Declaring a climate change emergency
Local authorities can play a key role in tackling climate change – and there is plenty for them to do. Never before has thinking globally and acting locally been more important, says Mark Whitehead.
Glasgow council launches car-free zones around schools
16/08/2019 Glasgow City Council is trialling car free zones to improve road safety and reduce harmful emissions outside of six of the city’s primary schools. |
Newham Council installs nearly 100 air quality monitors in schools
30/07/2019 The London Borough of Newham has announced it will be installing 96 air quality monitoring tubes in schools across its area in an effort to tackle air pollution. |
Council chiefs defend record of transparency in maintained schools
17/07/2019 Local authority leaders have hit back at a Government suggestion that academies are more transparent and accountable than council schools. |
Hinds launches £9m mental health training scheme
12/07/2019 Pupils struggling with mental health are to benefit from more 'joined up care and support', education secretary Damien Hinds has announced. |
Kent CC warns of ‘dire’ £14m SEND deficit
11/07/2019 Kent County Council has warned it is facing a 'dire' £14m financial deficit for the cost of special needs education provision. |
Birmingham CC to pilot ‘car free’ areas outside schools
10/07/2019 A scheme to ban vehicles from roads near schools at the start and end of the day is to be tried in Birmingham from September. |
Free HPV vaccination to be offered to boys
09/07/2019 Local authority leaders have welcomed an announcement that from boys will be offered the free Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine for the first time. |
Our school places challenge
05/07/2019 A new report has warned the UK needs more than 600 new schools by 2022 to meet demand. Mark Robinson explores how local authorities can address the school place shortfall. |
Majority of young people experience mental health issues, poll reveals
02/07/2019 Three in five young people have experienced a mental health problem or are close to someone who has, according to a new survey. |
Fifth of local government leaders ‘privately educated’
25/06/2019 Around 20% of local government leaders and 29% of MPs are privately educated compared to 7% of the population, a report into social mobility has revealed. |
Whitehall announces measures to support ‘vulnerable’ children in school
18/06/2019 The Department for Education has announced that it will ‘take forward’ changes to make it easier for vulnerable children to access school places. |
Children exposed to toxic air inside schools, report warns
18/06/2019 The quality of air inside and outside primary schools must be improved to protect children's health, campaigners have demanded. |
A first-class learning environment
06/06/2019 Dr Owen Connick explains how, by employing hybrid ventilation, schools can maximise health, comfort and sustainability without big building works. |
Calls for sugar-free schools by 2022
05/06/2019 All schools in London should be sugar-free by 2022, according to health experts. |
Birmingham council granted interim injunction to protect school from protests
03/06/2019 A court order banning protests over sex education outside a Birmingham school is set to be reviewed next week. |
Council schools get better Ofsted ratings than academies, report finds
23/05/2019 Council-maintained schools are more likely to remain ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ than their academy counterparts, new research suggests. |
Whitehall announces £200m ‘rural broadband' programme
20/05/2019 The Government yesterday announced that it has started to rollout gigabit-capable full fibre broadband to rural areas across the country. |
Hackney publishes guide to banning traffic outside schools
17/05/2019 Hackney Council has launched a new toolkit designed to help local authorities ban traffic outside of schools at opening and closing times. |
New school inspections framework to discourage ‘teaching to the test’
14/05/2019 Teachers have welcomed Ofsted's new inspection framework which pledges to focus on curriculum, behaviour and development rather than on test results. |
Schools ‘fear-monger’ to remove pupils, survey finds
10/05/2019 Teachers have told Ofsted that they want to see more support for parents to help them push back against the practice of ‘off-rolling’. |
Ofsted to retain grading system in new inspection framework
30/04/2019 Ofsted has decided to retain its current 4-point grading system when it launches its new inspection framework in September. |
Teachers ‘burnt out’ by assessments, union says
23/04/2019 Teachers and pupils are being ‘burnt out’ by the demands of assessments, the national teachers union warns. |
Primary schools to be provided with free sanitary products
16/04/2019 Free sanitary products will be offered to girls in all primary schools in England from early next year, the Government has announced. |
Over 50,000 pupils stuck in ‘zombie schools’
15/04/2019 Tens of thousands of pupils are stuck ‘in limbo’ as their academies wait to be transferred between trusts. |
Thousands of children being taught in illegal schools
12/04/2019 Up to 6,000 children are being educated in illegal schools across England putting their safety and education at risk, a watchdog has warned. |
Developers encouraged to fund school places
