Government to clarify council school improvement role

In its response, published yesterday, to the Commons’ education committee’s report on school partnerships, the government said it planned to produce revised statutory guidance to “clarify its expectations of local authorities in relation to school improvement… within a system of increasing school autonomy”.

The revised Schools Causing Concern guidance will be included in a government consultation on planned reductions to the Education Services Grant to be published later this year.

The government was responding to a recommendation from the education committee for the councils to be given clearer guidance on how they should work with schools that have received poor Ofsted inspection ratings.

The committee’s school partnerships inquiry heard evidence that some councils were struggling to engage poorly performing schools, particularly as many felt powerless to intervene in failing academies or free schools that operate outside of their control.

However, the committee’s call for the government to “urgently review” the way it monitors how converter academies are supporting struggling neighbouring schools, as they are required to do, was rebuffed.

The government’s response said it would “continue to explore whether there is a greater role for government in helping schools to identify and understand the characteristics of effective partnership and collaboration to support more school-to-school working”.

In addition, it said direct accountability for academy schools will in the future move to Regional School Commissioners, who will report to the Education Secretary, in an effort to improve management of the school system.