I'm just asking, and a litle bit surprised........

The School Food Plan published this week is interesting from a number of perspectives.

First of all there is no doubt that this is a well-researched and useful document which recognises the progress made in recent years and highlights good practice that currently exists. All good stuff.  However this blog is not about the content of the plan (our reaction is elsewhere on the ASCL website).

http://www.ascl.org.uk/News_views/press_releases/resources/increasing_school_meal_take_up_is_right_aim_not_banning_packed_lunches

Instead I want to reflect on a number of aspects that seem to indicate a striking departure from existing approaches of the coalition government:

1.    At 149 pages, this is the longest and most detailed report I remember from this government, which has steadfastly resisted issuing guidance of any length.

2.    The report allocates funding to a centrally coordinated programme of training and support  – another thing the government has steadfastly resisted.

3.    Whilst not prescribing new regulations, it does emphasise a large number of  specific things that heads might be ‘encouraged’ to do, with the prospect of Ofsted monitoring.

4.    It indicates that all schools, maintained and academies, will be required to adhere to the new food standards .

5.    It commits to a programme of data collection that will have serious bureaucratic implications .

I am not commenting on the rights or wrongs of such an approach.  I am just a bit surprised.

Is there, I wonder, an emerging  recognition that there are some things that cannot be left to 25,000 individual schools to sort out? Perhaps the obesity problem is one of them? It would certainly seem that the government has recognised that the best way to address this is though a coordinated and pretty prescriptive approach. In doing so it has recognised the centrality of heads in making it work (although I personally would like to have read more about teams led from the front rather than heroic heads). 

And, in a most welcome way, the plan is genuinely evidence based. The review was led with great skill by Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent, supported by DFE officials, and involved extensive consultation with experienced people. We were shown drafts of the plan and our suggestions were taken on board.

You can probably guess what I am going to ask next. Is it not time for ministers to talk to the profession about other aspects of our education service that need our input? This will  ensure that changes are also implemented in a coordinated way so that all young people have access to the same opportunities and that all professionals in schools and colleges can deliver the highest standards of teaching, learning and achievement.

The last thing I want is to return to a regime of central prescription and regulation but I would be delighted if this is a sign of a more coordinated approach. I would suggest that we begin by talking about what that might mean for: school support, CPD, careers guidance, and implementation of the new curriculum and qualifications. It’s a start.