New partnership to improve education in Liverpool

As part of a ground-breaking initiative, Liverpool City Council is to invest three-quarters of a million pounds in improving its schools and teachers.

The first of its kind across the country, the new partnership between Liverpool City Council and education charity Ambition Institute will see 400 teachers and school leaders across 80 schools benefit from intensive training and support.

The programme builds on the success of the Education Improvement Board, which prioritised recruiting, developing, supporting and retaining the best teachers and leaders.

The new move will see schools in Liverpool benefit from three areas of support: in-depth professional development across the whole school, using Ambition Institute’s Transforming Teaching programme; a bespoke ‘Future Heads’ course for at least 25 of the highest performing teachers and leaders in the area, to help prepare them for headship; and an intensive course for ‘teacher educators’ – teachers who support other teachers with professional learning.

The funding aims to support pupil outcomes in the city and improve attainment, particularly for pupils who from vulnerable families. Currently 30 per cent of pupils in Liverpool are in receipt of free school meals and recent evidence shows that students from disadvantaged backgrounds are on average 22 months behind non-disadvantaged students in Liverpool.

Tom Logan, cabinet member for education and skills for Liverpool City Council, said: “This is a trailblazing partnership to deliver bespoke training and development to the city’s legion of educators. Not only are we the first local authority in England to implement this package of support, we’re also making sure it has a legacy. By training teachers to become high-quality teacher educators, we are setting ourselves up for a future of continued improvement.”