• A history of poor performance by officers and inappropriate responses by members has created a legacy of frustration on the part of members.
• Members do not get clear or consistent performance information. Performance management is not seen as a member issue.
• The new chief executive's report in February 2002, ‘Performance, Culture and Change’, was a frank analysis of the situation that the council was in. (This document not located)
• Council faces particular difficulties in retention and is heavily reliant on agency staff.
  
• Nearly 50 per cent of under-25s come from black and ethnic minority communities.
• English is a second language for 32 per cent of primary and secondary school pupils.
• Waltham Forest has one of the highest crime rates of all outer London boroughs.

"What is currently missing is a long term vision for the borough," Davis said.

Children only have one chance at education. We can't let them miss out on its transformative effect” - Michael Gove Education secretary

• Native English speakers are a minority at 314-pupil City of Leeds School
• The head teacher says many students are not even literate in own language
• Georgiana Sale says: 'Sometimes we are the first to put a pen in their hand'
• All students will be taught English as a foreign language to raise standards
• The community secondary is judged to 'require improvement' by Ofsted
• Largest ethnic groups are of Pakistani, Czech, Roma and Traveller heritage

A school with pupils from more than 50 countries is to teach them all English as a foreign language.
City of Leeds comprehensive, which has been transformed by the arrival of large numbers of migrants, is thought to be the first in the country to take the extraordinary step.
At the last count it had on its books 55 nationalities and 50 languages or dialects, from Czech to Urdu.

The multi-ethnic City of Leeds School is to teach English as a foreign language to all of its 314 pupils
The school's head, Georgiana Sale, hopes giving the pupils a better grounding in English will boost results

Pupils at the comprehensive come from nations around the world, and a minority are native English speakers
The new class will be compulsory for the 15 per cent of pupils who are native English speakers.
Georgiana Sale, who is the headteacher, said they would gain as much as foreigners because their skills were so poor.
Giving a sobering overview of the problems faced by her staff, she said: ‘Many of our pupils are not only new to English but they are not even literate in their own language.
‘In some cases we are the first people to put a pen in their hand.’
She said she believed her school was the first to teach English as a foreign language to all its pupils.
‘The closest thing I could find was a school in London where a lot of pupils come from diplomatic circles with all the embassies nearby,’ she said.
‘That is obviously very different to us. We are proud to be a multi-cultural school and will continue to encourage new ideas to help us to be a supportive and encouraging learning environment where all pupils are given the same chances to learn.
‘Education is about giving children what they need and so we have asked ourselves: What do our children need?’

Mrs Sale, described as having 'boundless energy' by Ofsted, wants to raise standards at her school
The headmistress said her pupils' progress at GCSE level was being hampered by their poor English

• Buxton Primary School in Leytonstone has undergone internal improvements to the classroom area and has more toilets
• To cater for additional pupil places George Mitchell Primary School in Leyton is modifying the building internally to create an additional classroom
• Parkside Primary School in Chingford has also benefited from internal changes to increase classroom space
• Major construction work is taking place at St Saviours C of E Primary School in Walthamstow. Pupils will benefit from a new reception class, medical room, kitchen, hall and library

As part of Waltham Forest's secondary school programme pupils at Leytonstone Secondary School will see the building refurbished and a relocation and new build with two new classes is planned for Willowfield Secondary school in Walthamstow.

• Buxton Primary School in Leytonstone has undergone internal improvements to the classroom area and has more toilets
• To cater for additional pupil places George Mitchell Primary School in Leyton is modifying the building internally to create an additional classroom
• Parkside Primary School in Chingford has also benefited from internal changes to increase classroom space
• Major construction work is taking place at St Saviours C of E Primary School in Walthamstow. Pupils will benefit from a new reception class, medical room, kitchen, hall and library

As part of Waltham Forest's secondary school programme pupils at Leytonstone Secondary School will see the building refurbished and a relocation and new build with two new classes is planned for Willowfield Secondary school in Walthamstow.

