Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the appointment process for Regional School Commissioners.

Lord Nash

The eight Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) take decisions in the name of the Secretary of State in relation to schools and academies (including free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools). The RSCs were appointed through open competition, with successful candidates being appointed for their outstanding leadership skills and track record. The process was overseen by the Civil Service Commissioner. RSCs are line managed by the national Schools Commissioner.

The responsibilities of RSCs include:

a) monitoring the performance of the academies, free schools, UTCs and studio schools in their area;

b) taking action when an academy, free school, UTC or studio school is underperforming;

c) approving the conversion of maintained schools to academies and making the decision on the sponsor for new academies in areas where the local authority has identified a need for additional school places;

d) making recommendations to ministers about free school applications and advising on whether approved free school projects are ready to open;

e) encouraging organisations to become academy sponsors or to establish free schools, approving applications to become sponsors and helping to build the capacity and capability of existing sponsors within their area;

f) approving changes to open academies, for example: changes to age ranges, mergers between academies, and changes to MAT arrangements;

g) addressing underperformance in local authority maintained schools through sponsored academy arrangements.