Does the education system hold teh key to long term success on the international stage?

[RexCathedra]

and look how after all this time a population of >300m has produced a couple of keepers and a couple of forwards of note, and has imported 5 German raised players.

The German-American players aren't coming up from school and university athletics, either.

Our domestic supply is 90% NCAA (university)... There are reasons to be wary of the academy system, especially how it serves the kids who don't rise to the top, but it delivers the goods.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Thought I'd bounce this one as I like the title.

The average school budget is typically around 75% on salaries, sometimes more.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/pay-offer-worst-possible-outcome-schools
The government in their latest pay offer of around 4.3% are only going to fund 1% of that rise, the schools will have to pay from existing budgets. So any school balancing delicately in the black, and many are already in the red, they will have the prospect of the 75% of their budget going up 3.3% without any funding to support that.

Under the Government's own Schools Bill legislation it wants all schools to be part of Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) by 2030.

However, under legislation MATs are registered as Charitable Trusts, and the rules govern that you cannot take on a school in a deficit budget because the trustees have to protect the assets of the charity. So the double whammy here is that the government will be sending schools across the country into deficit budget, and demanding they join a MAT by 2030, but many won't be able to do so. Expect bending and manipulating of rules to follow.

At present, most of Brighton and Hove Schools remain maintained under the local authority. We have some who have joined MATs already, BACA, PACA, West Blatchington Primary is openly looking to join the Pioneer MAT and others will be going through similar thought process.

My natural political instinct is that schools belong under local authority control, answerable to an elected council and in turn the public and communities they serve. Efficiencies that are spoken about joining a MAT can also be achieved through maintained schools federating and working together more, but remaining under their LA.

Be under no illusion, MATs operate like private companies. They will start to inward looking, guarding their successes rather sharing best practice and being part of their community of schools. The schools within their MAT can be dictated to be Execs or directors losing their individuality that maybe is specific to their community.