DEVON is one of the top shire counties in the country for the number of schools judged to be good or better.


A new report by Devon County Council’s head of education and learning, Sue Clarke, reveals 88 per cent of Devon schools are now judged good or outstanding by Ofsted.


That compares with 84 per cent nationally and places Devon second out of all the shire counties.


Mrs Clarke presented a report on the performance of education in Devon to councillors at the start of 2016. 


Her report concluded: “Devon schools are doing very well but there is always room for improvement.”


Mrs Clarke told the people scrutiny committee that 71.6 per cent of children in the Early Years and Foundation Stage (EYFS) are attaining a good level of development compared with 66.3 per cent nationally. 
That ranks Devon 20th out of 150 local authorities.


Children in EYFS have consistently achieved well with an increase of eight per cent over the past three years, she said.


In the Key Stage 2 national SATs tests, which children sit at 11, 82 per cent achieved the expected Level 4 or above in reading, writing and maths in Devon – two points higher than the national average.


At GCSE, Devon students have consistently attained at or above the national average for five or more subjects at A*-C, including English and maths.


In 2015 the figure was 57 per cent which surpassed the national average of 56 per cent.
Mrs Clarke said: “The county council’s strategy for school improvement has resulted in year-on-year improvement across all key stages and sectors and is supporting our ambition to be in the top 10 per cent of all local authorities.


“Comparative performance in Key Stages 1 and 2 places Devon in the top third of the country nationally whilst at Key Stage 4, performance is in the top half of all local authorities. 


“The focus for 2015-16 has therefore been improving performance at secondary level and to close gaps in attainment between disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils and their peers.”


Mrs Clarke told councillors that gaps in performance for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds were evident at the early stages in a child’s school life.


The gap between disadvantaged children and their peers in primary schools was now 15 per cent and reducing – down from 21 per cent in 2013.
Intensive work was now under way with maintained schools with the biggest gaps, she said.


“The success of the work in Early Years and primary settings is to be celebrated whilst making sure this is sustained and built upon.”