Focus on: Skills and Qualifications

September 2017

Summary

Overall with performs above the national average on the Progress 8 measure of attainment at Key Stage 4, although there are significant differences between progress in the borough’s schools. On overall attainment, the borough scores 50.3, just above the all average score of 48.5. After secondary education, a greater proportion of the borough’s young people stay on in full time education or training and a smaller proportion in apprenticeships, compared to Lancashire Local Education Authority (LEA). On average, a lower proportion of students who study A Levels in schools and colleges achieve top grades compared to the England average.

Working age residents of the borough have on average lower levels of higher level qualifications and a greater proportion have no qualifications; although the gap to the regional and national averages with no qualifications is narrowing. The UK wide Employer Skills Survey estimates that of the job vacancies in the borough a lower proportion than regionally and nationally are due to skills shortages.

Qualifications – Key Stage 4 The measure of attainment at Key Stage 4 (KS4) has seen a number of changes over recent years and is now moving away from the use of GCSE attainment to Progress 8 and Attainment 8 as the key measures.

Progress 81 Progress 8 scores are only published for mainstream schools e.g. those classed as maintained or academies. They aim to measure how much progress pupils at each school make between the end of Key Stage 2 (KS2) and the end of Key Stage 4 (KS4), compared to pupils across England who got similar results at the end of KS 22. The average for mainstream schools in England is 0. Overall in 2015/16, Blackburn with Darwen is measured to be performing above national average, scoring 0.11. However, performance varies between schools with the top performing schools scoring well above, or above average being:

School name Score – 2015/16 Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School () 1.37 (well above national average) Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School (Academy) 1.15 (well above national average) 0.25 (above national average)

Schools in the borough performing below average on this measure are: School name Score – 2015/16 Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio (Academy) -2.01 (well below national average) (Academy) -0.5 (below national average)

1 Source: DfE https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase®ion=889&geographic=la&phase=secondary https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2015-to-2016 (Main local authority tables: SFR03/2017) 2 For definitions, further information and calculation of Progress 8 please see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/progress-8-school-performance-measure Attainment 83 In addition to Progress 8, the Attainment 8 scores are based on how well pupils have performed in up to 8 qualifications. Attainment 8 scores are available for independent schools in addition to mainstream schools.

School performance tables highlight that in 2015/16 with a score of 50.3, the borough sits just above the average for state funded schools only (49.9) and above the all England schools average (48.5). Attainment 8 scores for the borough increased from 47.5 in 2014/15 to 50.3. This suggests a greater rate of improvement compared to the all England average increase from 47.5 to 48.5.

Schools with an Attainment 8 score above the borough average are:

School name Score – 2015/16 Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School (Academy) 64.8 Jamiatul-Ilm Wal-Huda UK School (Independent) 64.2 (Independent) 62.9 Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School (Academy) 61.8 Islamiyah School (Independent) 59.9 Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School (Academy) 58.3 St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn (Maintained) 54.3 St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy (Academy) 52.9 Markazul Uloom (Independent) 52.4

GCSEs4

Whilst Attainment 8 and Progress 8 are now the key measures of progress at KS4 these are relatively new measures and historical data is limited. GCSE data is presented below as this provides comparative results over a longer time period. As there have been numerous changes to how GCSE attainment is measured, this needs to be borne in mind when considering the results5.

Whilst different measures of attainment are available, the focus of this section will be on the percentage of pupils achieving 5+ A* to C grades including English and mathematics.

Results for schools located within Blackburn with Darwen show that from 2009/10 to 2013/14 GCSE attainment in the borough has tracked below the figure for the North West and total for the state funded sector. In recent years, attainment in the borough has seen an upward trajectory, suggesting improvement in the borough’s state funded schools at a rate greater than regionally and for the state-funded sector as a whole.

3 Source: DfE https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase®ion=889&geographic=la&phase=secondary https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2015-to-2016 (Main local authority tables: SFR03/2017)

4 Source: DfE https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2015-to-2016 (Main local authority tables: SFR03/2017 andCharacteristics local authority tables: SFR03/2017 ) https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase®ion=889&geographic=la&phase=secondary 5 Major reforms were undertaken in 2013/14 for further detail please see the source document links Percentage of pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieving at GCSE and equivalents: 5+ A*-C grades including English and mathematics GCSEs

Percentage of pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieving at GCSE and equivalents: 5+ A*-C grades including English and mathematics GCSEs

2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 % % % % % % % Total 55.3 58.4 59.1 60.8 56.8 57.3 57.7 (state-funded sector) England * 53.5 59.0 59.4 59.2 53.4 53.8 53.5 North West 55.2 58.4 58.9 59.9 55.8 55.9 56.6 Blackburn with Darwen 51.9 56.9 57.0 59.5 54.6 56.9 59.8 * Includes all pupils from state-funded schools, independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision. Alternative provision includes academy and free school alternative provision.

