Agenda item

The Chairman welcomed Mrs Julie Wills, Headteacher of Upton upon Severn Primary school and Mr Nick Gibson, Headteacher of North Bromsgrove High school who had been invited to join the meeting to provide a school perspective on the impact of COVID-19.

The Panel had received a report which provided an update on educational outcomes for:

·         the academic year 2019/2020, in particular the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the measurement of educational outcomes; and

·         the academic year 2020/21 including the impact of Covid-19 and next steps.

Mrs Wills explained that she was the Chair of the Worcestershire Headteacher’s Primary Partnership. In this role she worked closely with the Leadership of Worcestershire Children First (WCF) and disseminated information and updates back to the partnership members. She also met regularly with the Chairs of the other Partnerships in the county, and during the first term of the pandemic they met every day, to ensure that no school was left feeling isolated with issues that were arising.

In preparing her presentation for this meeting, Mrs Wills had consulted with all of the Headteachers in the partnership and 71 had submitted their views, which had been incorporated.  The statistical findings and key feedback received were as follows:

·         93% of Headteachers were worried about the impact of COVID-19 on pupils learning. Key issues of concern were those children who had not engaged with remote learning, learning behaviours and children’s well-being and mental health.

·         71.8% of Headteachers felt that both educational and social impact would be felt equally, with the balance of the remainder being towards social impact. The findings had indicated that this lockdown had been harder for parents to manage than earlier ones. The key focus was on social and emotional health and well-being.

·         97.2% of Headteachers felt confident that a secure system was in place that accurately reflected children’s attainment, despite the absence of external assessment. The Panel was assured that teachers had the experience and expertise to ensure assessment processes were robust and accurate. Much of assessment was through teachers’ observations and Mrs Wills explained that teachers had an intuitive feel for their children’s development needs going forward.

·         97.2% of Headteachers felt that their school had the capacity to provide continued improved educational provision.

Mrs Wills led the meeting through her presentation, and the following summarises the resultant key areas of discussion and Members questions:

·         Whilst headteachers could not know the long-term impact of the pandemic on children, they were clear that children must feel confident and happy to enable effective learning to take place. There had been a very positive return to school this month for most children with a sense of joy at being back in school with their friends. None of the schools had reported any major problems. Members of the Panel reported similar experiences in schools they were connected with.

·         In terms of children in pre-school and reception, it was highlighted that whilst these year groups were open during this last lockdown, some parents had kept their children at home. The Assistant Director for Education, Quality and Improvement explained that some of the youngest children were finding the return to school difficult, but that it was early days and the School Improvement Team were on hand to offer additional support where required, such as with phonics. There was also considerable support in place for children due to start school in September.

·         The Director of Education and Early Help advised that in order to understand the experience of the very youngest children, an Early Years Task Group had been set up, in conjunction with colleagues in the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (HWHCT),  with a focus on attendance and encouraging take up of early years places. On a positive note, she was able to report that attendance in this age group was now increasing steadily.

·         On the practicalities of social distancing with young children, Mrs Wills explained that with the very youngest children it was impractical and so risk assessments had been put in place which ensured that, when appropriate, staff were able to make use of personal protective equipment (PPE). They had been able to put certain measures in place in her school, for instance individual desks for Reception children, and reading screens which children had adapted to easily.

·         In response to a query regarding the educational impact on disadvantaged children, Mrs Wills explained that these children had actually been in school during lockdown and whilst it was too early to ascertain the impact on their learning, in her school they had flourished as a result of smaller groups and more direct input from teachers. The Interim Chief Executive highlighted the distinction between disadvantaged and vulnerable children. Since Christmas a maximum of 50% of vulnerable learners had been attending school and she had concerns for those who had struggled to get support at home.

·         In terms of elective home education (EHE), it was noted that there had been a general increase in numbers of children being educated at home. The Director reported that there had been a significant increase in enquiries about EHE compared to the previous year, though this had fallen since the start of this year. The Early Help team were having early conversations with those considering this route.

·         Mrs Wills advised that there had been a gradual process of change within schools with systems now in place to enable on-line learning.  Home school liaison played a key role as did the roll out of computers to those in need. Teachers had grown in confidence with the learning platforms available and the tools to enhance the effectiveness of their lessons. A Member commented that the facility for on-line learning in the Spring and early Summer had been slow to be implemented, but during this last lockdown when children were able to see their teacher and engage with them, that had made a real difference. The Director of Early Help and Education commented that there had been some quick learning by some schools, but that the lack of access to IT had been problematic. Vulnerable children had been a key focus as well as setting up systems to ensure full education coverage from September, including for those required to self-isolate at home.

