Agenda item

To review all school move data including in-year transfers, elective home education, permanent exclusion and Managed Moves.  Additional data has been requested on pupil absence (incl. persistent absence).

5.1  Exclusions and all school moves is a standing item on the work programme of the Commission to review the range and number of pupil moves across schools in Hackney.  This is to ensure that the Commission has oversight of school exclusions, in the wider context of all school moves.  Therefore the Commission has annual updates on

-Permanent exclusions;

-Managed Moves;

-Children in Elective Home Education

-Children in Alternative Provision.

5.2  There were two slight amendments to this data for the Commission for this year:

-The Commission also requested additional demographic information in relation to SEND status for the all school moves data; and

-In light of rising rates of pupil absence and persistent absence the Commission also requested a brief update on local data - given their clear connection exclusions and other school moves.

Hackney Education

5.3  It was noted school exclusion was an important local issue and that the local education system was working to ensure that schools were inclusive.  The vast majority of pupil movement related to those children entering the borough or leaving the borough, or those moving in between Hackney schools. There were over 1800 removals from school roll and 1400 added to school rolls during the period to June 2022.  The report focused on the smaller sub-group of this cohort of children who may have additional needs or vulnerabilities, such as those who are permanently excluded, moving to Elective Home Education (EHE), who transfer schools via the Managed Moves process or receive their education in alternative provision.

5.4  The rates of persistent absence in schools across the country was now almost twice as high as they were before the pandemic.  Whilst rates of absence in Hackney may not be as high as regional and national averages, it was acknowledged that local rates had nonetheless doubled.  This was a concern as school absence can impact on attainment and the longer term outcomes for children.

Questions from the Commission

5.5  Given the interrelationship between these different cohorts of school moves, does Hackney Education have sufficient capacity not only to review and analyse local school move data effectively but also ensure that officers work across services to effectively support pupils?  What is the total number of officers which support these policy areas?

- Whilst additional funding would always be welcome, Hackney Education was confident that officers were working collaboratively and effectively together to support pupils and partners in all school moves.  Hackney Education has some statutory responsibilities to act in respect of some aspects of school moves, but schools also have the freedom to innovate and some would be directing their own resources to these issues.  The data does provide the pretext for Hackney Education to challenge schools around attendance, exclusion or any other school moves.

- The data presented in the report covers a number of teams that all create and manage their own datasets rather than one overall service, which of course brings its own challenges.  It was noted that whilst there have been new duties and expectations placed on local authorities in respect of education, there has not been any budget increase from the central government to support this. It was acknowledged that staffing resources were limited for some services (Elective Home Education  - 1 WTE; Children Missing Education - 2WTE).  Hackney does operate a traded service for local schools in respect of pupil attendance which is focused on the statutory obligations.  It should be noted that there is no legal duty on schools to share data with Hackney Education, and primary settings were generally much better at this than secondary.  Legislation was going through parliament at the moment which would extend data sharing requirements for schools.

- It was also noted that the cyber-attack had a profound impact on local data collection, the directorates were aware of the importance of shared data systems and the role this played in creating a unified approach to supporting local children and families.  New contracts were up for retender in the near future and this would be an important consideration in this process.  In reaction to fragmentation of teams, it was noted that a new Director of Business Intelligence and Strategy position had been developed which aims to bring greater synergies and more effective working relationships across children’ services and education, it is hoped that this post will also be able to bring a more streamlined approach to data collection and analysis to support local services.

5.6  Have there been any suspected cases of ‘off-rolling’ among local schools in the past 12 months?  Accepting that this a ‘grey area’ what intelligence and insight does Hackney Education have around possible cases and if there are aspects which need further interrogation or follow up?

- Whilst there were examples of when the relationship between school and families had broken down which has resulted in a child being removed from the school roll, it was difficult to determine whether these constituted ‘off-rolling’ as such cases can be difficult to prove.  There can be disagreements between the school and parents as to whether it is in the best interest of the child to stay on in a particular school or whether it may be more beneficial to move to another school.

- Since the Commission’s work on this in 2019/20, HE has been looking more closely at pupil roll movement at year 10 and year 11 and who have not gone on to take exams.  HE has been focusing on those schools where pupil movement has exceeded 5% where the School Improvement Team provides external challenges as to why these figures may be high.  Generally schools have a very clear presentation of why these children were removed from the school roll and have an understanding of where these children have gone to.  Sometimes children are moved into Elective Home Education when this may not be the best option for the child, and HE then supports that child to be reintegrated back into mainstream education, most likely in another school.  The challenge of off-rolling is that it is very difficult to nail down as this is always dependent on the relationship between the schools and the family which can be complex and where there are different expectations and understanding.

- Head teachers present noted that there is now a more rigorous Ofsted assessment of those year 10 pupils which do not make it to the end of year 11 (and examinations) and if off-rolling is detected, the school will be automatically placed in ‘Requires Improvement’ category.

5.7  Is the Council confident that it is matching the expectations and ambitions to reduce school exclusions with the additional resources and teacher training required?  Does the Council currently work with The Difference, an exclusions charity, supporting teachers to reduce exclusions?

