The Education Development Plans (Wales) Regulations 2002

PART II FULL PLANS — STATEMENT OF PROPOSALS

Priorities for school improvement

7.  The statement of proposals in a full plan shall—

(a) set out the priorities identified by the authority for raising the standards of education provided for children in the authority’s area during the period of the plan and for improving the performance during that period of schools maintained by the authority, and of pupil referral units and maintained nursery schools in their area;

(b) specify in respect of each of the priorities identified in accordance with paragraph (a) the basis on which it was identified and how it will contribute to achieving the targets referred to in regulation 11;

(c) in respect of each of the priorities identified in accordance with paragraph (a), list the activities the authority propose to undertake during the period of the plan to address that priority;

(d) contain a statement setting out how the authority intend to monitor the performance during the period of the plan of maintained schools, maintained nursery schools and pupil referral units in their area;

(e) contain a statement setting out how the authority intend to identify and support schools giving cause for concern;

(f) set timed, specific and measurable progress targets in respect of each of the authority’s priorities as identified in accordance with paragraph (a); and

(g) contain a statement setting out the steps which the authority propose to take in respect of any actual or expected shortcomings in meeting their targets in the preceding plan, whether full or supplementary.

Pupils with special educational needs

8.  The statement of proposals in a full plan shall—

(a) set out the authority’s policy on the provision of education to pupils with special educational needs;

(b) set out the authority’s policy for provision of education to such pupils in mainstream schools;

(c) specify the authority’s proposals for providing and improving support for pupils with special educational needs during the period of the plan;

(d) specify the authority’s proposals for promoting their policy on inclusion of pupils with special educational needs in mainstream schools during the period of the plan; and

(e) set timed, specific and measurable progress targets in respect of each of the authority’s proposals as identified in accordance with paragraphs (c) and (d).

Promotion of racial awareness

9.  The statement of proposals in the full plan relating to the three school years beginning on 1st September 2005 and in subsequent full plans shall—

(a) set out the authority’s policy on the promotion of racial awareness in schools; and

(b) set out the authority’s strategy for preventing and addressing racism in schools.

Pupils who are children looked after by a local authority

10.  The statement of proposals in a full plan shall—

(a) set out the authority’s policy on the provision of education to pupils who are looked after children; and

(b) specify educational standards which pupils who are looked after children in the authority’s area should be achieving at their maintained schools, and in setting such standards the authority shall have regard to national targets set by the National Assembly for the educational standards to be achieved by such pupils.

Targets

11.—(1) In the statement of proposals in a full plan the authority shall set targets for the first and second years in the period of the plan in connection with the matters referred to in paragraph (2).

(2) The matters referred to in paragraph (1) are—

(a) the achievements of second key stage pupils as set out in regulation 12;

(b) the achievements of third key stage pupils as set out in regulation 13;

(c) the achievements of pupils who will attain the age of 16 years as set out in regulation 14;

(d) the percentage of pupils not entered for examinations as set out in regulation 15;

(e) the number of permanent exclusions as set out in regulation 16;

(f) the number of fixed term exclusions as set out in regulation 17; and

(g) the unauthorised absence rate as set out in regulation 18.

Pupils in the second key stage

12.—(1) The achievements of second key stage pupils referred to in regulation 11 are the achievements set out in paragraph (2) in connection with the performance of the relevant group of such pupils in NC tests to be administered to that group at or near the end of each of the school years in respect of which the target is to be set.

(2) The achievements referred to in paragraph (1) are—

(a) for each of the core subjects, the percentage of pupils to achieve level 4 or above in such tests in that subject;

(b) the percentage of pupils to achieve the core subject indicator in such tests;

(c) the percentage of girls to achieve the core subject indicator in such tests; and

(d) the percentage of boys to achieve the core subject indicator in such tests.

(3) In this regulation, “the relevant group of such pupils”, in relation to a school year, means all persons who the authority estimate will, in that school year—

(a) be registered pupils at a school maintained by the authority, and

(b) be in the final year of the second key stage.

Pupils in the third key stage

13.—(1) The achievements of third key stage pupils referred to in regulation 11 are the achievements set out in paragraph (2) in connection with the performance of the relevant group of such pupils in NC tests to be administered to that group at or near the end of each of the school years in respect of which the target is to be set.

(2) The achievements referred to in paragraph (1) are—

(a) for each of the core subjects, the percentage of pupils to achieve level 5 or above in such tests in that subject;

(b) the percentage of pupils to achieve the core subject indicator in such tests;

(c) the percentage of girls to achieve the core subject indicator in such tests; and

(d) the percentage of boys to achieve the core subject indicator in such tests.

(3) In this regulation, “the relevant group of such pupils”, in relation to a school year, means all persons who the authority estimate will, in that school year—

(a) be registered pupils at a school maintained by the authority, and

(b) be in the final year of the third key stage.

