Setting

AUDIT COMMISSION

O F F I C E F O R S T A N D A R D S I N E D U C A T I O N

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SINCE THE FIRST INSPECTION

Context 13 - 15 Performance of schools 16 - 26 Funding 27 - 30 Council structure 31 - 33

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SECTION 2: THE LEA STRATEGY FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

The Education Development Plan 34 - 40 Raising standards 41 - 42 Literacy 43 - 47 Numeracy 48 - 51 Schools causing concern 52 - 55 School management 56 - 59 Teaching 60 - 62

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MADE IN THE FIRST INSPECTION

The Post – OFSTED LEA Action Plan & recommendation 63 - 65 Recommendation A: Financial management & recommendations 66 -72 Recommendation B: Financial management in schools & recommendation 73 - 82 Recommendation C: Management support services 83 - 88 Recommendation D: Quality of support to schools 89 - 96 Recommendation E: Surplus places and recommendation 97 - 102 Recommendation F: Pupils with SEN and recommendation 103 - 109

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SECTION 4: OTHER DEVELOPMENTS SINCE THE FIRST INSPECTION

Performance management and Best Value 110 - 111 Excellence in Cities 112 - 115 Working in partnership with the EAZ 116 - 120 Social inclusion and combating racism 121 -123

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INTRODUCTION

1. This inspection was carried out by OFSTED in conjunction with the Audit Commission under Section 38 of the Education Act 1997. The purpose of the inspection was to evaluate the progress made in responding to the findings and recommendations of the first inspection, which took place in April 1999. The report also evaluates the progress made in implementing the Education Development Plan; the introduction of the Excellence in Cities initiative and the effectiveness of the LEA’s contribution to the CfBT/Lambeth Education Action Zone. The inspection took account of the Local Government Act 1999, insofar as it relates to work undertaken by the LEA on Best Value.

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INTRODUCTION

2. The inspection was conducted by a small team of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) in conjunction with the Audit Commission. The inspection involved scrutinising documentation and interviewing elected members, the chief executive and senior officers. Diocesan and Archdiocesan education officers made written submissions. Discussions were held with representative groups of governors, headteachers, deputy headteachers and teachers. Short visits were made to two special schools. A questionnaire inviting comments on LEA support was sent to all schools and replies were received from 59 per cent of schools. Account was also taken of evidence from other divisions within OFSTED.

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COMMENTARY

3. Lambeth has much to contend with in terms of social and educational issues but is increasingly able to demonstrate its capacity to manage improvement and to meet the needs of its culturally diverse community. National Curriculum assessment and GCSE results are broadly in line with similar authorities but remain below the national average at each age group. An exception to this is the percentage of pupils achieving a minimum of one GCSE pass, which is now above the national average. Improvement at Key Stage 2 is at a greater rate than that nationally, particularly in mathematics.

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COMMENTARY

4. The LEA has made at least satisfactory progress in implementing all but one of the recommendations made in the first report. Overall, the strengths of its work outweigh the weaknesses.

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COMMENTARY

5. The provision and use of financial information to schools is the exception. Progress is poor and this needs urgent resolution. Conscientious managers in some schools are wasting valuable time checking information and tracking down discrepancies. In others, deficiencies in school financial and strategic management are obscured by inadequate LEA financial information and past mistakes. The introduction of accurate, highly reliable systems and the firm application of financial policies, that bring expenditure in individual schools closely into line with their annual income, are long overdue.

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COMMENTARY

6. However, internally the financial management skills and expertise of the education directorate have improved, as have the management, deployment and planning of services offered to schools. Nevertheless, some services still provide support that is too inconsistent in quality. A lack of expertise in contract negotiation by the senior officers and members in 1997, when the joint venture company was set up by the Council and former employees, means that the LEA, and its schools, are still hampered by restrictive contracts.

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COMMENTARY

7. The Council now has a strong sense of common purpose, providing a degree of stability which has been retained during the appointment of a new chief executive in September, and the election of a new leader in May. The interim management arrangements for the education directorate, put in place in March 2000, worked effectively and the service developed well under the stewardship of the acting executive director.

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COMMENTARY

8. Strategic planning is now on a more secure footing. The Education Development Plan has been sensibly revised and its implementation is going well. School improvement functions are now generally discharged well. The school improvement and development division is well led. Wisely, the LEA has focused its attention on supporting primary schools but has also proved itself capable of supporting and where necessary, intervening, in secondary, special and nursery schools. The LEA has played a major strategic role in its partnership with the CfBT/Lambeth Education Action Zone (EAZ). The Excellence in Cities (EiC) initiative was slow to get started but is now beginning to gain ground as the ten secondary schools adapt to more collaborative ways of working and sharing good practice. 9. The LEA makes a valuable contribution to promoting social inclusion and racial equality. It gives good leadership to schools whilst supporting them with

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COMMENTARY

relevant, well-targeted projects and activities.

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COMMENTARY

10. Steady progress has been made in improving relationships with schools. Headteachers and, to a lesser extent, governors, feel a greater sense of ownership of and involvement in LEA policies. Many of the difficult relationship issues have been addressed over the last eighteen months. The secondary school review has been introduced sensitively and with a clear commitment to finding benefit for all schools. Schools, on the whole, feel that there are benefits in belonging to an educational community and have a higher level of trust in the leadership role of the LEA. Some, however, still distance themselves from such collegiate activity, avoiding the responsibilities it brings and missing the benefits for their pupils.

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COMMENTARY

11. Nevertheless, the LEA faces important issues which will need to be effectively tackled whilst maintaining and consolidating the improvements that have been made. Recruitment of staff, and more critically, retaining good staff is still a challenge in an LEA that lives in the spotlight of national interest. Performance management has yet to be effectively introduced across the Council. Rates of permanent exclusion, although falling, are high, as is the percentage of pupils for whom a statement of special educational need has been made. The level of delegation to schools meets the DfEE target but lags behind similar authorities and the national average. Finally, and most urgently, the control and monitoring of school budgets must be brought into line.

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COMMENTARY

12. The LEA is capable of doing this and, given the sound state of other functions it discharges, must turn its attention, and deploy its best management practices, to eliminate the weaknesses. Lambeth LEA has improved since the first inspection. The recommendations of that inspection and those made in this report set out a clear agenda to address the weaknesses. The LEA has the capacity to manage the changes needed; its planning is strong. Now it must match its plans with determined implementation.

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Context

13. There has been little change in the socio-economic context of the LEA since the first inspection in 1999. Lambeth Borough Council continues to serve a diverse but broadly disadvantaged community in inner London. The population has increased to 272,500. Adult and youth unemployment is high, at over twice the national average.

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Context

14. Nearly ten per cent of Lambeth households are headed by a lone parent; this is the second highest rate in London. A high proportion of pupils remains eligible for free school meals: 45 per cent of primary age pupils and 49 per cent of secondary age pupils. Approximately one third of residents are from minority ethnic groups, including the largest, Afro Caribbean and the third largest, African communities in the country. Sixty-two per cent of pupils are of ethnic minority origin, well above the national average of 11.7 per cent. The percentage of pupils with a statement of special educational need (3.5 per cent of primary pupils and 6.3 per cent secondary pupils) is still well above the national average.

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Context

15. Since the first inspection, the number of primary schools has reduced from 70 to 66. The Secretary of State has approved the closure of two special schools for visually and hearing impaired pupils and their replacement with specialist units at two new primary schools. Eight former grant maintained schools have become foundation schools and the remaining 11 have become voluntary aided schools. Six Lambeth schools have been granted Beacon status and an additional school has received specialist (technology college) status.

