edpol.net

The need for policy stability in education

A critique of education policy formation and recommendations (England)

In its 2015 analysis of education policy in the UK, as compared to An Institute of Government report in 2017 described an other jurisdictions, the OECD singled out the UK system as being education environment of ‘costly policy change and churn: New particularly subject to churn. In the UK, ‘rather than build on the organisations replace old ones; one policy is ended while a foundations laid by previous administrations, the temptation is always remarkably similar one is launched’ (Norris and Adam 2017, 3). to scrap existing initiatives and start afresh’ (OECD 2015, 152).

Version 3.03 28th May 2020 (see end for version control) V 2.0 17th December 2019

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 The English education system operates significantly below its potential. For a number of decades it has been damaged by “policy churn”: disruptive for classroom teaching, leadership and governance. In 40 years there have been over 80 major acts and on average, in each year, over 80 statutory instruments. Looking back over time, regardless of how achievements or failings might be viewed, success could have been far greater.

Unintentionally, the extent of policy churn has undermined the most critical success factor for a leading education system: to recruit, retain and develop the best teachers (inc. college lecturers). At great cost to the country and with huge frustration for those involved, teachers have been leaving the profession in alarming numbers. Policy churn has restricted teachers’ ability to master their subjects and where policy has been imposed, it has led to alienation. Compliance has been encouraged rather than initiative and mastery.

Many existing problems in education are the consequences of cumulative policy change. The best intentions have been negated by a Overview: revolving door of over ambitious secretaries of states (20 in 40 years) and many ministers (some 104 in 40 years), who have disregarded what has come before and overlooked the capacity of schools and colleges to absorb more change. The education landscape is littered with Damaging discontinued programmes and closed institutions. At the same time, the frequently changing inspection and accountability regime has policy churn discouraged strong, school led leadership. In this report, we aim to explain why this malaise exists; we look at the consequences of continuous change and we show that the UK and how to contrasts strongly with other countries that are deemed successful*. For these, stability, consensus, a long term view, and rigorous, highly qualified teachers are the norm. correct it A new policy framework is proposed, based on an improved DfE process, a developed knowledge base, strengthened professional institutions and holding ministers to account. Most importantly, this report emphasises the need for a long range plan (ten years minimum) in part to resolve some of the most intractable issues in education. This requires not only a longer time horizon, but also a formal and transparent engagement with education’s professionals, practitioners and wider interests. The abiding benefit would be policy initiatives that stand the test of time.

This report does not take any view on government funding or take any view on needs. It emphasises that initiatives must be placed in the right order. Our wasteful and unproductive circle must be broken, by first fixing the policy and implementation process.

*Note: At least as defined by PISA Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 2 The need for policy stability in education: Content

Factors driving so much change and Extent of policy change in education churn

Examples of policy change and churn Lessons from overseas

Problems created by constant change

Conclusions and recommendations

Institutional enablers of change

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 3 1 Extent of policy change in education

a. Summary: Policy change and churn is the dysfunctional characteristic of Education in England

b. There have been over 80 Government Acts relating to Education since 1979

c. Education Acts have run at three to five times other departments

d. The highlighted the greater issue with “secondary legislation” in 2009

e. Statutory Instruments have run at an average of 88 per year since 1988

f. Statutory Instruments determine policy in the most critical areas of Education

g. Education Acts are constantly reworked so there is no continuity

h. The extent of existing policy makes it incomprehensible

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 4 1b There have been over 80 Acts relating to education since 1979

Education in England is characterised by high levels of ‘policy churn’ and this is driven through government legislation

This happens ‘because each educational problem has numerous possible solutions’, it comes out of an adversarial party system and ‘it is relentlessly driven by force of habit, custom and institutional structure’ (Peck 2011, 779)

Our new research shows that since the Education Reform Act 1988, the amount of new national legislation in education has been colossal

Policy change in education is predominantly driven through - sponsored legislation

For initial orientation, examples of the most impactful legislation passed since 1979 are shown here Analysis of Luck, Warriner and Wall

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 5 1c Education acts have run at three to five times other key departments

There have been three times more primary Number of General Acts in Forty Years Total Words of General Acts in Forty Years 2,000 legislation focusing on Education as have focused 1,500 on Health, and five times more than for matters of

1,000 Defence Thousands 500

- Transport Health Education Defense Any practitioner wishing to arrive at an understanding of all of the extant primary statute 100 law passed since 1979 would have nearly 1.8 million words to read (the equivalent of ten full 80 readings of Great Expectations) 60 A very large amount of this primary legislation 40 has been ‘empowering’. That is, it has authorised 20 the making of further and even more detailed law by regulation and order 0 Transport Health Education Defense Therefore a vast quantity of new education law has been made with very little scrutiny at all by those who might have doubts about its wisdom and good sense Analysis of Luck, Warriner and Wall

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 6 1d The House of Lords highlighted the issue with ‘secondary legislation’ in 2009

Acts of Parliament typically receive with large amounts of detail yet to be written

Statutory Instruments (SIs) are ‘delegated’ or ‘secondary’ instruments and are used to fill in this detail at a later date

A disproportionate quantity of SIs are made that relate to education. This was noted by the House of Lords in their 2008/9 review, conducted by the ‘Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee’

Around 80% of SIs take a ‘negative route’ through parliament; they do not need active approval

One SI was used to abolish maintenance grants (Education (Student Support) (Amendment) Regulations 2015), and ‘just 18 MPs had the chance to discuss and approve this measure’ Note: This chart shows Sis laid by DCFS/DfES and considered by the Merits Committee each month between 2005 and 2008. Not all DCFS/DfES Sis affected schools; Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee 2009 (Hardman 2018, 102)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 7 1e Statutory Instruments have run at an average of 88 per year since 1988

• Our research broadens the House of Lords study to the thirty-year period from 1988 to 2018. • There was an average of 88 SIs filed under education per year since 1988, and this is averaged at 68 for the Thatcher/Major years, 116 for the Blair/Brown years, and 61 for the Cameron/May years

No. of Statutory Instruments Secondary legislation rose especially in the New No. of S.I.s Education No. of S.I.s Defence No. of S.I.s Transport Labour years, reaching 150 pieces of legislation in 160 2001 alone

140

120 Education in the past thirty-one years is strikingly higher than Defence or Transport: from 1988 it 100 has been on average 13 times higher (and much 80 higher than Health but the data is harder to 60 extract in a useable form)

40

20 The dip in 2016 and 2017 can reasonably be accounted for by the diverting of attention, 0

ministers, and civil servants to the newly founded

1990 1999 2008 2013 1989 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 1988 DExEU, and the required focus on Brexit

Analysis of Luck, Warriner and Wall

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 8 1f Statutory Instruments have run at an average of 88 per year since 1988

• Keywords were used to examine the content of Education related Statutory instruments over the last thirty years • This illustrates − The far-reaching nature of legislation − The dominance of policy change in curriculum, assessment and key stages and skills − The focus on ‘standards’ and ‘learning

Percentage of S.I.s including keyword in text This legislation brought 50% classroom control into the 40% hands of central government 30% in terms of: what is taught 20% (‘Curriculum’), and how 10% accountability to 0% government for what is

taught is made possible

SATS Skills

Adult

Higher

Further

A A Level

A-Level

Primary

Finance Literacy

Religion Training Training

ASLevel Learning

AS-Level (‘Key Stage’, ‘Assessment’,

Academy Keystage

Exclusion

Standards

Technical

Behaviour

Extremism

Secondary

Academies Early Years

Assessment

Admissions Curriculum Governance

Safeguarding ‘Standards’)

SpecialNeeds

Apprenticeships

Health and Safety Teachingand Learning

Analysis of Luck, Warriner and Wall SpecialEducational Needs

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 9 1g Education Acts are constantly reworked so there is no continuity

Case Study: The turnover of provisions in the • Much of the legislation is reworking of existing acts, Provisions changed by year with running % of Education Act 2002 for example, the Education Act 2002 encouraged

70% 35 the adoption of Academies, added Citizenship to the National Curriculum and launched Birth to Three Matters 60% 30 • Within four years of the original act being made, more than one third or 65 of all provisions changed 50% 25 (they were either repealed, modified, or added to)

40% 20 • 47% of provisions were reworked before a change in government, 30% before a change in premiership 30% 15 • Wendy Scott was an Advisor to the Department of Education from 2000 to 2002. She comments that a 20% 10 new initiative must show that it is effective very quickly or lose further investment: ‘I saw little 10% 5 evidence of corporate memory in the department, partly because of the career structure of the Civil 0% 0 Service, where people tend to move on every two Year Year Year Year Year Year Year Year Year Year Year Year Year Year Year Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 or three years. This churn means that continuity is compromised‘ (Scott 2015, 39) Analysis of Luck, Warriner and Wall

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 10 1h The extent of existing policy makes it incomprehensible

In 2019 the government launched a Over 2,494 web pages and A4 new archive of guidance for school pages of advice were issued for governors. For stakeholders in both LEA-maintained schools, and and LA-maintained over 1,971 for academies schools, this is intended as a reference tool to ensure that duties On the left is a graphical under government legislation are depiction of the archive. Each fully-accessibly and fully-understood black point is a webpage or pdf page, and lines represent online This includes guidance on: SRE links connecting them. A reader policy; Safeguarding; SEND; of the archive would naturally Teaching and Learning; Offsite start at the centre activities and trips; Complaints policy; Behaviour Policy; This ‘black hole’ of published Accessibility Policy; Attendance and materials, for a school governor Punctuation Policy; Anti-bullying in a voluntary, part-time role, is policy; EAL policy; Evaluating and obviously overwhelming, and developing teaching and learning; much of this guidance must Literacy Policy; Numeracy Policy inevitably remain unread

Analysis of Luck, Warriner and Wall

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 11 2 Examples of policy change and churn

a. The only constant for the National Curriculum has been change

b. Assessment and qualification frameworks have not stood still

c. Change in the Further Education sector is perhaps the most extreme

d. Curriculum and assessment institutions have themselves frequently changed

e. The Department of Education is regularly renamed

f. New policies to address societal challenges are frequent

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 12 2a The only constant for the National Curriculum has been change

The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, introduced in 1998 and 1999, directed teachers to the content and form of delivery, of a prescribed syllabus — Not just what should be taught, but at the time, also, how it should be taught The Primary National Strategy was introduced in May 2003 with the aim of combining measurable performance with ‘enjoyment of learning’; followed by Excellence and Enjoyment and Every Child Matters. These in turn found legislative form in the In 2006, the Rose Review Report added the importance of ‘high-quality phonic work’. The level of monitoring and target-setting became ever more particularised in order to address the target demographic groups identified by policy, most notably boys (Whitty 2008, 173) Although the National Strategies project was intended to be a fixed-term intervention programme, the Primary National Strategy was 'renewed' in 2006, and since the Coalition government came into power in 2010, ministerial control of the Primary curriculum and of assessment at all key stages has tightened further 2015 introduced substantial changes: The addition of a modern language to the Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11) and major revisions to the subject content of all national curriculum subjects, for example • In maths, children are expected to learn more at an earlier age - for example to know their 12 times table by the age of nine • History has taken a more chronological approach than under the old curriculum • In English, pupils learn more Shakespeare and there is more importance placed on spelling • The new computing curriculum requires pupils to learn how to write code • In science, there is a shift towards hard facts and ‘scientific knowledge’ • Syllabuses across disciplines are said to include ‘harder’ content and ‘tougher’ exams Once such top-down control is taken, it becomes difficult to withdraw without 'leaving a vacuum for some teachers who made considerable use of its many resources' (Waugh and Jolliffe 2013, 1)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 13 2b Assessment and qualification frameworks have not stood still

Changes to assessment and qualifications happens on a continuous basis, largely using secondary legislation such as DfE circulars The complex debate around coursework and ‘controlled assessment’, introduced in 2009 as a replacement for traditional coursework in GCSE subjects, rages on (Crisp 2008). Likewise, disagreement between advocates of modular and of linear assessment continue Major reforms were made to GCSE in 2015. The new GCSE exams involve changes to content, exam formats and the grading system Since GCSEs were introduced in 1988, there have been at least five very substantial reforms to the grading system: An A* band, later a fully revamped numerical grading system, an experiment with combined subjects and short courses, and an entirely new framework, the EBacc Exams at the end of courses were to account for final results in most subjects. Modular courses were ended This is on top of changes to individual subject syllabuses across exam boards The changes were presented as, in part, a response to the previous year’s GCSE English marking issue (exam boundaries were altered between January and June sessions in 2012) which required tens of thousands of students to resit their exams

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 14 2c Change in the Further Education sector is perhaps the most extreme

In 1982, the Conservative Government launched the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (by-passing LEAs) and this lasted until 1997 In 1984, Business and Technology Education Council qualifications (BTECs) were introduced In 1986, the Conservatives also set up the National Council for Vocational Qualifications (NCVQs), later reviewed by Beaumont, with an offering of NVQs and Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) with a greater input from business. In 1997 it was merged with the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority (SCAA) In 1996, General National Vocation Qualifications (GNVQs) were introduced — and withdrawn in 2007 Connexions was launched in 2000 as a ‘single, coherent strategy’. Over the years the initiative fell away. Labour then introduced the Learning and Skills Council Ideas for Advanced Diplomas were launched in 2002 with the fanfare of their being the most important educational reform since 1945. These was abolished in 2010 14-19 Diplomas were launched in 2008 and withdrawn in 2013 The Learning and Skills Council was also abolished by the coalition and BTEC was endorsed as an A Level equivalent, reducing many Applied GCSEs The 2011 Wolf report on 14-19 vocational courses made 27 recommendations including that ‘students who are under 19 and do not have GCSE A*-C in English must find a pathway to gain them ‘T Levels’ are the latest initiative, due for launch in 2020

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 15 2d Curriculum and assessment institutions have themselves frequently changed

There has been regular changes to the organisations that manage curriculum and assessment. Existing institutions are continually reformed, rebranded and relaunched

1997: Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA) formed by merger of SCAA and NCVQ

2004: National Assessment Agency launched by the QCA to administer National Curriculum assessments

2008: Office of Qualification and Examinations Regulation () takes over QCA’s regulatory functions. Supervision of the examination system becomes independent of the education ministry

2008: Qualification and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) was, like Ofqual, formed from the former QCA

2011: Standards and Testing Agency (STA) took over the functions of the QCA. Regulated by Ofqual

The abolished the QCDA, and put no similar authority in its place. As a consequence, the Secretary of State may now make changes to the curriculum ‘by order’ (a kind of statutory instrument) without referring his proposal to an independent authority. Although he/she must give notice of the proposal to key stakeholders, an independent authority no longer decides who those stakeholders are. They are now those that ‘appear to the Secretary of State to be concerned with the proposal’ (s.69)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 16 2e Even the Department of Education is regularly renamed The renaming of department institutions and changes in their remit have been frequent: The cumulative effect of causing confusion and an impression of turmoil

1992: Department for Education (DfE) formed after responsibility for science is transferred to the Cabinet Office’s Office of and the Department of Trade and Industry’s Office of Science and Technology 1995: Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) formed after a merger with the Department of Employment 2001: Department for Education and Skills (DfES) formed after the employment functions of the previous department are redirected 2007: Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) formed with a remit which does not include adult education, further education and higher education 2010: Department for Education (DfE) reformed by the incoming ministry of In 2016, the department took on responsibilities for higher and further education, as well as the apprenticeship programme

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 17 2f New policies to address societal challenges are frequent

