There are those who believe there is no role for Local education Authorities (LEAs) all that is needed is to directly pass all the money to the schools and then let the head-teacher and governing bodies allocate the budget.
I believe there are several roles that an LEA is needed for and without it the cost to the education would be higher.
The first is the organisation and funding of school transport which I believe is best dealt with centrally. This is not only for rural areas but it also is needed for both Welsh medium and denominational education as well ass those children with special educational needs.
Who is to decide which schools should be either rebuilt, remodelled or have extensions? How is the cost to be allocated if there is not a LEA to make these decisions on what should be the priorities.
Surely services such as ethnic minority language service, travellers service, Welsh language service, psychological service including SEN statementing and support and education other than at school are better dealt with by a LEA rather than being undertaken y individual schools.
We know that some schools are not performing as well as others so there is a need for support and intervention by local authorities. I am critical of the failure of LEAs to intervene when schools are underperforming but without an LEA who would be able to support teachers and help achieve the improvement that all our children deserve.
How would pupil referral units work without the LEA organising and running them or would they just disappear?
There are strong and compelling reasons to keep LEAs but I believe that is need for both greater collaboration and more importantly earlier intervention when schools are continually under performing and letting down their pupils.
We need LEAs driving up standards, ensuring that buildings are fit for purpose and most importantly that every child has the best possible chance to fulfil their potential during their time in education.
Most importantly on Education I think the improvement role of LEAs is the vital one. LEAs must use their intervention powers when schools are underperforming prior to ESTYN inspecting.
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