Item 3

AT A MEETING of the SCHOOLS MONITORING PANEL of the COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on Tuesday 20 June 2006.

Chairman:

p Councillor R.J. Kimber

Vice Chairman:

a Councillor Mrs E.M. Byrom

Councillors:

p B.D. Dash

p K.L. Gill

p Mrs A.M. McNair Scott

Co-opted Members:

a Mr P. Gilliat diocesan representative

p Ms P. Clarke full time teacher

p Mr D. Walker full time teacher

Also present: Councillor D.A. Kirk - Executive Member (with special responsibility) for Education - and Councillor Mrs Leversha.

52. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mrs Byrom and Mr Gilliat.

53. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting they should, normally at the time of the debate, declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.

54. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on Tuesday 7 February 2006 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

55. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman welcomed the Executive Member to the meeting.

56. DEPUTATIONS

No deputations were received.

57. CONTEXTUAL PERFORMANCE OF HAMPSHIRE SCHOOLS

The Panel received and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 6 in the minute book) providing an overview of the performance of primary and secondary schools in Hampshire in terms of outcomes for children in national tests and examinations. This used a new type of evaluation of a school's performance which utilised data on the children attending the school to analyse their performance in comparison with children in similar circumstances. The particular focus was on the rate of a child's progress and results of Key Stage tests were used as fixed points for comparing this progress. It was noted that this was more complex for the first stage of analysis at Key Stage 1 because there was not a common or fixed starting point from which children progressed.

It was felt that the detailed value added measures provided by this data were more useful and meaningful than the traditional comparisons of national averages and league tables. This would aid schools in focussing on individuals or groups of children who were underperforming in comparison with children in similar circumstances. It was emphasised that this information was most useful when looking at individual schools rather than when considering the county as a whole.

The majority of the schools in Hampshire which appeared to be underperforming in these statistics were those in areas of average wealth, neither the most affluent nor the most deprived areas. Members were pleased that the data provided concrete evidence of several Hampshire schools in socially deprived areas which were performing well.

58. OUTCOMES OF OFSTED INSPECTIONS IN HAMPSHIRE - SPRING 2006

The Panel received and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 7 in the minute book) summarising the outcomes of Ofsted inspections of schools that took place during the Spring Term of 2006 and outlining some changes to the inspection arrangements for the most successful schools. It was noted that there had been a proposal that Ofsted may take on responsibility for investigating parental complaints when a significant number were received which were not already covered by other complaints processes.

Although the vast majority of Ofsted inspections were well conducted and fair, concerns regarding some recent inspections of Hampshire schools were reported. These were, on the whole, issues regarding the conduct of inspectors rather than the outcomes of inspections and officers were in correspondence with Her Majesty's Inspectorate (HMI). The Panel was supportive of the Local Authority's (LA) approach to this matter and felt that, although inspections were largely well conducted, it was important to ensure that justifiable complaints were followed through.

A strong emphasis was placed on a school's self evaluation under modern inspection arrangements. Those schools which were performing well would generally already have self assessment procedures in place. It was considered a useful exercise for schools to continually analyse their own performance.

It was highlighted that the statistics on Ofsted judgements showed Hampshire schools to be performing better than the national averages and than statistical neighbours.

59. SISKIN JUNIOR SCHOOL, GOSPORT - SPECIAL MEASURES

The Panel received and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 8 in the minute book) outlining progress with this school since being judged to require special measures in September 2005. The first monitoring inspection had found progress to be satisfactory overall. Several key issues were being addressed including the quality of some teaching and a new deputy headteacher had been appointed to the previously vacant post.

The school continued to face a range of challenges including pupil attendance, the retention of parent governors and the responsibility for several extra curricular facilities on the campus. The Panel noted that there were several large developments in the area which would lead to long term benefits for residents and pupils. However, there may result from those developments a short term upheaval which could have a negative impact upon families. It was considered important to encourage community development within the area and to ensure that the school was part of this. The school was in the process of investigating the possibility of setting up a Nurture Group.

