Welcome to this week’s edition of Heads Up. It is the final edition that I shall be contributing the introduction for. There will be a short hiatus for the holiday and then Ian Budd, my successor as Assistant Director for Education and Learning, will take the reins.

With this being my last introduction, I hope you will indulge while I ruminate on what has been a fantastic five months or so.

When I came to Warwickshire I could not have imagined how much ground we would cover in the next five or so months.  There is a perception when an interim takes up a post that the organisation is treading water, albeit temporarily, while it reassesses its position before moving forward.  That has never been my style and, thankfully, it is clearly not the style of our colleagues in Warwickshire.

I have been fortunate, during my time here, to have worked with extremely dedicated and effective officers, headteachers and partners who have shown real dedication to achieving the best possible outcomes for our children, young people and families.  

I have been encouraged to see the support for the Warwickshire Education Strategy across the whole education system; the ethos of co-production has played a pivotal role in the early development of the strategy, continuing during the implementation phase which has resulted in the re-shaping of policy and embedding of partnerships that, in turn, are bringing about an improvement in performance.

One of the two main principles of the One Organisational Plan 2020 is that we will look after our most vulnerable residents.  WE2, the second strand of the strategy, focuses on our provision for some of our more vulnerable learners and we’ve already seen a reduction in the number of young people attending out of county provision; not only does that create a considerable saving but also is a significantly improved outcome for the young people, enabling them to be educated nearer their homes. Progress is also underway to build a further Alternative Provision free school in the next 12 months, following Warwickshire’s successful bid to the DfE for funding in which we were one of only two authorities across the country to receive the grant.  

We have also seen exclusions come down 50% on last year’s figure, allowing us to make savings in this area. Our excellent SENDAR team have turned the processing time for EHC plans on its head, with 86% completed within the 20 week timescale in March - up from 40% in November 2018. We know there are still challenges ahead to address the funding gap in the SEND area.  It is a national issue with authorities across the country seeing their projected costs increasing with higher birth rates and more EHC plans as a result. But we have, in Warwickshire, established a good rapport with Under Secretary of State for Education Nadhim Zahawi MP, following a number of recent visits to meet with colleagues in the education team – these relationships are key for getting business done.

There is a wealth of talent in Warwickshire, and a passion that has been clearly evident to me during my time here, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working with you all. I leave feeling confident that education officers and leaders are well-equipped to deal with the challenges that lie ahead, and that your new Assistant Director for Education, Ian Budd, will with your support, continue to build on the momentum already created to drive forward the ambition of the Education Strategy and ultimately make Warwickshire the best it can be.

Best wishes,