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Performance of schools

16. OFSTED inspection evidence shows that the percentage of primary schools judged overall to be ‘good’ or ‘very good’ is in line with similar authorities but below the national average. The percentage of secondary schools in these categories is above the average for similar authorities and nationally. Overall, the rate of improvement between inspections is similar to that found nationally. The average grade for teaching in schools is now better than the national average in both primary and secondary schools. This is an improvement on the position at the time of the first inspection and teaching grades in Lambeth are improving at a faster rate than nationally.

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Performance of schools

17. In National Curriculum assessments and at GCSE there has been some change in the performance of schools since the first inspection. Their performance overall, whilst broadly in line with similar authorities, remains below the national average for each age group. Nevertheless, there have been improvements in a number of respects.

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Performance of schools

18. Primary school standards are the closest to the national averages; the test results for both seven and 11-year-olds are about seven per cent below the national average. The rate of improvement in the tests for 11-year-olds has continued to be at a greater rate than nationally, particularly in mathematics.

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Performance of schools

19. The LEA target for 2000 of 68 per cent of eleven year olds achieving Level 4 in English has been met and, provided the current rate of improvement is maintained, the 2002 target is attainable. The percentage achieving Level 4 or above in mathematics in 2000 has risen to 65 per cent, exceeding the EDP target by two per cent. If the rate of improvement over the past three years is maintained, the LEA is on track to reach its Key Stage 2 target for 2002.

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Performance of schools

20. Standards in English of seven-year-olds are below national averages, and those of similar LEAs, for both reading and writing. Eleven-year-olds’ standards are still below national averages but are equal to those of similar LEAs. The LEA reports a small improvement in boys’ writing in 2000, which is an important target in the authority’s strategy. Attainment of seven-year-olds in mathematics is below national averages but close to that of similar LEAs. The standards of eleven-year- olds in mathematics rose dramatically in 1999 and, whilst still below national average, were better than those of similar authorities.

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Performance of schools

21. In English, standards of 14-year-olds are below national averages and those of similar LEAs. The proportion of 16-year-olds gaining A* to C grades in English has risen steadily since 1997. Results in mathematics for 14-year-olds have risen steadily in the past three years, improving at a rate well above the national average. They remain stubbornly below national averages, by about 15 per cent, but are close to those of similar authorities. The proportion of pupils gaining A* to C grades in GCSE mathematics has fluctuated in the past four years, and is below national averages.

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Performance of schools

22. In the first inspection, GCSE standards were comparable to those of similar authorities but below the national figures. The gap between the national average and the Lambeth average is still greatest in the percentage of 16-year-olds gaining five or more passes at A* to C, at 13 per cent below. The proportion of Lambeth pupils achieving five or more A* to G passes is now well ahead of that in similar authorities; Lambeth had lagged behind them up to 1997. The proportion of pupils gaining at least one A* to G pass continues to be greater than that in similar authorities and moved ahead of the national proportion last year.

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Performance of schools

23. In Key Stage 4 none of the EDP targets have been achieved and the number of pupils gaining five A* to C grades in GCSE (32 per cent) is significantly below the target of 38 percent.

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Performance of schools

24. Lambeth’s success in removing schools from special measures has continued since the first inspection. At the beginning of the summer term 2000, no schools were deemed to require special measures, but two schools have been added to this category as a result of inspections in the summer term 2000.

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Performance of schools

25. Attendance rates in both primary schools (93.1 per cent) and secondary schools (90.4 per cent) remain below national averages (94.1 per cent and 91.1 per cent respectively), but the gap has closed since the first inspection. Unauthorised absence rates have continued to fall but at 1.2 per cent in primary schools are still well above average. In secondary schools, however, they have improved to 0.9 per cent and are now in line with the national average.

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Performance of schools

26. Permanent exclusions are well above the national average in both primary and secondary schools. However, there has been a substantial reduction in the number of secondary pupils permanently excluded since the first inspection.

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Funding

27. The borough continues to spend at the level of its Standing Spending Assessment (SSA) for education. Lambeth schools continue to be funded per pupil at above the national average, but in 2000/2001 are now slightly below the inner London average. Capital expenditure has continued to increase steeply, doubling in 2000/2001, with a higher proportion (nearly 50 per cent) being directed towards reduction of surplus places through the primary schools development strategy.

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Funding

28. The level of delegation has increased only a small amount since 1999/2000, but Lambeth met the DfEE targets in 2000/2001. The LEA delegated 81.4 per cent of the Local Schools Budget (LSB) to schools in 2000/2001. It therefore delegates a lower proportion than the average for London authorities (84.1 per cent) and nationally (84.2 per cent). In 2000/2001, Lambeth’s expenditure per pupil on centrally provided services is above the national average in all areas except home to school transport. Lambeth spends more on strategic management, special educational needs (SEN) and access than the average for London authorities and, in the first two areas, the difference has increased since 1999/2000.

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Funding

29. SEN expenditure remains high and, within this, relatively high-spending areas are the special schools Individual Schools’ Budget (ISB) (at twice the national average as a percentage of the total LSB); total net provision for pupils with statements in mainstream schools; referral units and behaviour support plans.

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Funding

30. School balances continue to be a concern in 2000/2001 and need better management. At least a fifth of schools had deficit budgets at the end of 1999/2000, and a high proportion of these had deficits of over 2.5 per cent of their budget. At the other extreme, 60 per cent of special and 49 per cent of primary schools had budget surpluses of greater than five per cent of their annual budget.

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Council structure

31. The political balance of the Council remains unchanged from the first inspection. A cabinet structure has been established, in line with the Government’s guidance for modernising local government. In May 2000, changes were made to the portfolio of the executive secretaries to enable members to lead policy across directorates. At the same time, an education scrutiny committee was established that has monitoring Best Value reviews as part of its remit. A new Chief Executive took up post in September 2000, as did the new executive director of education in November 2000. 32. The role of members has been usefully clarified by the new leader of the Council, who has identified strategic management and scrutiny as their essential functions. This enables senior officers to exercise their increased delegated powers and to concentrate on the development of rigorous performance management procedures across the directorates. It is an appropriate step in the

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Council structure

development of the Council and sets a clear agenda for the newly appointed executive officers.

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Council structure

33. For 2001/2002, the Council has introduced a well conceived corporate budget and service planning process. It draws on a range of performance indicators, requires services to identify priorities for improving service delivery and is a much needed step forward.

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The Education Development Plan

34. The school improvement and development division (SIDD) is the key service for the implementation of the Education Development Plan (EDP). Although small, it is well led and managed and the recently produced performance plan helpfully prepares the service to meet the requirements of its forthcoming Best Value review. Staff are, in the main, successful in focusing their support on areas of greatest need. The expertise of advisers and consultants is good and they have a good knowledge of work in progress. Primary and secondary schools now regard the work of SIDD overall as a strength of the LEA. Special schools rate the support they receive as variable.

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The Education Development Plan

35. Resources are well directed at pupils, schools and areas of underachievement and there is good co-ordination of the work between EAZ and EiC projects and the relevant LEA services. Family literacy and numeracy and family learning initiatives have helped schools draw more effectively on parental support from the early years to the secondary phase. The LEA has proved that it can respond quickly to emergencies with hands-on support, such as when one secondary school suffered a sudden and critical loss of trained staff.

