6 September 2019 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

Welcome back to the new academic year. I hope you managed to get some rest away from school so that that you and your team are ready for the challenges that lie ahead. I am delighted that we remain above national in almost all measures despite a few slight dips against last year’s results. I’m very aware of all the hard work this data represents, and I’d like to take this opportunity to offer my thanks to you and your teams for all that you do to improve outcomes for Kent children and young people.

I had the privilege to visit one of our schools yesterday and enjoyed seeing new teachers and new pupils settling into lessons. I look forward to starting the new academic year with a more established team. The Education People are now commencing their second year delivering services to schools and the Integrated Children’s Services team restructure is now embedded. I’d also like to formally introduce Michelle Stanley who joined us at Easter as our Education Lead Adviser, some of you may have already met her and she will be attending forthcoming district Headteacher meetings and other education focused meetings in the future, so please do take the opportunity to introduce yourself. This appointment is part of our continued commitment to focus on education and to drive up standards and I have asked Michelle to provide regular input into the e-bulletin messages moving forwards.

Provisional School Results in 2019

As usual at the start of September for my first e-bulletin we provide a summary of the provisional school results for all Key Stages and the emerging national results. However, in the case of GCSE and Post-16 the data is very provisional until more information is published later in the autumn - please can I encourage those schools who have not shared their data with Management Information to do so as soon as possible. In 2019 there have been some dips in performance at Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, whilst Key Stage 2 performance has improved, except for Reading. It is encouraging to see that early results for GCSE and Post-16 show some positive improvements.

Early Years Foundation Stage

Provisional data for the Early Years Foundation Stage shows a slight dip in the percentage of pupils achieving a Good Level of Development (down by 1%). National results have risen 0.3% meaning that Kent is 2.3% above National.

Key Stage 1

Provisional results at the end of Key Stage 1 show that Kent’s performance has declined at both Expected and Greater Depth outcomes, across core subject areas however National performance has dipped slightly meaning that Kent is still performing above National levels in every indicator.

Key Stage 2

Provisional results are positive for the end of Key Stage 2, with increases across writing, mathematics, and combined indicators. Reading results have declined in Kent for both Expected and Greater Depth levels. National performance has declined in writing and mathematics. Overall, Kent is still performing above National levels.

GCSE

Early data provided by schools on GCSE results day in August indicates that students have achieved well this year, with both Standard Pass and Strong Pass indicators in English and mathematics showing an increase from last year’s figures. However, this is very early data and subject to change. There are still 21 mainstream schools yet to submit their data or who have outstanding issues with their data submissions. For those schools, 2018 data has been used instead in order to produce early local authority level figures.

Post-16

Early data provided by schools on Post-16 results day in August indicates that students have achieved well this year, with headline Average Point Score per Entry indicators showing an increase from last year’s figures across Academic, Applied General and Tech Level subject areas. However, this is very early data and subject to change. There are still 25 mainstream schools yet to submit their data or who have outstanding issues with their data submissions. For those school, 2018 data has been used instead in order to produce early local authority level figures.

Ofsted Inspections

We finished the last academic year with 91% of schools rated good or outstanding by Ofsted. This is significantly above the National figure of 85%. We also have a decreasing proportion of schools rated inadequate.

Once again thank you to all the governors and senior leadership teams who continue to work so hard to ensure every child goes to a good school and we achieve our vision that Kent will be one of the best places to be educated in the country.

Paul Carter CBE, Leader Kent County Council

As I write this message, all Kent County Council staff have been informed of Paul Carter’s intention to stand down as the Leader of Kent County Council on 17 October 2019. Paul intends to continue as County Councillor. It will come as no surprise to you that Paul has always championed the work of education in Kent since he was elected as the Cabinet Member for Education back in 1998. I am sure you will want to wish Paul well for his future endeavours. I will keep you all informed when news of the new Leader is announced on 4 October 2019.

Matt Dunkley CBE
Corporate Director
Children, Young People and Education