Improve educational attainment (how well children and young people achieve at school)
You can read the summary below, or access the full versions in the right-hand column.
What will be different in one year’s time?
What actions are planned over the next year?
Why does this matter?
All children need a good education so that they can achieve their full potential and improve their life chances. Children and young people who do well at school have more choices about their future.
Some children and young people may need more support to help them make the most of their life chances. Educational attainment enables young people from poorer backgrounds to break out of the cycle of deprivation by going on to further and higher education. To achieve this they must pass public examinations at sixteen and beyond.
Taking public examinations is a requirement for all students. We must help them to achieve by raising their self esteem and improving their learning.
We also want children and young people to enjoy learning for pleasure, as well as achieving examination results.
Where are we now?
What the local data tells us about Nottinghamshire
- Over the last three years the GCSE results in Nottinghamshire for young people achieving five or more A*-C grades have improved at a significantly higher rate than the national figure. For example, in 2008 the improvement nationally was 3.9% over the previous year and in Nottinghamshire the equivalent figure is 6.3%
- Children and young people in Nottinghamshire still do not achieve at the level we would expect for their potential
- Children and young people who live in the most deprived districts of Nottinghamshire do less well at school, on average. These districts are Ashfield, Bassetlaw and Mansfield
- Children and young people who have free school meals are less likely to do well in examinations than other children and young people.
What children, young people or families tell us
Families tell us that they would like:
- more ‘family learning’ to help young people see the value of learning
- more parental engagement with their children
- more information and guidance to help young people make the right choices for their future
- more integrated working in support of vulnerable and minority groups.
What will be different in one year’s time?
- Vulnerable children and young people will receive targeted support. The targeted groups will be:
- Children and young people eligible for free school meals
- Black and Minority Ethnic children and young people
- Children in local authority care
- Children and young people who are identified as under-achieving
- Children and young people with learning difficulties and disabilities
- Statutory exam results will be improved at all key stages
- Young people on free school meals will improve their results compared to their peers
- The performance of schools in challenging circumstances will have improved.
What actions are planned over the next year?
- Develop targeted programmes providing support for vulnerable groups of young people
- Ensure information and guidance is available to provide support for young people’s learning and career choices
- Increase the use of high achieving schools to support schools in challenging circumstances.
How will we measure impact?
NI 75 - At Key Stage 4, the number of young people achieving five or more GCSE's A*-C including English and mathematics will be equal to the national average by august 2010 and will continue to improve at a rate faster than the national average.
NI 102 - There will be an improvement in the examination results achieved by children and young people on free school meals compared with others in their age group.
NI 78 - Fewer schools will perform below the standard 30% pupils achieving five or more GCSE grades A*-C including English and mathematics.
- Children and young people will do better in statutory examinations at all key stages. We will monitor this using the nine National Indicators relating to attainment at key stages which we have statutory duties to report on (NI 72, NI 73, NI 75, NI 92, NI 93, NI 94, NI 99, NI 100, NI 101).
Contact Information
Lead Partnership Group:
The Children’s Services Executive Group (CSEG) of Nottinghamshire Children and Young People’s Partnership Board
Strategic Lead:
John Slater
Service Director, Learning and Achievement,
Nottinghamshire County Council Children and Young People’s Services
For more information about how this work is being developed, contact:
Anne Allsop
Head of Improvement (ten to nineteen)
or
Trevor Bean
Head of Primary School Improvement (nought to twelve)
Learning and Achievement
Nottinghamshire County Council Children and Young People’s Services
Both can be contacted on tel: 0115 982 3823
