Contact Officer: Pat Jones, Principal Scrutiny Officer, 01865 252191; phjones@oxford.gov.uk.

 

Background Information

The Scrutiny Committee established a panel to study the effects and value of the Council’s investment in educational attainment at primary level. The Panel planned to partner with a school for three terms to explore this issue.

Why is it on the agenda?

As part of the investment into educational attainment, the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University and Education Excellence in Oxfordshire (now the Oxfordshire Teaching Schools Alliance ) were commissioned by Oxford City Council to develop a programme to improve  the quality of leadership in Oxford City schools  and in so doing improve pupil outcomes. The programme that was developed was the Leadership for Learning programme, and evaluation of the first year of this programme is the subject of the attached report.   It is anticipated that evaluation of the KRM model will take place at the Committee’s meeting in June 2014.

Who has been invited to comment?

Panel Members (Councillors Campbell, Jones, Coulter, Paule and Khan) will introduce this topic.   Professor Ian Menter (Department of Education, University of Oxford, and Programme Director), Linda Rowe (Programme Co-ordinator) and Councillor Pat Kennedy (Board Member for Education, Crime and Community Safety) will also attend the meeting to answer any questions.

What will happen after the meeting?

The Panel will take into account comments from the Committee when deciding how to progress further.

 

 

The Educational Attainment panel submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) concerning the first year of the “Leadership for Learning” programme.

 

The Committee welcomed Professor Ian Menter (Department of Education, University of Oxford, and Programme Director) and Linda Rowe (Programme Co-ordinator); who were in attendance to answer questions and support the debate.

 

Councillor Pat Kennedy, Board Member for Education, Crime and Community Safety, introduced the report and outlined the three elements of the Educational Attainment programme:-

 

·         Leadership for Learning – which was under discussion at this meeting;

·         KRM programme – which would be the subject of a report in June;

·         Digital Inclusion – aimed at secondary schools in the City and the subject of a future report.

 

Introduction from Professor Menter and Linda Rowe

 

Professor Menter provided the following information and updates:-

 

·         He was very pleased with the partnership working – Oxford University, Oxford Brookes and local schools via the Oxford Teaching Schools Alliance;

·         The report that the Committee had before it provided information on the first year’s progress, and is based upon material taken from the participants;

·         This is a distinctive programme – Professor Menter is now aware of anything similar anywhere else - and it covers a wide range of activities;

·         The focus is about leadership for the sake of improved learning;

·         It is very important that Headteachers are behind the programme and that they support their staff growing through it;

·         It has proved difficult to engage Governors in the process; although many are very supportive in the background;

·         An additional advantage is that it has given schools an opportunity to work together, and it has opened up a dialogue between them.

 

Questions and Comments from the Committee

 

·         The Committee wished to thank Professor Menter, Linda Rowe and Councillor Kennedy for all their hard work on this programme;

·         The Committte noted that this was a long term project, and would welcome a further update at the end of the second year;

·         It would be helpful if the Scrutiny Panel could continue to be involved;

·         It is important that Governors are involved (and helped to become involved) given their increasingly important role within schools. The Committee was disappointed to hear that they were not more engaged, and would welcome suggestions on how this process can begin;

·         There is concern about the turnover of staff within schools – no matter how good a leader someone is, staff turnover will be a problem. Leadership is about relationships, not simply capabilities. Good leadership is when you can take people with you, and staffing turnover impacts this. Management can be delegated, relationships need to be built;

·         Part of the problem with staff turnover is that Oxford is an expensive place to live. How can the Council make it easier for teachers to stay here? Is it possible to do as Runnymede Council did, and invest is affordable housing for teachers?

·         It is important to have representatives from different communities involved, both as Governors and as parents. This should include people who run after-school activities;

·         Additional data, to help with the interpretation of the programme and the lessons learned so far, the benefits of the programme and how it has helped,  would be useful;

·         It is important to deal with the issue of bullying in schools, especially that of children from BME communities;

·         The Committee was mindful of the fact that, with the evolution of Academies, the educational landscape had changed . Academies can run their own attainment programmes far more easily, and Governors become advisory boards;

·         Some teachers can benefit from “cultural learning” sets.

 

Responses from Professor Menter, Linda Rowe and Councillor Kennedy

 

·         A housing scheme to assist people coming to live in oxford is being looked at;

·         Some staff move between schools in the City – not all who contribute to staff turnover move away completely. Inter-school collaboration helps with this process, and teachers need professional development opportunities in order to become leaders;

·         Parent involvement is a definite advantage;

·         At least 3 schools have sent Governors  regularly to leadership for Learning events;

·         The point about performance indicators is recognised and there will be more information around these in the final report. It is important that we do not read too much into statistics too early in the process;

·         Bullying has not been identified as an issue but it will be taken back to the programme team;

·         The primary focus has been on the development of staff as leaders in schools – the programme has not targeted external groups (such as after-school club leaders);

·         The issue of staff turnover could be the subject of its own programme, as this is a complex issue with a complex pattern;

·         Accommodation remains a matter of concern, but it is not the only matter that affects the programme. An accommodation scheme might help;

·         It is recognised that some schools provide a challenging teaching environment, and the programme tries to support teachers in facing and dealing with these challenges.

·         Anna Wright and Councillor Pat Kennedy have been visiting KRM schools from January to May 2014 to prepare a report that will be written in June. The first real test of the KRM scheme will be the National SAT results in December 2014.

 

Summary

 

The Committee had raised the following substantive issues:-

 

(1)  Affordability of accommodation for teaching staff;

 

(2)  Key performance indicators – the usefulness of these to make judgements on what is happening in schools;

 

(3)  The role of Governors – how can they be encouraged to engage with the programme?

 

(4)  Cultural learning sets – should these be included in the programme?

 

Resolved to:-

 

(1)  Ask Pat Jones to write to Councillor Pat Kennedy to ask that any lessons learned (including consideration of the usefulness of a scheme to assist with affordable accommodation for teaching staff) be included in the second year of the Leadership for Learning Programme;

 

(2)  Note that Councillor Pat Kennedy will be writing a report concerning the KRM scheme in June 2014;

 

(3)  Thank Councillor Kennedy, Professor Menter and Linda Rowe for their hard work, and for their attendance and useful input to the Committee meeting