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Derry

Derby is a city of 257,200 people of c180 nationalities and covers an area of 30.13 square miles. Its population has increased by over 26,500 people (11.5%) since 2001.  35% of the population are aged under 25 years and 21% are aged over 60 years.  Minority ethnic communities now represent c25% of Derby's total population, which has increased from 15.7% in 2001. 

Derby is compact and has good road and rail transport links. Derby has a solid cultural offer through the Council’s Derby Live programme and part of the city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is also a ‘green’ city with 19 named parks and the historically significant Arboretum in Normanton.

The city’s central location, skill base and the Council’s commitment to attracting inward investment has supported sustained growth.  We have a good reputation for design and innovation in aerospace, rail technology and IT.  Derby is the UK Centre for Rolls-Royce Aerospace, Bombardier and Toyota Motor Car Manufacturing UK (which lies just outside the City).  In 2017/18 the University of Derby hosted 18,485 higher education students and a further 3,115 students based at overseas franchised institutions, the university has a growing reputation for science, engineering and technology.

Derby is the 67th most deprived authority in England with some pockets of very high deprivation. 16% of neighbourhoods within the city are within the most deprived 10% nationally.

Life expectancy at birth for males (78.6 years) and females (82.3 years) in Derby is below the UK averages of (79.3 and 82.9 years, respectively).  There is a significant gap in life expectancy at birth between the most and least deprived areas of the city. In addition, Derby has the widest inequality in healthy life expectancy for both males and females in the East Midlands region.

• Formal and Non-Formal Learning infrastructure

Derby’s schools deliver to 43,000 pupils. The city is recognised by the Department for Education (DfE) as a social mobility ‘cold spot’, Derby became one of the first ‘Opportunity Areas’ in 2017. As a DfE Opportunity Area, Derby has a three-year delivery plan and local partnership board in place to drive social mobility thereby enabling the city to become a centre of excellence for education and employment in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

There are many strong local employers already engaging with schools, the college and the University of Derby, including big engineering companies, their supply chains and a wide range of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Derby Primary Strategy Group, made up of local head-teachers and early years’ providers, has commissioned a number of interventions including: support for English as an additional language; leadership development; phonics; a mathematics improvement programme; and pupil premium reviews.

Vocational learning is a strength with Derby performing relatively strongly in terms of apprenticeship participation levels in 2014/15 (13% compared to 7% nationally).

Derby College was recently commended in Ofsted’s annual report (2015/16) for its exemplar work with employers. In 2016/17, 4,168 full time learners at Derby College took part in work placements, industry visits, projects with local companies and heard from specialist speakers.

The University of Derby has recently been awarded a Gold Rating on the 2017 University Teaching Excellence Framework in recognition of its excellent teaching.

Over £1m of Regional Academy Growth Funding is already supporting up to eight multi academy trusts to drive improvement in standards across Derby’s academies.

The overall picture is one of good opportunities for employment and high quality local jobs in technical occupations.

• Learning City Developments

In 2016, Derby was ranked 303^rd in the Social Mobility Index and dropped to 316^th in 2017. In 2017, Derby’s educational performance was weak, with results at primary (key stage 2) and secondary (key stage 4) below the national average and almost a quarter of schools rated by Ofsted as less than good. Disadvantaged children and those for whom English is an additional language, particularly from new communities, are especially vulnerable.

In response, the Department for Education established a strong partnership board to lead the Opportunity Area programme and agree priorities. The board works closely with the local authority and the Regional Schools Commissioner on raising standards and strengthening the workforce across Derby’s schools.

We have seen significant progress over the last three years, but further activity is required to secure and build on these improvements. Our aim is to ensure that Derby’s children and young people, regardless of their background, are able to fulfil their potential and access the opportunities available to them – from early years through to employment. We have prioritised three key areas, namely:

• Priority 1: Early Years: Increasing the number of children achieving a good level of development in the early years.
• Priority 2: School Improvement: Raising attainment in Derby’s primary and secondary schools.
• Priority 3: Broadening Horizons: Ensuring that all Derby’s children benefit from a broad range of experiences throughout their school lives.

These priorities are underpinned by two additional themes: Mental Health; and Transitions and Pathways.

The Opportunity Area Board in close liaison with the University of Derby, has recognised the value of Learning City designation as a way of continuing to drive a lifelong learning agenda that delivers benefits to all sections of the community.

• Some key activities in the Learning Cities field

Priority 1: Early Years - one key focus has been the Talk Derby project which provides a detailed package of speech, language and communication (SLC) support and training for schools and EY settings. In addition, there is a Special Education Needs & Disabilities (SEND) programme, which is intended to increase leadership capacity and skills within early years’ settings through an investment in training, practice review and leadership development.

Priority 2: School Improvement – there has been a broad range of initiatives and projects targeting both primary and secondary schools, as well as tailored support for:

• Y11 GCSE English and Mathematics students who show the potential to ‘leap’ key exam grade boundaries;
• post-16 students, aimed at raising their achievement and educational outcomes in maths and English;
• SEND students, aimed at enabling them to fulfil their potential and equipping them with the skills to successfully transition into FE and employment;
• New to English (NtE) learners and Gypsy Roma students, which is geared to improving their performance outcomes;

Priority 3: Broadening Horizons – this has comprised a suite of programmes that will:

• ensure all secondary students in Derby experience at least 4 meaningful employer encounters;
• provide research and analysis that will lay the foundations for a long-term careers strategy for Derby schools;
• provide primary schools with access to expert support in embedding career related learning into the curriculum, whilst connecting them with local employers;
• provide Derby’s schools and college with access to culture, arts, sports and leisure activities;
• help early years’ providers, schools, colleges and learning providers, improve STEAM outcomes;
• build a network of high attaining ‘scholars’ across the city to take part in activities, such as homework clubs and University visits, to address and breakdown barriers preventing them from achieving the highest grades and making successful applications to high tariff HEIs.

Further information on these and other initiatives delivered by the Opportunity Area Board can be found at https://derbyopportunityarea.co.uk/programmes/

• Priority Areas for Future Development

Partnership Board priorities for 2020/21 include:

1. Inclusion

• We will take forward key successful elements of current programmes in order to build on successes and support the post-COVID recovery for schools, especially for the most vulnerable.

1. Raising School Standards: Primary School Improvement

• We will work with the LA and RSC to target DfE’s weak schools, stuck schools, and those in the bottom quartile for each measure that have either not yet engaged or have engaged but need further support.
• We will focus on peer review in all secondary schools and Post 16 settings, alongside targeted support for Year 11 students and Post 16 resits, supporting catch-up for those who need it most to ensure that these cohorts are not disadvantaged as a result of missing school due to COVID-19.
• We will provide tailored Research School programmes for Senior Leaders and intensive support for secondary schools in the city that are facing the most significant challenges.

1. Pathways to rewarding careers

• We will focus on STEM careers to ensure higher numbers of young people are aiming for careers in key skills areas.
• We will strengthen collaborative working across the region in order to support the delivery of Championing Careers Derby.