Nearly 40% of Knowsley secondary age pupils are still leaving the borough for education.
According to a new report into the borough’s education strategy for the coming years, many of Knowsley’s children do not stay in the area to receive secondary teaching.
While there has been a change from 42% to 38% in recent years, hundreds of children are still leaving Knowsley once they finish primary school education to further their studies elsewhere in Merseyside.
READ MORE: Thomas Cashman murder trial resumes as man accused of shooting Olivia Pratt-Korbel gives evidence
According to the report, in recent years nearly 500 extra places have been made available in primary and secondary schools in the borough, with the council having recently conducted a sufficiency review with plans to work with schools to expand provision to accommodate increasing pupil numbers.
Knowsley Council is also looking into options to open more schools in the borough in the coming years.
The report noted how some of the improving trends in Knowsley took a hit during the pandemic – in particular attainment rates at key stages have dropped, although this is in line with a national decrease as students spent time out of the classroom during lockdowns, impacting on studies across the board.
While there was an overall eduction in exclusion and suspension rates before the pandemic, recent figures have shown a rise, with more than 500 suspensions and 12 permanent exclusions in 2022.
The report notes feedback from schools, parents and children about increasing mental health and social isolation problems since the pandemic, with the council having implemented a strategy to improve access to mental health support within the school setting for children.
Discussing the report at a meeting of the borough’s children’s and families board yesterday, March 21, head of education Nadine Carroll spoke of “really pleasing” recent improved Ofsted inspection results in the borough’s schools as well as ongoing work into reducing persistent absence and exclusion.
Knowsley has a higher than national average level of children staying in education and employment at aged 16-18, a trend Ms Carroll said the council was aiming to continue to improve as part of its new education strategy.
She also spoke of £1.8m in government funding to support education improvement work to help sustain “system led” approaches to improvement in the borough. Ms Carroll added that work was ongoing to increase A level provision in Knowsley.
Head teacher of All Saints Catholic school Tony Guinness asked about the work Knowsley was doing to help students access public transport to get to Carmel College, where many pupils from the borough go for A-level provision.
Mr McGuinness said: “Two of the main providers of students are actually Lord Darby Academy and All Saints. I would just be interested in terms of the authority’s plans to continue to support our children to get to this outstanding provider.
“The feedback locally in the Kirkby community is the difficulty in public transport.”
Ms Carroll said the council was currently pursuing this and engagement was under way with the leadership of Carmel College around improving transport access.
Get the top stories straight to your inbox by signing up to our what's on newsletter
READ NEXT
Woman raped in city centre alleyway near nightclub
Passport gang who helped ‘Premier League’ cocaine kingpin evade capture
Dad woke up ‘two weeks later’ after taking usual route to work
Double tragedy for family after son killed in crash
‘I tried H&M’s £13 dupe for Hermes’ £570 sandals and left impressed’
