Former Ofsted chief to chair partnership for educational excellence

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Independent education commissioner Sir Mike Tomlinson has agreed to chair a new Camden Partnership for Educational Excellence if the Council's Cabinet approves an extra £2 million funding pot for local schools next Wednesday (22 February).

The new partnership, proposed by Camden’s Education Commission, heads and chairs of governors will see schools able to bid for extra resources to support projects that will make a real difference to their schools.

The aim is to give schools the lead in making Camden the best borough for education, an ambition outlined in the recent Camden Education Commission report from independent experts led by former head of Ofsted Sir Mike Tomlinson.

The £2 million schools fund is among the recommendations of the Education Commission, due to be agreed by Camden Council’s Cabinet on 22 February to help the borough move from good to best.

Informal feedback from schools indicates that priorities include further work to support every primary school pupil make a successful move to secondary school, schools working together in groups to share the best ways to help the most able achieve the highest grades and every child attending a school that Ofsted judges to be at least good.

Members of the Cabinet are due to welcome the final Education Commission report, which sets out a new path for education in Camden, with the Camden Partnership for Educational Excellence having responsibility for distributing Council funds in addition to the budgets already set for each school.

Once created, the new partnership will have an independent chair and members from leading local businesses and universities but it will be mostly made of up school representatives – giving them a big say in how to spend the extra money.

Sir Mike Tomlinson CBE, who chaired Camden’s Education Commission, said: “Young people are facing some of the toughest challenges for a generation. I have come across many who share our ambitions in Camden but not all of the borough’s young people are served well enough by the current system. There is an urgent need for it to move with the times and ensure that they are all given the best chance.” 

Katy Forsdyke, headteacher of Christ Church Primary School, Hampstead NW3, said: “The £2 million fund which has been allocated to support the Education Commission priorities will provide an excellent opportunity for schools to bid for funding for building partnerships between schools and with other organisations, as well as supporting the sharing of good practice. It will be a great opportunity for schools and other organisations across Camden to work together to make improvements in areas we all believe in, such as primary to secondary transfer or providing an enriched curriculum.”

Leader of the Council, Councillor Nasim Ali OBE, said: “We are proud that Camden schools are improving fast. The recommendations of the Education Commission will help sustain this momentum and help achieve our ambition to be the best for education in the country. As well as the new £2 million fund, Camden Council is using the community investment programme to fund new school buildings and improvements to schools across the borough.”

Councillor Larraine Revah, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families, said: “Government performance tables show that in 2011 across 152 local authorities in the country, our schools recorded the 7th best increase in GCSE results and the 4th best increase in national primary school test results. Other areas have failing schools – there are none in Camden, and we are delighted that we have a much higher number of schools that Ofsted say are outstanding than is the case elsewhere. Implementing the Education Commission’s recommendations will help us build on this achievement.”

As well as larger CIP proposals such as the new Netley Primary School foundation stage building and new Primary Pupil Referral Unit, a comprehensive survey of every school building in Camden has helped to identify where repairs and refurbishment is needed, and funds have been allocated to every school and children’s centre over a five-year period.   

The Education Commission also welcomed an approach from Argent, one of the Council’s partners in the Kings Cross development, in the establishment of the new primary school planned for Kings Cross.  Under the changes in legislation, any new school can no longer be set up as a local authority maintained school but must be an academy.  Argent has offered to be a lead sponsor of the new academy at Kings Cross and is currently developing proposals with their partners, as well as preparing an application to the government. A new building for Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children would be co-located with this proposed new primary school.

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    Former Ofsted chief to chair partnership for educational excellence