ABOUT WIRRAL EDUCATION SERVICES

EDUCATION AND CULTURAL SERVICES

The Education and Cultural Services Department encompasses a wide variety of functions in its commitment to deliver life long learning and cultural opportunities for every Wirral resident. Its aim is to provide services that enhance learning and cultural opportunities for everyone, whatever their abilities and needs.

Wirral's schools are deemed, through OFSTED's Statistical Profile as a whole, to perform better in all major areas than schools nationally, and provide excellent educational opportunities when compared to similar local authorities.

Wirral has three nursery schools, 101 primary schools, 22 secondary schools and eleven special schools, which together educate approximately 53,000 pupils. Primary pupils achieving level 4 or above at Key Stage 2 are above the national average while pupils performance in secondary education compares well with the national picture.

Education and Cultural Services Department is based over three sites with the Director, Deputy Director and Senior Inspectorate based in Hamilton Building, Birkenhead. The Advisory and Inspection Service provides advice and training in all curricular areas and operates from the Wirral Education Centre in Bromborough. The centre is also the focus for much of the Continuing Professional Development provision under the management of the Professional Development Advisor. At the Solar Campus in Wallasey, the Educational Psychologists and Social Welfare team provide support to schools, together with the recently inspected Youth Service found by OFSTED to be "of a very good quality". Solar Campus also houses the Pupil Referral Unit and Hospital School. Other Support services to schools are distributed throughout the three sites.

The Education Development Plan has identified eight priorities integrated into the annual Education and Cultural Services Departmental Service Plan, where a further three priorities have been developed, and other Education Plans.

The OFSTED inspection of Wirral LEA found that the quality of services to schools was always responsive, often deemed to be good and in the case of support for literacy and numeracy to be excellent. The relationship of the LEA with schools is one based on partnership, with the LEA moving forward with its modernising agenda.