ADDITIONAL investment will help boost an improvement programme for schools across the county.
In a bid to address concerns raised during a recent Ofsted Inspection, a budget of £800,000 has been identified to accelerate East Sussex County Council’s Excellence for All strategy which aims to ensure all children are taught in a school rated good or outstanding by Ofsted and reach their full potential. Watch our video with Cllr Nick Bennett, lead member for learning and school effectiveness.
Today (Tuesday), the county council’s cabinet agreed to commit £370,000 to this. “While Ofsted recognised the value and agreed with the principles of our Excellence for All strategy, they felt the programme needed to be accelerated to ensure targets are met as quickly as possible,” said Cllr Nick Bennett, lead member for learning and school effectiveness.
“Work is well underway on the strategy and results have already shown that we are on track to achieve our aim of providing the best education possible for children in East Sussex. The additional investment will ensure that the improvements will have greater impact.”
The additional funding will allow the county council to;
• Improve performance in primary schools and strengthen processes to support schools
• Improve and sustain achievement in English and Maths by the end of all key stages
• Offer better support to school leavers to ensure a successful transition to training or employment
• Support schools to reduce temporary exclusions
• Ensure every school has effective leadership and governance
• Help governing bodies evaluate their school’s performance and identify scope for improvement
Cllr Bennett added: “Work on the Excellence for All strategy so far has shown encouraging signs of improvement. Data shows significant improvement in Early Years and Key Stage 2, while the recent GCSE results show students performed well, despite the volatility of results nationally.
“Some great work has already been done to ensure that children in East Sussex benefit from the best education possible and the additional funding will help us build on the recent successes.”
With agreement on additional funding an action plan will be prepared and reported to Cabinet and Scrutiny and will give full details of the improvement strategies and timescales.
East Sussex County Council was judged ineffective by Ofsted following an inspection during the summer. There are only two judgements for the inspection – effective or ineffective. The full report to cabinet and details of the improvement strategy can be found at www.eastsussex.gov.uk/yourcouncil/about/committees/meetingpapers/cabinet/2014/16september.htm