Education chief apologises for schools failings

But county councillor Michael Waine has not given any promises on when results will improve.

Last week, it was revealed that seven-year-olds in Oxford City Council area were the worst in the country in terms of reading, writing and maths.

It followed news that the 2009 GCSE results in the city were 320th out of 325 local authorities.

Yesterday Mr Waine, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for schools improvement, sat down to answer our questions.

He told the Oxford Mail that a lack of expert leadership in some city schools, concentrations of children with English as a second language and social deprivation had all contributed to poor results at Key Stage One.

And he placed the onus on improving standards firmly on headteachers and governors, particularly those who had resisted change.

Mr Waine, the schools cabinet member since 2005 and receives a special allowance of £12,147.30, also called for parents to play their part.

OXFORD MAIL: What would you like to say about key stage one (KS1) results?

Michael Waine: What I would say about all results, key stage one or GCSE, where people don’t achieve their potential is that I apologise to parents for that lack of achievement and our job is to challenge that and intervene.

Are you taking responsibility for the failure?

It’s taking responsibility across the board for children who are not achieving their potential.

Breaking the results down, it means 305 children cannot read to the required standard, 369 for writing and 229 for maths? Is that acceptable?

The city, within the data you published figures for, does not include areas such as Botley, Cumnor. We work through three areas and central Oxfordshire includes the city and surrounding schools taking in Botley, Cumnor and Wheatley. The picture (for that wider area) is not as bleak as it looks but it is still not good enough, I am not making excuses.

We have the bottom rank in KS1 and bottom five for the 2009 GCSE results. Is the entire education system failing in the city?

Within the boundary we use, what we say is Oxford as opposed to the local government area, that situation is not true. Oxford city is not performing as badly.

You can draw a line around any area and prove any point you want.

We have had good achievement at key stage two which I think is a better assessment of primary achievement.

Why are the city results worse than the rest of the county?

The other factors at play are getting what we would call the level of expertise of leadership into Oxford city schools. On one level it’s the money to attract people. But change is happening, for instance at Rose Hill, under Sue Mortimer. She chose to take on a school with huge challenges and that is a fast improving school.

Thirty per cent of children have English as a second language in the city.

Have we got the right level of expertise in terms of headteachers?

It is now fast improving but these heads need to take the schools and communities with them.

Who is responsible, you, headteachers, parents?

We can encourage, challenge and intervene when that is the only way forward.

In all cases of intervention it is resisted by staff, parents and governors but, in all cases, intervention has led to improved outcomes.

Take St Christopher’s in Cowley. We took the governing body out and put in very clear targets and the school is now a long way down the road to achieving those targets. We have not been afraid to intervene.

Heads need to be supported by governors, who need to be critical of low attainment and clear about the strategies that are needed to bring about change.

Parents have a major responsibility. Number one is getting children to school in the first place and in encouraging them in their school work. I think in particular parts of Oxford that presents problems to schools.

We know the schools where heads are in denial and we need to bring about structured change and that is happening.

What do you mean by “structured change”?

That would be bringing in an academy at secondary level. At primary level it is changing the governing body and putting in an interim board.

What has, or will be, done to tackle performance?

You have a list of the targeted support (support includes Every Child a Reader, Every Child a talker and Every Child Counts programmes along with addition training for teachers). It works at its best where schools are willing to collaborate totally on seeing that through to action in the classroom.

It doesn’t work where schools are lukewarm and not at all where schools are not willing to see it through.

There are one or two where we are not getting the co-operation we would want.

Will you undertake a full-scale review of the issue?

Each time results come out they are analysed to see if our priorities and working is correct.

Are officer posts, and your own position, under pressure because of this?

Five years ago there was a cultural block on attainment and it was perceived by all as being OK. There was a shrug of the shoulders. In the vast majority of schools since, a significant seachange has taken place.

Does the county council need outside help and are you going to ask for it?

The help has to come from within schools. They are virtually autonomous. To bring about change you need to challenge and you need collaboration to bear fruit.

Are you embarrassed that Oxford is world renowned for education yet its own children are suffering so badly?

Rather than an embarrassment, it continues to be a challenge to this county council that it has particular schools where under achievement is at a level we find unacceptable.

What would you say to parents worried about performance. Will it improve in a year, two years, five years?

I would say to parents be fully involved with your school through your child and your child’s teacher to support the work they are doing and, if you are able, join the governing body to challenge so the school is fully supported.