YOU wait years for a new initiative to raise standards in local schools to come along, and then three come along more at less at once...

The £500,000 Get Oxfordshire Reading Campaign, launched last September by Oxfordshire County Council, run by the National Literacy Trust and backed by the Oxford Mail, aims to see a dramatic increase in the proportion of children achieving higher levels in reading at Key Stage One tests, taken by seven-year-olds, and to foster a lifelong love of reading.

Today’s announcement of a historic town-gown initiative between Oxford’s two universities and Oxford City Council, which is funding The Leadership for Learning programme, is a welcome addition, bringing together as it does some of the most experienced educational leaders in the country with schools that serve “the most disadvantaged communities”.

And now Oxfordshire County Council, the local education authority, has now also announced the launch of its own leadership in schools campaign.

The goal of all three initiatives is a shared one – to drive up standards.

All three initiatives must now work together to complement the efforts of each other.