'Urgent change must be the priority' for Wolverhampton schools
Another MP has claimed urgent change is needed to raise the standards of schools across Wolverhampton after a scathing Ofsted report.
Pressure has already been piled on Councillor Phil Page to resign from his position as Wolverhampton City Council's cabinet member for schools, skills and learning by MP Paul Uppal and the leader of Wolverhampton's Conservative Party Wendy Thompson.
Now the MP for Wolverhampton South East, Pat McFadden, has had his say, claiming there was not enough drive and dedication shown to instigate an improvement in school standards across the city.
See also: Wolverhampton schools chief should go after report, call.
While Mr McFadden stopped short of calling for Councillor Page's resignation he said urgent change was needed for the benefit of local children.
He said: "For too long too many children in Wolverhampton haven't been given the opportunity they deserve because the standards of schools are not high enough.
"The fact we only have a number of good schools across the city shows there's not enough drive to raise standards.
See also: Wolverhampton schools hoarding unspent millions.
"There is a must for urgent change in Wolverhampton.
"It must be the priority."
A recent Ofsted report concluded children in the city were being failed by their education system.
Council support for schools was described as 'weak' by the education watchdog, which concluded that the lack of progress 'cannot be allowed to continue'.
Of the 13 schools they visited for the report, none were classified as outstanding.
Seven were deemed good and five were said to require improvement.
Inspectors said it was 'worrying' that six of the schools had failed to improve since they were last visited.
Deansfield School was a prime example of Ofsted's concern.
It will now be taken out of local authority control and convert to an academy.
The report followed a wave of emergency inspections in June, held to find out why pupils from the city had a much lower chance of attending a good or outstanding school than children in other parts of the country.
According to the findings, failing schools – those judged to be either requiring improvement or inadequate – were well above national figures.
Wolverhampton also has the lowest number of outstanding primary schools in the country, despite an improvement in pupil achievement over the past year.