Schools policy is continuously used to effect social reforms and to counter areas of concern, e.g.: British history and values; diversity and inclusion; counter- terrorism, youth sexual health and pregnancy; and, most recently, the problem of knife crime September 2002: Citizenship becomes a statutory National Curriculum subject. The subject ‘remains key to providing a broad and balanced curriculum in all schools’. In the primary curriculum, citizenship has a non-statutory framework setting out what should be taught at Key Stages 1 and 2

October 2010: The Equality Act 2010 replaces all existing anti-discrimination legislation (including the the Equal Pay Act 1970 the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976, and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995). This comes with 45 pages of new guidance. makes it clear that tackling inequalities and disadvantages should be reflected in every aspect of school life, and would be considered as part of all inspection judgements

November 2014: The Department for Education publishes guidance on promoting British values in schools ‘to ensure young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. All schools have a duty to ‘actively promote’ the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs’ (Department for Education 2017)

July 2015: All schools become subject to a duty under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 s.26 to, in the exercise of their functions, have ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’. This duty is known as the ‘Prevent duty’

April 2017: New internet bullying guidance (19 pages) is issued to update the Education and Inspections Act 2006 s.89, providing that maintained schools must have measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils. At the same time, the Children and Social Work Act 2017 includes four sections relating to education including children in care and safeguarding policy

April 2019: Ministers propose to launch a ‘multi-agency’ response to the problem of knife crime, including a new legal duty ‘to ensure public bodies … raise concerns about children at risk of becoming involved in knife crime’ (Bulman 2019)

June 2019: the Department for Education launches statutory guidance to accompany the introduction of compulsory health education, relationships education and relationships & sex education (RSE) in 2020

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 18 3 Problems created by constant change

a. Policy change and consequent workload have negatively affected teacher retention

b. DfE 2017 retention survey highlights huge dissatisfaction with policy changes

c. Policy change is the root cause of many other areas of teacher dissatisfaction

d. The government’s response has been more policy, less autonomy

e. Curriculum modifications leave teachers in continual “catch up”

f. Changing exam formats undermine teacher confidence

g. ‘Teaching to the test’ is regrettable but a logical response

h. There has been a particularly poor deal for those in FEs and on vocational studies

i. Constant change promotes compliant practitioners rather than “mastery”

j. Policy change and desire for a long term plan

k. There is widespread frustration and a new planning approach is being called for

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 19 Teachers are leaving the profession faster than they can be recruited; all the while increasing pupil numbers make them more necessary than ever. Around 22% of new teachers leave the profession within their first 2 years of teaching, and 33% leave within their first 5 years (Department for Education 2017b, table 8). Meanwhile, secondary pupil numbers are expected to increase by 15% by 2025 3a Policy The problem of teacher shortage is felt acutely in certain geographic regions and for certain subjects, particularly the hard sciences and maths change and Why is this happening? Excessive workload has been a recurring theme of all recent teacher retention studies workload • Back in 1991: The main reason for leaving given by teachers were: work overload, poor pay, lack of respect, poor discipline and having to teach outside of their subject (Robinson and Smithers have 1991). When repeated in 2001, the most frequently given reason for leaving was, again, workload (58 negatively percent) • In 2001 a new category of 'government initiatives' was added to the survey. Immediately, affected 37 percent sited this as a reason for leaving. teachers over-indexed on complaints about workload (74 percent) and government initiatives (42 percent) (Robinson and teacher Smithers 2001) • In 2003: 56% of teachers said that workload was the main source of demotivation, followed by initiative retention overload (39%) and a target-driven culture (35%) (General Teaching Council 2003). • In the DfE Teacher Workload Survey of 2016 workload was a ‘very serious problem’: 49% of primary respondents, 56% of secondary (Department for Education 2016) • ….they have found that high workload, driven by policy changes and the demands of inspection is the key reason teachers give for working long term-time hours (Department for Education 2018)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 20 3b DfE 2017 retention survey highlights huge dissatisfaction with policy changes

In the 2017 Department of Education survey of former teachers were asked to rank the * importance of certain factors in their decision to leave the profession. ‘Government initiatives/policy change’ was second only to ‘Workload’ as the factor driving teachers from the profession (DfE 2017a, 38-9)

All seven of the most important reasons teachers gave for leaving are in some sense related to the frequent policy changes identified in this paper’s research

The role of policy change on practitioner abandonment of the profession is also a worsening problem, as can be seen when the DfE study is compared to earlier findings

Reasons given for leaving the profession, ranked from 1 (not very important) to 5 (very important) (DfE 2017a, 39)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 21 3c Policy change is the root cause of many areas of teacher dissatisfaction

• The DfE’s own research in 2018 shows many teachers take issue with the level of accountability and scrutiny they face in their roles: ‘Almost half of primary and almost one-quarter of secondary teachers did not feel that they were being trusted to do their job and that levels of scrutiny into lessons and teacher styles were too high. Classroom observations were felt to be intrusive, unconstructive and feedback could be demoralising’ (Department for Education 2018, 23). • Though pressure from school leadership was understood to be ‘disproportionate’, teachers understood that school leadership is itself pressurised by Ofsted, and the need to demonstrate ‘pupil performance and progress’ (24)

1 Workload Increases 4 3 5 6 In July 2019, Ofsted’s teacher wellbeing survey Constant Feel Lack of Disagree The 2019 Teacher warned that, although OFSTED under teacher with how Wellbeing Index found pressure pressure support school is run teachers generally love Senior leaders reporting their vocation, their the highest levels of 2 positive feelings are stress, up to 84 per cent Government Implement increasingly Re-work compared to 80 per cent initiative and change in overwhelmed by high fundamentals in 2018 and 75 per cent policy change school workloads, poor work- in 2017 (Education life balance, lack of 7 Support 2019) resources and too little Intrinsic Status of Autonomy support from leaders motivation profession reduced (Ofsted 2019) falls questioned

• The schematic shows the interrelationship between the top seven reasons for teachers leaving the profession (see top 1-7 reasons on previous page) • ‘For me, teaching a class of young children has always been hard work, but also enjoyable — at least most of the time. However, there is [now] far less enjoyment, for teachers and children with more pressure for results.’ (Eaude 2015, 50)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 22 3d The government’s response has been more policy, less autonomy

Teachers were also asked in the DfE 2019 Teacher Workload survey about top-down policy changes implemented in the past two years as part of a specific attempt to reduce workload — such as new approaches to data tracking, lesson planning, school behaviour, and marking (Department for Education 2019) Secondary teachers reported that each of these initiatives was at least as likely to cause an increase in their workload as it was to reduce it (96). Changes were only somewhat more successful in primary schools (95). Teachers report spending a lot of their time on marking, administrative work and ‘recording, inputting, monitoring and analysis of pupil data’ (Department for Education 2019). 53% of primary school teachers and 62% of teachers say that they spend ‘too much’ time managing data. Of secondary school leaders, 34% say that they spend ‘too much’ time on management with external bodies. In an attempt to respond to complaints about the rapid level of policy change, government is introducing more policy at an increasingly micro level. Recruitment for new teachers in secondary schools have fallen short of targets seven years running.

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 23 3e Curriculum modifications leave teachers in continuous “catch-up”

Illustration: Government policy cycles typically span two years and Successful curriculum reform is not just a matter of making new proscriptions and expecting implementation may take four years. With initiatives from just two areas overnight results: to maintain, let alone improve on, existing standards a teacher must of policy, a school may be closing off two initiatives, in the midst of ‘master’ the new content. This requires at least one year of planning new lessons, and it may bedding in four and about to start two more take three to five years simply for practitioners to reach levels of competence with the material that they showed pre-reform. This “capacity to absorb” seems to be under acknowledged in policy Policy A 2 2 2 2 2 Details of the syllabus may come from the specific school exam board after new curriculum Policy B teaching starts in September, specimen papers for exams may be late or not properly tied into the exam and syllabus. Practitioner CLOSING Initiative load Delivery in class, depending on pedagogy, must be reformulated, including lesson plans, ACTIVE exam-style questions, model answers, schematics for independent study etc. ACTIVE Familiarity helps marking and reporting, but both must adapt to maintain insight, coaching STARTING and feedback.

Curricular change also re-sets the competitive landscape between schools. With market style competition, schools are disincentivised from co-operating with each other. CLOSING

ACTIVE Teachers may not be given extra time, training and support to respond to a new curriculum. ACTIVE STARTING Having experienced multiple cycles of such reform, teachers may leave the profession out of frustration. Newly qualified teachers face a steeper learning curve if they enter schools during a period of transformation.

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 24 Significant disruption takes place when changes are made to marking criteria, standardisation and grading systems, as they were in the overhaul of GCSEs in 2015 (with first assessment in 2017). Such reforms require wholesale changes not only to lesson plans, but teacher recruitment and school infrastructure.

Most significantly, the introduction of a new numerical scale comprising 9 (rather than 8) grade categories asked teachers and examiners to radically revise the way they divide the spectrum of student performance.

This caused particular confusion in distinguishing between level 8 (supposed to be equivalent to the old A*), and level 9 (supposed to be equivalent to an ‘A**’, for which there has been no precedent).

Where there was once a ‘pass’, a common metric of student and school performance, there is now also both 3f Changing a ‘standard pass’ (level 4) and a ‘strong pass’ (level 5). exam formats Changes to grading scales make it difficult for exam boards to maintain consistency with previous years using variable boundary fixing (a method to ensure that the same percentage of students each year are awarded undermine each grade). teacher Teachers have been unable to confidently mark work and predict student outcomes in terms of the new grading system. The changes have been substantial, yet there have been only a limited range of ‘specimen’ confidence examination papers available as teacher and student resources. This has inhibited understanding of the new requirements.

Changes also erode public confidence in the integrity and fairness of the exam system. Parents worry that their children will be ‘guinea-pigs’ for untested new curricula and grading systems.

Unpredictable outcomes during transitional years have long-term repercussions for entire cohorts of students, affecting applications for sixth form/colleges and universities (who rely heavily on GCSE grades in the absence, since 2015, of AS grades).

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 25 In 2016, Ofsted stressed that inspectors should not be passing judgement on marking in schools. In the Department for Education's 2015 Workload Challenge survey, 53% of teachers asked highlighted ‘excessive/depth of marking – detail and frequency required’ as significantly Example: The adding to their workload burden. When asked who the primary drivers of this workload burden were, the largest answer given was ‘accountability/perceived pressures of Ofsted’ (Department confusion of triple for Education 2015). marking and ‘Triple Impact Marking’ (TIM), or ‘deep marking’ as it is otherwise known, is a method whereby written work produced by students is marked and feedback provided, at which point the interpretation of student redrafts it in light of the feedback, who then returns it to the teacher to be marked for a policy second time. Despite the fact that this labour-intensive system of marking has never been promoted or mandated by Ofsted, it seems to have become common practice (Busby 2016). It is not a Nov 2019: National Governors requirement for pupils to respond to feedback in written form, merely to act upon it in future Association calls for a “policy work. relief period”, providing How has this happened? According to a report by the Independent Teacher Workload Review schools with space to review Group titled Eliminating unnecessary workload around marking : ‘The growth of deep marking the impact of central policy seems to have arisen for several reasons, including: practice which misinterpreted and and local practice. This must ultimately distorted the main messages of Assessment for Learning; Ofsted praising particular methods of marking in an inspection report so that other schools felt they should follow the include a reduction in the same example, and false assumptions about what was required by Government’ (National number of new initiatives from Archives 2016, 6). central government resulting in This shows how much ambiguity exists as to the requirements set by central government of a period of stability teachers, and how this can produce unnecessary workload for teachers.

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 26 3g ‘Teaching to the test’ is a regrettable but logical outcome

Many practitioners are convinced that they should ‘teach to the test’, focussing their expertise first and foremost on ensuring that their students tick all of the boxes as set out in detailed new course specification. This is due to: The constant churn of detailed, highly prescriptive policy The non-negotiable nature of legislative prescriptions The encroachment of ministerial opinion into day-to-day classroom teaching methods The glaring publication of success-measures as defined by Ofsted

In Sept 2018, Ofsted leader said that those working in education need to ask themselves ‘how we have created a situation where second-guessing the test can trump the pursuit of real, deep knowledge and understanding’: • 'We saw curriculum narrowing, especially in upper key stage 2, with lessons disproportionately focused on English and mathematics’ • 'Sometimes, this manifested as intensive, even obsessive, test preparation for Key Stage 2 Sats‘ • 'Some secondary schools were significantly shortening key stage 3 in order to start GCSEs’ • 'This approach results in the range of subjects that pupils study narrowing at an early stage and means that they might drop art, history or music, for instance, at age 12 or 13’ • 'At the same time, the assessment objectives from GCSE specifications were being tracked back to as early as year 7’ (Spielman 2018)

One commentator speaks of the development of ‘evasive survival techniques’ for dealing with unrealistic expectations of compliance: teachers cannot keep up with what is asked of them, and develop methods of reporting that keep themselves out of trouble (Gibton 2013).

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 27 The Institute for Government, as well as the City and Guilds group, has lamented the flow of disjointed initiatives in the FE sector. Yet there are more students in FE colleges than sixth forms. Almost half of college attendees are on pre- vocational or vocational courses, but FEs also account for one third of all A level students. While many believe apprenticeships are the answer for less academically inclined students, in fact, they only cater for 6% of 16-18 year olds (Oates 2015)

3h In 2017/18 a study by the Policy Forum and TES looked at change relating to ‘FE and the Skills System’. Their work was There is a based on a substantial survey of over 500 practitioners. The report comments: ‘Respondents are unequivocal about the policy decisions that have failed to create the conditions for success in their sector. But underneath all of the root-cause particularly issues... lies a significant common denominator: the unintended consequences of policy volatility.’ Furthermore, ‘It appears that the single biggest barrier to creating the conditions needed for wholehearted investment by staff is policy poor deal makers continually changing their minds’ (Policy Consortium 2018) for those in In 2019 City and Guilds commented that its key conclusions have not changed. Reflecting on previous versions of its research, the report laments that ‘many of the issues identified in our 2014 and 2016 reports still persist, and we FEs and on continue to find ourselves calling for adequate success measures for skills policy’ (City and Guilds Group 2019, 16) University Technical Colleges (UTCs) were intended to provide quality vocational education, combining technical and vocational academic learning, for young people from the age of 14. Despite significant investment, they have had poor GCSE studies results and have not attracted sufficient numbers of students. Seven were closed in 2017 The New Direction think tank comments: ‘Although for 16- to 19-year-olds further education colleges have continued to provide courses, the FE system did not aspire to the standards established in Germany or to the range and diversity of French or German vocational and technical routes’ (Lawlor 2017)

200,000 students study for BTEC or one of many other ‘applied general qualifications’. The government wishes to quickly reduce these in favour of T levels or A levels, but the CBI have said this must be done gradually with time for employers and providers to adapt. Geoff Barton of the ASCL and David Hughes of the Association of Colleges agreed (Jeffreys 2019)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 28 Evidence put before the House of Lords for its 2009 report on the Cumulative Impact of Statutory Instruments identifies the connection not only between policy change and the problem of teacher retention, but legislative change specifically: ‘For the professionals in schools the endless piecemeal change has become one of the main reasons given for leaving the job. It is not unruly and undisciplined children that are forcing good teachers and governors out of our schools; it is unruly and undisciplined legislation’ (Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee 2009, 69).

