Blackpool Council Annual Health Report 2019 Blackpool Council Annual Health Report PAGES | Page 26

EDUCATION
Educational attainment is linked strongly with health behaviours and outcomes. Individuals
that are better educated are less likely to suffer from long-term diseases and to report
themselves in poor health, or suffer from mental disorders such as depression or anxiety.
Pupils in deprived areas (such as Blackpool) are more likely to miss school and therefore
have lower levels of educational attainment. Disadvantaged pupils are defined as those
who are registered as eligible for free school meals, children looked after by the local
authority and children who left care. In 2017, 45% of pupils at the end of KS2 were classed
as disadvantaged in Blackpool.
Blackpool has 3,367 pupils with special educational needs (SEN) within its schools, this
is 17.9% of all pupils and compares to 14.4% nationally. There are 957 children with a
learning difficulty known to schools, the rate of 50.4 per 1,000 children is higher than the
national average of 33.9 per 1,000. In 2018, there were 206 children with autism known to
Blackpool schools.
Educational attainment is measured predominantly at Key Stage 2 (age 11 in year 6 of
Primary School) and at Key Stage 4 (age 15, GCSEs or equivalent). Data for 2017 shows
that overall, 62% of children in Blackpool attained the expected standard in all of reading,
writing and maths, an increase from 48% in 2016. This is now the same as the national
average. Only 53% of children classified as disadvantaged attained the expected standard,
which is slightly better than the national level of 48%.
At Key stage 4, the “Attainment 8” and “Progress 8” scores are used to assess how well
pupils are performing 16 . The average Attainment 8 score for Blackpool pupils was 38.5 in
2017/2018, compared to 44.5 nationally. Disadvantaged students in Blackpool attained
an average score of only 32.2, compared to non-disadvantaged pupils who attained and
average score of 43.5 17 .
The average Progress 8 score shows Blackpool pupils achieve over half a grade lower than
similar pupils nationally and are making below average progress.
Work is being undertaken to improve the educational attainment of Blackpool’s children
and Blackpool has been designated an “Opportunity Area”, with a strategy spanning
2017-2020 with the aims of:
• Raising attainment and progress in Blackpool’s schools
• Supporting vulnerable children and families to improve attendance and outcomes
and to reduce exclusions from school
• Improve advice and support for young people when moving between
schools/colleges and into work.
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16. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/progress-8-school-performance-measure
17. Data obtained from DfE https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/secondary-school-performance-tables-in-england-2018-revised