State of the South West (WEB VERSION)

Schools and Pupils

4.3 This section examines educational provision, the participation and performance of primary and secondary school aged pupils. It is important to note that some of the variation evident in school and pupil data is as a result of standards and policies implemented both nationally and locally, for example, class sizes, early years provision and national curriculum standards.

4.4 All statistics in this section are derived from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) publication, ‘Schools and Pupils in England: January 2006’, unless otherwise stated. 

Early Years Education

4.5 Although primary compulsory education begins at 5 years old, a large and growing percentage of children start formal education earlier than this, reflecting the Government’s policy of ‘early years’ education. Previous measures to provide free part-time nursery education places for every three and four year old whose parents want one, which came into force on 1st April 2004, has been extended by the 2006 Childcare Act, aimed at improving the accessibility of high quality childcare services for children under 5 and their families.

4.6 There were 46,200 3 and 4 year olds in early years education within Local Education Authority (LEA) maintained nursery and primary schools in the South West at the end of January 2004. This equates to 43% of the total 3 and 4 year old population and is lower than the national average of 59%.

Primary and Secondary Schools

4.7 Just over 778,000 pupils were attending primary and secondary schools in the South West in January 2006. This includes special schools (7,220 pupils), Pupil Referral Units (1,380 pupils), independent schools (61,220 pupils) and City Technology Colleges (1,020 pupils). The number of pupils attending these schools has changed overtime with numbers in nursery, primary and special schools declining, and numbers in secondary schools, pupil referral units and independent schools increasing.

4.8 These trends are not exclusive to the South West and are clearly seen nationally. The rate of change in the region reflects the national picture although there has been a larger decrease in special schools. Larger than average increases have been seen in secondary schools and most notably in pupil referral units.

4.9 The number of primary school pupils has fallen across all LEA areas in the South West except the Isles of Scilly between 2000 and 2006. The decline was greater than the national average in Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Plymouth and Poole. In contrast there has been a growth across all LEA areas in the number of secondary school pupils with the exception of Bristol, showing an 11% decline in pupil numbers from 2000 to 2006.

Class Size and Pupil to Teacher Ratios

4.10 Class sizes are an important part of the Government’s education agenda. The Government’s objective has been that by Autumn 2002, no child aged 5, 6 or 7 should be in infant classes of over 30 pupils and the data on class sizes reflects the implementation of this policy. The average number of pupils in classes taught by one teacher was 26.2 for primary schools in the South West in January 2006. The figure for secondary schools was 21.7 and in line with the national average.

4.11 The pupil to teacher ratio reflects the relationship between the number of pupils on roll and the number of teachers employed, and are influenced by both changes in population and policy. The ratio of teachers to pupils in the South West is comparable to the national average for both primary and secondary schools.

                  

Pupil Absence

4.12 The general trend for pupil absence from schools has been a slight but steady decrease both nationally and for the South West. However, between 2004/05 and 2005/06 there has been a rise in total absence regionally and nationally and for both primary and secondary schools. This increase is also present within the region. The bulk of this increase has been seen in authorised absence in primary schools and a small amount in secondary schools.

4.13 Absence levels are above the national average for both primary and secondary schools in Bournemouth, Cornwall, Dorset, Plymouth and Torbay. However, this is in the main due to authorised absences. Bristol has levels of both authorised and unauthorised absence significantly higher than the national average for both primary and secondary schools.

Permanent Exclusions

4.14 Permanent exclusions from schools can be linked to deprivation, although other factors such as individual LEA and school policy on excluding pupils is important. A permanent exclusion refers to a pupil who is excluded and their name is removed from the school register.

4.15 Figures for 2004/05 show that there were a total of 780 permanent exclusions from primary (100), secondary (660) and special schools (20) in the South West. As a proportion of the school population, the figures are comparable to national averages. There were a total of 40,280 fixed term exclusions in the South West from primary, secondary and special schools equating to 1.2% of the school population in primary, 10.4% in secondary and 29.0% in special schools. These proportions are above the national averages with special schools significantly higher than the national average. A fixed term exclusion refers to a pupil who is excluded from a school but remains on the register of that school because they are expected to return when the exclusion period is completed.