11/04/2019 The Government has published new guidance which sets out how councils can encourage housing developers to fund the school places their developments create. |
Review of school appeals system ‘imperative’, think tank says
11/04/2019 Poorer families and those from ethnic minority backgrounds are less likely to secure their top choice of school through the appeals and waiting list system than other groups, new research reveals. |
Nearly 13,000 new classrooms needed by 2022 in England
10/04/2019 England will require an additional 12,835 school classrooms by 2021/22 to meet demand, new research has revealed. |
Whitehall publishes consultation on home school register
02/04/2019 Local authority leaders have welcomed proposals from the Government to launch a new register of all children not attending mainstream schools. |
School children in referral units doubles within a decade
01/04/2019 The number of primary school children in Pupil Referral Units has more than doubled since 2011. according to the Labour Party. |
Councils play ‘unique role’ in school place creation, LGA says
29/03/2019 Local authorities should be recognised for their role in creating school places and should be given more powers to continue this task, council chiefs say. |
Council consults on £20m school investment
27/03/2019 Wiltshire County Council has launched a consultation on how to invest at least £20m in special school education. |
In perfect partnership: how councils can get the most out of a tech provider
26/03/2019 Cassandra Phillip lists the key steps to creating a successful partnership with a technology provider. |
Councils should do more to cut emissions outside of schools, charity says
25/03/2019 Sustainable transport campaigners have called on local authorities to close the streets outside of schools during the school run to cut dangerous emissions. |
Poll reveals ‘rising tide’ of pupil poverty
15/03/2019 A shocking new survey of headteachers has revealed that schools have become an ‘unofficial fourth emergency service’ for poor and vulnerable children. |
Around 3,500 school places to be created for pupils with complex needs
11/03/2019 Thousands of new school places are being created for children with special needs or those facing additional challenges in mainstream education, Whitehall says |
Whitehall cuts result in ‘lost generation’ of deaf children
13/02/2019 England’s deaf children are falling a whole grade behind their hearing class mates despite deafness not being a learning disability, a charity has warned. |
Council rolls scooters out in bid to tackle pollution
13/02/2019 Children in Leeds will soon be travelling to school on scooters instead of in cars as part of the council’s push to clean up the city’s air. |
MSPs urge councils to provide free music lessons
22/01/2019 Local authorities have been urged not to charge for music tuition in schools, in a new report published by MSPs. |
Cash-strapped school launches £20,000 crowdfunding campaign
16/01/2019 A Worcestershire school has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £20,000 in order to supplement its ‘squeezed’ budget. |
Education watchdog calls time on ‘teaching to the test'
16/01/2019 Ofsted says it is moving away from its focus on performance data as the watchdog launches a consultation on proposals for changes to its inspection framework. |
Nearly one in three council-run secondary schools are in the red
11/01/2019 Almost one in three local authority maintained secondary schools were in a financial deficit in 2017-18, new research has revealed. |
Academy chains perform ‘below average’ for disadvantaged pupils
24/12/2018 Two-thirds of academy chains perform below average for disadvantaged pupils, according to new research. |
New mental health teams set to support 500,000 children
20/12/2018 Half a million children and young people are set to benefit from new mental health support teams, secretary of state for health and social care has announced. |
Early learning gap widens in 50% of council areas
18/12/2018 The early learning gap between children in poverty and their peers has widened in half of the local authority areas in England, children’s charity reveals. |
Teachers warn of ‘Dickensian’ levels of poverty
17/12/2018 Teachers have warned they are seeing increasing levels of 'Dickensian' poverty among children in their classrooms. |
Council chiefs call for ‘emergency cash’ to support children with special needs
17/12/2018 The Government has announced it will provide £350m to support children with complex needs and disabilities. |
Access to secular schools ‘restricted’, report reveals
10/12/2018 Almost a third of families in England live in areas where most or all of the local primary schools are faith-based, new research has revealed. |
Children in care to receive scholarships to independent schools
05/12/2018 The Government yesterday launched a new scheme to help children in care receive mentoring and scholarships from independent schools. |
Vulnerable children at risk due to school support staff cuts, union warns
23/11/2018 A quarter of school support staff go home worried every day having spoken to pupils about the issues that trouble them, according to their union. |
Union calls for action to prevent violence against school support staff
08/11/2018 The union for school support staff has called on councils and schools to sign a charter of demands to help prevent violence against support staff in schools. |
Nearly 500 underperforming schools ‘betrayal of children’s futures.’
