AN ACTION plan has been launched by the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s education service in response to the report on the council’s education service by Estyn published in September 2013.

The action plan identifies the tasks that will be carried out to address the recommendations from Estyn’s inspection and includes clear statements about the success criteria and planned outcomes linked to the actions.

During an Estyn report in September 2013 St Cyres School’s current performance and its prospects for improvement were both rated as “adequate”.

The report said that good features of the school’s current performance included: “improvements in performance in key stage 3 and key stage 4”, “the good progress made by the majority of pupils in developing their knowledge”, “the good behaviour and positive attitudes to learning demonstrated by most pupils” and “effective teaching in the majority of lessons and a high level of care”.

However, important areas for improvement included: “performance in key stage 4 in the indicators that include mathematics is below expectations, a minority of pupils do not make as much progress as they should, pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills are underdeveloped, and attendance rates in the four years to 2013 do not compare well with those of similar schools".

Jennifer Hill, Chief Learning and Skills Officer, said that the Vale Council’s action plan “will address the key recommendations of the report and we will be working hard to ensure these recommendations are acted upon and that improvements are made as a result.”

“Our clear ambition is not only to be the best performing education authority in Wales but to match ourselves against the most successful in England.”

Key areas of focus for the Vale of Glamorgan Council include:

Raising standards in schools, particularly in key stage 2 and key stage 3

Improving the rigour and the level of challenge provided to schools about their performance and quality of leadership

Using the full powers available to the authority to improve schools that are underperforming.

Making sure that planning for improvement is thorough and consistent throughout all services

• Ensuring that robust systems are in place for evaluating the outcomes of initiatives and that they demonstrate good value for money

• Strengthening arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the wellbeing of children and young people

Implementation of the plan will be thoroughly monitored and evaluated. Progress reports will be presented to the Corporate Management Team and Cabinet in May and November annually and to the Learning and Skills and Children and Young People’s Partnership (CYPP).

Cllr Chris Elmore, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services said: “The action plan will help drive up standards in our schools and ensure steps are taken to challenge and support schools which are underperforming.”

The review and action plan are available on Vale of Glamorgan Council’s website www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk