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Children's Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Wednesday, 18th December, 2024 5.00 pm

December 18, 2024 View on council website
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Summary

The Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be considering a report on the delivery of the Holiday Activity and Food Programme, a report on recent educational outcomes across the district, and reviewing its own work programme.

Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF)

The committee will be provided with an update on the delivery of the Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF).

The programme, which is funded by the Department for Education (DfE), offers school holiday clubs for children in Reception to Year 11 who receive benefits-related free school meals. The clubs are designed to provide a healthy meal each day, as well as helping children stay active, learn about food and nutrition, and have fun. The report pack shows that during the summer of 2024, 12,641 children participated in 4,006 activities.

There are 123 HAF providers across the district, including schools, special schools, sports clubs, and 51 Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise organisations.

The report pack says that

All food provided as part of the HAF programme must comply with regulations on food preparation and take into account allergies and dietary requirements.

It also shows that

As places are free to eligible children, providers experience issues with non-attendance.

In the past, providers were able to use 15% of their funding allocation to provide free places to children who were not eligible for benefits-related free school meals. However, for the 2023/24 delivery year this flexibility was removed, and the DfE expected clubs to be filled with eligible children.

The report pack explains that

The removal of the flexibility for our providers to use 15% of their funding allocation, for non-eligible children, was a concern. However, the majority of holiday clubs have managed to accommodate non-eligible children through their own resources or as an exception based on severity of need.

The report pack also says that the DfE funding for the programme is only guaranteed until the end of March 2025, and that Bradford Council is currently awaiting confirmation from the DfE as to whether the funding will continue beyond that date.

Raising Attainment Update

The committee will consider a report on the most recent educational outcomes for pupils in Bradford. The report pack states that

Educational outcomes at both primary and secondary level for 2024 are not where they need to be (and reflect a historical trend), but are better at primary than at secondary level, and CLA outcomes are a relative strength and there is some strength in elements of SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) outcomes.

The report pack covers outcomes at all key stages:

Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Results

The percentage of children in Bradford achieving a good level of development has fallen each year since 2022, and is now 6 percentage points lower than the national average. Literacy is the area of learning with the lowest percentage of children achieving the expected level.

The report pack explains that

The new entitlement for children aged 9 months upwards will allow more children to access more free early education hours. However, the entitlement does not cover all children. Many children fall through the loop hole between most disadvantaged children (children living in households earning less than £16,190) and working parent entitlement of 30 hours (both parents need to be working).

Phonics

The percentage of children in Bradford meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 has fallen slightly since 2023. However, by the end of Year 2, 93.6% of the cohort had met the expected standard.

The report pack says that

Bradford now exceeds the national average for this measure.

Key Stage 1

There is no mention of Key Stage 1 outcomes in the report pack.

Key Stage 2

58.4% of Bradford pupils achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined in 2024. This represents a slight increase on 2023’s results, however the gap to the national average has widened slightly.

The report pack says that

Bradford is ranked in percentile 71 nationally when compared to all Local Authorities for the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths.

Key Stage 4

Bradford’s Attainment 8 score has fallen slightly to 40.9. The percentage of students achieving grade 4 or above in English and Maths has risen slightly to 55.9%.

Key Stage 5

The average grade for academic qualifications is C+, which is the same as the national average. The average grade for applied general qualifications is a Distinction.

Priority Education Investment Area (PEIA)

Bradford is one of 24 local authorities designated by the Government as a Priority Education Investment Area. PEIA funding is being used to support schools to improve educational outcomes in English and Maths, improve behaviour for learning, and reduce absence.

The report pack describes some of the challenges and successes of the programme:

Successes:

  • The levels of engagement from eligible for support schools.
  • The quality of partnership working between eligible schools, trusts, and system leaders.
  • High quality research and evidence informed implementation plans form the basis of the change programme.
  • Independent quality assurance arrangements to provide additional support and challenge through oversight of the support and partnership.
  • Early positive signs of impact.

Challenges:

  • One partnership has broken down (DfE aware and working with the school and the trust it joined).
  • Cash-flow due to delays in payment to the grant holder and in turn to system leader organisations.

Aiming High, Engaging All: Meeting the Needs of Bradford’s Schools Conference

The committee will be provided with information about the Aiming High, Engaging All: Meeting the Needs of Bradford’s Schools Conference, which took place on 11 July 2024. The conference brought together partners from across the region to share best practices, and offered workshops on a range of topics, including teaching strategies, attendance, and addressing educational disadvantage.

Work Programme 2024/25

The committee will be asked to review its work programme for 2024/25 (Doc M - Appendix 1).

The report pack sets out the statutory responsibilities of Overview and Scrutiny Committees, and explains that

Best practice published by the Centre for Public Scrutiny suggests that “work programming should be a continuous process”.

The work programme contains a range of topics that the committee has previously agreed to scrutinise during the 2024/25 municipal year, including the following:

  • Appointment of co-opted members
  • Bradford Children's and Families Plan
  • Permanent exclusions and suspensions, and the sufficiency of sixth day provision
  • Persistent absence in schools
  • Health services for looked after children
  • The National Review Action Plan
  • Sufficiency Strategy, including in-house fostering services and adoptions
  • Supporting Families Programme
  • Raising Attainment Strategy
  • Holiday Activity Programme
  • Home to School Transport
  • SEND Services
  • Outdoor Education Centres
  • Audit findings relating to the quality of social work practice
  • Bradford District Children and Young People Strategy
  • Children and Young People's Mental Health and Well Being
  • Educational Standards - Early Years to Key Stage 4.

The report pack shows that the committee has already agreed to conduct a Scrutiny Review into persistent absence across schools in Bradford.

Attendees

Profile image for Councillor Geoff Winnard
Councillor Geoff Winnard  Conservative and Queensbury Independent Group •  Bingley Rural
Profile image for Councillor Mike Pollard
Councillor Mike Pollard  Conservative Group Chief Whip •  Conservative and Queensbury Independent Group •  Baildon
Profile image for CouncillorCarol Thirkill
CouncillorCarol Thirkill  Labour •  Clayton and Fairweather Green
Profile image for Councillor Jeanette Sunderland
Councillor Jeanette Sunderland  Liberal Democrats •  Idle and Thackley
Profile image for CouncillorRalph Berry
CouncillorRalph Berry  Labour •  Wibsey
Profile image for Councillor Andy Walsh
Councillor Andy Walsh  Labour •  Wyke
Profile image for CouncillorSafina Kauser
CouncillorSafina Kauser  Labour •  Manningham
Profile image for CouncillorAlex Mitchell
CouncillorAlex Mitchell  Labour •  Queensbury
Profile image for CouncillorDavid Ward
CouncillorDavid Ward  Deputy Leader of the Bradford Independents Group •  The Bradford Independents Group •  Bolton and Undercliffe
Joyce Simpson Church Representative
Shifa Simab
Rosie Tejani
Tom Bright

Topics

No topics have been identified for this meeting yet.

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