Leadership: Raising standards means working together to fulfil our ambitions

They were right – and the local authority set about changing not only the quality of its work in schools, but most importantly, the nature and the basis of the relationships that govern so much of our success or failure. There were and remain a number of parties: governors, head teachers, officers, members and parents, who were all encouraged to adopt a new understanding of how they could act as advocates for children and young people.

At the very heart of school improvement, there was a simple equation: namely, the relationship between leadership and the quality of frontline provision. Improving outcomes for all children and young people was our guiding principle and passion. All of the partners in the process kept asking: could we connect leadership and behaviours, including our own, to improve outcomes for children and young people?

It worked. The borough's schools continue to make the steady improvement rate of double the national average, which has helped our children to reach last year's national average standards. Given that Sandwell is the 12th poorest local authority in the country and a third of our adults have no functioning literacy, it is a very significant achievement. Not only have the standards been raised, we have the quality too. In the first tranche of 100 teaching schools, Sandwell has three working in partnership with the local authority and with our local university.

The world of local authority school improvement services has altered, some say irrevocably, over the past few months. Where once there were nationally funded teams, programmes and systems that moved into schools as a universal movement, there remain very few officers – in some local authorities they can be counted on a single digit.

The need to exercise local leadership remains stronger than ever and offers some real opportunities. Some families will continue to need support and in our view there will always be the need for a local, objective change agent; a body that will continue to act as the advocate for children and families.

What form that agency takes is the matter that has occupied so much of our planning. When so many of our schools want to continue the partnership, want it to grow and develop, how could a local authority continue to work in these ways? Our schools want us to act in partnership as advocates for children and families, as do our families.

Our schools' solution is to set themselves up as that local agent for change and own the services that have stood them in good stead over the past few years. In the future, a partnership of schools, governed in a variety of ways, trading organisations and other groups will continue to raise ambition within the borough. No matter what type of school is operating in Sandwell, we are all clear that what brings us together is our collective ambition for the children of the area.

HOW TO ENSURE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

• Build partnerships – we make it clear that it is the school's job to improve but that we can be involved in anything that would help
• Focus on the child – we emphasise that learning is the principal route to children and families leading successful and happy lives
• See the challenge in change and the faults in the status quo - schools help us to identify what we do well in terms of relationship building and in how we support them to improve outcomes.
• Children also play a role in this challenge via strong school councils
• Develop capacity within the system – our head teachers help us to develop the evidence gathering that they want from us. As we work with their staff on how they can demonstrate improvement, they acquire the skills and systems that will help them improve their school
• Embed high-quality work so that it becomes the norm – it takes time and leadership, but this is what brings sustainability
• Use statutory intervention powers – where necessary, deploy these to ensure school leadership teams and governing bodies have the capacity to drive rapid and sustained improvement

Barbara Peacock, corporate director, people, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council