Sarah Tough, ippr, 2nd February 2006

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Trusts A new future for schools? Thursday 2nd
February 2006

• Sarah Tough, ippr, 2nd February 2006

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Trusts A new future for schools?

• The trust school concept will be widely ignored
  by the vast majority of heads and governors
• - John Dunford, ASCL
• there are fears that the Bill will lead to a
  fragmented and fractured education system
• - John Bangs, NUT

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Trusts A new future for schools?

• Becoming a Trust school is a very simple way of
  making relationships with partners more
  sustainable, putting them on a firmer footing and
  ensuring more pupils have access to a wider range
  of opportunities.
• - Trust School Prospectus
• Not all schools have the same flexibilities.
  That causes confusion in the system. We are
  trying to bring some coherence to the system...
• - Ruth Kelly

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Characteristics

• Independent state schools - trust schools, like
  foundation schools, will own their own assets,
  employ their own staff and be their own
  admissions authorities.
• Governors - trusts will appoint governors for
  trust schools. Trusts can appoint either a
  minority or a majority of governors, depending on
  results of the consultation process. Some
  external partners already appoint school
  governors.

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Characteristics

• Power to Innovate trusts, like existing
  schools, can apply to the Secretary of State for
  additional flexibilities (e.g. freedoms over
  curriculum and pay/ conditions of staff enjoyed
  by academies).
• Admissions own admissions authorities, must
  follow Code, no selection by ability.
• Funding trust schools will be funded by LAs,
  like other state maintained schools. All trusts
  will be charities.

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The potential of trusts

• engine for real collaboration (DfES 2005)
• long-term, sustainable involvement of partners in
  leadership
• efficiency gains where trusts run more than one
  school
• good practice and innovation spread throughout
  the trust schools easily
• shared ethos and identity/ brands
• increased access to facilities

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Interested groups

• Universities Exeter, Portsmouth, UWE, Open
  University
• Businesses Microsoft, KPMG
• Educational charities
• Community groups
• Other schools
• Faith groups

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Potential number of trust schools

• Ruth Kelly we are working with a lot of
  organisations interested in setting up trusts
• Trust schools, in law, are foundation schools
  with a foundation or a trust.
• 513 foundation schools (January 2005)
• some foundation schools already have their own
  foundation
• Take up of foundation status slower than hoped/
  expected
• Firms say no to trust schools (TES 25/11/05)

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The process
(source Trust School Prospectus)
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Who has the strategic overview?
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Key questions

• Can we envisage a future where all schools are
  trust schools?
• Do we like this vision?
• What safeguards are necessary to ensure trust
  schools development in a positive way?