David Cameron says he wants to get away from the historical and outdated situation wherein local authorities are in charge of the education system, and by extension all schools, in their areas. 

The prime minister, speaking at the Conservative party conference, said that he wants to make schools accountable, as well as giving them the freedom to control their own affairs, making the fact they are accountable to local councils a thing of the past. 

Mr Cameron wants to complete the change from schools to academies within the space of the next five years, he told attendees in Manchester.

“My next ambition is this,” he told the Conservative party conference. 

“Five hundred new free Schools, every school an academy, and yes – local authorities running schools a thing of the past.”

The move would be a controversial one with many people, largely because of the belief that having schools controlled by local authorities means that they are generally accountable to local voters, who feel they have some degree of say in their running. 

However, under the academies scheme that was introduced by Labour and continued by the coalition, schools are directly funded by the Department for Education rather than local councils and run by a trust. This means they have more freedom over how money is spent and what they do to bring about improvements. 

It will be hoped that by creating more free schools, a greater number of establishments nationwide will have a firm focus on growth and improving rather than just having a council overseeing what is done within. 

At the moment, schools have the chance to become academies under the scheme, and although there is no real evidence to show significantly better performance in these free schools, many have taken up the opportunity.