The Quality of Education Committee met virtually on Tuesday 3^rd October. Although it was an autumnal evening, and the nights are drawing in, we were in good spirits and engaged in good professional dialogue about our recent successes with OFSTED and outcomes and asked challenging questions of each other on how we could improve further.

The meeting primarily looked at end-of-year outcomes for all reportable stages of primary school. There was a lot to celebrate. All three schools were achieving a good standard and where there was some under-performance, compared to national attainment figures, the positive progress measures highlighted just how successful the schools had been. We are acutely aware that attainment alone does not tell the whole story.

Our ambition for all pupils in all three schools to achieve highly was evident in the discussions that took place around the data outcomes. From these discussions, some possible areas to explore further were identified as strands that could secure even better outcomes going forward. They were:

1. Examine the EAL numbers in schools in more detail. Are numbers static? Are there significant numbers of languages? How are we assessing? Are the pupils new to the country? Are they speaking English at home? Are they 1^st/2nd generation families?
    
2. Pupil Premium. What are we doing to secure the best outcomes? Could we use Recovery Funding better? How are we raising aspirations? Two colleagues from Woodston are attending a conference soon. What will be learnt from this, and how can it be shared?
    
3. Assessment and Forecasts. Linking with Trevor Goakes’ focus work, how can forecasts become more accurate? How can we allow for changes in forecasts but not settle for low expectations? How do we moderate and validate within schools and across the Trust?
    
4. Gender differences in outcomes. Is this cohort specific? Is the curriculum right? What pedagogy is best? 
    
5. Greater Depth Maths. Why were our outcomes lower than expected? How can we use the maths leads to unpick this? What support do schools need to address this going forward? How could the Improvement consultant be used here?

As you can see, we certainly go into quite some detail and have many ideas to consider. We will certainly not be able to do all of the above at once! 

But also, we did celebrate the schools and their teams for all the hard work and dedication that went into a very successful year. The efforts of everyone haven’t gone unnoticed, and we wanted to acknowledge that.

We were reminded of the formal celebration plans set for November and hope everyone can be there. 

Our next meeting is scheduled for 5th December 2023.