Memorandum submitted by Sir Bruce Liddington,
the Schools Commissioner
THE SCHOOLS
COMMISSIONER
The role of the Schools Commissioner was laid
out in the White Paper Higher Standards, Better Schools for
All in October 2005.
This document gave the Commissioner a wide remit,
"to ensure more choice, greater diversity and better access
for disadvantaged groups to good schools in every area".
As part of this, the White Paper envisaged a
specific role for the Commissioner in the schools capital programme
in particular, of which BSF is a key part:
"The Commissioner will advise the Secretary
of State on local authorities' plans for major capital investment"
Higher Standards, Better Schools for All—2.24
The appointment of Sir Bruce Liddington as the
first Schools Commissioner was announced by the Prime Minister
on 7 September 2006.
ROLE IN
BSF
The Schools Commissioner believes that BSF represents
a unique opportunity for local authorities to reconsider the organisation
of their entire secondary estate. They should make full use of
this opportunity to look strategically at provision across their
area, taking account of demographic changes, responding to parental
demand and ensuring that they provide a diverse range of good
schools tailored to their communities.
The Schools Commissioner will provide additional
support and challenge to local authorities in BSF wave 4 onwards
as they draft their Strategy for Change (SfC) documents. The Commissioner,
or a member of his team, will make contact with each local authority
before the start of their wave and attend their Remit meeting
with the Department. During the drafting of their SfC, the Commissioner
will encourage each local authority to make use of the BSF opportunity
to address a number of key government priorities, including:
— increasing the diversity of secondary
school provision in their area, particularly by supporting schools
to become self-governing Foundation Schools, Trust Schools or
Academies;
— providing robust solutions for poorly
performing schools, particularly those in Ofsted categories;
— expanding popular and successful
schools to meet parental demand;
— addressing the issue of falling rolls
and removing surplus places as necessary; and
— linking their BSF case at every stage
to the ultimate goal of raising standards of educational attainment.
Once a local authority's Strategy for Change
has been submitted to the Department, the Schools Commissioner
has a role in clearing this document. In the vast majority of
cases, we expect that the series of positive discussions between
the Commissioner and the local authority will have resulted in
the submission of a Strategy for Change that meets all the key
priorities. In this case, the Schools Commissioner will give his
approval and the SfC will proceed through the clearance process
as normal.
However, where the submitted Strategy for Change
does not sufficiently address the Secretary of State's key priorities,
the Schools Commissioner will provide comments and recommend that
it should be redrafted by the local authority. In this event,
the Commissioner will once again work closely with that local
authority to support and challenge them as they redraft their
Strategy for Change.
In exceptional circumstances, where the Schools
Commissioner remains unconvinced in the long term that the local
authority is making a genuine effort to fulfil the Secretary of
State's key priorities or address his comments, he may recommend
to the Secretary of State that the local authority be slipped
back into a later wave and another authority take its place.
Once a local authority's Strategy for Change
has been accepted, the majority of the Schools Commissioner's
involvement in the BSF process is complete. He will continue to
visit and monitor the local authority as it passes through the
BSF process in order to ensure that it continues to meet the Secretary
of State's key strategic priorities.
November 2006
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