Restoring School freedom.

Great schools are built by great teachers and leaders who have the freedom to make decisions in the best interests of their pupils.

Over the past two decades, free schools and academies have demonstrated the value of greater autonomy. Freedoms over curriculum, staffing, pay, admissions and school organisation have enabled many schools to innovate, develop distinctive educational approaches and raise standards for children.

Necessary school freedoms.

We believe that all schools should have certain freedoms so that they can serve their communities, support their workforce and deliver a fantastic education to their pupils.

Curriculum

Schools and Trusts should have the freedom to vary from the National Curriculum to reflect their local community, the context and characteristics of their pupils and any specialisms that they as a school hold.

Pay & Conditions

Schools and Trusts should have the freedom to vary from the centrally negotiated pay and conditions so that they can develop unique offers to their staff, reflecting their local conditions and set up of the school.

Teacher Training

School leaders should have the freedom to appoint those they think the most suitable to teaching positions. This means that schools can hire to their values or the expertise or experience needed.

Timetables & Holidays

Schools and Trusts should have freedom over how to structure their school day or when to have their school holidays.

There should be nothing to stop schools who want to provide more than the legal minimum of school time, to provide more time for learning or enrichment.

Some schools have longer school days or Saturday school as they deem this necessary to best
support their disadvantaged students to close the attainment gap.

The system needs to both
protect the space to develop innovative practices and adapt to what is needed in disadvantaged
settings.

The importance of school freedom.

The expansion of school freedom within the English education system coincided with significant improvements in the quality of English schools.

Between 2009 and 2023 England climbed in the international PISA rankings for maths (16 places) and reading (12 places).
Between 2011 and 2023 England climbed in the international TIMSS ranking for science Year 5 (10 places) and Year 9 (4 places).
Between 2010 and 2024 the number of English school judged to be good or outstanding by Ofsted has increased by 22%.

"If it were up to me, I would be saying, “More freedom; more accountability.”

"What has made a difference in improving education and public services, not just in this country but internationally, has been giving more responsibility to the people who are accountable for performance"

Sir Jon Coles, CEO United Learning