Last month I wrote a post
questioning the establishment of Regional Collaboratives in Scottish education
and the democratic deficit they were likely to create. Under proposals, local
accountability, on the part of local authority scrutiny would be effectively
side-stepped from the equation as regional directors of these collaboratives
would report back to Scottish Government quango, Education Scotland.
Three days ago Education
Secretary, John Swinney dramatically appeared to call a halt to this direction
of travel, albeit under ongoing concerns and enquiry from COSLA. In this post I
will present a summary of where proposed governance of education is/was headed
and the deep concerns that COSLA representatives expressed and then outline the
new considerations and my thoughts on these.
Educational Governance
I wrote about this a few weeks
ago and therefore, have taken some of that text and inserted it here, to read
the full article please go to: http://www.kathleenleslie.co.uk/2017/08/education-childrens-services-response.html . In September 2016, the Scottish Government
began a review that sought views on how education in Scotland is run, on the
back of that a paper (Next Steps) was published by John Swinney in June this
year claiming that a “revolutionised approach” would be taken towards support
and improvement in schools. As so often happens though the devil is in the
detail and that is where it became interesting. On the one hand claiming to
grant “sweeping new powers to headteachers” whilst on the other, and the
reality, was that regional collaboratives would be set up and headed by a
director who would report back to Scottish Government quango, Education Scotland.
Fife (my local authority) would be netted in with the South East Scotland
grouping – Edinburgh, Midlothian, East Lothian and the Borders. Local
government would effectively be removed from the equation other than
administrative responsibilities of providing support services, developing the
provision of early years and childcare and appointing headteachers.
Predictably, and rightly, the Convention
of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) hit back at such proposals and stated
that the creation of Regional Collaboratives was a “top down approach…not in
the spirit of initial proposals by leaders” and that “Scottish Councils hold
the statutory responsibility for the provision and delivery of education for
performance and improvement of individual schools as well as cumulative
authority…the “Next Steps” paper disaggregates the strategic leadership role of
local government and proposes redistribution of functions, which has an impact
on democratic accountability”.
Accountability at the local level
to Councils and elected representatives would be, at best, diluted and would
mean that rather than strengthening local government it would be cast by the way
side and instead be ad continuum of this SNP Government’s policy of
centralisation, as we have seen with the subsuming of regional police forces
into Police Scotland (which has demonstrated to be a catalogue of disasters).
A further rebuff to local
accountability with this proposal was that local stakeholders – parents and
carers, were not consulted on their views on the demise of local accountability
in regards to their children’s education. If they choose to challenge educational
practice within their local authority where and to whom are they to go?
Local Government Counts
In what some may call a
spectacular u-turn, it appears that Education Secretary, John Swinney has
backtracked on his disliked and dysfunctional proposals. Instead the role of
Regional Director will be reduced and Council leaders will appoint a lead
officer – meaning reports will go to local authorities and their elected
representatives, in addition to reporting to Scottish Government body,
Education Scotland. COSLA spokesperson for Children and Young People, Cllr
Stephen McCabe stated that: “Securing the best interests of children and young
people is our driving goal in the integrated children’s services which local
authorities deliver. We share an ambition with the Scottish Government for
excellence and equity for our children.” http://www.cosla.gov.uk/news/2017/09/way-forward-improvement-focused-collaboration-education-agreed
Such a move is to be welcomed.
Any moves to further remote local government from educational governance would
mean a lack of accountability and transparency and distance not only elected
representatives (who are the voices of local people) but parents and carers as
key stakeholders in their children’s education.
Given the protracted difficulties
with implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence, the shambolic state of
the National qualifications, teacher shortages, crashing numeracy and literacy
against international scores and a failure to close the attainment gap one is
left to wonder what other significant damage the regional collaboratives were
likely to create? Or to the cynic, was this an attempt to create further
distance between the people and holding government to account for deficits in
policy?
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