I started the day early with the Leeds Secondary Headteachers at Weetwood Hall...

These are a great group of colleagues who together have transformed outcomes for young people here in Leeds. This years results mean that, compared to when Education Leeds started when only 39% achieved 5 A*-C grades at GCSE, this year 77% achieved this standard... a simply remarkable increase which has meant huge additional numbers of our young people getting the passport to learning, to work and to success. Particular success stories include Abbey Grange CE High School, Allerton Grange High School, Allerton High School, Boston Spa School, Brigshaw High School, Bruntcliffe High School, Cardinal Heenan RC High School, Carr Manor High School, City of Leeds School, Cockburn Community College, Crawshaw School, David Young Academy, Farnley Park High School, Garforth Community College, Horsforth School, Leeds West Academy, John Smeaton Community College, Lawnswood High School, Morley High School, Mount St Mary's RC High School, Parklands Girls high School, Priesthorpe School, Primrose High School, Pudsey Grangefield High School, Ralph Thoresby High School, Rodillian High School, Roundhay School, Royds School, South Leeds Academy, St Mary's RC School, Menston, Temple Moor High School and Woodkirk High School we have seen outstanding results and great individual achievements. It has been a real team effort with schools supporting schools, departments supporting departments and colleagues supporting colleagues through the powerful application ofour School Improvement Policy framework.

The meeting today also looked at the developing blueprint for the new Children's Services arrangements with presentations by my colleagues Mariana Pexton and Dirk Gilleard. Mariana outlined the blueprint which builds on the work that we have been doing over the last five years to build extended services arrangements within clusters across the city. It continues to build well-being and child protection teams around schools and Children's Centres connected to area teams working with looked-after children and children with complex needs. These teams around the child and the family must powerfully connect with the universal offer to ensure that every child in Leeds has a key worker and has the support, resources and encourgement they need to achieve their potential. Dirk talked about the developing thinking around school improvement within this overarching blueprint building on the work we have developed and pioneered here in Leeds over the last few years. The model would secure strategic support with additional support on a traded basis and regional programmes making some developments more sustainable and secure in the new and austere world that is coming.

We need to continue to work to refine and develop the models and the structural arrangements to ensure that everychild and every young person is happy, healthy, safe and increasingly successful... whatever it takes!
Chris