Further memorandum from the Department
for Education and Employment (RPS20)
Introduction
1. This memorandum provides an update on
the original paper submitted by the Department to the Committee
at the beginning of their inquiry. In particular, the paper concentrates
on developments in two main areas that have been the inquiry's
main focus of attention: the role of the private sector in the
provision of Local Education Authority (LEA) services and the
role of the private sector in the delivery of school services.
LOCAL EDUCATION
AUTHORITY SERVICES
LEA Intervention
2. There are now 12 interventions ranging
from consultancy support, to improve particular services, to large
scale outsourcing of LEA services. An update on the circumstances
and partners involved in each current intervention is attached
as an annex.
Additional Consultants and Function Providers
3. In response to the increasing number
of interventions and the need to respond to lessons learnt to
date and explore new approaches, the Department advertised in
February 2000 for additional function providers and consultants
to expand the current lists. Bids for the provision of LEA functions
and expressions of interest in providing consultancy services
were received on 10 March 2000. An evaluation exercise is presently
underway and the Government hopes to announce the outcome of the
two competitions in May.
Lessons Learnt to Date
4. The Government is looking to build on
the lessons learnt from the early experiences of the LEA intervention
policy. Some of the key features and conclusions drawn from the
interventions that have taken place so far include:
— larger contracts are more attractive
to the market and may be easier to implement effectively than
smaller ones;
— the issue of leaving open the option
of including framework contracts for traded services when contracting
our core LEA functions;
— contracts should specify outputs
rather than inputs, and offer maximum flexibility to contractors,
but offer sufficient guarantees of service standards to allow
for effective short-term monitoring and ensure that schools know
what they are entitled to expect;
— the need for interim management in
some cases to prevent further deterioration of services once an
OFSTED report is published pending a longer term solution. We
have now included this in the list of tasks consultants may be
required to undertake for the current recruitment exercise;
— the need to ensure that the data
on LEA finances and personnel provided to potential bidders is
as full and accurate as possible. In the current competition for
consultants we have therefore included the preparation of financial
information packs.
5. We are also working on a generic specification
of LEA services which we aim to use for future interventions but
hope will be of use to the wider LEA community, and are looking
at alternative contracting models. The advertisement for a partner
in Southwark is an example of this. We have also invited more
general suggestions in advertising for new providers.
Voluntary Outsourcing by LEAS/Exploring New Models
of Delivering LEA Services
6. DfEE will be funding some pilots to stimulate
new models of delivering LEA services outside the context of LEA
intervention. We are open to all ideas but would be interested
to see a partnership or contract between a provider and a number
of LEAs for the provision of support services. A local authority
might want to contract for a range of support services including
but ranging beyond education such as ICT, personnel, payroll,
and financial services. An LEA might also want to consider an
independent agency or provider to broker contracts between groups
of schools and a range of providers. We aim to run up to five
pilots with volunteer LEAs. The DfEE will broker the process and
will pay for some of the development costs. We will shortly be
holding a conference to bring together LEAs, providers and consultants
and will invite proposals for specific pilots following the event.
SCHOOL SERVICES
7. Following the election the Government
launched its Fresh Start policy—a radical approach to securing
school improvement for failing schools showing insufficient evidence
of recovery. A Fresh Start involves the closure of a failing school
and the opening of a new school on the same site. The Government's
policy fast-tracks that process by reducing the bureaucracy involved
and enabling schools to focus on standards. The policy is in its
infancy—only 10 schools have been fresh started. Three opened
in September 1998, six in September 1999 and one in January 2000.
8. We are working with these schools to
support them and to learn from early experiences of Fresh Start.
There are already early signs of improvement for the three schools
that opened in September 1998. They are all showing significant
improvements in the numbers of pupils achieving 5+ A*-G GCSE,
and truancy is down to a marked degree. We are developing guidance
to help schools and Local Education Authorities learn from the
lessons of early Fresh Starts and have organised workshops for
authorities considering Fresh Start as an option for particular
schools. We have learnt that the availability of funding for the
range of transitional costs involved is a major issue in undertaking
a Fresh Start.
9. The Government has announced its intention
both to promote additional diversity within the secondary education
sector and build on the existing Fresh Start policy with the establishment
of new City Academies.
10. The Government's Fresh Start policy—the
closure of a school and replacement with a new school—is
already being used by LEAs to tackle failing schools and is beginning
to make an impact. The Government has announced its intention
to ensure that this policy can make fundamental changes in the
way a school is run, give existing pupils and excellent education
and attract new pupils. We hope to be able to provide the additional
funding that OFSTED's recent report suggested was necessary in
some cases.
11. In some of the most challenging areas,
however, the Government believes a more radical approach is needed.
Over the next year pathfinder projects will be launched for new
City Academies. These academies, to replace seriously failing
and low performance schools, will be managed by partnerships which
may involve voluntary, church and business sponsors. They will
offer real change and improvements in pupil performance through
innovative approaches to management, governance, teaching and
the curriculum, including a specialist focus in at least one curriculum
area. They will also be committed to working with and learning
from other local schools. The Government intends to make an announcement
in due course on the prospectus for City Academies and the location
of pathfinders, after consulting local authorities and seeking
expressions of interest from potential sponsors. The aim will
be to raise standards by breaking the cycle of under performance
and low expectations.
12. To be eligible for Government support,
the Academies will need to meet clear criteria. They will take
over or replace schools that are either in special measures or
are low performing. The proposers of the Academy will have plans
for improving education for all the pupils attending the school
which is to be replaced. The new Academy will have an admissions
policy agreed by DfEE and consistent with the Code of Practice
on Admissions. It will meet the essential requirements of the
National Curriculum but will be able to agree variations with
the DfEE. It will only employ teachers with Qualified Teacher
Status (QTS), but will have the freedom to vary the school day
or year and to design new approaches to staffing, perhaps including
paying retention bonuses to keep good staff working in the school.
13. The City Academies will be part of a
wider programme to extend diversity within the state sector and
raise standards where existing provision is inadequate. The other
two strands are:
— allowing new schools to be established
within the state sector—where there is local demand, the
Government will encourage the establishment of new foundation
or voluntary-aided schools, supported by a new foundation set
up by the private, church or voluntary sectors. This will enable
the Government to respond positively to the welcome recent initiative
by the Church of England;
— allowing existing private schools
to become part of the publicly provided education system, assuming
they are willing to make a contribution to the community of schools.
The Government will free up arrangements for existing community
or privately run schools to enter the sector—such as the
Islamia school in Brent and John Loughborough school in Haringey
which have already approved. The Government will be discussing
with other voluntary and community groups, such as the Steiner
Waldorf Schools Fellowship, how they can become involved too.
Department for Education and Employment
March 2000
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