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Unleashing greatness – getting the best from an academised system
34
development, in some cases generating innovative practice. All the
Teaching Schools who presented evidence saw professional development
and schoolimprovement as inextricably linked.
Several leaders presenting evidence to the Commission emphasised
the need for professional collaboration to go beyond just the leadership
of the individual academy. It was clear that many of the leaders had not
only extended the base of their moral and professional accountabilities,
but many of the staff in their schools had done so too. In doing this, they
could point to their impact on improving schools across the system.
The Commission believes that a more systematic approach to
communicating emerging and successful collaborative practice is needed.
For example, some chains of academies are working innovatively across
their groups and in ways that add value to each individual academy and,
most particularly, to the learning of individual pupils. Capturing this
knowledge more quickly and systematically would be of benefit to the
development of school-led and sustainable improvement.
Many academies told the Commission that if practice is to be informed
by the best knowledge and understanding, lateral interaction is essential.
Identifying and communicating practice, even if just at the level of
signposting, would also be of particular value to primary schools who,
to date, are not as involved in collaborative activity as secondary schools.
Proposals to establish an independent Royal College of Teaching, led
and managed by the profession, suggest this might help in promoting
teachers’ professional development, in aligning practice and research and in
providing evidence to inform policy and classroom practice (Exley,2012b).
Primary schools
Mass academisation in the primary sector is by no means a ‘done deal’.
While the numbers of primary academies continue to rise, the Commission
found far less appetite among primary schools for academy status.
Numbers stand at 864 in November 2012, representing 5% of all primary
schools (NAO, 2012). The optimism which emerged in evidence from both
the Minister and DfE officials who gave evidence to the Commission might
be misplaced without the introduction of much stronger, more radical
initiatives to drive forward academisation in thissector.
In primary schools, the financial attraction of academy status is not
the driver it has been in the secondary sector. In addition, more primary
schools than secondary schools appear to have better relationships
with their local authorities; they also appreciate the services offered by
economies of scale. Some primary school headteachers emphasised the
role of their local authority as ‘backstop’ – someone who is always there
in case of an emergency. Primary headteachers value the collaboration
with other primaries which many local authorities are seen as facilitating.
Even for those who saw many positive aspects of academy status, the
disadvantages seemed off-putting. One primary academy headteacher,
however, told the Commission that her school budget had risen
significantly and her work had reduced as she no longer had to respond to
local authority requirements. In some recognition of this, the government
has put in place a small financial incentive, in the form of a one-off grant,
for primary schools to cluster into academy trusts, and it may be that,
asearly modelsdevelop, this proves a more attractive model over time.
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The Commission heard evidence from headteachers of primary
academies who relish their academy status. They told the Commission
that they appreciate both their independence from the local authority
and the innovative practice that their new status had enabled. These
headteachers recognised that there is currently little interest in academy
status across the sector more broadly but they believed this would change
as awareness and confidence developed. Primary headteachers told the
Commission that although some schools had moved to become academies
‘ahead of the game’, others were waiting to see what the government
would do nextto encourage greater interest.
Underachievement
The key factor holding back England’s achievement of world-class
statusin education is the substantial underachievement of a quarter of its
pupils. Research evidence shows clearly that this underachievement maps
closely on to social inequality, and that our education system does not
close the achievement gaps between rich and poor (Lupton, 2011; Francis,
2011; Clifton and Cook, 2012). In the UK, disadvantaged children are
behind on entry to the school system and do not catch up by 11. If pupils
leave primary school with an inadequate grasp of literacy and number,
they are likely to be already disengaged from education, besides facing
a greater challenge to catch up in secondary schools. It is therefore in
primary schools that this challenge needs to be particularly tackled. While
large numbers of primary schools provide outstanding education and
astrong foundation for pupils’ later learning, many others fail to do so.
It is also the case that ‘...the biggest challenge facing the school system
in the next decade is how to cope with an increase of around 700,000
extra pupils in the primary sector between 2011 and 2020’ (Howson,
written evidence). Securing better quality provision in primary schools
is,therefore, an urgent priority for the government.
The Commission recommends that the federation of primary schools
be encouraged without an immediate emphasis on academy status.
This should not be simply about federating to secure economies of
scale in purchasing, but should be based on principles of professional
collaboration for school-to-school improvement and for better
development of practice. In particular, struggling primaries should
join federations with outstanding schools for the purposes of school
improvement.
The Commission challenges local authorities as well as the government
to take the initiative in driving this forward immediately. Some local
authorities are already working productively to secure school-to-school
improvement across their local primary schools. However, others are
more complacent and some are incapacitated by political in-fighting. This
is unacceptable, given the moral imperative for action. Aswas pointed out
in evidence from the DfE, it is perfectly possible for local authorities to
be more demanding than central government concerning acceptable floor
targets and the quality of provision.
