Our vision is for Somerset to be the most forward looking area in England for education and learning
Our vision is for Somerset to be the most forward looking area in England for education and learning. Our ambition is that children are safe, healthy, happy; are ambitious for their future, and develop skills for life.
Strategy for Achieving Excellence for All 2016-2019
If you work with, or support children or young people in Somerset, this important and exciting strategy relates to you. We want the whole of the Somerset community to be inspired by our vision and to support our ambition. We have high aspirations for all children and young people, and need to work together to secure the best possible future for our children and families, as well as a bright economic future for all Somerset communities.
During the autumn of 2015, the local authority held a series of workshops with leaders and representatives from our wide ranging child care, early help, education, skills and business sectors, to agree a shared vision, and to develop a strategy that will accelerate our ambition to make Somerset a great place for children and young people to grow up, learn, develop and achieve.
Our partners include families and communities, and the many different providers across the early years, school, post-16, training and employment sectors, health services and the police. The ‘Strategy for Achieving Excellence for All’ sets out our collective ambition and priorities for each stage in a child and young person’s life, from their early years, to post-16 education, training and employment.
Somerset has a greater percentage than the national average of ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools, and many of our educational outcomes compare favourably with similar authorities and national averages. However, our performance is not consistent. In 2015 Somerset’s GCSE results were better than the national average, but attainment at Key Stage 2 was amongst the lowest in England.
A particular concern, is the attainment of our vulnerable learners. Children in Somerset who have special educational needs, those who are looked after by the Council, and those who live in low income families, generally do far less well in Somerset than these groups of children in most other local authority areas.
The strategy contains a comprehensive evaluation of performance and provision from early years to post-16, highlighting our achievements to-date and the areas we need to improve.
The ‘Strategy for Achieving Excellence for All’ sets out the detail of our ambitious improvement trajectory, including specific performance targets.
Our vision is that all children and young people:
In three years’ time, we want:
New ways of working in partnership are critical for success in our diverse educational and community landscape. This landscape requires the local authority to drive change through strategic influence, highly effective partnership arrangements and collaborative networks. Our pooled effort and shared priorities can achieve better outcomes, increase capacity in the system, and create more innovative solutions, at a time of reducing levels of resource. The strategy sets out our priorities and expectations. These include:
Excellence for all
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Adoption is one of the most rewarding ways of making a difference in a Child's life. If you decide to take up the challenge, we'll be there to support you every step of the way.
