ABSTRACT
Grant-maintained schools were the brainchild of the Conservative government in 1988, and were the result of three different if related objectives: the move to greater competition between schools; the desire to re-introduce selective schooling, and the attempt to break the monopoly of local authorities, seen as over-bureaucratic, inflexible, and largely of left-wing persuasion. One of the intentions of removing LEA governors from the running of GM schools was clearly to give them a bias in favour of Conservative policies. These objectives undoubtedly are being modified by the present Labour administration. However, perhaps the central aim of the creation of GM schools – the desire to see schools make decisions of strategy and implementation within a clearly defined central policy framework – has not, and will not be substantially altered. Indeed, there is good reason to believe that the same movement is continuing to happen to LEA schools as well.
