Councils must have scrutiny role over schools, says LGA chairman

Schools should not be left to look after the education of children without someone scrutinising their performance, the Local Government Association has said.

Responding to the government’s Academies Bill, LGA chairman Dame Margaret Eaton said: “When things start to go wrong, only prompt, joint action by the council and school provider will put things right.

“We are still looking for more details on exactly what the new structure would look like, but local government is offering to play a valuable part. Councils are perfectly placed to be the watchdogs of school standards, and the body which can help support schools to get better all of the time.”

Eaton added that local authorities were the best body to oversee the admissions system, and to act as a check on the creation of school places “so that public money is not wasted”.

The LGA chair insisted that it would be “pointless” to create a new system to oversee the performance of local schools when councils are already experienced in managing the education system and have invaluable local knowledge.