A mission to make every school in Newcastle, Northumberland, and North Tyneside good or outstanding has not been “forgotten”, North East leaders insist.
Plans were in the works in 2019 to make the North of Tyne area just the third in the country to launch a Government-funded education challenge, promising a “revolution” in the region’s education standards. The move was touted as “probably the single most important thing” that would be done under a £600m devolution deal, but progress has since stalled.
Amid concern about what had happened to the major plans, local authority leaders told councillors on Tuesday that they were still in “ongoing conversations” with the Department for Education about the scheme more than three years later. Newcastle Lib Dem councillor Greg Stone called for reassurances that the education challenge had not been dropped, saying that the previous versions in London and Manchester had been “fundamental” to school improvements.
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He told the North of Tyne Combined Authority’s (NTCA) overview and scrutiny committee: “It is important for the North East of England that we keep on going with this and I hope that there is a way of persuading whichever government it may be to make it happen. I would like some reassurance that this is something that will be taken forward and will not be forgotten about. It is something that the North of Tyne needs to make happen and will have major benefits for the region.”
Newcastle City Council deputy leader Karen Kilgour responded that the challenge was still “important” to the combined authority, which has seen substantial changes to its cabinet since 2019 due to political upheaval in its constituent councils. The Labour councillors, the NTCA’s cabinet member for education, inclusion, and skills, added: “Clearly it is a negotiation and we cannot force it, but it remains a priority and it is in the conversations both for future deals and as we currently stand.”
North East councils are currently in talks with the Government over striking a new devolution deal, expected to be worth more than £3bn, that could see a new mayor elected to govern a wider area also covering Gateshead, Sunderland, South Tyneside, and County Durham.
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