THE ACADEMIES COMMISSION-LAUNCH

 

THE ACADEMIES COMMISSION

Launch of new Academies Commission

Comment

Sponsored by the Cooperative and CfBT Education Trust,  the Academies Commission launch  on 8 May follows a rapid increase in the number of schools converting to academy status. As of 1 April, there were 1776 academies, a huge increase from the 270 or so that had been open or planned at the time of the last election. The commission is chaired by former Chief-Inspector of Schools Christine Gilbert who is joined by two other commissioners – Brett Wigdortz (CEO of Teach First) and Professor Chris Husbands (Director of the Institute of Education). The Academies Commission remit is:

The commission will examine the model and incipient outcomes of academisation from a school improvement perspective, focusing on issues of accountability, governance, due diligence, and outcomes for pupils.

It will highlight emerging trends, risks, and related questions, concentrating on public interest.

It will also draw on international examples of similar systems and cases, to inform and compare analyses.

It will not rehearse debates about the decision to develop the academies programme, but will focus on the consequences of this programme in terms of outcomes for children and young people and for the education system as a whole.

Particular attention will be given to the key issues of

a) accountability including processes via which schools are held accountable; the role of the sponsor; commissioning of services; governance; operation of local markets; due diligence (e.g. what happens when performance worsens or fails to improve under a particular sponsor or chain?)

b) educational outcomes and how to lever school improvement in an academised system, given school autonomy. With the speed of academisation exceeding all expectations, much of the debate has been retrospective with operational policy being created ‘on the hoof’. What has been notably absent, in government policy and media, think tank and academic comment, is analysis of the implications of mass academisation. What are the unique features of an entirely academised system and what impact these will have on young people’s educational outcomes?  The Commission ‘will develop a practical but compelling vision for the future of UK Academisation.’  The Commission claims to ‘bring together a breadth of perspectives and a wealth of experience with Commissioners drawn from across the political spectrum, academia, private and third sectors.’ The inquiry will run for several months reporting towards the end of 2012.’

 

Christine Gilbert said at the launch on 8 May: “So the commission’s work will review the landscape, but with a view to looking firmly at the future rather than revisiting the past. We do not intend to rehearse debates about the decision to develop the academies programme. We are far more interested in ensuring that it delivers on its promise of a better education for every child.’

Speeches at  the opening found here:

http://www.academiescommission.org/

http://www.thersa.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/583088/08.05.03-Christine-Gilbert-Speech-Text.pdf

IS THERE A DRIVE TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF GRAMMAR SCHOOLS?

GRAMMAR SCHOOLS

Are they on the way back?

Legislation doesnt allow for establishment of  new Grammar schools, but existing ones can expand

Comment

For some grammar schools ( wholly selective state schools) are elitist institutions (they select pupils at 11) which restrict educational opportunity to a small, already-privileged minority and damage other local schools by cream skimming the top pupils, while damaging the self-esteem of  a majority of pupils who fail to make the grade. For others, they are a method for achieving high educational standards which benefit the whole of society and provide a ladder of opportunity for children from poor backgrounds to clamber out of the cycle of disadvantage.

Andrew Neil, the former editor of the Sunday Times, now a commentator  in the broadcast media,   made a documentary about a year ago on grammar schools .In it  he argued  that the grammar schools provided bright working-class and lower-middle class  children with a route to educational and career success. Far from being elitist and unfair institutions, they were actually effective engines of social mobility, he argued. One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Neil’s thesis is the social background of UK Prime Ministers. Between the Eton-educated Alec Douglas-Home and the Fettes-educated Tony Blair, five successive UK Prime Ministers were from modest backgrounds and four were educated at grammar schools.

Grammar schools undoubtedly polarise opinion and  the arguments over selection are rearing their heads again, following the allegation that a new grammar school is being set up in Sevenoaks. A campaign in Sevenoaks, which has no grammar school of its own, to provide for its brightest children raised a petition of 2,600 names. At present 1,120 of the town’s children have to travel to selective schools in nearby towns. The council’s recent decision means an annexe associated with these schools can now be built in Sevenoaks.

The Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the Academies Act 2010 effectively mean that there can be no ‘new’ grammar schools (ie in addition to the 164 grammar school already operating).  However, it is also the case that  any school can seek to expand by opening another site,  which has been allowed since 1944. But  to do so it must be a continuance of the original school. Hence, the compromise endorsed by councillors in Sevenoaks. The promised extra provision in Sevenoaks will not be in a ‘new’ grammar school, but in two “satellites”, each with 60 places, run by existing grammars in other towns.

What does the government think about this?  Does this amount to a drive to set up new grammar schools and broaden selection in the maintained sector? This government isn’t in fact advocating the establishment of ‘new’ grammar schools. But it doesn’t see a problem with expanding existing grammar schools. Indeed, Nick Gibb, the schools Minister, addressing the Grammar School Heads Association  recently said existing selective schools “would be able to take advantage of crucial freedoms” on admissions. This includes making it easier for popular schools to expand and scrapping rules requiring schools to consult the local community on admissions rules every five years. More grammars should also convert into independent academies, he added, giving them additional powers over the curriculum, staff pay and the academic year.  Junior Minister Lord Hill said recently in the Lords “if people want to come forward with a proposal to open or expand a satellite school, they can apply to the local authority, and to the Secretary of State in the case of an academy. Those proposals would be looked at on a case-by-case basis.”  Lord Hill was keen to add  though that in respect of free schools or the academy conversion programme ” we have been absolutely clear in the Academies Act that we have taken the opposite view and have not permitted or encouraged the expansion of selection within the maintained system. We have said-this is the point about the admissions code-that all schools, whether maintained, non-selective or selective, should have the ability, in response to parental demand, to increase their published admissions number. That is the only change that has been made.”  The conservatives see the grammar school issue as divisive and they will not open up  another front now,  in championing new grammar schools, which would also threaten real divisions within  the coalition. That said, there is a grey area surrounding the expansion of existing grammar schools, and there is every likelihood that there will be more expansion of  these schools.

 

To recap- A single school can operate  from more than one site, but to do so ‘ any other site must be a continuance of the original school.’ But  new wholly selective state schools are not permitted under existing legislation.

It would be rash, though, to assume that all grammar schools wish to expand. And indeed of those who rather like the idea of scaling up   not all will have the space or capital to do so.

ACADEMIES-ARE CRITICISMS JUSTIFIED?

ACADEMIES

Some criticisms-but are they justified?

Comment

There are a number of criticisms being levelled at Academies. Lets look at four.

First, they amount to privatising the state education system.  George Monbiot, the privately educated left wing commentator, recently made this claim in R4s Any Questions?. The normal definition of privatisation is that it involves transfer of government services or assets to the private sector. Wikipedia puts it as follows ‘the process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency, public service or property from the public sector (the state or government) to the private sector (businesses that operate for a private profit) or to private non-profit organizations.’ So does this apply to Academies? Clearly, not. Academies are not owned by private sector companies, nor are any of their assets. In ,fact they are required to be charities by law. Private companies can ,of course, now  support the Trusts that run Academies, just as they were able to under the last Labour government. Indeed private companies can also support local education authorities (Islington /CEA) too.  But the body running an academy school  has to be a  charitable trust. One is tempted to think that that the Government might as well privatise the system  given they are accused as having done  so already, so in a political sense the issue has already been discounted. To claim these supply side reforms amount  to privatisation is nonsense on stilts.

