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Business leader welcomes groundbreaking schools initiative

A radical proposal to transform the way schools are run in East Lothian has been welcomed as ‘groundbreaking’ by Ron Hewitt, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.

The reform, announced yesterday, will place schools in arms length trusts, giving them much more independence from Council control.

“These groundbreaking proposals will give schools the freedom to make decisions locally, appropriate to their catchment, responding directly to pupils’ needs. As such they are in line with best educational practice from around Europe, where there is a growing emphasis on independence and accountability.”

“There is growing concern that Scots school are falling behind our international counterparts. Reform is necessary, not least because we must find new ways of improving performance at a time of budgetary restraint. East Lothian is showing how it can be done.”

Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce launched its Time for Renewal campaign for public sector reform in September.

“We must all work together to pull Scotland out of the economic recession, which affects business and public sector alike. This means calling on the talent inherent in the public sector to deliver better value for money solutions. It's abuout allowing public sector workers the same kind of freedom to onnovate which propels businesses forward when the going gets tough. The East Lothian proposal shows that you can blend the principle of universal access with a more businesslike responsiveness to changing circumstances. We must all support and encourage Cllr David Berry [the council leader] and his team with this initiative.”