01/11/2018 The chief inspector of Ofsted has warned that the existence of nearly 500 ‘stuck’ schools is ‘nothing short of a scandal.’ |
International education spending: a statistical minefield
05/10/2018 Mark Whitehead investigates the Government's 'seemingly casual' approach to data when it comes to education spending. |
Whitehall accused of using ‘distorted information’ on education spending
04/10/2018 Head teachers have attacked the way the Government has used statistics to defend its spending on education as 'shocking and disturbing'. |
Schools to suffer ‘real terms cuts’, council chiefs warn
28/09/2018 The latest spending plans show schools will suffer real terms cuts in funding, local government leaders have warned. |
Labour pledges to scrap new academies
25/09/2018 Councils would be given control of academies and have new powers to build more schools if Labour were elected, the party conference heard yesterday. |
Cash-strapped schools relying on donations from affluent parents
13/09/2018 Government budget cuts are forcing many schools to rely more heavily on financial contributions from parents, a charity focusing on social mobility finds. |
Ofsted ‘fig leaf’ for Whitehall failures on school standards
07/09/2018 Ofsted is not providing the level of independent assurance about the quality of education that schools and parents need, MPs warn. |
Number of infants in overcrowded classes ‘doubled’ under Tories
06/09/2018 The Government denies accusations that the number of primary school infants in classes over 30 pupils has nearly doubled under the Tories. |
Whitehall publishes guidance to save schools £1bn
31/08/2018 The Government has published guidance aimed at helping schools reduce the £10bn bill they pay annually on non-staffing costs. |
Councils warn of secondary school places 'emergency'
31/08/2018 Half of all councils England may be unable to meet demand for new secondary school places within five years, town hall chiefs have warned today. |
Hackney raises £100,000 a week from controversial traffic camera
24/08/2018 It is the ‘responsibility of drivers’ to read signs, Hackney Council argues in response to criticisms that its new traffic cameras are inadequately signposted. |
Council fined for ‘unfairly’ changing school admission arrangements
23/08/2018 Nottinghamshire County Council has been criticised for ‘unfairly’ changing its school admission arrangements and forcing parents to send siblings to separate schools. |
Gap between spending per pupil in England and Wales ‘eliminated’
12/07/2018 School funding in England has fallen faster than in Wales, ‘virtually eliminating’ the gap between the two nations, financial experts reveal. |
Whitehall ‘failing’ to learn from high-profile academy failures, MPs say
11/07/2018 The Government is ‘failing’ to learn from high-profile academy failures which have been damaging to the education of the children involved, MPs say. |
Primary school standards ‘continue to rise’
11/07/2018 This year has seen an increase in the number of children who have reached the expected standard in Key Stage 2. |
Councils more likely to improve failing schools than academies
06/07/2018 Failing schools are more likely to be improved by councils than academy chains, new analysis has revealed. |
Meeting the challenge of 21st century schools
27/06/2018 Austerity budgets and rising demand for places has long made building for schools a challenging subject for local authorities. One programme in Wales is showing what can be achieved, as highlighted by Morgan Sindall in this sponsored article. |
Number of pupils getting first-choice secondary school falling
15/06/2018 The proportion of pupils getting into their first-choice secondary school is falling, according to the latest figures. |
Khan announces £1m school air quality fund
25/05/2018 The mayor of London yesterday announced a £1m fund to help protect pupils attending schools in the most polluted areas of the capital. |
Ofsted criticised for not offering ‘value for money’
24/05/2018 Ofsted has struggled to meet its inspection targets due to ‘significant’ financial and staffing challenges, auditors say. |
Free school transport schemes at risk in county areas
24/05/2018 County councils have warned they are struggling to fund free school transport schemes as it costs ten times more in county areas than neighbouring cities. |
Ban cars from school areas, charity says
21/05/2018 A charity has urged the Government to ban cars from the immediate vicinity of school gates at drop off and pick up times in order to improve air quality. |
Rise in mental health referrals from schools
14/05/2018 Local government leaders have branded a report on mental health services for young people 'worrying' and called for a radical overhaul of the available treatment. |
Whitehall criticised for £50m ‘handout’ to grammar schools
11/05/2018 Council chiefs have urged the Government to give them more powers to build schools in response to today’s announcement that grammar schools will receive £50m to expand. |
MP calls on Whitehall to tackle North-South education divide
09/05/2018 The chair of the education committee has called on the Government to do more to improve education standards in the north of England. |
Whitehall announces decision to ‘simplify’ school assessment system
04/05/2018 Head teachers have welcomed the Government’s decision to ‘simplify’ the system by which schools performance is assessed. |
