Estyn ‘s evaluation of the Lib Dem/Labour run Powys County Council’s Education Department has said “the education service improvement plan does not provide a clear strategic direction for education across the authority”, going on to say “leadership of school improvement at all levels has been too variable”. Failures lie with the Portfolio Holder Cllr Pete Roberts, together with the Leader James Gibson-Watt and the collective Lib Dem/Labour Cabinet at Powys County Council.
This latest Estyn report is on the back of a series of damning Estyn reports on a number of primary and secondary schools across Powys. The Pupil Referral Units require “significant improvement”. Previously good performing Primary Schools like Llangors and Llyswen have dropped to either special measures or needing significant improvement. Today’s Estyn report says “too often school improvement teams focus too heavily on evaluating school improvement paperwork rathe than work with school leaders to bring about improvement”. The damning criticisms go one to say “Frequent leadership changes in Powys have weakened the strategic direction of ALN services” adding “weak long-term planning hinders the ability to provide effective high quality ALN services across the County”.
James Evans MS for Brecon & Radnorshire commented:
“The blame for these failures, along with the growing school budget deficits, lies firmly with the Lib Dem/Labour run Administration. The Governors, Heads and Teaching Staff are not getting the support and strategic direction needed from the Lib Dem/Labour run Cabinet at Powys County Council. Estyn cite lack of strategic direction and weak long-term planning”. Site safety is a mess and their ‘greener, fairer Powys’ does not include Education! Cllr Pete Roberts and the Leader Cllr James Gibson-Watt should accept responsibilities for the failures in Education across Powys and resign immediately.
“The Lib Dem/Labour run Council are failing the children of Powys and allowing our School standards to decline and budget deficits to rise, failing to tackle the growing problem of bullying or addressing the increasing needs for ALN provision. Make no mistake, these failures come from the top down and the Portfolio Holder Cllr Roberts, the whole Lib Dem/Labour run Cabinet must accept collective responsibilities for these appalling failures. Jane Dodds MS and David Chadwick MP should get their Councillors in order but no doubt, David will hold yet another public meeting about his own colleagues failings!"
Failures were recognised in a meeting on the 25th March when Councillors agreed to escalate the risk to the council wide strategic risk register to ensure the whole cabinet and senior staff have oversight of how the risk is managed. Cllr David Thomas said at that meeting “If standards in school leadership and teaching and learning decline in Powys schools, and learners underperform compared to learners in similar schools in Wales, then educational outcomes in Powys will be below local and national expected standards, leading to reduced opportunities for our learners, decreased parent/carer and stakeholder satisfaction, and potential reputational damage.”
