Wednesday 9 April 2014

Delivering the best schools and skills in Ipswich


Not usually my area of expertise but a great interest of mine, especially as my day work within my business has often been in schools. So I asked for some information and I share that with you, regarding Ipswich.

There's also been a lot of negative publicity by Labour councillors without really giving any facts and figures, as is their want, on anything much at all. So I felt it important to look into this.

Labour failed our young people as we plummeted down the international league tables for school performance. Between 2000 and 2009 England fell from 7th to 25th in reading, 8th to 28th in maths, and 4th to 16th in science in the PISA league tables (PISA study, DfE Press Release, 7 December 2010)

So what are we doing?

Academies – giving schools more freedom

·         Academy status gives schools more freedom, allowing them to help each child reach their full potential. Over half of England’s secondary schools are now benefiting from Academy status, including 6 in Ipswich.

Free Schools – innovative, community-led education

·         Free Schools let talented and committed teachers, charities and parents respond to local demands, raising standards and improving education in their community. There are now over 300 Free Schools in England, but there are none in Ipswich yet.

Capital Spending – investing in schools


·         We are ensuring that Local Authorities have the money they need to provide enough school places because nothing is more important than investing in the next generation. Between 2011 and 2015 schools in Suffolk will receive over £59 million of extra funding to provide new school places.

·         We are making sure school buildings are repaired so that children can learn in the best environment possible. Between 2011 and 2015 schools in Suffolk will receive over £48 million for repairs.

In addition, in Ipswich:
·         Suffolk New Academy is being rebuilt under the Priority School Building Programme:.
·         And, Coppleston High School received £46,500 from the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund.
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EBacc – the core academic subjects


·         Thanks to our EBacc more pupils are taking the key subjects that they need to get a good job. The EBacc incentivises schools to encourage more pupils to take core subjects at GCSE. It recognises pupils who achieve A*-C grades in English, Maths, 2 sciences, a language and History or Geography.
  • In 2010 only 21.1 per cent of pupils in Ipswich studied for the EBacc, but this rose to just under 40 in 2013, with nearly 22 per cent achieving the qualification, a rise of over 8 per cent.
Under Labour the number of pupils studying an academic core collapsed. The EBacc encourages more pupils to take core subjects at GCSE. It recognises pupils who achieve A*-C grades in English, Maths, two sciences, a language and History or Geography.

Ipswich (National Average)
2010
2013
% rise
% entering a combination of EBacc subjects
21.1 (21.6)
39.5 (35.3)
87.2 (98.0)
% achieving the EBacc
14.1 (14.9)
21.7 (22.5)
53.9 (82.3)

 

Pupil Premium- supporting the poorest children                 


·         The Pupil Premium gives schools extra funding to raise attainment for disadvantaged pupils and close the attainment gaps between the most disadvantaged pupils and their peers. Between 2011 and 2015, schools in Ipswich will receive over £12.1 million through the Pupil Premium.

Ofsted – expecting the highest standards


·         We have toughened up the Ofsted regime to ensure that all schools are giving the best possible education to our young people. In 2010, 27 schools in Ipswich were rated good or outstanding; this has fallen to 23 schools in 2013.


Ipswich
Aug 2010
Dec 2013
Outstanding
7
5
Good
20
18
Requires Improvement
11
8
Inadequate
1
5




Apprenticeships – getting our young people into work


·         Apprenticeships give young people the chance to earn a salary and gain a qualification whilst gaining valuable workplace skills and experience. 630 people started an apprenticeship in Ipswich in 2012/13. An increase of over 62 per cent compared to 2009/10. In total, 2,930 people have started an apprenticeship in Ipswich since 2010.

Ipswich – Ben Gummer MP

Academies
Ipswich (National Average)
May 2010
Feb 2014
Number of converter Academies
0 (0.0)
2 (4.2)
Number of sponsored Academies
0 (0.4)
4 (1.3)
Total number of Academies
0 (0.4)
6 (5.5)
% primary schools that are Academies
0 (0.0)
3.4 (7.3)
% secondary schools that are Academies
0 (6.8)
50.0 (50.2)


Pupil Premium
Ipswich
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Total
Eligible pupils
2,440
3,980
3,980


Amount (£)
1,181,000
2,451,000
3,535,000
4,864,000
12,013,000

Capital Spending

Suffolk
2011-12
2012-13
2013-15
TOTAL
School repairs (£)
18,733,328
15,397,812
13,925,925
48,057,065
School places (£)
19,916,234
17,241,395
21,880,233
59,037,862


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