A quiet revolution in education

04 March 2014

Australian Policy Online (APO) has posted an editorial by Peter Hunt, CEO Mutuo (UK), on the rise of co-operative models in education in the UK.

“A locally led, co-operative model of management has been spearheaded and now accounts for more than 700 Co-operative Trust schools, with a further 230 in the process of adopting this new model. These schools are not new, rather they are conversions of existing community schools, which were previously run by local councils.

They have seized the opportunity to separate from local authority control to become legally independent, employing their own teachers and other staff and providing public education in accordance with their new inclusive structural approach. They continue to work to the national curriculum, mainstream educational standards and national pay and conditions for staff.

They have adopted new governance arrangements that give membership to parents and staff alike – hard wiring a close relationship with their two main stakeholder groups to ensure that they remain close to the people that they exist to serve.”

Australian Policy Online, A quiet revolution in education, 3 March 2014