Agenda item

Jenny – would like to know how children within the county are achieving.

NCC collects data which can provide trends of attainment. There is good news for Black children; the data shows good performance during the previous year. However, the performance of Black British children remains a concern. The remaining Black groupings are doing well. Black Caribbean children are the highest performing among Foundation Year (Reception Year) pupils. Their attainment has been improving over the past few years.  Whilst overall, at National and County level, 64% of pupils achieve a “good level of attainment”, 72% of Black Caribbean, 68% of Dual Heritage Caribbean and 67% of Dual Heritage African. 58% of Somali children achieve a “good level of achievement”.

Comment: The Black Caribbean category could include Black British.

Comment: MW said that she has met university students who had been involved in the Black Achievement Programme in Northampton.

Comment: Deone McKenzie working for Hewlett Packard would like to put together a conference for high achieving black children.

KE: Need to keep a close look at “Other Black”. There could be a variety of reasons for a dip in attainment in this grouping this year. Whilst Black children achieve above average at end of the primary stage, a concern remains about the achievement of children within the “Other Black” category.

There is a rising trajectory in the achievement of all Black children. The question remains, however, why are Black British children lower achieving than other Black groups.

AR: NREC invested money into Pilkington Report and is concerned that data is not being more widely communicated.

AR: NREC has attempted to engage with Northamptonshire County Council on pupil performance. However, AR believes that there has been a lack of effective communication on the part of the County Council.

KE: Schools hold data and this is communicated with parents. If parents have concerns about how their children are being educated, they should contact the head teacher. The school should provide attainment data. It is hard for NCC to engage with schools that have moved away from NCC control. With the shift away from NCC, parents should engage with the school.

AR: This is an excellent route; however, parents need support to do that.

JR: Attends a wide range of community events and sees that that many people are integrated. Need to consider when do we stop calling people “black”? It is important to consider where people come from and why they came to the United Kingdom. For example, East African Asians came from middle class backgrounds, and could integrate more easily. However other migrant groups have often come to the UK to work in manual occupations, and this will have had a bearing on their achievement at school. Accurate data can help in understanding, but statistics need to be treated carefully.

KE: It is important to consider how people define themselves. If a child is under-achieving , it is important that the school deals with this.

JR: Concerned that the good work that is done in primary schools can be undone at secondary schools. It is vital to learn from performance data at 11 and at 16 years of age.

AR: examining exclusions rates is also important in helping us better understand the problem of attainment.

KE:  If young people do not take GSCEs, they are not counted in the statistics.

Jenny: There is a lack of understanding by teachers, who sometimes misinterpret how children respond.

KE: to email exclusion data, providing a comparison among groups. Until a few years ago, the drop of attainment has been higher among Black children at GSCE level. 51% of Black British children gain A* - C at GSCE level, whilst the corresponding figure for White British is 56%, and the national average is 55%.

KE: KE is happy to discuss what the Forum can do to further support pupil attainment.

KE: There are many websites for parents showing attainment figures.