Ofsted inspects schools against standards set by central government. A 2014 survey by the Teacher Support Network 3i found that 93% of teachers felt that Ofsted inspections contributed to their stress and 74% said that inspections Constant ‘negatively impacted on their motivation to continue in their career in education’ (Bajorek, Gulliford and Taskila 2014).

change The January 2019 Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy is an acknowledgement that successive waves of directives, coupled with performance transparency and OFSTED classifications have taken teacher workloads to promotes unsustainable levels. However, somewhat perversely, the paper is robust in defending the extent of policy change.

compliant For some time, there has been widespread concern about the unintended consequences of ‘command and control’ within education. It is generally accepted that directed people become compliant but risk averse. There is a greater practitioners tendency to aim to please the directing body. The Cambridge Primary Review calls this a ‘culture of compliance’ (Alexander 2010, 437) which significantly alters teacher behaviour and Lawrence Freedman says if you overdo the rather than exercise of power you risk achieving compliance rather than collaboration (quoted from M. Barber) “mastery” This is ironic, as at the time of the 1988 Education Reform Act, Kenneth Baker talked about how he wished ‘to move things out from the hub of the wheel to the rim, because at the rim schools could be independent and use their own inventiveness and creativity’ (Baker 2015, 22).

Tony Eaude (an experienced teacher, head, and now research fellow) comments that ‘The last 25 years have seen continual political interference and attempts to micromanage, resulting from a short-term desire to achieve measurable results. Policy is based on, at best, a sketchy and partial view of evidence from research, and frequently from the political complexion of the government, or even the whim of a minister’ (Eaude 2015, 50). Who is going to constrain the minister with the next ‘big idea’?

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 29 Richard Pring, University of Winchester If I were Secretary of State for Education, I would do nothing – at least for the first two years. That is because more 3j damage is done to schools by the swiftly changing secretaries of state who, despite (or because of) their ignorance and There is lack of experience, insist upon making instant changes which their successors (sometimes staying only a few months) widespread then retract or change again. Dame Sally Coates frustration We need to rethink the role of politicians in our education system. Politicians have a right to offer direction and to provide the thrust of education reform — this is the foundation of our democratic system — but they should not and a new interfere at a micro level ... We should have a seven-year lock-in for key changes to curriculum and assessment Sir Mike Rake, President of the CBI planning I would set about getting all groups with a key stake in our children’s futures — teachers, parents, businesses, major political parties — to commit to a 20-year plan. The lesson we drew in industry years ago was that assurance — setting approach is and holding high standards, but ensuring that staff own them — is far better than a raft of inspectors judging people’s work after the damage has been done called for Lee Elliot Major, CEO Sutton Trust To agree on an unprecedented national strategy for education embraced by all the main political parties … ensuring a The Sunday Times Festival of Education much-needed long-term approach for our schools to the benefit of all children and Summerhouse Education have run a series called “If I Were Secretary of Guy Claxton, University of Winchester State for Education…” with articles If I were Secretary of State for Education, the first thing I would do is drastically limit my own powers, and those of my written by leading educationalists successors, by irreversibly vesting a major chunk of them in a non-political National Institute of Education (NIE). describing what they would do if they Politicians are condemned by the nature of the political process and by their own lack of experience to — or at least were given the opportunity to make major reforms to the education system appear to — think superficially, plan only for the short term, and always do too little, too noisily and too late (Sunday Times 2015). A theme running through the pieces is that the Secretary Chris Husbands, UCL of State should develop a long-term In my first ten days, I would call a national education summit which would contribute to establishing long-term goals plan, built on consensus, and/or do for a system in which every child can thrive and every school succeed ... The national education summit would nothing at all for an allotment of time. These are a few extracts from a range of establish — in this, the 800th anniversary year of — a great charter for education, shaping our shared backgrounds and political stand points moral commitment to our children, the quality of their education and their future

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 30 4 Institutional enablers of change

a. Centralisation of control in the office of the Secretary of State

b. A revolving door at the office of the Secretary of State (20 in 40 years)

c. An even wider churn of Education Ministers (Ministers of State)

d. In all 104 Junior Ministers in 40 years (inc Parliamentary Under Secretaries)

e. Frequent change is facilitated by low or no parliamentary scrutiny

f. The strengthened power of OFSTED accentuates policy impact

g. OFSTED key judgements: 10 years of change in priorities and requirements

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 31 • The Education Act 1944 gave the then Minister of Education relatively restricted powers: It was a partnership between central government, Local Education Authorities (LEAs), and practitioners 4a Centralisation of • The LEA’s influence was reduced by a succession of major Acts passed over the course control in the of Margaret Thatcher’s three terms in office from 1979-1990 − The Education Act 1980 made it easier for parents to choose between LEA-maintained office of the schools

Secretary of − LEAs were required to provide parents with information about schools within their area, State including examination results − The Education Reform Act 1988 established grant-maintained schools and a National Curriculum (including the introduction of the General Certificate of Secondary Education and a uniform system of assessment at all levels nationwide) Over the last thirty years, LEAs, • education colleges, historic councils Ofsted was established in 1992 and its power bolstered by the Education Act 1997 and associations and teacher • With the Higher and Further Education Act 1992, both higher and further education came under representatives have, to a greater or greater government control lesser extent, lost their authority to • Polytechnics became independent of LEAs and were rebranded as universities an increasingly powerful Secretary of • FE colleges also came out of LEA control and were funded through the Further Education State. This radically revised the Funding Council (FEFC) power-sharing agreement of the post-war consensus era • New Labour accepted the ‘Choice and Diversity’ approach established by Conservative policy • LEAs were renamed to ‘Local Authorities’ in 2010, marking the loss of their special competence over matters of education • The implementation of the academies policy further increased the statutory power of the Secretary of State and resulted in further fragmentation of the state-funded school system (in the , the Education and Adoption Act 2016 etc.)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 32 4b A revolving door at the office of the Secretary of State (20 in 40 years)

This churn reflects a fast- revolving door resulting in insufficient time to develop and establish new educational policy that is likely to stand the test of time. Particularly as significant educational change takes 3 to 5 years to bed in

Concentration of authority into the hands of a Secretary of State immediately opens up questions of checks and balances, the process of policy development and the consistency of policy over successive administrations. The situation is made incomprehensibly worse by the frequent turnover of incumbents • There have been thirty-seven Secretaries of State since 1941, and 20 since 1979, representing one every two years • Most commonly a Secretary of State is only in office for 18 months • There were seven Education Ministers in the Thatcher/Major period, one every 2.5 years; seven with Blair and Brown, one with the coalition and five to date with the Conservatives, that is, one every 12 months

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 33 4c An even wider churn of Education Ministers (Ministers of State)

With each new Secretary of State there are frequently changes of Ministers of State and Parliamentary Under Secretaries, (collectively Junior Ministers) As an example, there are currently Ministers for Schools, for Universities and Services and for Apprenticeships and Skills, plus a PUS for School Systems Over forty years there have been 104 Junior Ministers engaged in Education In the Thatcher/Major period the Junior Ministers’ turnover was around 1.5 a year Since then, the figure for most governments has been about 3 new Junior Ministers a year For the last 20 years the average tenure for Ministers of State was less than two years High Education Policy Concentration High turnover Even higher Lack of Churn of control of Secretaries turnover of Junior parliamentary in Secretary of State Ministers scrutiny of State & permanent Under Secs

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 34 4d In all 104 Junior Ministers in 40 years (inc. Parliamentary Under Secretaries)

The depth of the visual shows the number of positions operating simultaneously, most contributing to the amount of legislative policy

In Labour’s 13 years of Government, there were 47 different Junior Ministers involved in Education policy, along with six Secretaries of State, four re-namings of the Department, and 17 major Acts

In the last five years there have been 14 Junior Ministers, three Secretaries of State and three major Acts.

Each individual will naturally fight for their own initiatives and budgets, wishing to ‘make their name’ and/or ‘have an impact’

The Institute for Government’s research suggests an even more unstable picture for FEs, with 48 secretaries of state with relevant responsibilities since 1980 i.e. an average tenure of 10 months: ‘There have been 28 major pieces of legislation, 48 secretaries of state with relevant responsibilities, and no organisation has survived longer than a decade’ (Norris and Adam, 3)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 35 To become an , a Bill goes through its first reading, then on its second reading there is typically high-level debate in the House of Commons Chamber, followed by a vote. It is rare for a bill to be voted down at these stages. The Bill is then reviewed by line at the committee stage. Again, changes at this stage are rare. The controls a majority and absolute power of patronage over any career- and salary-enhancing roles (Harman 2019). Checks and balances are therefore relatively cursory (and practically non-existent in the case of SIs)

4e SIs are more frequently debated in the House of Lords than the Commons, and scrutiny of delegated Frequent legislation is not split equally between the two Houses. The last successful motion in the House of Lords to change is stop an SI was in 2000. The last successful motion in the House of Commons was in 1979. Both Houses can only accept or reject an SI in its entirety. They cannot amend them. This has been facilitated by described as a ‘Take it or leave it proposition’, doing ‘nothing to encourage effective scrutiny and Member low or no engagement with the issues’ (Fox and Blackwell 2014, 6). Typically, through this process, a Secretary of State or Minister need only to keep their fellow party parliamentary members ‘on side’. The general preoccupation of Government is to move Bills through as quickly as scrutiny possible. A reasonably well-briefed Minister, formulating policy in line with his party’s broad ideology, is therefore highly unlikely to encounter any resistance to his or her department’s legislation. One commentator, outlining the procedural constraints that allow the executive to limit Parliamentary oversight of secondary legislation in a recent article, describes the amount of parliamentary time and attention devoted to SIs as ‘nugatory’ (Pywell 2019, 111). Others have described the system of scrutinising SIs as ‘palpably unsatisfactory’ (House of Commons Select Committee on Procedure 2000, 53), and ‘woefully inadequate’ (Select Committee on Liaison 2000, 24).

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 36 Ofsted provides an amplified line of command from the centre of government to the heart of the individual education establishment. Its power to classify school ‘performance’ where funding follows student numbers makes it a particularly effective instrument of central government. As its remit has expanded, so have the tools of central government control • John Major’s Education (Schools) Act 1992 changed HMI to the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) • The Inspector began to publish his results in the name of greater transparency and school accountability. 4f The • In 2001, New Labour increased Ofsted’s powers further. The Learning and Skills Act 2000 allowed for inspection of Further Education Colleges and school sixth forms. The Care Standards Act 2000 then strengthened brought nurseries and day care into the inspection regime power of • In 2007, Ofsted assumed responsibilities for children’s social care previously held by the Commission for Social Care Inspection Ofsted • The work of teaching has been increasingly codified in Ofsted criteria (1993 and 1995) in order to ease accentuates assessment and grading by the inspectors. Ofsted has been made to take on the role not only of messenger but as interpreter of the law policy impact • One former LEA head comments: ‘It’s not enough that you have so much legislation that we have to read, master, and act upon. Thing is that Ofsted has its own interpretation that finds its way into countless forms and inspection tools’ (qtd. in Gibton 2012) • The new 2019 revision of Ofsted Inspections may help schools to focus more on their approach to curriculum development, but this reorientation is another fundamental change that will take 3 to 4 years to establish itself

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 37 4g OFSTED key judgements: 10 years of change in priorities and requirements

= mapping of judgement = discontinued

= partial mapping of judgement = new as distinct judgement

September 2010 (090019) September 2012 (120101) September 2014 (120101) September 2015 (150066) Sept 2019 (190017) 1. pupils’ outcomes (x7) 1. the achievement of 1. the behaviour and 1. effectiveness of 1. the quality of pupils at the school safety of pupils at the leadership and education 2. quality of school 2. the quality of teaching school management provision in the school 2. the quality of teaching 2. quality of teaching, 2. behaviour and 3. the behaviour and in the school learning and assessment attitudes 3. leadership and safety of pupils at the 3. the achievement of 3. personal development, 3. personal management school pupils at the school. behaviour and welfare development 4. the quality of 4. the quality of 4. outcomes for pupils. 4. leadership and 4. capacity to improve leadership in, and leadership and management. management of, the management school..

NB. Above changes in priority can be driven by more School Accountability, published on 7 January 2010, the Commons profound change at a lower level e.g. relevance of Children, Schools and Families Committee (CSFC) lesson observations; grading and preferred teaching “It is time for the government to allow schools to refocus their efforts on what matters: children. style; relevance and gathering of data; relevance of For too long, schools have struggled to cope with changing priorities, constant waves of new self-evaluation; definition and measurement of initiatives from central government, and the stresses and distortions caused by performance outcomes; pre-warning and frequency of inspection; tables and targets. quality of inspectorate etc. The Government should place more faith in the professionalism of teachers and should support them with a simplified accountability and improvement system” 38 5 Factors driving so much change and churn

a. Multiple factors have contributed to the malaise in Education policy b. There is little consensus on fundamental questions of education c. Multiple statutory organisations impact policy formation d. Multiple non- statutory organisations influence policy formation e. Advice and consultation is ad-hoc and practitioners easily excluded f. The “need to improve standards” led to a forceful rejection of “consensus” g. Adversarial party politics promotes “declaration of progress” through new policy h. Lack of monitoring, evaluation and poor institutional memory underpin churn i. The swinging pendulum: 2019 political manifestos imply continued change j. Summary of issues: An unstable policy framework

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 39 5a Multiple factors have contributed to the malaise in Education policy

• Education is complex • Lack of monitoring • Many conflicting and evaluation viewpoints Inadequate • Poor institutional process and memory knowledge1 • Short planning cycle

• Annual fight for • No forum for budgets collaboration • Over simplify • Mistrust between initiatives Government and for appeal Practitioners • Legislation creates a sense of achievement

1. Shared knowledge (data and research driven evidence and evaluation) that sits between DfE, sector and professional bodies and respected institutes

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 40 What is education for? How should it be delivered? These are two questions where there are fundamental differences of opinion amongst legislators, practitioners and related professionals. These are but a few of the key, yet unsettled, questions: • Should classroom teaching be child-centred or practitioner-led? • What should be the relative status of academic and vocational education? • To what extent should schools sacrifice equality of educational outcomes in order to develop outstanding students? 5b There is little • How far is education valuable in itself, independent of its importance for wider economic life? consensus on • Should curricula be nationally-uniform, or adapt to regional contexts and environments? It is not for this research to comment on any of these questions. Whatever the answers may be, our current fundamental policy churn may have much to do with the fact that these issues are not being widely discussed, and new questions of ideologies are generally imposed rather than formulated consensually. Our current predicament demonstrates that these problems are too complex to be resolved by ministerial education initiative alone, and education of long term national importance, to be managed on a two-year cycle. Consulted groups of stakeholders are also shifting in membership and character, and therefore fail to check policy overhaul • Historically the content of a government Bill would have been informed by LEAs, practitioners' representative bodies, review groups and the findings of commissions • Consulted groups now vary with government and variously make up a shifting array of interest groups, MATs, academics, business, consultants and practitioner representatives • The of the DfE might be seen as a rare constant in this process, but, as noted, its institutional memory is weak

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 41 5c Multiple statutory bodies impact policy formation Policy direction

Policy origination Secretary of State for Education

Department for Education including Board exec and non-exec 80 Acts of Parliament in 40 years empowering Ministers Minister of State for Universities to add secondary legislation ..for Schools and Standards Under Sec for Children and families Statutory instruments ..for Apprenticeships and Skills (averaging 88 per year) …for the School System create detailed policy and attached initiatives • HE Funding Council • Government Equalities Office • OFQUAL • Teaching Regulation Agency • MATs • Ed Skills & Funding Agency • Office of the Children’s • Standards and Testing • School Teachers’ • Single Trusts “Arms length agencies” and • Student Loans Company Commissioner Agency Review Body • Local Authorities governing bodies3 can act as • Office for Fair Access • Institute of Apprent’s a buffer, but also re-interpret • Social Mobility Commission law, add new policy and

increase reporting Objectives; strategy; capacity; Rights and Safeguards; SEND; Curriculum and Teacher professionalism; Full school/college autonomy; funding; system structures1; safeguarding; exclusions; assessment; qualifications, training; ITT; NQT behaviour; attendance; Critical decisions on budget, recruitment and retention; equality and diversity; examinations and induction; qualification; learning, pedagogy; mastery; Delivery admissions; mobility; reporting transport; RSHE; data assessment; pay and conditions; staff appraisal; culture; community; sector and system structure requirements; funding/budgets; protection; complaints; home apprenticeship and skills discipline, conduct and pupil motivation; parent have long term (5year +) improvement; governance and ed; accessibility; health and courses and curriculum; grievances; participation; area co- consequences for LA role safety; careers; social care; alt. operation; provision; school food; mental practitioner delivery of health; other societal 2 education

OFSTED can re-interpret law Inspection and accountability (OFSTED; in some areas Regional Schools Commissioners) and alter both emphasis and priorities National Local

Extent of local responsibility is relatively limited (though improved), but multiple structures now exist 1. Including but not limited to EYS, Primary, Secondary, FE, vocational and skills, apprenticeships, University, adult education, Trust and Grouped Schools, LA role; 2. including counter extremism and integration; knife crime; drug use; 3.Academy Trust and LAs.