But Academies are selective aren’t they? Well, this is not quite so cut and dried. Quite a few state schools have always had some form of selection. Church or faith schools may ask for confirmation of attendance at a relevant place of worship. This is a form of selection and they have been accused of not taking a proper share of pupils eligible for FSM(See this weeks Guardian story). There are also grammar schools, and, this   is something of a secret,   quite a few other schools that select a proportion of their pupils on the basis of academic ability, award places on the basis of an entrance exam or a selection test. Specialist schools that award a percentage of their places (10%) to pupils with an aptitude for certain subjects may use some form of assessment or audition where appropriate. State boarding schools may interview  a child to assess their suitability to be a boarder (interviewing is not allowed for admission into any other type of state-funded school-although there are ways of getting round this-ie having school  open days which provides the school a chance to meet informally with parents and children.) As far as academies are concerned (around 50% of all secondary schools will  have academy status by the end of this parliament)  the Academies Act 2010 allows schools that already select all or some of their pupils on the basis of ability to continue to do so. It does not provide for existing academies to become selective. When a school becomes an academy, the academy trust will become the admission authority. For some schools, such as foundation and voluntary aided schools, this will mean little change, but for community schools and voluntary controlled schools the academy will need to manage its own admissions process. This will involve periodic consultation, and regularly publishing the academy’s admission arrangements but they still remain subject to the Admissions Code. Indeed the academy funding agreement requires them to be non-selective. Remember most academies started their lives providing education in disadvantaged areas. Most have high numbers of FSM pupils, and many use banding to achieve fairer intakes than many comprehensives with middle class catchments. And you can criticise Michael Gove for a few things but  surely not his commitment to disadvantaged pupils and their education which is one of  the key priorities that inform government reforms.

But what about  their  accountability? Surely without the overarching  Local Authority responsible for the school, accountability is lost. Pause for a second, and think how many local authorities have allowed badly underperforming schools to continue teaching pupils year in ,year out while either failing to intervene or intervening ineffectively? The traditional local democratic accountability regime, which can be termed ‘long’ accountability which allows officials who have presided over failure to stay in place, regardless of local election results, is hardly a panacea.  Take a look at the academy funding agreements. Through funding agreements academies are accountable to the elected national, rather than local government.   It is true ,that with so many schools directly accountable to the Secretary of State  (over 1500 schools are  now academies), there is an interesting debate to be had around the notion of local school commissioners, providing additional accountability  (which the IPPR  think tank has been looking at ),  which is on-going.  But the Ofsted accountability regime is firmly in place  and the  newly revamped  league tables  give a clearer idea of how schools are actually performing, than they did before.  And  academies are now subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which means that it is much easier to find out what they are up to and what exams their pupils are sitting.    So ,  although academies are ‘autonomous’,  they are accountable, with   accountability working at several levels . It’s also worth noting that academies are not that autonomous and very much remain part of the state system-though  their funding agreements.  They  certainly don’t have the kind of independence from politicians and officials enjoyed by schools in the independent sector.

But are academies still focused on the most disadvantaged?  Labour Academies were focused in the most disadvantaged areas and the Coalition government is now allowing outstanding schools in wealthier areas to become academies.   Some including Ed Balls argued that this was a  corruption of the original idea behind academies .  But critics forget that not all the Academies started under Labour were in the most deprived areas. Indeed, Ed Balls who gave the impression of being ambivalent about academies, (like Gordon Brown,) when he was education secretary gave academy status, as Conor Ryan has pointed out, to two highly successful secondaries that wanted to help improve weaker schools. Indeed this is an area where the new, successful academies can play a significant role in the future.

And then  there is  the issue of how academies are using their autonomy. Are they being  more innovative than peer schools that are not academies   and personalising education, making good use of technology, providing a rounded education  for  their children perhaps encouraging more positive attitudes resilience and the development of non-cognitive skills ? The suspicion is that rather a lot of schools converted not because they were in pursuit of new freedoms but they wanted the extra cash. This goes against the grain. Supply side reforms alone will not transform our system.  Structural changes  need to go hand in hand with improved teaching at the chalk face and a move away from teaching to the test  combined with  new cutting edge thinking about what education is actually for.   Interestingly the Reform think tank is shortly to publish a report on this very issue and the extent to which academies are using their new freedoms.

