Local management of schools in England: Results after six years

Abstract

This paper reviews the evidence on the impact of six years of local management of schools in England. Introduced into all parts of the UK except Scotland, as one of the key measures in the Education Reform Act (1988), local management of schools is a particular and limited version of the school‐based management (SBM) model. The paper starts by considering the theoretical basis for the links between SBM and local management on the one hand, and improved school performance in terms of educational outcomes on the other. It then reviews evidence on the impact of local management at the level of the school system, on school management, and against the criteria of efficiency, effectiveness and equity. The findings of research on the impact of local management, in particular the lack of firm evidence of consequential improved educational outcomes for pupils, is then interpreted in terms of the theoretical basis of local management.