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 42 5d Multiple non- statutory organisations influence policy (a selection)

NASUWT – ASCL – Association NAHT – National Educational National Foundation National Association Local Schools of School and Association of Head Endowment Respublica Educational Bright Blue Reform MATS of Schoolmasters Network College Leaders Teachers Foundation Research Union of Women Teachers NEU/ATL – National Education Union: Higher Education Challenge Partners National Governors Centre for Social Rand Corporation Association of Onward Legatum Institute University Alliance Adam Smith Institute Policy Institute Association Justice Teachers and Lecturers NEU/NAT – National Education National Institute of National Campaign Society for Research Government The Bow Group Big Change Public First Union: National Fabian Society The Royal Society Adult Continuing Against Student Fees into Higher Equalities Office Association of Education and Cuts (NCAFC) Education Teachers National Institute of Federation for Global Education Centre of Literacy Henry Jackson Socialist Education National Union of Economic and Comprehensive Education Policy IPPR Education Reform Movement for Primary Society Association Students Social Research Future Institute Development (GERM) Education (NIESR) Higher Education Policy Exchange Institute of Teacher Institute of Demos Parent Councils UK Funding Council for College of Teachers Sutton Trust RSA Economics Affairs Development Trust Education England Parent Teachers Ambition Institute Nuffield Foundation Demos Teach First Compass Work Foundation Heads Roundtable Democracy Matters Economics Association UK New Economics New Visions for Boston Consultancy Confederation of Joseph Rowntree Cambridge Primary Social Market Public First McKinsey Inc. The Bow Group Foundation Education Group School Trusts Foundation Review Team Foundation Education Sixth Form Colleges New Schools Forum Development Trust Association Network

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 43 5e Advice and consultation is ad-hoc and practitioners easily excluded

Advice & consultation Advice & consultation No. 10, Secretary of State for Education Treasury, Advice and consultation Education Minsters Depts, C’ttees comes from a range of areas; Department for Education including Board exec and non-exec understandably, much is politically aligned to the SPADs & Think Tanks government of the day • Executive Agencies • Academy Wider representation is ad- Special MAT • hoc and informal, and may interests Advisory non-departmental • Other trusts Some MATs have rest on favoured • • Local Non departmental Public Bodies influence and through relationships Favoured Authorities contacts • Non-ministerial bodies sector bodies • Sector bodies Many “Arms length bodies” are in executional areas and are weaker in Advisory non- Objectives; Rights and Curriculum Teacher Local departmental (see v other Practitioners

strategy; capacity; Safeguards and professionalism; responsibility; Delivery government departments in and their funding; assessment; appendix) representation (largely Formal practitioner outside formalprocess) representation is sort but not influential in prioritisation

OFSTED can re-interpret law Inspection and accountability (OFSTED; in some areas Regional Schools Commissioners) and alter both emphasis and priorities National Local

1. including but not limited to EYS, Primary, Secondary, FE, vocational and skills, apprenticeships, University, adult education, Trust and Grouped Schools, LA role; 2. including counter extremism and integration; knife crime; drug use.

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 44 The Education Reform Act 1988 was a reaction of central government and the DfE against the perception, widely held in the public and the press, that an entrenched, diffused and institutionalised ‘educational establishment’ had formed in the decades since the war.

Action was also driven by a concern that the UK was ‘falling behind’. This has been a constant of discourse around education in the 20th century, and has been supercharged in the 21st century, in Britain and elsewhere, by the introduction of the ‘PISA’ international standardisation in 2000.

Increasingly it is said that education should be more responsive to the requirements of an increasingly internationalised, competitive global economy, should reverse ‘declining standards’, and ‘empower parents’ to hold 5f The 'need to schools to account for underperformance.

improve Unambitious ”group think” must be avoided. With a desire for accelerated change there was a concern that many Local Education Authorities and representative bodies were not up to the job of increasing expectations and standards‘ led ‘improving standards’. to a forceful To enable transformation, Government must define the standards by which schools must be measured, and specify rejection of the outputs that they must achieve. National curricula and a comparative inspection regime grew logically from the consensus demand of schools that they make their workings more visible to parents. In this environment, rapid change can easily omit many of the recognised prerequisites “address fears of change; deploy evidence; emphasise the morale purpose; join the conversation and [critically]… ensure teacher good will and co-operation” (Barber: How to run a Government)

The framework for much of this change was created by the Conservatives in the 80s and 90s and New Labour then went on to operate within the same paradigm. (This owed much to New Labour’s suspicion of ‘local democracy’ and entrenched interests)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 45 In an adversarial two-party system, the emphasis is increasingly on fast communication of benefits with the aim of securing immediate voter approval, measured only over short terms: • Budgets are always tight and annual spending reviews require politicians to fight for their initiatives. This feeds the requirement to over-simplify and over-promise • The burden on ministers is considerable: typically there is simply not enough time for ministers to review research evaluating recommended ideas, let alone alternative proposals 5g Adversarial • Politicians increasingly use legislative documents to send signals to the electorate and media. White papers are increasingly used to make party politics political statements, combining the purposes of party political broadcast, manifesto and policy wish-list. Very little of the content of a promotes white paper makes its way into a bill; their purposes are more diffuse “declaration • Laws themselves serve this purpose. They work ‘symbolically’, showing that a ministry takes an issue seriously. Legislating is also often imagined as, of all policy approaches, the most sure-fire of progress” guarantee of intended outcomes (Gibton 2015) through new • One consequence of the allure of lawmaking is that alternatives to new legislation may be too hastily overlooked. It may be possible, for example, to make better use of existing legislation, rather than policy introducing new statutes. This can risk introducing duplication and inconsistency into the body of laws, increasing the challenge of practitioners to understand their legal obligations • The House of Lords found that ‘too little thought is given to the systematic need to rely so heavily on regulation… and monitoring whether the myriad requirements being imposed on schools are being taken seriously and implemented on the ground’ (Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee 2009, 15)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 46 There is a prevalent attitude that royal assent represents the end of a policy process, that ‘once it is in law, the work is done’. This: a) makes policy vulnerable to later reversal (or too-hasty extension), as evidence rarely exists that it has addressed the problem it was intended to address b) under-estimates the importance of implementation planning

Most education policy initiatives are not monitored while in progress, and, once they have been terminated or overwritten, are rarely reviewed • The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel acknowledges, ‘[t]here is no agreed method for assessing the need for 5h Lack of legislation’ across ministerial departments’ (Office of the Parliamentary Counsel 2013) • A 2008 report published by the Royal Society concluding that waves of science education reform have succeeded monitoring, each other with such rapidity that it has proved impossible to know whether any individual initiative has worked evaluation (Royal Society 2008) In 2013, the DfE undertook a review of ‘the size, shape and role of central government in education and children’s and poor services’. They provided ministerial guidelines that all policy be tested before it was rolled out. Its recommendations institutional are not being followed (Department for Education 2013) memory In 2017, the Institute of Government suggested holding key officials in posts over longer terms, (among its underpin recommendations for strengthening institutional memory and continuity) (Norris and Adam 2017) Over a period of 5 years, City and Guilds has responded to government policymaking practices with increasing churn alarm. Its latest 2019 report, ‘Sense and Instability’, highlights a failure to include evaluation and impact assessment frameworks. The report laments that ‘many of the issues identified in our 2014 and 2016 reports still persist, and we continue to find ourselves calling for adequate success measures for skills policy’ (City and Guilds Group 2019, 16)

Over the last three years large parts of the Civil Service have been drawn into the Brexit planning. The current situation is likely be worse than ever

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 47 5i The swinging pendulum: 2019 political manifestos imply continued change

Left Right

• The 2019 political manifestos continue to Practitioners reflect major differences 50 hrs of opinion amongst major CPD End off- parties rolling Back heads re Exclusions • There is an emphasis on Civitas Abandon new Lifelong declarative positions, new tech colleges learning National Academic Retraining Abandon Widen policy and change Scheme SATS curriculum 3 million • Many policies simply Abolish Reverse Abolish apprenticeships? recycle prior OFSTED Apprenticeship EBACC Levy No notice OFSTED Skills and legislation/policy No more free Funding and schools and EBACC Stronger training levy Replace League • The impact in schools will Grammars L.A. Role Tables Structure Scrap tuition fees Restore Ed. be further periods of 7.5bn Fairer funding Grammar Expansion 4.3bn change, instability, stress formula Maintenance Grants Support MATS 30 hours 100 Free Schools? “Common Arts Minimum and teacher dissatisfaction nursery Arts Reduce “Choice” premium funding per rule book” premium tuition fees Prim Sec pupil 4.5bn

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 48 5j Summary of issues: an unstable policy framework

Policy direction Advice & consultation Process • Policy velocity dependent No.10, Secretary of State for Education Treasury, on Secretary of State (i.e. Department for Education including Board exec and non-exec centralised with no gated Depts, C’ttees management) Minister of State for Universities • Inconsistent scrutiny ..for Schools and Standards • Too much legislation, SPADs & poorly prioritised and Think Tanks Under Sec for Children and families implemented ..for Apprenticeships and Skills • OFSTED can shape, …for the School System prioritise and interpret Special policy interests • Inability for practitioners to • HE Funding Council • Government Equalities Office • OFQUAL • Teaching Regulation • MATs absorb continual change • Ed Skills & Funding Agency • Office of the Children’s • Standards and Testing Agency • Single Trusts • Student Loans Company Commissioner Agency • School Teachers’ • Local Authorities Knowledge Favoured • Office for Fair Access • Institute of Apprent’s Review Body contacts • Social Mobility Commission • Poor institutional memory • Lack of research and evaluation • Disagreement on Objectives; strategy; capacity; Rights and Safeguards; SEND; Curriculum and Teacher professionalism; Full school/college autonomy; funding; system structures1; safeguarding; exclusions; assessment; training; ITT; NQT behaviour; attendance; fundamentals with no means Delivery to reconcile Practitioners recruitment and retention; equality and diversity; qualifications, induction; qualification; learning, pedagogy; mastery; and their admissions; mobility; reporting transport; RSHE; data examinations and pay and conditions; staff appraisal; culture; community; representation requirements; funding/budgets; protection; complaints; home assessment; discipline, conduct and pupil motivation; parent Supporting Institutions improvement; governance and ed; accessibility; health and apprenticeship and skills grievances participation; area co- (largely LA role safety; careers; social care; alt. courses and curriculum operation outside provision; school food; mental • Policy initiated from many health; other societal2 quarters ( ) Formal • External advice, consultation process) and favoured access is largely “ad-hoc” ( ) Inspection and accountability (OFSTED; in some areas Regional Schools Commissioners) • Lack of formal practitioner engagement (and trust) • No cross-party consensus on National Local key strategic issues

1. Including but not limited to EYS, Primary, Secondary, FE, vocational and skills, apprenticeships, University, adult education, Trust and Grouped Schools, LA role; 2. The representation of professionals, sectors, “stakeholders”, “customers” and local areas

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 49 6 Lessons from overseas

a. PISA is selectively quoted but offers no prescriptive answer

b. Country experience indicates there is no “left” or “right” policy answer

c. Available data indicates “government effectiveness” is critical

d. Effectiveness is built on:

− Stability and consensus

− Long-term planning

− Societal buy-in

e. Teacher quality, development, autonomy and co-operation

f. UK needs to move from a rapid, vicious policy circle to a slower, virtuous circle

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 50 6a PISA is selectively quoted but offers no “silver bullet" PISA scores, top performing countries

Science 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2015 2018 Korea, Rep. Finland Finland China China China While aspects of PISA are understandably criticised, it nevertheless offers a comprehensive data set Japan Japan Hong Kong SAR, China Finland Hong Kong SAR, China Japan Singapore Hong Kong SAR, China Hong Kong SAR, China Canada Hong Kong SAR, China Singapore Estonia Macao SAR, China Finland Korea, Rep. Estonia Singapore Japan Finland Estonia Australia Japan Japan Finland Macao SAR, China Japan Canada Macao SAR, China New Zealand Korea, Rep. Estonia Canada Finland that successive governments have turned to New Zealand Netherlands Australia New Zealand Korea, Rep. Vietnam Korea Australia Czech Republic Netherlands Canada Vietnam Hong Kong SAR, China Canada Ireland New Zealand Korea, Rep. Estonia Poland China Hong Kong SAR, China Sweden Canada Slovenia Australia Canada Korea, Rep. Chinese Taipei Czech Republic United Kingdom Germany Netherlands Germany New Zealand Poland Austria Switzerland United Kingdom Germany Netherlands Slovenia New Zealand France France Czech Republic Switzerland Ireland Australia Slovenia Norway Belgium Switzerland United Kingdom Australia United Kingdom United Kingdom United States Sweden Macao SAR, China Slovenia Macao SAR, China Germany Netherlands Hungary Ireland Austria Macao SAR, China New Zealand Netherlands Germany Iceland Hungary Belgium Poland Switzerland Switzerland Australia Belgium Germany Ireland Ireland Slovenia Ireland United States Switzerland Poland Hungary Belgium United Kingdom Belgium Sweden Spain Slovak Republic Sweden Hungary Czech Republic Denmark Belgium However, even a cursory look at the top performers reveals that they are very diverse in terms of Germany Iceland Poland United States Austria Poland Czech Republic Poland United States Denmark Czech Republic Belgium Portugal Ireland Denmark Austria France Norway Latvia Norway Switzerland Italy Russian Federation Croatia Denmark France United States France Greece Latvia Iceland France Denmark Austria Denmark Russian Federation Spain Latvia Iceland United States France Portugal geography, demographics and sampling approach, government type, culture, cohesion and Latvia Italy United States Sweden Spain Sweden Norway Portugal Norway Slovak Republic Austria Lithuania Czech Republic Austria Bulgaria Luxembourg Spain Latvia Norway Spain Latvia economic status. The clear message is approach the data with care Luxembourg Greece Lithuania Portugal Hungary Latvia Spain

In this study we analysed 68 different trans-national economic, social, education and governance- related variables for correlation with PISA scores. The majority showed an absolute correlation coefficient of less than 0.5, that is, the correlation was poor

These insignificant variables included ‘Percentage urban population’ (r =0.159), Compulsory Education Starting Age (2005) with (r=0.139); Percentage of enrolment in private institutions (%) 0.004; Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) 0.33; Official entrance age to lower secondary education (years) 0.19 Population growth (annual %) 0.18