Note:   Total number of secondary school places in England                  3,608,970

Total Number of (wholly ie Grammar) selective school places               161,660

Percentage of places in selective schools                                                          4.5%

The three authorities with the highest percentage of places in  selective schools are Buckinghamshire 41%, Trafford 40% and Slough 37.%

 

Note 2

1,580 Schools are now academies

1,243 Schools have converted to academy status since the election, of which 578 are outstanding

37 are sponsoring 44 academies

47% of all secondary schools are academies

53% of all outstanding secondary schools are academies.

Source: Hansard 6 March

SCHOOLS WILL BE EXPECTED TO OFFER FACE TO FACE GUIDANCE TO DISADVANTAGED PUPILS

FACE TO FACE GUIDANCE

Statutory Guidance will place a clear expectation on schools to offer face to face careers guidance to disadvantaged pupils

Comment

Lord Hill conceded in the Lords recently, during the passage of the Education Bill, (which has just received Royal Assent), the need for face to face professional careers guidance for disadvantaged pupils. This was confirmed in an answer from Nick Gibb, the schools minister, to a PQ on 8 November ‘ ‘The Government recognises that many young people can benefit from a face-to-face discussion of their skills, abilities and interests to help them think through future education and career options. We will highlight this important issue to schools through statutory guidance in advance of the new duty to secure access to independent careers guidance commencing in September 2012, subject to the passage of the Education Bill. The guidance will place a clear expectation on schools that they should secure face-to-face careers guidance where it is the most suitable support, particularly for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.’…

Ministers appear to have got the message, albeit pretty late in the day ,that the more disadvantaged the pupil  is ,the more mentoring support  and good  face to face , independent professional advice and guidance they  will need  to help them make the appropriate choices   for qualifications, and  to identify the best pathways into training , higher education and work, and the earlier they have this the better .Whether Statutory Guidance makes this happen, in schools , remains to be seen.  With record rates of youth unemployment just announced   this issue  now has a much larger signature on Ministers  radar.

Hansard 8 November  PQ

Notes:

John Hayes, Minister for Skills, announced on 3 November, at the ICG conference,   that in the New Year he intends to establish a National Council for the Careers Service. Addressing delegates concerns that online and telephone services will replace face to face guidance, he said: “I share the view that face to face guidance is crucial, but I don’t make light of [the importance of] online and telephone advice. However, I do understand that face to face advice marks the difference between information and advice, particularly for those with no access to social networks.”  The new National Careers Service launches in April 2012 .The careers sector is currently leading the development of new professional standards to which careers advisers can aspire. The Careers Profession Alliance is working to agree those standards by next year, A revised matrix Standard  was also launched last month.  The new model will transfer the responsibility (in 2012) for career information advice and guidance from local authorities to schools. Schools will have a duty to secure access to these services – which must be independent and impartial – for pupils in years 9, 10 and 11.

NORTHERN IRELAND SCHOOLS-NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED

NORTHERN IRELAND SCHOOLS

Progress-what progress?

Comment

It is the 30^th anniversary of the founding of the first integrated school in Northern Ireland, Lagan College, Belfast. Since 1974 the All Children together Movement (ACT) had been lobbying the Churches and the Government to take the initiative in educating Protestant and Catholic children together. Although public polls demonstrate high levels of public support for mixed religion schools and excess demand for them, it is an arresting fact that still only seven per cent. of children in Northern Ireland attend integrated schools which seek to promote mutual understanding, between the catholic and protestant communities.   So, it  is still perfectly possible for a protestant  child  in Northern Ireland to go through their foundation, primary and secondary education  without meeting a single  catholic  child and ,of course, vice versa.

So ,not much has changed in schools,  it seems, since the 1970s. If you think it has,  do let me know, please.

LAMPL CALLS FOR MORE BURSARIES-A RESPONSE

Responding to Sir  Peter Lampls call in the Times on 25 October for independent schools to provide more bursaries to disadvantaged pupils

LETTER PUBLISHED;THE  TIMES 27 OCTOBER 2011

Sir, I doubt that increasing bursaries is the best way to improve access for our most disadvantaged pupils to our best schools and universities. Bursaries will benefit a relatively small number of pupils and will serve to damage the state schools from which pupils are poached.

