Freedom of management key to UK school reform, report says

Freedom of management should underpin the next stage of United Kingdom education reform according to think-tank Reform.

In its 'Academies: A model education?' report, Reform argues all schools should have similar management freedoms to academies, which are state-funded independently run schools in the United Kingdom.

The report’s author, Richard Tice, the Northampton Academy chair of governors, argues that increased freedom of management can transform a poorly performing school.

Specific improvements to one school had included changes to the teaching and management staff and several changes to discipline policy including a new off-site centre for excluded pupils. Other improvements included:

• truancy falling by a third
• reduced teaching absenteeism
• the school receives three applications for every place
• school ties with parents and other local schools have strengthened

Tice criticises teaching unions for making it hard to get rid of bad teachers and calls them "blockers of reforms".

Discipline is key to improving schools, so teachers who cannot control their classes should be retrained or sacked. Schools should be genuinely free to set their own levels of teacher pay and conditions, and to make use of performance-related pay, it adds.

The report says the Education Department should roll out the improved academy programme to the majority of state schools. This would mean that each school was responsible for setting its own teachers' pay and conditions, a key lever for driving up teaching quality.

The benefits would include better senior managers in schools on higher salaries, schools that resemble successful businesses and more motivated pupils and teachers.

The report received some positive comment from each major political party, according to a report on the BBC website.

Education minister Lord Adonis said the report endorsed the government view that academies must have vital freedoms to innovate in order to raise standards in areas of low achievement.

"Sponsors can challenge traditional thinking on how schools should be run and what they should be like for students."

Shadow children's secretary Michael Gove said the report highlighted the contribution academies were making to improving education for children in some of the poorest areas of the country.

Liberal Democrat education spokesman David Laws said the government should give all schools more freedom and that academies should come under local strategic oversight.

The 'Academies: A model education?' report can be downloaded from this web page.

The BBC online story on the report is at this web page.