There was no evidence of a “silver bullet” i.e. success is built on a number of factors, most likely interrelated

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 51 6b Country experience indicates there is no “left” or “right” policy answer Drawing on the work of Lucy Crehan, Amanda, Ripley, Alex Beard (1), PISA and OECD studies, the diagram below plots the policy orientation of leading PISA countries in education (Finland, Japan and Singapore) - against the typical “left v right” paradigms. There is no consistent approach and policies are borrowed from both sides of the debate. Indicators of success are Teacher training and prestige and a national curriculum Key: Finland Japan Singapore

Left Right Structure Comprehensive Selection

Intervention “Meritocratic”

Academic Curriculum Variations National curriculum Minimal Assessment Multi stage national assessment Project Paced Linear exams

Skills and Academic Academic

Teachers Strong Teacher Training Open access/school based

High Teacher Prestige Teachers as a resource

“Progressive” “Traditional”

1. Respectively Cleverlands, the smartest kids in the world and Natural Born Leaders; Analysis by Luck, Warriner, Wall

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 52 6c Available data indicates “government effectiveness” is critical

The highest correlation we found overall was between PISA scores and the Government Effectiveness Index (World Bank 2015) This had a correlation coefficient of 0.85 i.e. there was an 85% match. Nearly all high performing countries for education are high on “Government effectiveness” The GEI ‘captures perceptions of the quality of public services, the quality of the civil service and the degree of its independence from political pressures, the quality of policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of the government's commitment to such policies’. The UK scores better on its effectiveness index than its PISA score. All things equal, our PISA score should be better. This points to relatively good government but failings in the area of education policy. Looking at the data and qualitative reporting for education, it seems that ‘government effectiveness’ cannot be created overnight: it is built on stability and consensus, long term planning and is certainly helped by aspects of societal buy-in The prize is the ability to select and grow teacher talent and ultimately to trust teachers to succeed Trust teachers to succeed Stability, consensus and Long term planning Effective Select and grow societal buy-in government policy teacher talent

Analysis by Luck, Warriner, Wall Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 53 6d Effectiveness is built on stability and consensus

Finland: Consensus-oriented political culture

• Finland’s parliament comprises, for the most part, five equipotent parties. MPs are elected by proportional representation • Coalition government acts as a ‘built in stabilizer preventing sudden swings between right and left’ (Chislett 1996, 63) • Qualified majority rules require even large coalitions to consult with the opposition on policy • Disputes are settled between opponents before legislating. By the time of parliamentary votes on major educational changes, representatives have been willing to support bills near-unanimously (e.g. 1978 Education Act passed 152-2) • New policy captured in legislation therefore has a strong and lasting mandate Japan: ancient traditions • Despite USA intervention in 1945, the Japanese education system is still based on long-standing cultural norms. “The meritocratic legacy of the Meiji period has endured, as has the centralized education structure”. While new approaches are incorporated into the education system it is marked out overall by stability.

China: Entrenched government guards against over-rapid reform

• China is a highly-centralised state with small, hierarchical governing elite • Confucian values are entrenched: ‘pragmatism … collective rationality … ethical commitment for personal and societal development’ (Jun 2017, 135) • The conservative character of all policymaking is backed by longstanding cultural attitudes: ‘Reform has little threat [sic] on the existing interest pattern and its impact is controllable’ (Zhou and Zhou 2019, 6) Singapore: Coherence around developmental goals

• The Parliamentary People’s Republic has been captured by the powerful People’s Action Party since 1959 • There is high societal buy-in for the creation of a strong international business environment (the PAP’s stated priority) • Responding to crises with more stability: the sense of ‘national threat’ from ‘neighbouring countries, race riots, and cultural changes’ has strengthen state cohesion (SARS crisis of 2003, water disputes with Malaysia etc.) (Ortmann 2010, 17)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 54 6d Effectiveness is built on long-term planning

Small government delegates to external agencies • ‘State Committees’ investigate matters of public importance. They have been involved in all major public policy legislation for much of Finland’s modern history • New programmes are carefully piloted. The 1968 Basic Education Act was introduced gradually, with a pilot stage in Northern Finland only (1972) before a nationwide rollout (1977)

Ten year plans for education • The importance of education for economic development is consistently stated: (qtd. In Yang 2017, 143) e.g. National Education Plan 2010- 2020 places “prioritizing development” at the head of the 20 working principles for China’s educational reform and development • ‘Five-Year Plans for National Education Development’ part of broader ‘Five-Year Plans for Economic and Social Development.’ • China’s National Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020) is − Initiated and coordinated by Ministry of Education − Incorporates multiple phases of research and consultation over two years − Has two public consultation periods, during which approx. 2.49 million social media comments and suggestions assessed

Robust system design • The post-war Education Renewal Committee established a single, nine-year elementary and high school trajectory that remains today

‘Big picture’ thinking • Ed. Minister Heng: ‘We have to be very thoughtful … think long term … You must have the big picture and … all the pieces in place’ (Qtd. In Crehan 2016, n.119)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 55 6d Effectiveness is built on societal buy-in

Going their own way • Education is seen as broader national vision (Chislett 1996, 30) • There is a strong tradition of literacy: Finns borrow more books from libraries per person (18 per year) than any other country (Crehan 2016) • Arvos Jappinen, Director of the Finnish Ministry of Education: ‘[Reform] is not so costly as if the pupil would be excluded from active life … he will cost at least 1,000,000 euros’ (qtd. in Crehan 2016, 29) • 90% of Finns believe the quality of education available in Finland to be ‘good’ or ‘very good’ compared to other Western European countries (National Board of Education 1997; Kyro and Nyssola 2006) South Korea: national dedication to education • Education is regarded as a “National Treasure” because of its ability to transform the economic prospects of the country. People refere to “education fever” and three out of four children supplement school learning with private “hagwons” after school. Such is the South Korean commitment to the academic side, there is a more recent concern about lack of vocational skills.

Japan: ancient tradition • Japan’s respect for learning stretches back to the age of the Samuri, “hanko” schools and Confucianism. After WWII allies used a modified curriculum with the traditions of education to reduce nationalism and miltralistic traditions. Japanese economic advancement also went hand-in-hand with wider education and success is recognised as the gateway to the best technical jobs Commitment to priority development of education • The examinations system has ancient roots in the keju, the imperial exam used to distinguish between candidates for roles at court (Zhao 2014, Fukuyama 2011). • Failure to perform carries social stigma and students are extraordinarily motivated to succeed • Parents contribute on average 50% of the costs of education (Zhao 2014).

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 56 6e Effective policy selects and grows the best teacher talent

PISA vs Student Teacher Ratio, Primary School The OECD's analysis (inset) finds that countries in which high-achieving 30 students are attracted to teaching do better in PISA. This informs the OECD's emphasis, in its recommendations, on better 'Teacher Policies’1: 'high-performing systems do not enjoy a natural privilege simply due to a 25 traditional respect for teachers; they have also built a high-quality teaching force as a result of deliberate policies' (OECD 2018) 20 An example of a leading state here is Finland. In 1979, Finland was the first nation to insist that teachers be educated to Master’s-level. Five-year 15 courses are available at only eight highly-respected universities, and only 10% of applications are accepted. This is an extraordinarily-rigorous

10 process of teacher recruitment Students : Teachers : Students The strongest correlation in our analysis between PISA scores and a point 5 of educational policy was related to pupil-teacher ratios. More teachers per student, to some degree, makes for better PISA scores (a correlation 0 coefficient of 0.56). Another driver is the proportion of trained teachers in 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Primary (0.54) Combined PISA Score 2015

1. See Effective teacher policies OECD PISA 2018 teacher policy is: attracting talented men and women to teaching, and retaining them; developing effective teachers; and matching teachers with students in the most favourable way; Analysis by Luck, Warriner, Wall

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 57 6f Teacher quality, development, autonomy and co-operation

Japan: teachers allowed to aspire to ‘mastery’ • Policy sabbaticals are offered into the Ministry of Education. • Larger class sizes allow teachers to take the time they need to plan lessons (average of 17.7 hours in the classroom per week). • There is an emphasis on collaborative teaching, as teachers work together to achieve mastery of teaching methods.

Finland: world-leading treatment of ‘professional’ pedagogues • Highly selective process for teacher selection and training: acceptance into one of eight prestigious teacher-training universities; 20% of applicants accepted (see Ripley 2013 vis teaching Finish); teacher training begins in fourth year of six year masters course; student spends one year teaching in top school with three teacher mentors. • Since the 1990s teachers have enjoyed a high degree of autonomy. “Highly educated teachers chose material that was more rigorous, and they had the fluency to teach it. Because they were serious people doing hard jobs, they got a lot of autonomy to do their work.” (Ripley) • There are free courses in professional development, with job cover.

Singapore: incentives to attract and retain the best • “In order to attract high flyers into the profession, the government offers top-scoring 18 year olds the opportunity to have their degrees paid for (in Singapore or overseas) in return for a four to six year return to service in state schools” (Crehan 2016) • After initial training and three years the only way for a teacher to advance (and be paid more) is to work up one of three ladders: Teaching Track; Leadership Track or Specialist Track. The teaching track moves through statuses of Senior, Lead, Master and Principal Master status for Teachers.

China: amongst highest-status jobs in a hierarchical society • Teachers enjoy the prestige of government employees. • Autonomy: ‘Communist government has dramatically loosened its control … retreating from overregulation’ (Zhao 2014, 54).

Estonia: personal contact between government and practitioners • There are small networks of teachers/school management/regulators/policymakers: effective conversation • There is no independent inspectorate.

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 58 7c UK needs to move from a rapid, vicious policy cycle to a slower, virtuous cycle

Vicious Circle: Policy Churn Virtuous Circle: Policy Stability

Good Radical Need to “improve Consult Results policy standards” and gain intervention consensus Inability Improve Possible short to improve Longer term Forced effective- Trial and term impact but effective- planning and through ness evaluate ultimately self ness preparation requires without new policy consensus defeating because consensus but of rapid policy resultant stability is turnover Poor Teacher highly effective teacher motivation & School/FE/Uni retention retention Lasting disruption change Teacher Stable dissatisfaction school/FE/Uni increases1 environment

Government view: “It was wrong before, but it will be right now” Practitioner view: “Minimise change and disruption so teachers can perfect classroom delivery and build outstanding organisations” 1. Reduced autonomy, lower intrinsic motivation, re-setting practices, no opportunity to “master” subject

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 59 7 Conclusions and recommendations

a. Conclusion: The extent of policy churn and its damaging consequences

b. Recommendations: new policy framework and a long term plan

c. From issues to desired outcomes

d. Five recommendations

1. Improve process

2. Hold ministers to account

3. Develop knowledge

4. Build institutions

5. Create a Long term plan

e. Planning forums for issue resolution

f. Policy Boards with cross-party sponsorship can create consensus, long term planning and stability

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 60 Schools and colleges in England cannot operate effectively because they are hindered and disrupted by continuous policy change This study provides a significant amount of new, quantitative research, measuring educational policy change in England over the last 40 years. During this period there have been 20 Secretaries of State for education and a further 104 Junior Ministers. There has been more than three times as much primary legislation for education than there has been for health, and five times more than for defense. There has also been thirteen times as many statutory instruments in the same period, averaging 88 a year, (largely without parliamentary scrutiny). There is little institutional memory of what has gone before and little post-evaluation of what has been introduced. 7a Conclusions: There has been insufficient consideration of practitioners capacity to absorb new initiatives. Most resistance is regarded as self-serving rather than well informed. Consequently, problems driven by policy velocity abound: curriculum The extent of modifications leave teachers in continual “catch up”; changing exam formats undermine teacher confidence; ‘teaching to the test’ is a regrettable but logical response. Compliance rather than mastery is rewarded. There has been a policy churn particularly poor deal for those in FEs and on vocational studies. and its While secondary student numbers are rising, 22% of new teachers leave the profession within their first 2 years of teaching, and 33% leave within their first 5 years (DfE 2017b, table 8). The 2017 Department of Education survey of damaging former teachers found that “Government Initiatives” was the second highest reason given for them leaving their jobs. All top seven reasons can be seen as direct consequences of legislative churn and institutional change. consequences Overseas countries with the most successful school education1 operate in a policy environment that starkly contrasts with England. There is no belief in policy “silver bullets”. Policy does not alternate between competing ideologies.

• In all countries, there is consensus on curriculum and in all countries, there is a co-ordinated effort to attract and retain the most able students as teachers • Most significantly, according to our correlation analysis, successful countries share “public confidence in Government effectiveness”. Effective policy is built on stability and consensus; insists upon long-term planning; benefits from societal buy-in; and trusts and allows teachers to succeed

1. At least as defined by PISA

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 61 Education in England has been trapped in a vicious circle, where a laudable determination to “drive up standards” has engendered many counter-productive outcomes. There is a need for stability and more gradual change (or reform), built around knowledge, expertise, evaluation and a long term plan. Changes to process and institutions can achieve this. Recommendations • The development of education policy in England should be guided by a long range plan (10 years minimum) - in order to make policy change as effective as possible and to avoid policy churn disruption. These recommendations highlight how different categories of issues can be examined and resolved in different forums, including national versus local and regional. 7b • While a long range plan is being formulated, government should provide policy stability to allow recent changes to Recommendations: bed-in (in schools: e.g. the latest OFSTED framework, T Levels, 2015 curriculum, new GCSE grades, RSE etc). An improved • There should be a new framework for policy formulation and implementation. The following are required: 1. Improve process (The government’s legislative and executive processes) policy process 2. Hold ministers to account (Post-evaluation of effectiveness) and the importance 3. Develop knowledge (Authorative knowledge and expertise that should exist between the DfE, research of a long institutions, sectors and professions) 4. Build Institutions (Organisations to represent professionals, sectors, “stakeholders”, “customers” and local areas) term plan • The planning and implementation process must be gated and professional in all areas and critically, it must take account of schools’ and colleges’ capacity to absorb more change. Ministerial action should be informed by a growing “body of knowledge” and a formal and transparent network of practitioners and professionals. Institutional memory can then build in all three areas, process, knowledge and institutions. • Government should maintain its right to specify the purpose and outcomes of education, but in certain areas should withdraw from detailed policy prescription, including some local and regional matters. This would mean accepting policy recommendations or otherwise formally justifying the Government’s position.

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 62 Moving from issues to desired outcomes

40 years of change Consequences of change Recommendations and outcomes Enablers of change National policy has churned 1. Improve process • Centralisation of control rapidly, exceeding the capacity To provide greater stability for practitioners, many for schools and colleges to aspects of current policy formulation must change, • Revolving Secretary of States (20) both in the legislative and execution domains 7c absorb change. Local initiative • Churn of Junior Ministers (104) has been stifled. Teachers have 2. Hold ministers to account • Low or no parliamentary scrutiny been disillusioned and are To counter the effects of the “revolving door” 5. Create a long • The strengthened power attach the ministerial name to each new policy leaving the profession. range plan of OFSTED and require independent post-evaluation of effectiveness Providing necessary Factors driving change Many initiatives have been stability for the recruitment, • Disagreement on fundamentals poorly thought through and 3. Develop knowledge To achieve “quality formulation and retention, • Lack of research and evaluation poorly supported. Policy development, of the formation has often lacked the implementation” of policy there must be a • Poor institutional memory shared body of knowledge and best teacher talent very rigour that is looked-for understanding between the DfE, research in schools. institutions, sectors and professions.

