Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report

1. Executive Summary

1.1. This report summarises the assessment, test and examination data for 2009 for children in the early years, those in primary schools and those in secondary schools up to the age of 16.

1.2. The report attempts to set out, in detail, information concerning outcomes at all three statutory educational phases and to provide the necessary information for the Executive Lead Member to consider how these may be judged against Children's Services priorities for all children and for the most vulnerable.

1.3. It also sets out the action needed by schools, by the local authority school improvement service and by the wider partnership for children and young people to ensure greater participation and further improvement.

1.4. Overall, Hampshire's children and young people have performed well in assessments, tests and examinations and attained standards higher than in previous years and higher than those attained by children and young people who attend school in statistically similar areas of the country. Children from many black and minority ethnic groups have continued to do well in Hampshire; those with special needs have again made progress in Hampshire schools; those in care have done better than in previous years and at some age groups are now making good progress and the most able continue to progress well. The gap between those eligible for free school meals and those who are not reduced significantly in 2008 and, whilst not reducing further, the gains made have been maintained in 2009.

1.5. Whilst the gap has narrowed between many of the more vulnerable groups and the rest of the population and standards overall, as measured by test and examination outcomes, have risen, there remain some areas of relative weakness or of insufficient progress. The executive member is asked to approve actions to address these areas as well as some relating to the maintenance of success.

2. Contextual Information

2.1. High levels of educational attainment are essential: for future economic prosperity for the nation, for individuals and for those individuals' future families. They provide choice for young people in relation to how they will spend their adult lives. They mean that young people are better equipped to play their part as citizens. High levels of attainment have to be achieved by everyone. The knowledge-based, global economy that Britain has become means that the number of unskilled jobs is shrinking rapidly. We need to unlock the potential of every child and young person because we need the contribution of all of them - to support themselves, not be dependent on the state and to support others.

2.2. Schools, colleges and other educational settings are key players in the drive for higher standards - but they are not the only ones. While it will always be true that the quality of leadership, management, curriculum, teaching, assessment, and the approach taken to under-achievement in educational settings, will be crucial to the success of children and young people in terms of their educational attainment, the way in which adults within the whole community organise themselves to support the county's children is also key to their success. The quality of parenting, and caring, and the way in which each child is supported at home in their learning is crucial.

2.3. We also know that 16 year olds who live in families where the main earner is in a professional occupation are over twice as likely to achieve 5 A*- Cs at GCSE, compared with 16 year olds who live in families where the main earner does a `routine' or unskilled job. The life chances of young people who achieve expected outcomes at 16 and then progress into post-16 education or training are considerably enhanced in terms of all the outcomes in the Children Act, not just economic well-being. The raising of the participation age to 17 in 2013 and to 18 in 2015 means that the children currently in year 7 are those who will all be expected to participate post-16 for the first time. When aligned with the new responsibilities for local authorities to plan and commission 16-18 education and training from April 2010, this represents a once in a generation opportunity to join up 0-19 learning for children and young people in Hampshire.

2.4. The establishment of Children's Services in Hampshire, in 2005, supported the development of a whole system for children that brings together all the partners that work with them to impact on their learning and, therefore, to unlock the potential of every child and young person, not just those who, traditionally, we have served well. This continues to be a major challenge, and current work to develop local Children's Partnerships operating within the countywide Children's Trust is fundamental to shaping and delivering a better and more locally responsive service for children, young people and their families. This is a long-term programme but needs to be seen as a very important part of a strategy for improving educational attainment. The improvement of the technical work of schools will always be fundamental to raising educational standards - no matter how well they are prepared and supported in their learning, children still need to be taught well - but it is not the only work which needs to be done well by local partnerships to ensure that all children are successful, all participate and all progress.

3. Key Issues

3.1. Hampshire's children and young people, overall, attain high educational standards when they are compared with standards nationally and, on most measures, standards in places most like Hampshire. 2009 saw improvements in these standards across the age range but particularly so for the youngest children and for 16 year olds.