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The Education Development Plan

36. The eight priorities for improvement in the EDP are unchanged. They are: • to raise standards in nursery and primary schools, including special schools with primary age pupils; • to raise standards in secondary schools, including special schools with secondary age pupils; • to raise standards of literacy ; • to raise standards of numeracy; • to remove remaining schools from special measures; • to challenge and support schools with serious weaknesses or causing concern; • to improve the quality of management in schools; • to improve the quality of teaching in all schools.

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The Education Development Plan

37. The plan has been developed, the priorities remain highly relevant to Lambeth, and good progress has been made in the implementation of the plan.

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The Education Development Plan

38. The LEA has, wisely, made significant improvements to the format of the plan for 2000/2001. It now specifies responsibilities clearly, identifies resource implications, and includes success criteria which are measurable and demonstrable. In addition, the monitoring and evaluation procedures are separately and properly identified and key elements of other plans have been incorporated into the revisions. The LEA is now better placed to use the new activity plans to track and evaluate the work of the education directorate.

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The Education Development Plan

39. Improvements have been particularly good in the support for numeracy, school management and for schools causing concern. Systems are in place for senior officers and headteachers to monitor progress in the activities and current strengths and weaknesses are clear. 40. Lambeth is effective in targeting areas of need and many of the activities in the plan are well managed in this way. The LEA knows what has to be done and is rightly intending to focus more closely on raising standards in secondary and special schools, on the attainment of targeted pupil groups and on improved evaluation of the impact of the LEA’s work in schools. The implementation of the EDP has been effective and senior officers demonstrate that they have the strategies to sustain and extend these improvements with the majority of schools.

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Raising standards

41. Good progress has been made in furthering the EDP priorities for raising standards, which continue in force. The associated action plans for 2000 - 2002 include more specific measures to reflect the changing situation. The data provided by the research and statistics service are good and continues to improve. Governors and teachers have been widely consulted to produce documents which are a model of clarity. Data circulated to schools help to raise questions that pinpoint strengths and weaknesses precisely. New value-added reports, intended to challenge expectations, have been designed in consultation with schools and will come into use over the next two terms. Governors, school staff and officers have received extensive training. Schools value the data and the work of attached inspectors in mediating it. The Local Government Association has recognised the service as one of eight national models.

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Raising standards

42. The LEA has the capacity to help schools to continue to raise standards. The drive towards better literacy and numeracy, and the new measures to support the secondary phase, should be enough to sustain the improvement and, even, increase the momentum. However, in the secondary phase, it is equally as important that the schools themselves are ready to pool their expertise.

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Literacy

43. Action in support of the EDP priority for literacy continues to be a

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contributing positively to raising standards of attainment and improving the

44. The development of the literacy strategy is well managed by the English adviser and the senior literacy consultant. With two additional consultants, the team has established very good collaborative work with the EAZ. Network support for literacy co-ordinators involves LEA and EAZ consultants and curriculum materials are shared with all schools. Teachers report improvements in the quality of teaching because of this effective dissemination of good practice.

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contributing positively to raising standards of attainment and improving the

45. Primary schools are well advanced with their implementation of the strategy. Increasingly, schools are effectively monitoring their own literacy work with some external validation from the LEA. Therefore, the planned training and development is linked well to identified weaknesses and to an audit of staff needs. The LEA is, properly, targeting support on underachievement in years 3,4,5 and 6; on the low attainment of boys; and on the teaching of phonics and grammar. Training courses are well attended and of high quality, with a focus on practical solutions for teachers and pupils. Consultants support schools in extending the activities that are possible through the national framework, for example, through the Lambeth carnival project.

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contributing positively to raising standards of attainment and improving the

46. LEA support to secondary schools is appropriately targeted on the four lowest attaining schools in the borough and has been intensive in the past 18 months. Staff training was well received. Progress has been tentative in two schools where major staff changes have hindered the pace of development.

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contributing positively to raising standards of attainment and improving the

47. Professional development for learning support assistants is good, and the impact of much of their work in lessons is of high quality. A significant benefit of this focus on training is the growing confidence and skills of support staff and the breadth of expertise now available for the dissemination of good practice.

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Numeracy

48. LEA support for its EDP priority to improve numeracy has made significant progress since the first inspection and is now good.

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Numeracy

49. The leadership and management of the numeracy strategy are well established and effective. At present, 36 primary schools receive targeted support, differentiated in response to their needs. The mathematics adviser and two consultants work effectively with numeracy consultants in the EAZ to provide staff training and opportunities for pupil master classes for able mathematicians.

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Numeracy

50. Consultants are expert in their knowledge of the strategy and provide helpful and practical guidance to teachers and learning support assistants. The support provided is regarded as good or very good by the great majority of schools. Leading mathematics teachers are used effectively to raise the skills and confidence of staff. Lesson monitoring by consultants and advisers has appropriately identified future training needs. The numeracy team has good data on the target groups of underperforming pupils and a range of activities to support them is being developed.

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Numeracy

51. Extension of the numeracy strategy has been well targeted on four secondary schools. The training and teaching resources provided for schools have been welcomed by staff. Numeracy consultants are supporting schools with their audit of provision, setting curricular targets and establishing a framework for the management of numeracy across the curriculum. Following the five successful summer schools in 2000, the progress of pupils in Year 7 is being monitored and schools will provide evidence of effective intervention strategies for dissemination to other secondary schools. With the support of the education business partnership, the LEA has established a family numeracy programme in four schools, suitably adapted to the needs of the local communities.

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Schools causing concern

52. The LEA provides good support to schools requiring special measures and those with serious weaknesses or causing concern. This is an improvement since the first inspection when the support for schools in special measures was judged effective, but progress in raising standards in the 11 schools causing concern was described as variable.

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Schools causing concern

53. The number of schools requiring special measures and with serious weaknesses has reduced since the previous inspection. Currently, two schools require special measures, five have serious weaknesses and eight schools have been identified by the LEA as causing concern. Significant progress has been made in the approach taken by the SIDD to school monitoring and the identification of those that cause concern. Effective procedures have been introduced for primary schools and have recently been introduced for secondary schools. The LEA plans, in consultation with headteachers, to extend the procedures to special and nursery schools by July 2001.

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Schools causing concern

54. The strategy for intervention in schools is clearly set out in a staged plan of action covering all schools. It reflects strongly the principle of intervention in inverse proportion to success. The strategy ensures that the good LEA data on school performance are used to produce a termly profile on each primary school and an overall grade based upon a set of appropriate criteria. The attached adviser appropriately co-ordinates the provision of support for schools causing concern, drawing on LEA advisers and consultants or external providers. In schools where needs are greater, and especially for those requiring special measures or with serious weaknesses, a graduated system of increased support is available. The LEA fulfils its statutory responsibilities in this area and uses the powers available to it when necessary.

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Schools causing concern

55. The LEA rightly believes that school self evaluation is an important key to improvement and is working with headteachers to develop the school profile and to sharpen the focus on evaluation and self-analysis. Whilst the monitoring of schools through the use of data has improved, the LEA has yet to establish the process for all schools and the criteria used require more detail to ensure consistency of judgements. An interesting collaborative project with two local LEAs will soon provide a helpful external perspective to the work of the SIDD in schools in special measures and with serious weaknesses.

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School management

56. Good progress has been made in implementing this EDP priority and support for school management and governance is sound. Weaknesses were identified at the time of the first inspection in the extent to which some schools were willing to embrace their responsibilities for self-evaluation.

