Sheffield school improvement team set to continue work despite loss of government funding

Sheffield City Council’s education, children and families policy committee meeting today (June 21) is set to discuss changes following the government’s withdrawal of grant funding for school improvements.

Previously, the council had set up school company Learn Sheffield, which assesses the delivery of key stages in the school curriculum plus doing some work in relation to school governors.At present, Learn Sheffield also monitors performance and supports the progress of maintained schools – those that are still under council control – as well advising on the appointment of headteachers in those schools.

A report to the committee says that around 90 per cent of city schools subscribe to the service.

In 2021, the government decided to begin to withdraw the grant for the work, saying it has to come out of school budgets instead. It was cut by 50 per cent in March 2022 and ended completely a year later.

The council had looked at ‘insourcing’ the work, meaning staff would take it on, but following consultations Learn Sheffield said that it could continue to offer a service within the budget now available.

The committee report says: “The cash value of the previous contract was £268K. Of this, following the removal of the reduced grant, £131K remains available for investment. The estimated value of the new contract is £97K.”

It adds: “Learn Sheffield are an established school improvement partner and have been working effectively with schools across the city. They are best placed to ensure service continuity and school support.”

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