Caroline Haines has been re-elected as Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Education Board, reaffirming her central role in shaping education policy across the Square Mile and its family of schools. Her renewed mandate comes at a time of mounting pressure on the education sector, with schools navigating post-pandemic recovery, tightening budgets, and the widening attainment gap. Haines’ continued leadership is expected to provide continuity for the Corporation’s strategic vision, which spans academies, independent schools, skills provision, and partnerships aimed at improving opportunities for young people both within the City and in neighbouring communities.
Continuity and change Caroline Haines secures second term leading City Corporation education strategy
Returned to office by fellow Members, Caroline Haines will use her new mandate to balance established priorities with a sharpened focus on future challenges across the City Corporation’s family of schools and academies. Building on reforms introduced in her first term, she is expected to strengthen collaboration between institutions, deepen employer engagement and keep pupil outcomes at the heart of decision‑making.Key strands of her program include:
- Raising attainment through evidence-led teaching and targeted support
- Expanding partnerships with City businesses to link learning with real-world skills
- Championing inclusion so that opportunities reach every learner, whatever their background
- Embedding digital capability in classrooms to prepare students for fast-changing workplaces
| Priority Area | What Continues | What Evolves |
|---|---|---|
| School Standards | Ongoing focus on progress and outcomes | Sharper use of data to target support |
| Careers & Skills | Existing links with City employers | Broader pathways into green and tech sectors |
| Inclusion | Support for disadvantaged pupils | Stronger cross-school networks and early intervention |
Her re‑election signals confidence in a strategy that combines stability with measured reform, offering headteachers, governors and partners a clear sense of direction for the next phase of the City Corporation’s education agenda.
Priorities for the new mandate Strengthening safeguarding, digital skills and post pandemic attainment
With a renewed term of office, Caroline Haines is putting fresh emphasis on equipping pupils and staff to navigate a more complex educational landscape. This will see an intensified focus on robust safeguarding cultures, contemporary digital competence and closing gaps in achievement that emerged during the pandemic years. The Board will work closely with school leaders to ensure that every setting can adapt policies, training and curricula to meet rapidly changing risks and opportunities. Key strands of this work include:
- Strengthening safeguarding policies, reporting mechanisms and staff training across all City schools.
- Embedding digital literacy and responsible online behavior in everyday classroom practice.
- Targeted academic recovery for pupils disproportionately affected by lockdown learning loss.
- Mental health and wellbeing support aligned with academic catch‑up strategies.
- Data-led decision making to monitor progress and intervene early where attainment stalls.
| Priority Area | Focus in 2024-25 |
|---|---|
| Safeguarding | Updated training, pupil voice forums, faster incident response |
| Digital Skills | Curriculum-wide coding, AI literacy, online safety campaigns |
| Post-Pandemic Attainment | Small-group tutoring, extended learning time, enriched curricula |
These priorities will be backed by closer collaboration between schools, employers and community partners to ensure that interventions remain both practical and aspiring. By aligning safeguarding practice, digital innovation and academic recovery, the Education Board aims to secure long-term resilience for pupils in the Square Mile and beyond, ensuring that disadvantage is tackled early and that every learner benefits from the City’s unique educational and cultural ecosystem.
Partnerships with schools How City of London academies and independent schools will shape the next phase
Under Caroline Haines’ renewed leadership, collaboration between the City’s family of academies and its independent schools will move beyond traditional outreach into structured, two-way partnerships. Shared teaching expertise, coordinated curriculum planning and joint enrichment activities will be used to narrow prospect gaps and raise aspiration across every borough where the City of London Corporation is responsible for education. Priority areas include digital skills, careers education and early intervention in literacy and numeracy, with independent schools expected to contribute facilities, specialist staff and access to established networks in higher education and industry.
New partnership frameworks will formalise how schools work together, with a clear focus on impact and accountability. This will include:
- Shared programmes in STEM, arts and languages, delivered across multiple school sites
- Cross-sector mentoring for pupils and early-career teachers
- Joint governance forums to align standards, safeguarding and wellbeing support
- Targeted bursaries and pathways for high-potential students from disadvantaged backgrounds
| Focus Area | Academies’ Role | Independent Schools’ Role |
|---|---|---|
| STEM | Identify talent, embed skills in classroom practice | Provide labs, specialist teaching and clubs |
| Careers | Connect pupils to local employers | Open professional networks and work experience |
| Teacher Progress | Share local knowledge and community insight | Host joint CPD and leadership training |
Recommendations for policymakers Funding stability governance transparency and employer engagement in education
Under Haines’ renewed stewardship, the Corporation is urging ministers and sector leaders to move beyond short-term pilots and embrace multi-year settlements that allow schools and skills providers to plan strategically. This means aligning capital and revenue streams, ringfencing core teaching budgets, and ensuring targeted funds for inclusion, digital access and post‑16 pathways. Central to her agenda is transparent, data-led governance that gives parents, learners and employers clear sight of how public money is spent and what impact it achieves, with robust mechanisms for scrutiny across academies, further education and adult learning.
- Stabilise core funding through predictable, multi-year budgets
- Publish clear performance data across all education phases
- Embed employers in curriculum design and careers guidance
- Prioritise inclusion for disadvantaged and SEND learners
| Policy Focus | Recommended Action | Expected Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Funding | Three‑year settlements for schools and colleges | Stronger long‑term planning |
| Governance | Open reporting on spend and impact | Greater public trust |
| Employers | Formal industry-school partnerships | Curricula aligned with labor market |
Haines is also pressing for structured employer engagement to become a standard feature of the education system rather than a patchwork of local initiatives. The Corporation is calling on policymakers to incentivise long-term partnerships between businesses and schools through targeted tax reliefs, streamlined governance frameworks and recognition within inspection regimes. These partnerships, she argues, should range from classroom mentoring and real-world projects to co-designed technical routes and apprenticeships, helping young people build the skills, networks and confidence needed to thrive in a rapidly changing economy.
Wrapping Up
As Haines prepares for a new term at the helm of the Education Board, the City of London Corporation faces a familiar but shifting brief: maintaining high standards across its family of schools while responding to evolving expectations around inclusion, skills and opportunity. Her re-election signals continuity of leadership in a period of change for the sector, and sets the stage for the next phase of the Corporation’s work to support pupils, teachers and communities both within the Square Mile and beyond.