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School management

57. Lambeth now provides a comprehensive programme of training and development for senior and middle managers. Headteachers and deputy heads are supported and encouraged to participate in the national programmes for experienced and aspiring heads and the interest in these opportunities is growing. Targeted management development for deputy heads has been re-instated by the LEA this year and the training is reported to be very good and highly relevant to staff needs in primary, secondary and special schools. A core programme for the induction of new headteachers is in its third year and is provided through a partnership with higher education. Course evaluations indicate high levels of satisfaction. Training needs are identified through the head teachers’ council, and the professional development compact with schools is a helpful way of encouraging senior staff to ensure that the benefits of training have an impact in

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School management

the school. Nevertheless, the financial situation in some schools means that training in financial management has not proved universally effective.

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School management

58. The LEA’s course for subject leaders is well supported by primary schools and used by some secondary schools. It is widely regarded as very good training for middle managers. The focus on monitoring the quality of teaching and subject leadership is beginning to impact on standards in schools. The leadership and management programme for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) uses a different approach. This results in a lack of coherence in what is otherwise a good management development framework for school staff. Schools and the LEA make good use of external providers for training, notably the University of London Institute of Education and the London Leadership Centre.

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School management

59. Lambeth is beginning to make progress with the EDP action to strengthen the work of schools with their governing bodies. Support for governors is improving and the focus given by the newly appointed head of governor services is good. Governors receive good information, and there is clear guidance on clerking, agenda setting and annual programming of business. Induction training, brokered by the LEA from an external provider, offers a good grounding in the overall role and responsibilities of governors and additional courses offer extension of some aspects of the work. Yet, the training programme lacks the depth needed to equip governors for their strategic role of monitoring standards and ensuring that the school is a self-evaluating and autonomous organisation. Furthermore, training in good financial management is clearly a need in some schools. The LEA is very clear about these shortcomings and plans are in place

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School management

for improved training and support. The low uptake of training requires new approaches and recent sessions for whole governing bodies on an individual school or small cluster basis are proving effective. Governors welcome the closer focus on their particular needs.

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Teaching

60. The actions planned within this EDP priority to improve teaching through literacy, numeracy and ICT are good in all three areas. Evidence from OFSTED school inspections indicates that the quality of teaching is improving between inspections and is now above national averages in primary and secondary schools. Over one quarter (27) of the borough’s schools were inspected between January and July 2000; 93 per cent of the teaching was satisfactory or better and 58 per cent was good, very good or excellent.

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Teaching

61. The support provided by the LEA is correctly based on the principle that improving the craft and skills of the teacher can be effectively achieved through lesson monitoring and self-evaluation. These are important strands in the professional development courses offered by Lambeth. The LEA provides no formal brokerage for schools to access external providers, and could do more in this respect, but advisers do recommend suitable trainers and many schools use their own networks for information. Since the first inspection, a better co- ordinated file of professional development courses has been produced for schools. This training is widely used by primary schools; secondary schools are less frequent users. Effective networks for sharing ideas and good practice have been established for co-ordinators of literacy, numeracy, ICT, special educational needs and early years but the SENCO network is not widely known in special

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Teaching

62. Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) are provided with a comprehensive programme developed by the LEA in collaboration with schools. This training is provided by the LEA in partnership with higher education providers. It includes, appropriately, induction and training courses alongside development opportunities for new teachers in their own and other schools. Induction mentors have been trained and the programme of development for all NQTs is monitored by the attached adviser to the school. This helps to ensure that the LEA statutory duties concerning NQTs are met.

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The Post-OFSTED LEA inspection action plan

63. The action plan is detailed, with clear actions, targets and deadlines. In many cases, except for finance, the deadlines have been met successfully and action has been effective. Some actions were planned to be completed after the return inspection visit and work is continuing, appropriately in line with the plan, to address these. Monitoring of progress has been satisfactory. The presentation of the summer monitoring report to members was, unhelpfully, postponed, limiting their opportunity to scrutinise it. The LEA is using the education directorate business plan to combine the priorities in its EDP with the targets in its post- OFSTED plan. This is a sensible move as it enables development and improvement activities to be planned, monitored and evaluated in the context of the work of the directorate.

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The Post-OFSTED LEA inspection action plan

64. Good progress has been made in developing effective means of consulting schools on matters that are of direct concern to them. As the organisation of the Council has stabilised, consultative mechanisms have matured. The LEA and schools recognise that on many matters schools will not have a collective view and that ways must be found to accommodate differences. Its methods are now more discriminating, seeking to match the means of consultation to the topic. Representation of headteachers on task groups and working committees has been extended and the head teacher council has responded positively, conducting a skills audit of its members and drawing up a register of expertise to match skills to needs. A few schools still feel, with some justification, that consultation is too paper-based, and that too little time is allowed for responses. The LEA, for its part, recognises that the blanket approach to consultation

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The Post-OFSTED LEA inspection action plan

envisaged in the action plan was insufficiently tuned to the content and nature of some topics.

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The Post-OFSTED LEA inspection action plan

65. Some governors indicate that they feel less involved at the early stages of strategic discussion than in the recent past. This is a cause for concern in the light of the school re-organisation plans. However, it has been recognised by the LEA, which also intends to use the governors forum to broaden the dialogue with senior officers as a means of supporting governors in their school leadership role.

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addressed:

• the remaining targets and actions identified in the action plan should be fully incorporated into the education directorate business plan and their successful implementation monitored carefully.

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the LEA should:

• ensure that financial information and charges from other Council

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agreements;

• ensure that the implementation of business units and of the new

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financial management system takes into account the needs of schools;

• ensure that the expenditure on special educational needs is closely monitored and managed.

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financial management system takes into account the needs of schools;

66. The first inspection report stated that, while the management and control of finances in Lambeth had improved greatly since the early 1990s, there were still significant weaknesses in the quality of financial information available. These were linked with the education directorate and with other council directorates and contracted services.

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financial management system takes into account the needs of schools;

67. The LEA has made adequate progress in most of the areas covered by this recommendation . However, while the action plan addressed much of the substance of the recommendations, the actions did not focus sufficiently on the needs of schools, and the shortcomings in the operation of the contract with the joint venture company, TeamLambeth, are likely to continue until the contract termination date.

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financial management system takes into account the needs of schools;

68. The payroll service, previously a source of numerous charging errors, has improved significantly. Charging arrangements have now been clarified. Direct invoicing of service fees by the corporate payroll provider started in April and has led to a clearer understanding of the costs recharged to schools. Schools now rate the service as “satisfactory” overall compared to “poor” in the previous inspection. The LEA rightly plans to reduce the number of business units trading with schools and to give schools more information about payments made through the Banks Automated Charging System. However, although the accuracy of charges and payments has improved overall, a small number of unattributed payments and charges still arrive in schools. In particular, schools criticise invoicing by TeamLambeth for a lack of clarity when supplying multiple services under their contract with the LEA, and for retrospective inflation charges that are

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financial management system takes into account the needs of schools;

69. The review of the financial accounting information required from schools focused on the control needs of the Council and did not take sufficient account of the needs of schools. The action plan included the establishment of a project board with corporate and school representatives to monitor implementation. However, the group took insufficient account of those with the actual experience of operating the systems, such as school administrative officers, and the strategy was not effective. The main innovation – a monthly monitoring form introduced in June – was not successful and a simpler version is now under development. The revised 2000/2001 budget-setting exercise was unduly complex and there were errors in the format of the information sent out in early March. In the school survey, the accuracy of financial information systems was rated as poor or very poor, and the lowest of the LEAs surveyed to date.

