As part of being a corporate parent for our children looked after, (CLA) the Virtual School service within the Slough Children’s Services Trust support Slough’s CLA to achieve their potential, wherever they go to school.
Schools are funded by the government through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). Each local authority will have a Schools Forum who advise the council on the allocation of the DSG. Members of Schools Forum are either headteachers or governors in Slough Schools. Further information about Slough Schools Forum can be found here. (Add link to Schools Forum page on council website).
The school Effectiveness service (school improvement element) consists of a small core group and a team of consultants, some of whom work up to 3 days a week in Slough:
There are a number of National Leaders of Education (NLEs) and Specialist Leaders of Education (SLEs) in Slough. NLE profiles can be downloaded below; further information about SLEs can be found on the Slough Teaching School Alliance website at www.stsa.online by following the link from the home page to School Support.
Slough Borough Council works closely with the Slough Teaching School Alliance and a brief insight into who the STSA are and what they do can be seen below. For more detailed information on the STSA please visit www.stsa.online
There are a variety of ways that school to school support is facilitated in the LA. The Slough Teaching School Alliance plays a key role in providing training and CPD for schools and also in keeping an inventory of NLEs and SLEs that schools can tap into when needed. The LA Autumn Term Visits are designed to capture best practice at schools and then share that information at the Slough School Improvement Board (SSIB) in order that schools can see what local expertise exists and how best to use it. The Local School Improvement Fund has been set up in collaboration with STSA in order to encourage schools to work together and facilitate the school led improvement system.
The proportion of good and outstanding schools in Slough is 87% which is 2% below the national average (equal to one school). Standards in key measures are above national average in EYFS, Key Stage 2 and significantly above the national average at Key Stage 4. Standards at KS5 are just below the national average at Post-16 for A-Level and Applied General Entry, but above the national average for pupils attaining AAB in facilitating subjects.
In 2014 the Slough Children and Young People’s Partnership Board (CYPPB) approved the implementation of an elected Youth Parliament for Slough. Building on the existing Youth Cabinet, which was made up of young people nominated to sit on the group, the CYPPB was keen for young people in Slough to have a truly representative group, democratically chosen by young people, which was able to influence decision making across the town. The Young People’s Service was charged with taking this forward as part of the wider Youth Voice agenda and worked closely with schools to implement the borough’s first elected Youth Parliament in January 2015.