Headteachers voice support for ‘imperfect’ schools bill

A group of headteachers has voiced its support for the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill after it came under fire from other parts of the sector.
In an open letter to the education secretary, the Headteachers’ Roundtable said it “strongly” refutes recent criticism of education secretary Bridget Phillipson, and of the bill, along with “the suggestion that it may curb so-called academy ‘freedoms’”.
The letter is written in response to articles published in the national media “from individuals claiming to speak on behalf of our nation’s highly respected school leaders”.
“We feel the claims represent a stand which is overtly party political in tone; they do our profession no favours in the eyes of the public and they do not speak for the vast majority,” the letter states.
The heads welcomed provisions in the bill relating to safeguarding, limiting branded uniform items and breakfast clubs.
“While the schools bill is not perfect - in a structure as complex as ours it is unlikely any measure will suit all - it does not pose any threat to moderate and ethical school leaders who wrestle with these matters on a daily basis,” the Headteachers’ Roundtable said.
“We urge the secretary of state to ignore the voices that are amplified by the media,” the letter adds.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill contains provisions that bring academy schools in line with maintained schools in several areas. These include bringing academy teachers onto the same pay and conditions framework, requiring academies to follow the national curriculum, and having teachers with or working towards qualified teacher status.
In the letter to Ms Phillipson, heads said the bill “seeks to close the many gaps that children slip through when schools and academies are allowed the ‘freedom’ to not be fully and properly inclusive”.
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The letter added that the bill will give the Department for Education the power to challenge schools that are “evading their responsibilities around inclusion”.
The letter also welcomes “slight changes” in the bill that heads say will help tackle disadvantage, such as the three-item cap on branded uniform items and the rollout of breakfast clubs across primary schools.
“It is only right that schools should be mindful of the affordability of their uniforms,” the letter says.
It says the bill challenges schools that have narrowed their curriculum to “focus only on performance measures” and those that “appear unwelcoming to children with SEND”.
“The schools bill has, of course, put outliers in our system on the defensive, but they don’t speak for the majority of the profession,” it adds.
Academies have previously had freedoms in several of the areas covered by the bill, such as pay, and some trust CEOs have called for changes to parts of the bill, arguing these flexibilities have helped academy schools to innovate and improve outcomes.
Giving evidence to the bill committee earlier this week, Harris Federation CEO Sir Dan Moynihan said it is “not clear” what problems some of the reforms in the bill are aimed at solving. “I’ve seen no evidence suggesting that academy freedoms are creating an issue anywhere. Why are we doing this?” he added.
The Confederation of School Trusts also raised concerns about some of the measures in the bill and suggested all schools should be given the flexibilities the academy system has had.
On Tuesday, ministers said the government would table an amendment to the provisions in the bill on pay and conditions in response to concerns raised by the sector.
The Headteachers’ Roundtable is made up of 19 school and trust leaders from both academy and maintained schools.
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