Just as it does with football, Manchester is leading the way in education. A journalist from a national journal recently asked me how this came to be, and this led me to reflect on 25 years of progress, and what the government can learn from it in delivering on its goals.
First and foremost, over that period, the city’s schools have taken part in a number of national developments that have encouraged them to collaborate.
Significant in these were the Excellence in Cities and Educational Action Zones initiatives during the early part of the century. These were followed by the Leadership Incentive Grant which encouraged groups of secondary schools to agree and implement a common improvement plan.
Later, the Greater Manchester Challenge programme, which I led, created families of schools that established partnerships across the city region. In addition, what we called the Keys to Success programme partnered schools in challenging circumstances with another that had the capacity to provide support.
Meanwhile, other locally-instigated initiatives like the Manchester Inclusion Standard gave further encouragement for schools to collaborate.
Through my ongoing links with Manchester schools I hear frequent mention of the legacy of these developments.
For example, the city’s association of secondary headteachers, formed many years ago, continues to hold its annual residential conference. Even though these school leaders are to some extent in competition, they recognise that they need the professional support of colleagues who are facing similar challenges.
There are other factors that help to explain the success of Manchester’s schools. For example, the presence of two well-regarded universities brings to the city many ambitious young people, some of who stay on to teach in local schools.
There are many in the field whose instincts are to work in partnership.
Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Manchester discovered that the city boasts a population that speaks over 150 languages, making it one of the world’s most diverse places linguistically. They also estimated that some 60 per cent of the city’s children are bilingual.
As the system has learned to value these differences, they have stimulated innovations in practice, not least in respect to cooperation among pupils in schools and with their families.
Linked to this, the arrival of new citizens from overseas, many of whom have made sacrifices to give their families a better life, has stimulated greater ambitions for young people across the community. A similar explanation has been given regarding the improvement of schools in London.
The period of the Conservative governments led to new challenges. In particular, there were pressures on schools to convert to academies. The local authority took a proactive role in coordinating this process.
Through what became known as the Manchester Model, six new secondary academies were created, each with a local business sponsor that provided its own specialism.
In each case, the local authority became a co-sponsor, an approach that was much disliked by those committed to the idea of autonomy, but has no doubt fostered the local collaboration the city’s schools now enjoy.
Finally, it is worth noting that a further background factor is the way that Manchester has been promoted as a city of enterprise. This has led to international recognition, not least because of the success of its two football teams, City and United.
In celebrating all of this progress, it is important to recognise that many challenges remain. As with the rest of the country, there are still children and young people who are left behind. Many of these are from a background of economic disadvantage.
So, looking to the future, the lessons from Manchester point to factors that could be used to address the challenges facing all schools in England.
It does seem that, despite the highly competitive atmosphere that permeates the system and the fragmentation that this has encouraged, there are many in the field whose instincts are to work in partnership.
The government must find ways to support that and to empower locally-led solutions to locally diverse challenges. Just like in football, national success comes from a strong grassroots game.
And just like in football, Manchester shows that, red or blue, teamwork is the key to scoring goals.
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