Midlands head teachers in courses to boost Ofsted ratings

Scores of headteachers across the Midlands are signing up for a new course aimed at helping their primary schools pass Ofsted inspections.

The one-day sessions, which cost around £130 to attend, have already proved popular with teachers in Birmingham and the East Midlands and are now being rolled out in Wolverhampton and Cannock.

It comes after latest Ofsted figures show 74 schools across the region were rated satisfactory and seven inadequate in the last academic year. Fifteen were seen as outstanding and 65 good.

Heads who attend the Learning Unleashed workshops, organised by ASA Education Ltd, are told about the importance of children reading and shown useful methods of teaching literacy in schools. Just this month Ofsted introduced a new framework which has an increased focus on the teaching of literacy skills in schools.

Mrs Carol Aston, who runs ASA Education Ltd based in Dudley, said: "So many new initiatives are thrust upon schools these days. It's important to remember that reading is one of the most important things for a child."

Around 30 headteachers attend each course, Mrs Aston, who previously worked as a lecturer at Newman University College in Birmingham, added. Staff from ASA Education Ltd are also going into schools to offer advice.

The first Learning Unleashed course in the Black Country is being held at Wolverhampton Racecourse on January 31. A course is also due at Cannock's Ramada Hotel on February 9.