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Children, Culture and Communities Scrutiny Committee

Report of the Corporate Director of Children, Education and Communities

23 January 2024


Attainment Gap

 

Summary

 

1.           This report provides Members with information about school performance in the academic year 2022-2023, the outcomes of disadvantaged pupils, and the percentage gap in achievement between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.

 

Recommendation

 

2.           Members are asked to note the report's contents and consider plans for ongoing scrutiny of the issues raised within the analysis of the data and the key priorities for improvement.

 

3.           Reason: To ensure that the Committee fully discharges its responsibilities where a local authority must exercise its education functions with a view to promoting high standards Section 13A of the Education Act 1996.

 

Background

 

4.      Our ambition is that children and young people have access to learning throughout their lives to equip them with the skills to succeed and to support our schools to support our young people. The 2023-24 outcomes continue to demonstrate York’s strong education system has some of the best-performing schools in the country and enables most of our children and young people to reach levels of attainment above the national average.

 

5.           4,006 of York LA's 23,093 pupils considered for Pupil Premium are classified as disadvantaged; this is 17.3% of the cohort. This is 9.4% lower than the national average of 26.7%.

 

6.           Historically, the progress and attainment of Disadvantaged children and young people have been below national averages. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the gap between disadvantaged children and young people and their peers was narrowing; however, since the impact of the pandemic, the Gap continues to widen, apart from where specific strategies are in place, including Early Talk for York (ETfY). We are committed to reducing the disadvantaged GAP and addressing the inequalities in our educational system in York.

 

7.           We continue to champion children from disadvantaged and vulnerable groups whose outcomes are below those of their peers nationally and to ensure that gaps in achievement between different groups of children and young people are closing. Our pioneering Early Talk for York programme, which aims to improve the speech, language and communication outcomes for disadvantaged children, has already seen significant gains, which we aim to build on in the future. 

 

Key messages

 

Early Years Foundation Stage (Good Level of Development)

 

8.           46.5% of York’s Disadvantaged cohort achieved a GLD, 99 pupils out of 213. This is 5.5% lower than the national Disadvantaged cohort at 52%. York’s Disadvantage GLD fell by 6.5% from 53.0% in 2021/22 to 46.5% in 2022/3, while the National Disadvantaged result increased by 2.5%. In York, from the outcomes in 2018/19, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the latest outcomes in 2022/23, the gap between the disadvantaged cohort and their peers has widened from 20.6% to 23.2%.

 

Phonics expected standard (Year 1)

 

9.           64.1% of York’s Disadvantaged cohort achieved the expected standard in phonics, 2.7% lower than the National Disadvantaged average of 66.8%. York’s Disadvantaged cohort Phonics Expected Standard has increased by 6.7% from 57.4% in 2021/22 to 64.1% in 2022/23.

 

10.   York’s Disadvantaged gap has reduced by 3.4% from 22.1% in 2021/22 to 18.7% in 2022/23. In York, since the 2018/19 outcomes (pre-Covid Pandemic) to 2022/23, the gap between the disadvantaged cohort and their peers has increased from 12.3% to 16.0%.

 

End of Key Stage 1 (KS1) Expected Standard

 

11.        KS1 Reading expected standard: In York, 46.5% of the Disadvantaged cohort achieved the expected standard in Reading, 7.5% lower than the National average of 44.5%. York’s Disadvantaged cohort's Reading Expected Standard has increased by 3.0% from 43.5% in 2021/22 to 46.5% in 2022/23 compared to 2.3% Nationally.

 

12.        KS1 Writing expected standard: In York, 37.3% of the Disadvantaged cohort achieved the expected standard in Writing, 7.2% lower than the National average of 44.5%. York’s Disadvantaged cohort's Writing Expected Standard has increased by 3.1% from 34.2% in 2021/22 to 37.3% in 2022/23.

 

13.        KS1 Maths expected standard: In York, 51.3% of the Disadvantaged cohort achieved the expected standard in Maths, 4.5% lower than the National average of 55.8%. York’s Disadvantaged cohort's Maths Expected Standard has increased by 9.9% from 41.4% in 2021/22 to 51.3% in 2022/23.

 

14.        KS1 Reading Writing and Maths combined (RWM) expected standard: In York, 32.8% of the Disadvantaged cohort achieved the expected standard in Reading, Writing & Maths, 7.1% lower than the National average of 39.9%. York’s Disadvantaged cohort's Reading, Writing & Maths Expected Standard has increased by 4.7% from 28.1% in 2021/22 to 32.8% in 2022/23, compared to the National average increase of 3.0%, from 53.4% in 2021/22 to 56% in 2022/23. In York, from the outcomes in 2018/19, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the latest outcomes in 2022/23, the gap between the disadvantaged cohort and their peers has widened from 23.1% to 23.5%.

