A Labour councillor said he's concerned government proposals to reform education in the UK would be the “dismantling of state schools as we know it.”
The comments were made by Cllr Stephen Bennett during a Wirral Council discussion of a government white paper published earlier this year. The local authority said it was in talks with schools on the proposals so they can be prepared if the legislation does pass.
The proposed government strategy seeks to ensure “excellent teachers in all areas of the country by increasing the teacher development programme”, “support for teachers to achieve high standards” with “greater focus on an effective curriculum".
Some details are still to be finalised such as the ability for councils to set up their own multi academy trusts.
Multi academy trusts are groups of academy schools, which are state-funded but outside of local authority control. This means Wirral Council would no longer have a role in improving schools in Wirral nor the ability to have oversight.
Cllr Bennett had concerns in particular about proposals for “all schools being part of a multi academy trust by 2030 through a national funding system.”
He called it “forced academisation” and said he was concerned about a situation where schools closed down but said he was “interested in pursuing” the idea of a local authority-run trust if the proposals become law.
James Blackhouse, the Assistant Director of Education, said the council had set up a steering group with headteachers to discuss the proposals and get feedback “to make sure it meets the needs of those schools.”
He added that admissions would still be maintained by the council under the proposals. Officers stressed it was not policy at this stage so the proposals could change because “no legislation has actually changed and that’s the most important thing at this stage.”.
Cllr Helen Collinson, who is also a school governor, called for a consensus on education policy between political parties. She said: “They chop and change education policy and I think it would be ideal for children, schools and staff to have a cross party decision on education instead of all running to one side to change things.”
She added: “It’s always with good intentions but sometimes you need a strategy that is 20 years or 30 years long instead of something’s just piecemeal and changing what the last people did. This is something that’s probably not going to go anywhere but it’s got people worked up already.”
Councillors also discussed forecasts on budgets for children’s services and education with projected overspends around child care costs and assistant travel for those with special needs.
In particular a program set up by the council to tackle issues like domestic violence was heavily praised for its approach to deal with domestic violence.
Part of the program has both worked with perpetrators of abuse to reduce violence by more than 80% but also using those with experience to build trust with social services. It also has wider projects around unemployment and supporting mothers.
Chair Kathy Hodson said the message of the scheme was “powerful,” adding “it is vitally important that we break the cycle because at the end of the day it will be a game changer and it will also save the council money in the long term” by improving people’s lives.
A lot of the funding, more than £5m, for the scheme comes from external sources. While officers said funding was secured for now, Cllr Collinson argued the service was “too good a program to let it go because we do not have the money for it.”
Wirral Council also detailed progress it has made since a critical report was issued earlier this year. The report criticised the handling of a complaint from a teenager with autism that left him out of education.
The council was made to apologise and pay £4,400 to the teenager as well as £250 to the mother for “avoidable distress.” Officers outlined where the council had gone wrong but argued progress was being made such as a backlog of cases decreasing by 38% in just two months, progress one councillor described as “brilliant.”
The numbers of children in care is also expected due to the cost of living crisis because of “pressure on families” with council expenditure here being nearly £26m this year. The number in care is expected to increase next year, officers said.
Councillors were also told a council proposal for new beds and support for children and young people with learning difficulties, autism and presenting mental health difficulties in a property bought by the council could save the council £6,000 a week or more than £300,000 a year.
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