The start of term

It is almost mid-September and the new school term is underway. Many children will have gone back to familiar surroundings, but others will have moved up to secondary school, or have started school for the first time.

It’s not only children who find themselves in a new setting. We have a new Labour government. The new Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, has made some encouraging noises about some of the challenges that need to be dealt with, although we have yet to see what she proposes to do about most of them. But her well-meant intervention to try to encourage attendance at school had the impact of a bull in a china shop, alienating the very parents that she needs to get onside. She needs to explain more about the impact of missing school on the long-term prospects of children and young people, and dictate less.

Also over the summer, Ofsted, under their new Chief Inspector, have announced that they are going to move away from single word judgements on schools. This is tremendous news, as a more nuanced inspection report will help to remove some of the pressure that an inspection brings, and should create a more balanced view of how a school is actually performing. And a further cause for celebration is that Ofsted will be focusing much more on inclusion in the future, and will check the quality of schools’ support for vulnerable pupils and the disadvantaged, including children with Special Educational Needs.

Another thing that has been changing, but needs to change more, is school uniform. The cost of uniform – especially sports kit and shoes – is frightening for many families on low incomes. Schools in Wokingham have been moving more towards unbranded items, but there is still more that could be done. We are very fortunate to have the wonderful charity First Days in the Borough, whose uniform shop has helped many parents to equip their children for the new term. They are only able to operate thanks to the generosity of parents (and school outfitters) who donate uniforms. I am very pleased that the council has been able to assist them by finding suitable premises for them to operate out of.

Although children have only just gone back to school, the start of the admissions process for next September is only a few weeks away. The council has done a lot of work on school places to meet future demand, and we will be considering our School Place Strategy for the next 5 years at the end of September. This is the most comprehensive and detailed look at school places that the council has ever carried out and its conclusions will help us plan properly for the future.

Councillor Prue Bray, deputy leader of Wokingham Borough Council and executive member for children’s serviced, and ward member for Winnersh