Liberal Democrats call for action on poor secondary education standards in Oldham

Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE has written to council chiefs following a set of “very mixed” OFSTED results across Oldham’s secondary schools. 

Councillor Sykes’s Liberal Democrat Opposition Group say that Oldham council must act “where schools that were inspected were deemed to be inadequate.”

Councillor Sykes said, “These results should tell the council that more needs to be done.  The reality for far too many families in Oldham is that sending your children to a performing secondary school is just not an option.  Too many pupils are being let down because standards are not high enough across the board. That needs to change as a matter of absolute urgency.”

The Liberal Democrats also warned of dangers facing school budgets after the government announced a new pay deal for teachers and school support staff but refused to release any new funding to pay for it. 

Councillor Sykes said: “Teachers and support staff deserve a fair pay deal.  But instead of funding a fair deal, the government has decided that schools need to find the money themselves.”

“After years of budget cuts and with energy bills soaring, many schools will be looking at reducing the hours of staff to balance the books.  It will be children whose education has already been disrupted by the pandemic who lose out if this happens, it’s a scandal.”  

In a letter to Oldham Council’s Director of Children’s and Young People’s services, councillor Sykes asked the council to provide its strategy for driving up standards across secondary schools in Oldham. 

Councillor Sykes said, “It’s not just about ticking boxes at the next inspection.  Schools and the council need a plan to tackle absences.  School absences are up by more than 80% since 2019.  When kids miss school, it leads to other problems further on in life.  We want to see the council taking these figures seriously and working to drive improvements.”