Kelly defends tough approach to failing schools

Ruth Kelly has today insisted plans to widen the criteria on which local councils could take action against underperforming schools were necessary to raise standards.

Under plans outlined in the education bill, local authorities can intervene in schools where the standards of performance are "unacceptably low", there has been a "serious breakdown" in the way the school is managed, or the safety of pupils is threatened.

Previously, councils could only intervene if schools got persistently bad exam results or were very badly managed, but the changes are part of a tougher approach that has already seen the time schools have to improve following a bad Ofsted report cut to one year.

However, the proposals have been condemned by teaching unions, with Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) today insisting the last thing schools needed was "yet another layer of accountability".

The head of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), John Dunford, also questioned the compatability of this stringent control with the plans to give schools more freedom to become trusts – which are also outlined in the education bill.

Saying the proposals were "very worrying", he noted: "This is very far from the prime minister's vision of schools being more independent from local authorities."

However, a spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) told politics.co.uk that the power to intervene was fully compatible with the new strategic role for local authorities outlined in the bill, aimed at helping raise standards.

Explaining the changes in a speech to a teachers' union conference today, Ms Kelly insisted that while progress had been made in reducing the number of failing schools, more had to be done to ensure pupils were given the kind of education they deserved.

"We know that there are still pupils who are let down by attending poorly performing or failing schools for too long, and schools that do not receive the necessary support and challenge until it is too late," the education secretary told NASUWT delegates.

She added: "Our principles are clear – taking early action to prevent underperformance becoming entrenched and giving failing schools immediate and effective support to turn them around as quickly as possible."

Under the plans, local authorities will be able to issue a warning to schools, to which they have 15 days to respond, and thereafter could take action to replace or change the governing board, suspend its funding, or force the school to join with another, more successful, school.