Brent Council: GCSE results in Brent outperform London and national averages

Brent secondary schools are all either academies, some stand alone or others part of a chain, or voluntary aided but most still work closely with Brent Council or Brent Schools Partnership. Brent Council published the following press release yesterday:

Secondary schools in Brent have outperformed London and the national average for England at GCSE according to newly published figures.

Data from the Department for Education shows that the proportion of Brent students achieving 9-4 (A*-C) in English and maths is 69.7 per cent which is above the national average (64.4 per cent) and for the first time above the London average (67.9 per cent).

In addition to this, Brent's ‘Progress 8' score, which focuses on how much progress pupils have made between their primary school and GCSE results, shows Brent students making more than half of a grade more progress in each of their eight subjects than students nationally. 

This strong performance has put Brent well above the London and national averages. For the second year running, Brent has the second highest progress score out of 151 local authorities in England. 

Cllr Amer Agha, Cabinet Member for Schools, Employment and Skills said: 

Last year schools in Brent achieved great GCSE results and it is good to see that these have been reflected in the latest performance tables.  

Our pupils and teachers work extremely hard throughout the school year and these results are testament to all their commitment and dedication.  

I'm so pleased that Brent came second in London and England for the Progress 8 scores for the second year in a row. Brent schools are committed to giving the borough's children and young people the best possible start in life and with 96% of our schools rated "good" or "outstanding" by Ofsted I believe we are all doing that. 

In other measures, a higher percentage of students were entered for the five English Baccalaureate subjects (English, mathematics, science, foreign language and history or geography) in Brent than in London as a whole and nationally. Brent's Attainment 8 score is 49.9 which is above both the London average (49.4) and the national average (46.5).

Dire impact of A&E closures in North West London exposed

Closing A&E departments has led to a deterioration in the performance of those that remain in North West London. An anaylsis by Dr Gurjinder Singh Sandhu for the Centre for Health and the Public Interest warns of the risk to patients if further A&Es are closed. 

Across England NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) are proposing the closure or ‘downgrade’ of up to 24 emergency departments.

This analysis shows how A&E performance has suffered across North West London following the closure of two emergency departments in 2014.

Performance against the 95% 4-hour wait target dropped to as low as 60% shortly after the closures, meaning that up to 40% of patients requiring serious treatment had to wait over 4 hours to be assessed and admitted to an appropriate bed. Since then the performance of North West London hospitals has been some of the worst in the country, sometimes managing to treat fewer than half of the patients within four hours. For time-sensitive conditions such as sepsis or respiratory failure such delays are life-threatening.

In addition, since the A&E closures in 2014 the bed occupancy rate in all hospital trusts in North West London has been above 85%, compromising clinical safety through overcrowding.

This paper also points out that the closures aggravate health inequalities, hitting the most deprived boroughs in the region. (See image below)

The full paper by Dr Gurjinder Singh Sandhu can be found here LINK

Brent Council Pension Fund performs poorly

The Brent Pension Fund Sub-Committee of Brent Council is one of those committees which gets quietly on with its work with little publicity or indeed public recognition. The Annual Report from 2014-15 from which the extract above is taken LINK does however deserve a wider airing. Brent is shown to be underperforming compared with other local government pension funds.

Clearly investment decisions have to be made on the basis of security versus risk but Scrutiny Committee may wish to have a closer look at how this operates in Brent.

Benefits are funded by contributions and returns on investment so this is a vital issue. As well as council employees in the scheme (4,179) there were (March 2015) 33 other employer organisations in the scheme (1,724). This includes, individually, schools which have become academies.

In March 2015 there were 5,311 Brent Council pensioners and 761 from other organisations. There were 6,501 deferred Brent Council pensions and 1,127 from other organisations. The high number of deferrals, above the number actually receiving a pension, may indicate people being unable to afford to retire in the present economic climate.

Exciting spaces available at Cottrell House, Wembley

Hypnotick Dance, Cottrell House in Wembley

53-63 Wembley Hill Rd, HA9 8BU
Enterprise hub, incubation space, co working space, creative crib, studio, green house, agency, pop up, office. Whatever you want to call it, Cottrell House is a place to start things, make them grow and be inspired. As members of the Coming Soon Club know, Wembley is a well connected and interesting community full of enterprise and a great place to base a new business.

If you are looking for a regular base or a meeting space away from home, Cottrell House has it all. You can see details of the project here or complete a proposal form here. To arrange a time to see the space please email Jessica at jcb@meanwhilespace.com.

New residents have been moving into Cottrell House this week and we are pleased to report that Hypnotick Dance have taken on the event space as a rehearsal room for the summer. The forecourt of the building has become an impromptu stage with spontaneous performances happening at the weekends! Keep your eyes peeled for a spacial performance!

Also this week we welcomed a new resident to the studio space, textile designer Ismaa Arif.

Ball n Ball, Ismaa Arif

"As a surface designer I get excited from experimenting with different mediums mixing traditional techniques with new techniques, creating surfaces that look good. I would say my inspiration kicks off from anything-robots to snowflakes." If you would like to get in touch, please email Ismaa at- ismaaarif@gmail.com

Open: Monday - Friday, 10.00 - 17.00

For all news on how you can make the most of your Coming Soon Club membership please visit the website, http://www.comingsoonclub.co.uk/, or arrange a meeting with Jess, Jess or Desmond by popping into the HQ or emailing info@comingsoonclub.co.uk. 

Not to mention a cafe with wonderful food!