Children in Cornwall should have a “world-class” education which gives them the best opportunity to succeed while also protecting their health and wellbeing.

These are just some of the key priorities which have been identified in Cornwall Council’s education strategy which has recently been updated.

Tim Osborne, head of school effectiveness at County Hall, told councillors at a briefing: “Cornwall’s children are Cornwall’s future. We need to make sure that we do the best for them and they, in turn, do the best for Cornwall and the wider world.”

Mr Osborne said that the council had drawn up a four-year strategy for education in 2016 but had decided to refresh it this year in the face of a “constantly shifting landscape” in education.

He said that nationally there was a view that local councils have a key role in the future of education in the country, despite more and more schools leaving local authority control and converting into academies and many now being part of multi academy trusts (MATs).

Mr Osborne said that the council still has around 200 statutory obligations that it has to fulfil in education and was working with partners to ensure the standards of education in Cornwall were maintained and improved.

There are currently 271 schools in Cornwall, including 234 infant, junior and primary schools, 31 secondary schools and four special schools.

In Cornwall there are 76,000 children in primary or secondary eduction, with 76% of them in one of the 193 academies. There are 25 MATs covering 162 Cornish schools ranging in size from two to 24 schools.

Mr Osborne said: “They will start to be subsumed by other MATs and that is happening already. There is a realisation that schools need to work together.”

He said that while many schools had converted to become academies the council had a role to “be a champion for children”.

“We are far more about children as individuals and groups, far more than schools themselves,” he added.

On school standards Mr Osborne said that 87% of schools in Cornwall were rated as ‘good’ or better by school inspectors Ofsted and that just 2% of schools require improvement.

This compares to 2009 when 62% of schools in Cornwall were classed as good or better and Mr Osborne said that the increase in quality had come about despite more stringent standards being required by Ofsted.

He said that Cornwall was particularly strong in early years provision with 98% of providers being rated as good or better which is much better than the national average.

However Mr Osborne said that there was an issue in Cornwall with disadvantaged children and young people not achieving as much as they could and should.

He said: “It is not just about doing as well as they should, but it is compared to how well disadvantaged children do elsewhere as well. We need to make sure that our vulnerable and disadvantaged do as well as possible.”

Mr Osborne said that there was a need to improve phonics standards and said that it was an issue across the south west and not just Cornwall, with the Regional Schools Commissioner making it a key priority.

But he added: “The biggest area of all for us to develop and improve performance is mathematics. It doesn’t matter what key stage area you look at maths is an area that we are not doing good enough in.”

A number of initiatives have been looked at to improve maths provision and results and the council was working with teaching schools and Truro and Penwith College.

One of the council’s key priorities is to promote, protect and improve children and young people’s mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Mr Osborne said: “If we don’t achieve this we won’t achieve anything.”

A Cornwall Standards Board has also been established which will oversee education in Cornwall and help to promote and ensure that the key priorities in the education strategy are being followed.

Mr Osborne also said that councillors should report issues that they have around schools they should also celebrate success in schools.

He said: “I am a privileged chap, I go into our schools and see the most wonderful things going on in our schools. I see teachers who are working their socks off to ensure our children are thriving.”