London Education Conference
Stop Meddling with the Middle
Band B, Workshop 8
John Fowler
Policy Manager, LGIU
Workshop Agenda
• What is the middle tier?
• Brief History
• Current policy
• Current practice – your say
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
What is the middle tier?
• Bodies which mediate between schools and
central government.
• Squeezed middle and accountability
• Local authorities
• Collection of schools working together – federations
and chains
• Local authority delegated functions, including
privatisation, charities, employee mutuals,
Community Right to Challenge
• Sub-regional – voluntary as well as forced
• Regional
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
Brief History from May 2010
• Coalition Agreement (May 2010)
• Academies Act (July 2010)
• Ministerial Advisory Group on Role of
LAs in education
• Importance of Teaching White Paper
(November 2010)
• “In a more autonomous school system, local authorities have an
indispensable role to play as champions of children and parents, ensuring
that the school system works for every family and using their democratic
mandate to challenge every school to do the best for their population. ...
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
2012 – Year of reports
• ADCS: The Future Role of Local Authorities in School Improvement
(April 2012)
• SOLACE: Filling the gap: the Championing Role of English Councils in
Education (April 2012)
• NCSL: The Growth of Academy Chains (March 2012)
• NCSL thinkpiece: Towards a self-improving system: the role of school
accountability (April 2012)
• Ministerial Advisory Group: Local authority role in education: ISOS final
report (July 2012)
• RSA: The missing middle (July 2012)
• NAO: Managing the expansion of the academies programme (November
2012)
• Policy Exchange: Competition Meets Collaboration (November 2012)
• RSA-Pearson Academies Commission Report: Unleashing Greatness
(January 2013)
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
LGiU, NUT and UNISON reports
• The Future of Local Government’s Role in the
School System (September 2011)
• Should we shed the middle tier? (September
2012)
• Standing Room Only: have we enough school
places? (September 2013)
• David Laws: 24,000 schools cannot be run from Whitehall;
local government is best-placed to deliver key “middle tier”
functions in the education system
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
Ofsted: A good education for all
• Proposed January 2012
• “Satisfactory” judgement became “Required to
improve”
• “If you've got academies that are
underperforming, do something about it” (Sir
Michael Wilshaw – July 2013)
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
History prior to May 2010
• Centre couldn’t do it all – now: IT revolution,
24/7 news.
• Dislike of centralisation – disappeared
• Confidence in local democratic decisionmaking and management – control of schools
• Issue of size – continuing debate
• Rise of local decision-making and institutional
autonomy
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
Current Policy
• Local authorities
Local authority statutory functions still in place
• Sufficient schools – fair admissions
• Promote high standards – school improvement
• Children in need – special educational needs,
children’s social care
• Accountability – democracy, coherence and
coordination
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
Government policy
•
•
•
•
Ignore the middle tier issue
DfE – 8 regional schools commissioners
EFA – 10 regional offices
Ofsted – 8 regional directors
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
DfE Regional Commissioners
• Monitoring performance of academies and
intervention
• Decisions on new converter academies
• Sponsors (to avoid use of word chain)
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
Academies and governance
• Funding agreements – contract to the SoS
• Different types of academies
• Single Academy Trusts
• Umbrella Trusts
• Multi-Academy Trusts – chains
“Academies are born free, and everywhere are
in chains”
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
Opposition
• Blunkett Review
• “The national education system is "chaotic"
and needs to be glued back together after
becoming too fragmented under the coalition
government” Guardian 06-02-14
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
School improvement - One,
two, many tiers
• The McKinsey Report How the World's Most
Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better
(2010)
• NFER: What works in enabling school
improvement? The role of the middle tier (April
2013)
• “school-led system improvement” needs a ‘middle
tier’ - diverse range of bodies that operate between
schools and central government to support schoolled improvement.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
Accountability
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•
•
•
•
•
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local government
local or regional commissioner (democracy?)
local or regional body (democracy?)
chains of schools
school-to-school support
Teaching School Alliances
education trusts and partnerships
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
Current practice
• Your say:
• What’s going on? - Examples of practice
• What do you want?
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd
Contact
• Feedback
• 07872 989646
• john.fowler@lgiu.org.uk
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/information-flow/docs/laceo-letter-sep08.pd