Council-maintained schools are outperforming academies, new research for the LGA reveals.
It found schools that stay with their council are more likely to perform better than those that convert to an academy, with 92 per cent of council-maintained schools rated ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ by Ofsted as of January 2022, compared with 85 per cent of academies that were graded since they converted.
The LGA said this underlines the excellent track record of council-maintained schools, which will need to be convinced of the benefits of academisation. The Government intends to persuade all schools to become academies by 2030.
The research, which looked at school Ofsted ratings between August 2018 and January 2022, also found that only 45 per cent of academies were able to improve from ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, compared with 56 per cent of council-maintained schools.
Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “What is most important is that children receive the very best education and start in life.
“While academisation can be a positive choice in some cases, these findings raise questions over whether a one-size-fits-all approach is a guaranteed way of improving results and strengthening a school’s performance.”
In the Queen’s Speech, the Government confirmed it was acting on the LGA’s call for councils to be allowed to establish their own multi-academy trusts.
This recognised the important role of councils as education partners and enables maintained schools to continue enjoying a close working relationship with their council.