Learning mentors “succeeding” says Ofsted

Learning mentors are helping to raise standards and promote
educational inclusion, according to Ofsted.

Ofsted chief inspector David Bell says that learning mentors are
succeeding in giving disaffected pupils greater confidence and are
promoting more positive attitudes towards education.

Together with other initiatives in schools covered by the
Education Action Zone and Excellence in Cities programmes, Bell
says learning mentors who work with individual pupils have helped
improve pupils behaviour, but the effect on their achievement is
“limited and variable”.

Too many schools lack adequate systems for tracking the progress
of individual pupils, especially pupils with special educational
needs. And although fewer secondary schools were found by Ofsted to
have unsatisfactory behaviour overall this year than last, some
pupils’ behaviour remains a serious concern for many
secondary schools.

In special schools for pupils with emotional , behavioural and
social difficulties, leadership and management were less good than
in other special schools. These schools often have difficulties
recruiting and retaining staff, including senior managers.

But in three quarters of all special schools  pupils achievement
is good or better, and the quality of teaching is good or better in
four out of five special schools.

The welfare of pupils was judged unsatisfactory in a quarter of
the independent boarding schools inspected.

On early years care and education, Ofsted reports a 4 per cent
increase in registered child care providers in the six months to
last September. 3,500 complaints about registered providers were
investigated during the year.

The quality of funded nursery education in private or voluntary
sector settings is generally good, though in one in eight
nurseries, provision was either unacceptable or there were
significant areas for improvement.

www.ofsted.gov.uk