The system of academies and maintained schools should be replaced by a single system run by school boards, with national banding limiting chief executive pay, according to a report calling for a major overhaul.
The EDSK think tank has recommended that the maintained schools and academies system should be replaced by school boards operated either by local authorities or independent organisations.
It also said that these boards should be required to use a new national pay scale for chief executive officers and senior leaders, with a cap based on the number of pupils.
The report suggests creating a new regulator to take over decision-making over schools, which is currently carried out by the Department for Education’s regional directors.
In the report, EDSK says there are numerous problems with the current academies programme - including “excessive pay packages” for some trust CEOs and a lack of transparency in funding contracts between trusts and the DfE.
EDSK director Tom Richmond said the next government needs to reset the school system, which has become a “political football”.
He added: “The goal should be to replace the centralisation and political interference seen in recent years with a stable and coherent approach to running and funding state schools that prioritises the best interests of pupils, particularly the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.”
Creation of school boards
EDSK recommends the creation of three types of school boards to run all state-funded schools. These would be:
- Single school board (SSB): a board that runs an individual school - similar to an existing maintained school or standalone academy
- Local school board (LSB): a new grouping of schools set up by the local authority - similar to the recent proposals from the DfE for “LA trusts”
- Independent school board (ISB): a group of schools that operates outside of local authority control - similar to an existing multi-academy trust
The report says that ISBs are intended to provide “a seamless transition for existing MATs, including those set up by religious groups”.
All three board types would be overseen by a single set of trustees.
Excessive MAT CEO pay ‘damaging credibility’
The authors of the report said that despite interventions from the government, “some MATs appear unable to show restraint” when it comes to setting executive pay.
“In doing so, they are damaging the credibility of other trusts as well as wasting precious taxpayer funds that could and should be used to improve teaching and learning.”
The report proposes extending the current pay scales used for headteachers to the leaders of the recommended school boards - be they a headteacher of a single school or a CEO of a large independent school board.
This would put leaders into pay groups depending on the number of pupils and key stages in their board.
Calls for a new regulator
The report recommends the creation of a new independent regulator responsible for intervening in underperforming schools, overseeing finance and governance arrangements, and strategically managing primary and secondary education in each local area.
The report warns that there has been an “excessive and unwarranted” centralisation of power in the DfE’s hands since 2010.
The report proposes combining the regulatory and oversight functions currently served by regional directors, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and the DfE into a single independent regulator reporting to Parliament.
This new “Office for Capacity and Oversight in Education (Ofcoe)” would monitor performance, intervene in low-performing schools and oversee applications from schools to join boards, the report says.
No more GAG pooling
The report says there are “significant weaknesses” in the financial transparency of the school system where local authorities and trusts can override the National Funding Formula (NFF) in distributing funds to schools.
It recommends a new system, where the DfE calculates individual school funding using the NFF and the ESFA distributes this funding to school boards, which then pass it on directly to schools without changing the allocation.
The authors call for GAG pooling - where trusts hold the General Annual Grant (GAG) centrally and distribute it as they see fit to schools - to be banned for the new school boards.
“If the aim is to create an open and transparent school system, this questionable practice can no longer be tolerated,” the report adds.
A new role for local authorities
If maintained schools are run by the proposed local school boards, EDSK says that local authorities could be left to focus more on championing pupils’ needs - particularly those who need alternative provision or SEND support.
The authors of the report say the current system cannot ensure fair allocation of school places when there are several models of admission in place.
It recommends that schools should no longer act as their own admissions authority - instead, this function should be carried out only by local authorities.
The Department for Education said its evidence shows: “that strong multi-academy trusts have a good track record of improving underperforming schools, with those academies on average improving more quickly than similar local authority-maintained schools”.
A spokesperson added: “We want all schools to be part of a strong academy trust so they can benefit from the trust’s support in everything from excellent behaviour and attendance cultures, to teacher training, curriculum, financial planning and inclusivity towards children with additional needs.
“It is essential that we have the best people to lead our schools if we are to raise standards, but we are clear academy trust salaries should be justifiable, and reflect the individual responsibility alongside local retention and recruitment needs.”
