Prospect welcomes report into role of councils in school improvement

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Prospect welcomes report into role of councils in school improvement

The union's Education and Children's Services group welcomes a recent independent report into the ongoing role of councils in school improvement and calls on the education minister to address concerns raised.



Pupils studying

The research, commissioned by the Local Government Association, found that most areas planned to continue offering local authority school improvement services, despite the move of schools away from council control under free school and academisation schemes.

The report, Enabling school improvement, found that, while “councils act as independent and impartial brokers and evaluators for school improvement support, resulting in stronger support for schools”, they responded differently to the challenges they face.

It identified eight key issues:

  • Local systems are at different stages and taking different approaches towards achieving autonomy
  • In most areas, strategic partnerships have been formed to foster shared, system-level visions for school improvement
  • Most areas visited planned to continue offering local authority school improvement services
  • There was less evidence of local systems developing system leadership capacity
  • Most had approaches to school improvement that would be familiar to schools and local authority advisers
  • Local systems were planning for cuts to funding amid uncertainty about the future
  • Traded services were both complementing and conflicting with other school improvement offers
  • Local authorities have important roles to play in local school improvement systems

The report raises concerns about the sustainability of partnership arrangements, noting that these are reliant on individuals. To counter this, some partnerships between schools and councils have established themselves as separate, school-owned companies.

National secretary Steve Thomas said: “This important research highlights different ways in which local authorities, maintained schools, academies and independent brokers are working together to ensure strong strategic support for schools and provides a constructive set of suggestions for building on that.

“Local authorities have a legal responsibility to ensure that every child reaches their educational potential.

“Given the strong track record that local authorities have in school improvement, it’s critical that funding is protected to provide the resources and professionals to undertake this. 

“The report highlights a lack of evidence of local systems developing system leadership capacity. This must be a concern for the education minister as government reports have consistently highlighted the importance of building strong leadership capacity.

“Prospect calls on the new secretary of state for education, Damian Hinds MP, to prioritise seeking information from regional school commissioners and academies on how they are strengthening local partnerships, including with local authorities, and how they are ensuring that overlaps are avoided.”

Download the Local Government Association report from https://www.local.gov.uk/enabling-school-improvement