‘John Lewis’ business model is advocated for schools
Under the strap line ‘profit making companies should run state schools’ a report published by the think-tank Policy Exchange has proposed that the private sector should be encouraged to run schools. The report aims to challenge the idea of a binary choice between for-profit and non-for-profit schools, by suggesting that social enterprise models (what it refers to as the John Lewis approach) may be a halfway house. The John Lewis model would see teachers encouraged to take a state in their school with half of any profits made by the school to be distributed as a dividend to partners on an annual basis, with the remaining half reinvested into the running of the school. Policy Exchange points out that private provision already exists in large parts of the state education system, with companies providing special needs, nursery and school improvement programmes for schools. The Department for Education has said that it has no plans to implement these measures. However, turning to the criminal justice service, a deal between global security company G4S and Lincolnshire Police will lead to two-thirds of staff employed by the force transferring to the private sector company, a new police station being built and a new custody suite being constructed at the Police HQ. The transfer – the biggest of its kind in the Police force- is part of an attempt by Lincolnshire Constabulary to save £20 million. Both of these articles open up the debate about the extent to which we want private sector provision in the state system. For the concern here is that in adopting a ‘business model’ profit will be the goal. What do you think about the shift of public services towards a more market orientated direction? What do you think about some of these ‘solutions’ to the budget cuts facing public bodies? Is this shift appropriate for some public services rather than for others?