Future of school improvement service

Release Date:  20-Jun-2008

Bristol City Council's cabinet is due to consider the future of the school improvement service when it meets on 26 June, in a bid to drive school standards in the city up further.

Following extensive consultation over the last ten weeks with head teachers and governors, and the school improvement workforce and their trade unions, a report has been prepared recommending the council searches for a partner organisation to assist in running school improvement services.

The benefits of this approach would be to offer a much wider perspective of experience and expertise of what has been successful in raising school standards elsewhere in the country. During the consultation the vast majority of schools supported change.

Speeding up the pace of change

Councillor Peter Hammond, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Cohesion and Raising Attainment, said: “For the sake of children, young people and families in our city, we need to secure a rapid and irreversible rise in school standards in Bristol. While there have been improvements in attainment over the last ten years, progress has not been fast enough. This review is a chance for us to make a real difference and we need to be open minded about the options for running school improvement services. I will be recommending to my cabinet colleagues that they give serious consideration to this report and think carefully about the best way to run the service in the future.”

Heather Tomlinson, Director of Children and Young People's Services, adds: “The school improvement service has a vital role to play in our work to raise standards in schools. In turn, progress in raising standards will help restore parents' confidence in Bristol schools, ensuring a more genuinely comprehensive intake of children. To keep up the momentum of change and avoid uncertainty for schools and staff, it is important we continue to move forward on this project.”

The report to cabinet suggests a more strategic approach to school improvement, including:

• diversifying the curriculum and personalising learning
• modern, more effective strategies to tackle problems of learners who can't cope in a mainstream school
• arrangements for stronger schools to work with weaker schools, including federations and amalgamations
• widening choice and access to all schools for all families
• work to boost parents' confidence in Bristol schools

Ofsted reports show that the council's school improvement service has made a major contribution to raising standards in schools. This has been achieved in partnership with schools themselves and a number of external agencies. This proposal is about taking the next logical step to secure a more formal partnership arrangement that can sustainably deliver even greater challenge and support to schools.

This is one of a number of projects the council is working on to raise standards in schools, particularly at primary level. These include work to improve leadership, spread good practice in teaching and learning, and renew school buildings. By 2013 every secondary school in Bristol will have been significantly rebuilt or refurbished, and a major programme of investment in primary schools is now underway.

Author:   Katharine de Lisle

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