ST HELENS Council has expressed alarm at government plans to make all schools become academies, fearing it could harm improving education standards across the borough.

The move was expected to form a key part of chancellor George Osborne’s latest budget, due to be announced as the Star went to press.

It would end the tradition of local authorities being education providers.

But the council, which has exerted greater influence over the direction of secondary schools to oversee improvements since a series of poor Ofsted inspections two years ago, is concerned about the impact of granting all schools greater freedoms to act independently.

Both the Hope Academy, formed out out of the former St Aelreds and Newton High schools, and Sutton Academy have endured their difficulties since taking the status, as have similar schools in neighbouring areas.

Local education leaders are also worried about the destabilising impact on primary schools.

Cllr Grunewald said: “We would be extremely concerned if the Government does go ahead with its proposals to force all schools to become academies by 2022.

“There is absolutely no evidence to support the view – locally or nationally – that academy status leads to improvements. In fact we would argue the opposite – with 82 per cent of schools across the country now rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted.

“Rather than putting all their energies in to this, the Government should address the real issues in education like the alarmingly high teacher shortage, the ever growing crisis in school places and the widening attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers.

“Furthermore, Ofsted has not only identified that improvement in secondary schools – most of which are academies – has stalled, but it has praised strong improvement in primary schools, most of which are maintained.”

Last year Prime Minister David Cameron suggested his “vision for our schooling system” was to place education into the hands of headteachers and teachers rather than “bureaucrats”.