1. New sixth forms
AoC Conference, 15 November 2016

2. Paul Wakeling Principal Havering Sixth Form College

3. Judicial Review – A Leadership Challenge

4. Deeply Held Belief Challenged

5. Get on the Balcony

6. When a leopard threatens a band of chimpanzees, the leopard rarely succeeds in picking off a stray. Chimps know how to respond to this kind of threat. But when a man with an automatic rifle comes near, the routine responses fail. Chimps risk extinction in a world of poachers unless they figure out how to disarm the new threat. Heifetz and Laurie 1997

7. Managing conflict and regulating distress

8. Disciplined attention

9. Sharing the work

10. Listening to the voices

11. Learning

12. New sixth forms Julian Gravatt, Assistant Chief Executive

13. School sixth form starting points
“A successful secondary school almost always has a sixth form”
“Sixth forms are the norm in academies, whereas they were the exception in the failing comprehensives which they replaced”
“Converter academies should have the absolute right to expandand to open sixth forms”
Andrew Adonis
“Education, Education, Education” (2012)
Pages and 197

14. School sixth forms – the policy
Policy development and implementation
Five year strategy (2004) created sixth form presumption
Labour’s academies: 203 by 2010, 184 with sixth forms
Coalition government approved 169 new sixth forms
New institutions (UTCs, studio schools, free schools)
Green paper anticipates new selective and faith schools
Numbers
Number of funded sixth forms up from 1,800 to 2,100
Number of 16,17 year olds up by 88,000 (26%) in 12 years

15. 16&17 year old participation
16 & 17 year olds
2003
2009
2015
Schools
334,000
402,000
422,000
Sixth form colleges
116,000
156,000
147,000
FE colleges (full-time)
308,000
428,000
Independent schools
78,000
77,000
82,000
Full-time (sub total)
836,000
1,063,000
1,053,000
Part-time, in work apprenticeship, NEET
446,000
240,000
219,000
Total
1,282,000
1,303,000
1,272,000

16. 16 & 17 year old participation

17. Research and guidance on sixth forms
DFE
No research on school sixth forms in last ten years
Guidance for academies & free schools very generic
Ofsted
Separate inspection only from 2015 onwards
Two reports on study programmes; none on A-levels
NAO
Questions raised in 2011 report on education report

18. Why it’s hard to run a school sixth form
Demand
Of 100 Year 11s in schools, 76 in Year 12 and 58 in Year 13
Number of 16 year olds in population falling by 2% a year
More new sixth forms, especially in cities and more to come
Colleges have more business-like leadership
Challenges
The funding squeeze (£4,000 flat cash, removal of FPF)
Academy pay cost ratio is 75%
New A-levels harder to manage in a smaller institution
DFE promoting mergers (MATs) on limited evidence base

19. Rules for new sixth forms
Framework
Maintained school: apply to council to change school age range
Academy: apply to RSC (acting on behalf of DFE)
“Making significant change” guidance sets out the rules
Rules require a public consultation
Admissions code requires a separate admission consultation
Application
Business case presented by academy to RSC
RSC consults EFA and Headteacher Board (HTB)
RSC decides unless s/he refers case upward

20. The March 2016 guidance
One test for the academy; four tests for the sixth form
Academy should normally have outstanding or good Ofsted
The new sixth form:
size: 200 (fully open; on own or in partnership)
breadth: 15 A-levels (no mention of Maths, English)
demand: evidence it is needed; impact on good/outstanding
viability: how funded, impact on school budget

21. Some concluding thoughts
Policy
Schools green paper
Post-16 skills plan & devolution implies some planning
Finance will be a check on aspiration
“Making significant change” guidance being reviewed
How to respond to proposals
Respond in full & on time
Communicate with RSC, HTB, council and other schools
Explain why the sixth form is bad for the school’s pupils
Explain detrimental impact on good/outstanding provision