Pupils who will attain the age of 16 years

14.—(1) The achievements of pupils who will attain the age of 16 years referred to in regulation 11 are the achievements referred to in paragraph (2) in connection with the performance of the relevant group of pupils who will attain the age of 16 years in examinations by the end of each of the school years in respect of which the targets are being set.

(2) The achievements referred to in paragraph (1) are—

(a) the percentage of pupils to achieve the core subject indicator;

(b) the percentage of girls to achieve the core subject indicator;

(c) the percentage of boys to achieve the core subject indicator;

(d) the percentage of pupils to achieve any grade from A* to C in five or more subjects in GCSE examinations;

(e) the percentage of pupils to achieve any grade from A* to G in five or more subjects in GCSE examinations; and

(f) the percentage of pupils to leave school without either achieving any grade from A* to G in GCSE examinations or passing any ELQ examinations.

(3) The references to pupils—

(a) achieving particular grades in GCSE examinations in paragraph (2)(d), (e) and (f) shall be construed for the purpose of those provisions so as to include references to pupils achieving corresponding awards in an equivalent number of vocational qualifications or GCSE short course examinations; and

(b) leaving school in paragraph (2)(f) do not include pupils transferring to another educational institution on a full-time basis.

(4) The Schedule shall have effect for determining, for the purposes of this regulation, questions as to—

(a) which vocational qualification award corresponds to which GCSE examination grade;

(b) the equivalency between GCSE examination results and vocational qualifications; and

(c) the equivalency between GCSE examination results and GCSE short course examination results.

(5) In this regulation and in regulation 15, “the relevant group of pupils who will attain the age of 16 years”, in relation to a school year, means all persons who the authority estimate—

(a) will on the Schools' Census enumeration date in that school year be registered pupils at a school maintained by the authority, and

(b) will attain the age of 16 during that school year.

15.  The percentage of pupils not entered for examinations referred to in regulation 11 is the percentage of the relevant group of pupils who will attain the age of 16 years, as defined in regulation 14, in the authority’s area who are not to be entered for any GCSE examination, GCSE short course examination, vocational qualification award or ELQ.

Targets for permanent exclusions

16.—(1) The number of permanent exclusions referred to in regulation 11 is the maximum number of occasions on which the authority estimate pupils will be permanently excluded from schools maintained by the authority, other than any school situated in a hospital.

(2) In this regulation and in regulation 17, “excluded” shall be interpreted in accordance with section 64(4) of the 1998 Act.

Targets for fixed term exclusions

17.  The fixed term exclusions referred to in regulation 11 are—

(a) the maximum total number of days for which, and

(b) the maximum total number of occasions on which,

the authority estimate that pupils will be excluded for a fixed term from schools maintained by the authority, other than any school situated in a hospital.

Targets for unauthorised absences

18.—(1) The unauthorised absence rate referred to in regulation 11 is the unauthorised absence rate for each of the school years in respect of which the target is being set, in schools maintained by the authority which provide secondary education, other than special schools and any school situated in a hospital.

(2) In this regulation—

(a) “the unauthorised absence rate”, in relation to an authority and to any school year, means the total number of unauthorised absences from schools maintained by the authority in the applicable period during that year, expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible attendances in that period;

(b) “unauthorised absence” means an occasion on which a relevant day pupil is registered as absent from school without authority pursuant to the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 1995(1);

(c) “the total number of possible attendances”, in relation to an authority and to any school year, means the number produced by multiplying the number of relevant day pupils at schools maintained by the authority by the number of school sessions in the applicable period in that year;

(d) “relevant day pupil”, in relation to a school and to a school year, means a pupil registered at that school apart from—

(i) a boarder, or

(ii) a pupil who, before the beginning of that school year, either has not attained the age of ten years and six months, or has attained the age of sixteen years;

(e) “the applicable period”, in relation to a school year, means the period starting with the beginning of that year and finishing with the end of the school day falling on the Friday before the last Monday in May in that year; and

(f) “secondary education” has the meaning given to it in section 2(2) of the 1996 Act.

Information used by an authority in the setting of targets

19.  The statement of proposals in a full plan shall—

(a) describe the way in which each of the targets for any year set by the authority by virtue of regulation 11 relate to any corresponding targets for that year set by the governing bodies of schools maintained by that authority by virtue of the 1999 Regulations;

(b) describe the way in which the authority engage with schools maintained by the authority to assist the governing bodies of such schools to set the targets they are required to set by virtue of the 1999 Regulations, including a description of the information given by the authority to such governing bodies to assist them to set those targets;

(c) describe the way in which each of the targets for any year set by the authority by virtue of regulation 11 relate to any national targets which the National Assembly has set for maintained schools in Wales; and

(d) summarise the information used by the authority in setting the targets referred to in regulation 11.

(1)

S.I. 1995/2089, as amended by S.I. 1997/2624, S.I. 1999/2267 and S.I. 2001/1109 (W.53).