On raising the tone

On a day when the Education minister called those opposed to him 'trots' and they called him a 'prat', I thought I would aim to raise the tone of the discussion with a little blogging. Regular readers (are there any?) will know that I am the past Chair of BELMAS BELMAS website. BELMAS stands for the rather unwieldy but 'does what it says on the tin' British Educational Management and Administration Society. We are approaching our 40th anniversary, and all sorts of activities will be set in motion, starting with the annual conference in Manchester in July. You can read all about BELMAS on the website, and join for free in the first year. BELMAS have funded me to do a small research project looking at how the restructuring of the education system is working at a local level. Working with colleagues at Sheffield Hallam, we are studying three LA areas- one a large shire county, one a large urban authority, and one a small unitary authority. I have been out and about talking to Heads, governors and local authority people about issues to do with the role of the LA, autonomy, governance etc, and how structural reform may be changing not just structures but other issues as well. We hope to be able to report the initial findings later in the year, but here is a taster, or starter for ten from me. If you have any views, I would be delighted to hear from you with a post at the end of this blog!

Structural reform is fast paced and relentless at the moment. Here are some issues that have arisen in my discussions so far:

• The past relationship of local schools to the Local Authority and their present capacity looks like an interesting avenue to explore. 
• How Headteachers are interpreting and managing their new freedoms in line with their underlying values concerning education. 

I was discussing today with a primary head whether there is a fundamental difference between primary and secondary over various issues (do primary heads want more support than they are currently getting?), and whether indeed, different heads have different agendas- the 'expansionist head' versus the 'locally, my school and community' focused head. Obviously if I do more work, I will come up with better descriptors if it begins to follow a pattern. The role of teaching schools as a quasi replacement for the LA is coming up too, rather than Sir Michael's idea of superintendents. Apparent everywhere is whether people have the resilience to cope with the relentless pace of it all. These are all very first tentative thoughts.

By looking closely at what is taking place 'on the ground', we hope to find some useful information for both fellow academics and practitioners, which, of course is what BELMAS is all about- 'where research and practice meet'. Off to download today's interviews!