3.2. Most vulnerable children and young people make good progress too, especially some Black and Minority ethnic groups and children with special educational needs. Some vulnerable children, especially those who live in conditions of relative poverty and children in care have not traditionally done as well in Hampshire as they should, although their performance at some age groups has improved in 2009.

3.3. Despite the strong performance in 2009 further improvement is needed and always will be. In summary, more work is needed to increase the number of children who reach national expectations at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage; to address the significant disparity in outcomes in the most disadvantaged areas of the county; to narrow the gap between the attainment of most children and the children who are most vulnerable and to ensure that all schools achieve results which take them above national benchmarks.

3.4. Schools are key players in this work but further whole-system solutions need also to be developed alongside the technical work of schools. In particular, `narrowing the gap' is a job for all the partners within the Children's Trust. It is everybody's business.

4. Early Years Foundation Stage - The Results

4.1. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is now a statutory stage in a child's life and how well children are progressing is measured at the end of the stage by an assessment against the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. More four year olds in Hampshire reached the threshold set by government in 2009 than in previous years. There was a one percentage point improvement on 2008, meaning that slightly more than half have now reached that threshold. Girls continue to make better progress than boys, however the gender gap is reducing with boys and girls attaining the same levels in Knowledge and Understanding of the World for the first time.

4.2. Children's Services are also judged on the gap between the performance of the median child in each cohort and the average score of the lowest achieving 20%. This gap narrowed by one percentage point in 2009 to 32.5%, with children in the most disadvantaged areas developing greater personal, social and emotional, and communication language skills than previous years. Whilst the gap is reducing, it is important that this trend continues particularly for children in care, children receiving free school meals and some ethnic minority groups.

4.3. Children's centres have a significant role in helping to reduce the gap and are already having an impact on outcomes for children with more children meeting threshold levels in full core offer children's centres when compared with previous years. Cohorts of children from 20 of the 28 full core offer centres performed better than their counterparts last year.

5. Early Years Foundation Stage - Future Priorities

5.1. There are three main priorities which are the same as those reported in 2008 and are likely to be priorities for some years:

· Ensure that everyone involved with the EYFS understands the implications of it being a statutory stage of education and development and uses the information provided by the EYFS Profile and good early years pedagogy to improve outcomes for young children in year R and beyond.

· Align the work of Children Centres as they begin to operate with that of other EYFS providers. Support providers in improving the communication, language and literacy and personal, social and emotional skills of children in deprived areas.

· Focus on early writing skills and early language development for all children which will also help to support the continued improvement in the performance of boys.

· Ensure the alignment of the EYFS with the parenting strategy so that early years practitioners work more systematically alongside parent support colleagues to support those parents most in need.

6. Primary Years - The Results

6.1. The attainment of 7 year olds (Year 2) is measured by teacher assessment against the levels of the National Curriculum, in speaking and listening, reading, writing, mathematics and science. Level 2 is regarded as the national expectation but that level is divided into three sub-levels: 2A, 2B and 2C (in descending order of competence). Level 3 is attained by more able children. Results for 7 year olds have seen little change nationally year-on-year with minor fluctuations (last year saw some slight declines both nationally and in Hampshire).

6.2. In 2009, Hampshire children achieved high levels in all subjects and the standards remain consistently above the national average. Standards in speaking and listening are very high with 92% of children reaching level 2 or better. Nearly a third of 7 years olds in Hampshire are now reaching the higher level (level 3). Reading standards are high overall with 88% achieving level 2 and this is slightly up on the previous year. The proportion of children reaching the higher level is 34% which is a two percentage point increase on the previous year. Writing standards have improved by around one percentage point in Hampshire at both the expected and higher levels.