Significant improvements in children's achievement were expected to take time and the school would continue to receive a high level of support from the LA.

60. HERNE JUNIOR SCHOOL, PETERSFIELD - SPECIAL MEASURES

The Panel received and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 9 in the minute book) outlining progress with this school since being found to require special measures in September 2005. Following a recent monitoring visit it had been judged that the school had made inadequate progress overall as the inspectors felt that reasonable progress had only been made since January 2006. The LA felt that, during the period between September 2005 and January 2006, a variety of systems had been implemented within the school by a previous part-time seconded headteacher. This had been essential work in order for further progress to be possible.

The school had previously encountered leadership and staffing issues. Governors were in the process of recruiting a substantive headteacher. In the meantime the seconded headteacher had agreed to remain at the school until the end of 2006. The LA felt that the strategies being implemented were resulting in improvements in the school. The seconded headteacher was keeping a log of all actions taken towards progress and the impacts that these were having for standards.

61. MENGHAM JUNIOR SCHOOL, HAYLING ISLAND - SERIOUS WEAKNESSES

The Panel received and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 10 in the minute book) outlining progress with this school since being found to have serious weaknesses in March 2005. The LA was pleased with the progress of the school and the enthusiasm of the headteacher, governors and staff. The school would be re-inspected in March 2007 and it was hoped that this would result in the removal of the school from the serious weaknesses category.

Work was being undertaken to ensure that the two junior schools in the area took a more equal share of the children with special educational needs (SEN). The Panel noted that those schools with higher proportions of children with SEN often had better facilities to cope with the specific challenges and were therefore more attractive to parents of children with SEN.

62. NETLEY ABBEY JUNIOR SCHOOL - REQUIRING SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT

The Panel received and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 11 in the minute book) outlining progress with this school since being found to require significant improvement in May 2006. The inspection report had been published following a delay. The LA's statement of action had been logged, a range of strategies were being implemented to assist the school to improve and the governing body was receiving support from Governors' Services. It was felt that the school had the capacity to improve.

The Panel noted that, while the leadership had been judged to be inadequate, the school had not been place in special measures and felt that this could appear inconsistent.

63. VIGO JUNIOR SCHOOL, ANDOVER - NOTICE TO IMPROVE

The Panel received and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 12 in the minute book) outlining progress with this school since receiving a notice to improve after an inspection in March 2006. Despite some surprise at the judgement, the leadership team had acknowledged the issues which needed improvement within the school. An action plan had been established and work was taking place on its effective implementation. The LA was satisfied that the school had the capacity to improve. It was felt that the school had a good leadership team and enthusiastic staff and the Panel noted that the school had the support of the local community.

It was anticipated that there would be some poorer headline results in the 2006 Key Stage 2 tests, but that these would show acceptable levels of progress for the students in terms of contextual data. It was expected that the 2007 Key Stage 2 tests would demonstrate significant improvements.

64. OLIVER'S BATTERY PRIMARY SCHOOL, WINCHESTER

The Panel received and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 13 in the minute book) outlining progress with this school since being judged to require special measures in June 2005. The Panel was updated on the judgement of a further monitoring visit, which had concluded that the school had made reasonable progress since the last visit and overall. LA support had been judged to be good overall, however there had been criticism of the support provided to the governing body in aiding understanding of the self evaluation process. The Panel noted that the priority for the governing body had been to appoint a new headteacher and that understanding of the self evaluation process could be developed following that appointment.

A headteacher with a good track record had been appointed and accelerated progress was now expected from the school. However, it was felt that improvements in the achievements of children in Key Stage tests could not been expected until the next academic year. The school had been subject to several unsettling episodes including the recent death of the caretaker who had been a central figure in the community.

65. AMPFIELD CE PRIMARY SCHOOL, ROMSEY

The Panel received and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 14 in the minute book) outlining progress with this school since being judged to have serious weaknesses in June 2005. The school had made good progress overall and had therefore adequately resolved all issues which had been the causes of its serious weaknesses. The LA was satisfied with the progress of the school and judgement.

