Contact: Trevor Walker, Senior Inspector (Primary), 01962 846502, e-mail: [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 The purpose of this report is to introduce the document entitled `Education in Hampshire in the Primary Years' (Appendix 1) by giving a brief account of its purpose and scope.

1.2 The report also outlines the need for further consultation on the document and seeks members' support for this consultation.

1.3 This proposed policy paper supports aim 1 of the Corporate Strategy (maximising life opportunities) by seeking to establish an accepted vision for education in the primary years across the County Council and in all Hampshire schools. The decision supports outcome 3 of the Children Act, 2004, (enjoy and achieve through learning). This document should be read in conjunction with Hampshire County Council's Education Strategy and the Strategy for Lifelong learning.

2 Background to a primary strategy

2.1 The core purpose of the Primary National Strategy (PNS) is to: `Raise standards of attainment for all pupils in Key Stage 2 in literacy, numeracy and science and to improve teaching and learning across the curriculum'. The provisional results for Hampshire for 2005 show that the number of children reaching level 4+ (national expectation and above) is 82% in English and 78% in mathematics. This represents a rise over the past two years following three years in which there was no evident improvement.

2.2 Hampshire's primary strategy is predicated upon the key measures that are outlined above. In addition Hampshire has embraced the wider aspirations for primary education that are set-out in the PNS strategy document: Excellence and Enjoyment (DfES, 2003). This promotes high standards across a broad range of activity within the primary phase - including the foundation or pre-school stage. It furthermore recognises the far-reaching implications of the Children Act and the Government's Five-Year Strategy for Children and Learners.

2.3 Hampshire County Council is responsible for commissioning schools to deliver the educational vision of the community as a whole. In the light of the plethora of recent legislation and the culture of increasing freedom and local accountability within which primary schools operate, the vision needs to be explained and clarified so that schools, and the Children's Services Department (CSD), are aware of what the County Council is commissioning them to deliver.

3 The purpose of the document

3.1 The attached document is not a strategy; it is intended to provide clarity for primary schools by describing what Hampshire County Council, as commissioner for the education service in Hampshire, would expect to see in a highly effective school and a highly effective CSD. The document attempts to provide a coherent set of descriptors with associated indicators so that schools, their leaders and all branches of the CSD are clear about how a range of DfES and County Council strategies and policies link together in the cause of school effectiveness. It is anticipated that many schools will recognise the descriptors as applying to aspects of their own current practice and will appreciate that `Education in Hampshire in the Primary Years' is an attempt to unify all aspects of such successful schools within one document.

3.2 This document draws on an array of County Council strategies and the text directs readers to these documents for guidance on implementation or for detailed policy explanation. All branches of the CSD contribute, through their core work, to maintaining and improving the learning and teaching experience within Hampshire schools. Other departments of the County Council also play crucial roles and there are strong partnerships with other statutory and voluntary agencies.

3.3 The document also paves the way for the development of extended schools and for the County Council to respond to the Government's Five-Year Strategy for Children and Learners. It also provides a platform from which to support schools in seeking specialist status or other accreditation, for example, Investors in People, Charter Mark, through the validation of effective practice.

3.4 From 2006, local authorities will be required to prepare a Children and Young People's Plan which will replace requirements for separate documents such as the Education Development Plan. As an excellent authority, the County Council is not required to conform to every detail of this, but it will need to have clear strategies, which `Education in Hampshire in the Primary Years' will support.

4 Consultation and dissemination

4.1 `Education in Hampshire in the Primary Years' has been jointly written by officers from the Standards and Improvement and the School and Community Branches of the LA; the views of a number of representative headteachers were sought to provide an initial sounding board for the content and tone of the document. The document has been considered alongside a parallel document, developed in reference to secondary education in Hampshire.

4.2 Following submission to the education management team of the former education department, a number of amendments have been made to bring the two documents more closely in line. The current draft, (Appendix 1) will require further consultation with headteachers, teachers and other agencies before a final document is agreed for distribution to all primary schools across the Local Authority.

5 Legal implications

5.1 None

6 Financial implications

6.1 Whilst it is not possible to attach any specific costing, it is important to recognise that the document poses challenges for the County Council, both in Education and in other departments. If it is accepted that this is a description of the way in which the community, through the County Council would want schools and the CSD to perform, then there are implications for the way in which schools are supported to meet these challenges and therefore for future proposals for the distribution of existing resources. This would include the strategic use of County Council resources in the management of surplus places, strategic planning, behaviour and inclusion, support for families and children's services as a whole.

7 Personnel implications

7.1 None

8 Impact assessment

8.1 Race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

9 Crime prevention issues

9.1 Issues of crime and disorder have been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

10 Views of the Local County Councillor

10.1 These have not been sought

Recommendations

That Children's Services Policy Review Committee Members recommend that the Executive Member for Education approves further consultation with schools and other agencies on the document entitled `Education in Hampshire in the Primary Years', before the paper is considered by the Cabinet.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

None.