Keir Starmer recently launched an attack on independent schools with his plans to put VAT on fees and other changes. What he ought to be doing is encouraging them to keep on working closely with colleagues in the state sector to their mutual benefit . In an article published in the January edition of The Independent Schools Magazine, Alistair Lexden discussed the ever growing partnerships between them in sport.
On 23 January 2020, some interesting and revealing exchanges took place in the House of Lords. They were initiated by Lord (Colin) Moynihan, Olympic silver medallist in 1980 and Sports Minister under Margaret Thatcher. He asked Baroness (Nicky) Morgan, then Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she would “ensure that all independent schools in receipt of charitable status build school sports partnerships with the state sector as part of their charitable status requirement.”
The Minister did not reply to him quite as he hoped. She said: “Of course the independent sector may have the facilities to support others, and I am sure there is more to be done.” I then intervened with the following question: “Is it not the case that partnership schemes in sport between independent and state schools, of which there are over a thousand, are already making a great contribution to the sharing of facilities and staff? At the same time, I support the further extension of this valuable work.”
In response to me, Nicky Morgan said: “My noble friend is right that there are already many great partnerships that are transforming our young people’s opportunities in sport. Experiences often go both ways. It is not just about the independent schools offering facilities to the state sector.”
All three of us agreed that sports partnerships are of immense importance to both sectors, and we were at one in wanting to drive forward the increase of such partnerships As Nicky Morgan emphasised, they can transform the prospects of youngsters in sport, something many schools in both sectors now know for themselves, having seen over recent years the practical benefits that accrue from working together.
But those exchanges in early 2020 revealed a significant difference in approach. If Colin Moynihan’s views were to prevail, independent schools which were not involved in sports partnerships would lose their charitable status. He wants to compel independent schools to form such partnerships.
I like and admire Colin Moynihan. A great sportsman with many outstanding achievements, he is passionate about developing the sporting talents of young people while they are at school. He wants all of them wherever they live to have access to excellent facilities and the best coaching staff. Who could disagree with that? Independent schools share his passion for achieving that aspiration.
Year by year their contribution is being extended further. At the most recent count there were 2,362 sports partnerships. They are diverse in character, and rich in quality. As the current Schools Minister in the Lords, Baroness (Diana) Barran has put it, “where once we spoke about sharing playing fields, today we talk about partnerships with real depth of purpose.”
It would make no sense whatsoever to place an obligation on independent schools to enter into sports partnerships. That would tend to retard rather than encourage the continuing growth of these hugely beneficial schemes.
As the old adage has it, one volunteer is worth ten pressed men. Compulsion would create deep resentment. There is another glaring difficulty. Many independent schools do not have facilities to share with others. Nearly 60 per cent do not have a swimming pool; over 30 per cent do not have playing fields of their own. Such points are hardly ever mentioned in discussion of partnership possibilities. Why not? The reason is the stubborn persistence of the myth that all independent schools resemble the few big names that dominate the media. The Independent Schools Association, home of small schools differing widely in character, recently gained its 600th member. As I said recently in the Lords, these schools “ are totally ignored by the national media, which skews the perception of the independent sector as a whole as if it consisted entirely of big, expensive institutions.”
All schools in both sectors should be given every encouragement and support to do all they can together. There is tremendous enthusiasm for maintaining existing sports partnerships, and for forging new ones wherever individual state and independent schools want to come together for their mutual benefit. That enthusiasm is reflected annually in the publication Celebrating Partnerships, produced by the Independent Schools Council; the 2022 edition has just appeared. But it is seen most vividly and powerfully in the stories of success that schools themselves have to tell.
As those 2020 exchanges indicated, the Government applauds what is happening. The DCMS Minister in the Lords said last month in reply to a question from me: “We want to learn from what has worked in the partnerships and make sure we continue to expand them.”
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Alistair Lexden OBE is a Conservative peer, a former General Secretary of the Independent Schools Council and the current President of the Independent Schools Association.
