As Monica Fogarty has recently said in this bulletin, for business continuity purposes I have been working alongside Chris Malone during the past few weeks to ensure a smooth transition and handover in my role as the interim Assistant Director of Education. I have been fortunate during this time to have been working with a number of highly committed and effective officers and headteachers, including Dr Peter Kent who will be working closely with the local authority and school based colleagues to help progress the delivery of the Warwickshire Education (WE) strategy. 

The recently published Ofsted Annual Report, for those who have had the opportunity to digest it, captured a lot of positive headlines for Warwickshire and highlighted some excellent practice across our family of schools, settings and supporting personnel. Naturally, there is some scope for improvement, but in the main the headlines show there is much to be positive about with regards to preparing our children and young people for the next stage of their learning journeys. You can read the main headlines from the report in the article in this bulletin.

On Friday 15 December, I'll be joined by my colleagues Hayley Good and Marie Rooney when we accommodate Nadhim Zahawi the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Education, with a view to discussing the work of the evolving WE strategy. I am encouraged by how well this has been supported by schools and education settings across the different phases, from pre-school to post-16. Compared with many other local areas, Warwickshire has much to celebrate around its education story. The work of the WE strategy, if implemented effectively and supported by all stakeholders, will provide a platform to put Warwickshire in the best practice category on a national level. 

Going forwards I would encourage the submission of articles to Heads Up by all colleagues engaged in the delivery of the WE strategy if felt worthy of showcasing and sharing across our network. Bulletins are published weekly on a Thursday during term time. Please email articles including any accompanying information, photos etc. to el-businessimprovement@warwickshire.gov.uk