school leaders survey 2015 | Page 7
A significant number of school leaders (43%) are
negative about the pipeline of leaders coming through
the education system at a local level. This is a situation
that is likely to get worse before it gets better,
especially when you take into account our finding that
one-third (36%) of school leaders are looking to reduce
the size of their leadership teams in the coming year.
The Government's agenda to promote a collaborative
approach as part of its vision for a self-improving school
system appears to be under pressure with fewer than
one in ten schools looking to create or expand a school
group, become or join a teaching school alliance or join
a formal school group.
In 2010 teaching schools became a key plank of the
Government's approach to raise standards and it is
interesting to see the trend in attitudes since then.
In our 2013 school leaders survey 19% saw becoming a
teaching school or joining a teaching school alliance as a
major priority. Two years on that now stands at just 3%.
With the latest round of applications closing earlier this
month it will be interesting to see if the Government
has hit its target of 600 teaching schools by September
2016.
The numbers of those interested in creating or
expanding a school group has seen a more dramatic fall;
in 2013 35% identified it as a major priority compared to
only 7% in 2015. Whilst clearly the fact that nearly 30%
of respondents are already in a school group will impact
on this, it is nonetheless surprising that more leaders do
not cite this as a major priority.
While the creation of completely new groups may
start to slow, the direction of travel appears to be for
existing groups to grow around local clusters. Perhaps
leaders are focusing on managing their financial position
before bringing in another school or schools that may
add to the fiscal challenge they have to address. There
is no doubt economies of scale from larger groups can
help but it is certainly no 'silver bullet' to the financial
challenges schools face.
In September last year eight Regional School
Commissioners (RSCs) took up their posts as the
Government's 'middle tier' of accountability for
academies and free schools. Our survey identified that
over half (52%) questioned whether the RSCs were
sufficiently resourced to intervene and implement
improvement measures in schools. There were
no discernible differences between academy and
maintained schools with 49% and 54% respectively
questioning their capacity.
The Education and Adoption Bill, which is currently
making its way through Parliament, will significantly
increase the powers of RSCs by allowing them to force
'failing' schools to become sponsored academies and to
intervene in 'coasting' schools and academies. It will be
interesting to see what additional resources, if any, will
be put at the RSCs disposal and how perceptions will be
affected once the Bill becomes law and RSCs start to
use their enhanced powers.
Leadership concerns
Neither negative or positive
Negative or very negative
Very positive or positive
Don't know/unsure
18+29+46+7+A
31%
43%
9% 17%
Q: How do you feel about the pipeline of leaders
coming through the system in your area?
Base: 1288 respondents