Back parents with professional support, says Sir Bruce Liddington

Significant groups of parents remain – understandably - unhappy with their lot, despite the many reforms in education policy, many of which have resulted in a rise in standards and better exam results.

 

Labour began the decade with a clutch of brand new academy schools, many of which have gone on to become beacons of success. The Conservatives are now floating the idea of creating so-called ‘free’ schools run by independent organisations. Parent groups are emerging all over England expressing an interest in running their own school.

 

The catalyst for this movement in many cases is current dissatisfaction with both local and national arrangements for developing new schools and a general feeling that the education establishment is just not listening to parents’ wishes.

 

This energy needs to be tapped and put to good use. There needs to be a loosening of the grip away from greater centralisation of education policy and bureaucracy, acknowledging the strength of parents’ feelings.

 

There is, of course, a balance to be struck between the enthusiasm generated by excellent ideas and the complexity involved in actually running a safe and successful school. Financial, legal, employment and educational requirements go hand-in-hand and running a high-performing organisation isn’t easy or straightforward. Parent-promoted ventures will be managing multi-million- pound revenue budgets and capital programmes.

 

The New Schools Network, which was formed to help groups set up schools - including parents - has had around 300 expressions of interest from parents and teachers who would like to set up, or be involved in setting up, a new school.

 

All the main parties need to take this seriously as we approach general and local elections.

 

Most of the parents want to partner with existing organisations with a track record who will ensure their success in planning and performance. And many more would simply like to see a good new school in their area which is responsive to their children's needs.

 

We are pioneering closer links between the independent sector and state schools. Many independent schools I have spoken to are happy to liaise with us and support our academies. There has been an artificial wall between state and private education for too long. This type of partnership is critical to raising standards and sharing best practice. Parents’ aspirations are rightly very high as they see, in some areas, a gap between state and private provision. I would like to see a much more innovative approach to developing schools, where some independent schools operate franchise-style state schools.

 

The basic drivers that inspire parents and all of us who are committed to delivering the best state education – excellent teaching and facilities, children’s safety and happiness, equality of opportunity, good discipline and behaviour – are boosted by skill and expertise.

 

The challenge for many Local Authorities is coping with changing demography and constantly moving populations as well as poor and neglected facilities and often demoralised staff who have borne the brunt of countless initiatives.

 

Parents, Local Authorities and the Government all need to acknowledge the need to work together to achieve parent-led goals or risk the complete fragmentation of our national education provision.

 

Parents should be encouraged to form trusts or local federations, with the power to choose accredited providers who can take their dream from the drawing board to reality. In doing so they will face the same challenges as Local Authorities who try to maximise the opportunity while creating viable primary and secondary provision for the majority. Accredited providers – whether they are existing academy sponsors or new forms of ‘free’ school providers – may then be held accountable for quality assurance.

 

Parents need to work in partnership at a local level. This effectively involves a wide range of interested groups – from businesses who want to see employability as a top priority for the new generation of school leavers, to universities, sporting organisations and other high performing schools in the state and independent sector. This does not exclude the Local Authority. But councils need to embrace a new way of thinking and working. Their near monopoly will be broken if parents are inspired and supported by national Government.

 

Councils’ new role could include brokering schools with parents and alternative providers. In a sense this will help to re-connect them with their communities in a positive way – instead of constantly facing angry and dissatisfied parents who feel disenfranchised and let down by a system better suited to a bygone age.

 

It is essential that new schools demonstrate real demand before they open, and are held fully accountable by their results. Anything else would lead to disarray, falling standards, and an inability to attract excellent teachers and deliver a wide-ranging curriculum with all the facilities that make a difference. To suggest anything different is as much a disservice to parents as it is to the current system.

 

I would urge whoever forms the next government to look at savings in the BSF programme which will reduce the level of unnecessary consultancy activity to help fund parent-led commissioning within a proper framework of accreditation and quality assurance.

 

Give parents power by all means. But with that power comes significant responsibility. Parent-led schools need the right level of professional and accredited support to be successful. This could be a model for schools, local authorities and a wide range of local services in a decentralised post-election world. This is localism for the 21^st Century.