TSN Annual Report - Annex 3: Department of Education Draft New TSN

The first New TSN Annual Report

November 1999

Annex 3: Department of Education Draft New TSN Action Plan

The Department of Education (DENI) has central responsibility for policy and planning for education, youth, culture, arts and recreation. Executive responsibility for the delivery of these services rests almost entirely in the hands of Education and Library Boards, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, schools, further education colleges, higher education institutions and other grant-aided bodies.

Education is one of the most important influences on the social and economic circumstances of those areas and persons in greatest need and has a central role to play in New TSN. This is reflected in the stated aim of the education service:

"The primary aim of the education service is to promote lifelong learning, by securing an efficient and effective education service which will strengthen society and the economy, enrich the quality of life, ensure equality of opportunity and fair treatment for all and combat the effects of social needs. This reflects the fact that learning is the key to the future and lifelong learning is essential to economic prosperity".

The education service already targets social need in a range of ways. Since 1993-1994 DENI has top sliced 5% of the annual schools budget for allocation to schools through the Targeting Social Need factor in the Local Management of Schools formulae. In 1998-1999, £39m was distributed in this way to help schools address educational under achievement.

In addition, the Department has implemented a number of initiatives designed specifically to address low achievement in schools. The Making Belfast Work Raising Schools Standards Initiative launched in 1994 and the Raising Schools Standards Initiative (RSSI) launched in 1995 together provided some £20m additional funding and support to 104 low achieving schools. These initiatives have yielded important benefits and by the end of 1997-1998 65 schools were judged to have made sufficient progress to leave the programme, and a further 17 had progressed to this point by the end of 1998-1999.

Pupils in Northern Ireland continue to perform better than their counterparts in England and Wales at the higher qualification levels, with 55 % of Year 12 pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs at A*-C (compared to 46% in both England and Wales) and 92% of final year pupils gaining 2+ A levels (compared with 81% in England and 90% in Wales). Moreover, the traditional pattern of more pupils in Northern Ireland achieving no GCSEs has been reversed in recent years and the 1997-1998 figure of 3% was below that of both England (7%) and Wales (9%). Nevertheless, there continue to be too many schools where substantial proportions of pupils leave without GCSEs and there remains a significant problem of poorly qualified school leavers.

To address this, expenditure in 1999-2000 and up to 2002 on the School Improvement Programme, which is aimed at raising standards in schools, will total some £54m (including some £20m new money) and will impact most directly on schools and pupils in areas of social disadvantage. The Programme includes initiatives on literacy and numeracy, discipline and behaviour and school self-improvement through self-evaluation, development planning and target-setting. The Programme includes the School Support Programme, (superseding RSSI) which is aimed specifically at helping the weakest schools to improve their provision and impacts directly on schools serving areas of social deprivation. A range of other initiatives, such as Making a Good Start (which funds classroom assistants and additional materials for P1 classes), multi-cultural resources and other support for teachers of Traveller children, projects to support "at risk" pupils and the Special Education Needs Code of Practice, will also impact in particular on pupils in disadvantaged areas.

Schools need co-operative support to implement these various initiatives and develop areas needing attention. The actions in this Action Plan, therefore, will not succeed without the direct support and guidance to schools of all partners in the education service. Some actions will also require underpinning legislation and the identification of resources.

Participation by 16 and 17 year olds in full-time further education in Northern Ireland is slightly lower than in England (31% compared to 33%) but participation by young people in higher education is higher than in GB (45% NI, 34% GB). Northern Ireland also draws a higher proportion of new entrants to higher education from the lower socio-economic groups (31% NI, 27% GB). In Further and Higher Education, New TSN will be set firmly within the Governments Lifelong Learning Policy as defined in the Ministers Policy Statement of February 1999. This is supported by significant additional funding, directed mainly at increasing participation in further and higher education institutions and at improving the infrastructure. This policy framework (and its New TSN element), devised conjointly with the T&EA, relies for success mainly on the direct actions of the individual further and higher education institutions and other voluntary bodies in response to the funding and policy priorities. These institutions are either fully autonomous or incorporated bodies and will need to assume ownership of New TSN objectives at local level. Sharing an understanding of New TSN and of the actions implied in this plan will be an early priority for the Department.

DENI is also responsible for the central administration of arts, museums and libraries, youth and sport; the promotion of community relations among young people; the use of proceeds of the National lottery for good causes in Northern Ireland; and the Millennium Volunteers Programme. The bodies involved in the provision of the services include the Arts, Sports and Youth Councils, Education and Library Boards and the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland. Arts and Sport, and cultural and recreational activity more widely, can contribute to neighbourhood renewal and make a real difference to the promotion of health, employment and education in deprived communities and to the prevention of crime. The National Lottery makes a major contribution to the Governments efforts to tackle social exclusion problems and meet the needs of people with disabilities or who are socially disadvantaged.

