'Decades of underfunding and a lack of ambition' sees Derbyshire schools’ performance in the bottom third of the country

Speaking following the release of a Government white paper that promises to address inequalities in the education system, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Councillor Alex Dale broadly welcomed the proposals on the table, but questioned how they would be implemented.

Among the points announced in the Opportunity For All paper, were the following key targets –

All schools become academies by 2030 90% of pupils reach the expected levels for Key Stage Two reading, writing and maths by 2030 £30,000 starting salaries for trainee teachers 500,000 teacher training and development opportunities by 2024

Coun Dale commented: “I think there are some good ideas, things around improved training for teachers, focus on evidence-based approaches that work, efforts to improve recruitment and retention of teachers, which is something that we struggle with in the East Midlands in particular.”

He added: “In terms of how it will impact Derbyshire, I think the thing most people are going to focus on will be the academies and what the Government are saying around wanting all schools to be part of multi-trusts by 2030, and they have not said exactly how they are going to do that.”

Coun Dale said that while he has never seen academies as a ‘silver bullet’ for educational reform, he did believe the move to academisation would bring some much needed clarity to Derbyshire’s education system, which he says is currently ‘fragmented’, with some schools operated by trusts and some still maintained by the local authority.

The reforms come in the aftermath of the Levelling Up white paper, which earlier this year identified Derbyshire as a ‘cold spot’ for educational attainment, with only 64 per cent of pupils achieving the required standard in Key Stage Two reading, writing and maths, as opposed to the national average of 65 per cent, according to the latest available data from 2019.

Further research by the Local Democracy Reporting Service found of the Derbyshire schools that failed to meet the national average in 2019, 22 were in the High Peak and 18 were in North East Derbyshire.

The Derbyshire Dales, Erewash and Amber Valley all had 16 schools each, South Derbyshire had 14 and Bolsover and Chesterfield had 12 each.

The education chief said the county has long-since suffered from a lack of Government funding towards education, which he believes has had great effect upon academic performance.

To this end, Coun Dale has recently become the chairman of the f40 group, a cross party organisation that aims to lobby the Government on behalf of the worst-funded local education authorities in the country.

He added that there were ‘pockets of deprivation’ in the county, much of which is made up of former coal mining communities, and this contributed to a lack of aspiration among young people to achieve social mobility.

Coun Dale said: “There’s a perception sadly within Derbyshire all too often that you can’t get on in life and elevate yourself.

“We’ve got to get on top of that and we’ve got to be really clear that aspiration is really key and you can achieve what you want to achieve.”

He said the white paper had not made it clear what effect the reforms will have on class sizes, but he hoped increasing the starting salary for trainee teachers to £30,000 would help with the supply of high quality candidates to the profession.

Coun Dale commented: “I think part of that around pay is having a sufficient supply of teachers that schools can be more picky.

“It’s not just about getting bums on seats, it’s about getting the best possible teacher for their kids and someone who’s really going to enable the kids to go on and thrive.”

Last week, the Government also released the SEND review green paper, which outlines a need to simplify processes surrounding special educationel needs and alternative provision.

Coun Dale said: “What we’re proposing to do is invest more in increasing places at existing special schools in particular with a focus on autism, because that’s where we recognise there isn’t a huge attention at the moment and more and more kids getting a diagnosis.”

Coun Dale said he had also found the proposals made to make mainstream schools more accessible for those with SEND encouraging.

He continued: “We want to put a bit more investment into what’s called ERS (Enhanced Resource Services) within schools, so it’s additional add-on units that enable them to be more inclusive, particularly with children with special needs.”

The SEND review makes steps to remove layers of bureaucracy from the educational process.

“I think it recognises what we’ve all been saying, that the system is broken really and we need pretty bold reform,” Coun Dale commented.

He added however that timing is key and as the proposals are still only at the green paper stage, they are subject to a process of consultation before a white paper can be drafted and reforms implemented.

Coun Dale commented: “The other key issue around SEND at the minute is you’re looking at a £1billion deficit on high needs blocks across the country.”

He explained that Derbyshire’s overspend is currently £6million in the high needs block of the delegated school’s grant, which largely deals with SEND.

Coun Dale admitted that after reading both the white and green papers, he was concerned that the level of funding suggested would not be sufficient to properly address the issues as hand.

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet is due to discuss issues surrounding Levelling Up and performance in a meeting at County Hall this Thursday (April 7).