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financial management system takes into account the needs of schools;

70. The planned review of corporate recharges to the education budget had not taken place at the time of the return inspection. However, the budget-setting process for 2001/2002 provides a much needed opportunity to review the cost of corporate services and the basis for the recharges.

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financial management system takes into account the needs of schools;

71. The control of expenditure on SEN has improved. A SEN business support team was set up in April 1999. This has led to improved management information and greater accuracy over budget setting and monitoring. At the time of the return inspection, the SEN service was within budget. A more rigorous and effective placement procedure, has been established, utilising a statement monitoring team particularly in relation to the initiation of statutory assessments. Consequently, referrals have been reduced and are now close to the London average.

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financial management system takes into account the needs of schools;

72. There is a continuing problem with home to school transport costs. The Council entered an inflexible and unfavourable seven-year contract with TeamLambeth in 1997. This resulted in very high transport costs and, despite a substantial increase in the numbers of pupils travelling independently (from 52 per cent in 1998 to 67 per cent to date), the contract conditions mean there will be no reduction in transport costs. Furthermore, if variations are enacted by the contractor, there could even be financial penalties. A further unresolved issue relates to charges for multiple occupancy of taxis by children going to school. The LEA is still seeking to resolve this unsatisfactory position but admits there is likely to be little financial benefit. Nevertheless, a rigorous contract-monitoring regime has now been installed which is processing contractor claims on a more systematic basis and has led to invoicing being more transparent, with the

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A1) In order to develop a stronger focus on schools as customers:

• improve communication and joint planning, internally between business units and between the LEA and schools, ensuring this takes account of the needs of the appropriate service-users in schools.

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needs of schools:

• involve school representatives in negotiating with TeamLambeth to clarify annual charges and increase the transparency of invoices to schools; and • ensure the shortcomings of the TeamLambeth contract are not repeated in future contractual arrangements.

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responsibility for their own financial management, the LEA should:

• as a matter of urgency and in consultation with schools, improve both

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the quality and the timing of accounting information for schools;

• regain control of school deficits by ensuring that all deficits are

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contingent upon an approved and monitored recovery plan;

• institute planned visits from link finance officers to support and advise

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planning of their budgets;

• provide considerable additional support to schools during the current

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software package for schools, LRM4;

• in consultation with schools, reformat the monthly financial monitoring reports to take account of schools’ own monitoring needs.

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software package for schools, LRM4;

73. The first inspection report made clear that the inaccuracy and late arrival of financial information was a major reason for schools being unable to plan their budgets effectively. It emphasised that the weak financial information gave some schools a ready excuse for inadequate financial management and the recommendations focused on ways of strengthening such management.

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software package for schools, LRM4;

74. Despite a clear action plan, which sought to address many of the recommendations by March 2000, progress has been poor. Turnover of key finance staff means that few of the actions have been carried out as planned and schools have seen relatively few improvements in this area. Since March 2000, the LEA has appointed two effective managers of the education finance service. It now has good improvement plans and is making progress in implementing them, but since these staff are currently on short-term contracts, the successful implementation of all the planned improvements is still not certain.

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software package for schools, LRM4;

75. In order to separate its financial advice and monitoring functions, the education finance team has been split into two units. The centrally-funded financial monitoring team is responsible for monitoring schools’ budgets, while the financial advice team gives support and advice to the 54 schools that purchase them through a service level agreement (SLA). The differing responsibilities of these two teams are not yet clear to school finance officers. The effectiveness of the change is not yet proven, since neither the monitoring nor the advice function has had a demonstrable effect on schools’ management of their finances.

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software package for schools, LRM4;

76. Progress in reducing school budget deficits has been inadequate. Between 1998/1999 and 1999/2000, the overall school balances in the borough improved by £245,000, but this masks a deteriorating situation in some schools with deficits. Of the 18 schools in deficit in 1998/1999, there has been an improvement in 15 of these schools amounting to a total of £357,000. However, deficits have worsened in the three remaining schools. At the end of 1999/2000, there were 19 schools in deficit and the total accumulated deficits had risen from £1,393,000 in 1998/1999 to £1,495,000. The situation has been accompanied by some large and erratic movements in school balances. 77. Despite better communication with schools with deficit budgets, the LEA has not yet regained control of all school deficits. In particular, reliable and accurate systems for tracking the expenditure of schools with continuing weak financial management have yet to be established. Owing to the poor quality

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software package for schools, LRM4;

financial information held by some of these schools, and the lack of monitoring returns, the LEA is not sufficiently secure about their financial situation to challenge intransigent schools successfully. The LEA is not yet proactive, either in identifying schools heading for deficits so that early preventative action can be taken, or in targeting support at those most in need. That this situation should still prevail is unacceptable and requires urgent resolution.

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software package for schools, LRM4;

78. A useful loan-based system of licensed deficits has been introduced, linked to a three-year recovery plan. This system has been applied to new school deficits arising in 1999/2000 but not to all schools with a long-standing deficit budget. All schools with deficits have regular meetings with the LEA, but there is little evidence that these are effective. For schools with large legacy deficits, the LEA and the headteachers see little alternative to writing the deficits off, through either school reorganisation or 'Fresh Start' initiatives. The LEA has innovative plans, with EAZ support, to transfer budget management responsibility from five primary schools in deficit.

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software package for schools, LRM4;

79. There are still a number of schools with considerable surpluses. Other than writing to them to ask the purpose of their surpluses, the LEA has not sufficiently challenged these schools to account for, and reduce, the relatively large sums of public money that they retain as balances.

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software package for schools, LRM4;

80. The LEA has provided schools with a comprehensive and useful financial management manual that is regularly revised. However, it has not proved successful in promoting self-sufficiency in budget management and only schools with licensed deficits plan their budgets over a three-year period. The finance advice team has not been strengthened as planned, owing to the relatively low level of buy-back from schools under a re-formatted, hourly-purchase, SLA. Sickness absence means that the small central team is below strength and, although schools are positive about the support provided by their financial advisors, the provision is inadequate. The delayed start to the LRM4 training means that much of the demand for support from the financial advice team is for help with LRM4, further restricting their advice role.

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software package for schools, LRM4;

81. The planning and training strategy to promote the use of LRM4 has not been universally successful. Although a good, and comprehensive, training programme has now been established, support is not targeted effectively towards the schools that are not using the system confidently. There is no manual or guide available to allow more experienced staff the opportunity to explore more advanced aspects of the package on their own. Some schools claim they are unable to use the LRM4 system because they do not have the resources to load the previous year’s data, which is essential to its function. This is an unnecessary barrier to its use.

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software package for schools, LRM4;

82. The LEA has not devised a suitable, effective means of monitoring school budgets. Without this, it cannot take successful action to reduce or anticipate school deficits and surpluses. The monthly monitoring forms, re-formatted in June 2000, failed to link with systems in schools and were unnecessarily complex. Since September a temporary replacement system has been operated. A number of problems remain, however. Firstly, the system is devised to meet the needs of the LEA and takes no account of schools’ own monitoring needs, for which most use a separate report. Secondly, despite reminders, a number of schools still do not complete the returns. Thirdly, the LEA’s analysis of the data is inadequate and schools receive no comments as to its accuracy or any comparative data for benchmarking purposes. In the inspection, a number of schools reported that erroneous monthly returns had not been followed up by the LEA. Clearly, the

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software package for schools, LRM4;

opportunity to engage in a constructive dialogue with schools and to add value to information is not being grasped by the LEA.

