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REVIEW OF DEVOLVED SCHOOL MANAGEMENT: Working Group Report

A INTRODUCTION

This report provides a review of Devolved School Management (DSM) undertaken by a short-life Working Group set-up by the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) in November 2000. A note of Group membership is provided at Appendix A.

In taking forward their review, the Group's remit required them to take account of:

A fundamental feature of the Group's review was the examination of the schemes operating under Circular 6/93, which was issued in March 1993, by the then Scottish Office Education Department. The Group, at the forefront of its deliberations, was aware of the ongoing change faced by the education service in recent years, particularly with regard to curriculum development, the introduction of 5-14 and Higher Still. Against this backdrop the Group sought to establish how DSM schemes had evolved during this period.

To help establish this position the Group commissioned NFO System Three Marketing & Social Research (System Three Research) to conduct a survey of all Local Authorities and public sector schools in Scotland. This involved the issue of a questionnaire to all Local Authorities in Scotland and to Head Teachers in their respective schools in the secondary, primary and special sectors. The response to this consultation exercise was impressive. The Group received completed questionnaires from 31 of the 32 Local Authorities and 1,622 schools. The one outstanding Local Authority questionnaire was received some time after the System Three deadline and could not therefore be included in their report, but the Group took account of the views expressed when establishing their conclusions and recommendations. (Details of the methodology applied by System Three Research can be found at Appendix B of this report; copies of the respective questionnaires are provided at Appendices C and D.)

Reasons for a review of DSM

A comprehensive review of DSM has not been undertaken since its introduction in 1996. Therefore SEED identified a need for a review, for the following reasons:

• Comments made in reports such as "Managing Change in Small Scottish Primary Schools¹" that DSM has not been implemented in some Education Authority areas.
• Local Government reform and the introduction of a system of single tier local authorities has taken place since April 1996.
• The Improving our Schools consultation generated many comments about DSM. These ranged from very happy with the arrangements and requests for further development of budgets, to concerns about the operation of the schemes and calls for a review and requests for further devolution of budgets to school level.
• The McCrone Report into the professional conditions of service and pay for teachers recommended a review of the existing DSM scheme; this review to allow Head Teachers greater flexibility to vary the management structure and deployment of posts within school in the light of changing circumstances.
• Section 8 (Delegation Schemes) of the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000 gives a statutory framework to the delegation by Education Authorities of functions to schools.
• The increasing number of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Public Private Partnership (PPP) proposals in Scottish schools and their implications for school management.
• Issues of accountability related to recent direct funding of schools by the Scottish Executive.

It is important to note the importance of Section 8 (Delegation Schemes) of the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Act. This section of the Act illustrates the links between DSM and the School Development Plan, within the overarching aim of improving the quality of school education and raising standards.

Where DSM arrangements do not afford the Head Teacher sufficient resources or responsibility to tackle new developments, particularly those arising from the 2000 Act, it will be important to discuss what changes may be required to update DSM schemes.

In looking forward over the next few years it is recommended that Head Teachers and their Education Authority consider the extent to which business planning and project management tools could be used to identify and implement key changes affecting the operation of the school and particularly their financial impact.

These themes are illustrated throughout this report.

It is appropriate to note at this juncture that prior to the Group's review there was evidence to suggest that some Local Authorities have not implemented DSM schemes, which meet the guidance outlined in Circular 6/93. The publication "Managing Change in Small Scottish Primary Schools" provides some information of the extent of DSM implementation across 11 Education Authorities. It is stated in this publication that some Education Authorities had not introduced DSM to any of their schools and others have introduced it to only 10% of their schools.

Distribution and relevance of the Group report

This report should be relevant to a range of education stakeholders, especially:

• Directors of Education and staff with DSM responsibilities;
• Head Teachers, their staff and staff representatives with DSM responsibilities in the pre-school, primary, secondary and special schools in the Scottish public sector;
• Chief Executives in Local Authorities;
• Teacher organisations;
• School Boards; and
• Parent Teacher organisations.

The Group also received valuable advice and assistance from:

• Staff in Education Authorities who took time to complete questionnaires;
• Staff in schools who gave of their time to complete questionnaires;
• Representatives from both the Scottish School Boards Association (SSBA) and the Scottish Parent Teacher Council (SPTC) who met separately with the Group to discuss their perceptions of DSM and how procedures could be improved; and
• System Three Research who were awarded the contract to process and analyse questionnaire data from schools and local authorities.

The report has been circulated widely to all local authorities, schools and other key players within Scottish education. Further copies can be obtained from:

Scottish Executive Education Department
Teachers and Schools Division
Area 2 A (North)
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
Contact Number: 0131-244 4544

If convenient, the report can also be downloaded from the DSM web page at www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/dsmreview . This web page also provides access to the System Three Research reports, which provides their analysis of the questionnaires received from Local Authorities and schools.

Following the publication of this report, SEED will assume responsibility for overseeing implementation of the recommendations made by the review group.

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