6.3. In mathematics the proportion of children reaching level 2 has only improved slightly, those who are reaching the higher level has increased by two percentage points, to 26%. Overall the picture is one where Hampshire children have shown more improvement than children nationally. When compared with statistical neighbours, Hampshire children achieve better.

6.4. Level 4 is the national expectation in English, mathematics and science for 11 year olds (Year 6). The national measures include the proportion of children reaching level 4 and above in English, mathematics and the newly important measure of those reaching that level in both English and mathematics. These measures are valuable in determining how well children are likely to do in secondary schools. Being able to read and write to a reasonable standard and to be numerate are prerequisites of a successful secondary school career that will lead to the sort of outcomes that young people need at Key Stage 4.

6.5. Hampshire's children continue to do better overall than children across England or in places most like Hampshire. Across the country, there has been around a one percentage point decline in English standards overall for reaching the national expectation with the higher level remaining about the same. This is replicated in Hampshire, although the percentage attaining level 4 and above in writing was slightly higher and that in reading slightly lower. The test results for the higher level (level 5) for English in Hampshire show that nearly a third reach this level, this is a one percentage point improvement on the previous year.

6.6. Standards in mathematics show an important improvement of just over one percentage point for those reaching the expected level (level 4) and a four percentage point improvement with regard to those reaching the higher level. The net result of this position is that attainment in mathematics overall has now caught up with attainment in English at Key Stage 2. This means that the proportion of children reaching a level 4 and above in both subjects combined has risen by about half a percentage point. For the higher level the rise is two percent. We are nearing the position where one quarter of Hampshire children will achieve a level 5 in both English and mathematics which puts them in a very strong position at the start of their secondary education.

6.7. Science has been tested for the last time this year and from 2010 the tests will be discontinued. Nevertheless, this year the results show that that nine in ten children reach the national expectation and nearly half reach the higher expectation - a result that is the same as the previous year.

6.8. There remains, however, considerable variation between districts, with the highest English result for level 4 and above being in being Hart with 90%, and the lowest being in Havant at 72%. For the attainment of Level 5 in English the highest is in Eastleigh, at 39%, and the lowest in Havant at 23%. In mathematics the highest attainment at both level 4 and level 5 is in Hart, with 88% and 45% respectively.

6.9. One measure of the effectiveness of schools, and the communities that support the children within them, is the progress that children make in the four years from ages 7 to 11. The national measure for this is two whole national curriculum levels of progress. 83% of Hampshire children made this degree of progress in English culminating in the tests in 2009, about the same as in the previous year. This year the picture has improved significantly in mathematics with an increase of seven percentage points on the previous two years which reflects the prioritising of support for this subject over the last two years. 70% of Hampshire children made the two levels of progress in both English and mathematics and again this represents an improvement

6.10. Again the variation across districts is wide with the lowest level of progress being in Gosport at 60% and the highest Hart, at 77%. Havant remains the district where there are more likely to be schools that do not hit the national benchmark which is above 55% of children attaining a level 4 in both English and mathematics, although Gosport and Test Valley also have a relatively high number of schools who are currently missing that benchmark. This year there were 34 schools in Hampshire that fell below this benchmark as opposed to 31 the previous year.

6.11. Raising school performance above this "floor target" continues to be a prime focus for local authority school improvement teams. The work of these teams continues to make the difference in primary schools. In those schools where additional work was carried out as a result of the categorisation by school improvement partners results show that the improvements, or indeed, declines as in the case of English, have been greater or lesser respectively. In English the decline was less than half a percentage point in English in comparison to the one percent overall. In mathematics, however, the gain was two and half percentage points at level 4 when comparing the schools with their previous year's performance.

6.12. In the schools that were categorised as `inadequate' and hence received substantial support, the gains were proportionately and markedly higher from one year to the next - English up half a point, in contrast to the local and national trend, and mathematics up by five points.

