UPDATE:

THE education services in Torfaen are free from special measures following ‘sufficient progress’ made in the past three years.

In February 2013, Torfaen became the sixth local authority in Wales to require the highest form of monitoring from the education watchdog Estyn.

Three years on from the overall ‘unsatisfactory’ judgement from the Welsh education inspectorate, the improvements in education within the borough have lifted the measures.

In a letter to the council during January, Estyn stated that Torfaen ‘is judged to have made sufficient progress’ and that ‘the authority no longer requires special measures and is removing it from further follow up activity.’

The executive member for education in Torfaen, cllr David Yeowell has welcomed the signs of education recovery within the local authority and the announcement from Estyn.

“We are delighted with this news that reflects well on the combined efforts of colleagues both in our schools and the education service,” he said.

“We are also clear that this is a first important step in our efforts to make Torfaen a good then excellent authority, where parents and the whole community have high aspirations for our children and where our schools consistently deliver high quality education for every learner.”

The most noticeable change within the education provisions offered by Torfaen is at Key Stage 4 level, where results were improving faster than compared with the rest of Wales.

"We've seen improvement at GCSE and A-level, improved the level of expertise available to schools and we're supporting and challenging the performance of our secondary schools like never before,” added cllr Yeowell.

“We have also secured investment in new school buildings and have exciting proposals in the pipeline."

The leader of Torfaen council, cllr Bob Wellington CBE, was equally pleased at the news from Estyn, but was quick to point out that the local authority still has to maintain its focus.

He said: “Over the last few years we have worked with inspectors and the Welsh government to take whatever action was necessary to turn things around.

“I must commend Cllr Yeowell, the recovery board, the chief executive, senior officers and head teachers for their direction and challenge.

At the original inspection, inspectors told the council that it needed to raise standards in secondary schools and do more for school leavers who do not go on to find jobs or training.

But following a monitoring visit in November last year, the authority is judged to have made satisfactory or strong progress against all Estyn’s recommendations.

“The quality of our children's education is absolutely paramount and the shortcomings identified by Estyn needed urgent attention, which is what we delivered,” he added.

"However, it doesn’t stop here, we will now focus on our performance at key stage 3 and 4 and improve literacy and numeracy across all key stages."

 

TORFAEN council's education department has been lifted out of special measures after making 'sufficient progress.'

Torfaen became the sixth under-performing Local Education Authority in Wales to be recommended for special measures in February 2013.

Education inspectorate Estyn found that the LEA was not intervening effectively to prevent schools’ under performance.

Estyn also found that raising standards in secondary schools particularly at Key Stage 4 was not being addressed and the LEA had failed to improve the quality and consistency of the evaluation of its services.

But in a letter to Torfaen's chief executive Alison Ward, Clive Phillips, an assistant director at Estyn, said due to 'sufficient progress' that the authority had made Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales, considers that the authority no longer requires special measures and is removing it from further follow up activity.

Estyn made seven recommendations from inspections in 2011 and 2013.

One of the recommendation was to raise standards in secondary schools, particularly in key stage 4.

The letter says since the last full monitoring visit in February 2013, Torfaen has consistently improved outcomes for its pupils at key stage 4.

Following the inspection in 2013, Welsh Ministers issued a direction to establish a recovery board whose role was to provide support and challenge to the authority as it addressed the Estyn recommendations.

The authority also established a Children and Young People’s Improvement Board (CYPIB) in 2014.

Mr Phillips in the letter states: "The CYPIB, recovery board, elected members and senior officers of the authority have worked well together to build the authority’s capacity to improve its education services for children and young people."