Cardiff council education service 'progress', Estyn says

Schools services in Cardiff will not require further intervention from inspectors after the council was found to have made "sufficient progress".

An Estyn report two years ago said the local authority's education services needed "significant improvement".

But, following a series of monitoring visits, it has made progress in meeting six key recommendations, watchdogs say.

It means all local authorities in Wales are now considered good enough not to need follow up action.

But only one has been rated excellent - Ceredigion.

Since December 2015 four local authorities have been lifted out of "special measures", the worst of the inspector's categories.

Cardiff is Wales' largest education authority and had been placed in the second lowest category by watchdog Estyn.

But now the chief inspector of education says it has succeeded in strengthening its education service, though further work is needed in some areas.

It found:

• There has been an improvement in standards among 14 to 16-year-olds, but performance between schools in Cardiff is still too variable

• The council has taken "strong and timely" action to reduce exclusions from schools

• Its performance in reducing the number of young people not in education or training (NEETs) is one of the worst in Wales

• The information it holds on education pupils get from organisations away from the school site is "generally weak" and "unacceptable"

• The council has improved the support it gives to schools but "the performance of a few of Cardiff secondary schools is still a significant concern"

In a letter to the council, Estyn says: "Overall, schools in Cardiff are becoming more resilient and are demonstrating a greater capacity for improvement.

"Since the monitoring visit in 2014, there has been an increase in the number of higher performing schools and a decrease in the number in need of significant improvement."

But it goes on to say schools' results for 14 to 16-year-olds have "not improved sufficiently".

During the past three months, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr, Monmouthshire and Torfaen have all been lifted out of special measures.