Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall named among England's education 'cold spots'

Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall are among 55 areas across England which have been earmarked as having some of the weakest education outcomes in the country.

Poorly-performing schools in these boroughs could soon be forced to join better academy trusts under plans set to be confirmed in the Government's Levelling Up White Paper on Wednesday.

The paper will say that schools in the 55 areas that have been judged less than "good" in successive Ofsted inspections "could be moved into strong multi-academy trusts, to attract more support and the best teachers".

This will be subject to a consultation in the spring, the Department for Education said.

The zones will become designated "Education Investment Areas" and will also be prioritised as the location for specialist sixth-form free schools.

Free schools are funded by the government but are not run by the local authority and do not have to follow the national curriculum. Examples include university technical colleges.

The Government said that this will "ensure talented children from disadvantaged backgrounds have access to the highest standard of education this country offers", however some headteachers have argued that the sixth forms could help pupils who are already high-achieving.

Schools in the areas will be supported to address other issues such as attendance and will be "encouraged" to join a new pilot programme to monitor this.

The DfE confirmed that teachers would be offered a "levelling up premium" to improve retention, while £200 million would be assigned to the Government's Troubled Families programme, as announced last year in the Spending Review.

It will also set a target of 90 per cent of pupils leaving primary school in England to reach the expected standard of reading, writing and maths in 2030.

"In 2019, just 65 per cent of pupils met all three standards, with the proportion substantially varying across the country," the DfE said.

No other Black Country boroughs are included in the plans as it stands, while Stoke-on-Trent and Coventry are the only areas in the wider West Midlands and Staffordshire identified as "cold spots".

Out of the 55 areas, 12 are local authorities containing Opportunity Areas created by former education secretary Justine Greening.

The Department for Education said that as "95 per cent of these areas are outside London and the South East, it is the struggling schools of the North, Midlands, East of England and South West that will be receiving much more support over the next decade".

Some headteachers have argued that the new sixth forms could help pupils who are already high-achieving.

"We are not so sure about the idea of setting up 'new elite sixth forms'. This sounds like they will serve children who already do very well and could put pressure on existing provision when the simplest solution would surely be to improve the lamentable state of post-16 funding," Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said.

Mr Barton said: "We share the Government's ambition to improve numeracy, literacy and therefore the life chances among the one-third of young people who need more support.

He added that it was "slightly infuriating" that the Government "insists on talking about illiteracy and innumeracy".

"These children are not illiterate or innumerate and it is somewhat insulting to describe them as such. They just fall below the expected standard at primary school against a specific set of tests," he said.

Mr Barton said the children did need more support but that he was unsure the White Paper achieved this, as the most disadvantaged pupils needed help that went "beyond the school gates" to address poverty, while there was a "crying need" for better funding for pupils with special educational needs.

"There's much food for thought in the outline of the Government's White Paper, but the devil will, as ever, be in the detail. Identifying 55 communities for intensive additional support sounds promising and we look forward to seeing exactly how this will work," he added.

"The idea of moving schools judged less than good in successive Ofsted inspections into multi-academy trusts sounds a little like the defunct 'coasting schools' policy that the Department for Education jettisoned a few years ago," he said.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: "This White Paper sets out our blueprint for putting skills, schools and families at the heart of levelling up. It focuses on putting great schools in every part of the country, training that sets you up for success in a high-skilled, well-paid career and ensuring no-one misses out on opportunities simply because of where they live or their family background.

"Raising our expectations and aspirations for children, as well as creating a high-skilled workforce, will end the brain drain that sees too many people leaving communities in order to succeed.

"These plans will help create a level playing field and boost the economy, both locally and nationally."

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said that "many of the areas now targeted for support have been among the hardest hit by education cuts over the last decade - on the Government's own watch, and entirely of its own making".

"The sums being promised will not make up for what has been cut. If the Government was serious about levelling up education, then it would restore all the money it has cut from these schools," he added.

Natalie Perera, chief executive of the Education Policy Institute (EPI), said: "Targeted investment for those areas of the country with high levels of educational inequality will be key to the Government's efforts - we know from our research that very large education gaps are deeply entrenched in parts of the North and Midlands, and pupils in these areas have also seen far greater levels of learning loss following the pandemic.

"It will be important to closely scrutinise the criteria used by the Government for selecting its 'Education Investment Areas', and how it intends to deliver 'intensive' support over so many areas."