Data based on the residence of the pupil, rather than the location of the school, also identifies that students in the borough perform well, with 59.0% achieving 5+ A*-C grades including English and mathematics GCSEs.

Young people - participation in education and training6

Following the completion of education, from 2015 it was made compulsory for 16 to 18 year olds to be participating in education or training. Formal education is not the only option for those who have left school.

In order to monitor take up of post 16 education, local authorities have a responsibility to track young people's participation in education or training. They do this through the exchange of information with schools and colleges, other youth services and through direct contact with young people. Information about a young person's activity is recorded on a client database, an extract from which is used to prepare the following statistical information.

There are a proportion of young people whose activity is not recorded, which as of June 2016, stands at 5.0% in Blackburn with Darwen (higher than the North West figure of 3.3%).

6 Source: DfE https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/participation-in-education-and-training-by-local-authority In total 89.0% of 16 to 17 year olds were recorded as being in education and training within the borough, slightly below regional (90.3%) and national (91.0%) averages; the greatest proportion of which were in full time education and training. This compares to the Lancashire Local education Authority (LEA) area where 78.6% are in full time education and training and 7.8% in apprenticeships, with overall 88.8% in education and training.

Proportion of 16-17 year olds recorded in education and training, June 2016, type of activity

16 to 18 Attainment7

Focusing on those who stay in education post 16, a range of data are available to measure attainment in providers in the borough. This data is predominantly presented using the location of the school or college, as opposed to being based on the residence of the student.

For A level results in 2015/16, only 5.1% of those studying in Blackburn with Darwen achieve AAB or higher in at least 2 facilitating subjects8. This is lower than the England average for all schools/colleges (17.0%) and England state funded institutions 13.9%.

The schools and colleges in the borough with the highest percentage achieving AAB or higher in at least 2 facilitating subjects:

School name % Westholme School (Independent) 25.7 Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School (Academy) 9.7 St Wilfrid’s Church of England Academy 8.8 Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School (Academy) 7.1

None of the borough’s schools or colleges providing further education were identified as performing above average on their progress score, and whilst there is variation between institutions, 89.2% of students in Blackburn with Darwen Schools and Colleges were recorded as completing their main study programme compared to 96.1% in state funded schools nationally.

7 Source: DfE https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase®ion=889&geographic=la&phase=16to18 https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-attainment-at-19-years 8 Facilitating A levels are ones that are commonly needed for entry to leading universities. They are: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Geography, History, English Literature and Classical or Modern Languages. GCE A level and equivalent results of state-funded students aged 16 to 18, percentage of students achieving grades AAB or better at GCE A level, Applied GCE A level and Double Award A level

GCE A level and equivalent results of state-funded students aged 16 to 18, percentage of students achieving grades AAB or better at GCE A level, Applied GCE A level and Double Award A level 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 % % % % % State-funded sector 16.8 16.7 16.1 15.9 18.5 North West 17.2 17.2 16.3 16.0 19.0 Blackburn with Darwen 9.4 7.9 10.1 12.1 10.4

Vocational qualification results for the borough, as recorded in the applied general qualifications performance identified that two state funded institutions were performing above average on the progress score:

School name Score 2015/16 Darwen Aldridge Academy 0.87 (Above national average) Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School (Academy) 0.52 (Above national average)

However, overall the average point score for institutions within the borough offering these qualifications (33.75) was just below the England average for all state funded schools (34.67) and all schools in England (34.70). For borough institutions as a whole 83.0% of students completed their main programme of study, compared to 87.9% of students in state funded schools and colleges in England.

Qualifications – in the population as a whole9

The proportion of working age (16 to 64) residents in the borough who have a level 410 qualification or above has seen a gradual increase in recent years, currently standing at 28.0% compared to 21.9% in 2011. This gradual increase mirrors the regional trend, however the borough figure remains below the regional level.

