Leaders of London schools dominate the advisers appointed to develop key Ofsted and curriculum reforms.
Schools in the north east last week warned education secretary Bridget Phillipson of a “severe lack of representation” from their area.
Of the 94 members on the seven external reference groups established by Ofsted, only two worked in the region’s schools, Schools North East analysis found.
There was no representation on the Department for Education’s 12-member curriculum and assessment review panel, it said.
But analysis by Schools Week has found that the Midlands is the most under-represented.
Chris Zarraga, the director of Schools North East, said the absence of “diverse regional representation on policy-shaping bodies perpetuates a harmful cycle of ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions, which fail to address the pressing needs of schools serving the most vulnerable students”.
Dominance of the capital
Our analysis looked at the DfE’s curriculum panel members and the four Ofsted panels relating directly to schools: curriculum, behaviour, inclusion and wellbeing.
Of the 54 schools representatives, 27 were from organisations that worked in London. However, this may be skewed by 13 people representing national organisations headquar-tered in the capital, but whose reach may extend to other areas.
Of the other regions, the East Midlands was the most under-represented – with just one person. The south west had two.
Given the caveat about national organisations, we also looked at the 18 panellists who work directly in the schools sector.
All but two of these are from academies or trusts. We included two leaders who recently left their positions as trust chief executives.
Schools in London make up 13 per cent of the total nationwide. But seven of the advisers (39 per cent) worked in London schools.
Another five also worked for a trust that had some schools in the capital alongside other regions (taking the total to 66 per cent).
Missing Midlands
Schools in the north east, north west and Yorkshire and the Humber represent 29 per cent of schools nationally. Four (22 per cent) of those on the panels hailed from organisations that had schools in those regions – so they are not far off being representative.
While a small sample size, the north east is actually over-represented among the 18 leaders we looked at. The region has 5 per cent of the country’s schools, but two panellists (11 per cent).
Again, the Midlands were under-represented. The East Midlands has 9 per cent of England’s schools and the West Midlands represents 11 per cent. But none of the 18 panellists hailed from school groups in those regions.
Claire Ward, the mayor of the East Midlands, said the lack of representation was “all too familiar story that has real impact on our children and young people”.
“We don’t just need a seat at the table, we need the government to understand the challenges in the East Midlands.”
Pepe Di’Iasio, the leader of the ASCL leaders’ union, said while it might be difficult to balance the panels, it was disappointing that “some regions have been missed out entirely”.
“Regional context and insight are important factors. Ofsted and the curriculum and assessment review will need to ensure they find ways to engage with all regions.”
A DfE spokesperson said review panel members were appointed to “ensure the very best expertise available is balanced with the need for broad sector and demographic representation”.
The curriculum review will also run events in every part of the country.
Ofsted did not want to comment.
Northerners call the shots
In a letter to Phillipson, Zarraga said non-representative adviser panels “threaten the effectiveness of education policy-making”.
However, Phillipson and schools minister Catherine McKinnell both represent constituencies in the north east, as do both the department’s private parliamentary secretaries.
The head of Ofsted, Sir Martyn Oliver, works mostly from the inspectorate’s York office, and ran a trust that had schools in the area.
Meanwhile Lee Owston, Ofsted’s national director who chairs three of the expert groups, was an inspector and taught in the north east.
The DfE spokesperson said that Phillipson and McKinnell “continue to be proud and vocal supporters of the region”.
But Zarraga said it was “equally troubling that the process for selecting members of these reference groups remains opaque”.
Ofsted said its experts were “invited external stakeholders with relevant experience”. It did not provide further comment.
Professor Becky Francis, chair of the government’s curriculum review chair, has previously said she “resisted the temptation to tokenistically place, say, a parent or an employer or a young person on the panel”.
She was responding to “surprising” criticism of having no local authority-maintained schools represented.
