Schools reform – the next steps
Details
On 25 May 2022 the government released its further detailed paper on how it proposes to achieve a trust-led system of schools in England by 2030. This follows the publication of the schools white paper and introduction to Parliament of the Schools Bill. This piece will focus on the impact for schools and academies generally and the changes relating to local authority established trusts; faith bodies will be addressed another time.
The Department will primarily focus on education investment areas (‘EIAs’), of which there are currently 55. These are made up of local authority areas with the lowest rate of combined KS2 and KS4 attainment. They are also joined by existing opportunity areas or those areas identified by the Department for Education as requiring additional school improvement. Of these 55 areas, 24 will be designated priority EIAs.
A notable change, which executive and senior leaders will be closely considering, will be the widening of intervention powers. From September 2022 it is proposed that those currently judged as requiring improvement (grade 3) and judged below good at their previous full inspection will be eligible for intervention and could face being converted to an academy or, for single academy trusts and underperforming multi-academy trust academies, being rebrokered into another academy trust. It is important to note the reform proposes giving the Secretary of State a power, and not a duty, to intervene. There is a choice and one which should be exercised in accordance with administrative law. Ultimately, the statutory framework will allow flexibility for the Secretary of State (or the Regional Director acting on his behalf) to be able to determine whether intervention is indeed the appropriate course of action. Where eligible, a Termination Warning Notice may be issued to an academy or steps taken to transfer it to another academy trust which the Regional Director determines would be a better fit. In the same circumstances, maintained schools will be subject to a statutory academy order requiring academisation. The power will extend to all schools, but the EIAs will be prioritised. Some may feel that this creates an inequitable position as clearly there may be disparity in inspection teams from region to region, and even school to school, with subjectivity rife in the school inspection system.
To accommodate the evolution of the schools’ estate to multi-academy trust led system, the focus will be on shaping new trusts and also extending the capacity of existing trusts. Conversations will be held locally focusing to distil need and priority. The current intention is to avoid creating a system which will allow any one trust to monopolise a given geographical area. This has to be appropriate in view of the ambition to have a trust-led school systems which would still require the capacity for a school to be able to move to an alternative academy trust in the event that it was struggling to meet expectations or to make the rapid changes required.
For those trusts assessed as no longer having the capacity or space for further growth, the Department for Education will encourage them to focus on their existing family or take a view on whether they should merge with another established trust. It is apparent that even for those established multi-academy trusts there will be questions for trust boards and executives to answer about their future and whether consolidation is a choice or push from government.
Following the publication of a prospectus covering each EIA which filters through the themes discussed over summer term of 2022, stakeholders will be invited to put forward proposals to the Regional Director which will respond to the priorities identified in the prospectus and how existing trusts, faith bodies, diocesan authorities and groups of schools could meet the need and drive school improvement in the area.
To support the Department for Education’s new strategic direction for schools there will be a reorganisation of the current regional ways of working. The department will introduce a new regions group from September 2022. It will be led by nine Regional Directors replacing the current structure of eight regional schools commissioner-led teams. The Advisory Board system will remain to support each Regional Director and shall become a single interface to enable the Department to exercise its regulatory role.
The message to leaders, and those in governance roles within maintained schools and single academy trusts, is to consider the future for the trust. Are you at risk in light of the proposed intervention powers? Who in your local area could you work with to collaborate or join to take your school forward considering the reforms and government ambition? These are the questions which need debate with a clear position formulated by schools to set strategic direction moving forward. For multi-academy trusts, the questions centre around scaling the model of school improvement to sustain high quality education and to welcoming further schools. It is also important for the multi-academy trusts to consider where their strength lies and whether they can in fact expand the geographical area that they currently support.
It is clear to all that the education landscape is, once again, being reframed. The Academies Act 2010 has only taken the government so far with its ambitions, with many years of lessons being learnt which frame the wider reforms set out within the Schools Bill. There will be many considering what the future of their school/trust will be. The Schools Bill continues to make its way through Parliament and there is finer detail to be thrashed out, but unless there is a significant change in government it is clear that business as usual will no longer be the approach. As has been the case over the last ten years the next will be filled with challenges and new ways of operating within the education sector.
If you are a school, SAT or MAT and wish to discuss the implications of the Schools Bill, or white paper, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us. Hill Dickinson has extensive experience in working with all types of schools including academy trusts, maintained and independent schools and can offer the necessary support.
