Plans to improve schools get go-ahead » Communities » 24dash.com

Newham Council has agreed plans for improving educational attainment in two of the borough's secondary schools.

At a meeting yesterday (Thursday, November 20), the Mayor and his cabinet approved the plan for Royal Docks Community School in Custom House to acquire Academy status.

The school’s governing body has agreed to work with Newham Council in exploring the development of the borough's first Academy, which aims to be in place by September 2009.

The governors will consider forming a working group with council officers to plan the process and a 'parents champion' will be appointed to represent the views and interests of parents and carers.

The school in Prince Regent Lane has been under a Notice to Improve from Ofsted since November 2006. Inspectors described the school as ‘inadequate’ in the ‘overall effectiveness of the school’, ‘quality of teaching and learning’ and ‘achievement and standards’ categories. They also recommended that the school needed to raise standards and improve students' achievements.

The school received intensive support from the council and the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ London Challenge. However, this year only 25 per cent of students gained five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C including maths and English, placing it in the bottom 13 per cent of schools nationally.

At the same meeting, the Mayor and cabinet also agreed to explore a major improvement plan and the development of National Challenge Trust status for Eastlea Community School in Exning Road, Canning Town.

The council is working with the school in setting up a joint strategy and improvement group. This will twin-track work on the improvement plan and explore a change in the school governance arrangements to National Challenge Trust status.

Although the school achieved a good Ofsted report, less than 30 per cent of their students achieved five or more GCSEs A* to C including English and maths.

Mayor Sir Robin Wales said: “Children and young people in Newham deserve to get the best education and parents expect nothing less.

“We have an obligation to ensure schools provide a decent standard of education and when a school does not do so, then we have no alternative but to take action.”

Executive member for children and young people, Councillor Quintin Peppiatt, said: “We have thoroughly assessed the situation with both schools and believe that it does require radical measures to bring them both to a standard which is acceptable to existing and future students and parents.

“We will not allow under-performance as it fails young people in terms of their future life chances.

“There needs to be a real drive to improve performance and these options will enable a new and exciting opportunity for the schools to improve.”