'Schools that work for everyone' Consultation - What impact on higher education institutions?

The implications for universities have been less well publicised, but they are potentially very significant for the higher education sector as a whole.

Proposals Affecting Higher Education Institutions

The consultation suggests that:

• A university's ability to charge fees to students in excess of £6,000 per annum should be dependent on the university "establishing a school in the state system" (i.e. a free school) or sponsoring a school in the state system" (i.e. an academy).
   
• These schools and academies are expected to be rated 'good' or 'outstanding' (by Ofsted) within a "certain number of years".  
  
  
• Over time, the university would be expected to extend its support to other schools which would in turn become 'good' or 'outstanding'.  
  
  
• The university should take into account geography, the number of good school places and HE participation rates in deciding where to focus its efforts.  
  
  
• The focus is on driving attainment by pupils at the schools, but the university will also be expected to support schools in relation to governance, curriculum design, finance, mentoring, teaching capacity, HR and other forms of educational support.  
  
  
• A university's contribution would be assessed by the Director for Fair Access in line with government guidance to be issued in early 2017 and implemented in higher education institutions' access agreements for 2018/19, but the consultation asks whether issuing guidance is the most appropriate way of achieving this.

Wider Issues Raised by the Proposals

Some universities already sponsor academies and have established free schools, but a number do not. A key question for those institutions is the level of commitment that is envisaged and the implications in terms of time, resource, reputation and money.

Universities that have already established a relationship with an academy or a free school may need to re-examine the role it is taking in raising attainment.

Legal Issues

There are also some relevant legal issues to consider. There is no statutory framework for what constitutes 'sponsorship' and what this means in practice is largely a reflection of current DfE policy. Sponsoring an academy will typically involve becoming a member of an 'academy trust' which is established to operate one or more academies and also having the right to appoint at least some of that academy trust's trustees (whether described as 'governors' or 'directors').

The same is likely to be true in relation to establishing a free school. A free school is fundamentally an academy in that it is set up, funded and regulated by the DfE and Ofsted in the same way as an academy, but one that is not set up to take on existing educational provision. In other words, a free school is a 'new' academy, which does not take on an existing maintained school.

Higher education institutions will need to consider a range of issues, including the basis on which they enable university staff or governors to participate in the governance of a sponsored academy or free school. Institutions will also need to ensure that providing support to an academy or free school is within the scope of their charitable educational objects.

Reputation

Sponsoring an academy or establishing a free school will also essentially mean nailing the university's reputation to the academy or free school's performance in terms of pupil attainment. While this is a question with which universities will be intimately familiar in relation to their own students, raising the attainment of primary and secondary students may well pose a range of very different challenges.

Commitment

The consultation document suggests that higher education institutions should have a deeper role and their ability to charge fees will ultimately depend on how well a sponsored academy or free school performs in educational terms. So, in simple terms, the key is attainment rather than effort.

The degree of commitment required in order to deliver outstanding or good outcomes should not be underestimated. There are challenges in terms of funding, demographics, social context and other factors which may make achieving what the government's consultation suggests is expected challenging. An Ofsted judgement which concludes that an academy or free school is not good or outstanding (and which will generally be delivered without regard for the social context within which an academy or free school operates) will require an immediate response from the university which sponsors it. For example, that response might include making changes to an academy's board of trustees to secure improved governance. However, the commitment is likely to go further than that, requiring the university to take a very active and ongoing role in securing rapid improvement in attainment for pupils.

If you require any further information, please contact Con Alexander on 0117 314 5214.