LGES
Outcomes and education services
Where local authorities support schools effectively, they use a wide range of information to identify schools that require support and effectively quality assure the work of school improvement officers and partners.
What’s going well
- Local authority officers and school improvement partners have strong professional relationships with leaders in schools. In the authorities inspected, they often work beneficially with schools to support quality assurance processes.
- Local authorities gather a wide range of information about schools including information about finance, human resources, attendance and school improvement. Often, they use this information purposefully to identify schools who require support.
- In the best examples, local authorities have clear systems to quality assure the work of school improvement officers and partners to ensure consistency and quality.
- In the local authorities inspected, systems to support schools in Estyn follow-up are often sound and, in most instances, lead to timely improvements.
- All four authorities are making good progress in improving their ALN services and provide a wide range of services to support children and young people with ALN, their families, schools and settings.
- All authorities inspected are developing well the work of language immersion centres to support latecomers to Welsh-medium education.
What needs to improve
- School improvement partners do not always focus well enough on the progress made by pupils in lessons and over time when gathering first hand evidence on the quality of learning and teaching.
- Although local authorities are developing their provision to mitigate the impact of poverty on educational attainment, they do not always consider how they will improve the learning, progress and attainment of pupils living in low-income households.
- In one authority, work to reduce exclusions was less effective and fixed-term and permanent exclusions are too high.
- Although attendance has improved during the academic year 2023-2024, rates of attendance, notably in secondary schools, remain lower than before the pandemic. Interventions to address shortcomings have not yet had enough impact on improving attendance levels, particularly in secondary schools.
Leadership
Leaders share a strong sense of moral purpose and ensure staff work collaboratively to achieve their priorities.
What’s going well
- All four local authorities have a clear vision for education and a strong sense of moral purpose.
- The local authorities we inspected understand well the financial pressures providers face and are working with schools and settings to manage this.
- In general, elected members scrutinise the work of education services suitably.
- In general, staff within education services collaborate effectively to achieve their priorities. In two of the four local authorities we inspected, we asked for case studies on cross-directorate working.
What needs to improve
- Aspects of evaluation and improvement planning are not sharp enough and do not help authorities identify precisely the areas for improvement. For example, in one authority the additional learning needs service did not have a systematic approach to quality assure its service.
Overview of recommendations from inspections
Four local government education services were inspected during 2023-2024.
- Two local authorities received a recommendation focused in improving attendance.
- All four local authorities received a recommendation to strengthen aspects of their evaluation and improvement processes. This focused on evaluating the impact of the local authority’s work on leaners’ outcomes.
- One local authority was given a recommendation to improve the processes and strategies to support and challenge schools to reduce the rates of fixed-term and permanent exclusions.
- One local authority was given a recommendation to improve the quality and use of information about learning and teaching in to enable the authority to best direct resources towards areas for improvement.
How well does the local authority support its schools and settings to improve teaching and leadership?
The authority’s data team provides comprehensive data about pupils’ performance in external examinations, including how they have performed when answering individual questions. This item-level data is used to inform analytical discussions in post-14 subject network meetings. This enables subject leaders to identify strengths and areas for development in pupils’ performance and, by doing so, identify where there is strong practice and aspects of teaching that needs to improve. As a result, the sharing of effective practices and beneficial school-toschool work is facilitated.
How effective are the local authority’s arrangements for developing the Welsh language?
The expertise of members of the Welsh Language Support Team and the culture department is used very effectively to support schools that change their language medium. They provide very beneficial professional development for staff through their website, ‘Câr-di-Iaith’, in addition to ensuring helpful support that responds very successfully to the specific needs of the schools’ stakeholders. Officers work purposefully with local partners, such as Learn Welsh Ceredigion and Menter Iaith Ceredigion (Cered), to provide opportunities for parents to learn Welsh and take part in fun creative sessions. This contributes very well to preparations to change the language medium of foundation learning within English-medium primary schools.
Leadership and management
There is a culture of working creatively and meeting challenges resourcefully within the authority, with innovative responses at times. Leaders are willing to trial new ideas and are keen to create an organisation that is progressive when it comes to important issues that align with their core priorities and principles. Good examples of these innovations include the development of an internal system for tracking information about pupils and their robust and measured response to the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the whole, leaders encourage their staff, schools and key partners to use their strengths and expertise to create unique solutions to deal with local issues, which demonstrate the principles and willingness of leaders to try and to take sensible risks.
Leadership and management
The authority welcomes and gives careful consideration to the views of stakeholders, such as headteachers, parents, children and young people and residents to reinforce its understanding of people’s views about the quality of its work and, in particular, to tailor services for the future. A good example is the way in which the authority is very active in seeking the views of pupils and including them in decisions. The Chief Executive, senior officers and elected members take pride in, and encourage, the contributions of the children and young people of Ceredigion and, as a result, they influence the authority’s strategic direction in specific aspects, such as post-16 education and the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan. Members of the Youth Council demonstrate a high level of understanding of what is going on within the education services in Ceredigion. They are confident when exemplifying how their comments have influenced the improvement of services.
Caerphilly County Borough Council
Inspection report
How effectively does the local authority plan for school reorganisation and federation arrangements?
When vacancies arise for school leaders, local authority officers encourage governing bodies to consider collaborative arrangements led by an executive headteacher. Currently, a third of primary schools across Caerphilly work together under the leadership of an executive headteacher, either as a federation or as a collaboration. There is a shared appreciation across the authority, including in schools, of the value and benefits of this strategy. In addition to the financial efficiencies, it promotes good working relationships between the authority, school leaders and governors, and provides worthwhile professional development opportunities for staff. The approach brings stability to schools and supports their sustainability, which has a positive impact on their pupils and their communities at a time of uncertainty. The use of executive headteachers has also been used effectively to support schools causing concern and secure swift improvements where necessary
Leadership and management
The Chief Education Officer inspires the team she leads, providing strategic, empathetic yet firm leadership. She sets high expectations for all and models exemplary professional behaviours. The senior team in the education service skilfully supports the Chief Education Officer and together they embody the ‘Team Caerphilly’ approach. They forge strong relationships with schools, settings and PRUs, where leaders feel well-supported, yet challenged to achieve their shared ambitions for success for learners. A notable cultural strength of the service is the way in which the Chief Education Officer leads by example in prioritising the wellbeing of staff in schools and within the service, whilst always ensuring that the needs of children and young people are at the heart of every decision. The Corporate Director for Education and Corporate Services trusts the service to deliver against their priorities and sets out to remove any barriers to success. As a result, staff throughout the service feel valued and responsible, and are proud to promote the important message that no one should be constrained by circumstances.