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as a matter of urgency:

• clarify the role of the financial monitoring team; • complete the review of the finance team and improve the retention of key staff; and • ensure that procedures for obtaining management information on school budgets and expenditure are secure, accurate and agreed by schools.

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B2) To improve financial management in schools:

• ensure that schools return the financial information sought by the LEA; • ensure that headteachers and governors understand they are accountable to the LEA for the proper management of resources; • include financial management as a criterion in the appointment and competency of headteachers; • train governors to understand their responsibility for budgetary management and control; and • use monitoring information to provide feedback and comparative information for schools.

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management:

• involve the finance monitoring team and SIDD in identifying and challenging all schools with deficit budgets, poor quality financial information and large surpluses; • reformat the financial advice SLA offered, as a basic service with additional higher level support options; and • move towards quarterly, or lighter touch, monitoring in those schools which demonstrate good budget management.

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upon:

• once the improvements sought have been secured, a rigorous Best Value review of school financial monitoring and support functions should be completed by 2003.

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services to schools, the LEA should:

• build on the Services to Schools Committee and the customer surveys to

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views in order to improve services;

• involve the grant-maintained schools alongside LEA schools in

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management services;

• ensure that schools fully participate in sickness monitoring procedures

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and are supported in taking appropriate action to reduce teacher

83. The first inspection report identified a lack of strategic planning of services to support the management of schools. Service planning was overly reactive and insufficient account was taken of the needs of schools when determining service priorities.

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and are supported in taking appropriate action to reduce teacher

84. Progress made through the implementation of the action plan has

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been sufficient to secure improvements in management support services,

although inconsistency of service delivery remains an issue in some areas.

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been sufficient to secure improvements in management support services,

85. Progress made in improving financial services is evaluated earlier in this section. The latest school survey shows that schools feel more involved in service review and that they are broadly satisfied with the clarity of service specification. Considerable progress has been made in setting out clearly services provided by the LEA to fulfil its statutory duties alongside a specification of services, and costs, available for purchase by schools. The resources committee, with headteacher and senior officer membership, effectively involves school representatives in responding to concerns and developing strategy. Buy back of services, including by some foundation schools, has increased and there is a higher level of discrimination evident in school purchasing decisions.

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been sufficient to secure improvements in management support services,

86. Many of the support services provided by TeamLambeth are well regarded by the schools that choose to purchase them. However, the service specifications still suffer from a lack of clarity, and charging arrangements do not operate in a way that promotes the efficient management of school budgets and premises.

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been sufficient to secure improvements in management support services,

87. Training and advice offered by the human resources unit on monitoring sickness and managing absence have been targeted well at identified schools and levels of teacher absence overall are relatively low and in line with the Council’s targets. From the returns made, absence is close to the DfEE guidelines, but incomplete returns from schools mean that the actual picture cannot be established. 88. With the exception of finance, the LEA has demonstrated both a willingness to respond to schools and the capacity to implement its action plan. No further steps, beyond those already identified and planned, need be taken.

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schools, the LEA should:

• review, in consultation, the provision and entitlement of support to

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Development Division;

• liaise more effectively with schools to implement the ICT strategy; • monitor the effectiveness of the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant

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(EMAG) arrangements and ensure that it is directed to improve the

achievement of all minority ethnic groups.

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(EMAG) arrangements and ensure that it is directed to improve the

89. An effective response to has been made to all three elements in this recommendation regarding the quality of support to schools.

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(EMAG) arrangements and ensure that it is directed to improve the

90. At the time of the first inspection, the support for primary schools was good, with attached advisers offering expert support. There was less support for secondary schools. The LEA’s proper concentration on those schools causing most concern was seen by secondary schools as inequitable, indicating that communication was inadequate.

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(EMAG) arrangements and ensure that it is directed to improve the

91. Good progress has been made in consulting secondary schools and towards finding a pattern of support with which they can be satisfied. Headteachers were consulted at a conference early in the process and regular meetings are now established between them and officers. At headteachers’ suggestion, attempts to appoint an additional secondary management adviser were abandoned. Instead, the model based on the use of consultants to bring in expertise has been approved. The school improvement committee of headteacher representatives, in conjunction with the secondary adviser, co- ordinates the approach. The headteachers with whom discussions were held regarded SIDD favourably and the principle that support should be in proportion to need is now largely accepted. The LEA’s contribution to management information is rated highly and monitoring visits are valued, especially by schools in difficulties.

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(EMAG) arrangements and ensure that it is directed to improve the

92. There is now a good basis on which to build by improving the brokering of external sources of support, encouraging departmental co-operation between the schools and working steadily to draw them all into the circle.

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(EMAG) arrangements and ensure that it is directed to improve the

93. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strategy was ambitious, although complicated, and responsibilities for its components were not always clear. Its implementation in schools, and communication with schools, were uneven.

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(EMAG) arrangements and ensure that it is directed to improve the

94. The deficiencies have been put right and the service is now good. The strategy is no less complicated. In fact, there are now additional elements, such as the imaginative initiatives promoting a computer projection system and handheld computers, taking advantage of EAZ funding. Nevertheless, all have been drawn together under a single leader, as recommended, and the strategy has been redrafted as a whole. Input to schools has been extended under the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) and the literacy and numeracy-focussed Integrated Learning System (ILS). The phased NGfL programme is fully on target, unless schools have had special reasons to ask for a delay. ILS has spread from ten schools at the first inspection to three-quarters at the present time. Both schemes involve the installation of substantial hardware, which means that computer facilities, which had been poor and outdated in many schools, are

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(EMAG) arrangements and ensure that it is directed to improve the

greatly improved. The LEA’s website continues to develop usefully and schools are being supported in setting up their own sites. The training offered is extensive. In the recent survey, schools rated the service as above average. The LEA can proceed with confidence in this aspect of support to school improvement.

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(EMAG) arrangements and ensure that it is directed to improve the

95. The transition from Section 11 funding to the Ethnic Minority and Travellers Achievement Grant (EMTAG) had been marred by errors in the distribution of the funding. While the first inspection identified much good work by the LEA, many schools had lost momentum because of the badly managed transition and confidence in the service had dissipated.

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(EMAG) arrangements and ensure that it is directed to improve the

96. The system has been re-designed effectively. The formula for delegating the funds to schools was revised and all agree that it is reasonable, consistent and operable. Schools were invited to submit action plans so that opportunities and gaps in provision could be identified. The LEA’s data for monitoring the performance of minority ethnic groups, already good, was further refined. With this as a basis, a monitoring system is now being established which includes quality assurance visits. Good support is given in training the schools’ teachers and learning support assistants and help is available, if required, in making appointments. The confidence of schools is now restored and there is every reason to expect continued improvement.

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surplus places the LEA should:

• reduce the numbers in the secondary phase; • review the number of nursery places and ensure that the current over- provision in the south of the borough is not repeated elsewhere.

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surplus places the LEA should:

97. Lambeth has a complex range of secondary provision in ten schools, including denominational, foundation and single-sex schools, with 39 per cent more girls than boys on roll overall. About 50 per cent of Lambeth primary pupils leave the borough at secondary transfer. Pupil numbers are projected to peak in 2006 after which they will decline. At the time of the original inspection, there were high numbers of surplus places at the LEA-maintained secondary schools but lower levels in the grant-maintained schools. Overall, in 1998 there were 38.8 per cent of surplus places in secondary schools compared to 11.5 per cent nationally. 98. Lambeth has made sound progress in relation to this

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established and plans made to reduce the capacity of two schools with

surplus places. The LEA has been granted PFI credits to replace one secondary school with a smaller school by September 2002. It is in the process of drawing up proposals to remodel another. It has recently produced a useful and detailed report on secondary places over the next ten years, looking at current and future trends and at patterns of recruitment to individual schools. The report indicates that the number of surplus places will decrease sharply with the proposed replacement school and with increases in recruitment in year 7, giving rise to pressures on secondary places from 2002. The report concludes there will be sufficient capacity to meet predicted needs if patterns of recruitment remain the same, though the admission numbers of some schools would have to be increased.