Free School Meals

4.16 Whilst eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is a useful indicator of social deprivation amongst pupils, it cannot be taken as a truly representative measure as not all parents who are eligible apply for assistance and the way in which FSMs are promoted within schools may also differ.

4.17 In January 2006, 10.4% of pupils in the region’s nursery and primary schools were known to be eligible for FSM, a lower proportion than the national average of 16%. For secondary schools this figure is 8.2%, again lower than the national average of 13.6%. The highest levels of known eligibility for both nursery and primary and secondary schools are in Bristol, Plymouth and Torbay.

Pupils with Special Educational Needs

4.18 Pupils with special educational needs (SEN), which vary from sensory difficulties to physical and learning difficulties, may be ‘statemented’ or ‘non-statemented'. Pupils with SEN become statemented when an LEA concludes, after a statutory assessment, that the special needs provision required to meet the needs of the pupil cannot be reasonably provided with the normal resources available to the school. As with other school related information, figures depend on a variety of factors but, perhaps particularly in this case, individual LEA policy depends on SEN and inclusion.

4.19 There were just under 13,000 pupils with statements of SEN in primary and secondary schools in the region in January 2006. This equates to 1.6% of the total primary school population and 2.0% of the total secondary school population, figures comparable to national averages. Nearly 64,000 pupils in the region’s primary schools have SEN but are non-statemented, around 16.9% of the total primary school population, marginally below the average for England of 17.3%. For secondary schools this figure is just over 43,000, equating to 13.2% of the total secondary school population and lower than the national average of 15.3%.

Educational Attainment at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3

4.20 Key Stage examinations take place at three points during compulsory schooling: Key Stage 1 (age 7), Key Stage 2 (age 11) and Key Stage 3 (age 14). Provisional Key Stage 1 results for 2006 show the achievement of children in the South West to be comparable to the national picture and show no real change in the figures for 2005. However, within the region achievement is varied with pockets of particularly high and low levels of achievement. Achievement tends to be highest in LEA areas such as the Isles of Scilly, Bath and North East Somerset, Gloucestershire, Bournemouth, Poole, Dorset and South Gloucestershire, whilst Bristol, Plymouth, Torbay and Cornwall have achievement levels below the regional averages across all four test areas.

4.21 The 2006 results for South West 11 year olds are broadly in line with the national picture. Average point scores per pupil and individual subject results are highest in areas such as Bath and North East Somerset, Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Dorset. Areas such as Bristol, Plymouth, Torbay, Bournemouth and Cornwall have achievement levels below the regional averages across all three subject areas.

4.22 Attainment amongst 14 year olds is marginally higher in the South West than the England average and this is particularly evident in maths and science at both levels 5 and above and 6 and above. Bristol and Swindon had rates of achievement below the national average across all subjects and at all levels.

Educational Attainment at GCSE/GNVQ

4.23 Provisional results for 2006 show nearly 58% of young people in the South West gained 5 or more A* to C grades at GCSE. This is higher than the England average and is only exceeded in the East and the South East of England.

4.24 GCSE attainment varies by gender, with girls achieving considerably better results than boys; in 2006, 53% of boys achieved 5 or more A* to C grades at GCSE compared to 63% of girls. This is consistent with national patterns of attainment.

4.25 Within the region Bristol significantly under performs against national standards at GCSE and equivalent, although Torbay, Swindon, Bournemouth, South Gloucestershire and Somerset all have a lower percentage of pupils achieving 5+ A* to C grades than the national average. Attainment is highest within the Isles of Scilly, Bath and North East Somerset, Gloucestershire, Poole and Dorset.

4.26 GCSE attainment has improved over time in both the South West and England. The percentage of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs passes at grades A* to C in the South West increased by almost 6 percentage points between 1999 and 2006.

Note: Figures are for the maintained sector & 2006 results are provisional.

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