Education & Skills Strategy

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Photo of children and young people

Overview

A new Strategy is currently being developed for Education & Skills to outline how West Sussex County Council will support children and young people in their learning journey from Early Years to Adulthood.

The Council wants to work collectively with all stakeholders over the next three years to support all West Sussex children and young people to achieve the best outcomes and opportunities for future education, employment or training.

The new Education & Skills Strategy will meet the priorities and outcomes in our Council Plan 2021-25 and closely align with the improvement programme across the broader Children, Young People and Learning Department.

The new strategy will also respond to national changes in policy and practice and local issues and priorities, some of which have been compounded by the Coronavirus pandemic since 2020.

Why we are consulting

The Education & Skills Strategy will provide leadership and foster a common vision in West Sussex. Our education provision needs to respond to local contexts, secure greater consistency and inclusivity so we meet needs, promote outcomes and overcome key challenges.

There are eight key challenges that we are facing:

  • Academic success and educational outcomes have improved in recent years, but are still not high enough. Some families face particular challenges which puts them at a disadvantage. The impact of the Covid has interrupted learning and the confidence of many children and young people.
  • The opportunities and quality of provision for children and young people varies across the county. This results in 'inequality of access' depending on where they live in the county and that young person's starting point and interests.
  • Even before children reach school age, the difference between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children in their readiness for school is greater in West Sussex than it is with our neighbours.
  • Removing the barriers to academic success for some children and young people are complex and require the engagement of many partners.
  • Pathways and provision for students after 16 years vary across the county. There can be limited opportunities in some parts meaning students have to travel to find the courses they want to study.
  • Some of our most vulnerable young people continue to be at risk of criminal exploitation, exclusion or harm.
  • The current number of specialist placements in our maintained schools and academies will not meet the escalating needs. In the future this will lead to children having to travel out of their local communities or attending private schools.
  • The proportion of surplus places in our primary schools is increasing as the birth rate falls and building projects slow down. This places pressure on schools to retain staff and manage the needs of all children with dwindling resources.

The following survey aims to identify the top priorities for educational and learning provision over the next three years. By responding you will ensure that the Council considers your priorities and we have the right discussions to develop a common vision and strategy. Your feedback will help inform topics for engagement sessions to deep dive into the concerns and identify future strategies.

The County Council wants to listen to the views of everyone that is involved. We invite you to respond to the engagement survey before 3rd April 2022.


Accessibility statement

If you require any of the information for this project in an alternative format, please contact the 0330 222 3159 or via email at EducationandSkills@westsussex.gov.uk and we will do our best to assist you. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and have an NGT texting app installed on your computer, laptop or smartphone, you can contact us on 18001 0330 222 3159.

We are committed to making this website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Please view the West Sussex County Council Accessibility Statement for further details. Information about the accessibility of the Your Voice Engagement Hub can be found by clicking on the 'Accessibility tab' which can be found right at the bottom of this page. Where it exists, we will provide details of any project related content which is not fully accessible under a heading of 'Non-accessible content' below.

Non-accessible items

  • Adobe Acrobat Reader (.pdf) West Sussex map of educational provision statistics by district and borough (Maps are exempt)

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us at haveyoursay@westsussex.gov.uk.

Survey web browser compatibility

Please use one of the browsers below when completing the survey to ensure it looks and works as it should. These are

· Chrome version 86 and above

· Firefox version 78 and above

· Microsoft Edge version 86 and above

· Safari version 14 and above

Overview

A new Strategy is currently being developed for Education & Skills to outline how West Sussex County Council will support children and young people in their learning journey from Early Years to Adulthood.

The Council wants to work collectively with all stakeholders over the next three years to support all West Sussex children and young people to achieve the best outcomes and opportunities for future education, employment or training.

The new Education & Skills Strategy will meet the priorities and outcomes in our Council Plan 2021-25 and closely align with the improvement programme across the broader Children, Young People and Learning Department.

The new strategy will also respond to national changes in policy and practice and local issues and priorities, some of which have been compounded by the Coronavirus pandemic since 2020.

Why we are consulting

The Education & Skills Strategy will provide leadership and foster a common vision in West Sussex. Our education provision needs to respond to local contexts, secure greater consistency and inclusivity so we meet needs, promote outcomes and overcome key challenges.

There are eight key challenges that we are facing:

  • Academic success and educational outcomes have improved in recent years, but are still not high enough. Some families face particular challenges which puts them at a disadvantage. The impact of the Covid has interrupted learning and the confidence of many children and young people.
  • The opportunities and quality of provision for children and young people varies across the county. This results in 'inequality of access' depending on where they live in the county and that young person's starting point and interests.
  • Even before children reach school age, the difference between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children in their readiness for school is greater in West Sussex than it is with our neighbours.
  • Removing the barriers to academic success for some children and young people are complex and require the engagement of many partners.
  • Pathways and provision for students after 16 years vary across the county. There can be limited opportunities in some parts meaning students have to travel to find the courses they want to study.
  • Some of our most vulnerable young people continue to be at risk of criminal exploitation, exclusion or harm.
  • The current number of specialist placements in our maintained schools and academies will not meet the escalating needs. In the future this will lead to children having to travel out of their local communities or attending private schools.
  • The proportion of surplus places in our primary schools is increasing as the birth rate falls and building projects slow down. This places pressure on schools to retain staff and manage the needs of all children with dwindling resources.

The following survey aims to identify the top priorities for educational and learning provision over the next three years. By responding you will ensure that the Council considers your priorities and we have the right discussions to develop a common vision and strategy. Your feedback will help inform topics for engagement sessions to deep dive into the concerns and identify future strategies.

The County Council wants to listen to the views of everyone that is involved. We invite you to respond to the engagement survey before 3rd April 2022.


Accessibility statement

If you require any of the information for this project in an alternative format, please contact the 0330 222 3159 or via email at EducationandSkills@westsussex.gov.uk and we will do our best to assist you. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and have an NGT texting app installed on your computer, laptop or smartphone, you can contact us on 18001 0330 222 3159.

We are committed to making this website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Please view the West Sussex County Council Accessibility Statement for further details. Information about the accessibility of the Your Voice Engagement Hub can be found by clicking on the 'Accessibility tab' which can be found right at the bottom of this page. Where it exists, we will provide details of any project related content which is not fully accessible under a heading of 'Non-accessible content' below.

Non-accessible items

  • Adobe Acrobat Reader (.pdf) West Sussex map of educational provision statistics by district and borough (Maps are exempt)

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us at haveyoursay@westsussex.gov.uk.

Survey web browser compatibility

Please use one of the browsers below when completing the survey to ensure it looks and works as it should. These are

· Chrome version 86 and above

· Firefox version 78 and above

· Microsoft Edge version 86 and above

· Safari version 14 and above

  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Engagement Survey

    Data Privacy:  

    The Education and Skills Team will use this survey to collect some personal data (e.g. age, sex) in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.  The data collected will be processed in accordance with the 2018 Data Protection Act, the General Data Protection Regulations and any subsequent relevant legislation. The data will not be used for any other purpose other than that stated, will be stored electronically and will not be kept for no-longer than three years. West Sussex County Council is registered as Data Controller (Reg. No. Z6413427). For further details and information about our Data Controller, please see www.westsussex.gov.uk/privacy-policy.

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Page last updated: 27 Nov 2023, 09:15 AM