Enfield Council welcomes Ed Balls’ announcement on Improving Schools

Enfield Council welcomed today’s announcement by Secretary of State at the DCSF (Ed Balls) who has committed the government to improve schools that can do better.

“This is a ringing endorsement of the way Enfield has been working over the last four years,” said Cllr. Glynis Vince, Cabinet Member for Education, Children’s Services and Youth.

“Whilst I have been Cabinet Member, we have seen significant and steady improvement in both achievement and attainment of pupils in our schools. Our GCSE results are the highest they’ve ever been – more than 10% points higher than five years ago; our valued added is in the top 20% in the country and attendance has never been better with secondary school attendance now in the top 20% in the country.”

“The three schools in Ed Balls’ list – Gladys Aylward, Salisbury and Albany have all got exactly the interventions he recommends and have had for some time. All schools have the improvement plans that he wants – and in the case of Gladys Aylward it has been endorsed by both HMI and OFSTED,” said Peter Lewis, Director of Education, Children’s Services & Leisure for the Council.

“Albany School is bidding to become an Academy in 2009 – something that will bring many millions of pounds of building improvement as well as additional support from a sponsor. Gladys Aylward School is out of special measures and continues to improve. Salisbury School has the benefit of a private sector partner helping the Governors run the school – the first such contract of its kind in the country,” he added.

The council has worked closely with its schools to secure improvement across the borough. Work is in place with all the National Strategies, government departments and the Government Office for London to ensure that the council does all it can and draws on all available resources, to see that children have better quality learning with better outcomes.

The number of young people not in education, employment or training when they reach 16 has halved in the last four years. The number going on to further and higher education has risen steadily.

“Although we’re having a lot of success, we are not complacent,” said Cllr. Vince. “In fact, we are more ambitious than ever. We are committed to the ‘Every Child Matters’ agenda and want to see every child be healthy, safe, successful and able to make their own contribution to Enfield.

“A successful education is a big part of that and this Council continues to make it a high priority. As I visit the many schools’ councils around the borough, the children repeatedly tell me how important school is to them. I take their views seriously and make sure the Council is doing everything it can.”

This document was last updated on 2008-06-10 17:14:58 published by the web team team. Document Reference:LBE_132886