Independent schools with charitable status have a duty to satisfy the public benefit requirement and it is up to the trustees to determine how schools deliver that benefit. There is more that the independent sector can do to break down the barriers between the sectors, but trying to push trustees to pursue one course of action is counter-productive, as the one thing they prize above all else is their independence.

Patrick Watson

London SW8

 

UNIVERSITY TECHNICAL COLLEGES-CROSS PARTY SUPPORT

University Technical Colleges

Cross Party Support but NUT opposed

No surprise there then

Comment

The new University Technical Colleges appear to be an exciting addition to the supply side in education, increasing choice, opening up more opportunities in practical education  and attracting cross party support. All UTCs are supported by a University and very often an FE college. The JCB Academy in Rocester, Staffordshire, which opened in September 2010, was the first of a network of UTCs. It offers high-quality engineering and business education  to students aged 14 to 19. There are now 16 new university technical colleges approved, and up to nine may open in September 2012.  It is estimated that 10,000 young people will be attending UTCs by 2015. The idea began with Lords Dearing and Baker and ,following the formers death, has been advanced by Lord Baker with considerable  determination and success.  Speaking in Parliament recently Stephen Twigg, the Shadow Education Secretary, said: “I congratulate the university technical colleges and free schools that have secured approval today. UTCs are an exciting innovation modelled, as he said, on the highly successful JCB academy in Staffordshire established under the previous Government.” Twigg will deliver his first speech next month at an event organised by the Charity Edge which promotes practical education  titled “Engaging pathways for all”    in which he is likely to  reiterate his backing for the UTC initiative. Significantly, this Government is building on two key initiatives  that began under the last Labour government-Academies and UTCs.

But no surprise that the NUT opposes reform, its what it does best . It  is the most reactionary of unions.  Christine Blower, the General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, attacked the proposals for 16 new University Technical Colleges.  She said: “University Technical Colleges are extremely divisive and will force young people to make choices about the direction they wish to travel in at far too early an age. Separating ‘technical’ or ‘vocational’ education from mainstream schools will lead to a two tier system with technical schools being potentially seen as the poor cousin. We need an education system which opens up a range of different routes for young people to progress into further education, training and employment and keeps their options open, not closes them down at age 14 or 16.

“Breaking up state education into a patchwork system of providers will have severe consequences for everyone. Education should not be subjected to the ideology of the market place. We need to see a return to properly planned school place provision, based on clearly identified need and overseen by the local authority.”

Providing more choice for pupils  with practical skills  is surely a good thing providing that these  offer both core academic disciplines along with robust vocational  qualifications, which is the intention . Breaking up the state education system? I think not.

PRIORITY SCHOOLS PROGRAMME-SEEKING TO DRIVE COSTS DOWN AND SECURE VALUE FOR MONEY

PRIORITY SCHOOLS PROGRAMME

BSF Replacement

Worst off get priority in centrally procured school building programme

Comment

The Department for Education has launched a privately financed programme to provide school facilities. The programme is intended to address those schools in the worst condition.  Ministers may also take into account pressing cases of basic need (the requirement for additional school places) and other ministerial priorities. The programme is likely to include a mix of primary schools, secondary schools, special schools, sixth form colleges and alternative provision.  Maintained schools, voluntary aided schools, academies and sixth form colleges are eligible to apply for funding under the Priority Schools Programme. The programme is being procured centrally to secure best value for money.  What is interesting is that  the programme is about making schools fit for purpose and not about the doctrine behind the BSF, now regarded as overpriced, which was that building new schools would improve teaching and learning,  a doctrine  unsupported by evidence.

