Stephen Twigg, Minister of State for School Standards, and Cllr James Kempton, Executive Member for Children, will be addressing a Confederation of British Industries (CBI) conference on Thursday 17 March, highlighting the successes achieved by Local Education Authorities working in partnership with the private sector.Islington’s schools were recognised as the most improved in the country after the results of GCSE exams were released in 2004. Islington Council has been working in partnership with private company CEA@Islington to raise levels of achievement in the borough’s schools since April 2000.The event has been organised to discuss the CBI publication The Business of Education Improvement, which provides the first evidence-based assessment of the impact that partnerships between LEAs and private companies have made on educational achievement. Levels of achievement in the nine private sector-outsourced LEAs were compared with those in 11 failing LEAs where education was not outsourced, and against the average performance of all LEAs in England. In both instances, the LEAs that outsourced education services to the private sector achieved a higher level of improvement.Cllr James Kempton, Executive Member for Children said:“There is no doubt that the partnership between Islington Council and CEA@Islington over the last five years has transformed education in Islington. The combination of strategic political and community leadership and high quality school support services has created a shared vision and supported schools in raising attainment for pupils. The partnership has worked by putting the needs of pupils and schools at the heart of what we do and ensured that the contractual framework has been an enabling factor.”Bill Clark, Director of Schools’ Services, CEA@Islington said:“Islington Council must be congratulated on having the leadership, the vision and the ability to work with us on improving the levels of achievement in Islington schools. It is marvelous that we have both received this acknowledgement from such a well-respected organization as the CBI.”EndsFor more information, please contact:Louise TrewavasHead of CommunicationsCEA@IslingtonLaycock StreeIslington N1 1THTelephone: 020 7527 5826
Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008