- The Council offers a comprehensive training programme to support Continuous Professional Development for teachers, which is designed in consultation with local schools’ needs.

- Reducing school exclusions is a local priority and HE was confident that local school leaders understood the importance of inclusion.  It was emphasised that supporting those children for whom mainstream school might not be the best place for them to receive their education was a community wide responsibility encompassing a wide range of local services (e.g. social care, community safety, health).

- On the recommendation of the CYP Scrutiny Commission, the Re-engagement Unit was expanded to include secondary schools. From September 2022, additional investment has been made in this team which  now has a universal offer to schools to support those most vulnerable students at risk of exclusion.  The Unit is made up of a staff from a wide range of disciplines including teaching, CAMHS and youth work and as such has a broad range of skills which can help schools and local school leaders to develop inclusive practice and also better support vulnerable children and their families to help maintain their places in mainstream education.  The focus was on prevention and that there was an early help offer to reduce the need for more reactive interventions at a later stage. 

5.8  Are all schools signed up to the Re-Engagement Unit?

Although this was a universal service, and with the exception of one or two local schools, the team was in every school having conversations with school leaders about children at risk of exclusion.

5.9  Is there any associated patterns between detentions and the impact that this has on mental wellbeing of pupils and permanent school exclusions?  Is there any data on this issue?

- A headteacher reported since the pandemic there has been a significant increase in the number of pupils with mental health concerns, and that the school had to be creative in responding to and supporting these needs.  The school had introduced more counselling support and now employs its own counsellor and also introduced a number of peer support groups for pupils. There is a real concern around thresholds to access CAMHS support, with the school being increasingly told that pupils do not meet the threshold and therefore required to develop their own pastoral care to support pupils but this requires additional training and support to our staff.

- In relation to exclusion, one school reported that it operated a restorative justice programme where instead of sanctioning children, children are given an opportunity to repair and re-engage, where children have an opportunity to sit down and explain everything.  In some instances, the manifestation of poor behaviour is a result of other unmet pupil needs and the school was of the firm belief that every pupil should have a member of staff with whom they feel confident and comfortable talking about a wider range of issues and where issues of concern can be raised.  The school takes advantage of the early help offered through Young Hackney, and tries to prevent exclusions by partnering with other schools where reciprocal arrangement can be made for pupil transfer to other schools out of the borough where a fresh start may be the best option for children.

- From the PRU perspective, it was noted that a number of schools still operate a points based behaviour system, in this context there is a significant number of exclusions which arise through ‘persistent disruptive behaviour’.  Many exclusions that happen at secondary level relate to carrying of weapons or the physical assault of another young person, most of these are outside the school away from the oversight of adults.  In this context, headteachers often feel the need to exclude a pupil to ensure the safety of other pupils which may have been affected by this behaviour and to ensure that the school remains a safe space.  More training around the impact of social media on young people, and the triggering effect that this has on pupil behaviour would be welcome.

5.10  What progress has been made on the Inclusion Charter which was being rolled out within local schools?

The Systems Leader for Diversity and Inclusion had recently led a two day CPD course for local schools on this issue and it was expected that those attending will return to their schools to update and up skill other members of staff.  This is a broad focused piece of work which will encompass not only issues of race, but also SEND status.  The Systems Leader was also an experienced teacher with a long history of teaching at a local school in Hackney and therefore understood the local landscape of needs.

5.11  What programme of support is available for children who are persistently or severely absent from school, in particular to the cohort of children who have SEND or mental health issues?  How does our approach on this issue vary from other boroughs?

Many local authorities have reduced their education and welfare support when funding was reduced some years back, so most offer a core service with some element of additional support which is a traded service. New guidance on attendance will require additional involvement and this will be problematic for many authorities.  Locally, the WAMHS provides access to mental health advice and support in education settings and very few authorities have comparable services.  It was also noted that the local clinicians have also been working on providing guidance for schools around emotionally based school avoidance, which of course has important connections to SEND needs and potentially permanent exclusion.  Whilst there was good work locally, it was acknowledged that more could be done.

5.12  Can officers outline the process through which challenge is provided to schools with higher rates of school moves.  In previous years, it has been noted that the Director of Education has visited these schools with other officers, but these visits now have been replaced by School Improvement Partners?

The last couple of years these visits and challenge has been undertaken by the School Improvement Team under the oversight of the Director of Education.  The main point of challenge is assessing whether the destination of all those children is a reasonable outcome for them and the headteachers have to account for these moves.  It is clear that headteachers now see these moves as a safeguarding issue which is an important development.

5.13  There are 750 boys from the Orthodox Jewish Community which are known to be missing education and a further unknown.  Will the new requirements for parents to register their children who are electively home educated increase oversight? 

- It is not clear if the Schools Bill will actually progress through parliament, but if it does, it is likely to have a significant impact on the Charedi community.  If it does progress, then the Council will also need to plan what impact this will have and make sure the necessary resources are in place.  HE was having conversations with local education leaders around the potential impact of the Bill in preparation.

5.14  The Chair thanked officers for attending and responding to questions from the Commission.