By Councillor Malcolm Grimston and Ingrid Koehler.The Guide from the Audit Commission and the Improvement and Development Agency sets out a framework for performance management and it is written from the prospective of a council member. The framework emphasises that performance management should be embedded in everything an authority does and that it is a continuous process.

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A report from Ofsted today says there is little difference between mainstream and special schools in the quality of provision for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. The report, “Inclusion: Does it matter where pupils are taught?” says children with complex needs can make good progress in all types of provision.The report does, though, find that mainstream schools with additional resources are more successful in achieving good outcomes for pupils academically, socially and personally and that Pupil Referral Units were the least successful of all the settings that inspectors visited. Today’s report says that pupils with the most severe and complex needs can make outstanding progress in all types of provision. The keys to their success are high quality, experienced teachers and commitment by school leaders.

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The Data Protection Act should not be seen as a barrier to personal information being shared across the public sector, according to the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, in his annual report today. In it he sends a clear message that data protection offers a valuable framework for information to be shared.

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