Meet the man who is taking over our schools

The situation at Sudbury Primary school LINK where the local authority has limited powers of intervention because the school converted to academy status in 2012, reveals, whatever the outcome of the independent investigation, problems of democratic accountability for academies and free schools.

With all non-faith Brent secondary schools now academies, Oakington Manor and Furness  primarydiscussing academisation, and the Brent Schools Partnership holding meetings for headteachers and chairs of governors in January 2016 on academy conversion, this is clearly a crucial issue.

So let's introduce you to Martin Post, who is responsible for academies and free schools, in Brent. Never heard of him? Well, he is the ex Headmaster of Watford Grammar School for Boys, and has rather a lot on his plate. He is the Regional School Commissioner for South-Central England and North West London and was appointed in 2014. He bridges the gap between academies and free schools and the Secretary of State for Education. This is the original announcement:

From September 2014, 8 regional schools commissioners will be responsible for taking important decisions about the academies in their area. The commissioners will make decisions on applications from schools wanting to become academies and organisations wanting to sponsor an academy.

They will also be responsible for taking action when an academy is underperforming.

The commissioners will not be involved with academies that are performing well or with local authority-maintained schools. (MF latter no longer the case as you will see below)

Each commissioner will be supported by a board of 5 or 6 outstanding academy headteachers, who will be elected by other academy headteachers in the region.

From being in charge of one boys' school Post is now responsible for academies and free schools in the following areas:

• Barnet
• Bedford
• Bracknell Forest
• Brent
• Buckinghamshire
• Camden
• Central Bedfordshire
• City of London
• Ealing
• Enfield
• Hammersmith and Fulham
• Harrow
• Hertfordshire
• Hillingdon
• Hounslow
• Islington
• Kensington and Chelsea
• Luton
• Milton Keynes
• Northamptonshire
• Oxfordshire
• Reading
• Slough
• West Berkshire
• Westminster
• Windsor and Maidenhead
• Wokingham

Keeping tabs on all those schools is clearly a formidable task and it is hard to see how Sudbury Primary will come to the top of Post's in-tray.  Undaunted Post will be adding to their number under draft guidance for RSCs and local authorities  for schools 'causing concern':

1. Schools that have been judged inadequate by Ofsted – An academy order will be issued for all such schools, requiring them to become sponsored academies. To minimise delays and ensure swift action, there will be a new duty on governing bodies and local authorities to facilitate academy conversion. The process for schools judged as inadequate by Ofsted is described in more detail in Chapter 2 of this guidance.
2. Schools that are coasting – Schools which fall within our definition of coasting will become eligible for intervention. Where a coasting school does not have a sufficient plan and the necessary capacity to bring about improvement, the RSC will use the powers of the Secretary of State to intervene. In many cases this intervention will be to ensure that the school receives the support and challenge it needs, but where necessary the RSC will be able to convert the school into an academy with the support of a sponsor. The process for schools falling within the coasting definition is described in more detail in Chapter 3 of this guidance.
3. Schools that have failed to comply with a warning notice – Local authorities and RSCs, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, have powers to give warning notices to schools where they have concerns about unacceptable performance (e.g. below floor standards, or a sudden fall in performance), a breakdown in leadership and governance, or the safety of pupils or staff may be being threatened. Where a school does not comply with a warning notice it will become eligible for intervention. The warning notice process is described in more detail in Chapter 4 of this guidance.

In other words the RSCs will be extending their powers into the local authority maintained sector even though there is no clear evidence that academisation improves performance. Meanwhile academies and free schools will operate under a different framework:

·       RSCs will scrutinise academies’ performance and will require academies to take particular action or face termination of their funding agreement where they are in breach of it and such action is necessary.

We have to remember of course that the RSC, Martin Post, will be advised by a board of academy headteachers and is charged with converting schools to academies. Will objectivity be an issue?

As Brent Council has committed itself to work with academies and free schools to provide the additional secondary school places it claims are needed, it appears that the local authority will be losing any influence over secondary schools. Parents and staff will have to look to the remote RSC who is not democratically elected or accountable, for any redress when things go wrong.

In fact the LA becomes subservient to the RSC  regarding local authority schools designated as 'causing concern' under the wider DfE definition of schools 'eligible for intervention':

Where the school is the subject of an academy order because it is eligible for intervention, the governing body and the local authority will be under a duty to work towards the school’s successful conversion into an academy by taking all reasonable steps towards that end. RSCs can also use the Secretary of State’s power to give the governing body or local authority a direction, or directions, to take specified steps for this purpose. If the RSC has identified a sponsor to run the school, and has notified the school of this, then the governing body and the local authority must take all reasonable steps to facilitate that sponsor taking responsibility for the school.In other words LAs and governing bodies have to hand over their schools to academy sponsors.

Meanwhile the RSC will also be working with free schools. The neutral sounding New Schools Networking (actually an agency for promoting free schools and therefore the privatisation of education) is advertising a meeting with Martin Post that will take place on January 29th:

Join NSN and free schools near you for a networking event with Martin Post the new Regional Schools Commissioner for North West London and South Central.
This event offers a chance to meet other free schools which are open or due to open, share experiences with them and hear from the Regional Schools Commissioner about his role and how it will affect your school. 
If you would like to attend please email open@newschoolsnetwork.org
Please note this event is for free schools in this region only. 
- See more at: http://www.newschoolsnetwork.org/academy-resource-hub/events-and-opportunities/rsc-free-school-networking-event-north-west-london-and#sthash.DqhgSQdb.dpuf

Join NSN and free schools near you for a networking event with Martin Post the new Regional Schools Commissioner for North West London and South Central.
This event offers a chance to meet other free schools which are open or due to open, share experiences with them and hear from the Regional Schools Commissioner about his role and how it will affect your school. 
If you would like to attend please email open@newschoolsnetwork.org
Please note this event is for free schools in this region only. 
- See more at: http://www.newschoolsnetwork.org/academy-resource-hub/events-and-opportunities/rsc-free-school-networking-event-north-west-london-and#sthash.DqhgSQdb.dpuf

·       Join NSN and free schools near you for a networking event with Martin Post the new Regional Schools Commissioner for North West London and South Central.

·       This event offers a chance to meet other free schools which are open or due to open, share experiences with them and hear from the Regional Schools Commissioner about his role and how it will affect your school. 

·       If you would like to attend please email open@newschoolsnetwork.org

·       Please note this event is for free schools in this region only. 

There has been little publicity about these proposals and it is important that they become a matter for public debate.