6.13. Substantial progress was made in narrowing the gap between children eligible for free school meals and those who are not in consideration of the number who made two levels of progress in English and mathematics. This was reduced by 12% in 2009. However, when considering the number reaching level 4 and above in English and mathematics there were small increases in the gap - by around two percent in each subject.

6.14. Attainment of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) remains in line with 2008, however the gap is wider due to with the slight improvement for pupils in 2009 without SEN attaining level 4 and above. Newly published guidance has been shared with all those working with Primary school improvement with a view to ensuring that challenging targets for the attainment of SEN pupils are set by all schools.

6.15. For children in care (CiC) at Key Stage 1 attainment in reading was broadly the same as last year, higher in writing and significantly lower in mathematics. At Key Stage 2 overall attainment was significantly higher across all three core subjects. In English CiC attained a 12 percentage point improvement, in mathematics a 17.9 point improvement and in science a 20.1 point improvement.

6.16. At the end of Key Stage 2 in 2009 pupils from five of the specified ethnic groups attained above the Hampshire average (81) in English at Level 4 and eleven groups attained below the average. In mathematics six groups attained above the Hampshire average and ten groups attained below. In science it was eight groups above and eight below. The groups that attained well at Level 4+ have in the main done well at Level 5+ too. Progress made between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 was good with the gap between specific ethnic groups and the county average narrowing .

7. Primary Years - Future Priorities

7.1. All the work that has been done in recent years to make sure that each school is as good as it can be will need to continue, but there are some specific priorities that emanate from the 2009 results,

· Target resource more effectively to those districts and schools where progress, or headline results, are least strong and the gap in attainment most wide

· Ensure that children who reach the age of 7 And are below expectations in English and/or mathematics receive one-to-one tuition.

· Focus more work on improving the support for children in care and building on the successful interventions that have led to improved progress for this group of children at Key Stage 2.

· Develop better support for children to access learning through new more local Children's Partnerships and continue to develop communities of practice that not only support but also share and translate good and innovative practice;

· Engage schools in preparing for the revised National Curriculum and provide clear leadership in developing relevant and flexible curricula.

· Continue to develop and embed effective assessment strategies including raising confidence in teacher assessment through LA moderation

· Ensure that intervention strategies are effective and fit for purpose.

· Challenge and support schools to improve the performance of all their pupils and so reduce the number of schools that are underperforming and lift more schools above the benchmark floor target

· Continue to improve teachers' subject and pedagogic knowledge and expertise and support them in closing the attainment gap between some groups of vulnerable children and the rest of the school population through a range of strategies.

· Take a more strategic view of teaching and learning across the whole of the 0-11 age range

8. Secondary Years - The Results

8.1. The key stage 3 tests were withdrawn in 2009 since and were, therefore, not sat for the first time since they were introduced in 2002. Levels of attainment were reported by schools based on teacher assessment. The results for this year in the core subjects show an increase from last years test results in the core subjects based on level 5 and level 6 outcomes. There has always been teacher assessment as well as tests and the two measures correlated well with around a 1 percentage point difference. It is difficult to compare figures to those of previous years as, in addition to the change from test to teacher assessment, more schools are submitting their end of key stage 3 data at the end of year 8 instead of year 9. The important thing is that schools are tracking progress so that any underperformance can be identified in time to ensure best possible outcomes at the end of Key stage 4. School improvement partners continue to monitor this.

8.2. Measurement of attainment at the end of Key Stage 4 has focused increasingly on one key indicator, the performance of five or more A*- C grade GCSEs or their equivalent including English and mathematics.

8.3. The performance of 16 year olds in Hampshire at this measure improved to just over 55% which is more than a 1 point increase on last year in and 4 points better than the national average. There has been a continual improvement in Hampshire since this measure was introduced in 2006.

8.4. The attainment of five or more GCSE grades of C or above at GCSE still has currency but is no longer regarded as the `gold' standard that the DCSF uses to measure and compare schools. This reflects the increasing importance placed upon literacy and numeracy as well as a "raising of the bar," in terms of expectations of our young people. In Hampshire we have seen a 2 point improvement ( to 70%) for this measure on last year and this is 2 points above the national figure.

