Author: Mr Roundtree

At this time of year, schools start to receive lots of reports and summaries to do with how well their pupils have done in Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.  The reports come from all sorts of bodies: Ofsted, for example, but also Fischer Family Trust and the local authority.  At Moortown Primary, our assessment data is thoroughly and continuously analysed, so we keep ahead of the game.  However, it’s always useful to have a fresh perspective on how we’re doing.

On Monday, we have a visit from our local authority school improvement adviser, who will work with the school’s leadership team and a governor on our assessment data.  Here are some of the strengths (from a list of 29) which she has identified in preparation for the meeting:

• Year 1 phonics test scores are above the national average and above last year’s result for our school.
• At the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2), a higher proportion of pupils than nationally are at (or above) national expectations (a Level 2B) in Reading, Writing and Maths; the proportion of pupils working at Level 3 (higher than national expectations) is also higher in all three subjects.  2012 saw a significant improvement in attainment at Key Stage 1, especially the numbers reaching Level 3 in Reading and those reaching a high Level 2A in Writing and Maths.
• Levels at which children work are translated to point scores (for example, Level 2b is 15 or 16 points).  The average point score at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, across all pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 in Reading, Writing and Maths, is above national average.
• At Key Stage 1, there has been a three year upward trend in the amount of pupils reaching Level 2b+, Level 3 and average point scores in Reading, Writing and Maths.
• In Key Stage 2, attainment in all subjects at both Level 4 (the nationally expected level at the end of Year 6) and Level 5 is above national averages.  The amount of children who reached Level 4 or higher and the amount who reached Level 5 or higher in all three subjects combined (Reading, Writing and Maths) is above national figures.
• The gap between children who have English as their first language and those who have English as an additional language (EAL) is narrowing at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
• During Key Stage 2, the amount of children who make two levels of progress (eg moving from Level 2 to Level 4 or Level 3 to Level 5) in Reading, Writing and Maths is above national averages.
• Attendance has been above national average for the last three years.

She goes on to list 13 more strengths relating to our performance and how Ofsted view it.  For example, attainment and average point scores at Key Stage 2 has been significantly higher than nationally in Reading, Writing and Maths (all three combined) for the last four years, significantly higher in Maths for three out of the last four years, and significantly higher in Reading and Writing for two out of the last three years.  Progress measures are similarly strong.

All schools need to keep striving to get better and better and it’s always possible to find some areas of development or issue we need to think about.  Our local authority school improvement advisor listed six points (my comments are in italics):

In Early Years (Reception), the number of pupils reaching what is referred to as a ‘Good Level of Development’ is above national average but has been declining for the last three years.  It’s slightly unfair to compare 2012 data with earlier, because the government has changed the benchmarks for how to assess children in Early Years.  Nearly all schools had a decline in numbers for this measure.  It’s good that the data is consistently above the national figures – and the data is in-line with or higher than the ten most similar schools in Leeds.

Girls outperform boys in the Year 1 phonics test.  …As they do nationally.  Just as much as girls, boys need to have stories read to them and even more encouragement to read lots (factual books and comics are popular choices for many boys).  Please keep supporting your child at home with phonics games to help them practise letters and sounds – ask us for help, and refer to all the different guides we’ve produced, including one for phonics, too.

There are performance gaps between children with free school meals and those who are not entitled to free school meals, and the gap between some ethnic groups is significant and is widening.  This is true and is a concern.  A closer analysis of the pupils who fall into these groups show that there is a clear link with attendance and learning.  We have six children who are classed as persistent absentees and their poor attendance last year affects the data for specific groups in school.

Writing at Level 4 or more is lower than previous two years.  Last year’s class made lots of progress, despite remarkably high turnover of pupils.  Some children who joined in Year 6 did not reach the levels we want.  We predict the current Year 6 class should attain highly as a class.

There has been a decline in Level 5 in all subjects over the past three years.  Level 5 is higher than the nationally expected level (a Level 4).  There has not really been a decline – see the response to the following point for the reason as to this apparent ‘decline’.  Further, we expect there to be a significant rise this year.  (Incidentally, in the last three years, there has been a steady rise in Level 6 attainment in Maths – an even higher level.)

There has been a decline in combined Reading, Writing and Maths at Level 4 or more over the past three years.  This is not really a decline: the data is consistently high across five years, and the ‘decline’ reflects a very strong cohort of children creating a very impressive peak a few years ago, with all children reaching Level 4 or more in all the subjects.  The proportion attaining the expected level or higher remains far greater than other Leeds schools and those nationally.  We monitor and support children closely, ensuring children make as much progress as they can – data shows progress is very high.

Boys under-perform girls at Key Stage 2.  It’s not yet clear on what basis this comment is made; on some measures this is so, on others, it is the contrary.  For example, more boys reach Level 6 than girls, and more boys make higher than expected progress in Key Stage 2.

