“We’ve let down thousands of children” by not improving education standards since it was highlighted by Estyn in 2011 a councillor has said as he called for more urgency.

Clr. Mike Stoddart made the comments at full council on Thursday (May 13) as councillors approved plans to recruit a to a new post of head of education improvement and commissioning, with a total potential pay package of £110,000 was approved by full council.

“We’ve had ten years to turn this tank around, it’s the complacency that gets me. We have let thousands of children down over this time, we should be ashamed of ourselves,” continued Clr. Stoddart.

He said that scrutiny of education services “seemed to be completely ineffective in getting anything done” and a key step in improving child poverty levels would be to ensure a “decent education so they can get a decent job.”

Cabinet member for education Clr. Guy Woodham said that he agreed that matters needed to move quickly but it was also vital to get the best person for the job, who would be able to “further develop improvement.”

In response to Clr. Stoddart’s assertion that “some urgency is required” Clr. Woodham said it is “like turning an oil tanker around.”

The new role follows a more recent Estyn report that made four recommendations to improve underperformance including raising standards in schools, improving outcomes for learners and the effectiveness of the authority’s work to improve teaching.