Poorer primary school students narrow Sats test gap

Children from disadvantaged families in England are slowly closing the gap with their better-off peers in primary school attainment, although children from better-off backgrounds are more likely to get top results, according to new figures.

A detailed breakdown of results from key stage two national tests – known as Sats – taken in the final year of primary school show that 51% of children eligible for free school meals met the government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared with 70% of other pupils, a slightly narrower gap than in previous years.

While the proportion of disadvantaged children reaching a higher standard in reading, writing and maths has doubled since 2016, the rate has only increased from 2% to 4%. But for other children the proportion increased from 7% to 12% this year.

 Read more via The Guardian

Season’s Greetings from all at Herts for Learning

As we approach the end of the autumn term and head towards the festive period, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on some of the highlights and successes of the past year.

Everything we do at HfL is aimed at helping the schools and education settings that we work with to deliver a great education for all children, whatever their background and circumstances.

I am delighted that Hertfordshire remains ahead in both national results and those of our statistical neighbours for the number of schools rated good and outstanding by Ofsted, and indeed for key pupil outcome metrics at all stages of education from Early Years through to Key Stage 5. These results could not have been achieved without close collaboration and partnership working between HfL staff, schools and educational settings, and Hertfordshire County Council.

This partnership lies at the heart of our work and enables us to continue to deliver improved outcomes for children across the county.

Read the full message from Andrew de Csilléry, Managing Director - Herts for Learning Ltd. via Herts for Learning

Police tackle knife crime at Stevenage secondary school

Police officers have asked pupils at a Stevenage secondary school to walk through a knife arch, designed to detect concealed metal objects, in a bid to tackle a rise in crimes involving knives.

In the first event of its kind, Herts police ran an anti-knife crime initiative at The Nobel School, which involved all Year 10 pupils entering the school via a knife arch before listening to presentations by officers.

Knife crime in Hertfordshire has increased by 44 per cent in the last three years.

Nationally, Herts has seen the largest proportional increase in the UK during this time.

Read more via The Comet