Putting Lewisham’s children and young people at the heart of everything we do
Great things are already achieved by Lewisham young people. Schools in Lewisham are exciting places to learn - modern, vibrant and stimulating, with dedicated and skilled staff.
Almost all are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted. Many more of our children progress to higher education than the national average.
But there is more to be done to ensure that every child has the best chance to succeed. And there is a determination in our community to work with our schools to make that happen.
I’m pleased to be able to share Lewisham’s new Education Strategy for the next five years, which outlines our key priorities.
What is an ‘Education Strategy?’
A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a long term aim.
This Education Strategy sets out how our schools will work together over the next five years, and how we as the local authority will work with them. Together, we are committed to an inclusive and high-achieving system of local comprehensive schools, trusted by our community, in which all children can succeed; a network of local schools which promotes a positive culture to foster and celebrate achievement, respect equality, and reflect our diversity.
How we decided what was important
We spoke with school staff, parents, staff in our education department and most importantly, our children and young people to understand what we should focus on for the next five years. Here’s what they told us they wanted:
- A place in a good school/setting for all children and young people
- Supporting all our children and young people to reach their potential and be ready for their future
- Embedding a culture of inclusion and equity
- Collaborative school improvement to raise standards and meet priorities
- Supporting the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of all children and young people
Building on existing successes
A lot is already happening across the borough addressing a number of these key priorities.
The tackling race inequality in education programme is becoming embedded in our schools, with teachers, parents and pupils already feeding back that they have noticed a positive change.
The positive trend in Ofsted ratings shows the upward trajectory in school standards. Local parents are increasingly putting their trust in our schools, with 10% more local families putting Lewisham secondary schools as first preference in 2022.
We’re proud to be investing in expansion of our SEND provision, both in mainstream education and our specialist schools. This means we are able to provide an education for more of those with additional needs, closer to home.
Our young people told us that they are ambitious for their education and want to be well prepared for the future - for work, leisure and being part of their community. Support for good physical and mental health is also high on their agenda. We are already investing in mental health initiatives in schools with plans to build on these.
What’s next?
Recent years have been a challenge for schools and children, and they have not had the support from central government that they deserve, but we will not let that deflect us from doing everything we can locally to support them; to enable them to work within a framework of values and ambitions that is shared with parents, local community, other schools, and the local authority and related agencies.
I strongly believe – and growing evidence supports this – that schools are more likely to succeed if they work within this kind of supportive local ecology. That is what the new strategy will build. On behalf of the local authority, and the people we represent, I am happy to pledge our every effort to help our schools and our children to achieve the success they deserve.