 

 

 

 

 

 

End of Key Stage 2 (KS2) expected standard

 

15.        KS1 to KS2 Reading progress: York LA's Disadvantaged cohort of 364 pupils have a Reading Progress Score of -1.36. This is 0.49 lower than the national Disadvantaged cohort at -0.87. York Disadvantaged cohort's Reading Progress Score has decreased by 0.69 from -0.67 in 2021/22 to -1.36 in 2022/23.

 

16.        KS1 to KS2 Writing progress: York LA's Disadvantaged cohort of 366 pupils have a Writing Progress Score of -1.07. This is 0.36 lower than the national non-disadvantaged cohort at -0.71. York Disadvantaged cohort's Writing Progress Score has increased by 0.11 from -1.18 in 2021/22 to -1.07 in 2022/23.

 

17.        KS1 to KS2 Maths progress: York LA's Disadvantaged cohort of 364 pupils have a Maths Progress Score of -1.49. This is 0.42 lower than the national non-disadvantaged cohort at -1.07. York Disadvantaged cohort's Maths Progress Score has decreased by 0.45 from -1.04 in 2021/22 to -1.49 in 2022/23.

 

18.        KS2 Reading Expected Standard: 53.9% of York LA's Disadvantaged cohort achieved the expected standard in Reading, 6.3% lower than the National average of 60.2%. York Disadvantaged cohort's Reading Expected Standard has decreased by 7.1% from 61.0% in 2021/22 to 53.9% in 2022/23

 

19.        KS2 Writing expected standard: 50.3% of York LA's Disadvantaged cohort achieved the expected standard in Writing, 7.9% lower than the National average of 58.2%. York Disadvantaged cohort's Writing Expected Standard has decreased by 2.3% from 52.6% in 2021/22 to 50.3% in 2022/23.

 

20.        KS2 Maths Expected Standard: 53.9% of York LA's Disadvantaged cohort achieved the expected standard in Maths, 4.9% lower than the National average of 58.8%. York Disadvantaged cohort's Maths Expected Standard has decreased by 0.2% from 54.1% in 2021/22 to 53.9% in 2022/23.

 

21.        KS2 Reading Writing and Maths combined Expected Standard: In York, 36.5% of the Disadvantaged cohort achieved the expected standard in Reading, Writing & Maths, 7.8% lower than the National average of 44.3%. York’s Disadvantaged cohort's Expected Standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined has decreased by 3.4% from 39.9% in 2021/22 to 36.5% in 2022/23. In York, from the outcomes in 2018/19, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the latest outcomes in 2022/23, the gap between the disadvantaged cohort and their peers has narrowed from 26.6% to 25.9%.

 

End of Key Stage 4 (KS4) outcomes

 

22.        Progress 8: York LA's Disadvantaged cohort of 288 pupils have an average Progress 8 score of -0.64. This is 0.07 lower than the national Disadvantaged cohort at -0.57. York Disadvantaged cohort's Progress 8 score has decreased by 0.12 from -0.52 in 2021/22, to -0.64 in 2022/23. In York, from the outcomes in 2018/19, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the latest outcomes in 2022/23, the gap between the disadvantaged cohort and their peers has widened from 0.55% to 0.85%.

 

23.        Attainment 8: York LA's Disadvantaged cohort of 297 pupils have an average Attainment 8 score of 34.7. This is 0.3 lower than the national Disadvantaged cohort at 35.0. York LA’s Disadvantaged cohort's Attainment 8 score has decreased by 1.9 from 36.6 in 2021/22 to 34.7 in 2022/23. In York, from the outcomes in 2018/19, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the latest outcomes in 2022/23, the gap between the disadvantaged cohort and their peers has widened from 13.1% to 14.5%.

 

24.        EBACC Average point score (APS): York LA's Disadvantaged cohort of 297 pupils have an average English Baccalaureate Point Score of 3.00. This is +0.03 higher than the national Disadvantaged cohort at 2.97. York Disadvantaged cohort's EBacc: English Score has decreased by 0.27 from 4.05 in 2021/22 to 3.78 in 2022/23. In York, from the outcomes in 2018/19, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the latest outcomes in 2022/23, the gap between the disadvantaged cohort and their peers has widened from 1.31% to 1.37%.

