Academisation – decisions for local authority school leaders in a complex policy environment

Just as English education structural reforms appeared to gain exponential momentum, environmental shifts have cast a shadow over the clarity of the direction of travel. A lack of support from MPs across all parties, coupled... [ view full abstract ]

Just as English education structural reforms appeared to gain exponential momentum, environmental shifts have cast a shadow over the clarity of the direction of travel. A lack of support from MPs across all parties, coupled with stakeholder pressure, put a damper on central government intentions to drive wholesale academisation (see Educational Excellence Everywhere, 2016 – white paper). In the UK general election of 2017 the incumbent Conservative party lost an overall majority, resulting in a confidence and supply arrangement with the Northern Irish DUP. Following the ‘English Votes for English Laws’ process, the government would find themselves in a precarious position with regards to changes in education policy affecting only England. Whilst Brexit and national security dominate national political arenas, schools have experienced the continued encroachment of the performativity agenda (e.g. coasting measures) and strained finances in their strategic decision making. Local Authority school leaders find themselves in an increasingly uncertain position with regards to academisation. The seemingly binary proposition facing many schools emerges in characterisations such as ‘jump before being pushed’ or ‘eat before being eaten’. The researchers conducted interviews with 27 headteachers of Local Authority schools across Hertfordshire deliberating academisation. This was followed by a one day conference with approximately 30 attendees (with an overlap of 11 from the original sample). Three focus groups were conducted, chaired by headteachers, drawing on key findings from the first stage of data collection. A final plenary, led by the chairs, triangulated those discussions with the entire group. Four key themes emerged from continued analysis. Firstly, reflecting the above, headteachers appraised the external drivers of change holistically, and to this extent strategic drivers towards or away from academisation drew from a broader base than the rationales offered by government policy. Secondly, there was an emphasis on the relative, and rationally bounded, assessments of the resource implications of joining, not joining or setting up an academy. This theme could be seen to stand in complement or tension to a third theme related to the perceived impacts on pedagogy, used in the broadest sense to capture the vision and values, socio-economic and geographic context, and learning and teaching practices of the schools. Finally, personal considerations related to career stage and progression were also significant. In rejecting academisation as a binary choice, the research highlights implications for policy and practice based upon unintended outcomes, virtuous and vicious cycles and tensions between personal and rational calculations.