To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 23 October 2024.

The Chair updated the Subgroup on the recent visit to Old Moat Primary School, which had been attended by two Subgroup Members and a Ward Councillor, commenting that it was a very good school and that it had been an interesting visit.  She also commented on the issue of falling rolls in the primary sector and schools’ strategies to deal with this.  She highlighted the Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People’s request to be provided with summaries of Ofsted reports which could be circulated.

Decision

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 23 October 2024.

To receive a list of all Manchester schools which have been inspected since the last meeting and the judgements awarded and to consider the main themes arising from the inspections.

The Subgroup received a list of all Manchester schools which had been inspected since the last meeting and the judgements awarded. 

The Senior School Quality Assurance Officer provided Members with an overview of the inspections which had taken place since the last meeting.  She reported that, due to the removal of the overall effectiveness judgement, Watchsted no longer provided analysis or comparison between local authorities and it would be difficult to compare Manchester’s figures with national, north-west and Greater Manchester averages; however, she advised that she was working with the Council’s Performance Research and Intelligence (PRI) team to identify a way to calculate the percentage of Manchester schools which were good or better in each key judgement area.  She reported that schools’ feedback on the way that recent Ofsted inspections had been conducted, including the new approach to ungraded inspections, had been largely positive.

The Senior School Quality Assurance Officer outlined the key themes arising from recent published inspections which were assessment, including addressing knowledge gaps, pedagogical choices, identification and sequencing of key knowledge, ensuring that knowledge was retained long-term, transcription (spelling, punctuation and handwriting) and adaptive teaching for children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND).  She reported that the ‘Intent to Implementation’ webinars being delivered to school leaders aimed to address many of these themes and that feedback so far had been very positive.  She informed Members that Quality Assurance visits in the spring term would have a particular focus on SEND and inclusion but that there would also be an opportunity to evaluate progress since the last visit and look at individual areas for improvement, identifying any schools requiring further support.  She outlined how her service maintained a strong overview of Manchester schools, using a risk assessment process.

The Chair welcomed the change in ethos from Ofsted, including a change of tone in the reports.  She welcomed the improvements made at St Matthew’s RC High School, including improvements in behaviour and attendance.

In response to a question from the Chair, the Senior School Quality Assurance Officer reported that staff stability had improved at St Matthew’s.  She advised that very significant improvements had been made at the school and that the new headteacher was working collaboratively with the local authority, which was having a positive impact.  In response to a further question, she advised that the school did not have onsite Alternative Provision (AP) and that schools were not required to do so.  She informed Members about work that was taking place to gather information on which AP providers schools were using and how many children were accessing it.  She advised that Ofsted reports did not need to mention AP unless there was an issue with this.

In response to a Member’s questions about schools within her ward which were not on the agenda for this meeting, the Chair suggested that the Member discuss this with the Director of Education and the Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People outside of the meeting.

The Executive Member  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

To receive a list of daycare providers which have been inspected since the last meeting and the judgements awarded and to consider the main themes arising from the inspections.

The Subgroup received a list of all Manchester daycare providers which had been inspected since the last meeting and the judgements awarded.

The Early Years Quality Assurance Lead provided Members with an overview of the inspections which had taken place since the last meeting, advising that 96% of settings in Manchester were judged to be good or better.  In relation to Woodhouse Park Family Centre, which had been judged as “requires improvement”, she outlined the circumstances which had led to this judgement and how the setting was working with the Council and partners, advising that it was already making significant improvements.  She reported that there had been fewer settings closing recently but that challenges remained in relation to recruitment and retention and rising costs, as well as the number of children with complex SEND needs.  She advised that the strengths identified in recent Ofsted reports included communication and language support, curriculum and curriculum implementation and partnerships with parents.  She advised that for settings which were struggling, areas that required improvement included the implementation of the curriculum and assessment, enabling targeted teaching, as well as issues with recruitment and retention and leadership.  She outlined how her team supported leaders and managers to improve their settings, including through the forums, visits and skills bootcamps for nursery managers.  She reported that her team was continuing to support the Greater Manchester recruitment campaign, that the Kickstarter video clips on good practice were now been used by settings and that the Baby Room training was currently being finalised.  She advised that 36 settings were involved in the Kickstarter Project and this work was well underway.  She reported that the forums in February would focus on changes to Ofsted’s safeguarding requirements.

The Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People advised that the requirement for a qualified teacher in nursery provision should be reintroduced and that she would be speaking to Ministers about this.  She also commented on recruitment and retention issues and settings closing, while commenting that there had been fewer closures recently.

The Chair welcomed that the Ofsted reports were positive about the ethos of the settings and the relationship with parents but expressed concern at the vulnerabilities of the sector.  She also welcomed the initiatives to provide training and to support improvements in the sector, advising that providing training could improve job satisfaction and, therefore, improve retention.  She noted that Ofsted had required Woodhouse Park Family Centre to make two improvements within a very short timescale and asked whether this had been achieved.  The Early Years Quality Assurance Lead confirmed that the setting had now met these requirements.

Decision

To note the reports.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

To review the Terms of Reference and Work Programme of the Subgroup.

Members received the Terms of Reference and Work Programme for the Subgroup.  The Chair requested that at its next meeting the Subgroup look at Ofsted inspections for schools and childminders.

Decision

To note the Terms of Reference and Work Programme, subject to the above comments.