When public service reform works
James Forsyth 11:11pmThere’s a heartening story in the Evening Standard today of the difference that public service reform can make. The paper reports that Harris City Academy is the first school in the country to receive a perfect Ofsted score under the new inspection system. This is a transformation since 1991 when at Sylvan High School , the school that the Harris Academy took over, 90 percent of pupils failed to get five good GCSES A* to C.
The story does make you wonder how much better education in England would be if the Major government had made every school in the country a grant-maintained one or if Blair hadn't spent his first few years in office trying to undo Tory education reforms before coming round to the idea of academies but too late to ensure that they were rolled out across the board. Thankfully with Michael Gove's plan for free schools, the Cameron government should have the right idea on education from off.
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JR
November 3rd, 2009 8:07am Report this commentBut surely this is a sympton of the massive amount of buracratic monitoring that is needed now and will be needed even more under the free school's system. The Conservative policy needs to recognise and deal with this. If localism, privatisation (e.g. in welfare reform) and things like free schools are to support choice (e.g. for parents) and be democratically accountable then an unfortunately large and instrustive amount of monitoring of standards is needed. This is completely the opposite world view to the health policy that talks of taking away red tape.
At the moment there is a pretence that you can "free" schools/hospitals etc from paperwork whilst making them accountable either at a local or national level.
RMH
November 3rd, 2009 8:35am Report this commentThey do work, BUT I am aware that some heads are using their new found freedom to act like Alan Sugar on the apprentice.
And I know of two cases where large payouts at tribunals will be made. This will come off the school's budget and damage education.
Free them to teach, limit the damage they can do re employment....
True Bred Pomponian
November 3rd, 2009 9:38am Report this commentIndependent schools manage without the massive bureacracy. Learn from them.
Yam Yam
November 3rd, 2009 9:45am Report this commentWhat a pity the Major government also dodged out of privatising the Post Office too.
mac
November 3rd, 2009 10:16am Report this commentJR,
Freeing schools from the tunnel-visioned, doctrinaire yoke of Balls and his Gramscian kind - including arch-quangista Dame Suzi Leather's influence on the independent sector - would be a welcome improvement in itself. A GE ought to take care of that, but lifting the dead hand of the small coterie of noisy 'progressives' who have propelled the NUT for years is a far more formidable problem.
Forlornehope
November 3rd, 2009 11:03am Report this commentOne very simple change would be to pay all the funding per pupil direct to the schools. It would then be up to the schools if they wish to buy services from LEAs or from central government. It would also be up to the schools if they wish to get rid of the, pretty useless, classroom assistants, and hire a few more qualified teachers.
Michael Booth
November 3rd, 2009 6:26pm Report this commentGood grief - you don't put any store by OFSTED, do you?
dilys
November 3rd, 2009 8:13pm Report this commentOfsted are bound to 'find' a perfect school now and again; i encourages the others.
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