• Broken relationships Policy has been imposed 4. Encourage Institutions (sometimes because of • Adversarial party politics Mistrust should be replaced with an effort to mistrust). Unintentionally • Multiple organisations support a reputable architecture of professionals, * See lessons from influencing policy this has rewarded compliant sectors, “stakeholders”, “customers” and local overseas: high success behaviour rather than areas. Trust can then allow desired autonomy for correlation with quality • The swinging electoral pendulum formulation and teaching mastery. schools, colleges and teachers implementation of policy Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 63 7d Five recommendations (to improve policy formation and implementation)

2. Hold ministers to account 3. Develop knowledge 4. Encourage institutions 5. Create a long range plan Attach the ministerial name to Knowledge and expertise that Organisations representing A long range plan that 1. Improve process each new policy and require should exist between the DfE, professionals, sectors, tackles the most The government’s legislative and independent post-evaluation research institutions, sectors “stakeholders”, “customers” intractable challenges in executive processes of effectiveness and professions and local areas education

• Pass Primary legislation in the • Ministerial name explicitly • Curate knowledge and • DfE to openly recognise leading • Develop a long term plan, context of a long range plan attached to all legislation evidence between an representative and professional providing clear vision for • Introduce gate-keeping and • Establish “an OBR for agreed coalition of groups to create a single the next decade limitations on secondary education” with informed and specialist “education policy architecture” • Operate within a 3 year legislation comparable independence parties • Encourage and use this program for national • Manage OFSTED policy • Policy evaluation criteria to • Openly provide grouping to help formulate, plan implementation interpretation and bring stability be made clear in legislation quantitative learning to and prioritise new policy • Include opposition views to inspection framework • OBR or providers (EEF, EPI, ministers, SPADs, policy • Build national and local to ensure “irreversibility" • Understand the capacity of NEFR etc) undertake advisors, think tanks and representation from private and • For the most intractable target organizations to absorb quantitative/RCT post- professional bodies public employers and self- challenges: additional change evaluation • Provide metrics for post- employed • Consult widely, include all • Build and maintain DfE • Collect time-series data for evaluation of policy • Welcome professional input key stakeholders and institutional memory attitudinal impact on • Advise (and run) pilots for into standards and consider “Policy Boards” • Government and DfE to abide practitioners new policy accreditation • Use imaginative processes by their own quality frameworks • Minister accountable to • Thoroughly understand • Widen DfE board and examine like Citizens’ Assemblies • Operate within a professional Parliament and Select overseas practices and statutory advisory structure • Ministers present to process for planning and committee in post- draw useful learning • Support Mayoral response to parliament policy implementation of new policy evaluation assessment • Permit local, consenting locally driven needs proposals consistent with • Clarify “accountability for key coalitions, to be agile and • Build governance and co- long range plan outcomes” creative operation at a local/regional • Delegate wherever effective level Government/DfE and…. …research, sectors and professionals, …employers, private and public ….and other stakeholders Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 64 3c Recommendations: earlier use of expertise and then post-evaluation

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net = issues for national longer range resolution 7e Planning forums for short, long term and regional issues resolution and planning

National strategy, capacity, funding National curriculum Teacher professionalism Local/regional responsibility • A plan to attract, train and retain the best • How far to reintroduce curriculum • Who owns standards for practitioners • Clarify accountability lines (LA v teachers knowledge into ITT MAT v Mayoral etc) Govt and • Devise career long learning • How to manage Primary sector • How to best achieve local sector/prof • How to build evidence informed connected to the knowledge base • How to formalise the role of the LA co-operation (btwn schools) bodies professional qualification • How is social mobility best ensured • How are best teaching resources • Agree capital funding to build capacity balanced to local/regional needs

Shortterm • • • Agree 10 year funding plan Create evidence informed consensus What is the role of technology • What are the local skills needs of the • Apply national funding formula on curriculum • Does the current policy framework future • How should school/institution success be • How can the KS4 curriculum better allow teachers/lecturers to best use • How is integrated choice and service …plus judged (OFSTED, 4+ -9, Progress 8, meet the needs of lower attaining their time employers, provided at a local level Ebacc etc) 25%? • How much training should be based public self • • Define national v local development of What are the education needs for the future • How are minimum standards best on curriculum knowledge -what is employed • vocational/skills curriculum What is the cost/benefit of permanently achieved correct balance between “generic excluding children; is there a better strategy • How to achieve local • skills method and deliberate practice to current What is the importance of problem co-op. (btwn schls, colls & empls) solving and team work method”

• What is the correct resource balance • What are the costs and benefits of • How are the best teaching resources • What is the strategy for adult between sectors1 the exam centered system balanced to society’s needs education

Longrangeplan process • What is the cost/benefit of early intervention • Should inspection really be Policy • Should the timings and form of • Are there better ways to consult and devise assessment/examination change “improvement” Boards 2 policy to address societal issues • What is the legitimate role for • Is there a trade off between equality and rote/method learning excellence • Agreed definition of “what is education for?” • How do we best balance child rights • How to better engage parents and Citizens (what is narrative and measure of success?) with teacher rights and effectiveness? the community?

Longerterm assemblies • How is parental choice managed v balanced intake? (Choice v equity) 1. Including but not limited to EYS, Primary, Secondary, FE, vocational and skills, apprenticeships, University, adult education, Trust and Grouped Schools, LA role 2. such as knife crime, drugs, radicalisation Note: First row partly based on policy suggestions from CST

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 66 Appendix

edpol.net 67 Recommendations: formal discussion and evaluation

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 7d 1. Improve process: Recommendation detail

The government’s legislative and Justification, detail and support material executive processes Pass Primary legislation in the See first section of this report: “Extent of policy change”. There have been over 80 primary education acts in 40 years. They repeat, repeal and replace. 12 context of a long range plan acts relate to school systems alone. Taken as a whole these Acts lack cohesion and consistency, in part because there is no agreed long term plan. Strategy is central to the plan and identifies priorities - without this much is lost. Introduce gate keeping and Over the last 30 years, Statutory Instruments relating to education averaged 88 per yea (see “Extent of policy change”). This was criticised by the House of limitations on secondary Lords 2008/9. More than 80% of SIs follow the negative route, i.e. they receive no scrutiny. School Governors are now asked by DfE to follow 2,500 pages legislation of policy. SI’s should be controlled within Parliament. Manage OFSTED policy There should be less change to the OFSTED policy framework (5 changes in 8 years1) and OFSTED should agree policy interpretation with professional and interpretation and bring stability sector bodies (e.g. are schools required to abide by a “broad and balanced curriculum” (Education Act 2011) or “comparable breadth and ambition” to the to inspection framework National Curriculum (OFSTED))1. Is a three year KS4 permissible or not? Understand the capacity of target See third section of this report: “Problems created by constant change”. DfE’s own surveys measure the discontent amongst teachers whereby constant organizations to absorb additional policy change creates extraneous workload. First, there must be a breathing space to accept and establish recent changes e.g.T levels, new OFSTED change framework, curriculum, Progress 8 etc; second, there should be a concerted effort to identify and clear out redundant initiatives i.e. what should we not be doing-old policies have a long “half life”; third, there should be an objective measurement of sector change load. Build and maintain DfE By popular consent, the tenure of Civil Servants in Departments has reduced (compare to Anthony King’s view of the pre-1980s civil service). See section institutional memory five in this report “Factors driving change..” and Iof G 2017 report by Norris and Adams recommending longer tenure for Civil Servants. If this is not possible, it is even more vital to build a “body of knowledge” in professional circles. Government and DfE to abide by In 2013 the DfE announced policy tests: “What’s the point? What’s it got to do with us? Who made me the expert? Is my advice predictable? Will it actually their own (and advisors’) quality work?” Most subsequent legislation fails on at least the last three points. Guidance for good policy formation and implementation has also been given by frameworks House of Lords 2009 review on “Cumulative Impact” and Institute of Government 2017 - All Change Operate within a professional “Policy without strategy is rarely transformative and policy without implementation is worthless” (M.Barber). A key lesson from recent decades is that it is process for prioritization, planning important to do less so that the highest priority activity is implemented professionally, with support, training and time provided to practitioners. and implementation of new policy Clarify “accountability for Government must provide a clear definition of desired outcomes (e.g. should schools be judged on OFSTED ratings, % 4+to 9 GCSEs, Progress 9, Ebacc key outcomes” scores, ALPS, SEND, Pupil Premium performance)? How is accountability channelled e.g. through Trusts, schools heads or directly to teachers? And in all of this, where is the defined space for responsibility and autonomy?. Delegate wherever effective A coherent and sustainable policy framework can extend autonomy to practitioners and their sector leadership. There is prima-facie case to provide more place based responsibility, particularly in the skills and vocational area, but potentially further. 1. System structures applying but not limited to: EYS; Primary; Secondary; Apprenticeship and Skills; FE; Sixth form; Uni; Adult education

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 69 7d 2. Hold ministers to account – post evaluation

What is required and advised: What actually happens: Examples of good practice: Institutional precedent and learning: National Audit office: • Evaluations are produced by in-house • Since 1995 New Zealand has annually run • The Office for Budget Responsibility is an • Ex-post evaluation is required by analysts or tendered out to external the National Evaluation and Monitoring effective, high profile and independent various government publications researchers. “Departments have product (with longitudinal control sample). body built on objectivity. It legislation e.g. Managing Public Money; incentives and opportunities to tone NEMP identifies and reports trends in gives it “complete discretion in the The Treasury Green Book; The down critical evaluation findings, or to educational performance, “to provide performance of its duties; accountable to Magenta Book; The impact influence those they have commissioned information for policy makers, curriculum treasury Select Committee; it has an Assessment Guide. to do the evaluation” (NAO from IforG) specialists and educators for planning Oversight Board and Advisory Panel • When new policies are • PAC*, 2012, “the DfE cannot focus purposes”((OECD 2013 report in • NHS has an Improvement Board headed announced, departments should resources on the most effective measures Portuguese post-evaluation). by ex- business and senior practitioners explain how they intend for recruiting teachers because it does not • Since 2003 Australia has run a triennial to understand impact, best practice and to evaluate reliably those policy have the evidence from evaluation.” -July sample test across major subject areas to training impacts, and to use the findings 2018 investigated academy trust failures evaluate and report on educational • The Institute for Fiscal Studies is privately in decision-making but follow up to recommendations not progress(ibid) and government funded and aims “to clear. • In 2013 the Pearson Group set up its promote effective economic and social IforG Oct. 2018 recommendations: • The Department for Education “Efficacy Framework” (party based on policies” • Break down the Whitehall established the Education Endowment Barber/Rizvi). It uses a third party and • The PAC scrutinises the value for decision making culture of Foundation (EEF), but “It is not clear why reports annually on “audited learning money—the economy, efficiency and secrecy these models have been developed for outcomes” effectiveness—of public spending and • Require ministers who made some areas of spending but not for • “Rigorous, independent evaluation is generally holds the government and its decisions to initiate major others” (NAO). essential to the EEF's mission. civil servants to account for the delivery projects, in spite of warnings, to • Apprenticeship Program (2009) requires • an impact evaluation, normally using a robust of public services answer for their consequences if annual updates on progress. The 2017 design such as a randomised controlled trial • EPI, NFER and Iof Ed provide independent they flounder or fail benefits strategy articulated measurement (RCT) research for evaluating education • Appoint a Head of Policy of success. The latest internal report • an implementation and process evaluation is initiatives (April 20) does not readily link to the undertaken • EEF: “every project funded is Effectiveness who should take a • developmental pilots using qualitative and historic measures. independently evaluated” significant role in post evaluation quantitative methods to test the feasibility of an (2011) approach before

* Public Accounts Committee Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 70 7d 3. Develop knowledge: Recommendation detail

The authorative knowledge and expertise that should exist between the DfE, research Justification, detail and support material institutions, sectors and professions Accumulate knowledge and Formalise a trusted, consistent group, committed to thorough and rigorous knowledge accumulation. This should augment DfE capabilities, evidence between an agreed rely more on professional bodies and Trusts and include the research, academics and institutes that have a reputation for objectivity. Such coalition of informed and deference to expertise is common in many other countries, particularly the Nordics. The recent Early Career Framework has been held up specialist parties as an example of building a “body of knowledge” and indicates there is an opportunity to codify success. Pilot, evaluate and support Good examples in this area are the government piloting of pay incentives to attract teachers in certain short supply areas and EPI working post-implementation review with Gatsby. There is some current effort (but inadequate) to review post-implementation, but with so many initiatives and variables much and assessment is left open to interpretation. High quality review and assessment would be feasible and effective when initiatives are reduced to the most important. Fully understand efficacy and Abiding by evaluation results is essential to minimise: a) classroom disruption b) extraneous work c) undermining of teacher intrinsic impact and abide by results motivation. In 2019 City and Guilds called for a ‘A Skills Policy Institute to demonstrate best practice in skills policy’ and collect relevant evidence to inform policy-making, in conjunction with more thorough use of existing assessment methods such as pilots, comparison groups and longitudinal impact studies. Thoroughly understand Appreciation of overseas systems tend to focus around PISA results in a simplistic way. There is a rich body of data and insight available overseas practices and draw through PISA (showing the nuance and complexity of education systems) that should be rigorously and consistently interpreted for the UK’s useful learning benefit. Much can also be gained by looking deeply into county-by-country experiences. (See this reports section on Lessons from Overseas) Permit local, consenting A more evidenced based approach to the great questions and initiatives in education should still allow space to promote local initiatives coalitions, to be agile and and creativity. Again, this is relevant in the vocational/skills arena but also possible in school groupings (regardless of their organisational creative system).

