A Statement on Schools Following the Government Announcement on BSF This Week

The plan approved by the Full Council to re-organise the schools structure as a two-tier system was dependent on funding through the Building Schools for the Future programme. This will therefore not be going ahead, and the Council will not be pursuing a comprehensive restructuring. So, while there is huge disappointment at the loss of the BSF Funding and the halting of the previous agreed plan, our focus is now on the future and on improving education in Bedford Borough.

We will work with schools and local communities to encourage structures with more schools working closer together in partnership, through federations and families of schools for the benefit of all local children and young people. We want to see schools co-operating rather than competing, and will be proactive in working with schools in developing these partnerships and federations, fostering a common ethos and supporting one another to help deliver excellent education and improve standards. The Council will of course retain a clear strategic oversight of education in Bedford Borough, ensuring that the interests of all children in all communities are protected.

We will continue to fight for capital investment in Bedford Borough's schools, and I will make the case for the Borough as part of the Government's review of capital funding for schools announced this week. I recently met, along with other Council leaders, Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove, and look forward to making further representations to Government about the need for fair funding for our schools.

The Bedford Academy, which opens in September, has not been removed from the Building Schools for the Future programme altogether, but is 'for discussion.' We will work with the academy sponsors in the aim of achieving a positive outcome from those discussions.