THE best schools will be asked to share staff with their struggling neighbours, under a new strategy aimed at ending Oxfordshire’s history of educational under-achievement.

A new six-point plan launched by the county council today will ask the best schools to share staff, provide extra training for governors, and focus resources on the youngest children so their results do not slip behind in their first few years of school.

Schools at risk of failure will be identified sooner and helped to improve, and an annual countywide campaign will be launched to boost youngsters’ aspirations.

About £1m of council cash, saved through cuts to school improvement officers, will provide incentives for schools to sign up the scheme.

The councillor behind the plans, cabinet member for schools improvement Melinda Tilley, said: “Everybody should be concerned about the education of our children.

“Oxfordshire is an affluent county and should be doing infinitely better.”

But she warned that the council could not force schools to change.

She said:“We need to get teachers on board. There is no use in trying to do this and becoming heavy-handed.”

While the strategy applies to all schools, special focus will be put on primaries and early years education.

Central to the initiative are new voluntary “aspiration networks”, linking the best-performing schools to those struggling elsewhere.

The clusters of schools will be able to bid for up to £50,000 to encourage the best teachers to spend time in other schools, spreading best practice. Private schools will be invited to become involved.

Chris Payne, headteacher of The Batt School in Witney which was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted recently, said: “Within Witney we work very closely as a partnership already, so it would not be much different from what we are trying already.”

The council also wants more governors to get training in challenging headteachers to improve attainment, and for 30 reviews of school governance to be carried annually.

Next year should also see the launch of an ‘Every Oxfordshire Child a Good Reader’ campaign to encourage businesses, universities, councils and volunteers to improve youngsters’ literacy.

Volunteer reader Pam Andrews, 72, who visits Orchard Meadow Primary on behalf of charity Assisted Reading for Children, said: “Anything that gets more volunteers reading in schools and one-to-one support has got to be a positive thing.

“When their reading improves, self-esteem goes up, they behave better and become a better part of the classroom.”

At the council’s Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee last week, chairman Ann Bonner said: “This has to now be the turning point. We cannot get away from the fact that we are not cutting the mustard and we are letting the kids down.”

Mum-of-two Jayne Harrison, a parent governor at St Christopher’s Primary School in Cowley, said: “Any teacher who has been through the improvement process would want to share that with others who could benefit from it.”

A three-week consultation will be launched today.

THE PLAN

Aspiration networks: Top schools and subject departments will spread best practice by joining up and forming clusters with less successful schools. The council will provide up to £50,000 to encourage the release of staff.

Leadership and governance: More support to recruit governors from businesses, and new training for governors.

Teaching: The county’s outstanding schools will be encouraged to apply to gain Teaching School status, so they become centres of good practice. Good teaching will be identified and shared with other schools.

Early intervention: Support will be targeted at early years classes and children’s centres, while new hubs will focus on children and families facing difficulties.

Support for schools below the floor standards: The council wants early warning systems to identify schools at risk of falling below the Government’s minimum standards, and schools judged satisfactory by Ofsted will have a School Improvement Officer to help identify improvements.

Annual campaigns: A yearly countywide campaign to get universities, parents, councils, and the media on board with boosting results. For 2012, this is set to be ‘Every Oxfordshire Child a Good Reader’.