Transatlantic action on failing schools

Richard Riley: UK fact-finding tour

Head teachers who have turned around failing schools in England are going to a conference in the United States as part of a transatlantic initiative to improve educational standards.

The Department for Education in London and the US education department announced their joint approach on Monday, during a visit to London by the US Education Secretary, Richard Riley.

Some 15 delegates from the UK will be invited to attend the conference in Washington, DC, on 4-6 October.

As well as the head teachers they are likely to include representatives from the schools inspectorate for England, Ofsted, the National College for School Leadership, local education authorities and the private sector.

The School Standards Minister, Estelle Morris, said: "We are determined to learn from the experience of other countries as well as our own about the task of raising school standards.

Dialogue

"This includes raising the performance of schools in challenging circumstances.

"We want to establish a dialogue and share good practice at school level."

The conference will also explore the roles of local and national government in supporting schools which are in trouble.

Its conclusions will be on the DfEE's Standards website and there will be an e-mail forum to continue the exchange of good ideas.

Mr Riley said: "Improving low-performing schools is one of the most important goals of the Clinton-Gore administration and this conference will help us develop strategies to help all students reach high standards of learning."

On Monday morning Mr Riley visited a Camden primary school - a successful one, officials stressed - to observe a daily maths lesson, part of the national numeracy strategy in primary schools.

His fact-finding tour includes a trip to Belfast and to Dublin in the Republic of Ireland.

'Similar disadvantages'

A Department for Education spokesman said: "There is an inner city angle to all this. The US inner cities have similar disadvantages to the inner cities here."

A lot of communication between the US and UK departments took place already on a range of educational issues, he said.

There was also a traditional staff exchange programme between schools in the two countries.

Ahead of the meeting, Richard Riley added to the running wrangle over university admissions in the UK by defending Oxford and Cambridge as "outstanding" universities.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he praised them as "top quality" institutions which should not allow their standards to be undermined.