Dear colleague
Welcome to October’s edition of our newsletter. Here are the latest updates:
ASCL Council
ASCL Council convened at Warwick University from 8-9 October. Many of you will have read in the press how discussions regarding the future of Ofsted inspections were a major part of this term’s Council, culminating in the approval of a position statement which expressed no confidence in the leadership of Ofsted, and called for the government to pause inspections and review the inspection system as a matter of urgency. It was a seminal moment, and a reflection of the dissatisfaction felt by local representatives at not only the impact which inspections under the current framework are having on ASCL members but also frustration at the failure of Ofsted to engage meaningfully with teachers and school leaders.
Discussions were also held on the NEET issue, in the context of the upcoming Milburn report, with reps discussing how ASCL can contribute to reducing the number of young people not in education, employment or training. This might not be an issue which leaders in independent schools feel directly affects them, but there will certainly be ways in which work with partner state schools could be targeted to supporting them, a topic which I plan to return to in the near future.
I hope that you had the opportunity to complete the short survey focused on access to reviews of marking by parents: this is the start of a piece of work by Council exploring the equity of the reviews of marking process, linked inevitably to the question of marking accuracy and fair outcomes for all.
From the perspective of the independent sector, Council also featured two potentially significant developments. Firstly, it unanimously passed a position statement endorsing the Secretary of State’s new powers granted to them by the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 to confirm that prospective proprietors of independent schools are fit and proper, and committed to the sustainability of the school(s) which they intend to run. However, Council agreed to also include ‘owners’ in its statement, in the hope that action can be taken to minimise the risk ‘bad actors’ who have no intention of keeping a school open are prevented from taking over a school which has found itself in an unsustainable position.
Secondly, the reps from the affiliated independent sector associations agreed that we should work to develop a model of the existing Framework for Ethical Leadership in Education, which ASCL helped to develop in 2017, specifically for independent school leaders. Work on this will continue throughout this academic year, with further updates to follow.
As you can see, it was a busy and productive Council!
Ongoing issues for members
As you may imagine, concerns regarding the practical implementation of elements of the most recent KCSIE and Working together to improve attendance are top of the list of concerns which members appear to have at this moment, with several leaders either emailing me or speaking to me at the recent IAPS and HMC conferences. Whilst I do not have any good news to offer at this stage, I am working closely with ISC to explore whether any latitude is possible on the part of the DfE. The peer exemption rule in particular is causing issues for leaders in all schools, independent and state, and threatens to impede the ability of leaders in state schools to enact the enrichment framework which they have been advised to introduce.
Recent blogs and podcasts
If you haven’t caught it already, ASCL General Secretary Pepe Di’lasio and I were interviewed for the IAPS podcast, exploring amongst many other things (for example, the Secretary of State’s unfortunate footballing allegiances…) the role of trade unions in independent schools. It was great to speal with Nick Robinson from IAPS and I hope you enjoy listening to the conversation.
Fiona Rogers, Deputy CEO of COBIS, recently wrote a blog for ASCL on Why international experience matters for teachers and leaders for UK schools. It is a timely reminder for UK-based school leaders that educators who have previously chosen to develop their career overseas can bring with them considerable skills, perspectives and experience that will be of benefit to leaders looking to recruit new staff.
London Leadership Essentials Conference (25 November 2026)
Leadership Essentials is the new title for the annual leadership update conference which ASCL runs in different venues each autumn. This year, for the first time, we are including a session exclusively for leaders working in independent schools.
On 25 November, at the London Leadership Essentials Conference, ASCL Deputy Director of Policy Tom Middlehurst, Lindsey Hughes (Headmistress Channing School , Vice President of The Girls' Schools Association, and Board Director of Independent Schools Council) and I will be in conversation discussing:
What does leadership in the independent sector look like in 5 years? Considering the challenges and opportunities, and strategies which all leaders in the sector need to be reflecting upon.
As this is the first time that we have included a session explicitly for independent sector leaders as part of the autumn leadership conferences, we are running this as a pilot only at the London conference. Hopefully this generates sufficient interest for us to include sessions specifically for independent school leaders at other locations next year.
The other presentations and workshops during the day will also feature content which is relevant to ALL leaders, regardless of which type of school they work in, so it should prove to be a highly informative day.
You can book your place here.
And finally, I hope that you can find the time to the read this term’s edition of Leader where you will find an article exploring how 4 GDST schools are collaborating to preserve A Level subjects which might otherwise be threatened at their respective schools. As such, it offers a model which I’m sure many independent schools will be interested in.
Best wishes,
