Chain reactions

What are chain schools, and what does leadership look like in them? Jeremy Sutcliffe finds out.

Imagine for a moment that John Lewis or Marks and Spencer were to move into the state school business. What would their business models look like? What would be the distinctive features that would make their schools stand out from the crowd and what systems and quality checks would they put in place?

The scenario is purely hypothetical and we are unlikely to see schools opening any time soon with the motto “Never knowingly undersold”. But the concept of the high street chain and the business philosophy underpinning it could have a profound impact on England’s schools over the next decade.

A new report by Robert Hill, Chain Reactions for the National College looks at the emergence of chains of schools – groups of schools sponsored or run by the same foundation or charitable trust – a phenomenon that has crept up on the country’s state school system in recent years.

The evolution of school chains stems from two important developments that are gradually transforming the educational landscape. Both have been kick-started by the national quest to find successful and sustainable ways to raise attainment in underperforming secondary schools, especially in deprived areas, and maximise the contribution of our best school leaders in improving outcomes for children.

The first is the formation of partnerships and federations based on the idea that schools working together – especially when high performing schools are matched with lower performing ones – can with the right leadership bring about a significant rise in standards. Such partnerships have been encouraged by programmes including Leading Edge, London Challenge, National Leaders of Education and National Support Schools. In addition, local authorities have been given powers to require schools in special measures or under a notice to improve to enter into partnership with another school. The creation of National Challenge Trusts in 2008 provided a further mechanism to bring under-performing schools under the control and governance of high performing ones.

The second major development is the growth of academies which provide a more entrepreneurial approach to school improvement by bringing in external sponsors from business and the voluntary sector. The idea, as Robert Hill points out, was to create a new model of independently managed state schools outside the traditional local authority system.

These two approaches are beginning to converge as federations, trusts and academies increasingly looking to tackle problems in schools identified as weak and failing and to share resources, provide more opportunities for staff and students and an extended curriculum. There are now at least 40 sponsors of multiple academies in operation or in the pipeline, including five – ARK Schools, Harris, Oasis, ULT and British Edutrust – with plans for 10 or more. A similar pattern is evolving across the system with hundreds of schools now working together through federations and trusts.

Robert Hill’s study, which builds on the work of a National Leaders of Education Fellowship Commission (part of the Fellowship Programme run by the National College), comes as the government is consulting on a new accreditation framework to regulate the growing number of school chain providers.

The study looks at effective practices by current providers and identifies nine essential characteristics of a school chain, providing a potential model for providers. Some of these key features are found in leading high street brands such as John Lewis and Marks and Spencer, including: clear vision and values, deployment of key leaders across the chain, central organisation of resources and systems, strong quality assurance arrangements and effective and clear corporate governance.

The crucial defining characteristic of each chain, however, is its approach to teaching and learning and related issues such as behaviour, pastoral support and engagement with parents. The best school groups have developed distinctive models for raising standards which are then applied consistently across the chain.

One example is the transformation model developed by the Outwood Grange Family of Schools centred on a high performing academy in Wakefield. The chain consists of Outwood Grange Academy, Outwood Academy, Doncaster, plus three schools in Harrogate, Scarborough and Stockton-on-Tees previously in Special Measures or National Challenge.

The model is made up of seven strands including a “students come first” philosophy, flexible curriculum, bespoke system of professional development and a praise-and-reward achievement culture for staff and students.

A key feature is the way leadership roles are organised to ensure the model developed at Outwood Grange Academy is applied consistently in every school. Leadership teams for each school have been built at the Wakefield academy with vice principals then deployed as headteachers across the chain.

“Our model allows us to build leadership capacity and give senior leaders the chance to get used to working together before putting them into a high pressure situation at a school where we need to raise performance in a very short space of time,” says chief executive Michael Wilkins.

“One of the biggest challenges is to make sure you have the right people in the right place. If you do that and have the right model and apply it consistently across the family of schools then standards will rise. It’s all about long term sustainability. That is where you get your credibility from. Otherwise you damage your brand.”

The latest exam results show the strategy is working with four of the schools exceeding their GCSE improvement targets, placing them in the top 25 per cent nationally.

Robert Hill argues that chains have potential to “embed on , a permanent basis the aspirations, expectations, systems, standards and accountability associated with the success of one or a group of schools”. But he raises important questions about their accreditation, optimum size, funding, accountability and commitment to working with neighbouring schools. He also questions whether there is a risk of chains expanding too rapidly or not having the right education or business models to sustain performance.

The study looks at options for the future of primary schools arguing the need for structures and frameworks that provide the critical mass necessary to encourage and support strategic leadership, create a new career structure, support professional and curriculum development and address school under-performance. It anticipates that chains in the primary sector will be more varied in structure. Options include a group of primaries with an executive head, partnerships between primary and secondary schools or all-through 3-19 consortiums.

Although primary schools should not be clustered together for the sake of it, the report argues, they could and perhaps should become members of an accredited primary school group (APSG) that adopts and works to chain-like standards. The report sets out how this potentially important agenda for the sector could be achieved over the next decade by providing funding incentives for schools, encouraging local authorities to develop networks of APSGs and requiring schools given notice to improve or in special measures to become part of a group.

An example of a primary federation with chain-like characteristics is the First Federation in Devon. The federation is based around Blackpool Primary, a 320pupil school described by Ofsted as good with outstanding features. In 2006, it took under its wing the neighbouring Chudleigh Knighton Primary School after it was given notice to improve. Blackpool’s headteacher, Paul Jones, was appointed executive head and introduced a new leadership structure with a head of teaching and learning in each school. Higher expectations and new systems were put in place with the result that a year later Chudleigh Knighton was reclassified as a good school with outstanding leadership and management.

The successful turnaround led to two other Devon schools joining the group and in 2009 a new federation was formed with a single governing body, using the same model. “After three-and-a-half years operating as a federation, as executive head I am absolutely certain that this model works in terms of achieving sustainable high quality outcomes for children.

“The next step will be a chain of primary schools that will enable us to enhance the teaching and learning in all our schools as well as to work outside the chain on school improvement for other schools,” says Paul Jones. “It is really vital we have primary chains because, although similar in many ways, they are culturally different to secondary chains. It will be very important to ensure the primary ethos and pedagogy are maintained and developed.”