The multi-dimensional making needs of the socially disadvantaged require a multi-agency response. There are shared Departmental responsibilities in a number of important policy areas, such as early years and post-16 education and training. DENI will build on existing inter-departmental machinery and networks in working closely with other Departments and agencies to implement this New TSN Action Plan and develop an integrated and co-ordinated approach to addressing social need.

Business Area:	General
Social need to be tackled:	Low educational achievement and poor employability among socially disadvantaged groups and areas
Desired outcome:	Improved academic achievement and employability among socially disadvantaged groups.
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DENI 1 To ensure the New TSN policy is developed and implemented across the education services.	a. By end January 2000 establish a Steering Group to drive forward and monitor New TSN policy within the education services. b. Ensure New TSN training is delivered in DENI by April 2000 and in partner bodies by December 2000. c. Publicise and promote the New TSN policy throughout the education service throughout the period of this Plan.
DENI 2 To identify and assess the extent of educational need among socially disadvantaged individuals, groups and communities.	a. Collation, analysis and dissemination of existing information on education participation, achievement and outcomes for disadvantaged individuals, groups and communities - publication by June 2000. b. Identification of information gaps and formulation of a New TSN Information Action Plan by June 2000.
DENI 3 To develop a better understanding of the effectiveness of different forms of education intervention in combating social disadvantage and low achievement.	a. Identify and analyse existing data and research findings on the effectiveness of different interventions and publish report by December 2000. b. Commission research and collect additional data to address any information gaps identified by April 2001.
DENI 4 To enhance the impact of New TSN policy in education.	a. Establish Working Group to identify and suggest ways to resolve or mitigate policy conflicts, within DENI and with other Departments, which contribute to educational disadvantage. Establish Group February 2000, report by September 2000. b. Evaluate the actions taken in this Plan and adjust policy as necessary from 2002.

New TSN objectives

Targets or actions and timescales

DENI 5 To foster appreciation of the value of
education among pupils in disadvantaged
areas.

a. Commission research into the attitudes of the socially disadvantaged towards education by April 2000.

b. Develop a programme to foster more positive attitudes towards education among the socially disadvantaged, including measures to strengthen links between education and industry by December 2000.

DENI 6 To enhance the resources available from
EU Programmes for New TSN in education.

a. To exploit to the full the next round of the EU Structural Funds, including the proposed new Special Programme.

Business Area:	Schools
Social need to be tackled:	Low educational achievement and poor employability among socially disadvantaged groups and areas
Desired outcome:	Improved academic achievement and employability among socially disadvantaged groups.
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DENI 7 To improve the targeting and effectiveness of New TSN funding for schools in order to raise achievement levels.	a. Review and improve the targeting of New TSN funds to schools under Local Management of Schools by June 2000. b. Develop and implement arrangements for schools to account for their use of New TSN funding by April 2000.
DENI 8 To raise the quality of early learning for socially disadvantaged pupils.	a. As part of the inter-Departmental NI childcare strategy continue the targeted expansion of pre-school education to provide for 85% of children by 2001-2002. b. Develop ways of targeting support for teachers at Key Stage 1 by 2002. c. Explore the use of baseline assessment for evaluating the targeting of resources to primary schools with high social disadvantage by September 2000. d. Extend schemes for encouraging parental involvement in early reading in schools with high social disadvantage by 2001. e. Consider development of early (0-2 years) language development schemes in conjunction with DHSS by September 2000.
DENI 9 To assist low achieving schools to devise and implement strategies for self- improvement.	a. Support low and underachieving schools through the School Support Programme throughout the period of this Plan. b. Commission and issue a "case study guide" on best practice in school improvement in schools working in areas of social disadvantage by May 2000.