DFE expects construction costs to be about 20% cheaper per square metre than under BSF.  Lowest price is likely to be of greater importance in the tender process than under BSF.  The Department for Education (DfE) and Partnerships for Schools (PfS) expect to announce the outcome of applications in December 2011.  Those applications will then ‘be considered further in light of value for money requirements.’ DFE anticipates that the programme will support building or rebuilding the equivalent of 100 secondary schools.  Depending on the mix of schools (primary, secondary, SEN, sixth form colleges) it expects between 100 and 300 schools to be in the programme.  Applications are made electronically by local authorities on a schools’ behalf, along with (where relevant) dioceses/faith bodies and sixth form colleges/academies/academy chains.  The deadline for receipt of applications was 14 October 2011.  The DfE and PfS are considering the applications against a number of criteria. . If you wish your School to be included DFE suggests the school contact, first off, its local authority to see if it is being considered. If not the DFE will speak to them on the schools behalf.  If the local authority will not consider a schools inclusion then DFE   says it will accept a response from the governing body of the School with DFEs prior agreement via psbp@partnershipsforschools.org.uk  DfE is clear that the Schools in the worst condition are those that require investment New maintenance strategies will deal with the future upkeep of schools. ICT infrastructure and buildings management systems will be procured as part of the buildings.  Other ICT ‘kit’ will not be provided through the programme.  The programme is split into groups of schools, with each group making up approximately 20% of the whole. Within each group there will be a number of batched schools projects.   The schools in the first group will commence procurement in the second quarter 2012 and will open in the academic year 2014-2015.  Delivery of the second group is expected to follow in the subsequent academic year, with the other groups following at yearly intervals.  Bidders are likely to have to name their supply chain when they submit a response to the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.  The PQQ will be issued following responses to the OJEU notice.  DFE  expects to publish the OJEU notice for the first group of schools in the second quarter of 2012.

 

So what are the criteria for selection of schools into the programme?

The DfE’s first priority is to deal with schools in the worst condition and so poor condition is the prime criterion.  Shortcomings in the accommodation such as temperature and health and safety will then be taken into account and finally suitability for inclusion in a privately financed programme will be considered.  Schools must also demonstrate sufficient long term pupil demand.  Deliverability issues will be taken into account when selecting projects for each annual group.

How long will it take?

It is expected that centralised procurement and targeted dialogue will lead to shorter procurement times.  DFE is expecting procurement times (i.e. from issue of OJEU to financial close) of approximately one year.  Limiting the design work during procurement will also help.  Unlike the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme there will be no joint partnership vehicle such as a Local Education Partnership (LEP).  This will remove the need for some contractual documentation, again saving on negotiating time.  It will also save the costs of setting up the LEP investment structure.

What about revenue funding?

Revenue funding contributions will be agreed with each School and will be made annually, subject to inflationary adjustments, for the duration of the contract period, i.e. approximately 25 years.  As a rough guide Schools should be prepared to contribute between £50 and £60 for facilities management costs (including maintenance and cleaning) and between £10 and £20 for utilities, in each case per square metre, per year and excluding VAT.  The mechanism for covering these costs has yet to be considered.

The programme is open to free schools and, as we have said,   to academies too.  This means that local authorities should co-operate with schools now outside their control which could present a challenge. The basic  challenge for the private sector is to build at half the cost spent on BSF schools. This may serve to further expose just how costly the BSF scheme was (ie taxpayers might have been ripped- off  on  more than a few occasions!). New schools will be needed well into the future of course . By 2015 there will be 153,000 more primary school children and so between 2,500 and 5,000 classrooms will need to be built in the next three and a half years.

http://www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/programmes/PSBP.html

FREE SCHOOLS-TOO FEW APPROVED ACCORDING TO NEW SCHOOLS NETWORK

FREE SCHOOLS

New Schools Network critical of low approval rate

Are they benefiting the disadvantaged?

Comment

The DfE confirmed on Monday that it has signed off 79 proposals from private groups seeking to open new free schools, which are prohibited from being run directly for profit. This is made up of 55 new mainstream and 16-19 Free Schools and 13 new University Technical Colleges (UTCs).

These institutions will open in addition to the 24 that opened as part of a pilot wave of free schools last month.

