Consultation on how local authority school improvement functions are funded

The DfE is seeking views on proposals to reform how local authorities’ school improvement functions are funded.

The consultation says that the local authority role in school improvement has changed significantly in recent years, with the growth of school-led approaches, such as multi-academy trusts, putting school improvement in the hands of the strongest schools and school leaders. In turn, the local authority role in school improvement in maintained schools is increasingly focused on helping their schools access the support they need from the school system.

Given these changes in respective roles and responsibilities, the DfE wants to revisit local authorities’ school improvement functions and how they are funded.

Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "In the week when Local Authorities found little to celebrate from the spending review, this announcement that DfE plan to remove the £50m LA school improvement grant will be greeted with disbelief by many. Never has the phrase ‘give with one hand, but take with the other’ rung truer.

"This will be seen by some as a thinly veiled attempt to turn up the heat on LA maintained schools, to encourage more to leave LA control and join academy trusts. In pursuing their academisation policy it is imperative that government remain even-handed. Around 4 million children are still taught in LA schools, and government has a responsibility to ensure that all schools are supported to be as good as they can be, irrespective of governance arrangements."