27. Local authorities should promote the interests of children, young people, parents and families and work with local communities to stimulate and support a diversity of school, early years and 16-19 provision that meets local needs. More specifically, the DCS and LMCS in their respective roles:

  • must ensure fair access to all schools for every child in accordance with the statutory School Admissions and School Admissions Appeal Codes and ensure appropriate information is provided to parents;
  • must ensure provision for suitable home to school transport arrangements;
  • should actively promote a diverse supply of strong schools, including by encouraging good schools to expand and, where there is a need for a new school, seeking proposals for an academy or Free School;
  • should promote high quality early years provision, including helping to develop the market, securing free early education for all three- and four-year-olds and for all disadvantaged two-year-olds1, providing information, advice and assistance to parents and prospective parents, and ensuring there are sufficient Sure Start children’s centre services to meet local need and sufficient childcare for working parents;
  • must secure access for young people to sufficient educational and recreational leisure-time activities and facilities for the improvement of their wellbeing and personal and social development;
  • should promote children’s and young people’s participation in public decision-making so they can influence local commissioners; and
  • should promote participation in education or training of young people, including by securing provision for young people aged 16-19 (or 25 for those with learning difficulties or disabilities).

Educational excellence

28. Working with headteachers, school governors and academy sponsors and principals, local authorities should promote educational excellence for all children and young people and be ambitious in tackling underperformance. More specifically, the DCS and LMCS should in their respective roles:

  • take rapid and decisive action in relation to poorly performing schools, including using their intervention powers with regard to maintained schools and considering alternative structural and operational solutions;
  • develop robust school improvement strategies, including choosing whether to offer such services in a competitive and open school improvement market, working beyond local authority boundaries;
  • promote high standards in education by supporting effective school-to-school collaboration and providing local leadership for tackling issues needing attention which cut across more than one school, such as poor performance in a particular subject area across a cluster of schools;
  • support maintained schools in delivering an appropriate National Curriculum and early years providers in meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (as outlined in the EYFS Statutory Framework);
  • establish a schools forum for their area, maintain a scheme for financing maintained schools and provide financial information; and
  • undertake specified responsibilities in relation to staffing and governance of maintained schools.

1The free entitlement to early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds will be statutory from 2013.

Annex A – further sources of information

You may be interested in the following links:

You may be interested in the following guidance:

  • Code of Practice for Local Authorities on Delivery of Free Early Years Provision for 3 & 4 year olds (2010)
  • Early identification, assessment of needs and intervention – The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for children and young people: A guide for managers (2009)
  • Equality Act 2010: Public sector equality duty what do I need to know? A quick start guide for public sector organisations (Home Office, 2011)
  • Legal framework for working with looked after children: regulations and guidance (2011)
  • School Admissions Code (2012) and School Admission Appeals Code (2012)
  • Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2001)
  • Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2012)
  • Working Together to Safeguard Children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (2010)