Agenda item

Presentation from Christine McInnes, Assistant Director of Children’s Services, [Leadership & Learning Services]

9.1  The meeting started with a presentation from Christine McInnes, Assistant Director of Children’s Services (Leadership & Learning Services).

9.2  Christine McInnes first spoke about the report circulated to the sub – committee. This explained that the programme aims to raise the standard for all with a core offer for all schools while raising standards for identified vulnerable groups though targeted intervention programmes.

9.3  Recent data has identified widening gaps in attainment between Southwark overall and Black Caribbean pupils. BC pupils (as a group) have not made expected gains at KS 1 and 2. We are committed to narrowing the gap between this group of pupils and Southwark pupils and this is a key focus of work. Specialist support is also available for schools to improve provision for gypsy, Roma Travellers and pupils with English as an additional language.

9.4  There a number of initiatives including ‘The Hero Inside’ project which focuses on raising achievement of groups of children in selected schools who may be underachieving or not reaching their full potential. It will fuse culture, Literacy, ICT, History, citizenship and the arts together to reflect the cultural diversity of Southwark. Using animation and drama identified key stage 2 pupils will explore how stories can provide a framework for problem solving and finding solutions.

9.5   White British boys on Free School Meals are another group who have been identified as a cause for concern both locally and nationally.There is a project to address this delivered in 2 parts. The first part looks at national research and the successful work in a number of Southwark schools/settings to identify strategies that appear to make a difference. The second part of the project will engage other Southwark schools that wish to narrow the gap and improve attainment of this group in their schools.

9.6  The importance of having positive role models for children and young people in school cannot be underestimated. Children’s Services have a commitment to helping schools to recruit and retain a high quality workforce which reflects the local community. The current data on the schools workforce is being analysed by ethnicity, particularly focusing on staff in senior management posts. This information will be used as the basis of a report which will make recommendations about how we can improve current recruitment and retention strategies to work towards a better representation of the local community in the schools workforce. Alongside this we are piloting a coaching programme for nine black and minority ethnic leaders in schools who aspire to headship.

9.7  Christine McInnes then spoke about the Parental Engagement work in more detail and showed a presentation ( published on the website) put together by lead External Consultant: Dr Jan McKenley. This initiative is using Action Research to discover how we can best build parental engagement processes with parents in homes where an effective learning culture may not be evident. New engagement strategies will be explored through this project which will lead to parental engagement at home as well as parental involvement in school. This project will work in identified schools identifying good practice as well as development opportunities and is based on the most recent research (Professor Alma Harris: Do parents know they matter – Raising achievement through parental engagement). It offers school visits and the possibility of learning networks.

9.8  A member commented on the importance placed on good transitions in the Scrutiny reports circulated from Haringey and Tower Hamlets. They particularly focused on primary to secondary. Christine McInnes responded that this is a very important area, particularly for vulnerable children. They are looking to develop consistency and good practice from Early Year’s settings into Primary School to impact on Key stage 1.

9.9  There was a comment on how the report had very much emphasised the importance of parents involvement in their child’s learning; particularly fathers. Is there mentoring of parents and fathers in their own home to encourage skills and confidence? Christine McInnes commented that yes, sometimes a parental support advisor might do that; one to one will really help but it is resource intensive.

9.10  Kintore Way Nursery School did some excellent work with fathers and male carers. This started with breakfast play set up indoors and outside supported by members of staff. The children sent invitations to fathers and male carers. This has reached over 100 different parents and carers with around 30 attending 6 sessions over a year. This has helped parents gain confidence and understanding of the value of play; helped parents appreciate and value their children’s learning and provided opportunities for male networks of friendship and support to develop. Sometimes parents have a poor experience of school themselves and it is important to get over that. The sessions aim to empower parents to carry on playing and encouraging their children to learn in the home.

9.11  A query was raised about how to get males involved where the mother is a single parent. Kintore Way had encouraged children to invite any significant male in their lives; uncle; grandparent; step-father etc.

9.12  A Member commented that sometimes there are no males in the children’s lives and that membership of men on the PTA of Schools can really help. Christine McInnes commented that there is a growing focus on workforce development to get more males employed.

9.13  There followed a discussion on how to reach those families who were least involved in engaging with their children’s learning. The importance of not patronising people or making assumptions about parental engagement because of false assumptions or stereotypes was emphasised. Members thought that blanket and regular communication was a good approach. This should emphasise the role of parents in play, games and reading to improve numeracy and literacy.

9.14  It was noted that the fathers' role was particularly important but it is vital that the approach does not undermine fathers but rather promotes the importance of their roles and empowers fathers through developing skills and confidence.

RESOLVED:

A one page report will be drafted noting the importance of family learning and the key role that parent’s play as informal educators.

The report will briefly draw out particular issues discussed by the committee including the importance of male carer’s / father’s participation in children’s learning and recommend that further resources be devoted to developing this area.