Presentation by Peter Rudd, University of York. ABSTRACT: Dr Peter Rudd will present an overview of the various approaches that have been taken to support school improvement and school effectiveness in the UK over the last 30 years. It will be argued that a previous system of collaboration, based on local authorities supporting schools, was replaced with an emphasis on the autonomy and accountability of individual schools, followed by a return to (different forms of) collaboration. He will examine the pros and cons of different approaches and their potential applicability of these approaches to other countries' schooling systems. He will also bring these approaches right up to date, and anticipate future developments, making use of the leading political parties' election manifestos for the UK General Election of May 2015. Presentazione di Peter Rudd (Università di York) in occasione del suo intervento al convegno internazionale "Migliorare la scuola" (Napoli, 14-15 Maggio 2015), organizzato dall'Indire.

1. Collaboration-Autonomy-
Collaboration?
A history of school
improvement in the UK
Peter Rudd
University of York

2. MA in Post-War Recovery Studies: Quantitative Method
Aims of this presentation
1. To provide a brief history of school
improvement in the UK based on a
cycle of collaboration-autonomy-
collaboration
2. To discuss the pros and cons of these
approaches and their potential
applicability to other national
schooling systems.

3. MA in Post-War Recovery Studies: Quantitative Method
Cycle of school system interactions:
Collabor-
ation
between
schools
Autonomy
for
schools
Collabor-
ation to
rebalance
autonomy
?

4. MA in Post-War Recovery Studies: Quantitative Method
Collaboration 1:
National
Government
• Ministry/Department for Education
• Secretary of State for Education
Local
Government
• Local Education Authorities (LEAs) (152)
• First created by the Education Act 1902
Schools
• Primary schools (age 5-11 years)
• Secondary schools (11-16 or 18)

5. MA in Post-War Recovery Studies: Quantitative Method

6. MA in Post-War Recovery Studies: Quantitative Method
Towards school autonomy
• City Technology Colleges (CTCs)
• Local Management of Schools (LMS)
• Grant Maintained Status (GMS)
• [Faith and Grammar Schools]
• Specialist Schools Programme
------------------------------------------------------
• Academies
• Free Schools

7. MA in Post-War Recovery Studies: Quantitative Method
“The Government wants schools to take more
responsibility for themselves and each other in
delivering a true self-improving school system. It
wants schools to look not to local authorities for
expertise but to each other… a self-improving
system needs a degree of coordination and
strong incentives to encourage schools to look
beyond their own school gate. Otherwise there is
a danger that many schools will operate in
isolation rather than in cooperation.” Graham
Stuart, Chair of Education Committee, 2013.

8. MA in Post-War Recovery Studies: Quantitative Method
Challenges to school autonomy
Driven by notions of parental choice
and locally-run schools, school
autonomy increased dramatically
from the 1990s onwards. But there
were three underlying issues:
• School accountability
• Central government direction
• Was this improving attainment?

9. MA in Post-War Recovery Studies: Quantitative Method
‘Partnerships’ to re-balance autonomy
• Beacon Schools
• Federations of Schools
• Excellence in Cities
• London Challenge
• City Challenge
• NLEs, LLEs and SLEs
• National Teaching Schools
• Academy Chains

10. MA in Post-War Recovery Studies: Quantitative Method
The new Conservative Government
• 500 more Free Schools
• Challenge to ‘coasting’ schools
• Many more academies
Back to autonomy? Husbands (2015) refers to “a
largely autonomous system of competing
schools” and says that “England’s school system
will look like few others in the world”.

11. Revised title (since May 7th):
Collaboration-Autonomy-
Collaboration-Autonomy
Approaches to school
improvement in the UK
peter.rudd@york.ac.uk

12. MA in Post-War Recovery Studies: Quantitative Method
References and further reading:
• Education Committee (2013). School Partnerships and
Cooperation. House of Commons Select Committee, London.
• Husbands, C. (2015). ‘Conservative victory means England’s
school system will look like few others in the world’. The
Conversation, 9 May 2015.
• OECD (2011). ‘School autonomy and accountability: Are they
related to student performance?’ PISA In Focus. OECD,
• Whitbourn, S, with Mitchell, K. & Morris, R. (2000). What is
the LEA For? National Foundation for Educational Research,
Slough, UK.
• Woods, D. (2014). ‘Re-balancing a school-led improvement
system – lessons learned from the London Challenge’.
Institute of Education, London.