OFSTED warning about Primary Leadership Programme
Education watchdog OFSTED has warned that there is a lack of commitment to the Primary Leadership Programme in some schools, which is leading to uneven improvements across primary education.
In its new report, “The Primary Leadership Programme 2003 -2004: An
Evaluation”, OFSTED also suggests that many schools believe that the new scheme was brought in too quickly, without sufficient piloting.
The Primary Leadership Programme was launched by the Department for Education and Skills in the summer term of 2003, and currently covers around 25 per cent of primary schools in every Local Education Authority area.
Under the scheme, experienced primary teachers – known as Primary Strategy Consultant Leaders – provide advice on English and maths teaching for the leaderships of other schools locally.
OFSTED’s inspectors found that where PSCLs and schools are “bought in” to the scheme, the benefits to be had are substantial.
However, performance is too mixed at present. Some PSCLs are not being provided with sufficient information about the schools they are expected to help, the report warns.
Local Education Authority (LEA) primary strategy managers also felt it had been developed in a piecemeal fashion without any clear, long term vision.
HM Chief Inspector of Schools David Bell commented, “good, honest communication between heads, LEAs and primary strategy consultants leaders is essential and was lacking in some of the schools that inspectors visited. A lot of this centred on a confusion about roles and responsibilities.”
Mr Bell went on: “I am pleased that the DfES is taking positive action to remedy some of the problems outlined in this report, including better selection and training of primary consultants and stronger emphasis on the importance of raising standards in English and maths.”