8.5. The gap between these two measures remains the same as in 2008 - 15 points. As an increased number of schools introduce more relevant and personalised curricula, outcomes are improving for all students. Schools focus very firmly on the core subjects of English and mathematics so it is to be expected that performance in these areas also improves, hence the gap remains the same as achievement is increased in both measures. In both 5+ A* - C GCSEs and 5+ A* - C including English and mathematics Hampshire's young people perform well against national averages and are 3^rd out of 9 in our statistical neighbour group of similar authorities.

8.6. Children from black and minority ethnic groups have continued to do well on the key indicator of 5+A*-C including English and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 4. Seven groups attained above Hampshire average (55%) in 2009. Nine groups attained below Hampshire average. There is still a difference of over 15 points (the county gap between the two measures) between 5+A*-C including English and mathematics and 5+A*-C for Bangladeshi, Asian Other, Black Other and Any Other Ethnic Group demonstrating the need to focus on literacy and numeracy particulary for these groups. In English and mathematics seven ethnic minority groups have a higher percentage of children making three plus levels of progress than the Hampshire average. There needs to be a particular focus on progress for Black Caribbean, Traveller of Irish Heritage, Gypsy/Roma groups. Neverthless the gap between groups and the county average is narrowing in many cases.

8.7. There were 78 pupils in year 11in 2009 recorded as in care. 7.7% achieved five good GCSE passes with English and mathematics. The gap in achievement of children in care and those who are not has remained the same this year with the percentage increase in children in care achieving 5+A*-C with English and mathematics increasing at the same rate as for the rest of the population.

8.8. 15% of the pupils with special educational needs (SEN) gained 5+A*-C GCSE passes with English and mathematics. There has been a steady increase from 9.5% and the gap of 49% between those registered with SEN and those not has reduced by 1%. The percentage of SEN pupils making three levels of progress in English and mathematics from entering the secondary education to leaving it has declined from 2008 by 3% in English and 2% in mathematics.

8.9. Children and young people in relative poverty perform less well in examined outcomes that those who are not. In terms of assessing performance, the eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is used as a proxy measure for those living in relative poverty. In Hampshire the gap in attainment between those young people eligible for free school meals and those who not remained the same as in 2008, after a dramatic decrease to 30% from 2007 to 2008. National figures are slightly lower than ours but that is reflected in all high achieving local authorities. In terms of progress, in English 28% fewer young people on FSM made expected progress between KS2 and KS4, in mathematics it was 29% and in science 27%.

8.10. Considerable additional support has been focused on improving the outcomes for those on FSM. This year a DCSF funded scheme of 1 to 1 tuition has been introduced which is targeted at pupils who are in care, on free school meals or are potentially underachieving. It is aimed at pupils who have started their secondary school life with below expected levels of attainment in English and/or mathematics. It is being rolled out across Hampshire schools and offers pupils ten hours of one to one tuition in mathematics and/or English by a qualified teacher. This year there are funds for over 3000 pupils in secondary education. DCSF are promising funding for 6000 places in 2010/11

8.11. In July 2008 the DCSF announced National Challenge which was aimed at schools where fewer than 30% of 16 year olds attained 5 A* - C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics in 2007. These were schools where fewer than 30% of 16 year olds attained 5 A* - C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics or where there was significant risk of outcomes slipping below that level. There were 7 schools in Hampshire in that category and three schools remained below 30% in 2009 with the other 4 having shown considerable improvement.

8.12. The County Council for a second year has been given some additional resources by the DCSF to spend on supporting those schools to improve. By 2011 the aim is to have no schools below this standard. Structural solutions are in place for 2 of the schools, one is to close in Sept 2011 and it is intended that the other will become an academy in September 2010. All indicators show that the third school will have improved above the 30% threshold.

