Pembrokeshire County Council's education services for children and young people have been judged to be unsatisfactory in an Estyn report published this week.

As a result of this report, Estyn has recommended to Welsh Ministers that the authority be placed in the category of an authority requiring special measures.

The 'Report on the quality of local authority education services for children and young people in Pembrokeshire County Council' identifies important shortcomings in leadership of the authority's education services. It states that corporate leaders and senior elected members have been too slow to recognise key issues in safeguarding and to change the culture in, and improve, education services. The report also finds that the authority's arrangements for supporting and challenging schools are not robust enough and have not had enough impact on improving outcomes.

The Estyn inspection team was joined by inspectors from the Wales Audit Office (WAO) and from the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW). The inspection also involved taking into consideration evidence from the joint recent investigation work by CCSIW and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) into Pembrokeshire. Estyn also took evidence from the WAO in relation to their 'Special Inspection -Implementation of Safeguarding Arrangements in Pembrokeshire County Council' which was aso published this week by Wales Audit Office.

The Estyn inspection followed up on a similar inspection of the local authority's education services for children and young people carried out in June 2011 which recommended that Pembrokeshire was placed in the category of being in need of significant improvement, due to shortcomings in the important areas of safeguarding and corporate governance.

A copy of the report is published on Estyn's website

LEADER'S RESPONSE

Responding to the Estyn and Wales Audit Office reports, the leader of Pembrokeshire County Council, Clr. Jamie Adams, said: "Clearly, the two reports identify serious issues which the council is committed to resolving.

"We acknowledge the areas where we need to continue improving. In many of these areas we have already begun to take the necessary steps to improve outcomes for children.

"In response to these reports, I will today be signing an agreement with Carmarthenshire County Council to develop a shared school improvement service.

"I believe this is the first agreement of its kind in Wales. It will enable us to access the additional capability and capacity we need to improve the provision of education in Pembrokeshire.

"Since the summer, we have merged our Safeguarding and Education functions under the leadership of a new director who has a proven track record in relation to safeguarding.

"We have also taken action to address recruitment and retention issues in our social care service and we have invested in extra capacity to support our work on safeguarding.

"With regard to the Wales Audit Office inspection of our safeguarding arrangements, it is unfortunate that there was such a long delay between the completion of inspection work in the summer and the publication of this report a week before Christmas when so much has been achieved in the intervening months.

"I am very pleased with the progress that has been made in respect of our safeguarding arrangements since the Wales Audit Office completed its fieldwork in August and the fact that many of the weaknesses identified in the report have already been addressed."

Clr. Adams said he was grateful for the efforts of his fellow councillors, the staff in all departments and the Pembrokeshire Ministerial Board for the action taken to date.

He added: "I am under no illusions as to the scale of the challenge that faces the authority. Nevertheless, I am confident that, with continued support from the Welsh Government and the local Estyn inspection team, we will deliver long-lasting improvement."

Failings can not

be allowed to continue, says AM

Shadow Education Minister for Plaid Cymru Simon Thomas has said that failings highlighted in two reports about the care of children by Pembrokeshire Council make the case for the Welsh Government to take control of education in the county.

A report from the Wales Audit Office finds that Pembrokeshire Council had "failed in its duty" to improve child safeguarding measures in the wake of allegations of abuse.

The auditor general has called for the Welsh government to intervene over concerns about the "speed and rigour" of change.

In its latest report, Estyn identifies what it says are important shortcomings in leadership of the education services.

It says that officials and senior councillors have been too slow to recognise key issues in safeguarding children and to change the culture within the education service.

The Mid and West AM, said: "The failings the reports highlight cannot be allowed to continue. Parents and children in the county have been let down by the failings in the education system. The onus is now on the Education Minister to show leadership in rectifying the situation as speedily as possible, it is essential that confidence in the county's schools is restored.

The Welsh Audit Office report shows that while action has been taken to highlight the need to safeguard vulnerable children, progress in addressing the causes of the failings has been unacceptably slow.

"This cannot be allowed to go on. The Party of Wales is calling on the minister to look to take a direct role in the interests of public confidence."