I thought I’d signed off for Christmas, then, as the consultation period for the Green Paper Schools that Work for Everyone drew to a close, the independent sector stole the headlines by making its big offer to find 10,000 “good school places” if government would buy them at private schools at its national level of funding.

Even the sector’s enemies agreed it was smart footwork.

I must declare an interest. I’m head of one of the independent day schools that the government reckons should be helping out by opening free schools. However, two things enable me to stand slightly aside to view the situation.

First, I shall retire in the summer: my successor has been appointed and so I have now become yesterday’s man.

Second, for more than 20 years I have been routinely working with the leaders of state schools: for more than a decade I was on the council of the Association of School and College Leaders (back when it was still called SHA); and for eight years I’ve been on the board of SCHOOLS NorthEast, a regional organisation that brings together heads from across all age-groups and sectors.

The government proclaims its urgent mission to increase the number of “good school places”. We might argue about what is meant by that term, and bridle at the implication that school places already on offer aren’t good.

But the imperative isn’t really about different types of school places: by 2025 it’s estimated that the country will need 570,000 more sixth-form places than it has now. That gap is a colossal one to bridge, and there’s little sign of any coherent government plan to deal with it.

Why not create those additional places in independent schools? The offer from the sector, while undoubtedly a well-timed and slick move, is both sincere and achievable.

Private schools tend to be flexible: and, after several lean years, many independent schools probably have spare capacity.

Moreover, independent schools genuinely don’t seek to be exclusive: on the contrary, their enormous bursary schemes and links with state school neighbours (the latter are far more extensive than government acknowledges) demonstrate their desire to be inclusive.

From their side of the divide, it is not they who are constructing barriers: successive governments have resolutely refused to consider any initiatives to bring the two sectors together.

Frankly, this proposal makes more sense and is easier to achieve than trying to create entirely new selective schools, parachuting grammars into areas of deprivation.

New schools don’t happen overnight or easily: anyone who has opened a free school (I’ve been part of that process) knows how tortuous it is: finding premises as local and national government wrangle with one another is an unbearably slow process.

The free school with which I am associated - West Newcastle Academy - is four years into its life: yet only in the last few months has building work begun to give it a proper home.

As opponents of independent schools have lined up arguments to confound the proposal, the same old chestnuts have been rolled out.

It’s claimed that the assisted places (AP) scheme was demonstrated not to have increased social mobility. Really? The evidence of that is at best selective.

Besides, those of us on the ground where we had significant proportions of pupils on APs (40 per cent in my Midlands school at the time) know the opposite to be true: they truly did change lives and make our schools more inclusive.

Next, a false statistic generated a couple of years ago was trotted out: state school pupils do better at university than their independent counterparts.

This spurious research from 2013 was quietly allowed to fade away when the independent sector authoritatively challenged it.

The same fate befell claims that children of equal ability do no better in independent than state schools. Incomplete figures, selectively quoted: the lie gained traction for a while.

A country short of school places: the independent sector’s offer at neutral cost to government. What’s not to like?

To his credit, schools minister Nick Gibb (on last Friday’s Any Questions) agreed that government would consider the proposal.

That’s better than a straight no. But pragmatism and a desire to put the needs of children first will need, for once, to trump political dogma. We’ll see.

Dr Bernard Trafford is headteacher of the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne, and a former chair of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference. The views expressed here are personal. He tweets at @bernardtrafford

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