Meeting documents

1. The purpose of this report is to provide an end of year performance update (2005/06) for Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs) and Public Library Service Standards (PLSSs) relevant to our Corporate Aim, Developing Lifelong Learning.

2. The end of year performance 05/06 for BVPIs and PLSSs aligned to Developing Lifelong Learning is available in Appendix A.

3. There are 26 BVPIs and 12 PLSSs relevant to our Corporate Aim, Developing Lifelong Learning. Comparison of the final outturn of 2005/06 to the final outturn of 2004/05 shows that 13 indicators improved performance, 12 deteriorated, 7 remained static and 6 had no comparative data (reasons for this include amendments to the definition during 2005/06). Of those indicators that had a target set for 2005/06, 19 (53%) met the target and 17 (47%) did not.

Performance	BVPI
Improved	38 - 5 or more A*-C GCSE 39 - 5 A*-G GCSEs including English and Maths 40 - Level 4 at KS2 Maths 41 - Level 4 at KS2 English 43b - SEN 45 - % half days missed - secondary (T) 50 - Children looked after - 1 A*-G GCSE 170a - Visits to / usage of museums (T) 170c - Pupils visiting museums and galleries (T) 181b - Level 5 / 5+ KS3 Maths 181c - Level 5 / 5+ KS3 Science 194b - Level 5 KS2 Maths (T) PLSS07 - % users >16 - libraries good / very good (T)
Static	34b - % Secondary schools >= 0.25% surplus places 43a - SEN PLSS01 - Households within 2 miles of library (T) PLSS03 - Static libraries with internet (T) PLSS05iii - % requests met within 30 days (T) PLSS08 - % users PLSS10 - Replenish time - total lending stock (T)
Deteriorated	34a - % primary schools >=25% surplus places (T) 46 - % half days missed - primary (T) 170b - visits to / usage of museums 181a - Level 5 / 5+ in KS3 English 181d - Level 5 / 5+ in KS3 ICT 194a - Level 5 KS2 English PLSS02 - Scheduled opening hours per 1,000 population (T) PLSS04 - No of workstations per 10,000 population (T) PLSS05i -% requests met within 7 days (T) PLSS05ii - % requests met within 15 days (T) PLSS06 - Physical visits to libraries per 1,000 population PLSS09 - Annual items added per 1,000 population (T)
No comparative data	BV159 - Alternative tuition =>21 hours (T) BV220 - Library standards checklist BV221a - Youth work: recorded outcomes BV221b - Youth work - accredited outcomes BV222a - Quality EY&C leadership - leaders BV222b - Quality EY&C leadership - postgraduate

4. The performance of a number of indicators improved since 2004/05. Of particular note:

• BV 38 - 5 or more A*-C GCSE. 51.3% of 15 year old pupils in schools maintained by the local authority achieved 5 or more A*-C GCSEs. This is a significant improvement on the previous year’s results. The 2005/06 target was not met but was set to be challenging to reflect the authority’s drive toward the national average.
• BV 39 - 5 A*-G GCSEs including English and Maths . 86.3% of 15 year old pupils achieved 5 A*-G GCSEs including English and Maths. This is an improvement on 2004/05 outturn and reflects the authority’s continuing progress toward the national average.
• BV 40 - Level 4 at KS2 Maths. 77.2% of pupils achieved level 4 or above in key stage 2 Maths during 2005/06. This increase from 2004/05 is in line with the national average.
• BV 41 - Level 4 at KS2 English . 78.7% of pupils achieved level 4 or above in key stage 2 English during 2005/06. This increase is in line with the national average.
• BV 43a / 43b - Statements of Special Educational Need. 100% of proposed statements of Special Educational Need issued by the authority were prepared within 18 weeks.
• BV 45 - % half days missed - secondary schools. There has been a slight improvement in the performance of this indicator during 2005/06 compared to 2004/05 and performance is better than target. Activity to improve attendance and reduce absence in schools is fully detailed and monitored in the Single Education Plan.
• BV 50 - Children looked after - 1 A*-G GCSE. This indicator has shown an improvement since 2004/05 (from 53% to 58%).
• BV 170a - Visits to / usage of museums per 1,000 population. Visits to / usage of museums increased by 5.2% during 2005/06 (compared to 2004/05). Approximately 10% of this increase can be attributed to the new redesigned website of Killhope.
• BV 170c - Pupils visiting museums and galleries. The number of pupils visiting museums and galleries in organised school groups increased by 16.4% during 2005/06. This increase is largely due to an increase in the number of pupil visits to Bowes museum (almost double previous years).
• BV 181b - Level 5 / 5+ KS3 Maths. 73.02% of pupils achieved level 5 or above in key stage 3 Maths, higher than in 2004/05. This increase is greater than the progress made nationally and is closing the gap between Durham County and the national average.
• BV 181c - Level 5 / 5+ KS3 Science. 69.04% of pupils achieved level 5 or above in key stage 3 Science, higher than in 2004/05. This improvement has taken D urham County closer to the national average.
• BV 194b - Level 5 KS2 Maths. The number of pupils achieving Level 5 in key stage 2 Maths is in line with the 2005/06 target.
• PLSS 07 - % users >16 - libraries good / very good . The number of users that rate libraries as good or very good has increased to 97.4%.