If the government wishes to drive forward academisation in the
primary sector it will need to be mindful of the following:
2. Academisation and school improvement
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Unleashing greatness – getting the best from an academised system
36
• the school improvement strategies that work within the
secondary sector are not necessarily appropriate for the primary
sector (NAHT, written evidence)
• economies of scale are more difficult to achieve in primary schools
• governance capacity may be a particular challenge in the
primary sector.
Case study: Best Start Federation
The Best Start Federation is a federation of five primary schools, including a
Teaching School, in North and East London. It is led by Executive Headteacher,
Greg Wallace. Having turned around his own school from ‘serious weaknesses’ to
‘outstanding’, and become one of the first National Leaders of Education (NLEs),
Greg worked with the Learning Trust in Hackneyto broker federation with four
other, then failing, schools. The Learning Trust took a key role in corralling these
schools into the federation. The federation has an over-riding focus on the quality
of teaching and learning, and has used its size to secure economies of scale both
in backroom services and innovative systems to promote excellence in teaching.
Another school in the federation has now secured the judgement of ‘outstanding’
from Ofsted, and the national test results of the third school have improved
dramatically. Rapid improvement is also evident in the two newest schools.
Recommendation: Support schools in taking responsibility
for whole-system improvement
Academisation is rooted in notions of school autonomy and
independence set within a framework of strong centralised accountability.
As discussed earlier, the Commission found evidence of transformational
change in some academies but the evidence of substantial impact on the
whole system is far less strong. If change is to take place as quickly as it
is needed, schools themselves must establish, drive and be responsible for
a self-improving system. This means ensuring that not only should all
schools have the school-to-school support they need, but also that schools
collaborate professionally to improve and, indeed, create new practice.
Hargreaves (2010; 2011) sets out a strong model of schools working in
partnership to improve teaching and learning for them all. He emphasises
a focus on mutual observation, coaching and learning-by-doing which not
only shares good practice across schools but also creates it:
‘Joint practice development (JPD) is a term that captures the essential
features of this form of professional development:
— It is a
joint
activity, in which two or more people interact and
influence one another, in contrast to the non-interactive, unilateral
character of much conventional “sharing of good practice”.
— It is an activity that focuses on teachers’ professional
practice
,
i.e.what they do, not merely what they know.
— It is a form of
development
of the practice, not simply a transfer of it
from one person or place to another, and so a form of school improvement.’
Hargreaves, 2012
In a fully academised system, it is this sort of approach that will generate
real change.
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The local authority and school improvement
It is clear from the evidence presented to the Commission that local
authorities are responding to a more autonomous system in a range
ofdifferent ways.
In terms of school improvement, councillors recognise the importance
of education not only to parents, but also to the regeneration and life
of a local area. As suggested later in chapter 5, the Commission believes
that the government should clarify the role of the local authority. This
would include reinforcing the role of the local authority as a guardian
of education, shaping and raising aspirations in school improvement.
It is right that their democratic base gives local authorities this
leverage.Acting as champions for the interests and needs of children
in their area and as corporate parents for those in public care, the
local authority should articulate concerns about the quality of school
provision. The Commission recommends that local authorities should
do this annually through producing a report on the quality of education
in their area which is presented formally to the DfE and placed on the
Council’s website. The report would be on the model of that required
annually on admissions by the Chief Schools Adjudicator. Individual
academies, or chains, would also be able to use the report to inform their
self-evaluation, development planning and action.
It should no longer be assumed that local authorities are providers
of school improvement services. Some continue to provide services but
many have stopped. However, they support schools, particularly primary
schools, to take greater ownership and responsibility themselves.
Case study: Education Richmond
Education Richmond has been developed to maintain excellent outcomes for
all children and young people in Richmond Borough schools. The partnership:
•
embraces the government’s vision for greater autonomy to schools
•
develops and uses the rich pool of expertise and experience of our school
professionals and others
•
creates a sustainable model of school improvement for the future.
The partnership includes the Richmond Teaching School Alliance, managed and
run by Waldegrave School, one of 100 National Teaching Schools in the country.
In order to sustain the partnership, the local authority and all its schools
have agreed to commit match-funding and resources to support various school
improvement initiatives. The partnership is led and managed by seconded
headteachers. The Management Board is made up of local headteacher
representatives and local authority officers. This Board has agreed five areas
offocus for the partnership in 2012/13:
•
pupil achievement and engagement
•
workforce training and professional development
•
curriculum development
•
project development and research
•
business development.
Source: London Borough of Richmond, 2012.