It was not known whether the number of pupils on roll would increase but, since the population of Ampfield was not able to support the number of spaces available at the school, it relied upon the surrounding areas for its pupils. The school had a high proportion of children with SEN and it was felt that the small class sizes were attractive to parents of those children.

66. OAK FARM COMMUNITY SCHOOL, FARNBOROUGH

The Panel received and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 15 in the minute book) outlining progress with this school since being judged to require special measures in March 2004. The school had now been judged to provide a satisfactory level of education having resolved the issues which had given rise to the need for special measures. It was felt that this had been achieved by the hard work of the staff and their willing co-operation with the support team in taking advice and implementing improvement strategies.

The school continued to have a low number of pupils on roll. A large influx of recently immigrated children, specifically from Nepal, had boosted the number of pupils. This had resulted in the need to adopt new ways of working for staff.

The school's particular strength was at Key Stage 3 and it was considering the possibility of developing its provision for the 14-19 age range. It was felt that this could be a potential method for boosting the numbers on roll.

RESOLVED

That the Chairman write a letter of congratulations to the Headteacher and the Chair of Governors.

67. EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED

That in relation to the following items the public be excluded from the meeting as it was likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during the items there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and, further, that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information for the reasons set out in the reports.

68. MANOR JUNIOR SCHOOL, COVE, FARNBOROUGH - SPECIAL MEASURES

The Panel received and noted the exempt report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 17 in the minute book) outlining progress with this school since being found to require special measures in January 2006. The LA had been aware of poor levels of achievement and had been assessing the school and supporting its improvement prior to the inspection. The result of the inspection had impacted positively on the attitudes of the school and the leadership team.

The headteacher was working closely with the governing body and LA. Strategies were being implemented to make improvements to the school's performance. An accomplished teacher had recently been appointed to the post of deputy headteacher which should further strengthen the leadership team. A monitoring visit had taken place and it was felt by the LA that the school was on course to make adequate progress. The LA support had been judged as good and the Statement of Action had been approved.

As local member, Councillor Mrs Leversha was pleased with the actions of the headteacher and governing body and felt the school was on course to improve.

69. JOHN HUNT OF EVEREST COMMUNITY SCHOOL, BASINGSTOKE - NOTICE TO IMPROVE

The Panel received and noted the exempt report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 18 in the minute book) outlining progress with this school since being served with a notice to improve following an inspection in December 2005. A close collaborative relationship was being developed with Wildern School. In order to steer the scheme a Project Board had been established comprising governors of both schools and representatives of the LA. A delicate balance of responsibilities had been determined in order to ensure that the leadership team retained the support of the school and the community. It was anticipated that this new and innovative approach to improving the school would have a significant impact.

The new school building was expected to open in September 2007 and the collaborative project would continue past this time. It was hoped that this would encourage a higher proportion of pupils from the catchment area to attend the school. It was also felt that this could aid recruitment and raise the aspirations of teachers and pupils alike.

70. APPLEMORE COLLEGE, DIBDEN PURLIEU, SOUTHAMPTON - REQUIRING SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT

The Panel received and noted the exempt report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 19 in the minute book) outlining progress with this school since being judged to require significant improvement in October 2005. The school had received a further monitoring visit in June 2006 from which it was judged to have made good progress since the last visit and overall. The Panel was pleased with the rapid turnaround at the school and it was felt that the leadership team had made a significant effort to improve the school. There remained concerns regarding the low number of pupils on roll, however, it was noted that there was a general issue of surplus places in the area. The school was unlikely to receive further monitoring visits in the short term.

71. WINTON SCHOOL, ANDOVER

The Panel received and noted the exempt report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 20 in the minute book) outlining progress in addressing concerns with this school. The leadership team had focussed well on addressing the issues faced by the school. Two new deputy headteachers had recently been appointed and the Local Authority would be monitoring progress with an anticipated review in November 2006.