With over 50% of secondary schools in England now academies, the future role of local authorities and the need for a ‘middle tier’ between central Government and individual schools have been the focus of a number of reports and articles last week.
In The Missing Link: the evolving role of the local authority in school improvement commissioned by the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) consultant Jonathan Crossley-Holland describes Local Authorities as "shell-shocked" by the academies revolution. However, he argues that "It is in local authorities' hands whether or not they want to play a lead role in the improvement of all their schools". He writes "In some ways, both local authorities and schools are being given more room than they have been given for a number of years, albeit with far fewer resources, and are being given greater freedom to determine what they do."
Mr Crossley-Holland highlights the commitment in the government's 2010 schools White Paper to giving LAs a "strong strategic role" that includes developing "their own school improvement strategies to support local schools". However, he acknowledges that Ministers view them as “part of the problem”.
A separate report, Schools Causing Concern, also commissioned by the ADCS presents research on the characteristics of effective local authority school improvement work and explores the implications of the growth in academies and chains. Author Debbie Pritchard warns: "Local authorities do not have a divine right to work with schools", but notes that "the best authorities have not waited on central government to tell them what to do". She concludes that "the Department for Education cannot manage all schools centrally. A mediating layer is needed."
Support for the need for some form of middle tier is not confined to those organisations representing local authorities. Earlier this year, Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector of schools, proposed a system of nationally funded local area commissioners reporting directly to the Secretary of State stating “I speak as someone who believes in autonomy and who believes in independence and as a great supporter of the academy programme, but we know there will be some academies that won’t do well. It is no good just relying on Ofsted to give the judgment. By that time, it is too late. We need some sort of intermediary bodies which can detect when things aren’t going well, look at the data and have their ear very close to the ground to determine when there is a certain issue.”
And in Progress, Rick Muir called for local commissioners of schools, appointed by the local authority or elected mayor, to commission (but not run or manage) schools in their area including free schools and academies, and have a focus on school improvement.
These Commissioners “would act as a mediating layer for the majority of schools that are not part of academy chains, supporting them to improve through collaboration, promoting the professional development of teachers and ensuring schools respond effectively to national policy changes. They would be responsible for making sure that the needs of all children in their area are being met.”
The need for a planned system for supporting schools is stressed in a very useful article by educationalist John Dunford, where he suggests that the Government’s policy amounts to ‘creative chaos’: “The system of school improvement in England has never been strategically planned and executed, with clear responsibilities set out for each of the four stages (identifying problems in the school; brokering solutions to the problem; commissioning people to support the school; and delivering the support). He says:
“In the increasingly mixed economy of schools there is a need for a middle tier to ensure the necessary strategic approach”, highlighting that McKinsey research has shown that all the highly successful school systems in the world have a middle tier between central government and the individual school.
The article outlines six options for the middle tier:
- Local commissioners of schools
- Area HMIs
- Chains of schools and/ or teaching alliances
- Single local authorities
- Groups of local authorities
- A mixture of chains, teaching schools and national or local structures.
Dunford concludes “of the models above, the reinvention, in an up-to-date form, of district HMIs would be beneficial, not least because it would force Ofsted to play a stronger role in school improvement, as well as in accountability. Although such a development is necessary, it is not sufficient. A nationally funded network of local school commissioners is probably the only way in which universal coverage of the country can be achieved in an effective manner.”
What is your view? What do you see as the future role of the local authority in school improvement? Is there a need for a middle tier? What is the role for academy chains or school to school developments such as Teaching Schools? Do you think that Local Commissioners are the way forward and if so what should their role be? Email think@schoolsnortheast.com