Imagine a school with a comprehensive intake where 100 per cent of its GCSE pupils achieve a level 4 in English and Maths. Pupils on free school meals. Those with additional needs. A pass in English AND Maths. Every pupil. Michaela Community School in Brent used the autonomy that being a free school provided it to design a school that supported every GCSE pupil to achieve this last summer. No straitjackets here. At Ark Greenwich Free School, 97 per cent of pupils achieved this outcome. At Tauheedul Islam Boys’ High School in Blackburn, it was 89 per cent. The freedom these schools had did not guarantee this success, but it allowed strong leaders to make impactful decisions about curriculum, staffing and culture. One step forward, two steps back? Sadly, the recent children’s wellbeing and schools bill has seen a power grab by government, with many school freedoms curtailed and central prescription preferred. What approach will the new prime minister and education secretary take? I was hopeful for school autonomy when I saw the education secretary’s statement this week that “one size doesn’t fit all” as that was one of our main arguments against central prescription. The MBacc developed in Manchester was developed to complement the existing education landscape: an “and” rather than an “instead of”. However, the central prescription of a new technical pathway at 14 has raised concerns, given previous attempts saw disadvantaged pupils typecast and their options narrowed rather than widened. Don’t sideline the education experts Employers lined up to be quoted in the prime minister’s press release. But were the views of schools sought? Whilst devolution is the buzzword, I worry power will flow to local businesses and strategic authorities rather than educational establishments and those who run them. Having made gains in standards by empowering educational professionals and holding them to account, it would be a mistake to sideline them now. School freedom to drive improvement in standards The New Schools Network wants to improve educational opportunities for the most disadvantaged pupils. Hundreds of free schools have opened. Data obtained by NSN by FOI shows that on average, disadvantaged pupils at free schools outperform their peers at every key stage for which national data is collected. If government wants to improve outcomes for pupils facing stubborn and entrenched disadvantage, it should look at the schools – free schools, academies, maintained schools – that are supporting these pupils to achieve better outcomes. It should understand what a good school looks like before pursuing a “fundamental change” to the education system. Ministers should start by backing schools that provide the calm classroom environments for pupils to learn, restoring school freedom and supporting innovation within the education system to drive further improvements in practice or structure to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. Extending opportunity Restoring these freedoms would enable schools that want to innovate in technical and vocational provision to do so – from bringing in teachers from industry to supporting placements with employers. This already happens at industry sponsored 16 to 19 free schools like London Screen Academy and ELAM. The government should support schools that want to innovate to offer high-quality technical education and explore what practice within a mainstream school best supports improved outcomes for pupils. But it should resist turning the reforms into a bureaucratic exercise led around schools rather than by them. Teachers and school leaders know that educational choices involve priorities and trade-offs. A new pathway is not a costless addition, and it should not be treated as one. Just as the school that supported 100 per cent of its pupils to pass GCSE English and maths last year was not designed in Whitehall or a town hall, we are unlikely to achieve the best vocational outcomes that way either.