A committee of the Scottish Parliament is looking into the future management of schools and the possibility of changing the way they are controlled by local authorities. The Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee is asking for people’s views on the issue.

The committee says the question of how schools are managed has already been raised during its work on class sizes, the Curriculum for Excellence and the provision of free school meals. In the light of this and the ongoing debate about alternative models for school management the committee has decided this is the right time to consider the issue in detail.

The Committee Convener, Karen Whitefield, said the way schools were and should be managed was fundamental to the successful delivery of education for nursery, primary and secondary level children. She said the committee would welcome input from anyone with a view on the matter and wanted this evidence before taking a decision on whether to proceed with an inquiry.

The committee has also asked the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre to draw up a briefing on the structure of state schooling across the rest of the UK and internationally. The deadline for written evidence is noon on July 2nd.