Wiltshire's Young People's Support Service put into Special Measures by OFSTED

The YPSS consists of four schools around the county, including the Trinity Centre in Trowbridge. They deal with pupils who have been excluded from normal secondary schools. Pupils seen as being at risk of exclusion also attend the centres, as do some students with medical conditions for whom mainstream education would not be appropriate. YPSS is one of the few parts of the education system still in the control of the council.

Ofsted inspected the schools in May, and concluded that the system was inadequate. In the words of the report, "In accordance with section 13(3) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement."

Ofsted in their report refer to the schools as if they were a single unit, because that's how their processes work. They accuse the education department of complacency: "The service's assessment of its effectiveness is too generous."

They point out the harm being done as a result of the inadequacy: "Students have not made sufficient progress in improving their basic skills, particularly in literacy, and most are not well prepared for their next stage of education or work."

However the front line staff are seen as doing a good job despite the leadership problems. "For the small number of students who attend the centres regularly, learning in lessons is satisfactory. This is because they benefit from well-planned lessons and teachers' good subject knowledge within the limited curriculum that is taught."

Teachers are though under pressure because of the overall inadequacies of the council - the centres are oversubscribed because pupils are not doing well enough to be able to go back to mainstream schools. A more efficient system would allow some pupils to return to their normal schools more quickly, thus relieving the pressure on the YPSS.

The theme of hard-working teachers and staff being let down by high-level complacency is reiterated in the report's conclusions. "The drive for improvement and the pace of change overall have not been effective, despite the improvements to the quality of teaching."

Since the report's publication Wiltshire Council has decided to close the YPSS schools. The front line staff are to be made redundant. The cabinet member responsible for education, Lionel Grundy OBE, remains in place. The chief officer responsible for education, Carolyn Godfrey, has been promoted to become one of the Trinity now running the council.

The functions of the service will be taken over by the county's secondary schools.