To approve the Education, development and skills strategy (appendix a) and the Herefordshire school improvement partnership delivery model (appendix b).

The strategy sets out how Herefordshire Council will work with partners, including school and college leaders, early years’ settings, external agencies such as Ofsted and the Department for Education (DfE) and the range of multi-agencies within Herefordshire to raise standards of achievement for children and young people in our county.

The delivery model sets out how improvement will be taken forward by the partnership across the county. The council aims to continue its approach of supported autonomy for schools and settings that has recently positively impacted on educational outcomes with rising standards in the primary phase over recent years.  Close working with the county’s accredited teaching schools is key to developing schools’ pedagogy and practice.

That:

(a)       the Education, Development and Skills Strategy 2018/21 attached at appendix a is approved; and

(b)       the Herefordshire School Improvement Partnership delivery model at appendix b is approved.

1.   The executive could chose not to have a strategy and a school improvement partnership.

2.   However, councils and local authorities have the strategic lead for education and a legal duty to ensure that every child fulfils their educational potential.  A strategy for education, development and skills is required to facilitate this and to make the council’s strategic priorities clear to all stakeholders. The strategy has been developed in consultation with local authority officers and school leaders with regard to performance information on pupils’ outcomes across all key assessment points since 2012. 

3.   There is therefore no alternative option proposed to the recommendations above.