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established and plans made to reduce the capacity of two schools with

99. The LEA recognises the need to co-ordinate its planning with that of neighbouring boroughs owing to the extensive cross-border flows. It is also clear about the need to take account of initiatives in post-16 provision and the possible siting of a City Academy in the borough. It now proposes to review the diversity of secondary provision in the borough, considering the options for additional places alongside the developing pattern of Beacon schools, specialist schools and post- 16 provision. Learning from the difficult experience of the primary schools development process, the LEA is rightly determined to ensure that all stakeholders, especially the secondary school headteachers, are involved and fully consulted throughout this process through a rolling programme of information and feedback. However, the LEA must make certain that the review process does not become a substitute for decisive action.

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established and plans made to reduce the capacity of two schools with

100. The previous report also identified concerns expressed by primary and nursery schools about over-provision in some parts of the borough.

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established and plans made to reduce the capacity of two schools with

101. The LEA has carried out a review of under-fives provision and there is no longer an issue of excess provision. The annual 2000/01 audit of under-fives provision carried out by the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership showed no significant over-provision. There was surplus capacity of less than two per cent for three and four-year-olds in nursery schools and classes. Surplus places for three and four-year-olds in private and voluntary sector provision have been taken up by two-year-olds.

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established and plans made to reduce the capacity of two schools with

102. The review of under-fives provision produced a clear consensus in favour of combining nursery schools and day nurseries as Early Excellence Centres in the town centres. However, the LEA has sensibly decided to await the completion of the reorganisation of primary schools before embarking on any further changes.

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E1) In order to ensure that secondary review plans are translated into

• ensure a clear timetable for the process is established and adhered to.

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meeting the needs of pupils with SEN, the LEA should:

• implement the outcomes of the SEN strategy; • bring the Education Psychology Service (EPS) up to strength and try to

p.26

ensure stability within the service;

• make the assessment and statementing procedures as transparent and

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well publicised as possible;

• continue the good work undertaken by the behaviour support team and ensure that this is publicised amongst schools.

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well publicised as possible;

103. At the time of the first inspection the LEA had produced a suitable plan to reorganise its special school provision to match needs in the borough and further its inclusion policy but needed to implement it fully.

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well publicised as possible;

104. Progress has been made in all these aspects and the service as a whole can now be regarded as good.

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well publicised as possible;

105. The LEA is now fully committed in its implementation of the strategy. Further extensive rationalisation of the special school provision has been agreed and is well underway. Outreach by the special schools is being promoted to facilitate inclusion in the mainstream where appropriate. Support for autism has been increased and further plans are under consideration to meet the anticipated rise in need. Funding has been obtained for improved facilities for physical disabilities. The implementation of the strategy is now well co-ordinated and well paced. It is achievable within a firm time frame.

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well publicised as possible;

106. The education psychology service (EPS) has made good its shortfall with great resourcefulness, despite the prevailing recruitment difficulties. The service is now good and is well regarded by schools. A strong link with the University of East London has enabled it to make a valuable, shared appointment at senior level while trainees are able to give useful support to the LEA’s education psychologists (EPs). Suitably qualified assistant EPs have been appointed on substantial short-term contracts. Funding for non-statutory work has been delegated successfully to secondary schools and buy-back is such that there has been no significant effect on the budget available to the service. The overall effect of the changes is that the EPS is able to meet its commitments and provide a more flexible and responsive service.

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well publicised as possible;

107. The statutory assessment and statementing procedures are now broadly based and entirely open to scrutiny. A SEN Panel has been established with school representatives. Useful moderation practices have been established and there has been a further steady reduction in the proportion of pupils statemented. While schools have generally been won over, in principle, to the policy of meeting more needs at the earlier stages of the Code of Practice, they are not always confident in applying it. Too much time is wasted in schools on applications for statutory assessments that do not result in statements. Clearly, the guidance available is not sufficient to ensure that schools and the Panel arrive at similar views of how needs should best be met in individual cases. 108. The proportion of statements issued within the target period of 18 weeks was 74.7 per cent last year with a sharp improvement projected for this in the

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well publicised as possible;

current year. However, if the statements delayed for reasons beyond the LEA’s direct control (the ‘valid exceptions’) are included, last year’s rate falls to the unacceptably low rate of 34 per cent. This may well account for the relatively low rating of the procedures in the school survey. Despite the very close working relationship with the health authorities, the LEA’s detailed records show that late medical reports are the most common cause of delay.

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well publicised as possible;

109. The behaviour support teams based at the primary and secondary pupil referral units (PRUs) continue to provide good service. The improvements to the EPS enable it to offer a level of support in this area not possible at the time of the first inspection. The service been publicised sufficiently and is now widely appreciated. In addition to work in schools and training functions, it has organised internal conferences and contributed to national events. The remaining uncertainty in schools arises from the inclusion of more pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties, along with outreach support from the special schools. There is a continuing need to keep schools fully abreast of developments.

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F1) In order to further improve the support for SEN:

• continue to work closely with the external partners who contribute to statutory assessments, and seek new ways to avoid delays; and

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F1) In order to further improve the support for SEN:

• improve the guidance to schools to enable them to distinguish more accurately between needs which call for statutory assessment and those better met at earlier stages of the Code of Practice.

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Performance management and Best Value

110. The Council’s Best Value Performance Plan is clear and comprehensive with good links to other plans. The auditor gave an unqualified opinion on the plan but the recommendations highlighted the need to implement fully a performance management system across the organisation and for improvements in challenge and methods of comparison. The need for an effective performance management system, based on clear objectives and focused on staff development has, rightly, been identified by the chief executive as a key priority for corporate and directorate development and is built into the revised service planning process.

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Performance management and Best Value

111. There was an over-ambitious programme of Best Value reviews (BVRs) for the first year and few had been completed at the time of the inspection. However, lessons have been learned from early reviews with respect to the timescale, scope, capacity of officers, and the resources needed. The focus of BVRs has sharpened and moved towards a progressive framework with regular monitoring by the Best Value corporate steering group. BVRs in education covered early years, the professional advisory service to schools (delayed until after this inspection), youth and play. Since none had been completed at the time of the inspection, it is not yet possible to evaluate their impact on services.

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Excellence in Cities (EiC)

112. EiC has had a slow start in Lambeth but progress is now satisfactory. Although the outline plan, submitted to the DfEE in July 1999, was approved, the full plan submitted in November was rejected. A greater emphasis on collaborative activity between schools was sought and funding was granted for one year only. The plan was successfully resubmitted and approval granted early in 2000. This hiatus had two outcomes. Firstly, the initiatives were slow to start because there were delays in appointments. Secondly, partnership working has improved because it gave considerable impetus to the development of improved working relationships between schools and the LEA. Whilst there are still tensions evident in aspects of this collaboration, the LEA has been successful in assisting the schools in understanding the benefits of pooling expertise and resources. All bar one secondary school have engaged fully with the initiative.

