Inner-city schools project under fire
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tony Blair's flagship project to improve inner-city schools was called into question yesterday by a leaked report of Ofsted inspectors.
The Excellence in Cities programme (EiC) has cost £800m since it was launched by the Prime Minister in 1999. But while the programme has successfully reduced bad behaviour, expulsions and truancy, its impact on pupils' results has been less marked, the Ofsted report says.
Next week, David Bell, the chief inspector of schools in England, will release the report and it will be deeply embarrassing for ministers who have invested huge sums in the programme, which covers a third of secondary school pupils.
The Department for Education and Skills immediately launched a robust defence, saying any suggestion that EiC made no impact on standards was "ridiculous". A spokes-woman said: "The figures speak for themselves. Standards in EiC areas have improved faster than elsewhere in the country." She admitted improvement was varied, saying: "They have improved most in areas where they have had EiC the longest."
The Ofsted report also said improved classroom standards were evident among younger pupils in primary schools but less visible among secondary children, although the programme has been running longest in secondary schools. It covers 1,000 secondary and 1,000 primary schools in six conurbations covering 24 local education authorities.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments