General Adviser 0-11

Stockton-on-Tees Borough area is 204 square kilometres in size with a population of 192,400 (Mid Year 2010 Population Estimate).  There are 79,100 households across the Borough.  The Borough’s population has increased by almost 10% between the 1991 Census and mid 2010.  The majority of our residents live within the five main settlements of the Borough, namely:

• Stockton Town Centre (with a population of 82,130 and 31,590 households);
• Billingham (with a population of 35,740 and 14,715 households);
• Thornaby (with a population of 21,205 and 8,885 households); and,
• Ingleby Barwick (with a population of 20,740 and 6,995 households)

A quarter of the borough’s population are aged under 19 and between 2008 and 2033 it is forecast that there will be an almost 2% increase in under 4’s and over 4% increase in the numbers of 10 – 14 year olds in Borough.  Our elderly population over the age of 65 is also due to increase by 75% by 2033.

The Borough itself has a unique social and economic mix with areas of affluence existing alongside more disadvantaged communities.  This makes areas of Stockton Borough some of the most affluent in the country and therefore it is not uncommon to find significant variances in lifestyle and opportunities between neighbouring communities across the Borough.

Narrowing this gap has been a key priority for the Council and its partners and we have already achieved some success in some areas in terms of raising households out of deprivation, improving our environment, reducing crime, and improving our education attainment levels, however, further work remains to be done.

Stockton Borough Council settings comprise:

219 childminders;

57 settings (day nurseries, playgroups, out of school provisions);

11 Children Centres;

59 primary schools;

12 secondary schools of which 2 are Academies;

3 special schools;

1 Pupil Referral Unit;

3 Independent Schools;

1 FE College;

1 Sixth Form College.

This is, of course, a changing picture and it is likely that the number of academies will increase and there is also the possibility of Free Schools in the Borough.

 
Our vision for education improvement

Stockton Borough Council is committed to ensuring that children and young people achieve the highest possible outcomes for themselves and for their communities.

“We are committed to our schools, colleges and academies because we are committed to our children and young people.  They are the future of the Borough.  We take great pride in their achievements and successes and look for opportunities to support those who need a helping hand – so that they too can achieve and make a positive contribution.”
Neil Schneider, Chief Executive.

Stockton Borough Council will maintain a focus on improving outcomes in all areas to meet aspirational performance indicators for the children and young people of the Borough.

To do this, Stockton Borough Council will work in collaboration with its school and settings leaders to meet the challenge of raising standards and eliminating underperformance.  Stockton Borough Council acknowledges that school to school support is pivotal to developing stronger establishments and improving outcomes.  It will therefore direct resource and expertise towards facilitating sector led improvement and forging partnership arrangements that can build system wide strength.

The Council will also play a lead role in developing effective partnerships with other organisations to augment this collaboration, such as voluntary and independent providers, National and Local Leaders in Education, as well as national and local education providers, further and higher education.

The council is committed to seeking sustainable solutions to providing a wide range of services and high quality support to schools and settings through:

• establishing a Campus Stockton Collaborative Trust;
• directing resource to support partnering of underperforming schools;
• championing Teaching School Alliances;
• auditing and promoting best practice in the family of schools;
• commissioning support from National Support Schools, National and Local Leaders of Education and best practice within the family of schools in Stockton;
• providing robust monitoring and challenge arrangements for schools through School Improvement Advisers;
• brokering high quality support from Education Improvement Service advisers and commissioned consultants;
• accessing local and national expertise for professional development opportunities and conferences.

Educational outcomes are improving:

• Those making expected level of attainment at the end of Early Years Foundation Stage is 63% 2012 (national average 2011 59%).

• At KS1, there has been a substantial 4% increase in the Core Subject Indicator (CSI - the number of pupils who achieve the level in all of reading, Writing and Maths) at L2B+ from the 2011 figure.  All key national indicators have improved on 2011 outcomes for Stockton and also exceed the most recently available national outcomes from 2011.
• At KS2 at Level 4+ in all areas (except Maths where there is a 1% decrease) all measures are above the 2011 outcome for Stockton. All measures at L5+ show an increase. The improvement in writing at all levels is particularly pleasing.
• Results at Key Stage 3 show all 10 of Stockton’s maintained secondary schools improved their KS3 performance from the previous year. 

• At KS4, the percentage of students gaining 5 or more GCSEs at grade C or above is the best ever for Stockton. The percentage of students achieving the key indicator of 5 or more GCSE passes at Grade C or higher including English and maths is currently 3% lower than last year. This figure may change in response to emerging concerns at national level over alterations to grade boundaries particularly in English.

Several challenges remain:

Over 23% of children in Stockton are living in poverty.

Within Stockton Borough, 14 Lower Super Output Areas fall within the top 10% most deprived in the UK.

Gaps remain in attainment between those in vulnerable groups and their peers, ie those with Special Educational Needs, Free School Meals, Traveller heritage.

The Floor Standards for primary and secondary schools continue to rise.

The revised Ofsted schedules raises the bar for schools and settings and places additional responsibility on governance.

Quality places for the increase in primary age children need to be created.

Quality places for additional childcare places for 2 year olds need to increase significantly.

Teenage pregnancies under 16 are a cause for concern.

The following priorities emerge:

• Closing the gap in attainment between those on Free School Meals and their peers;
• Closing the gap in attainment between those on the register of Special Educational Needs and their peers;
• Reducing pregnancies in teenage young people;
• Ensuring no school falls beneath the government’s Floor Standard for achievement at the end of key stages 2 and four;
• Ensure schools, settings and Children’s Centres are well placed with the Ofsted evaluation schedule so that no settings receives an inadequate judgement and the number of good and outstanding judgements increase significantly;
• Ensure sufficiency of places for all children 0-19.