|
| Proposals
for action |
 |
|
| d)
National professional standards and recognition |
|
|
The lack of
established professional standards for the key school improvement
functions of monitoring, challenge and intervention make it hard
for Authorities to know under Best Value whether their own services
are up to scratch, and equally importantly whether alternative providers
are of a high enough standard. Schools buying in school improvement
services are similarly disadvantaged. This is a serious weakness
in current arrangements which makes it hard to develop a genuine
and open market. Work under the auspices of key national bodies
has started to address this issue, but without a clear national
framework there is a limit to what they can achieve.
|
|
| The
Government is therefore considering the case for a system of national
recognition of school improvement services which would apply common
professional and business standards to any body from any sector proposing
to offer a monitoring, improvement and intervention service to be
paid for out of retained Local Education Authority funds. This would
cover Local Education Authority in-house provision, and any private
and voluntary sector alternatives being developed. The standards set
would be high. The primary aim would be to achieve a step change in
the quality of school improvement monitoring and challenge functions,
in part by encouraging new providers from the private and voluntary
sectors to enter the market. We envisage that the outcome would be
a market in which there might be fewer, larger providers, each with
a critical mass of high calibre staff. |
|
|
The conditions
of recognition would cover the professional quality of staff, and
the need for them to have had suitable experience and to have received
training which would itself meet defined standards. They would also
cover the ability of the service provider to:
- be flexible
so as to meet different needs;
- have access
to the full range of expertise;
- be clearly
priced; and
- have in place
arrangements to secure the necessary distinction between the challenge
function and the sale of additional support direct to schools.
|
|
| It
will be essential to find suitably light-touch ways of ensuring that
school improvement staff and services meet these requirements. It
is not the Government’s intention to add a bureaucratic burden, but
to develop and recognise high professional and business standards.
Schools would not be obliged to use nationally recognised providers
when buying in professional support or training from their own funds,
but might well find this element of quality assurance helpful in making
their own choices. |
|
|
The Government
believes that this is a logical next step from the setting of clear
professional standards for headteachers and teachers. It should:
- help to establish
greater professional confidence and better relationships between
schools and inspection and advisory services, whether provided
by the ‘home’ Authority, another Authority or an alternative provider.
The Government believes that schools would welcome it for that
reason;
- be welcome
to inspection and advisory staff in Local Education Authorities
and elsewhere because of the recognition of the important professional
role they have to play, which is the same whatever the nature
of the organisation for which they work;
- encourage
the movement of high quality professionals into this work, whether
permanently or for a limited period, and offer explicit recognition
of the skills developed as a result; and
- encourage
the movement of high quality professionals among different types
of organisation, with the assurance that each sector will recognise
and operate to the same standards.
|
|
| The
Department proposes to set up a small group of interested bodies to
work together on developing and taking forward this proposal, including
the best way to manage the work of developing professional standards
and a framework for the recognition of services. |
|
| Main
Page Next
Section |
|
| |