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 71 7d 4. Encourage institutions: Recommendation detail

Organisations representing professionals, sectors, Justification, detail and support material “stakeholders”, “customers” and local areas Formalise representative groups See Section five of this report and in particular, “Multiple statutory bodies impact policy formation” and “Advice and consultation is ad-hoc and into single “education policy practitioners easily excluded from consultation”. The existing informal and favoured access to government should be replaced with a formal and transparent architecture” process that ensures balanced representation and contributions (professional, sectors, thinks tanks and trade unions). This should become part of a confirmed “educational policy architecture”. Strengthen and use architecture of Professional and sector bodies are already mediating between Ministers and the DfE on the one hand and practitioners on the other but the approach is respected professional and sector informal. These are a critical part of an effective policy formation process, to form priorities and to advise on the detail of policy where it is needed. In bodies to help build policy, plan successful overseas countries and should be formalised and transparent for the UK. and prioritise Build national and local The Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards provides an effective conduit for the needs of multiple small businesses and self-employed, but representation from private and again, much other private and representation and contribution is ad-hoc and informal. Again, there is a need for a transparent, regular and public employers and self- recorded consultation process. employed Welcome professional input into A formalised educational architecture can reach into the organisations that provide training and improvement. This adds to the “specialist body of standards and accreditation knowledge” and can contribute to national programs and qualifications to support educators. Widen DfE Board representation The Board and management structure of DfE should be broadened; practitioner and a varied non-exec representation could assist planning, insight and management. The DfE structure is contrasted with the NHS in Appendix 2. Examine statutory advisory The DfE should consider its Advisory and Executive non-departmental structure. There is strong precedent for this looking at other departments. A detailed structure analysis shows there is opportunity to fortify a weak policy process with strategic and long standing input. Appendix 3-6. An equivalent educational body to the OBR for example. Support Mayoral response to There are 9 multi-authority mayors (including “Metro Mayors”) and 15 single authority. Metro Mayors are asked to create development plans for EYS and locally driven needs Education in general. These should be incorporated into the overall “education policy architecture,” particularly so that locally driven vocational and skill needs can be met. Build governance and co- A coherent and sustainable policy framework can also extend autonomy to practitioners and their sector leadership. This is made more tenable with a operation at a local and regional strong governance structure that supports co-operation between local schools and colleges. level

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 72 7d 5. Create a Long Range Plan: Recommendation detail (1/2)

Providing necessary stability for the recruitment, development, performance and Justification, detail and support material retention of the best teacher talent Develop a long term plan, The development of a long range plan (at least ten years) should have different working streams and deliverables in order to: providing clear priorities • Minimise the prevalent policy churn and disruption (in part documented in this study). The resultant stability will make a significant contribution to reducing teacher resignations, with a significant financial benefit. See appendix: Education Select Committee July 2019. • Confirm shorter term priorities from longer term strategic vision (see earlier). This is critical for change to be implemented professionally and absorbed by practitioners. • Join up areas of legitimate local and regional interest with national policy. • Gain consensus and thereby make policy change irreversible. This has to take place within parties (cf May’s government overturning ’s plans with grammar schools) as well as cross-party (see below) • Resolve seemingly intractable questions in education (see below) • Reduce cost of wasteful initiatives and to target investment that will have benefits in other departments (see select c’tte July 2019) Examples of deep seated issues are shown on the next page and the value of the NHS long term plan is illustrated in the Appendix Operate within a 3 year As part of a reformed planning process, Minsters must accept that national implementation often (unavoidably) takes three years from program for national policy approval. The policy cannot be introduced until the beginning of the new academic year, training material must be produced and implementation training carrier out; the initiative must be established into the school/college program. Corrections may need to be made (Cf latest OFSTED and T levels) and for curriculum and assessment changes four years is more realistic. For this reason alone, new policy would ideally have a minimum life-span. Include opposition views to Successful countries in education operate on consensus (see “Lessons from Overseas”). The work of one government is not undone by the ensure “irreversibility" next. Stability ensues. Budgets and outcomes can be prescribed by any government but the means of success is already based on cross party consensus in many other areas (e.g. infrastructure, pensions reform, NHS delegation, BoF independence, minimum wage)

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 73 7d 5. Create a Long Range Plan: Recommendation detail (2/2)

Providing necessary stability for the recruitment, development, Justification, detail and support material performance and retention of the best teacher talent For the most intractable challenges: For examples see Section 5 Fundamental questions and Appendix: Key issues for long range plan • Consult widely, include all key The objective is to draw the debate from extremes to points of compromise. This should be based on rigorous, fact based examination stakeholders and consider and discussion (see recommendations 2 and 3 re knowledge and institutions) and can avoid consensus driven by “group think”. To “Policy Boards” tackle particular areas “Policy Boards” could be convened (on a time limited basis). See Gonski D (2018) Australian Schools Review • Use imaginative processes like As the long term policy questions become more broad (e.g. what is education for?) the participant pool should become wider and Citizens’ Assemblies include parents and the general public. There is a “Right to be heard” that should be satisfied. • Ministers present to parliament It is important that a LRP process sits in the centre of decision making, so standard practice should be to accept and adopt the policy proposals consistent with recommendations from the LRP process; evidence and explanation should be provided if recommendations are not accepted; long range plan

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 74 Recommendations: In the schema of government and education

3.Build Knowledge

Recommended: Policy direction Advice & consultation Govt, departments SPADs; Think Secretary of State for Education Tanks Department for Education including Board exec and non-exec 7d Special Interests Minister of State for Universities Body of ..for Schools and Standards Inspection bodies knowledge Under Sec for Children and families and long Opposition ..for Apprenticeships and Skills range plan …for the School System Select C’ttee

• HE Funding Council • Government Equalities Office • OFQUAL • Teaching Regulation • MATs 4.Encourage 4.Encourage

APPG etc • Ed Skills & Funding Agency • Office of the Children’s • Standards and Testing Agency • Single Trusts Institutions • Student Loans Company Commissioner Agency • School Teachers’ • Local Authorities • Office for Fair Access • Institute of Apprent’s Review Body • Social Mobility Commission

Priorities

Improve process Improve . .

1 Professional and Sector Bodies and other representation training Bodies Policy Detail Objectives; strategy; capacity; Rights and Safeguards inc: Curriculum and Teacher professionalism Full school/college autonomy: 4. Hold funding inc: system structures1; SEND; safeguarding; assessment inc: inc: training; ITT; NQT Behaviour; attendance; ministers Plan recruitment and retention; exclusions; equality and qualifications, induction; qualification; learning, pedagogy; mastery; accountable admissions; mobility; reporting diversity; transport; RSHE; data examinations and pay and conditions; staff appraisal; culture; community; Delivery Independent requirements; funding/budgets; protection; complaints; home assessment; discipline, conduct and pupil motivation; parent post- improvement; governance and ed; accessibility; health and apprenticeship and skills grievances; participation; area co- LA role safety; careers; social care; alt. courses and curriculum; operation; evaluation Agreed program of provision; school food; mental 2 change health; other societal

Inspection and accountability (OFSTED; in some areas Regional Schools Commissioners)

1. including but not limited to EYS, Primary, Secondary, FE, vocational and skills, apprenticeships, University, adult education, Trust and Grouped Schools, LA role; 2. The representation of professionals, sectors, “stakeholders”, “customers” and local areas

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 75 7f Cross-party sponsored Policy Boards: addressing deep seated issues

Principles Government describes outcomes and 1 Need to be established through cross party consensus, to ensure buy- normally accepts recommendations Drawing on “body in. There is a need to position these delegated bodies in the minds of of knowledge” the public through clear, transparent term of references (see Bank of Devolved status of Policy Boards established by Act of England mandate letters) Parliament

Example issues to be discussed and consensus gained Best practice Independence • What are the educational needs for the future? (what is the If the Policy Boards have direct political representation, a formula measure of success?) must be established to balance opinions of parties. This could relate • What is the correct resource balance between sectors1? to governmental years in office or share of vote (also see appendix restrictions on Monetary Committee membership). • What are the benefits and costs of early intervention (so Research “no child is left behind”)? • What are the costs and benefits of the exam centred Constitution/membership system? The representation of practitioners, professional and sector bodies, Analysis trade union and other stakeholders (business and public sector) • Should we change timings and form of should be included. These should be appointed, through an open and assessment/examination? transparent process, as and when they are vacated • What are the costs and benefits of the exam centred system Pilot and testing • Transparency What is the strategy for adult education All minutes, votes, reports, curriculum changes, results, and research should be automatically published in an online archive. Evaluation Consultation with wider stakeholders Duration The Boards should be time limited to work on a specific mandate

1. Where recommendations not accepted evidenced based justification should be provided

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 76 1. House of Commons Education Select Committee July 2019 Towards a solution - a ten year plan (EXTRACTS)

Long-term strategy

116.Throughout our inquiry we consistently saw a need for the Department to take a more strategic, long Funding settlement: 131.A more promising approach would be to secure term approach to school and college funding. This appeared to be driven in part by wider questions over agreement from the Treasury to fund a ten-year plan, following the example of the the future of the school and college system itself. Over the past decade there have been commitments to NHS Long Term Plan.272 This would have the benefit of enabling the Department a ‘self-improving school-led system’ to make schools more autonomous and accountable for their own to develop a properly-costed bottom-up assessment of the school and college improvement,237 only to be followed by an increased role for regional schools commissioners, tighter education system requirements, and engage in detailed negotiations with the regulation, and increasing pressure to produce good outcomes or face being taken over by a MAT.238 Treasury on securing a commensurate funding settlement.

117.When we explored the issue of long-term planning in our inquiry, there were concerns that Government position: 133.The Ministers seemed sympathetic to our proposal for a ‘initiative-itis’ was standing in for long-term vision.240 Indeed, we were not always able to discern ten-year plan. The Minister for School Standards Nick Gibb was clear that there overarching strategic objectives or funding prioritisation behind the Department’s policy was “a case for having a longer-term strategic plan in education as they have in announcements, which have in recent months included offline activity passports encouraging outdoor health”.273 When asked further about emulating the NHS in terms of securing pursuits; free learning apps; tackling plastic waste; academisation; reducing teacher workload; life-saving funding, the Minister said the Department was very serious about how we present classes in all schools; and improving teacher productivity through better technology use.241 our case to the Treasury. We are working extremely hard in all these areas: early years, schools, post-16, and high needs. We are presenting the best case possible 119.Taking the NHS’s recent Long Term Plan as an example of matching funding to long-term in this spending review, as we did in the last two spending reviews, to make sure objectives,244 we examined the merits of a ten-year strategic plan for education funding. One of the that first we are protected, but secondly that they address some of these very primary benefits would be greater long-term consistency and a de-politicisation of education policy–a serious challenges.274 theme that has featured across a range of our inquiries.245 Conclusions (extracts): 136.A ten-year plan for education funding is essential. It 120.Substantial long-term benefits in savings and efficiencies could also be achieved. To take but one would provide schools, colleges and the Department with much needed example, Jules White highlighted the £1.3 billion spend on supply figures and £600 million on agency strategic direction and financial certainty. The short-termism and initiative-itis that fees that could be reduced by addressing underlying problems in the system.247 A long-term plan would characterises the Department’s current approach cannot afford to continue. We are also help overcome silos and support the Department’s case for funding allocations to reflect the balance pleased that Ministers recognise the value of our proposal. of inter-dependencies and cross-departmental responsibility areas, for example taking into account the 137.The Department needs to take political short-termism out of school and benefits of education keeping people in physical and mental health, or ensuring adequate pastoral college funding by developing an ambitious ten-year plan. provision which reduces the rate of costly exclusions. 121. …involve conducting a wide-ranging assessment of what the school and college curriculum should SEE PAPER FOR NUMBERED REFERENCES look like; what outcomes these institutions should be delivering;.. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmeduc/969/96910.htm

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 77 2. DfE strategy 2015-2020 World-class education and care March 2016 Nicky Morgan – extracts and our headings

Ambition Self improvement and empowerment 4. Embed clear and intelligent accountability a. Reform inspection to Three system goals that the education and children’s social The international evidence suggests this approach works in schools. improve its reliability and utility for parents, schools and staff, and the care systems will pursue; twelve strategic priorities on which NFER concluded ‘the structures used in successful systems share a wider education system – while reducing burdens and perverse my Department will focus; • five policy principles that number of characteristics and behaviours which…are consistent with incentives b. Implement new accountability measures across schools summarise the approach my Department will take a schools-led model of support in which systems, leaders and the and post-16 that are driven by the progress and attainment of all pupils workforce contribute to a self-improving culture’, 21 whilst the OECD c. Provide parents and governors with clear, accessible information to Local initiative said in 2012 ‘school systems that grant more autonomy to schools to support school choice and help them to hold schools to account Set stretching, well-measured outcomes and empower define and elaborate their curricula and assessments tend to perform professionals to determine how to achieve them, through better than systems that don’t grant such autonomy’. 22 To be 5. Embed rigorous standards, curriculum and assessment a. Embed innovative local solutions effective, this autonomy must be coupled with a strong accountability reforms to GCSEs and A-levels so that they are recognised as gold system, as set out in principle 5. standard qualifications, and ensure that schools are able to deliver the Regional needs – the left behind National Curriculum where they choose to do so b. Improve literacy and Re-prioritisation of the government’s focus to tackle more Primacy: enough teachers of high quality numeracy for all, including through strengthening primary assessment intensively those areas of the country that have lagged behind If there is one uncontested fact in education, it’s that the quality of measures and delivering reformed Key Stage 2 tests c. Ensure pupils are for too long, the so-called ‘cold spots’ of educational teaching is the single most important school-level determinant of offered more stretching programmes of study: increasing the take up of provision. This goal seeks to deliver real social justice by educational outcomes.24 This first priority is all about making sure STEM study, the EBacc and facilitating A-levels d. Ensure schools help ensuring that irrespective of location, prior attainment or our teachers are the best they can be and that there are enough all pupils progress, particularly stretching the most able pupils and economic or social background, children and young people teachers, in the right places with the capability and confidence to supporting low attainers have access to high-quality provision. deliver an excellent education. But at the heart of all this is schools being able to recruit, develop, 6. Ensure access to quality places where they are needed a. Deliver 500 support and retain great teachers. To support headteachers in that new free schools, with a UTC within reach of every city b. Ensure Evidenced based and empowerment endeavour, our first priority has four parts: sufficient supply and maintenance of high-quality school, specialist and Our strategy is based on the notion that society is post-16 places where they are needed complicated and subtle; that there are few areas in which 1. Recruit, develop, support and retain teachers a. Attract enough there is a single, standardised solution waiting to be imposed talented individuals to teach where they’re needed b. Strengthen 8. Reform 16-19 skills a. With BIS, deliver 3 million high-quality from the top. Our priorities encourage everyone to use university and school-led training and accreditation, including apprenticeship starts b. Create clear, high-quality technical and evidence to innovate, in the belief that, whilst some will lead increasing the rigour of ITT content and the proportion of ITT that is professional routes to employment that are accessible for all and aligned the pack, their progress will help the rest. So bespoke school-led c. Ensure teachers can access sufficient, high-quality CPD with Britain’s economic needs c. Reform the provider base to ensure approaches are encouraged and our best leaders are and teaching materials d. Foster a world-leading teaching profession, every area is effectively served by a sustainable, resilient and responsive empowered to make high-quality local decisions, held to including by reducing , establishing a College of Teaching system of schools, Further Education and Sixth account locally and nationally for rigorous, well-measured and increasing teachers’ access to and use of high-quality evidence Form Colleges outcomes, not methods.

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 78 3.NHS ten year plan Jan 2019 – quoting from the document (NHS 2019)

The NHS Long Term Plan, also known as the NHS 10-Year Plan is a document published by NHS England on 7 January 2019, which sets out its priorities for healthcare over the next 10 years and shows how the NHS funding settlement will be used. It was published by NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens and former Prime Minister .