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Excellence in Cities (EiC)

113. The LEA has been effective in ensuring that the partnership’s plans match the revised EDP and the co-ordination of LEA, EAZ and other regeneration initiatives is a high priority for officers. This has enabled schools to utilise EiC in line with school priorities. The LEA is also effectively transferring the management of the initiative to the partnership of schools. However, the delayed start to the full implementation of EiC means that, despite positive examples in promoting inclusion, there is little evidence yet of its impact. Plans for the evaluation of the impact of EiC are not well embedded in the practice of the partnership, which has been largely concerned with initiating activities. 114. Successful early intervention and mentoring strategies through the learning mentor/learning support unit strands are achieving the intended outcomes in several of the schools. Appropriate plans have been made for a small EAZ and

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Excellence in Cities (EiC)

for a City Learning Centre. The gifted and talented strand is being managed through two clusters, each with a school-based co-ordinator. The southern cluster works effectively. However, the other cluster has experienced greater difficulty, partly because of a change in co-ordinator but also because of a lack of continuity and high staff turnover in two of the schools. The LEA gives good support to the cluster to help to refocus its activities.

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Excellence in Cities (EiC)

115. The implementation of EiC in primary schools is underway following DfEE approval for the plan in October 2000. The LEA is transferring the responsibility for development of EiC to the primary steering group in a judicious and well- phased manner.

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Working in partnership with the Education Action Zone (EAZ)

116. The CfBT/Lambeth EAZ is a large zone of 28 schools. The life of the EAZ has been extended by the DfEE from three to five years. The LEA has worked in close partnership with the EAZ and the strength of the partnership between CfBT, the EAZ and the LEA has developed considerably in this time. For example, as a result of CfBT sponsorship of the EAZ, a successful joint approach with the LEA has been made to the DfEE for a City Academy to be located in Lambeth.

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Working in partnership with the Education Action Zone (EAZ)

117. The LEA plays a prominent role in the partnership with the EAZ, seeking opportunities to facilitate and support the work of EAZ staff. Unusually, but helpfully, the EAZ director is a member of the education directorate management team. The EAZ steering group comprises the zone director, LEA and CfBT officers and three headteachers, giving good opportunity for LEA strategic involvement.

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Working in partnership with the Education Action Zone (EAZ)

118. The LEA draws extensively and effectively upon the work of the EAZ in planning its work in the schools, providing good support in literacy and numeracy for zone consultants. Schools value the support they are receiving. Good links have been created between the LEA ICT strategy and the ICT projects undertaken in schools in the EAZ. Projects to tackle low attainment, such as one focused on the particular needs of Portuguese pupils, are linked closely to LEA and DfEE initiatives.

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Working in partnership with the Education Action Zone (EAZ)

119. Some suitably innovative projects are underway in the EAZ, partly as a result of suggestions made by the LEA. Importantly, given weaknesses in the LEA identified in the first inspection report, consideration is being given to supporting the management of five primary schools with major budget deficits, possibly though the transfer of some delegated powers from governors to the EAZ. A review of the effectiveness of schools’ expenditure on SEN is also underway.

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Working in partnership with the Education Action Zone (EAZ)

120. The LEA, especially through its Education Business Partnership (EBP), has also played a key role in promoting links and liaison with other regeneration strategies, with other public sector agencies and authorities, and also with the Health Action Zone which includes the area covered by the EAZ. Regular meetings between the LEA EBP co-ordinator, the EiC co-ordinator and the EAZ director ensure that action is well co-ordinated and they have begun to map the impact of initiatives on individual schools to avoid duplication.

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Social inclusion and combating racism

121. Lambeth’s contribution to promoting social inclusion and racial equality is good. The council has made a good response to the report of the Inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence. It commissioned a severely self-critical report into its own practices and has launched an action plan spanning all its services. The schools have all received guidance on challenging racism and promoting race equality that includes provision for the recording of racial incidents. A conference in October was used to disseminate this. A sound and very detailed action plan has been established to promote Commission for Racial Equality standards over the next three years.

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Social inclusion and combating racism

122. The rate of permanent exclusions has been consistently higher in Lambeth than in similar LEAs up to 1998, when 62 pupils were excluded. In the last year there were 47 exclusions, reflecting a substantial improvement and meeting the EDP target for reducing exclusions. A variety of effective measures is in place to prevent exclusion, reintegrate excluded pupils, and include others at risk. Reintegration assistants support pupils in the short term when they are at risk of exclusion or have just been returned to school. The PRUs now take pupils for a temporary period of adjustment while they remain on the roll of their own school. One primary school with successful mechanisms for social inclusion, such as its flourishing breakfast club, has elected to receive a number of excluded pupils as a half-way stage towards full reintegration into their own schools.

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Social inclusion and combating racism

123. A number of support and training packages for behaviour management and changing attitudes are offered by the educational psychology service (EPS) and the education welfare service (EWS), some of them focussed on the EAZ schools were the need is greatest. The education business partnership provides mentoring to Key Stage 4 pupils at risk. The statistics show that black pupils are especially at risk but also that some schools are successful in promoting their achievement. The LEA has disseminated examples of good practice on behalf of this group of pupils and plans to do more. It has commissioned action research projects to raise parental involvement in reading in different ethnic cultures and investigate how best to work with independent supplementary education facilities, of which there are some 20 in the borough. A co-ordinator liaises with schools to keep teenage mothers in education and a centre at which they can receive tuition

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addressed:

• the remaining targets and actions identified in the action plan should be fully incorporated into the education directorate business plan and their successful implementation monitored carefully.

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A1) In order to develop a stronger focus on schools as customers:

• improve communication and joint planning, internally between business units and between the LEA and schools, ensuring this takes account of the needs of the appropriate service-users in schools.

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needs of schools:

• involve school representatives in negotiating with TeamLambeth to clarify annual charges and increase the transparency of invoices to schools; and • ensure the shortcomings of the TeamLambeth contract are not repeated in future contractual arrangements.

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as a matter of urgency:

• clarify the role of the financial monitoring team; • complete the review of the finance team and improve the retention of key staff; and • ensure that procedures for obtaining management information on school budgets and expenditure are secure, accurate and agreed by schools.

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B2) To improve financial management in schools:

• ensure that schools return the financial information sought by the LEA; • ensure that headteachers and governors understand they are accountable to the LEA for the proper management of resources; • include financial management as a criterion in the appointment and competency of headteachers; • train governors to understand their responsibility for budgetary management and control; and • use monitoring information to provide feedback and comparative information for schools.

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management:

• involve the finance monitoring team and SIDD in identifying and challenging all schools with deficit budgets, poor quality financial information and large surpluses; • reformat the financial advice SLA offered, as a basic service with additional higher level support options; and • move towards quarterly, or lighter touch, monitoring in those schools which demonstrate good budget management.

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upon:

• once the improvements sought have been secured, complete by 2003, a rigorous Best Value review of the school financial monitoring and support functions in preparation for the subsequent external inspection of the review.

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appropriate action:

• Ensure a clear timetable for the process is established and adhered to.

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F1) In order to further improve the support for SEN:

• continue to work closely with the external partners who contribute to statutory assessments, and seek new ways to avoid delays; and • improve the guidance to schools to enable them to distinguish more accurately between needs which call for statutory assessment and those better met at earlier stages of the Code of Practice.

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Tel: 0207 421 6800

This report may be produced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are produced verbatim and without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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Authority:

London Borough of Lambeth Education Directorate International House Canterbury Crescent London SW9 7QE

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Authority:

The report is also available on the OFSTED website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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