Percentage of residents of working age (16 to 64) qualified to NVQ4 level and above Local authorities with the highest proportion of the population qualified to NVQ Level 4 and above are Chorley (49.6%), Fylde (43.9%) and Ribble Valley (41.5%). Authorities with levels lower than Blackburn with Darwen were Blackpool (25.7%), Burnley (25.7%), West Lancashire (25.4%) and Hyndburn (25.3%).

Percentage of residents of working age (16 to 64) qualified to NVQ4 level and above Jan 2011- Jan 2012- Jan 2013- Jan 2014- Jan 2015- Jan 2016- Dec 2011 Dec 2012 Dec 2013 Dec 2014 Dec 2015 Dec 2016 North West 28.8 30.2 30.9 30.9 32.6 34.0 Blackburn with Darwen 21.9 23.3 25.2 23.5 25.6 28.0

Percentage of residents of working age (16 to 64) qualified to degree level or above

In addition to NVQ qualification, data is also available to estimate the level of the population qualified to degree level or above. Around a fifth of borough residents in the borough have this level of qualification, the highest levels are found in Ribble Valley (36.1%) and Chorley (36.9%).

9 Source: ONS Annual Population Survey http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/livelinks/13766.xlsx http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/livelinks/13911.xlsx 10 Level 4 qualifications include Higher National Certificates and Certificates of Higher Education Compared to other districts in Lancashire, the borough has the third highest percentage with no qualifications (12.7%) with Hyndburn (13.7%) and Rossendale (18.2%) having a greater percentage.

Percentage of residents of working age (16 to 64) with no qualifications

Although still above the regional and national figures, the proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in the borough with no qualifications has been decreasing over time with the gap to the regional and national figures narrowing.

Employer Skills Survey11

The national Employer Skills Survey undertaken in 2015 and through interviews with 176 employers12 in the borough provides some information on employers perceptions of skills in their business. The 2017 survey is currently underway and results will be available in summer 2018.

Percentage of vacancies which are Skills shortage vacancies due to skills shortages The survey estimates that 17% of business establishments in the borough have vacancies, which is on a par with Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and North West figures (17% and 18% respectively). Around 3% of businesses in 24% 21% 23% Blackburn with Darwen stated that they had a skills shortage vacancy (which is due to a shortage of skills or experience that 5% the employer is looking for), just below (but not at a BwD Lancashire North West England LEP statistically significant level) Lancashire LEP (5%) the North West (4%) and England (6%). Nationally, the percentage of vacancies which are due to skill shortages is around 23% with similar proportions in the region and in the Lancashire LEP. At 5% the borough has one of the lowest densities of skills shortage vacancies of the local authorities in England.

Employee skills gaps

11 Source: UK Commission for Employment and Skills https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukces-employer-skills-survey-2015-england-and-local-toolkit 12 As the sample of employers is small the confidence intervals for the survey data are quite large. Based on a 50% response rate, confidence for Blackburn with Darwen results is +/- 7.4%, Lancashire LEP +/- 2.3%, North West 1.1% and England +/- 0.4%. The percentage of businesses in the borough who identified that they had staff which were not fully proficient at 21%, was higher (but not significantly) than Lancashire LEP (17%) and region (14%). Expressed as a proportion of staff, around 6% were estimated to be not fully proficient, again not significantly higher than Lancashire LEP (4%) or the North West (5%). The main cause of the skills gap most prevalent in Blackburn with Darwen was the ‘development of new products and services’. On the flip side, 30% of establishments identified that they had underutilised staff in their business, similar to Lancashire LEP (26%) and North West figures (26%) and on a par with England as a whole (30%).

Training The proportion of establishments stating that their staff had received some training in the 12 months prior to the survey was at 73% in Blackburn with Darwen, above (but not statistically significantly) the Lancashire LEP (65%) and North West figures (65%). It was estimated that on average a trainee in the borough received 20 days of training, compared to 8 days in Lancashire LEP and 7 in the North West .The number of training days per trainee was the highest of all Local Education Authorities (LEAs) in England. Whilst it would appear a larger proportion of the boroughs employers are offering training, it is estimated the percentage of staff being trained (56%) is below the Lancashire LEP (64%) and North West (69%) figures. This may be because employers with smaller numbers of staff are providing more training than companies with more staff.