Wolverhampton schools leader defies resignation call

The man in charge of Wolverhampton schools has hit back at calls for him to resign following a scathing Ofsted report.

The watchdog said too many children are being 'failed' by the city's education system and the authority was also told the lack of progress in improving schools 'cannot be allowed to continue'.

The report comes after a wave of emergency inspections in June, called in a bid to find out why the city's youngsters had a much lower chance of attending a good or outstanding school than children in other parts of the country.

Wolverhampton South West MP Paul Uppal and leader of the council's opposition Conservative group Councillor Mrs Wendy Thompson have both called for cabinet member for education Councillor Phil Page to step down.

He came under more fire at a meeting of Wolverhampton Council with Tory councillor Paul Singh saying that Councillor Page had failed to make any real headway in improving the city's schools over the past four years.

"If you are not going to improve the schools, then maybe it is time for a change," said Councillor Singh.

"Many children are being failed by the city's education system."

Councillor Page said: "If the leader of the council wants me to resign, then I will do so immediately, but if not I'm going to continue doing all I can to improve schools in this city."

Before the meeting, Mr Uppal had said there was need for a major shake-up of education in the city.

"The council needs to up its game and dramatic change is needed to give our youngsters the best chance in life," he said.

"Councillor Page needs to step down but it needs to be part of a bigger overhaul of the education system. The focus needs to be to provide skills for the 21st century."

Leader of the Conservative group on the council, Councillor Mrs Wendy Thompson, also called on Councillor Page to quit following the publication of the Ofsted report last week.

"If you haven't shown the appropriate leadership you should step down. He has been in the role for years and things haven't improved," she said.

Of the 13 schools visited none were judged as outstanding, seven were good and five were said to require improvement, while inspectors said it was 'worrying' that six of the schools had failed to improve since they were last visited.

Council leader Councillor Roger Lawrence said that changes to the education system meant there were limits to what the council could do.

"People like the Tories need to understand the relationship between the council and schools – we don't control them," he said.

"Successive governments have devolved budgets directly to schools and the local authority has limited influence on schools. Schools, through their headteachers and governing bodies, are ultimately responsible for their performance."

But Councillor Singh said there was little point in having an cabinet member for education if he could not make a difference.

He said: "If he can't control the schools, what do we have a member for schools and lifelong learning for? What's his role?"