Agenda item

11.30

Christine Malone, Strategic Lead for Education Quality, will attend to present the Ofsted profile of Oxfordshire schools and settings for the 2015/16 academic year.

The Committee had before them a report by the Director for Children’s Services setting out Ofsted Monthly monitoring for the 2015/16 academic year.  The key messages arising from the report were as follows:

·                the proportion of primary schools that were good/outstanding had increased by 1%pt to 87% (198 schools).  The Oxfordshire figure was now in-line with the national figure as at 30 April 2016.

·                The proportion of secondary schools judged as good/outstanding had increased to 86% (30 schools).  Oxfordshire remained above the national figure of 76% as at 30 April 2016.

·                All of Oxfordshire’s special schools were judged by Ofsted to be good or better.

·                The number of inadequate schools had increased by 1 to 7.

·                There had been a small number of inspections that had taken place with results yet to be published.  Where officers had been made aware, outcomes for those schools had been included in the county figures.

·                One primary school, New Marston, had been judged to be inadequate this month. 

Officers further reported that in 2015, Ofsted decided that Oxfordshire was a local authority of concern regarding early years outcomes (both inspection and children’s outcomes). HMI had conducted a series of visits and the Early Years Team had changed working practices. As a result, good progress was being made. The 2016 Early Years Foundation Stage Profile outcomes should provide evidence of a narrowing of the gap between outcomes for children eligible for Pupil Premium and those not eligible.

In relation to settings, officers reported that compared with national inspection data, statistical neighbours, and South East local authorities, Oxfordshire had seen more inadequate inspection outcomes for settings since September 2015. Annex 1 to the report outlined that there have been 15 inadequate outcomes (Our Lady’s received two inadequate outcomes and was closed). Focused work by the Early Years Team to support providers had resulted in four settings being re-inspected as good, and six settings moving from inadequate to requires improvement. Three settings were still inadequate (Cygnets Nursery Kidlington, Shiplake Village Nursery and Sacred Heart Nursery, Henley). They were making progress and were due re-inspection soon.

In addition, too many settings were judged as requires improvement in Oxfordshire. The Early Years Team was providing support for all such settings. During May 2016, for example, four settings were judged as requiring improvement. Annex 1 to the report outlined how eight settings received a second requires improvement judgement. Work with those settings was being prioritised. No new funded two year-olds were placed in settings inspected as requires improvement.

Officers further reported that of the six Out of School provider inspections since September 2015, there have been no inadequate outcomes, one requires improvement, three good and two compliant with requirements.

Members of the Committee expressed concern that a number of schools were failing over safeguarding issues and questioned what action was being taken.  Officers confirmed that the Council had responded quickly in failing schools and that following action the school would be re-inspected and in most cases improved.  Only 2 inadequate settings remained in Oxfordshire and there were now no inadequate childminders, which was the first time this had been the case since 2012.

Members further expressed concern over the reduction in the school improvement function and the possible effects on attainment, particularly as Oxfordshire as it did not have a high number of outstanding schools.  Councillor Howson commented that the underfunding of very small primary schools potentially led to the school being unable of attain outstanding.  Officers commented that the schools strategic partnership board was tasked with ensuring that partners work together so that statutory duties were met.

The Committee congratulated officers on the work carried out and on the positive outcomes, whilst noting that they could be assured that the County had the resources to carry out its statutory duties.