Helenjones211
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Virtual interviews are set to be held to choose Wrexham Council’s next Chief Education Officer, starting on Monday 27th April.
Ian Roberts, the current Head of Education, whose salary stands at around £86,000 a year has been in post for the last 3 years.
His complete failure in this post was confirmed in the 2019 Estyn Inspection Report, which stated that Wrexham Council Education Department is causing significant concern.
Ineffective intervention and support over many years has resulted in only limited improvement in examination results in most Wrexham secondary schools.
Bryn Alyn and Clywedog Schools are in Special Measures.
Ian Roberts announced he was stepping down on the eve of the publication of the damning inspection report by Estyn.
Surely, the Councillors involved in the selection process will ensure that they appoint someone with the experience of working in secondary education who can address the challenges facing education in Wrexham.
The young people of Wrexham deserve so much better.It is easy to compare the standards achieved in Wrexham schools compared to those in Flintshire.
Read the inspection reports for Darland and the Maelor schools in Wrexham, produced following their inspections in 2019. They should be two of the best performing schools in Wrexham.
https://www.estyn.gov.wales/inspection/search/field_local_authority/1420/field_sector/1446
In both schools Standards, Teaching and Learning and Leadership and Management are described only as ‘adequate and needs improvement’. Examination results in both schools have been consistently lower than in similar schools across Wales.
If you compare these two Wrexham schools with Castell Alun, Buckley Elfed and Mold Alun in Flintshire the contrast is striking.
https://www.estyn.gov.wales/inspection/search/field_sector/secondary-1446/field_local_authority/flintshire-county-council-1408
Standards, Teaching and Learning and Leadership and Management in these Flintshire schools are consistently ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.
There is obviously a problem with secondary schools in Wrexham.
The problem is Wrexham Council Education department.Councillor Phil Wynn has been in post since May 2017.
That is 2.5 years or £75,000.
Is this money well spent?
And he is ‘feeling hurt’ by criticism.Let’s hope Councillor Phil Wynn is feeling less hurt after the next inspection reports produced by Estyn are published related to education standards in Wrexham.
According to the Estyn website an inspection took place last week at Ysgol Clywedog (7th October) and this week (14th October) Estyn will be inspecting Wrexham Council Education Department.
I would not be too optimistic Councillor Wynn.
It is easy to compare the standards achieved in Wrexham schools compared to those in Flintshire.
Read the inspection reports for Darland and the Maelor schools in Wrexham, produced following their inspections in 2019. They should be two of the best performing schools in Wrexham.
https://www.estyn.gov.wales/inspection/search/field_local_authority/1420/field_sector/1446
In both schools Standards, Teaching and Learning and Leadership and Management are described only as ‘adequate and needs improvement’. Examination results in both schools have been consistently lower than in similar schools across Wales.
If you compare these two Wrexham schools with Castell Alun and Mold Alun in Flintshire the contrast is striking.
https://www.estyn.gov.wales/inspection/search/field_sector/secondary-1446/field_local_authority/flintshire-county-council-1408
Standards, Teaching and Learning and Leadership and Management in these Flintshire schools are consistently ‘good’.
There is a obviously a problem with secondary schools in Wrexham.
The problem is Wrexham Council Education department.Three of the seven secondary schools in North Wales which are categorised as Red schools are in Wrexham.
These schools have the lowest exam results and require the greatest amount of support.
The Red secondary schools in Wrexham are Bryn Alyn, Clywedog and Rhosnesni.
Clywedog and Rhosnesni were supposed to be Wrexham’s Super Schools!My two grand children attend Darland School.
They leave home at 8:00 am every morning to catch the school bus. School starts at 8:55 am. They have a short break at 11:00 to 11:20 am during which time it is almost impossible to buy food in the canteen due to the large number of children trying to be served. If they are not trying to be served in the canteen they are standing on the school yard whatever the weather conditions.
Lunch time starts at 1:20 pm which is ridiculously late. Again, children either spend most of the lunch time waiting to be served in the canteen or walking around the school grounds eating their lunch whatever the weather is like.
The canteen is not big enough to be able to cope with the large number of children in the school.
Expecting children to eat on the school yard in all weather conditions after spending five hours in a classroom is unacceptable.Alunh I agree with most of your comments. However, many parents in Wrexham are making a choice about where to send their children.
For example, every morning hundreds of children are picked up from the Borras, Barkers Lane, Acton, and Garden Village areas of Wrexham, which are in the Rhosnesni High School catchment area and are taken by bus to attend Darland or the Maelor.
Parents have the right to do this and are prepared to pay the associated transport costs. They are choosing to send their children to a school on the outskirts of Wrexham which does not have the same social mix as the town centre school. They believe that their child will receive a better education and experience less anti-social behaviour.
As a result of this Rhosnesni and other town centre schools no longer have the balanced catchment areas and a good social mix of both pupils and supportive parents that is required in order for a comprehensive school to be successful.
Of course I also realise that parents who live in the Llay, Gresford, Marford and Rossett areas, which are the Darland catchment area, prefer to send their children to Castell Alun, St Joseph’s, Bishop Heber and King’s School in Chester.Very strong article about Ysgol Bryn Alyn in Tuesday’s Daily Post
https://www.olddailypostlink.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/school-share-20m-improvement-fund-14315382‘A school which benefited from a share of a £20m Welsh government investment to improve it has been put in special measures.
Ysgol Bryn Alyn in Gwersyllt received a damning report from inspectors,who highlighted pupils having little interest in lessons and weak literacy and numeracy skills.
The report also found teaching was not effective, and that teachers had a lack of faith in their students.
The school had received funding through the Challenge Cymru programme aimed at improving 40 schools in some of Wales’ most deprived areas.
Today, opposition figures said the Estyn inspectors judgement suggested the government cash had been “money down the drain”.’
