 62.3%, compared to 61% in 2016. The writing attainment gap is 20.9% which is a slight improvement from 2016 when the gap was 22%. Attainment is higher in writing than other subjects for FSM pupils.

The proportion of FSM pupils who achieved the ‘expected standard’ in Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling is 57.0%, compared to 52% in 2016. There is an attainment gap of 21.8 percentage points which is slightly larger than the 21% gap in 2016.

In Mathematics, 57.8% of FSM pupils achieved the ‘expected standard’ in 2017 compared to 51% in 2016. The attainment gap narrowed in 2017 to 20.6 %, compared to 24% in 2016.

SEN Pupils

The attainment gap at Key Stage 2 for SEN pupils remains wide across all measures in 2017. The proportion of SEN pupils who achieved the ‘expected standard’ in Reading, Writing and Mathematics combined is 19.4% which is 4% better compared to 2016, when the national average was 15%. There is an attainment gap of 53.0% which is similar to the gap in 2016.

In Reading, 33.6% pupils with SEN achieved the ‘expected standard’ in 2017, which is similar to 2016 outcomes. There is an attainment gap of 47.8% which is slightly larger than the 45% gap in 2016.

The attainment gap is widest in Writing. The proportion of SEN pupils who achieved the ‘expected standard’ is 32.9% which is broadly similar to 2016. There is an attainment gap of 56.1% which is a slight improvement on the 57% gap in 2016.

In Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling, 30.7% of SEN pupils achieved the ‘expected standard’, which is similar to 2016. There is an attainment gap of 53.3% which has widened in 2017, having been 45% in 2016.

In Mathematics, 35.8% of SEN pupils achieved the ‘expected standard’ which is a five percentage point improvement compared to 2016 outcomes. There is an attainment gap of 47.0% which is has narrowed by one percentage point since 2016.

In 2017, the outcomes at Key Stage 2 for Children in Care (CiC) were significantly better than the previous year, which is very welcome. The proportion of CiC who achieved the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Mathematics combined was 38.1%, which is significantly better than 2016 when the figure was 21.6%. This means there is an achievement gap of 18.8%, compared to 36.8% in 2016.

In Reading, 57.1% achieved the ‘expected standard’, which is significantly better than the 2016 figure of 41.9%. However, in Writing, 47.6% achieved the expected standard, compared to 51.4% in 2016. In Mathematics, 42.9% of CiC achieved the expected standard, compared to 41.9% in 2016.

The figures for Key Stage 4 and 5 will be available in January 2018.

Research shows family engagement and family motivation is highly correlated with attainment at school. The National Audit Office has found that 91% of school leaders see parental engagement as a barrier to closing the attainment gap of some disadvantaged pupils. We aim to ensure there is more focus on engaging and supporting parents and that support from the Early Help services is available for all the children and families who need it.

The funding for the Pupil Premium in Kent now exceeds £55 million and while there have been welcome improvements in 2017 for pupils on free school meals we still need to make more of a difference to closing achievement gaps for these less advantaged learners.

Similarly, for SEN learners where achievement gaps continue to be too wide, we allocate over £200 million in Kent to supporting the needs of these pupils in mainstream and Special schools, yet there is limited improvement to their progress and attainment in relation to other pupils. Once again we aim to ensure that schools make the most effective use of High Needs funding and participate in the local LIFT arrangements, where additional support and advice can be accessed.

Overall there is much to celebrate here in the 2017 results for vulnerable groups, with clear improvements compared to 2016. On a number of measures schools have achieved better standards of attainment for free school meal pupils, children in care and pupils with special educational needs, which is very encouraging.

School Funding Consultation

We are currently consulting on a range of proposals to change the local funding formula used to calculate annual school budgets.

Maintained schools, academies and free schools are invited to give their views on the School Funding Consultation. Schools will need to complete a short registration process before gaining access to the documentation.

To accompany the consultation, we have produced a spreadsheet model which illustrates, at individual school level, the implications of the various proposals.

The consultation will be discussed further at the Autumn Headteacher briefings throughout November.

Please note that the consultation closes on Sunday 26 November.

If you have any questions about the consultation, please email SchoolFunding@kent.gov.uk.

Patrick Leeson
Corporate Director
Children, Young People and Education