£100,000 for schools-led improvement board to help raise standards in the Dorset County Council area

The Dorset Schools Improvement Board first met in September after an initial consultation in July and is said to have gained universal support.

It will set its own agenda for improvement plans and encourage schools to work together to achieve them, headed by an independent chair.

The move is also likely to see all schools and academies in Dorset divided into a series of 'family' clusters, based on the existing pyramid model – with a system of mutual help and support. Support systems, such as the Family Partnership Zones, would be realigned to fit in with the school family clusters.

In time the idea could be rolled out to the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area with at least one request from a Christchurch school to join in.

Wednesday's Dorset County Council cabinet heard from assistant director for schools and learning Andrew Reid who said the idea was that schools should set and guide their own improvement agenda. He described it at a previous meeting as an evolution, not a revolution.

He said at the time that in other areas of the country once schools started to work together they became more likely to adopt formal arrangements which sometimes brought finance and governance together – but he said that was not the aim in Dorset, although it might eventually be an outcome for some clusters.

Education brief holder Cllr Andrew Parry said the change would redefine the county council's relationship with schools and offer the county a schools-led system which should lead to improvements in standards across the county.

Council leader Rebecca Knox described it as “a clear, sustainable solution.”

Finance brief holder Cllr Tony Ferrari welcomed the decision but said he worried that, next year, there would be a demand for more money from the new Dorset Council. He said that if that were to be the case the Improvement Board would have to make a case that they had produced a demonstrable change.