Schools at the Heart of Educational Reform

“Schools at the heart of educational reform” by Tom Middlehurst and Patrick Watson reflects the discussions and debates that SSAT has hosted over the past three years, relating to educational reform and policy-making. SSAT, is interested in how the national context of educational policy is perceived by our members and how central government decisions impact the school and MAT practice.

To this end, SSAT hosts an annual series of discussion roundtables, to which a combination of politicians, policymakers, thinkers, academics and (most importantly) SSAT member school leaders are invited. At these roundtables, we explore a current or pressing educational issue, introduced by an expert in the subject to stimulate conversation. This publication seeks to bring some of the more pressing discussions together in one place, along with a commentary on the latest policy and background to the issue. These are followed up by questions for school and academy leaders, to prompt discussion and debate with their senior teams. The hope is that these debates will be interesting but will also stimulate a dialogue.

This term, SSAT also turns 30 years old. Originally founded in 1987 to support the first city technology colleges and then, as the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, we have been at the forefront of educational innovation for the last three decades. Many readers will remember our work with sponsored academies, personalising learning, and international networking through it; and will have been on our longstanding and well-regarded leadership programme. Thank you for your continued support and work.

Since 1987, we have come a long way. Now, as the Schools, Students and Teachers network, we are entirely independent of government – but many of our values remain the same. The belief that education should benefit all young people; the belief in a truly Introduction 3 school-led system in which leaders are empowered to make autonomous decisions; and the belief that the needs of the child should be at the centre of educational reform – these all remain at our heart. You will find these values reflected throughout this publication.