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Ian Thomas Strategic 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;
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Ian ThomasStrategic DirectorChildren 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 Schools Current 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 Schools Current 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.
