Schools to get control of improvement budgets

The 21st Century Schools white paper is due to be published next week, but CYP Now has learned it will propose schools should receive more money and responsibility for school improvement. Details of how much they will receive are yet to be confirmed, but it is understood the move could see councils give up part of the designated schools grant to allow schools to fund initiatives directly.

John Chowcat, general secretary of children's services union Aspect, said the proposals raised "distinct concerns". One problem is that school leaders are under pressure to fund short-term needs, such as temporary staff shortages, which could divert cash from strategic improvement activities, he warned.

Martin Rogers, policy consultant at the Children's Services Network, said the move could reduce the extent to which councils are held accountable for schools. "You cannot whittle down local authorities' ability to do anything and then blame them if things go wrong," he said.

But John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said schools would use improvement budgets for activities that chime with Every Child Matters. He said: "Schools want the maximum devolved budgets so they can make decisions about expenditure based on local need."