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Accountability
“Striking, intriguing and
groundbreaking”
Graham Burns looks at the DfE proposal
to introduce Regional Commissioners to
act as the ‘middle tier’
The Department for Education proposes to appoint eight
regional schools commissioners to lead one of their most
striking and intriguing reforms of the Michael Gove era.
They will hold a ‘middle tier’ role, acting as a link between the
DfE and academy schools, so as to progress the reforms to deliver
a ‘world-class education system across England’ – an ambitious
aim given our current moribund performance in international
school league tables. In each region, commissioners will be
assisted by five to six local outstanding Headteachers, elected by
their peers. It is this feature of having Headteachers elected onto
boards which is the most groundbreaking.
The operational decision-making roles of the DfE and
Secretary of State will pass to the commissioners who will
continue to exercise these bodies’ existing powers in relation
to academies. They will have a lead role in many aspects of
regulating academies, whether it be monitoring performance,
seeking to improve underperforming academies, or dealing
with matters concerning new academy sponsors. They will not
however intervene with schools that are performing well as that
would be contrary to the doctrine of autonomy for such schools.
It is thought that employing such commissioners will raise
standards as they will be ‘closer to the ground’ and better able to
determine and resolve issues as they arise.
The rationale is to allow decisions about academies to be taken
at a level closer to the academy itself, and to restore some of the
local accountability which has hitherto been missing from the
academy programme. This should enable feedback and influence
from those directly involved in the running of academies, as
opposed to those officials at the higher level of the DfE. The rise
in the number of academies represents a move towards a selfregulated
system, and the shift of operational decision-making
from the DfE to commissioners seeks to continue this move. The
Secretary of State then becomes a regulator of last resort.
Ultimately, the aim and purpose of the commissioners
is to work alongside academies, and to help them identify
and solve any problems that arise at a local community level.
Although some may argue that these reforms still leave the most
important decisions to be made by the DfE, it is hoped that the
commissioners will be able to avoid taking matters to this higher
level by seeking the expertise of local Headteachers and school
leaders.
A similar programme has been established in New York where
Headteachers were granted greater autonomy while working
alongside School Support Organisations and Superintendents
of regions, rather than directly with the City’s Department of
Education. Giving school leaders greater flexibility to respond
to the learning needs of their pupils in New York has appeared
to have a significant effect, and independent assessments have
revealed that the shift in allowing greater control at school level
has had a positive impact upon results and graduation rates.
Hopefully the same can be achieved here.
There will need to be parameters set down as to who will be
eligible for election to the school boards, and terms of reference
defined. Once the board is established there will need to be a
regime in place for managing the inevitable conflicts which will
arise. The Headteachers on the boards will be making decisions
which will have impact on their schools and neighbouring
schools. The decision to move a school into academy status
is both important and politically contentious - and decisions
about which sponsor to favour can have a critical impact on
local school communities. Headteachers who sit on the boards
will also need to weigh in the balance their own views, and
whether the Trusts who employ them may take a different view
to their own about the best interests of a particular school. The
Headteachers are sure to move into some unchartered territory,
and the system is bound to come under the spotlight.
Graham Burns is a solicitor at Stone King. He
has a substantial practice in the academies
sector, a history that began with him acting for
the West London Free School on the very first
free school funding agreement.
Summer 2014 | 51