Bristol cabinet councillor for children's plans for future

As she is a retired maths teacher, it is perhaps not surprising that cabinet councillor Clare Campion-Smith cites a focus on literacy and numeracy as one of her priorities for improving education in Bristol.

She recognises that while she has to consider the overall picture for nearly 100,000 children and young people in the city, it is important not to lose sight of the basics.

"We must concentrate on English and maths right through any young person's education," she says. "If we monitor and track their progress properly, we can see when things start to go wrong and do something about it.

"Mastering the basics enables youngsters to access other parts of the curriculum and to learn skills for the future. Often, it is when this falls down that other problems, such as truancy or youth crime, can begin," she says.

Mrs Campion-Smith, 63, is relishing the chance to have a longer run at the cabinet role as councillor for children, which she took on when the Liberal Democrats took control of the city council in February.

The elections earlier this month have given her party overall control of the authority, which offers them the chance to drive through their plans – although their opponents are sceptical about whether they will deliver.

Mrs Campion-Smith says the Lib Dems will continue with the work they began in the spring but are awaiting the results of several reviews before rushing into anything new.

One of their first actions in their temporary period in charge was to revive the plan for a new 210-place primary school in Bishopston, which is to be built on a site next to City of Bristol College's Ashley Down campus.

"That school is on target to open for reception pupils in September next year," she pledges.

But Mrs Campion-Smith is aware that the new school will make only a small contribution to solving the chronic shortage of primary places in many areas of the city.

She and the then interim strategic director for children Annie Hudson – now in the post permanently – tackled the immediate crisis for September this year by agreeing with a number of schools to install temporary classrooms .

Work has already begun on looking at where places will be needed for 2010 and beyond, and Mrs Campion-Smith is quietly determined that proper solutions will be found.

"An independent review of admissions is being carried out. It will be looking at the processes within the council, at population projections, and at what other councils do. An interim report will go to a cross-party briefing meeting in July and a full report will be made in September."

Once she receives information and data from the review, Mrs Campion-Smith and officers will look again at last year's Primary Review proposals.

These were based on reducing surplus places in Bristol's schools for four to 11-year-olds and on deciding where money for new building should be spent.

But it is clear that not enough attention was paid to the shortage of places in some areas.

Other factors that have come into play since the review work began two years ago are the recession, which means the council cannot rely on income from the sale of land, and new regulations that mean refurbishment of old school buildings will be more expensive than budgeted for.

It is also recognised that public spending will be severely cut from 2011, whichever party is in Government, so the timing of some projects will also be under review. Mrs Campion-Smith says there is a need to create more dialogue between parents, schools and the council.

"I think it is important to know the local context for schools: what is important to them, what they see as the main issues.

"The review is about good primary schools in Bristol, looking at their fabric and making sure they are fit for purpose in the 21st century. We need as much information as we can to decide which proposals are taken forward and when."

The unsatisfactory state of many primary school buildings has been highlighted, she believes, by the transformation of secondary school premises across the city..

Many secondaries have been rebuilt and the final phase of revamps is under way. Bristol will be the first city in the country to see all its secondary schools recreated in this way.

Mrs Campion-Smith concedes that the city has done remarkably well out of Labour government money for secondaries and has seen good progress in results as a result of new ways of working within the new buildings.

But the Lib Dems are planning a review of the "mixed economy" of secondary schooling, which has seen the creation of eight academies and two trust schools.

She adds: "We need to take stock of where we are with academies, which are independent of the local authority. We need to look at them in the context of the obligation of the local authority to provide school places."

There must also be a focus on what is taught in all state schools in the city, offering young people an exciting curriculum with a range of vocational and academic pathways, so that each student can follow the route that suits them and will help them fulfil their potential, she says.

Mrs Campion-Smith's role covers youth services and children's social services as well as schools and early years provision. She is keen to look at youth services in particular.

She is also aware of the need to keep child protection at the highest level of priority. Another review is taking place by independent group Reconstruct of two incidents that were judged inadequate by the watchdog Ofsted.

She says: "We are always looking at safeguarding and making sure that our practices protect children and are improving all the time. We have got to make sure that all councillors are aware of their responsibilities and that we support and challenge our social care teams to deliver."