School Attainment

School Performance 2017 – National Curriculum Test and Public Examination Results

Early Years Foundation Stage

The main overall indicator for children at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage is the percentage of children achieving a good level of development (GLD) for which they need to achieve Expected or Exceeding in all prime Learning Goals (including Literacy and Mathematics). In Somerset 71% of children achieved GLD in 2017. This is 2.3 percentage points higher than in 2016 and continues a 6 year improvement trend. This is in line with the national average of 70.7%. %.

Gender

Girls continue to outperform boys on most indicators, including the GLD indicator. The gap between the performance of girls and boys has remained constant at 13.2 percentage points for the last three years, though Nationally, the performance gap between boys and girls has closed in this time. However, the gap in Somerset schools has been and remains less than the National gap.

Key Stage 1 (KS1)

In 2016 a new assessment system was implemented for the first time in Key Stage 1. Children are now assessed as reaching an Expected Standard (ES) or a Higher Standard (HS).This assessment is used for all indicators of performance either as a combined result or separately as Reading, Writing, or Mathematics.

The combined Reading, Writing, Mathematics (RWM) Expected Standard for Somerset was 65% against a national average of 64%. This performance ranks the LA at the 42nd percentile nationally where 1 is the highest. Those children gaining the Higher Standard (HS) were 12% against a national average of 11%.

Vulnerable Group Difference

The gap between children in receipt of Free School Meals and their peers on the RWM combined indicator reduced from 22% in 2016, to 18% 2017, despite the significant upturn in the overall result. The performance of the 768 pupils identified with SEND increased overall this year by 3 percentage points to 21%.

Key Stage 2 (KS2)

In 2016 a new assessment system was implemented for the first time in Key Stage 2. Children are now assessed as reaching Expected Standard (ES) or higher standard (HS). This assessment is used for all indicators of performance either as a combined result or separately for areas such as Reading, Writing or Maths.

The combined Reading, Writing, Maths Expected Standard for Somerset was 59% against a national average of 61%. This ranks the LA at the 68th percentile nationally. Whilst the expected standard measure in Reading, Writing and Maths at 59% is below the National outcome, there has been a statistically significant improvement since 2016, when the Somerset outcome was 52%.

Gender

In Reading, Writing, Maths combined attainment girls continue to do better than boys, though both groups made statistically significant progress between 2016 and 2017. The measure for girls achieving the combined Expected Standard rose from 55% to 63% and for boys the measure rose from 44.9% to 55%. Therefore the gap between girls and boys widened slightly in 2017 at the end of Key Stage 2.

Vulnerable group difference

The gap between children in receipt of Free School Meals and their peers for those achieving the Expected Standard in Reading, Writing and Maths is 22%. This has risen from 17.3% in 2016. However in 2016 only 29% of pupils in receipt of free school meals achieved the combined Expected Standard, compared to 37% in 2017. Therefore the rate of improvement for the 609 pupils in receipt of free school meals in Year 6 in 2017 was good but not as rapid as the overall national improvement for all pupils.

There was a statistically significant improvement in the combined Expected Standard outcome in 2017 for the 908 pupils in receipt of SEND support in Year 6 in 2017. The gap between the performance of this group and the overall National performance grew by 1% in 2017 though the overall group performance improved by 6%.

Key Stage 4 (KS4)

In 2016 the assessment arrangements for KS4 changed, with further changes this year in 2017. There have been changes in headline measures, as well as the grading of English and Maths moving to a 9 point scale. These changes also mean that for the majority of indicators it is not possible to look at trends overtime and it is necessary to consider Somerset’s performance against the national and regional attainment and achievement.

The main headline measure of whole school performance is ‘Progress 8’; additionally, the performance of schools is measured through the ‘Attainment 8’ score, by the percentage of students achieving a grade 5 or above in English and Maths GCSE, and the final measure of the English Baccalaureate.

KS4 progress which measures the value that secondary schools add from the KS2 data, showed a Progress 8 score of -0.12 which is below National average. The percentile rank of the LA was at the 64th percentile.

The Attainment 8 measure showed a significant rise upon last year and is in line with the National average, ranking the LA at the 53rd percentile Nationally.

Higher performing groups in Progress 8 included first language not English, Indian, Chinese, Other Asians, and Girls. The performance of all of these groups is statistically significantly above the National average.

Lower performing groups in terms of Progress 8 include those pupils with an Education, Health and care Plan, students in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM), SEN support and FSM in the last 6 years and those that joined in Year 10 or 11.

The gap in the performance of Gender in Progress 8 terms, shows the 2,397 girls assessed last year performing significantly above the National average with an overall score of +0.13. Conversely, the performance of the 2,448 boys achieved a significantly below average score of -0.35, against National outcomes.

Children in Care – The Virtual School

The Virtual School (VS) is a national construct designed to improve the educational outcomes of Children who are Looked After (CLA). The VS is led by a Virtual Head teacher and has a staffing compliment of advisory teachers and education support workers. The Virtual Head works closely with Children’s social care to ensure education is a pivotal aspect in reviewing children and young people’s placements, any potential moves as well as transitions in schooling terms.

The results for the VS can be difficult to interpret as many factors such as small cohorts in age groups, time spent in care, special educational needs as well as significant trauma all impact on the ability of children to be able to learn appropriately and to achieve in the same way and time frame as their peers.

Key Stage 2 (22 children)

In 2017, 36% of 11 year old CLA achieved the expected standard in Reading; 45% in Writing; and 41% in Maths. In the combined, 23% achieved the expected standard, against 59% of their peers. The majority of the cohort (73%, 16 children) had some form of SEND.

Key Stage 4 (34 students)

In 2017, 6% of CLA achieved GCSE standard passes in English and Maths, against 63% of their peers. It may be noted that 71% of the CLA cohort (24 students) had some form of SEND. 41% of the cohort attended a special school or pupil referral unit. 65% of the cohort (22 pupils) obtained at least one GCSE pass. Of those not entered for GCSEs, attainment included a range of Entry Level, Functional Skills, and Preparation for Working Life qualifications.

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See also:

• Children Looked After
• Free School Meals
• Special Educational Needs
• School Pupils: Ethnicity and First Language