New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DENI 10 To improve educational provision in the lowest achieving schools in disadvantaged areas.	a. Devise a set of "exceptional provisions" for the lowest achieving schools in disadvantaged areas in respect of which a policy decision has been taken that closure is not an option by September 2000.
DENI 11 To improve the quality of teaching in low achieving schools.	a. Monitor the arrangements for the professional development of beginning teachers to ensure that they are equipping teachers with the skills and competencies of particular relevance in low achieving schools. b. With the Education and Library Boards, give priority to teachers (especially Head Teachers) in low achieving schools in the provision of in-service training and professional advice and support by 2001. c. Improve capacity of school Boards of Governors to identify and take action on evidence of unsatisfactory teachers - including Head teachers by June 2000. d. Train teachers of all subjects in low achieving schools in teaching literacy and numeracy by 2002.
DENI 12 To make education more relevant and interesting to pupils in disadvantaged areas.	a. Extend and develop education summer schemes for pupils in disadvantaged areas by May 2000. b. Extend and develop out-of-school-hours provision in disadvantaged areas by 2001. c. Exploit the potential for curricular flexibility in Key Stages 3 and 4 to meet in a more practical way young peoples needs for life after school, and disseminate existing good practice by 2002. d. Investigate barriers to the effective use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) for teaching and learning in low achieving schools by 2002. e. Enhance effectiveness of school library services for children in disadvantaged areas, particularly through ICT by 2002. f. Explore and develop innovative programmes between business and schools which will provide targeted opportunities for skills development of disadvantaged young people by 2001.

New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DENI 13 To contribute to the raising of achievement in disadvantaged areas by improving the quality of school accommodation.	a. Consider feasibility of a New TSN element in criteria for capital priorities by June 2000. b. Develop scheme for supporting New TSN schools (in the School Support Programme) through imaging and or face-lift measures by April 2000.
DENI 14 To encourage greater involvement of parents in childrens learning in low achieving schools.	a. Establish parenting groups - pilot in 1999-2000. b. Identify barriers to parents participation; review and promulgate good practice by June 2000. c. Encourage greater community use of schools in disadvantaged areas for educational purposes by 2001.
DENI 15 To reduce truancy and exclusion from schools in disadvantaged areas and increase pupils participation in education.	a. Support schools through behaviour support teams by end 2000. b. Develop "Cities in Schools" concept (one mentor interfacing with all public sector agencies on behalf of a young person and his or her family) in schools with high social disadvantage by end 2001. c. With the Education and Library Boards, monitor suspension and expulsion rates and develop a policy for intervention by 2001. d. Publish guidance on effective behaviour and discipline policies and strategies by January 2000. e. Promote outreach support for schools and pupils by end 2000. f. By 2001 provide withdrawal units for behaviour management followed by reintegration. g. By 2002 monitor staying-on rates at 16+ in education and training among pupils in disadvantaged areas and develop a policy to improve retention. h. Monitor attainments in statutory assessments and public examinations by pupils from minority ethnic (including Traveller) backgrounds and, if necessary, develop a policy for intervention by 2002.

New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DENI 16 To encourage and sustain high achieving schools in disadvantaged areas.	a. Devise and embed scheme for the development and promulgation of best and innovative practice in schools in disadvantaged areas. Devise scheme in 1999, introduce scheme in 2000.
DENI 17 To promote equality of access to schools for socially disadvantaged pupils.	a. Review impact of schools admission criteria on socially disadvantaged pupils by June 2000.
DENI 18 To ameliorate the disadvantage suffered by pupils in socially disadvantaged families by raising family income and improving the accuracy of DENI targeting through Free School Meal (FSM) entitlement.	With DHSS, Increase awareness of entitlement to free school meals and uptake of the service by: a. Commissioning research to establish existing levels and patterns of FSM entitlement and identify barriers to establishment of entitlement by April 2000. b. Developing an action plan to publicise entitlement and encourage greater uptake by April 2001.
DENI 19 To improve standards of education provision in small schools, particularly in rural areas.	a. By 2002 develop innovative ways to support the breadth and quality in teaching and learning in small schools, particularly in rural areas.

Business Area:	Culture, Arts and Leisure (CAL)
Social need to be tackled:	Social exclusion in the CAL sector
Desired outcome:	Increased access to, and participation in CAL activities
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DENI 20 To increase uptake of museum facilities by socially disadvantaged groups.	a. National Museums and Galleries to increase outreach to schools and community groups in socially disadvantaged areas through its education programmes by March 2001.
DENI 21 To increase access to the arts by people from disadvantaged areas.	a. Arts Council to develop a programme of arts activities in schools and youth centres in socially disadvantaged areas by March 2000. b. Inclusion of a New TSN weighting in funding of community arts by March 2001. c. To assess the impact of arts activity in socially disadvantaged areas by end 2000.
DENI 22 To increase employment opportunities in socially disadvantaged areas.	a. Arts Council and NI Film Commission to increase training in arts skills and promote cultural tourism with particular reference to socially disadvantaged areas by March 2
DENI 23 Support education and learning by people from disadvantaged areas.	a. Library Service to develop and support early learning, reading and literacy projects in socially disadvantaged areas by March 2001. b. Library Service to encourage more adults into Lifelong Learning through learning centres with ICT access to information by March 2002.

