LGA responds to Government announcement on academisation

10 May 2016 09:27 AM

Responding to the announcement by Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, that council-maintained schools rated by Ofsted as ‘good' or ‘outstanding' will not be forced into taking academy status,

Cllr Roy Perry, Chairman of the Local Government Association's Children and Young People Board, said:

"We are delighted that the Government is listening to our strong opposition to forced academisation, which has been echoed by MPs, teachers and parents and backed up by evidence.

"Our recent analysis of the grades achieved by all schools under the more rigorous Ofsted inspection framework proved that 81 per cent of council-maintained schools are rated as ‘good' or ‘outstanding', compared to 73 per cent of academies and 79 per cent of free schools. It is right that these schools should not be forced down the academy route unless they make that decision themselves.

"Recent Ofsted figures have also shown that ‘inadequate' council-maintained schools are more likely to improve if they stay with their local authority, rather than being forced to convert to an academy. These figures showed that 98 per cent of council-maintained schools improved in their first Ofsted inspection after being rated ‘inadequate' compared to 88 per cent of academies.

"This clearly demonstrates that councils are education improvement partners, rather than barriers to delivering the high quality education that our children deserve. Councils stand ready to help all schools, regardless of their Ofsted rating or status."