VAT on school fees, the end of charitable business rates relief, a big hike in national insurance contributions, falling pupil rolls. Whichever way you look at it, private schools in England have had a rough 18 months.
These pressures have already forced some schools to close, but what if, rather than closing, these independent schools decided to become state schools instead?
This may sound outlandish but, as my new report – co-authored with Dr Tilly Clough – shows, 27 independent schools managed to leap from the independent sector into the state sector from 2007 to 2016, either as academies or free schools.
So why did they make the leap, and what happened to them after they switched sectors?
Financial concerns appear to have been the biggest driver behind independent schools moving into the state sector.
When fewer families could afford the fees, or demographic changes left a school without enough pupils, it made sense to look at other ways to stay afloat.
In some cases, the schools also felt that opening their doors to all local families was a better match for their founding missions.
Running the gauntlet of bureaucracy
Regardless of their reasoning, though, converting schools still had to run the gauntlet of government bureaucracy.
The academies and free school conversion routes both threw up potential obstacles, including public consultation processes, complaints from nearby state schools and a lack of any real support, advice and guidance from government.
That said, many parents were thrilled at the prospect of having an independent school on their doorstep that no longer charged fees.
And now, the big question: did these former independent schools become successful state schools?
Judging by historical Ofsted reports, many of them initially struggled to adapt to the national curriculum, league tables and the demands of Ofsted inspections.
This helps explain why almost 40 per cent of these schools were judged as ‘requires improvement’ (or previously ‘satisfactory’) in their first post-conversion inspection.
However, all but one of these schools were rated as ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ at their most recent inspection, meaning that the gap between these schools and other state schools has essentially disappeared.
A transformation of intakes
What about their exam results? In primary education, former independent schools perform slightly better than other state schools on the percentage of pupils achieving the ‘expected standard’ in reading, writing and maths at age 11 (68 versus 60 per cent).
In secondary education, the performance gap is more noticeable as former independent schools achieve better progress 8 and attainment 8 scores and have more pupils reaching grade 5 in English and maths.
But is this gap caused by their intake still being more reminiscent of an independent school than a state school? Our analysis suggests not.
Since converting, these schools have undergone a dramatic transformation.
Following the removal of selective admissions, the proportion of pupils with SEN at former independent schools has more than doubled, while the proportion of FSM pupils is now almost 70 per cent higher than when they converted.
This has put these schools close to the national average on both counts.
So what next?
Given that these former independent schools have generally performed well in the state sector while also becoming more inclusive and representative of their communities, we think there is a strong case for reviving the opportunity for independent schools to convert into a state school.
Such conversions should only be approved by government when it would benefit families and taxpayers – for instance, creating a “new” state school rather than spending millions of pounds repairing a nearby state school beset by problems with RAAC concrete.
This targeted approach could help provide a high-quality state-funded education to pupils from a wide range of backgrounds.
With many independent schools likely to come under significant financial strain in the coming years, it is now more important than ever that the government once again gives these schools the chance to join the state sector.
