Local AM blasts Wrexham Council’s administration: “their lack of ambition and aspiration for our young people is inexcusable”

Wrexham’s Assembly Member Lesley Griffiths has said the ‘ruling administration has been asleep at the wheel’ of the local education service at Wrexham Council.

As we featured yesterday Estyn published their first inspection report in nearly ten years on the council’s education service, and although primary schools came out of it well the secondary provision was ‘causing significant concern’. You can read more on the report, plus our questions and answers with Lead Member for Education at Wrexham Council Cllr Phil Wynn here.

Lesley Griffiths AM called it a ‘damning report’ and said “…for far too long students in Wrexham’s secondary schools in particular have been let down by the Local Authority”.

She added, “I have raised my concerns with Wrexham Council countless times since I was elected but the Tory / Independent councillors in charge have never got to grips with the situation.

“As the report highlights, action to bring about change has been too slow. It underlines some of the improvements made since 2017 when the new education officer was appointed but with his impending retirement, I am concerned the department will be adversely affected yet again. Wrexham Council has a key decision to make when appointing a successor.

“The previous Estyn report almost a decade ago highlighted Wrexham Council’s ‘adequate’ performance and lack of progress and leadership – ten years on, it appears little has changed. The ruling administration has been asleep at the wheel and their lack of ambition and aspiration for our young people is inexcusable.

“Over the years, the Welsh Government has supported Wrexham Council. Its education budget is above the national average yet the outcomes being achieved are below many of their counterparts. Wrexham has also benefited from the 21st Century Schools Programme which has invested millions in local schools and colleges and in its latest draft Budget announcement, spending on education nationally has risen by 3.7% to over £1.5 billion.”

Lesley Griffiths AM said she would be writing to Wrexham Council and the Welsh Government on the matter ‘as action is required urgently’, adding that “A clear strategy must be adopted to rectify the longstanding issues and improve the educational outcomes for local learners.”

You can read the full Estyn report here, it is quite a short and quite readable document.