White Paper details Government support for school autonomy

The quality of teachers and teaching is the most important factor in determining how well children do. The Government states that it will continue to raise the quality of new entrants to the profession, reform initial teacher training, develop a network of 'teaching schools' to lead training and development, and reduce the bureaucratic burden on schools.

School improvement will be the responsibility of schools, not central government. Funding of schools needs to be fairer and more transparent, and there will be a Pupil Premium to target resources on the most deprived pupils.

As more young people complete higher education, it is evident that school budgets have been distributed unfairly; fiscal priority has been put on qualifications that carry the highest value in school performance tables rather than those widely recognised by employers and universities.

This White Paper outlines action designed to:

• Tackle the weaknesses in the system
• Strengthen the status of teachers and teaching
• Reinforce the standards set by the curriculum and qualifications
• Give schools back the freedom to determine their own development
• Make schools more accountable to parents
• Help them to learn more quickly and systematically from good practice elsewhere
• Narrow the gap in attainment between rich and poor.

Schools will be given more freedom and autonomy, the Academies programme extended and parents will be able to set up 'Free Schools' to meet parent demand. Accountability for pupil performance is critical, and much more information will be available to aid understanding of a school's performance.

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