Scrutiny Commission calls for robust action to ensure all Barnsley

THE Children’s Services Scrutiny Commission has reviewed the national test and examination results in Barnsley. The commission also scrutinised the implications of the publication on10 June by the Government of the National Challenge, which seeks to ensure that in every secondary school at least 30 per cent of pupils achieve 5 A*-C grades at GCSE, including English and maths. This target is also a key one in the new Local Area Agreement, which the commission will be closely scrutinising.

The commission learnt that there are 638 schools nationally which are currently below this threshold, of which eight are in Barnsley.

The commission sought information on the implications of the National Challenge, together with assurances that there was a robust planning procedure in place to ensure all eight schools would meet the 30 per cent threshold by 2011. Cllr Linda Burgess, Cabinet spokesperson for Children, Young People and Families, gave the commission this assurance, stating that four of the eight schools were expected to achieve higher than 30 per cent in this indicator in the 2008 GCSE (key stage 4) results.

The commission heard that overall, schools in Barnsley were improving their results. In terms of GCSEs, the gap between Barnsley and the national average had halved in 2007. In terms of the ‘added value’ that schools provide to pupils, Barnsley is ranked 43rd out of 149, which is 56 places higher than the previous year.

In terms of this background of moving significantly in the right direction, the commission heard from witnesses that there was a degree of annoyance with the Government department for the method in which the National Challenge was brought forward and announced. There seemed little point in announcing the National Challenge in June stating that eight schools in Barnsley are below the target threshold, when this situation may have altered significantly with the publication of the 2008 GCSE results in August.

The commission also heard that the Government had been ‘moving the goal posts’ in terms of whether English and maths GCSEs were to be included in the national targets, which had not helped schools in Barnsley.

Cllr Sharron Brook, Chair of the Children’s Services Scrutiny Commission, said “The commission has an obligation to the public to scrutinise test and examination results, particularly in the light of the substantial increases in money that is going to schools and education generally, and that there is clear value for money and substantial improvements in attainment and achievement. 

“We were pleased to review the evidence of significant improvement last year, but we made it clear that the commission is expecting robust action and improvement to ensure that all eight schools exceed the 30 per cent target in the ‘National Challenge’ at the earliest opportunity.”

ENDS