Sheffield City Partnership Board
Education, Skills and Work
The Inclusive Growth Challenge in Sheffield
Stephen Betts (Chief Executive, Learn Sheffield)
Friday 12th May, 2017
Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Education, Skills and Work
The Inclusive Growth Challenge in Sheffield
Content
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Learn Sheffield Overview
Education Performance
Key Challenges
Potential Next Steps
Learn Sheffield Overview
• Not for profit Schools Company
• 80% owned by schools/colleges
• 20% owned by Sheffield City
Council
• Membership includes all sectors
and types of publically funded
education
• Purpose – school improvement
(commissioned by SCC)
• Belief – improvement through
partnership (school-led system)
• Strategic vision – takes a wide view
of improvement – reflected in the
development of Sheffield Priorities
School Improvement Strategy
o Sheffield Improvement
Strategy developed and
trialled through 2015/16 and
launched in September 2016.
o Each school is categorised by
self, peers (partnership group)
& Learn Sheffield.
o Work through nine partnership
groups (7 primary localities,
secondary & special).
o School category leads to an
entitlement (support and
challenge).
o Model for all schools –
maintained and academies
(universal offer).
o Workforce – core Learn
Sheffield team, Associates &
partnership groups.
Priorities – Vision for Education
Purpose of education – better life chances …
attainment (opens doors)
& readiness (to walk through those doors)
Education Performance – Sheffield Success Story
• Learn Sheffield model provides a platform for collaboration.
o
o
o
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All schools and sectors are engaged – includes academies & MATs.
Teaching Schools are working with Learn Sheffield and together.
Wider strategic partnerships are possible (S-CEP for example).
Sheffield has a school-led vision for education.
• The model provides very cost effective school improvement.
• Sheffield outcomes continue to improve.
o Proportion of good/better schools (Ofsted) increased to 83% (↑7% since
September 2015 and ↑ 12% since January 2015).
o Pupil outcomes have continued upward trajectory and performance across the
education system in Sheffield is now broadly national average.
Education Performance – Sheffield Success Story
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The chart below summaries Sheffield’s national ranking for each headline measure in relation to the average for Core Cities and
statistical neighbours. Sheffield’s rank in 2015 is also shown.
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For the majority of indicators Sheffield’s rank has improved between 2015 and 2016 (continue upward trend).
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Sheffield ranks 112th in terms of child poverty and the majority of ranks for attainment and progress measures are above 112 which
suggests that the city is doing well given the relative levels of child poverty.
Key Challenges
• Ambition has to be ‘step change’ in performance.
o Living in Sheffield needs to give you a better chance of attending a good/better school.
o Being educated here needs to support young people in attaining more than elsewhere.
• This must include better outcomes for our most vulnerable learners.
• This must be accompanied by greater ‘readiness’ for our young people.
• National policy context creates additional challenges.
o Accountability framework creates disincentives to inclusion and collaboration.
o National funding of school improvement is less likely to support co-ordinated
intelligent system improvement – School Improvement Strategy is key to impact.
o Maintaining (let alone expanding!) our investment in local strategic priorities.
Potential Next Steps
£400k ?
Sheffield
Challenge
(Currently
£860k SCC
Commission)
£400k ?
£400k ?
Potential Next Steps
£400k ?
£400k ?
South Yorkshire
Challenge
(Sheffield funding ↑
from £860k to £1.6m)
£400k ?
£400k ?
Next Steps
• Secure partner sign up in principle.
• Agree local and regional priorities – overlapping but some local variation.
• Agree strategy – working model with core
principles and local input and co-ordination.
• Ensure that the strategic priorities create
better incentives and deliver the outcomes
we need for inclusive growth.