Government launches £23m fund to support disadvantaged pupils
30/04/2018 The department for education has launched a £23m fund to help support the brightest pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. |
Academy teachers ‘sceptical’ about effectiveness of academisation, poll reveals
20/04/2018 The majority of academy teachers and leaders are sceptical about the effectiveness of academy status, survey reveals. |
Majority of children offered first choice of primary school
17/04/2018 An estimated 90% of pupils were offered a place at their first choice of primary school this year following the creation of hundreds of thousands of new places by councils. |
Council demands answers over school repairs
09/04/2018 The body responsible for building and maintaining 17 schools in Edinburgh has been criticised by the council for failing to carry out repair work. |
Investigation launched into serious failures at specialist school
06/04/2018 An investigation has been launched into a charity for the blind following ‘serious concerns’ over the safeguarding of vulnerable children and young people. |
Auditors tell councils to ‘learn lessons’ from school wall collapse
04/04/2018 Auditors have called on councils in Scotland to ‘learn lessons’ from the collapse of a school wall in Edinburgh. |
Funding boost of £500m for school expansion programme
03/04/2018 The Government has announced over £500m will be spent to improve and expand school buildings to create more good school places. |
Schools evacuated after hoax bomb threat
20/03/2018 Pupils across England were evacuated yesterday after an aggrieved gamer sent a hoax email threatening to bomb one of hundreds of schools. |
Local authority schools suffer funding ‘squeeze’
16/03/2018 Council chiefs have warned about the ‘squeeze’ on school funding as report reveals proportion of secondary schools in deficit has trebled in recent years. |
‘Deep cuts’ lead to two thirds increase in class sizes
08/03/2018 Nearly two thirds of the secondary schools in England have had to increase their class sizes because of a lack of funding, research reveals. |
Councils struggle to offer ‘integrated’ education due to academies
22/02/2018 Councils are struggling to take an ‘integrated, whole-system’ approach to education because of uneven mix of academies and maintained schools in many areas. |
Financial pressures force Northumberland CC to close schools
20/02/2018 Schools in Northumberland could be forced to close or merge under new budget proposals, council warns. |
Councils chiefs call for £90m to fund mental health counselling in schools
07/02/2018 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to invest £90m to help secondary schools offer independent mental health counselling to all pupils. |
Reforms to free school meals would leave children hungry, warn union
15/01/2018 A leading union has dismissed government proposed reforms to free school meal entitlement as 'a cut disguised as a kindness.' |
Council investigation finds ‘serious’ failings in illegal schools policy
08/01/2018 Children are being put at risk as government policy dealing with illegal ‘schools’ has serious failings, an investigation by a London council has revealed. |
Greening the school estate
04/01/2018 More energy efficient school buildings could save the Department for Education £2.6bn a year, a new report has found. Laura Sharman examines the findings in more detail. |
Educational opportunities ‘geographically unequal’, think tank says
22/12/2017 Access to high performing schools has become more ‘geographically unequal’ despite emphasis on improving schools outside of London, report finds. |
Council reaches settlement with victims of alleged paedophile
20/12/2017 A council has agreed to pay eight victims of an alleged paedophile in an out-of-court settlement. |
School building strategy needed to tackle classroom shortage, report says
14/12/2017 More than 14,500 extra secondary school classrooms will be needed in England over the next three years, new research says. |
Extra support for mental health in schools ‘welcome’, campaigners say
04/12/2017 Campaigners have welcomed Government proposals to put more resources into supporting mental health in schools and demanded they be put into action immediately. |
Budget 2017: Devolution and housing key planks in speech
22/11/2017 Philip Hammond’s first Autumn Budget has seen the chancellor unveil a raft of new devolution deals, measures to boost housing and changes to resolve issues with controversial Universal Credit. |
Rural life is ‘disappearing fast’ warns new research
14/11/2017 Rural schools, pubs and post offices are being forced to close down due to ageing and dwindling populations, a new report has warned. |
Isle of Wight launches consultation on school term-times
10/11/2017 The Isle of Wight has launched a consultation on whether its policy on school holidays could include cutting the summer break and making half terms longer. |
The June issue of Local Government News contains the full details of all the winning schemes in the 2019 Street Design Awards. From Children's Play to Pedestrian Environment, find out who has been recognised for their innovation and use of best practice.
This issue also explores how local government pension funds can hedge currency risk, how councils can best address the shortfall in school places, and an update on the number of authorities banning the use of Roundup over safety fears.
