Agenda item

To receive a report of the Grammar School and Social Mobility Select Committee Report.

Cabinet received the report of the Select Committee on Grammar Schools and Social Mobility.

Mrs Jenny Whittle, Chairman of the Committee was in attendance to present the report and, in particular, she thanked the officers and witnesses who had been involved in the production of the report and continued to refer to the following:

      i.        That the remit of the committee had been to assess how it might be possible to improve access for children from poorer backgrounds to grammar schools in the County.  Those children had been identified as those in receipt of free school meals and those for whom the school received a ‘pupil premium’.

    ii.        Nationally, research had shown that the attainment gap between poorer children and their more affluent peers was detectable from an early age and widened throughout the education system.  In Kent 57% of high ability children for whom the school received a pupil premium would go on to attend a Grammar School as opposed to 79% of children of similar ability who did not qualify for a pupil premium.  IN numbers this translated to approximately 700 children from poorer backgrounds who would be able to attend a Grammar School but who did not.

   iii.        Despite reductions in the attainment gap at some primary schools in Kent, this had not translated in to more pupils from poorer economic backgrounds passing the 11+ or attending Grammar Schools.

   iv.        The recommendations looked at the work that KCC, Primary School Head teachers and Grammar Schools could do to encourage applications and attendance from children from poorer economic backgrounds.  Grammar Schools were encouraged to work with parents to allay commonly held fears about the support for pupils with conditions such as dyslexia and the cost of uniforms and trips for example and Head teachers were encouraged to work with parents identify at an early stage those children that may be suitable to take the 11+.

    v.        Finally Mrs whittle referred to the low numbers of children in care attending grammar schools and the work currently being undertaken to address the issue.

Mr Latchford, Leader of the UKIP group and Select Committee Member addressed Cabinet.  He referred to his own experience of attending a Grammar School and the positive impact it had had on his life.  He believed that key to improvement in attendance by children from poorer economic backgrounds would be providing ensuring that parents were equipped with all of the information that they needed in order to make an informed decision about the Kent test and any application to a Grammar School.  This he argued was the responsibility of all of those parties to which the Chairman of the Select Committee had referred, Head Teachers, KCC and the schools themselves.  He hoped that the hard work and recommendations of the committee would be acted upon not only in Kent but nationally and that opportunities for the children that needed them most would be increased.  He concluded by thanking the Chairman, officers and witnesses for their hard work in producing the report.

Mr Truelove, Labour Group and Select Committee Member thanked all of those involved with the Committee and welcomed the cross party approach to the matter, helpfully achieved by not discussing the merits of a selective system in general.  He believed that the recommendations were sensible and helpful but referred to the wider social issues that were too broad for the committee to address but which nevertheless affected the ability of some children to progress educationally and all of the consequences of that inability.  He welcomed the creation of the committee as a sign that these issues were recognised and that work would be undertaken to address them.  He identified a lack of aspiration from some working class parents, alongside a lack of commitment from some Grammar Schools to be more inclusive as the decisive factors in keeping children from lower economic backgrounds from attending Grammar Schools in the same numbers as there wealthier peers.

Mr Vye, Liberal Democrat Member and Select Committee Member referred to the issue of social mobility and the aims and aspirations that lower economic groups should be enabled to hold and achieve.  He spoke about not only those children who were achieving good results but did not apply to Grammar schools or take or pass the 11+ but also about the attainment gap for those children from lower socio-economic groups in educational achievement in the first place and that he welcomed the work already underway in the Education and Young People’s Directorate to close that gap. 

Mr Roger Gough, Cabinet Member for Education and Health Reform, commended the report.  He assured members that attainment for disadvantaged pupils continued to be a priority for the Directorate and he welcomed suggestions contained within the report as to how to translate academic success for children from poorer economic background into Grammar School attendance.  He reported that the trend in recent years had been favourable but that work should and would continue with the help of the recommendations in the report.

Patrick Leeson, Corporate Director for Education and Young People’s Services welcomed the report.  It contained a strong message which should be disseminated widely; that socio-economic background should not determine future academic performance.  The work going forward, as it had been to date, would need to be a collaborative effort with schools.

Mrs Sarah Hohler, Deputy Cabinet Member for Community Services, spoke to welcome the report and in particular was pleased to see the work that some Primary Schools were already undertaking to work with parents and Grammar Schools to increase inclusivity.

Mr Holden, Deputy Cabinet Member for Economic Development reported that his four children attended a Grammar School in Kent and recognised the lack of aspiration from some families that was identified within the report. 

The Chairman thanked the Select Committee for the sensible, cross-party approach that had been taken in order to achieve a well-balanced and helpful report.

It was RESOLVED:

      i.        that the Select Committee be thanked for its work and for producing a relevant and timely document.

    ii.        that the valuable contribution of the witnesses who provided evidence to the Select Committee be recognised.

   iii.        that the consideration of the report by County Council be supported.