Progress of St Helens' secondary school pupils among worst in England, says council's education boss

A report on the performance of the borough's schools in 2016-17 was presented to St Helens Council's cabinet on Wednesday by Cllr Jeanette Banks, portfolio holder for child, families, young people and education.

Cllr Banks said “major changes” to education across the country, including tougher English and maths GCSEs and the introduction of a numeric grading system were factors in the poor progress.

She also noted the academisation of Rainford and Rainhill high schools.

Cllr Banks told cabinet the latest Progress 8 (P8) data – a score based on how well pupils have performed between the end of primary school and GCSEs – was among the worst in England. Nationally the Progress 8 average score is set to zero.

“Progress continues to remain a key and significant challenge for secondary schools in St Helens,” Cllr Banks said.

“St Helens’ disappointing P8 score for 2017 shows that in the majority of schools in St Helens, students made significantly less progress than other pupils nationally with similar prior attainment starting points.

“Across the borough the applicate P8 score is -0.44.

“The collective progress outcomes reported for St Helens in 2017 are among the lowest reported by an authority in England.

“St Helens was placed 148 out of 152 LAs (Local Authorities) in England.”

While the overall picture is concerning for the council, there are some positives in the report.

In the early years foundation stage, more than two thirds of children educated in St Helens in 2017 were judged to have achieved a good level of development.

Cllr Banks said key stage 1 was a “positive picture”, with 72 per cent of pupils reaching the new expected standard in reading, 64 per cent in writing and 72 per cent in maths.

“These results, while continuing to remain below national averages, are significantly higher than those achieved in the previous year,” she said.

“In addition, our improvements are higher than the national comparable improvement rates.”

At key stage 2, 58 per cent of pupils reached expected standard in reading, writing and maths, an increase of five per cent on the previous year but still below the national average.

Only 45 per cent of disadvantaged pupils educated at a state-funded St Helens school achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

In reading, 68 per cent of pupils reached expected standard, below national average of 71 per cent.

In grammar, punctuation and spelling, pupils beat the national average for the second year running, with 78 per cent achieving the expected standard.

In key stage 5, while the performance of secondary schools in vocational qualifications is strong, it is weaker at A-levels.

Additionally, the performance of boys, from the early years foundation stage to key stage 4, remains an area for concern and a focus for action for the council.

Addressing the attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils will also be a key focus.

At key stage 4, 20 per cent of disadvantaged pupils educated in St Helens achieved grade five or above in GCSE in English and maths, compared to 46 per cent non-disadvantaged pupils.

The attainment gap in 2016-17 between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils in St Helens is 21 per cent.

Looking ahead, Cllr Banks said the council will be “focusing relentlessly” on underperforming schools to ensure they improve rapidly.

“There is still a great deal to do but I believe our own work within the LA and our work with other parties will allow us to see an improved picture in this academic year,” she said.

Cllr Derek Long, cabinet member for Liverpool City Region engagement, said the council should not allow deprivation to be a block on expectations and aspirations as it could lead to a “fatal spiral”.

Cabinet member for corporate services, Cllr Anthony Johnson, said the council must boost the borough’s job market to give disadvantaged children something to aspire to.

He said: “The work we are actually doing outside to bring new jobs into the town to develop it so we get back to something close to 100 per cent employment in this borough is the biggest move that will actually aid work taking away this disadvantaged label.

“It will take our children out of poverty and the results will naturally go up because those people will then see there’s something to work for because let’s face it, the reason those figures are low for that group of people is because they don’t think there is anything there for them to achieve.

“We’ve got to make sure they understand that there’s lots for them to work for, lots for them to achieve, and that they are worth every penny, every ounce of time and effort that they put in.”