The Government’s proposed education reforms could be a “significant backward step” for pupils’ outcomes, MPs have heard.
Luke Sparkes, leader of Dixons Academies Trust, warned that the current proposals for teachers’ conditions in the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill could “stifle innovation” across schools.
Academies, which are independent of local authorities, currently have the freedom to set their own pay and conditions for staff, and some academies exceed the national pay scales for teachers.
But under the Bill, all teachers will be part of the same core pay and conditions framework whether they work in a local authority-run school or an academy.
Last week, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told MPs that there would be “no ceiling” to what academy leaders can pay their teachers.
On Tuesday, the Department for Education (DfE) said it will table an amendment to the Bill which will make it clear that there will be a floor on pay with no ceiling for all state schools.
But during the committee stage of the Bill, Mr Sparkes, whose trust runs 17 schools in Bradford, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester, said he still had “significant concerns” about the Government’s plans for staff conditions.
He said Dixons Academies Trust has tried to “overcome the rigidity of the job” with its introduction of a nine-day fortnight for teachers.
Addressing MPs on Tuesday, Mr Sparkes said: “Most complex schools, the kind of schools that we lead, have become, in many ways, the fourth emergency service and that’s by stealth, not by choice.
“So we’ve had to address the scope and intensity of the job and it’s from that position, and that understanding, that we still believe that a rigid set of expectations around conditions will stifle innovation.”
He added: “The innovations that we’re leading will not be scalable in our view if we’re all forced to align to a set of rigid standards.
“And I think it’s also worth knowing that our most successful schools at Dixons, the ones that get the best results for disadvantaged students nationally, they would have to fundamentally change as schools if they had to align to a set of rigid standards, and that would be bound to impact negatively on outcomes for children, not just academic outcomes.
“So it would be a significant backward step.”
The Bill will also require academies to follow the national curriculum, and their teachers will need to have, or be in the process of achieving, qualified teacher status (QTS).
Sir Dan Moynihan, chief executive of the Harris Federation, which runs 55 academies in London and Essex, questioned the plans to remove academies’ freedoms around the curriculum.
Addressing MPs on the Bill, Sir Dan said: “We’ve taken over failing schools in very disadvantaged places in London and youngsters in secondary schools we found in the lower years of secondary have been unable to read and write.
“We varied the curriculum in the short term, narrowed the number of subjects in Key Stage Three, in order to maximise the amount of time given for literacy and numeracy because the children couldn’t access the other subjects.”
He added: “That flexibility has allowed us then to widen the curriculum out again later, and take those schools onto Outstanding status.
“We’re subject to Ofsted scrutiny.
“It’s not clear to me why we would need to follow the full national curriculum.
“What advantage that gives when we have to provide all of the nationally recognised qualifications, GCSEs, A-levels, Sat tests, and we’re subject to external regulation by Ofsted.
“Why take away the flexibility to do what’s needed locally?”
Last week, the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), where members represent 77% of academy schools in England, suggested a series of amendments to the Bill and it said it is “seeking legal advice” on one of the reforms drafted in the legislation.
Catherine McKinnell, school standards minister, said: “This Government is determined to drive high and rising standards for every child through our Plan for Change so that wherever they live, families will have a good local school for their child, and can be confident they will achieve and thrive.
“Our landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill delivers on this mission, ensuring that all schools can create a strong pay and conditions offer for our fantastic teachers.
“We will take whatever action is needed to deliver on our clear aim to set a floor on pay and no ceiling, so that all state school teachers can rely on a core pay offer and all schools can innovate to attract and retain the best teachers that they need for our children.”