8.13. A further DCSF initiative aimed at improving secondary school outcomes is Gaining Ground which was announced in the Spring Term of 2009. Ten Hampshire "Gaining Ground" schools are now working with the Local Authority and typically the school will have volunteered to be part of this scheme on the grounds of identified under performance in one or more aspects of the school, for example progress of pupils. The school is allocated a partner school, some additional time from their school improvement partner (SIP) and a small amount of funding to support activities as defined in an action plan for improvement. This is intended to be a 2 year programme which began in September 2009.

8.14. Hampshire secondary schools worked hard in 2009 and 55% of them achieved results better than in 2008. 73% of schools met their target for outcomes in 2009 and 50% met their higher, "challenge" target . The School Improvement Service continues to work with schools and this work has included intensive LA support in our national challenge schools contributing to a 9% increase in results in one school.

8.15. This year there has been an even greater focus on assessment for learning and improved professional learning including action research techniques which has been specifically evident in the work of three of this year's most improved schools. Sound diagnostic work and a relentless focus on outcomes for underperforming students in some schools and underperforming subjects in others has brought about improvement in some schools which have experienced long-term issues. There is no doubt that work is most effective when it is the result of a partnership between the school leadership team and the local authority school improvement service.

9. Secondary Years - Future Priorities

9.1. The local authority School Improvement Service will continue to support those schools that need it most but there are some key priorities for future years:

· Ensure that there are no schools that score below 30% 5 A* - C at GCSE including English and mathematics by 2011.

· Continue to narrow the gap between the percentage who achieve 5 A* - C and those who achieve 5 A* - C including English and mathematics whilst improving performance against both measures.

· Continue to work on whole system solutions so that the gap between the attainment of those young people who live in relative poverty and the rest keeps narrowing while, at the same time, overall attainment remains on a rising trend.

· Ensure that pupils entering secondary school below expectations in English and/or mathematics receive one to one tuition

· Find whole system solutions so that the attendance of children and young people in care and their attainment continues to improve.

· Continue to support `good' behaviour in our schools so that all of our secondary schools have an Ofsted rating of `good' or `outstanding' for behaviour.

· Support schools in reducing persistent absence where it is high and in particular, tracking the attendance of vulnerable pupils and intervening where appropriate to ensure full attendance.

· Embrace the new role of the LA in the support of and challenge for sixth form colleges

· As from April 2010 the LA will become responsible for the outcomes of learners post 16. The priority will be to monitor and improve the progression rate from pre to post 16 education and training so that by 2013 all young people participate and none are not in education or employment with training (NEET).

10. Finance

10.1. There are no additional financial burdens which result from the recommendations in this report. The school improvement service will deploy resources in such a way as to maximise their impact and will encourage schools to work in partnership with the local authority so that their resources remove deficiencies and enhance strengths. Additional resources, such as those agreed by Schools Forum, will also be targeted on mitigating the effects of disadvantage so that the gap between those who do well and those who do not is narrowed whilst the bar is raised for all children and young people in Hampshire.

10.2. The expectation that the White Paper, " Your Children, Your Schools, Our Future," which is currently before parliament will result in the end of National Strategies and the central funding of a wide range of school improvement services will have an impact on delivery of school improvement functions in the future. Since the details concerning how the funding will operate in the future as well as the way in which school improvement services can be brokered and supplied by the Local Authority have yet to be released it is not possible to make specific recommendations. However, some preliminary work to scope the possible impact of these changes is already being undertaken.

11. Outline of Options

11.1. The progress and future priorities identified in the body of this report, suggest clear areas which the Children's Services Department needs to focus upon. These can be summarised as follows:-

· Ensure that everyone involved with the early years foundation stage understands the implications of it being a statutory stage of education and development and uses the information provided by the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile to improve outcomes for young children.