Previous figures haven’t included the new UTCs which, apparently, are now being classed as Free schools, although the process leading to their establishment began with the last Labour government. Under the UTC plans, pupils will be able to opt out of mainstream schools at the age of 14 to enrol at a technical college and learn a trade.

The institutions –opening from 2012 onwards – will teach a range of courses including engineering, motor skills and business, alongside mainstream subjects.

Other Free schools in the pipeline include  so called  ‘Studio’ schools ,  ‘Alternative Providers’ and  ‘Special Free schools’ . It is thought that around 300 Free schools will be up and running by the end of this Parliament with over half of all Secondary schools by then  with Academy status.

As for London, at least 50 free schools will open in Londonwithin four years, according to the Education Secretary. He said tens of millions of pounds will also be spent on creating new schools or classrooms in boroughs where there is a shortage of places such as in Kingston, Sutton and Richmond in west London.

As part of the education expansion plans, “super-grammars” could also be created by expanding existing grammar schools.

Eight of the 24 free schools which opened last month are in London and Mr Gove believes they will prove hugely popular with parents and pupils.

What is sometimes forgotten in all this is just how many apparently good bids have failed to make the grade, and have not been approved by the DFE, leaving some parents groups confused and frustrated. Groups have complained to the Department and the New Schools Network believing that their bids have failed not because they have not met the quality threshold but because of a funding shortage.  Interestingly, the New Schools Network, a charity helping develop free school proposals, has been critical of the relatively low number of applications approved. “The speed at which the number of Free Schools is growing illustrates the interest that exists in improving local education,” Rachel Wolf, the charity’s director, and former Gove aide, said in a statement. “However we believe too few have been approved. Based on the calibre and volume of proposals we have seen, we think that the DfE has been over cautious in some of their assessments.   “As the policy develops we hope to see a significant increase in the number of groups being approved,” she added.

There has been plenty of debate about what kind of pupils these schools will ultimately serve, with some competing claims in recent weeks about the original 24 Free Schools now open.

A recent Conservative Party press release claimed that “Half of the 24 schools are located in the most deprived 30 per cent of communities in the country”

This seems contradict a statement made by the Guardian arguing that “Research shows that the 10-minute commuting area around the first wave of free schools is dominated by middle-class households”. The data from both sources makes for some interesting reading, and it is easy to see why reports on free schools have been somewhat contradictory The Department for Education, on whose research the Conservatives based their claims, and the research company hired by The Guardian, CACI, use very different methods to analyse the economic prosperity of the areas surrounding the new Free Schools.

CACI used as their basic unit of measure the area around the school within a 10 minute commute by car in rush hour. As a result, the number of households included in their analysis varies massively from school to school – from only 648 households investigated in relation to Priors Free School in Warwickshire to 102,611 included in relation to ARK Atwood Academy, Westminster.  The Department for Education uses a more traditional unit, the Lower Super Output Area (LSOA). LSOAs are rigid geographical units with an average population of 1,500 people and are a common unit of measurement used by the Department for Education when dealing with the area surrounding primary schools. Not only are their understanding of catchment areas different, but so is the way in which they measure relative economic wealth.  The Department for Education uses a measure of economic prosperity called an Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), which combines a number of indicators, both social and economic, in order to place households and districts in relation to the rest of the country. CACI provides a lot of data on the individual schools, including the average house price and the average income bracket. Unsurprisingly, these differences lead to rather different results .

PRIVATE SCHOOL SUPPORT FOR ACADEMIES-SOME RESISTANCE

PRIVATE SCHOOL SUPPORT FOR ACADEMIES

Some private schools are engaged with Academies, most are not

Politicians seeking to move the agenda forward

Comment

Politicians are keen that private schools play a much greater role in support of Academies. Andrew Adonis, the architect of the initial academies scheme, memorably said that he wanted the independent sectors DNA transferred to state schools, though Academies, which are autonomous state schools. “Everything about academies” Adonis  said, in a summer  speech to the SSAT,  “is in the DNA of the successful private school: independence, excellence, innovation, social mission. And the benefit is not only to the wider community, it is also to the private schools themselves, whose mission is enlarged, whose relative isolation is ended, and whose social engagement, beyond the families of the better-off, is transformed.”