In terms of school
improvement,
councillors recognise
the importance of
education not only to
parents, but also to
the regeneration and
life of a local area
2. Academisation and school improvement
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Unleashing greatness – getting the best from an academised system
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The Commission recommends that, over a transitional period of no
longer than three years, all local authorities devolve current school
improvement resources to school partnerships and no longer hold these
at the centre. This would enable a clearer focus on their role as guardians
and champions.
As guardians and champions of the needs and interests of children
in their local area, the local authority should retain, however, a slim
resource to capture local knowledge and intelligence about all schools,
including academies, in its locality. It would complement the national
‘data dashboard,’ proposed earlier for each school, with both hard
and soft local intelligence. This work would enable local authorities to
refer concerns to the DfE or connect a school to one of the Excellence
Networks mentioned below. In other words, the local authority would
take the initiative in preventing failure. The resource would also enable
each local authority toproduce its annual report on the quality of local
educational provision.
School-led partnerships
Challenge Partners
The Commission received evidence from active school-led partnerships.
Challenge Partners,
2
for example, make up a collective of schools that not
only challenge each other to do better but also support weaker schools
to improve. The schools involved pay a fee to be part of the Challenge
Partner collective, based on the number of pupils on roll. The staff
involved are explicit about their moral and professional accountabilities,
although there is still an element of competition between schools. The
collaborative activity provides a source of professional aspiration for
bothleaders and teachers.
Challenge Partners use peer inspection, based on Ofsted’s school
inspection framework, as a way of raising aspirations and driving
professional accountability. The Commission recommends that peer
review is extended as a support for systemic improvement. Those
presenting evidence to Commissioners about their experience of peer
review were universally positive about its benefits. Nevertheless, the
Commission also picked up anxiety about schools opening themselves
up to this form of scrutiny. If Ofsted were to take a different approach to
inspecting schools that had undertaken rigorous self-evaluation, including
peer review, the Commission believes change would be dramatic. This is
discussed later inthis chapter.
Not all collaborative activity is rooted in fixed working partnerships.
The commissioners received evidence about academies operating
collaboratively in a variety of ways. One of the fascinating aspects
of collaboration as it has developed across schools is its bureaucratic
messiness. These collaborations were not always organised neatly or
logically, although this did not seem to detract from their effectiveness.
Some collaborative working stemmed from an accident of history, such
asa long-standing professional relationship between senior leaders.
2. For further information on the role and organisation of Challenge Partners see:
www.challengepartners.org.
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39
Some of it reflected schools’ reluctance to expose weaknesses to near
neighbours. If professional collaborations are working well, with positive
outcomes, they should be allowed to continue, however untidy they
mayseem.
Excellence Networks
As reflected in this chapter, the Commission heard evidence about
arange of collaborative work: in federations and academy chains;
inother less formal alliances and networks; in Teaching Schools; and
within local authorities. It became clear that such work does not yet
involve the majority of schools. Secondary schools are far more engaged
in collaborative activity to support improvement than primary schools.
Lack of engagement in any external professional learning partnership
carries with it the risk of isolation, with the weakest schools lacking the
confidence to invite support, still less challenge, from their peers. It may
well be that Ofsted’s new approach to schools requiring improvement
gives these schools greater impetus to work with others to accelerate
improvement. Academies must also be clear where they can find support
when they need it. The Commission recommends the designation of a
number of Excellence Networks covering all areas of the country, perhaps
based on the areas already used by the National College to allocate
licences for specific leadership training and development.
Excellence Networks would be school improvement networks charged
with improving school performance and capacity across a region. They
would be accountable contractually to the DfE through the National
College. They would not seek to replicate school improvement provision
but would raise awareness of what was available – for example, through
local Teaching Schools and their alliances – and would broker connections.
They might, however, set up arrangements for peer review for any school
wanting it. As Gilbert (2012) suggests, Excellence Networks could:
• offer all academies access to a professional learning partnership
rooted in peer learning and development and providing
opportunities for working laterally
• build knowledge, capacity and practice across the region, using
all available resources
• ensure training is available in the methodologies and quality
assurance processes that are needed for school-to-school work
• broker partnerships for peer review, as required
• ensure underperforming academies received targeted support
(for example from an NLE and national support school, from
aTeaching School alliance, from a chain or federation, or a
more informal network)
• ensure schools in a region improve.
Academies selected for targeted support might be identified by self-
referral, by the local authority, the DfE, Ofsted or by routine scrutiny
ofup-to-date data by the Excellence Network itself.
School-led partnerships, able to evidence experience and quality, could
bid to apply to run these Networks for a fixed term on a contractual basis.
Bids might come from Teaching Schools, from National College licensees
2. Academisation and school improvement
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