Councils call for input over new grammar school locations

The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned that councils must have control over where new selective schools are introduced rather than leaving the decision to ‘individual free school proposers’.

The news follows Education Secretary Justine Greening announcing government plans for a ‘modern model’ for selective schools, whereby grammars to do more to ensure access for children from all backgrounds, sharing her intentions to do more to help ‘ordinary working families’.

Richard Watts, chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “To ensure new schools are established in the right places and meet the needs of local communities, councils must have a role in determining where new free schools are created. Local authorities know their areas best and are eager to work with applicants with a strong track record to identify potential school sites.

“Councils have a statutory duty to ensure every child has a school place available to them but are under extreme pressure to accommodate rapidly rising numbers of pupils looking for a place. With 91 per cent of maintained schools now rated as either outstanding or good by Ofsted, now is the time for government to recognise councils as its education improvement partners.”