Best and worst Waltham Forest secondary schools revealed in GCSE league table

1. Walthamstow School for Girls, Walthamstow, Progress 8: 0.63
2. Connaught School for Girls, Leytonstone, Progress 8: 0.59
3. Buxton School, Leytonstone, Progress 8: 0.59
4. George Mitchell School, Leyton, Progress 8: 0.53
5. Kelmscott School, Walthamstow, Progress 8: 0.49
6. Lammas School and Sixth Form, Leyton, Progress 8: 0.49
7. Willowfield Humanities College, Walthamstow, Progress 8: 0.31
8. Norlington School and 6th Form, Leyton, Progress 8: 0.28
9. Walthamstow Academy, Walthamstow, Progress 8: 0.21
10. Chingford Foundation School, Chingford, Progress 8: 0.21
11. Leytonstone School, Leytonstone, Progress 8: 0.15
12. Heathcote School & Science College, Chingford, Progress 8: 0.14
13. Highams Park School, Highams Park, Progress 8: 0.12
14. Holy Family Catholic School, Walthamstow, Progress 8: 0.09
15. Frederick Bremer School, Walthamstow, Progress 8: 0.04
16. Rushcroft Foundation School, Chingford, Progress 8: -0.16

 “Waltham Forest secondary schools continue to work closely together to support each other to raise attainment throughout the borough.”

2 August 2013
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Ofsted says that only a good standard of education is acceptable for the youngest children
Nurseries and childminders in England that require improvement will have just two years to achieve an Ofsted "good" rating, the watchdog says.
From November the current "satisfactory" judgement will be replaced by "requires improvement" for early years providers
Any that do not "get to good" in the time frame will face the prospect of being judged "inadequate", Ofsted says.
The Pre-school Learning Alliance voiced "serious concerns" about the plan.
Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw said: "The early years are crucial. That's why only a good standard of education and care is acceptable for our youngest children."
'Strong opinion'
The new system will bring the inspection judgements for early years providers into line with schools and colleges, with four inspection levels: "outstanding", "good", "requires improvement" and "inadequate".
The move follows a consultation this year, the results of which are published to coincide with the announcement.

Two years is a long time in a child's life and it's long enough for a setting to improve... four years is too long to wait for a nursery to reach the good standard that every child deserves”
Sir Michael Wilshaw Chief inspector

The report, Good Early Years Provision For All, summarises the outcomes of the consultation, which received more than 2,500 responses from childcare professionals, parents and carers.
Ofsted says the consultation revealed that the "overwhelmingly strong opinion" of parents and carers was that two years was too long to wait for improvements in education provision for very young children.
"Two years is a long time in a child's life and it's long enough for a setting to improve," said Sir Michael.
"I agree with the parents who told us in our consultation that four years is too long to wait for a nursery to reach the good standard that every child deserves."
Ofsted figures for last year showed that the majority of England's nurseries and childminders were judged "good" (62%) or "outstanding" (12%) by inspectors - but 25% were judged "satisfactory", and 1% classed as "inadequate".
Sir Michael said some providers were not improving fast enough between inspections, particularly in poorer areas.
"Too many pre-schools and nurseries across the country are not yet good, particularly in the most deprived areas."
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said: "The sector is growing more concerned by the day about the unfairness of Ofsted inspections, with an increasing number of childcare providers having their rating downgraded.
'Catastrophic'
"Unless Ofsted acts to sort this out, what is intended to move the sector towards higher standards could end up being unfairly detrimental to some settings."

Neither Ofsted nor local authorities presently have the resources to deliver the intensive mentoring that many of these [early years] providers need”
Jill Rutter Family and Childcare Trust

Mr Leitch added that Ofsted's focus on areas of deprivation risked "the devastation of childcare services in these areas, where they are needed most", which could be "catastrophic".
Purnima Tanuku, of the National Day Nurseries Association, said inspections needed to be more "robust, consistent and accurate" to gain providers' confidence.
Ms Tanuku added that the changes would mean that the "good" category would become "very broad... making the need for transparency on the way judgements are made absolutely vital".
Jill Rutter, of the Family and Childcare Trust, said that Ofsted had failed "to clarify how early years providers that are graded as 'inadequate' or 'requiring improvement' will be helped to improve.
"Neither Ofsted nor local authorities presently have the resources to deliver the intensive mentoring that many of these providers need."
The watchdog says it will publish a new inspection framework for early years providers in September and the first inspections under the new system will start in November.