10 year time horizon Consultation and consensus Local autonomy and co-operation Ensuring long term success

• As medicine advances, health needs • … 14 working groups ensured our • Parliament and the Government have • We will build on the open and consultative change, and society develops, the Health proposals benefited from a breadth of both asked the NHS to make consensus process used to develop this Plan and Service continually has to move forward. expertise and experience, with proposals for how primary legislation strengthen the ability of patients, professionals This Long Term Plan shows how we will membership drawn from a range of might be adjusted to better support and the public to contribute by establishing the do so. So that looking forward to the organisations including patient groups, delivery of the agreed changes set out in new NHS Assembly in early 2019 NHS’ 80th Birthday, in a decade’s time, staff and clinical representatives and this LTP • The NHS Assembly will bring together a range we have a service that is fit for the future senior doctors, nurses or Allied Health • Our approach to delivering the Long of organisations and individuals at regular • … Kicked-off after the NHS Five Year Professionals (AHPs), and local NHS Term Plan will balance national direction intervals, to advise the boards of NHS England Forward View … providing practical leaders with local autonomy to secure the best and NHS Improvement as part of the ‘guiding experience of how to bring about the • … 200 distinct engagement events, and outcomes for patients coalition’ to implement this Long Term Plan changes set out in this Plan. Almost over 2,500 responses to our engagement • Local implementation will be led by the • The Assembly membership will bring insight everything in this Plan is already being questions from a range of respondents clinicians and leaders who are directly and frontline experience to the forum where implemented successfully somewhere in and organisations together representing a accountable for patient care and making stakeholders discuss and oversee progress on the NHS combined total of 3.5 million individuals efficient use of public money. This will the Long Term Plan • Some improvements in these areas are or organisational members/supporters ensure local health systems have the • Its members will be drawn from, among others, necessarily framed as 10 year goals, • … work in partnership with the Patients ability and accountability for shaping national clinical, patient and staff given the timelines needed to expand Association and Healthwatch England to how the Plan is implemented organisations; the Voluntary, Community and capacity and grow the workforce engage patients and the public, with Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector; the NHS Arm’s Healthwatch England submitting Length Bodies (ALBs); and frontline leaders evidence from over 85,000 people from ICSs, STPs, trusts, CCGs and local authorities

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 79 4. Contrasting management and support: Education v NHS

Department of Education Management Board Departmental Board: Sec of State, Minsters, Senior NHS staff and Non-exec Staff

Department DofE management Chief professional officers • – Johnathan Slater board restricted to • The department has six chief professional officers who provide it with expert knowledge and also advise the • Director-General, Social Care, Mobility and Department and Ministers, other government departments and the Prime Minister. The Chief Medical Officer and Chief Equalities – Indra Morris business non-execs. Nursing Officer are also directors of the department's board • Director-General, Education Standards – Mainly perfunctory Board NHS England (Lead NHS England) 1 Paul Kett matters • Director-General, Infrastructure and Funding Chair Lord David Prior – Business, NHS, politics – Andrew McCully David Roberts CBE – Business, Finance; Noel Gordon – NHS Banking, Consultancy; Joanne Non • Director-General, Higher and Further NHS has rich Shaw – Accountancy, Health; Sir Munir Pirmohamed – Health, Academia; Professor Ara Darzi Executives Education – Philippa Lloyd governance, advice of Denham – Academia, Research, Medicine and Surgery • Chief Financial and Operating Officer, and structure (these Operations Group – Mike Green groups are not Sir Simon Stevens - NHS Chief Executive; Amanda Pritchard-NHS Chief Operating Officer; • Chief Executive, Education & Skills Funding exhaustive). Strong Exec. Professor Stephen Powis - National Medical Director; Ruth May- Chief Nursing Officer; Julian Agency – Eileen Milner representation from Directors Kelly- Chief Financial Officer; Emily Lawson - Chief Commercial Officer; Ian Dodge- National department, Director of Strategy and Innovation practitioners and Board NHS Improvement (Improvement, training, best practice, local autonomy) Non-executive board members experts and varied non-execs. Remits • Richard Pennycook; Lead non-Exec, Business Chair Baroness Dido Harding - Business are strategic and • Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith fundamental to Deputy Chair Laura Wade-Gery – Business CBE; Business NHS policy, • Lord Patrick of Coles – Business, Health and Pension Service; Dr Timothy G Ferris – Physician, Ian Ferguson CBE; businessman improvement and Non Healthcare; Sir Andrew Morris – NHS Management; Wol Kolade – Business, Public service; Sir • Toby Peyton Jones; Army, business, efficiency Executives Public Service David Behan – Civil Service, Public service • Irene Lucas; Business, Public Service Amanda Pritchard - NHS Chief Operating Officer; Julian Kelly- Chief Financial Officer; Ruth May - Chief Exec. Directors Nursing Officer; Professor Stephen Powis - National Medical Director 1. According to minutes published to 2018, thereafter not available? Source: NHS scheme of delegation 7.8.19, extracts, gov.uk., Wikipedia NHS Assembly: Brings together a range of individuals to advise joint boards

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 80 5. Delegation and formal advice by government departments

Amongst the three largest government departments (by employees), the degree of formal delegation and advice is greater in the NHS and Defence. All but the smallest departments have more advisory non-departmental public bodies than the Department of Education

Commu Env, Business Digital, Foreign nities Food Work Cabinet Energy & Home Media, and Defence and Justice Education Treasury and Transport and Health Trade Office Industry Office Culture Cmlth Local Rural Pensions Strategy and Sport Govt. Affairs Non-Ministerial 3 1 2 1 2/4 1 1 Department Executive 1 2 5 4 2 5 1 3 2 4 4 2 4 Agency Executive Non- Departmental 1 4 17 4 5 5 6 31 8 1 9 6 5 11 6 Public Body Advisory Non- Departmental 8 9 8 7 1 11 4 2 1 4 1 3 8 1 Public Body Public 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 Corporation Other 4 1 8 12 12 1 10 3 2 13 4 1 6 4

Total1 162 9 42 29 24 11 32 43 17 7 33 18 13 27 19

1. Total includes all categories, some excluded from table rows; 2. Two ministerial departments

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 81 6. Weak formal advice to the DfE compared to NHS and Defence

Department for Education Department of Health Ministry of Defence (exc museums)

Advice Advisory non-departmental Advisory non-departmental public body Advisory non-departmental Public corporation [edit] public body • Administration of Radioactive Substances public body [edit] • The Oil and Pipelines Agency • School Teachers' Review Body Advisory Committee • Advisory Committee on Ad-hoc advisory group [edit] • Social Mobility Commission • Advisory C’ttee on Clinical Excellence Conscientious Objectors • Central Advisory Committee on Other [edit] Awards • Armed Forces' Pay Review Compensation • Government Equalities Office • British Pharmacopoeia Commission Body • Other [edit] • Office of the Schools Adjudicator • Commission on Human Medicines • Defence Nuclear Safety • Advisory Group on Military • Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Committee Medicine Food, Consumer Products and the • Independent Medical Expert • Defence Academy of the United Environment Group Kingdom • Independent Reconfiguration Panel • National Employer Advisory • Defence Sixth Form College • NHS Pay Review Body Board • Defence and Security Media • Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Rem. • Nuclear Research Advisory Advisory Committee Other [edit] Council • Reserve Forces' and Cadets' • Accelerated Access Review • Scientific Advisory Committee Associations • Morecambe Bay Investigation on the Medical Implications of • Service Complaints Ombudsman Less-Lethal Weapons • NHS Improvement • Service Prosecuting Authority • Veterans Advisory and Pensions • National Data Guardian • United Kingdom Reserve Forces Committees • National Information Board Association • Porton Biopharma Limited • United Kingdom Special Forces Association Total 4 14 19

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 82 7. Governments’ formal advice and delegation (examples 1 of 3)

As well as fewer advisory bodies, the Department of Education has few “substantial” Executive non-departmental bodies i.e. those that exist are very specialised and specific, other than the Institute of Apprenticeships, Equality, Fair Access and Children’s Commissioner. This is particularly evident when compared with the NHS (page over) where these bodies are pivotal e.g. NHS England, National Institute for Health Care Excellence and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority Greater Delegation

Non-Ministerial Public Department Advisory Non-Departmental Body Executive Agency ‘Other’ Executive Non-Departmental Body Department Corporation Dept. for • Committee on Fuel Poverty • British Business Bank • Advisory, Conciliation and • Innovate UK • Competition Business, • Committee on Radioactive Waste • Government Office for Science Arbitration Service • Medical Research and Markets Energy & Management • Groceries Code Adjudicator • Civil Nuclear Police Council Authority Industrial • Industrial Development Advisory • Independent Complaints Reviewer Authority • Nuclear • HM Land Strategy Board • Committee on Climate Decommissioning Registry • Land Registration Rule Committee Change Authority • Ordnance • Low Pay Commission • Economic and Social • UK Atomic Energy Survey Research Council Authority

Dept. for • The Advisory Council on National • Royal Parks • English Institute of Sport • Arts Council England • British Museum • The National • BBC Digital, Rec’s and Archs • Ofcom • Big Lottery Fund • Gambling Commission Archives • Channel 4 Culture, Media • The Reviewing Committee on the • S4C • British Film Institute • UK Anti-Doping • Historic & Sport Export of Works of Art • British Library • UK Sport Royal • The Theatres Trust Palaces • Treasure Valuation C’ttee Dept. for • School Teachers’ Review Body • Education and Skills • Government Equalities Office • Construction Industry • Institute for • Ofqual Education • Social Mobility Commission Funding Agency • Office of the Schools Adjudicator Training Board Apprenticeships • Ofsted • Standards and Testing • Engineering Construction • Office for Fair Access Agency Industry Training Board • Office of the Children’s • Equality and Human Rights Commissioner Commission • Student Loans Company • Higher Education Funding Council for England

Source: Wikipedia

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 83 8. Governments’ formal advice and delegation (examples 2 of 3)

Non-Ministerial Public Department Advisory Non-Departmental Body Executive Agency ‘Other’ Executive Non-Departmental Body Department Corporation

Dept. for • Advisory Committee on Releases • Animal and Plant • Drinking Water Inspectorate • Agriculture and Horticulture • Joint Nature • Forestry Environment, to the Environment Health Agency • Lake District National Park Dev. Board Conservation Committee Commission Food & Rural • Independent Agricultural Appeals • Environment, Fisheries Authority • Royal Botanic Gardens Kew • Marine Management − Forestry Affairs Panel and Aquaculture • New Forest National Park • Consumer Council for Organisation England • Science Advisory Council Science Authority Water • National Forest − Forest • Veterinary Products C’ttee • Rural Payments Agency • North York Moors National Park • Environment Agency Company Research • Veterinary Medicines Authority • Natural England • The Water Directorate • Sea Fish Industry Services Authority Regulation Authority

Dept. of • Administration of Radioactive • Medicines and • Accelerated Access Review • Health Education England • NHS Business Services Health Substances Advisory Committee Healthcare products • NHS Improvement • Health Research Authority Authority • Advisory Committee on Clinical Regulatory Agency • National Data Guardian • Human Fertilisation and • NHS Digital Excellence Awards • Public Health England • National Information Board Embryology Authority • NHS England • British Pharmacopoeia • Human Tissue Authority • NHS Litigation Commission • NHS and Blood Transplant • National Institute for • Commission on Human Health Care and Medicines Excellence

Home Office • Advisory Council on the Misuse • Independent Chief Inspector of • Disclosure and Barring • Office of the of Drugs Borders and Immigration Service Immigration Services • Animals in Science Committee • Independent Family Returns Panel • Gangmasters Licensing Commissioner • Biometrics and Forensics Ethics • Independent Reviewer of Authority • Security Industry Group Terrorism Legislator • Independent Police Authority • Migration Advisory Committee • Intelligence Services Complaints Commission Commissioner

Source: Wikipedia

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 84 8. Governments’ formal advice and delegation (examples 3 of 3)

Non-Ministerial Public Department Advisory Non-Departmental Body Executive Agency ‘Other’ Executive Non-Departmental Body Department Corporation

Ministry of • Defence Nuclear Safety • Defence Electronics • Advisory Group on Military • National Army Museum • Royal Air Force Museum • The Oil and Defence Committee and Components Medicine • National Museum of the • Single Source Pipelines • Independent Medical Expert Agency • Defence Academy of the United Royal Navy Regulations Office Agency Group • Defence Science and Kingdom • National Employer Advisory Technology Laboratory • Defence Sixth Form College Board • UK Hydrographic • Defence and Security Media • Nuclear Research Advisory Office Advisory Committee Council • Submarine Delivery Agency

Ministry of • Civil Justice Council • Criminal Injuries • Academy for Social Justice • Cafcass • Legal Services Board Justice • Family Justice Council Compensation Commissioning • Criminal Cases Review • Parole Board • Independent Advisory Panel on Authority • HM Inspectorate of Prisons Commission • Youth Justice Board for Deaths in Custody • HM Courts & Tribunals • HM Inspectorate of Probation • Judicial Appointments England and Wales • Law Commission Service • Independent Monitoring Boards Commission • HM Prison Service • Judicial Appointments and • Legal Aid Agency Conduct Ombudsman

Dept. for • Disabled Persons Transport • Driver and Vehicle • Air Accidents Investigation • British Transport Police • Northern Lighthouse • Office of Rail • Civil Transport Advisory Committee Licensing Agency Branch Authority Board and Road Aviation • Driver and Vehicle • Highways England • Directly Operated Railways • Transport Focus Authority Standards Agency • Marine Accident Investigation Limited • Trinity House • London and • Maritime and Branch • High Speed Two (HS2) Continental Coastguard Agency • Rail Accident Investigation Limited Railways • Vehicle Certification Branch Limited Agency

Source: Wikipedia

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 85 9. Precedents for delegation: Independence and constitution

Precedent Independence Food Standards Agency • Consumer and public interest nominees on the commission were originally meant to be in the minority Monetary Policy Committee • No committee member is allowed to accept a paid party-political post or hold a high-profile role in a party, and any political activity must be sanctioned by the Secretary • if a Committee member wishes to engage in political activity at any level, consent must be obtained from the Secretary of the Bank, who will consult the Governors or the Chairman of Court as necessary Constitution Food Standards Agency • The FSA is a statutory Non-Departmental Public Body with executive powers, reporting to Parliament through Health Ministers. Bank of England • The bank’s affairs are managed by the court of directors, except for the formulation of monetary policy, which is a separate activity. BBC • The Board has fourteen members: a non-executive Chair, a designated non-executive member for each of the Nations of the UK; five other non-executive members and four executive members. The Chair and four Nations members are appointed by The Queen-in- Council. The other members are appointed by the BBC Board Forestry Commission • Commissioners are appointed to the Forestry Commission Board by the Queen on the recommendation of Defra Ministers Industrial Strategy Council • Senior individuals from business, academia and civil society make up the Industrial Strategy Council, led by the Chief Economist of the Bank of England

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 86 10. Precedents for delegation: Transparency and durability

Precedent Transparency Food Standards Agency • The FSA maintains a high degree of transparency towards the public, including live webcasting every decision-making board meeting Bank of England • Every remit letter sent to the Bank of England by the Chancellor is published. Monetary Policy Committee (Bank of England) • All minutes and votes are published Office of Communications (OFCOM) • OFCOM publishes consultation documents on its website, including a plain English version. Ten weeks are given to gather responses from the public, which are then also published Durability • Due to parliamentary sovereignty, durability can only be assured through building and subsequent constant repair of political consensus: e.g. the NHS, the Bank of England. • The FSA is a case in point. Since its inception, it has become gradually less autonomous, more at risk of regulatory capture, and less powerful. This is due, in part, to a lack of consensus between Labour and the Conservatives as to the role of the FSA

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 87 References

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Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 91 Roles and backgrounds of authors

Patrick Wall: Sponsor, lead/editor, research and co-author. Patrick has 20 years experience as a school governor in non-selective state schools, for the last ten years as chair of governors at a 1,600 pupil through school. He has spent 35 years in industry and is founder of a successful tech company.

Bevil Luck: Quantitative work, research and co-author. Bevil holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of Southampton and a BA (Hons) in English from Merton College, University of Oxford. He also has experience leading quantitative research projects in industry. He currently works as an independent teacher and researcher.

John Warriner: Research and co-author. John holds a first-class degree in English Language and Literature, and a master’s degree in English Literature with distinction, from Merton College, University of Oxford. He also holds the Graduate Diploma in Law with distinction from the City Law School, University in London, the academic stage of legal qualification. He works as an independent teacher and researcher.

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 92 Version control

Version Date Category Development Input 3.3 28th May Medium • New recommendation (2) re ministerial accountability 12.5.20 meeting

3.2 7th May Minor • Formatting

3.0 30th April 2020 Major • Significant review of recommendations; inclusion of Various: Think Tanks, Sector policy framework schema; new overview; bodies; head teachers

2.2 3rd Feb 2020 Minor • Re-organising recommendations 29.1.20 meeting • 2 year moratorium changed to “policy stability” 2.1 27th Jan 2020 Minor • Spell edits; change in headings and content pages; conclusion and recommendations to front; distributed as draft

2.0 17th December 2020 Major • Format change to ppt • Further analysis; addition of international comparisons; PISA; conclusions and recommendations

1.0 July 2019 Major • Start March 2019 - UK/England analysis

Wall, Warriner, Luck 2019 and 2020 edpol.net 93