The private and vountary sectors could be brought in to help run education services under new proposals.

Barnet Borough Council is due to start a consultation on how schools in the borough are run.

Barnet schools are currently the responsibility of the council, although academies and free schools are outside local authority control.

The council's education safeguarding committee on Monday discussed changes to the way the service is provided.

One proposal is to keep education services as they currently are. Another idea is to create a new company jointly owned by schools and Barnet Council.

A third party provider could also be brought in, either from the private or voluntary sector, as a joint venture which included the council and schools, or as a joint venture just involving the council, with schools involved in commissioning services.

Two other options, which involved outsourcing the service or forming a local authority trading company, were ruled out.

Golders Green councillor Reuben Thompstone, chairman of the children, education, libraries and safeguarding committee, said: “The proposals reflect the profound changes in the education landscape over the last decade and a half. Most of the local funding for education now goes directly to schools. We need to recognise that and involve schools more centrally in the oversight of the full range of education support services.

“As we are keen to sustain and grow our education services, we are also interested in exploring the option of involving a third party from the private or not-for-profit sector, as a way of bringing in additional resources and commercial expertise."