REDBRIDGE Council has come under fire for starving its schools of millions of pounds of funding. REDBRIDGE Council has come under fire for starving its schools of millions of pounds of funding.

A damning report by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) and the Audit Commission reveals that £10m in government funding earmarked for education over a four-year period has been spent on other vital services.

Inspectors have also uncovered a 'legacy of mistrust' between the Local Education Authority (LEA) and its schools which has led to a serious breakdown in communication, fuelling the funding reduction.

Now Redbridge Council has announced an emergency strategy aimed at forging a stronger partnership between the LEA, council officers and headteachers, in a bid to improve communications and funding.

Vowing to address the issues are Redbridge Council's three political group leaders, Cllrs Muhammed Javed, Keith Axon and Richard Hoskins.

In a joint statement they said: 'We recognise there are serious criticisms in this report and we are united in our determination to put Redbridge Council back up with the best education authorities in the country.

'We have already made a start on this by boosting the profile of the new Director of Education and Lifelong Learning who we hope will start work very early in the New Year.

'For many years we did have very good relationships with Redbridge schools. We will do whatever is needed to work with them in an equal partnership based on mutual trust.'

OFSTED inspectors slammed the LEA's weaknesses as 'fundamental' and said a shake-up of the attitude between the authority and its schools was imperative to redress the 'recent legacy of mistrust' between the LEA and headteachers.

Inspectors also slammed the LEA's Educational Development Plan (EDP) as a one-sided consultation which 'left headteachers feeling they lacked any real say over how the authority determined its priorities'.

Describing the role of the new Director of Education and Lifelong Learning, Labour Cllr Richard Newcombe said: 'The new director will take a position on the management board, reporting directly to the Chief Executive, and will have a clear vision and direction.

'It's appropriate the OFSTED audit inspection has come at this time so that we can get the problems of the past out of the way and move forward positively before problems entrench themselves further.'

On a more positive note, the school inspectors applauded a range of the LEA's strengths including its support for literacy, early years education, financial support and recruitment and induction of newly qualified teachers.