Special board being set up to tackle failing Walsall schools
A new independent board is to be set up to help drive up standards at Walsall's struggling schools in the wake of a damming Ofsted report.
An inspection of Walsall Council's school improvement plans revealed earlier this month that too many youngsters in the borough are attending inadequate schools.
Children's services and education boss, Councillor Barbara Cassidy, said she had been in meetings this week to discuss setting up the new panel.
But she said it was too early to say the sort of candidates that would be appointed onto the board.
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"We will be setting up an independent education board. It's remit will be to oversee school improvement in Walsall," she said.
"The idea is to attract an independent chairman, someone with the depth of character who can carry forward our vision for schools.
"We are confident that we will find that person. This is the first step that we will be taking on the road to improvement our schools."
See also: Councillors speak out after damning Ofsted report.
Councillor Cassidy said she has held talks with Walsall Council's children's services boss Rose Collinson about the move, adding: "There used be a Walsall education board but that was scrapped after Serco took over the education service in 2003.
"We always argued that such a board was needed and quite clearly with the situation we're in with the schools one is needed to over see school improvement across the borough."
The Ofsted report said the council was not providing effective support for schools and the number of educational establishments of concern was not falling.
The borough's children's services chief at the time, Councillor Mohammed Arif, said the council accepted the report and would use the findings to make sure all pupils were in a good or better school within two years.
See also: Teachers to strike over academy plan for failing Walsall school.
Ofsted carries out periodic checks at local authorities to scrutinise their school improvement plans or strategies and visited Walsall Council due to concerns about the achievement of pupils in primary schools and the low proportion of youngsters at good or better schools.
Eleven schools have been rated inadequate and placed into special measures in the borough since last November.
However, the report did say that education standards in the borough's eight nursery schools were outstanding, and good or better in all of its seven special schools.