· Align the work of Children Centres as they begin to operate with that of other early years foundation stage providers.

· Support providers in improving the communication, language and literacy and personal, social and emotional skills of children in deprived areas.

· Focus on early writing skills and early language development for all children which will also help to support the continued improvement in the performance of boys

· Ensure the alignment of the EYFS with the parenting strategy so that early years practitioners work more systematically alongside parent support colleagues to support those parents most in need.

· Target resource more effectively to those districts, settings and schools where progress, or headline results, are least strong and the gap in attainment most wide

· Focus more work on improving the support for children in care and those on free school meals by seeking out and building on successful interventions that have led to improved attendance and progress for these and other vulnerable groups of children and young people.

· Continue to work on whole system solutions so that the gap between the attainment of those young people who live in relative poverty and the rest keeps narrowing while, at the same time, overall attainment remains on a rising trend.

· Engage schools in preparing for the revised Primary National Curriculum and more personalised curricula in secondary schools and provide clear leadership in developing relevant and flexible provision.

· Continue to develop and embed effective assessment strategies and improve teachers' subject and pedagogic knowledge and expertise

· Ensure that intervention strategies are effective and fit for purpose.

· Reduce the number of schools that are underperforming and lifts more schools above benchmark floor targets which includes ensuring that there are no schools that score below 30% 5 A* - C at GCSE including English and mathematics by 2011.

· Take a more strategic view of teaching, learning and progress across whole the 0-19 age range with a particular focus on the points where children and young people progress from one phase to the next.

· Continue to narrow the gap between the percentage who achieve 5 A* - C and those who achieve 5 A* - C including English and mathematics whilst increasing performance in both measures.

· Ensurs that pupils who achieve below expectations in English and/or mathematics at key points of measurement receive one to one tuition

· Continue to support `good' behaviour in our schools so that all Hampshire schools have an Ofsted rating of `good' or `outstanding' for behaviour.

· Support schools and groups of schools in responding to the needs of individual students through curriculum flexibility and tailored intervention so that exclusions are reduced and more children and young people retained in mainstream education.

· Support schools in reducing persistent absence where it is high and in particular, tracking the attendance of vulnerable pupils and intervening where appropriate to ensure full attendance.,

· Embrace the new role of the LA in the support of and challenge for sixth form colleges and ensure that all young people are prepared to progress into post-16 education or training by 2013.

11.2. Alternatively, the available resources could be used to support each school, district and group of students equally without weighting the focus of the service on the priorities suggested by outcomes and performance trends

12. Recommendations

12.1. That the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services notes the assessment, test and examination results for 2009 and endorses the priorities that stem from them as listed in paragraph 11.1.

12.2. That the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services recommends this paper for consideration by the Cabinet of Hampshire County Council.

12.3. Than the Executive Lead Member for Children's services supports the distribution of this paper to schools, colleges and settings in Hampshire in order to alert then to the summary outcomes from 2009 tests and examinations and the future priorities which arise from them.

12.4. That the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services notes the potential changes which the dissolution of National Strategies will bring and supports the School Improvement Service in undertaking some preliminary planning in order to scope the potential impact of these changes on the service.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

Links to the Corporate Strategy

Other Significant Links

IMPACT ASSESSMENTS:

1. Equalities Impact Assessment:

1.1. Outcomes are assessed specifically against the needs of a range of vulnerable groups and the performance of those groups is reported on. The impact upon outcomes for those with special needs, children in care, those from minority black and ethnic backgrounds, the most able and those living in relative poverty has been considered throughout this report.

2. Impact on Crime and Disorder:

2.1. The attainment of better outcomes for all young people has a direct impact on their future economic wellbeing and, therefore, on their potential involvement in criminal activity.

3. Climate Change:

a) The recommendations in this report will have no impact upon the carbon footprint or energy consumption in Hampshire.

b) The recommendations in this report have no direct link with adaptations to climate change.