Education is at the heart of Newham’s transformation.
We want to improve our standards and also make learning relevant to the whole community. We are building up an impressive record of achievement. Academic standards are rising fast.
In the past decade, we have seen a steady improvement in examination performance in the borough. Nearly four times as many young people achieve high grade GCSEs now compared to a dozen years ago.
- We were quick to recognise the importance of teaching assistants. We now have a trained assistant in every class at foundation stage and at Key Stage 1. Many Key Stage 2 teachers also have access to trained teaching assistants.
- The Excellence in the Cities initiative, Family and School Support Teams and Sure Start programmes are just some of the initiatives which were implemented in Newham.
- All our schools have school-wide computer networks and meet or exceed the Government’s 2004 pupil to computer target ratios.
West Ham United was one of the first of the Capital’s football clubs to run a study support centre. It aims to motivate children in Years 6, 7 and 9 and give them extra help with literacy, numeracy and study skills.
School exclusions are among the lowest in the country, due to close working between schools and the local authority, including school-based behaviour support teachers. Our methods are cited as models of good practice in government reports.
We are Britain’s leading authority for inclusive education. More than 90% of children with special educational needs are in mainstream schools where they benefit from the support of trained staff.