article
Rising to the challenge
7 January 2010
For the 250 or so remaining National Challenge secondary
schools, time is running out. With only one set of GCSE results
left between them and potential closure, many schools and Local
Authorities are turning to the National Challenge Trust (“NCT”)
model to support and facilitate the governing body by strengthening
leadership and raising achievement. However two issues have
recently come to light which may make the NCT a less attractive
option than previously thought.
The NCT model
NCTs build on the existing and popular Trust school model which
allows the school, along with carefully selected external partners
(known as “Trust Partners”), to form a charitable Trust (sometimes
also called a foundation).
The Trust appoints a set number of governors to the board of
governors of the school and it is via these Trust-appointed
governors that the expertise and skills of the Trust Partners can
be fed into the governance of the school. In the NCT model the
majority of the governors must be Trust-appointed governors.
Each NCT must have a successful local educational establishment
as a Trust Partner. It appears that the DCSF initially intended
that this “lead education partner” would be a local school - two
out of the three NCT models proposed by the DCSF involve schools as
the lead education partner. However this approach seems to have
softened as more HE and FE institutes become lead education
partners.
This model is made even more attractive by the potential
£750,000 additional funding available from the DCSF to support
structural changes at the school and to promote the work of the
Trust.
Problem 1 – National Challenge school governing bodies
excluded
Although not prohibited by law from being involved in the Trust,
the DCSF have confirmed that they may not provide additional
funding to NCTs where the governing body of the National Challenge
school itself is to be a Trust Partner. Under the DCSF’s plans, the
governing body of the school will have no involvement in the Trust
and have no say in the appointment of the Trust-appointed
governors. This policy has created three main stumbling blocks to
overcome:-
1. This policy has not been widely publicised by the DCSF and
many schools and Local Authorities have not been made aware of it.
Those governing bodies who have been made aware of the policy have
found the NCT model difficult to support. They struggled to promote
a change which specifically excludes the governing body from being
involved in the very Trust which is intended to support and
facilitate them.
2. The purpose of the Trust is stated in its governing documents
and closely mirrors that of the governing body of the school – to
advance the education of pupils at the school and to promote
community cohesion. Arguably it would be difficult for the Trust to
promote community cohesion if a section of the school community,
the governing body and staff of the school, are prevented from
being involved in the Trust.
And what if the governing body, a governor or a member of staff
applies to join the Trust once it is up and running? The existing
Trust Partners will be forced to make an uncomfortable decision
between disobeying the wishes of the DCSF (and risking the funding)
and insulting the individual or body applying to join.
3. Finally the exclusion of the governing body from the Trust
means that the route for information regarding the school to pass
to the Trust is now laborious – the head will report to the
governing body and then the Trust-appointed governors will report
back to the Trust. The route for communicating the wishes of the
Trust back to the governing body is equally long. It is clear that
there is great potential for miscommunication and “Chinese
whispers” with so many steps involved.
Problem 2 – the governing bodies of other maintained
schools excluded
As mentioned above, it appears that the DCSF originally intended
every NCT school to be supported by a local, successful maintained
school.
However the DCSF have recently become unsure whether the
governing bodies of maintained schools legally have the power to
support NCTs by becoming Trust Partners. Whilst the governing body
of a maintained school has the power to “advise and assist” another
maintained school it is unclear whether this allows the governing
body to itself be a Trust Partner.
Whilst the draft Children, Schools and Families Bill should
categorically give the governing body the power to be a Trust
Partner, it is by no means certain that the current Bill will
become an Act in this shortened session of Parliament. In the
meantime, governing bodies are being forced to find alternative
routes to participate.
Whilst the National Challenge Trust school model might seem an
attractive option at first glance, Local Authorities and National
Challenge schools will need to tread carefully to ensure that they
do not fall foul of DCSF policy or act ultra vires.
This article was first published by Local Government
Lawyer
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