Local authority schools outperform academies, LGA finds

According to analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA), local authority schools achieve a higher rate of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ rankings than academies.

The LGA’s research found that 86 per cent of council-run schools were rated god’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, compared to 82 per cent of academies and 79 per cent of free schools.

The LGA claimed the figures which looked exclusive at Ofsted’s newer, more rigorous inspection framework, are even more pronounced. This data found 81 per cent of council-maintained schools were rated good or outstanding, with 73 per cent of academies and 79 per cent of free schools.

The LGA said that the research suggested that ‘inadequate’ council-run schools were more likely to improve if the remained under a local authority, than if they were converted intern academy. It outlined that 98 per cent of councils schools improved after just one ‘inadequate’ Ofsted inspection, compared with 88 per cent of academies.

Councillor Roy Perry, chairman of the LGA’s children, said: “[The LGA] figures clearly demonstrate that councils are education improvement partners, rather than barriers to delivering the high quality education that our children deserve.

“With 86 per cent of council-maintained schools in England rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted, the government needs to recognise councils’ role in education improvement and that imposing structural changes on schools is not the best way to improve education.”

However, the Department for Education (DfE) said the LGA figures were misleading. A DfE spokesperson argued: “These figures are completely misleading and wilfully ignore the real progress that’s been made through removing the very worst performing schools from council control and turning them into sponsored academies.

“It’s thanks to such reforms that 1.4 million more children are now learning in good or outstanding schools compared with 2010. The latest inspection results show 350,000 children now study in sponsored academies rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.”