Ian ThomasStrategic Director

Children and Younger Adults

School Governor Briefing,

October 2013

Context

• Local government is facing unprecedented cuts from central government;

• Derbyshire County Council Savings to 2017/18 - £157m;

• Members have been spending a lot of time with senior officers to determine budget priorities and to consider the implications of all proposals - all decisions accord with their manifesto for a fairer Derbyshire;

• Given the above ALL services will be affected – the savings programme starts now.

Budget – Implications for Children and Younger Adults Services

• Savings in excess of £15m will be considered by members within the month – there will be more to follow;

• Savings will be delivered across CAYA services, to include:• Reduced care costs with fewer children in care;

• Reduced management and back office;

• Review of careers guidance and adult education;

• Changes to home to school transport;

• Reduced staff travel.

• Consultation will be required for many major changes.

Key Financial Issues for SchoolsCurrent school balances:-Nursery: £304k - Primary: £18,226k Total £31,848k-Secondary: £11,584k - Special: £1,734k

•Total central DSG balances £22.8m•£25k increase in secondary school lump sum £1.1m per annum (consultation);•Release of capped gains under formula changes;•Contribution to school Equal Pay in Single Status costs;•Expanded “traded” offer to schools for 2/3 years;•Support for any loss of funding due to National DSG changes.

Key Financial Issues for SchoolsCurrent consultation – formula consultation document published 6th September 2013, absolute deadline for responses is 15th October 2013.

Actions for governors:

•Respond to the consultation! Although the changes aren’t as significant as previous years’ the outcomes will affect how much money your school will have to spend;•We need schools’ views/support to continue to re-pool funding for insurances, contingency funds, library and museum services, licences and special staff costs e.g. maternity;•National Funding Formula expected to be phased in from April 2015, details awaited from DfE; •No cash for pay rises – DSG per pupil for 14-15 will be cash flat i.e. real terms cut

School Performance• 77% of primary schools are judged to be Good or

Outstanding (improved by 12% since September 2012), 22% require improvement, 1% inadequate;

• 43% of secondary schools are judged to be Good or Outstanding (declined by 15% since September 2012), 43% require improvement, 14% inadequate;

• The number of Derbyshire schools judged Good or Outstanding is 2% lower than the England rate (79%) for primary, and 30% lower than the England rate (73%) for secondary.

School Performance

• KS1 - between 2009 and 2012, the performance of Derbyshire children has been consistently higher than for children nationally (national data for 2013 is not yet available) – top of statistical neighbours;

• KS2 - 77.9% of pupils achieved a Level 4 or above in all three subjects (76% nationally), and 23.3% of pupils achieved higher than the expected level in all three subjects (Level 5 or above) compared to 21% nationally;

School Performance• KS3 - Between 2009 and 2012, the percentage of

Derbyshire children achieving the expected Level of 5 or above in the Key Stage 3 teacher assessments has been higher than for children nationally, and the percentage achieving Level 5 and 6+ in 2013 has increased slightly for all three subjects;

• KS4 - Based on very early data collected from schools, performance at Key Stage 4 in 2013 has improved slightly since 2012;

• KS5 - The percentage of pupils gaining 3 or more A*-A grades has increased from 11.0% in 2012 to 13.4% in 2013

Safeguarding – the Daniel Pelka tragedy

• DP was murdered by his mother and stepfather in March 2012. He was four years and eight months old;

• Domestic violence and alcohol abuse were significant factors in D’s home life;

• D started school in September 2011. He spoke little English and was isolated. He was soon presenting as always hungry and he took food at every opportunity;

• D also came to school with bruises and unexplained marks. These injuries were seen by different school staff members, but no record / onward referral was made;

• D was seen in February 2012 by a community paediatrician, but neglect and emotional abuse was not considered. The paediatrician was unaware of the physical injuries seen at school;

• Three weeks later D was dead.

Safeguarding – Recommendations from the Daniel Pelka tragedy

Recommendations for schools were:•For injuries and/ or concerns to be recorded by staff and for appropriate action to be taken. •The role of the designated professional for child protection in schools must be clearly understood and used effectively. •For all professionals - for children without English as a first language, where there are safeguarding concerns, there must still be a focus on the child. •The child’s voice must still be heard;•Staff should take responsibility for keeping their child protection training  up-to-date.

QUESTIONS