Joy as Walsall's schools exceed Ofsted national average for first time in 30 years

Proud education bosses hailed latest figures which showed that, as of June 17 this year, more than 89 per cent of children in the borough were attending a school given the higher ratings by Ofsted.

The national average is currently 88 per cent and Councillor Mark Statham said this is the first time Walsall has gone above that since Ofsted started inspections in 1993.

He said he was also pleased with the improved percentage of education health care plan (EHCP) assessments, for young people with special needs, being completed within 20 weeks.

Councillor Statham said: “I’m pleased to see the performance of Walsall schools is recognised.

“More than 89 per cent of schools in the borough are now rated good or excellent through the new framework of the Ofsted inspection.

“Historically, Walsall has lagged behind the national average. This is the first time since Ofsted commenced inspections began in 1993 that Walsall has been actually above the national average.

“Taking into consideration where we are placed in the socio-economic table, it is a significant achievement.

“And that has all been done against the backdrop of extensive re-examinations since September last year. It reflects the improvements over a number of years from where we were in the low 70s back in 2019.”

He added: “EHCP timeliness has proved historically challenging for this council over many years and its very pleasing to report since the restructure last year within that service, the historic backlog has been eliminated.

“We’re now moving forward in leaps and bounds and great strides have been made in terms of timeliness and the quality.

“In May we recorded 60 per cent within the statutory time period. In June, that increased to 80 per cent so we’re well on the way and in a positive and sustainable position to maintaining this throughout.

“The history is poor but the forward position is much better and I commend everybody in the service for making the effort and diligence to which they perform.”