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Ross Morrison McGill founded @TeacherToolkit in 2010, and today, he is one of the ‘most followed educators’on social media in the world. In 2015, he was nominated as one of the ‘500 Most Influential People in Britain’ by The Sunday Times as a result of…
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What ‘autonomy’ does academisation bring: Who has this autonomy and how is it afforded?
School autonomy is not what it used to be. Changing policy, new modes of governance and ever-increasing demands placed on schools mean that autonomy has become a critical concern for our education system and school leaders.
Chaotic centralisation?
A new research paper, ‘Indentured autonomy: headteachers and academisation policy in Northern England’ (Thompson et al., 2020) explores “academisation of schooling in Northern England” as an example of “educational governance that promises greater autonomy” for teachers, parents and the education system at large.
I’ve been a school leader in three large London secondary schools – two standalone academies and – one part of one of the largest multi-academy trust. I’m very keen to explore what autonomy schools and teachers can have, opting out of local authority control.
I’ve spent the last 7 years interviewing academics and journalists to learn more about the research insights on academisation; what conditions make a school a happier and more autonomous places to work, and why England’s systematic process of fragmentation and reform is impacting the professional development available in our schools.
I have even discovered research that suggests the type of school a pupil attends has little bearing on the overall outcomes of a school, despite the acclaimed freedom and success of specific types of schools by our politicians. Even the methodology for turning around a failing school is for sale to all who want it!
The research suggests that a “cautious optimism regarding autonomy has been replaced by frustration” of being “outmanoeuvred by subsequent policy changes.”
The research offers a brief history of academisation, liberal economies, the research findings from the head teacher interviewees working in Northern England, and a summary on autonomy and if it is being delivered.
The crux of academisation provides head teachers with the freedom “to make decisions on behalf of their local communities.”
The extensive literature review draws on evidence from a sample of academisation policy, as a form of chaotic centralisation. The system has “created multiple relays of competing claims of authority and legitimacy, at the same time losing local knowledge about schools.”
Research findings
The research uses an adopted qualitative design, targeting headteachers of academies graded ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Oftsed. The sample draws upon schools in northern England, from Manchester, Wakefield, Leeds, Gateshead and York; typified by levels of child poverty.
Hierarchical governance is discussed where headteachers become servants of policy frameworks of MATs; enlisting the support of head teachers through the promise of autonomy as the best possible response to a set of policy conditions we know as academisation. The summary of the research suggests:
- HTs did not believe that the policy was the solution to problems facing contemporary schooling in Northern England.
- Indentured autonomy is discussed, as negotiating autonomy, continued precariousness and cruel optimism; grounded in local specificity as a response to emerging policy and governance.
- Many HTs opted to academise (to avoid forced academisation) because they were frustrated at the quality of service they received from their local authority, particularly regarding preparation for Ofsted inspections!
- As most schools have become academies, there was less funding available from local authorities to help schools deal with complex problems. Yet, at the same time, schools are buying support from private providers!
- Recent austerity measures – macro-policy levers – applied to school budgets (which impact on staffing) make autonomy less possible.
- HTs feel that academisation has increased their workload and responsibilities as funding and support have decreased.
This research mirrors some of my experiences and some recent academic research I was privy to during the pandemic; that top-down communication contributes to school leader stress, and in a crisis, school leaders often turn to their immediate community for support.
Perhaps there is a renewed need for local authority reform or even better academisation governance.
Elements of autonomy and forced academisation are also discussed, and I would encourage you to read the full paper.
The research suggests that one common point was that none of these HTs felt that academisation was a systematic intervention capable of improving educational outcomes, and ensuring subsequent societal benefits, across the country!
Download the full paper: Autonomy for headteachers and academisation policy in Northern England
