ESTYN looks set to release Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) from special measures in education this week.

At a meeting last Wednesday (6th January) Alan Morris of the Wales Audit Office delivered a report on whether or not the council would respond positively to make continuous improvement in delivering services.

In his report to Cabinet Mr Morris said it was “uncertain” at the time of publication that MCC would respond positively to improvements needed to deliver services.

Mr Morris revealed that at the time the report was written MCC was in special measures for education which had a significant impact on MCC’s prospectives for improvements.

He then announced that MCC was no longer in special measures.

Mr Morris said: “The report concludes it is uncertain whether the council will respond to the internal and external challenges it faces to make arrangements for continuous improvements.

“The principle reason for this was that the council was still under special measures from Estyn.

“As we all know this is no longer the case.”

In response to Mr Morris’s comment, leader of MCC Peter Fox said: “We can’t formally say anything yet but we’re hopeful there are some very positive messages coming out in the very near future”.

MCC was placed into special measures by Estyn in 2012 after its education service was branded ‘unsatisfactory’ in a damning report.

After being placed in special measures, the council has been visited by Estyn several times to assess its improvement.

Estyn would not comment on whether or not MCC would be removed from special measures but a letter to be published this Friday (15th January) will announce its decision.