Blaenau Gwent taken out of special measures

Education services in Blaenau Gwent have been taken out of special measures after four years.

In 2011, a task force was sent in after watchdog Estyn found "systemic" management failures, and the council accepted changes were needed.

Estyn said there have been improvements in raising standards and tackling under-performing schools.

Blaenau Gwent council welcomed the report but accepted more work needed to be done.

'Limited by size'

In a letter to the council, Estyn assistant director Clive Phillips said Blaenau Gwent "is judged to have made sufficient progress" and that "the authority no longer requires special measures".

However, he warned that some areas still needed further improvement, such as support for pupils with additional learning needs.

Mr Phillips also said Blaenau Gwent - one of the smallest Welsh councils by population - should work with other authorities to provide education services, saying its capacity to continue improvements was "limited by size".

Keren Bender, the council's executive member responsible for education, said: "We are obviously delighted by Estyn's findings and it recognises the clear progress that we have made in raising standards and improving educational outcomes for learners in Blaenau Gwent.

"We are, however, very clear that there are further improvements to be made, as indicated by Estyn in its official feedback which confirms the Council's own findings.

"We are committed to continuing this journey of improvement to meet our ambition of raising aspirations and standards for all learners."

Three of the 22 local education authorities - Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, and Torfaen - remain in special measures.