Second class

Reporter: Lucy Kenderdine
Date published: 11 December 2014


OLDHAM has been told it must urgently improve standards in its secondary schools after ranking in the bottom four local authorities in England, according to a new Ofsted report.

Only 36 per cent of pupils in Oldham attended a good or outstanding secondary school in 2014, placing the borough 147th out of 150 local authority regions in England and down 21 percentage points from 2013.

The results, listed in the national Ofsted Annual Report 2013/14, show that only St Helens, Hartlepool and the Isle of Wight recorded a lower percentage.

The report, released yesterday, criticised Oldham as one of 13 areas in the country where children have a less than 50 per cent chance of attending a good or outstanding school, stating that in these areas “the journey of improvement needs to start now”.

In the North-West regional Ofsted report, Oldham also came under fire with behaviour in 42 per cent of secondary schools being judged as worse than good, significantly higher than the England level of 15 per cent.

Oldham’s primary schools faired much better in the report, with 80 per cent of pupils attending a good or outstanding rated school in 2014, placing the borough joint 91st in England.

Councillor Amanda Chadderton, cabinet member for education and safeguarding, said: “Today’s Ofsted report is no surprise to us.

“We’re very clear that education is failing too many children in Oldham — and we are being proactive to identify and tackle the causes.

“That’s why we launched the Oldham Education and Skills Commission (OESC) in June to look at all issues around children’s progress and attainment from early years upwards.”

The OESC, which will deliver a report next summer setting out a new education standard for Oldham, is chaired and led by the former Education Secretary, Estelle Morris, and supported by a wider group of commissioners and external advisors.

Councillor Chadderton continued: “We consider the OESC to be the most important piece of work we are undertaking as a council.

“In setting it up we also knew it was vital to bring external challenge to our education sector: there’s little point in simply ‘inspecting’ yourself.”

She added that the commission examines how to align the education system with the local economy’s needs and job opportunities.

Councillor Chadderton continued: “In launching this commission we give it a very clear remit to root out unpalatable facts and bring back a report that doesn’t hold back on harsh truths.

“We are holding the mirror up to ourselves in Oldham in an unprecedented way with the council, schools, employers and partners all signed up to a genuine process of challenge that will be uncomfortable for some.”
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