BMBC 21: Barnsleys Local Area Agreement 2008-2011

HIGH PERFORMING EDUCATIONALINSTITUTIONSOVERVIEW OF THE OUTCOMEHistorically, attainment levels have been below average and very fewyoung people progressed into further education or training. Whilst thiscan be partly attributed to the loss of the industrial base, pooremployment opportunities and consequent deprivation experienced bythe borough, there were also factors concerning the effectiveness of theleadership and management of schools and the quality of teaching andlearning experienced within the Borough.However, great progress has been made in the attainment of childrenand young people in Barnsley. Since 2003 results have risen in KeyStages 2, 3 and 4, but there is still distance to travel against thenational average. There are now more young people staying ineducation and learning and achieving higher level qualifications withprovision for 14 – 19 year olds regarded as one of the five mostimproved in the country. There are also more good and outstandingschools as the leadership of schools has improved significantly overrecent years.Barnsley’s Remaking Learning Vision is about transforming children’slearning experiences, raising their aspirations, attainment and lifechances. The vision has been the subject of widespread consultationwith the whole community over the last four years. It describes aprocess of systematic and transitional change to transform learning inthe whole of the Borough, by creating the conditions and context forchange, to enable all of our schools to deliver better quality learning forall, higher standards, and as a result, better outcomes for children andyoung people.The Council has already committed to a massive investment for thesecondary Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Startingin 2006, BSF is facilitating the reorganisation of secondary and specialeducation, managing the supply of school places as the numbers ofsecondary school age pupils’ decline and the diversity of provision tomeet the needs of learners and parents. This includes a faith schooland an Academy. BSF will allow for the replacement of the entiresecondary building stock by 2012, creating Advanced Learning Centres(ALCs) and Special Educational Needs (SEN) facilities across theBorough, which provide exciting, inclusive and safe learningenvironments for learners aged 11-19 and beyond.The Young Apprenticeships flagship programme has been highlysuccessful. The 4 th cohort will be available from September 2008 with awider range of skill based opportunities, offering more choice anddiversity. Schools, with their partners will be running courses fromSeptember 2008 and a new Diploma Enterprise Centre has beendeveloped. Barnsley’s young people are also moving ahead with post16 standards at or above national averages at all levels. We aim to92High Performing Educational Institutions Barnsley’s Local Area Agreement 2008-11