Dear Prime Minister, let us be independent

Dear Prime Minister,

As the dust settles on the election, and as ministers move into their new offices, you will be heavily occupied coming to terms with the business of government, part of which involves being inundated by requests from innumerable interest groups, each of which has their own agenda and wants you to do something for them.

Well, independent schools have essentially just one request on their wishlist, and it is one that can be relatively easily granted: let us be independent. Our strength and our outstanding contribution to the education in this country comes as a result of our independence, and if you can let us fly, then the country will reap the rewards.

Our strength and our outstanding contribution to the education in this country comes as a result of our independence, and if you can let us fly, then the country will reap the rewards

Independent schools are leaders in the field of national education:

• We teach extremely well because teachers are freed of the restrictions of a national curriculum, and are not bound to follow the latest fads that roll out of government quangos. We know what works, and yet our freedom to innovate also allows us to stretch the boundaries of knowledge and learning further, to the benefit of our young people.
• Our concern for education goes far beyond what is taught in the classroom, and our pastoral care is outstanding. Smaller class sizes and more time mean that teachers and other staff are able and empowered to devote their energies more significantly to the development of the whole, rounded person. Well-balanced, grounded adults are what our society needs above all if they are to contribute to our success and parent the next generation of children happily and successfully. 
• We offer a vast range of opportunities for every child, from sports to music, and from art to drama. We regard these as an essential part of an all-round education, and because of our partnerships with state schools and the financial commitments we make, these opportunities are open to as many children as we can possibly fund. Last year, a third of pupils in ISC schools received help with their fees, and the value of this assistance was over £490 million.
• We are unafraid to talk about the moral duty of schools to prepare young people make a better society and a better world. Young adults emerging from our schools have almost without fail developed a social awareness and a conscience that means that they will commit to making a difference in this world. The country needs people like our pupils.

We know what we are doing, and our pupils are evidence of our greatest successes. Yet over the past 13 years, the independent sector has had to put up with political interventions and have had to resist a growing mass of over-regulation which has diverted resources and attention in school away from our real purpose. Schools should be accountable – of course they must – but they should be accountable largely to the parents who choose them rather than to bureaucrats or central Government.

We know what we are doing, and our pupils are evidence of our greatest successes

Education is much more of an art than it is a science; blanket policies cannot possibly always apply to everyone, and often it is impossible to measure our real human successes in numbers. We deal with individual human beings in schools – we need the flexibility to be able to respond to their specific needs and find ways to develop their potential, and our school leaders need the freedom to innovate.

We know that we can offer this education to many, many more young people if we are simply allowed and encouraged to do so. Let us help build this country’s future by working together.

Yours

Dr Helen Wright
Head of St Mary’s Calne, one of the leading independent schools in the country