It is no secret that Michael Gove and David Cameron are also keen for this to happen. Indeed, Cameron has been leaning on his old school Eton , encouraging them to become more involved.  David Cameron recently had a meeting at No 10 on bridging the gap between the two sectors and Academies were very much on the agenda. Some 28 independent schools are already helping to run academies. Dulwich is successfully sponsoring an academy in Sheppey. The King Edward VI Foundation is sponsoring an academy in Birmingham, alongside its two private schools and five state grammar schools. All of these academies are replacing failing comprehensives. The Girls Day School Trust has converted two of its outstanding private schools, in Liverpool and Birkenhead, into state academies. Three of the most impressive academy chains – built up by the Mercers Company, the Haberdashers Company, and the City of London Corporation – have grown out of the management of historic private schools, leveraging this educational expertise and experience to establish chains of academies alongside. The City Corporation, historic sponsors of the City of London Schools for Boys and Girls, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, now sponsors three academies in its neighbouring boroughs on Islington, Southwark and Hackney. The Mercers, historic managers of St Paul’s Girls and St Paul’s Boys Schools, now sponsor an academy nearby in West London, and a chain of academies growing out of the Mercers’ outstandingly successful Thomas Telford School – one of the original City Technology Colleges – in Telford. The Haberdashers, with their historic private schools in Elstree and Monmouth, now have two clusters of successful academies, one in Lewisham and the other in Telford. Wellington College has established an Academy in Tidworth, Wiltshire  Anthony Seldon sees the establishment of the Wellington Academy as a means of not only satisfying his schools public benefit requirement under Charity law  but as the key lever to help break down the barriers between the sectors. He  shares Adonis’ belief that the benefits of such engagement are not just  one way. Good State school teachers have honed their skills in how to maintain class discipline and   teachers can often really add value with difficult and challenging pupils, getting  the very best out of them in class and through  their pastoral support.

Seldon is also critical of the idea that bursaries are the best means of satisfying the charitable purposes of schools benefiting the few rather than the many.

But not everyone is supportive of the idea of independent schools supporting Academies.  Chris Woodhead, the former Chief Inspector of Schools, who now heads Cognita, a for-profit schools consortium, says that it would be “morally” wrong to ask private school parents who have already sacrificed so much to help to finance another school. It is probably true that if you asked parents to fork out more in fees to help set up an Academy most would be pretty unimpressed particularly given that fees have been rising well above inflation.  But this is avoidable if you ring fence funding support for an Academy, using outside funding sources, in Wellingtons case this came from alumni. In short, Wellington parents were not asked to dip into their pockets. Woodhead also values the independence of the for profit Cognita group,  which is not subject to interference from either the Charities Commission, which has made a bit of a pigs ear of explaining the  public benefit requirement, or politicians who  often seem to think that they know much  better than  Heads, governors, teachers, or Trustees  for that matter, on how to run  their  schools. Most private schools are still resisting any moves to support Academies arguing that they already have a number of schemes in place to benefit the local community and local schools, and it’s up to them to decide how best to meet their charitable purposes.  There is also a reputational risk . If an independent school is associated with a failing Academy, it will  tarnish its brand . Also  , inevitably,  if you are supporting an Academy some staff time, quite a lot  in fact, will have to be  allocated to the Academy and there is a danger that you short-change your own pupils and fee paying parents .

Meanwhile, the unions bleat that Academies are about the privatisation of the system and want nothing much to do with the private system which they claim is elitist, exclusive and irrelevant to the needs of most pupils.

But Academies are here to stay and so are private schools. Probably best it they don’t just stare at each other over the equivalent of the Berlin Wall but instead work out ways in which they might find common ground for mutual benefit. Whether politicians can help much in this process is a moot point but one thing that won’t work, for sure, is coercion or bullying.