The ‘Schools and Learning’ Committee this Tuesday re-inforced some existing worries, but did offer some reassurance about Surrey’s ‘Key Stage 2′ results for this year.

Worry One: potential £3.5m overspend

Schools get most of their money directly, based on a formula that relies on the number of pupils in each school. But the ‘Dedicated Schools Grant’ which pays for a mix of necessary LEA services ranging from funding to support pre-school children in nurseries, School admissions services, and support services for children with Special Educational Needs is under severe pressure, with a £3.5 million shortfall forecast.

One major pressure has been the enormous increase in children with Special Educational Needs that can’t be met in Surrey’s own schools and instead are sent to independent institutions, or places run by other authorities.

These can be very expensive, and unfortunately recognising and meeting the child’s need can become a battle-ground between parents and the Local Authority. The number of appeals that go to a tribunal have rocketted  from 32 to 144 a year. Lynn McGrady, Head of Finance, commented: ‘most tribunals go against the Council, mainly because of medical [issues].’  She explained that much private provision offered parents a package of medical and respite care along with education, which Surrey’s own provision could not match. We were told (not for the first time) that well-clued-up parents will employ a barrister to argue their case for them because although this is expensive, it is far less expensive than paying privately for the care the child needs. As a result, ‘the first point of contact with the parent is quite adversarial’. (Nick Wilson, Head of Schools and Learning)

It seems incredible to me that next week, in the Children and Families committee, we will again be talking about Ruth House, the much-delayed respite facility attached Freemantle School for autistic children, which will now not be open until 2009.

The JAR’s strong criticism of CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) is also relevant here, as is Surrey’s ceasing to fund organisations such as the National Children’s Homes programme that offered support to families.

No-one could blame parents for getting the best provision they can; the shame is that in finding the ‘best’ they are not offered strong enough options to let them keep their child at home.

But even if all was well with the provision Surrey tries to make, the problem is getting more severe. Nick Wilson again: ‘We are seeing more, and more complex, children.’  

Level 2 SATS - Don’t Panic!

You may have seen iin the press that some of Surrey’s SATS results showed a sharp dip this year - for example, level 5s in English falling by 7%.

It’s not the fault of our schools, or of the children. Now Surrey has compared its results with other similar authorities, it’s clear that the effect is widespread, and probably has two causes: bad marking, and the ending of ‘borderlining’. Ellie Searle, Performance and Service Development Manager, explained that in the past all pupils with marks two points below a grade boundary had their papers re-marked. To avoid a falsely favourable balance in the figures, marks two points above the boundary should also have been re-marked. But rather than do this, ‘borderlining’ has been done away with altogether, taking away that favourable bias.

One bit of good news coming out of the resolution of exam marking problems, though this time at the GCSE level, is that four out of the five Surrey secondary schools listed by the Government for their ‘National Challenge’ as having under 30% of their pupils getting 5 GCSEs at A* - E, including Maths and English, have now come up above that threshold. 

School Dinners

… are provided by Surrey’s Commercial Services (CS) to 98% of primary schools in Surrey, and 50% of secondary schools. Schools are free to go elsewhere, but CS are the ‘provider of last resort’, willing to provide meals even for small schools. According to Beverley Baker, Surrey has been at the forefront of the healthy school meals debate.

One problem for the service is that they have to work in the kitchens that schools provide, and modernising and refurbishing these does not usually come very high up the priority list when it comes to schools’ expenditure.

CS also runs the catering at Surrey offices, and offers a cleaning service schools can buy into. It’s run at arms-length from the Council, and last year managed to make a moderate surplus (for such a large organisation) of £197,000, which was promptly taken away from it to contribute to Council balances. 

Worry 2 - Exclusions

Surrey has a high rate of exclusions compared to similar counties; and as the JAR report noted, a higher proportion of Looked After Children and children with Special Educational needs are permanently excluded than for the rest of the population.

The highest rates of exclusion are found in the east of the county, in Reigate and Banstead. Not surprisingly, persistent disruptive behaviour is the most common cause.

New requirements for schools to provide educational cover for children after the fifth day of an exclusion is persuading some schools to set up special internal units, while the Surrey Alternative Learning Programme should be set up by September 09 to offer more options for learning to these difficult pupils.