York among region’s top performer for Key Stage 2 results

KS2Liberal Democrat Councillors have welcomed government figures released today (11 December) which show that York pupils are continuing to perform above the national average in their Key Stage 2 tests, ranking the city’s results second only to those of the East Riding in Yorkshire and Humber.

The Department for Education (DfE) published the final results for the June 2014 Key Stage 2 tests for 11 year olds. For York, these results show that:

Results at Level 4+ (the expected level of achievement for 11 year olds) : 79% of pupils achieved level 4 or above in reading, writing and maths (in line with the national average).

Results at Level 5+ (the higher level): 25% of pupils achieved level 5 or above in reading, writing and maths (1 percentage point above the national average).
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Praise for York schools

89 per cent of York secondary schools and 87 per cent of the city’s primary schools are classed as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, according to the latest Ofsted inspections.

York High School

The figures will be presented to City of York Council’s Learning and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee later this week (19 November) together with other schools’ data for 2014. (more…)

Few pupil attacks on teachers recorded in York

Pupils

Following the tragic incident in Leeds recently the York Council has published details of the number of attacks by pupils on teachers over the last 5 years.

They say that 16 instances were reported to the Local Authority

13 incidents resulted in cuts/bruises/grazes. 2 injuries were due to bites. 1 resulted in a broken thumb

Only one incident resulted in a teacher having to go to hospital

The locations for the attacks were recorded as

  • Special school = 5,
  • Pupil Referral Unit = 4,
  • Secondary school = 3,
  • Primary school = 4

Low absences at York schools

Figures released by DfE last week show school absence in York are amongst the lowest in the country.

Truency

In York, absence in primary schools for the 2013 autumn term fell to 3.4 per cent, a figure bettered in only three of the other 150 local authorities.

Similarly, absence in secondary schools fell to 4.4 per cent – the best ever figure for a term in York secondary schools – bettered by only 11 of the 150 other Local Authorities.

Absence figures in York’s secondary schools are also reducing at a faster rate than the national trend.

Where there are barriers or challenges to a child attending regularly, schools work with families to support them in resolving the issues.

Schools overcrowding crisis looms if York expansion gets go ahead

The York Council has admitted that it will need to find school places for at least an additional 800 primary age children by 2016.

These are children who will move to the City to occupy houses built on (mainly) green field sites around the City.

overcrowded1

The number is in addition to a forecast increase of 1359 primary pupils resulting from natural changes to birth rates and new developments already scheduled to take place.

The number of primary school pupils stands at 12513. This will increase to over 14,000 by September 2016.

The Council says that it has identified between 13 and 15 schools which will need to be expanded, with “one or two” additional schools being built.

The Council accepts that most of the expansion – the costs and source of funding for which are not yet known – will be built on existing playgrounds and playing fields.

With “lead in” times for new school buildings in excess of 2 years, it is likely that the City will see greater use being made of temporary classrooms over the next few years.

The revelations come at a time when the Council is starting to consult on proposals to include still more – mainly green field – land in its development plans..

The draft Local Plan published by the Labour led Council 12 months ago proposed that the City should increase in size by 22,000 homes (25%).

Following the highest number of objections ever received for a city-wide consultation in York, theCouncil is moving closer to adopting a Local Plan for the city. The new proposals change some of the sites and add in others.
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New challenge for schools in York

York schools are being challenged to strive for excellence as part of a new initiative launched this autumn.

City challenge

York Challenge aims to empower the city’s schools to achieve excellence in four key areas: leadership, curriculum, teaching and ‘narrowing the gap’ to accelerate the progress of under achieving children. Focusing on partnership working, schools will work in geographical groups – school improvement clusters – with the emphasis on ensuring that all schools become good and outstanding through working on improvement priorities as a cluster.

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