Education making progress in Argyll and Bute, say inspectors

Argyll and Bute Council has made further progress in education management, according to the latest report by government inspectors.

‘Positive and continued progress’ has been reported by Education Scotland in the second visit since a damning report in March 2017 found the authority’s performance was ‘weak’ in four of five key quality indicators.

A follow-up report in December was more encouraging though and there were further positives after a visit in May this year.

The report states: “The council has continued to build on its early progress across a number of key aspects of the leadership of the education service.

“The council’s recent budget decisions demonstrate its confidence in the work of the central team to take forward the continuous improvement of its education service. “Under the strong leadership of the chief education officer, staff have sustained and strengthened their efforts to embed improvements at all levels of the education community.

“Argyll and Bute Council has made positive and continued progress.”

The report was welcomed  by the council, which said its vision and strategy were setting goals for all education staff, while there was customised support to individual schools and groups of schools.

Yvonne McNeilly, policy lead for education, said: “We are totally committed to driving forward the improvements needed.

“We want the young people of Argyll and Bute to aim high, for themselves and for the area.

“We are focused on delivering an education service that gives them the support they need to achieve their ambitions.

“A huge amount of hard work is being done at all levels across our education community. I am delighted that employees’ success, in progressing improvement, is reflected in these findings – they have certainly risen to the challenge, working hard to ensure the very best for our young people.”

HM Inspectors will visit the council again in 2018, this time to focus on the quality of young people’s attainment.

The full report is available here: argyllbutecouncilfurtherinspectionfinal