 

25.        EBACC English 5+: 37.0% of York LA's Disadvantaged cohort achieved a grade of 5 or greater in EBACC: English, 110 pupils out of 297. This is 3.3% lower than the national Disadvantaged cohort at 40.3%. York Disadvantaged cohort's EBacc: English 5+ percentage has decreased by 10.7% from 47.7% in 2021/22 to 37.0% in 2022/23. In York, from the outcomes in 2018/19, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the latest outcomes in 2022/23, the gap between the disadvantaged cohort and their peers has widened from 25.6% to 29.0%.

 

26.        EBACC Maths 5+: 29.0% of York LA's Disadvantaged cohort achieved a grade of 5 or greater in EBacc: Maths, 86 pupils out of 297. This is 1.0% lower than the national Disadvantaged cohort at 30.0%. York Disadvantaged cohort's EBacc: Maths 5+ percentage has decreased by 1.8% from 30.8% in 2021/22 to 29.0% in 2022/23. In York, from the outcomes in 2018/19, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the latest outcomes in 2022/23, the gap between the disadvantaged cohort and their peers has widened from 22.4% to 26.1%.

 

Action to improve outcomes for Disadvantage children and young people

 

27.        As a result of the impact of the pandemic, we continue to develop and adapt our strategic approach to improving outcomes for children and young people. To tackle this, there has been greater cross-working between Early Years Settings, Schools, SEND, Healthy Child Service, York Learning, Education Services, Effectiveness and Achievement 0-25 years, Early Years Quality Improvement, Governor Service (Education), and the Skills Team. We also work with external partners, including the NSPCC, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), Pathfinder Teaching School Alliance, Huntington Research School, the University of York and The ADHD Foundation Neurodiversity Charity.

 

28.        We will continue to roll out and scale up the Early Talk for York (ETfY) approach, particularly facilitating access to high-quality training for a greater proportion of the diverse early years' workforce and partner organisations. We currently have an 89% uptake of schools and settings using the Welcomm Speech and Language Assessment Toolkit and will work towards 100% take-up. We will continue to embed the implementation of Baby Talk for York (BTfY).

 

29.        We will expand the successful implementation of ETfY through More Talk for York (MTfY) training in speech and language identification and provision to KS1 practitioners, KS2 and KS3 working with Huntington Research School and continue the partnership on staff development and training on metacognition approaches.

 

30.        We will embed the attendance project strategy to improve the attendance of Disadvantaged children and young people; this is already having some success. This work is part of the city-wide attendance project, which has been sponsored by the York Schools and Academies Board. All schools have improvement plans in place to address the disadvantage gap and are monitoring the impact of the use of the pupil premium and targeted use of catch-up funding, and we will continue to support schools carrying out quality assurance reviews on the effectiveness of strategies aimed at the Disadvantage children and young people.

 

31.        We will support the education sector to have a greater understanding of the needs of children and young people’s Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) and offer training on a strength-based approach to meet the needs of those who live with ADHD, Autism, and other neurodiverse conditions. We will launch a programme, starting January 2024, of work between the City of York and The ADHD Foundation and will introduce settings and schools to the ADHD Friendly Settings and Schools Award and provide access to the training that the ADHD Foundation provides from early years through to secondary schools. The focus of this collaboration during 2024 will be to upskill staff at all stages of education, be that an Early Years practitioner or a staff in secondary schools, to ensure all learners can achieve their potential.

 

Consultation Analysis

 

32.        No formal consultation has been taken; however, a range of discussions and educational meetings between professionals, settings, schools, agencies, charities and other stakeholders have taken place to understand the challenges faced in meeting the complexities of meeting the needs of Disadvantaged children and young people.

Options

 

33.        Members may request further updates and the attendance of the relevant officer at a further meeting to clarify/update on any outstanding recommendations or agree that no further updates are required.

 

Analysis

 

34.        This report has no analysis as it is not a decision-making report.

 

Council Plan

 

35.        One City for All - Education and Skills: High-quality skills and learning for all:

 

·               What is the council going to do? Continue to prioritise gaining improved outcomes for our most disadvantaged children and young people in the City.

·               What will be different in four years? The attainment gap between our most disadvantaged children and young people and their peers will be reduced.

 

Risks and Mitigations

 

Not Applicable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact details

 

Author:

Derek Sutherland

Head of Primary School Effectiveness and Achievement

m: 07789 650 244 |

e: derek.sutherland@york.gov.uk

Chief Officer responsible for the report:

Maxine Squire

Assistant Director, Education and Skills

 

t: 01904 553007 | m: 07990 793483 |

e: maxine.squire@york.gov.uk

 

 

Report Approved

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Date

11 January 2024

 

 

Wards Affected: 

All

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For further information please contact the author of the report

 

 

 


Background papers

 

None

 


Annexes

 

None