When Gary Phillips began his career as a young teacher, the educational landscape was vastly different. There were no Ofsted, league tables, free schools or academies. At this stage, the national consciousness had yet to register the notion of parental choice and competition. This all changed with the implementation of the 1988 Education Reform Act, which introduced a “schools market” which was intended to encourage the best schools to expand whilst the worst would improve or face closure. Three decades on, examples of market benefits can be seen, as communicated by Phillips from the Lilian Baylis Technology School in Lambeth, London.
Phillips’ school is an exemplary proof of the market’s success. When Phillips took over in the late 90s, the school was struggling dramatically. With attendance being sparse and fewer than 10% of its pupils achieving five good GCSEs, the school, situated in one of the UK’s poorest regions, was propelled into national headlines when Oliver Letwin, a former cabinet minister and local parent, proclaimed at a Tory party conference fringe meeting that he would rather beg on the streets than send his children to the school closest to him. Today, the school is outstanding on every front and has attained significant results from a diverse intake. Phillips believes the 1988 reforms played an unambiguous role in the school’s improvement, “They shone a spotlight on schools failing young people like this one” he commented. Phillips is guarded, however, in his assessment of the overall success of the market experiment, cutting marks from six out of ten.
Phillips believes that while the introduction of the national curriculum was essential in laying a solid foundation and reducing inequality, it has since been undermined by academy freedoms, “performance measures have now become impenetrable to most parents, so may not even be helpful for exercising choice”.
There are still concerns about the unintended consequences of grading schools, teaching to the test, the “off-rolling” of pupils who are less likely to succeed and the impact on curriculum manipulation. It led to a small but significant number of what is termed “orphan schools” that none of the new “edu-providers” want. In addition, the complex interaction between choice, house prices, admissions practices and performance measures has also been shown to have created a degree of segregation, particularly where schools are located in areas where there are only two local options.
The government’s generic stance on oversight of academies is a case in point where many feel as if they are navigating the “wild west”. Whilst we can review 30 years since the introduction of the 1988 Education Reform Act, we must acknowledge that genuine marketisation can only occur when a market itself exists.
Phillips, who seriously considered converting his school to an academy but ultimately decided to remain under the Lambeth local authority, believes that the innovative spirit that drove the early academies has disappeared in the rush towards widespread academisation. He argues that education chains have become too large, with more emphasis placed on preserving the interests of the trust rather than on the students themselves, particularly from low-income families.
One of the key weaknesses of the educational marketplace has been a failure to ensure sufficient numbers of high-quality teachers, with schools that struggle the most often finding it hardest to recruit. Although the number of graduates has tripled, this has not been matched by an increase in those willing to train as teachers. According to Gary Phillips, young people today seek the prestige that comes with choosing a respected profession, and the negative image often associated with academy chains dissuades many from pursuing a career in teaching.
While parental choice remains an integral part of the education system, the current lull in policy-making presents a chance to reflect on the successes and failures of the past three decades. Gary Phillips advocates for greater local oversight of schools, as well as incentives for collaborating locally, rather than allowing national chains to cherry-pick particular schools. Meanwhile, the author suggests that reform in school admissions is necessary, along with a more inclusive definition of academic success that goes beyond test and exam results.
It’s been thirty years since the last significant Education Reform Act, and the time may be ripe for another. However, bringing about such a change would require strong political leadership, notes Gary Phillips. The forthcoming publication of Fiona Millar’s book "The Best For My Child: Did The Schools Market Deliver?" is likely to prompt further debate on these issues.
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