·         The issue of connectivity problems was raised leading to problems with remote learning. The Director advised that there were lots of issues with connectivity, but that over time these were identified and resolved. With school being mandatory since September, schools have had to work in different ways to find ways to address the need.

·         Mrs Wills drew attention to a chart which set out the most significant barriers to positively impacting children’s learning, as identified by Headteachers. The issues were pupil and staff mental health and well-being, restrictions with premises and financial issues, the latter especially for schools that ran businesses for wraparound care.

·         Going forward, other areas of concern for headteachers included the lack of priority for school staff to be vaccinated, potential bubble closures, staff capacity and parental anxiety about risk.

The Chairman then invited Mr Gibson to share his school’s experience with the Panel.  Mr Gibson advised that from the start of the pandemic his school took the view that consistency was key and therefore the remote learning structure that was established was designed to emulate the school day with usual timetables being followed. Towards the end of Lockdown, live lessons had been trialled and this had begun a learning journey for all staff and pupils. One key learning point was that the pedagogical approach had to be altered to ensure pupils were engaged and fully understanding the lesson being delivered. There was more scaffolding of learning and a greater emphasis on sharpening questioning and testing to gain assurance of understanding.

The Panel was advised that regular feedback from parents and students was sought and acted upon, for instance with the reduction in length of lessons and setting out expectations and topic areas being covered to keep parents informed. In terms of ensuring that students were engaged with lessons, the school introduced a prompt button that a teacher could use if it was felt that a student was disengaged. This prompt would send a text to the parent so that they could check on their child. The introduction of this system had made a significant difference to the engagement of some students.

Mr Gibson explained that his staff were committed to offering the best possible learning experience, but in the interests of transparency and to gain external verification for this, the School Improvement Team had been asked to provide an objective overview of the remote learning experience, which had been helpful.

With regard to some of the blocks that had been experienced during the year, the key ones had been:

·         The impact on staff well-being resulting from Government announcements requiring action, which were received without any prior notice.

·         The shortage of laptops was initially a significant issue, but the local authority had been a tremendous help with this.

·         Capturing those students on the cusp of pupil premium to ensure that the relevant funding and support was received.

·         Broadband had caused problems initially, especially for those students attending lessons via their phone.

In terms of what had been learnt during the last year, Mr Gibson also highlighted some key factors:

·         the solution focussed approach was the best way to cope with the ever- changing situation.

·         Innovation and versatility were key requirements for all staff.

·         An appreciation of the value of face to face teaching and learning.

·         Parents gaining a greater understanding the value of education and of being able to attend school.

·         Improving the understanding of scaffolding approaches and the use of visualisers and modelling techniques.

·         Understanding that vulnerable/fragile learners had preferred some aspects of remote learning, for instance, they had felt more confident to make contributions in lessons.

As to where the school was currently at with assessment of students, Mr Gibson advised that they had a wealth of evidence-based assessment to use, including results from mock exams taken on site in December. Going forward, there would be a focus on consolidating the learning of the students in Years 9, 10 and 12.

The Chairman thanked Mr Gibson for his comprehensive overview. Members asked questions which were responded to as follows:

·         The school had employed a number of techniques to boost engagement with remote lessons, which was recorded at 97%.

·         Liaison with other schools in their pyramid had continued throughout the year, with preparations ongoing with Middle schools in respect of the new cohort of students in September.

·         There had been an increase in safeguarding concerns during the year and it had been ensured that all students had the ability and opportunity to offload to a member of staff about any issue that was affecting their social and emotional well-being.

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Education and Skills thanked the Headteachers for their contributions to this meeting and for their efforts during this difficult year. He appreciated the way in which schools had adapted to change during the pandemic, remaining open for vulnerable learners and children of key workers throughout. Moving forward, as Cabinet Member he would be looking to ensure that the learning outcomes of vulnerable learners were unaffected whilst also seeking the most positive outcomes for all learners.

The Church Representative thanked the local authority for the effective way in which all schools had been supported during lockdown, which was greatly appreciated.

The Chairman thanked Mr Gibson and Mrs Wills for attending the meeting and for their useful insight into the experience of schools in the past year.