Children, Young People and Skills Committee  

Subject: Schools   White Paper & Academisation

Date of meeting:    13 June 2022

Agenda Item 83d

Ward(s) affected:   All

Proposer:                 Councillor Nield

Seconder:                Councillor John

NOTICE OF MOTION

This committee:

- regrettably notes that as a result of an inadequate OFSTED judgement an academy order has been placed for Homewood College

- regrettably notes the inadequate OFSTED judgement at Brighton Aldridge Community Academy published in May 2022 and the resulting consequence that secondary schools in Brighton & Hove are no longer all Good or Outstanding

- notes LGA research published in May 2022 which shows that 92% of council-maintained schools were ranked good or outstanding by OFSTED in January 2022 compared to 85% of academies graded since converted

- refutes the ideology that academisation is the best path to school improvement

- reiterates its support for our family of local authority schools

- notes the publication of the Schools White Paper, Opportunity for All, in March 2022 which includes ambitions to:

o ensure that all schools are academies by 2030

o allow local authorities to set up local authority backed trusts

- agrees that academisation, including the creation of local authority backed trusts, is not an ambition we share for our schools, but agrees that we need to be as informed as possible about what this ambition means.

Therefore, this committee resolves to:

- request a report to a future meeting of this committee outlining the council’s response to the schools white paper, including the pros and cons of setting up local authority backed trusts.

Supporting Information:

LGA Research published in the Guardian 10 May 2022 https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/may/10/council-run-schools-outperform-academies-england-analysis-shows

Schools White Paper, Opportunity for All

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/schools-white-paper-delivers-real-action-to-level-up-education