Rest assured we will continue to build on the strengths and do all we can to address these concerns.  Your continued support at home – especially making sure your children read lots and know their times tables – will help.  If you’d like to speak with me more about our performance data, please do arrange a meeting.

It’s fairly clear that when parents ask how they can best support their child at home, the simple but most effective response is to encourage positive attitudes towards reading.

There have been quite a few reports and news stories recently about the importance of reading.  One of the most surprising, perhaps, is the news that keen readers do better at maths.  The study suggests that reading for pleasure is more important to a child’s development than how educated their parents were, leading to a 14.4% advantage in vocabulary, a 9.9% advantage in maths and an 8.6% advantage in spelling.

Other studies back this up: reading plays a key role in children’s development.

Young people who enjoy reading very much are nearly five times as likely to read above the expected level for their age compared with young people who do not enjoy reading at all.

Research also shows that reading for pleasure has a positive impact on children’s attainment in reading assessments. Children who read for pleasure have enhanced levels of text comprehension, an increased knowledge of grammar and show improvement in their writing. They also have more positive attitudes towards reading than their peers.

The advantages of reading for pleasure go beyond academic achievement. Other benefits include an increased breadth of vocabulary, pleasure in reading in later life, a better understanding of other cultures, better general knowledge and even a greater insight into human nature.

Research by the National Literacy Trust indicated a number of concerns about children’s reading habits. The researcher found that only three young people in 10 were reading daily in their own time and that the number of children and young people who enjoyed reading ‘very much’ or ‘quite a lot’ had barely changed since 2005 (50% in 2011 and 51% in 2005). The researchers went on to suggest that many children and young people enjoyed reading but that it was ‘pushed out’ in favour of other activities.

In fact: developing a love of reading can be more important for a child’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic background.

If you’ve seen the headlines in the Yorkshire Evening Press today (04.10.13), please don’t be misled.  First, it’s important to know that nothing has changed since previous communications on the subject, despite this front page news story suggesting otherwise.

Here’s my response to a few of the misleading points:

• ‘You can take holidays in school time’ – This headline reads like parents / carers have got the green light to go on holiday in term-time – this is not true and has never (in my time in education) been true.  Parents / carers might have chosen to do so in the past (we can’t physically stop families at passport control!), but schools and local authorities have never happily authorised this.  Some schools in the area have not authorised holidays for many, many years.  Moortown Primary has been playing catch-up with these schools because our attendance figures have been lower than other schools – they’re better now, and that’s down to stronger policies and your cooperation.  Thank you.
• ‘Parents faced with fines for taking children on holiday in school term time have been thrown a lifeline…’ – I wonder who has thrown this ‘lifeline’.  Nothing new has happened to warrant this story: there is no backing down on policy, there is no relaxing of rules.  One of our parents this afternoon commented on the use of the term ‘lifeline’ to me: ‘it’s hardly a matter of life and death’.
• ‘The Department for Education…said that local authorities could interpret the rules as they saw fit’ – That’s certainly true, but the DfE rules are clear: headteachers should not authorise unnecessary term-time absence.  This is backed up by Ofsted, who routinely use attendance figures in their inspections of schools.  Moortown policy matches Leeds policy.  Leeds policy is not in any way in conflict with national policy.  Here’s an extract from School Attendance: statutory guidance and departmental advice (Department of Education, 2013):

Can a parent take their child on holiday during term time?  Head teachers should only authorise leave of absence in exceptional circumstances… Leave is unlikely, however, to be granted for the purposes of a family holiday as a norm.

Can a school fine a parent for taking their child on holiday during term time?  Yes. Parents have a legal duty to make sure that their child aged 5-16, if registered at a school, attends that school regularly. If taking an unauthorised term time holiday is grounds for issuing a penalty notice according to the local authority’s code, and if the leave of absence for holiday was not authorised by the school, either the school or the local authority may issue a penalty notice.

The Deputy Director of Learning, skills & universal services for Leeds City Council comments on the article:

The headlines are extremely misleading and encourage people to believe at first sight that not only is Leeds giving permission for heads to authorise parents to take their children out of school for holidays in term time, but also that the Local Authority are in direct conflict with the DfE. Neither of these are true. We are making plain to the YEP through formal channels our concerns about their reporting of this issue. Moreover the DfE are aware of the article and the misrepresentation.

The main body of the article is largely a reasonable discussion of the issues around the new legislation and clearly states that ‘the DfE has said today that the decision by Leeds City Council is not illegal and is in keeping with the legislation’.

To reiterate the Leeds stance: in line with new government legislation headteachers are no longer allowed to authorise any requests for holidays in term time. Only leave requested in exceptional circumstances can be authorised.

Thank you for your support and cooperation around improving our attendance in recent years, and for your continued cooperation to make sure your child’s attendance, and therefore his / her learning, continues to improve.