The lack of transparency around “shadowy” and “unaccountable” regional schools commissioners and headteacher boards could allow “corrupt” and “nepotistic” practices to take place, a conference has heard.

Yesterday, at the conference of the ATL section of the NEU teaching union, delegates passed a motion asserting that there was “too much power and not enough accountability around the workings of the RSCs and headteacher boards”.

The eight RSCs are responsible for turning schools into academies and deciding who runs them. They are advised and challenged by eight headteacher boards.

Clare Kellett, a teacher from Somerset who proposed the motion, called RSCs and headteacher boards “shadowy organisations” with “real power”.

She said that under the current system, “a few local leaders know best how to run local education… not the parents, not the staff, not the students… unelected, unaccountable to you and me and in power”.

Danger of ‘empire-building and corruption’

Ms Kellett said the lack of transparency around these structures “might open the door to nepotism, empire building and even corruption”.

She went on: “Far from me to suggest that any of the RSCs or that anyone on the headteacher boards is corrupt - I’m not saying that - what I am saying is that the system would allow corrupt practices, nepotistic and secret decision-making, and there’s no accountability to the public whose money it is, whose children they are, whose schools they are.

“You’ve heard about the CEOs of fat cat multi-academy trusts - it’s not a fantasy, this idea that there’s money to be made from state education.

“The only thing to trust when trust in personal morality fails is the clear bright light of transparent accountability.”

Tes has repeatedly highlighted issues around the transparency of headteacher boards, and revealed that the Department for Education was unable to say how many people work for the RSCs. 

The conference passed a motion instructing the union’s executive to “investigate the practice” of RSCs and headteacher boards, and to “lobby the government to make the workings of the RSCs and headteacher boards transparent and accountable to Parliament and the public”.

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