New vision for Oldham education

former Education Secretary Estelle Morris, who chaired the commission

A £100,000 report which sets out a vision to create a "Self-improving education system" in Oldham where schools, colleges and all interested parties work together in partnership has today been published.

Estelle Morris will publish the Oldham Education and Skills Commission (OESC) report today ­handing it to Jim McMahon on his final day as Council Leader.

Councillor McMahon asked the former Education Secretary to chair the OESC and conduct a wide-ranging review of the local education offer in 2014.

This independent body was tasked with identifying areas of best practice and underachievement, investigating the challenges faced and developing a path to future success.

The publication of the OESC's 84-page report today is the result of more than 18 months of evidence gathering and discussions with a large number of schools, colleges, businesses, education professionals, young people and families.

The report makes 19 recommendations and focuses on achieving two key targets in Oldham by 2020.

They are for all performance indicators to be at the national average or above and for all education providers to be judged 'good' or better by Ofsted.

Also, a report to Oldham Council's next Cabinet meeting on January 25 is proposing an investment of £1 million over the next three years to provide support and resources to make progress on the report's recommendations.

Estelle Morris and Jim McMahon launched the report at The Radcylffe School, Chadderton at 2.30pm today.

This 1,500-pupil secondary school is an example of the kind of transformation the OESC wants to see ­ and shows it can be achieved.

Hardial Hayer, Headteacher, conducted a brief tour of the school and explained how it went from being rated by Ofsted as "requires improvement" to "outstanding" last month.

Ms Morris said: "I'm delighted to publish this report and I believe this can be a significant moment for Oldham."

"A good education system is critical to this town's future success. It needs high standards and a highly-skilled workforce and this report can play a major role in the future of education and training to achieve that.

"Our report identifies some good foundations are already in place, like the fantastic efforts here at The Radclyffe School and many others, but we also know that is not the same story everywhere.

"Some schools aren't yet 'good' and too many children don't achieve the results they could, so this is about how we can all work together to turn that around. Our ambition is for every school to be 'good' or 'outstanding'.

"We think Oldham can have a local education system that is 'self-improving'. That is one where schools, the local authority and other partners come together to take collective responsibility for improving all schools, colleges and training across the board. It's one where they set ambitious targets together, share information, resources and data, and offer closer support to each other.

"We also recommend the introduction of 'The Oldham Offer' which makes clear what each of us should expect from a good education system ­ and what we must each contribute towards making that happen.

"Those who work in schools and colleges have a key role but we also believe the whole community has a part to play in this. Our families, employers, community leaders, sport and cultural organisations must all do their bit."

Councillor McMahon was recently elected as the Oldham West and Royton MP and this is his last engagement before officially stepping down as Council Leader.

He said: "There couldn't be a more fitting final task for me as Council Leader than to receive this report ­ it is hugely important for Oldham.

"This matters whether you are a parent, carer, governor, teacher, school head, local business owner, or member of a voluntary or community group.

"A high-performing education system underpins all our ambitions for Oldham to regenerate and become a more vibrant place to live and work."

"This report makes it clear that we all need to focus on supporting every child to be 'school ready', 'life ready' and 'work ready'. That means moving to a culture here where education is now everyone's business."

The OESC report can be downloaded from today at www.oesc.org.uk