New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DENI 24 To quantify social need in sport	DENI in conjunction with Sports Council for Northern Ireland to: a. Define social exclusion in the context of sport by March 2000. b. Establish baseline information against which future action on New TSN may be measured by July 2000. c. Identify barriers to social inclusion by September 2000. d. Develop a social inclusion Action Plan by December 2000.
DENI 25 To target support to those socially excluded from sport.	a. Tackle specific barriers to participation by 2001. b. Identify existing sporting projects and design new pilot projects to increase participation by those socially excluded by 2001. c. Complete evaluation of measures to promote social inclusion by 2002.
DENI 26 To match youth provision to social need.	a. Determine priorities and base funding decisions on the details of the geo-mapping exercise of social need from January 2001.
DENI 27 To increase participation of young people from socially disadvantaged areas in schools Community Relations Programme and youth service support scheme.	a. To establish baseline information and consult relevant partners on how numbers of socially disadvantaged young people participating might be increased by March 2000. b. To implement new strategy by April 2001.
DENI 28 To raise participation in Community Relations programmes in socially disadvantaged areas.	a. To include a New TSN criterion in guidelines for applicants to the Community Relations Core Funding Scheme in time for next funding round by September 2000. b. Establish monitoring system to measure impact by September 2000.

Business Area:	Further and Higher Education
Social need to be tackled:	Low levels of qualifications and basic skills among socially disadvantaged groups or individuals
Desired outcome:	Increased employability among these groups or individuals and raised levels of adult basic skills
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DENI 29 To raise awareness of New TSN within the Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) sectors.	a. Identify key target groups or areas in 2000. b. Identify any additional data requirements and put arrangements in place to collect such data in 2000. c. Seek a common understanding of New TSN objectives and identify particular New TSN targets with the sectors in 2000. d. Include New TSN objectives within institutional development and or strategic planning processes by 2001. e. Review progress towards targets and review policy in 2003.
DENI 30 To improve the targeting and effectiveness of New TSN funding for FE and HE.	a. Embed the New TSN objectives within the FE funding mechanism in 2001. b. Embed access funding within the teaching funding for universities in 2000. c. Review the use of discretionary award funding in 2000. d. Target Access Funds at students in greatest need from 2000. e. Highlight availability within Access Funds of fee remission opportunities for part-time students on low incomes or in receipt of benefit together with additional support for mature students and those entering HE from care from 2000. f. Review success of these measures against targets for widening participation in 2003.

New TSN objectives

Targets or actions and timescales

DENI 31 To promote wider access to FE and HE by
the socially disadvantaged and socially
excluded.

a. Monitor participation in FE by students with learning difficulties or disabilities by end 2000.

b. Monitor participation in FE by students in receipt of specific benefits, or with a spouse or parent in receipt of specific benefits by 2001.

c. Monitor participation in FE by students from disadvantaged areas by 2001.

d. Monitor participation in FE by community background of those students detailed in a-c above by 2001.

e. Develop the FE Access Initiative and encourage the sector to explore a range of approaches to widening access for socially disadvantaged students in 2002.

f. Monitor participation in HE by disabled people, and by social class, both overall and by community background and review policy as appropriate from 2000.

g. Adopt the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Access Initiative as a basis for promoting wider access to university provision by socially disadvantaged people from 2000.

h. Develop local initiatives in HE to widen access on the advice of NI Higher Education Council from 2000.

i. Develop the new campus and outreach facility at Springvale and promote its contribution to increasing access from the local community.

DENI 32 To raise the levels of basic skills among the
adult population in socially disadvantaged
areas.

a. Enhance funding support for adult basic education from 2001.

b. In 2000 create a Basic Skills Unit to promote awareness of basic education and to provide support to practitioners.

c. Support community based initiatives in adult basic education from 2000.

d. Set targets and monitor levels of participation on adult basic education courses by adults from disadvantaged areas from 2001.

e. Review progress and consider implications for policy in 2003.

New TSN objectives

Targets or actions and timescales

DENI 33 To enhance the employability of students
from disadvantaged areas in FE and HE.

a. Establish arrangements for monitoring students qualifications and employment status on entry to FE courses by 2001.

b. By 2001 establish arrangements for monitoring students destinations on leaving FE courses.

c. Monitor the success of students from disadvantaged areas in improving their level of qualification and employment status by 2001.

d. Review the reasons for low retention rates in some FE programmes and promote remedial action in 2001.

e. Provide an impartial regional advice and guidance service for those aged over 19 from 2000.

f. Adopt HEFCE guidance and initiatives as a basis for enhancing employability among university students from 2000.

g. Review progress and consider implications for policy in 2003.

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