Wrexham education could be removed from ‘significant concern’ list by next autumn

Wrexham Council could be removed from a list of local authorities whose handling of education is a cause for “significant concern” by next autumn, it’s been revealed.

Education watchdog Estyn published a damning review of how schools in the county borough are run back in October 2019.

Inspectors demanded urgent action after criticising the performance of the area’s secondary schools, highlighting problems with poor attendance and high exclusion rates.

Since the inspection, the council has appointed a new chief education officer to improve standards, as well as injecting extra cash into the department’s budget.

Estyn has carried out two follow-up reviews to monitor the authority’s progress and recently said it would consider whether to remove it from the statutory category next year.

In a letter to the council reporting the findings of the latest assessment, Estyn assistant director Clive Phillips said: “During the conference, the local authority demonstrated a strong commitment and ambition to improve outcomes for learners in the widest sense.

“This ambition was articulated well by politicians and officers alike. The chief officer shared her clear vision for education in Wrexham and outlined what this means in practice.

“Officers gave a good account of ongoing activity to address the recommendations in the context of the wider work of the service and the pandemic, and there are early examples of the emerging impact of stronger planning.

“Work has taken place to strengthen capacity across the service, both in terms of new appointments and ongoing support to build the capacity of teams.

“In addition, elected members and senior officers hold service areas to account more effectively.”

The council has acknowledged there is still work to do, including to support secondary schools to deliver improvements.

Mr Phillips said the authority should also consider how to gain “a sound view” of its progress in raising standards and skills across schools.

He said: “We will review the local authority’s progress in around 12 months’ time at a formal monitoring visit.

“During the monitoring visit, inspectors will consider how well the local authority has addressed each of the recommendations and how much progress has been made overall.

“If the local authority is no longer causing significant concern, then inspectors will recommend to HMCI (Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector) that the local authority is removed from follow-up.”

The council’s progress in addressing Estyn’s recommendations will be discussed at a meeting of its lifelong learning scrutiny committee on Thursday (December 9, 2021).

By Liam Randall – BBC Local Democracy Reporter