5. The performance of a number of indicators deteriorated since 2004/05. Of particular note:

• BV 34a / b - schools >=25% surplus places. Within secondary schools this indicator has remained static. Within primary schools, the percentage increased slightly but not as much as anticipated. The authority has recently approved a 5 year planned programme for school reorganisation to remove surplus places, ensuring that education is provided in a cost effective way by avoiding spending money on schools with empty places. In addition to removing surplus places, the alternative use of school premises was looked at. The authority is also involved in the national Building Schools for the Future (BSF) program for Secondary Schools and surplus spaces will be removed through school re-organisations as part of that process.
• BV 46 - % half days missed - primary . There has been a slight deterioration in the performance of this indicator during 2005/06 compared to 2004/05. However, performance is better than target .
• BV 170b - visits to museums in person per 1,000 population. The number of visits to museums in person has decreased during 2005/06. A proportion of this decrease can be attributed to decreases in visitor numbers to Bowes Museum (down from 120,000 to 106,000) and Killhope (down from 26,000 to 21,000). However, it should be noted that DLI had increased visitor numbers, surpassing the 40,000 visitor mark for the first time. One possible explanation for the poor performance (following 3 years of growth) throughout 2005/06 is the date of Easter during 2005. This had the effect of placing 2 Easters during 2004/05 and none during 2005/06. Another reason was the poor weather at the beginning of 2006.
• BV 181a - Level 5 / 5+ in KS3 English. 70.22% of pupils achieved level 5 or above in KS3 English, fewer than in 2004/05. A thorough analysis of test outcomes in English has enabled specialist inspector and strategy consultants to develop support and intervention programmes for schools where underperformance was most marked.
• BV 181d - Level 5 / 5+ in KS3 ICT . 2005/06 performance at level 5 or above of KS3 ICT has deteriorated slightly since 2004/05. However, this decrease, although in line with the national trend, is slower than other authorities so Durham County is close to the national average. ICT outcomes are the result of teacher assessment and the authority is reviewing curriculum and assessment procedures to ensure future improvement.
• BV 194a - Level 5 KS2 English. Performance has decreased during 2005/06 (from 25% to 24%). There has been some underperformance by boys at level 5 and limited progress has been made compared to the previous year. As part of the Single Education Plan priority for raising achievement at KS2, the Authority carefully targets national strategy intervention programmes at schools where conversion rates from KS1 Level 3 to KS2 Level 5 are below expectations. Implementation and outcomes from these programmes are evaluated through the authority’s MII (monitoring, intervention, improvement) procedures.
• PLSS 02 - Scheduled opening hours per 1,000 population. Although opening hours have decreased since 2004/05, 2005/06 performance is 26.6% above the required standard.
• PLSS 04 - No of workstations per 10,000 population. It appears that there has been a slight deterioration in performance of this indicator (by 0.04 per 10,000 population). However, this change is entirely due to an increase in population. The number of workstations has remained constant at 346 since 2004/05. Performance is 16% better than the national standard.
• PLSS 05i -% requests met within 7 days. 61% of requests were met within 7 days, lower than the previous year. However, it is 11 percentage points above the national standard.
• PLSS 05ii - % requests met within 15 days. 75% of requests were met within 15 days, lower than the previous year. However, it is 5 percentage points above the required standard.
• PLSS 06 - Physical visits to libraries per 1,000 population. 2005/06 performance was 2,432,703 visits, a decrease of 0.74% since 2004/05 and is 25.8% below the national standard.
• PLSS 09 - Annual items added per 1,000 population. 111,548 items of stock were added during 2005/06. Although slightly lower than 2004/05, it is above the required standard.

i. note the contents of this report
ii. agree to receiving subsequent quarterly performance progress reports

Contact: Debra Kitching Tel: 0191 383 4186