Schools with lower Ofsted ratings were more likely to improve under local authority control, according to a report commissioned by the group and released today.
Comparing 12,000 council-maintained and 4,000 academised schools over the last five years the analysis found that 90% of schools that remain with a local authority kept their ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ rating, compared to 81% of schools that converted to academies.
A further 88% of schools requiring improvement that stayed with their local authority achieve a good or outstanding rating compared to just 59% of those that became academies, the research by education technology company Angel Solutions found.
Anntoinette Bramble, chair of the LGA’s children and young people board, said: “These findings clearly show that staying under council control delivers better results for a school than those which convert to an academy.
“Not only do more schools keep a good or outstanding rating if they remain maintained, but a significantly greater proportion are being turned around form struggling or failing into highly performing and successful schools.
“While academisation might be the answer in some cases, it is not always the best solution.” The LGA called on the government to allow councils to intervene in failing schools regardless of whether it is a maintained school.
Academies minister Lord Agnew said: “The LGA’s interpretation of this analysis is deeply flawed. The data actually underlines why our reforms were necessary and morally right, by pointing out how many under-performing schools were taken out of local authority control and turned into academies.
“It is unsurprising that local authorities fare better in an analysis which exclude schools that had failed under their leadership. It does not say anything about the effectiveness of sponsored academies.”
