Executive heads are those head teachers in England who lead two or more schools that have entered into a federation. One of the more common forms of federations involves a lead school working to improve a partner school (or schools). The executive heads of these federations, and their wider leadership teams, constitute one of an emerging set of practices in England that we refer to as system leadership, or as working for the success and welfare of students in other schools as well as one's own. There is to date only a small and emerging research literature and thus no well-developed analysis on how these roles are being organised. In contributing to this literature, this paper elaborates the concepts of support federations and system leadership in three main ways. First, it explores the historical and policy contexts out of which these roles have developed. Second, it analyses not only how such roles are being undertaken but also what forms of expertise and capacity are mobilised in the pursuit of another school's improvement. Third, it considers how these leadership roles might provide alternative solutions to problems that have traditionally been the responsibility and preserve of the central apparatus of the state. We conclude by arguing that professionally-led system leadership offers a means for self-managed schools, emerging from an era of competition, to work together for greater social equity by, among other things, taking joint responsibility for all the students in their locality. This is seen to have relevance not only for England but for Australia as well.
The legal basis of free schools, provided for in the Academies Act 2010, allows the Secretary of State for Education ‘to enter into Academy arrangements with any person’. A range of debate has ensued over who will govern free schools. This article develops an analysis of the individuals and organizations that have had free school proposals accepted by government. The article progresses, first, by locating free schools in the existing policy trajectories towards privatization and self-governing schools. Second, it draws on a mapping exercise and interviews with a sample of 58 free school proposers, sponsors and suppliers to explore the processes through which free schools are established. The main categories of free school proposers are identified as: local civil society groups; sponsoring organizations; existing educational institutions. Third, the article considers the wider implications for school governance. It is argued free school policy allows governance to become an additional and direct lever through which those with the capacity to do so are able to mould state education in their own interests.
The Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government elected in 2010 has argued contemporary reform will increase the autonomy of schools in England. Given the complexities that exist, however, in the balance between autonomy and control, we explore how school leaders view autonomy as it exists within the wider policy framework. The article develops, first, a historical and analytical perspective on school autonomy. Second, it analyses a survey of almost 2000 school leaders, as well as case study data, to explore their views on autonomy, accountability, external support and managing change. Third, it considers the implications. Drawing on Simkins's concepts of operational and criteria power, school leaders are shown to commonly anticipate greater power over aspects of school management but not over the aims and purposes of schooling. A significant variation is also found between school leaders in their perceived capacity and freedom to act. This leads to a proposed typology of confident, cautious, concerned and constrained schools. A key implication, we conclude, is that increasing operational power for schools, declining Local Authority support and differentiated school autonomy have a very real potential to exacerbate existing local hierarchies between schools.
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