Report to the People
19th January 2004
Succeeding Against the Odds
Unless
you’ve been hiding with Beagle 2 in a hole on Mars for the last week, you will
be aware that the HM Inspectorate of Education has delivered a damning
indictment of Inverclyde’s (lack of a) school building programme.
It
is inevitable that a report which brands the council’s schools policy
“unsatisfactory” would spark fury among parents, teachers and others who
have been expressing their concerns since the summer.
In
the midst of this outrage, however, one point should not be lost.
In sharp contrast to the
harsh criticism of the council’s political leadership, teachers and education
officials – in particular the Director – win high praise for their drive to
improve standards.
In difficult circumstances,
our dedicated education professionals had, to quote the inspectors “sustained
a good level of improvement in attainment and achievement.”
They had also “made very good progress” in supporting improvement in
learning and teaching.” “Very
good progress” had also been made in serving pupils with special educational
needs. Work to promote
enterprise, citizenship and links with local industry is all welcomed.
In addition, inspectors found
that the Director of Education and the Heads of Service
“provided clear leadership to education officers and head teachers in
school improvement.” They also made sure that schools had the statistical data
which is key to helping them improve pupils’ marks.
And attainment, the report
highlights at length, has continued to improve in the last three years.
“From a good position,” exam pass rates have continued to rise.
“At almost all levels,” the inspectors make clear, “performance
continued to be well above the average for comparator authorities and the
national average.”
Indeed, I noted last week
that under a new system of testing schools’ effectiveness devised by
international schools researcher, Professor Keith Topping, Inverclyde’s
schools perform well – spectacularly better than they do in the conventional
tables, in fact.
That
such results are being delivered against such a grim backdrop is a great tribute
to our teachers and our education department. But even their Herculean
efforts will not be enough to stop standards being eroded unless the buildings
crisis is resolved – the HMI report warns that our crumbling classrooms are
already holding our kids back.
We
need, as the Inspectorate says, to sort this out now before it’s too late.
Our teachers and pupils deserve nothing less.
If you would like to read the HMIe report
on our schools in full, copies are available online at: http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/followup/InverclydeINEAfurep.pdf
or free of charge from my local office (01475 791 820).
Back to Current Reports to the People
[ HOME ] [ News ] [ Report to the People ] [ Interact ] [ Links ] [ E-Mail ]
[ Copyright ] [ UK Online ] [ Scottish Parliament ]