The Fresh Start programme, also known as the Fresh Start scheme, is an educational initiative in England, Wales and Northern Ireland introduced by the first Blair government in 1998. The programme aims to improve underperforming schools in

inner cities The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists somet ...

by reopening them with renovated buildings and new names, curricula, staff and leadership (a "fresh start"). These schools, known as Fresh Start schools, benefit from an additional £400,000 every two years and have further financial support from their

local education authorities Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

Description

The Fresh Start programme was first proposed in the Labour manifesto for the 1997 general election. Schools deemed to be failing would be given a "fresh start", reopening with new names and leadership. Some would also fall under the control of successful schools located nearby. This was expanded by the newly elected Labour government's 1997 education

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''Excellence in Schools''. The white paper cited the successful "fresh start" of Phoenix High School (previously Hammersmith School), which was failing until the appointment of William Atkinson as headteacher in 1995. Atkinson and the school's local education authority renovated the school's site and introduced a new uniform, name and administration. The first three Fresh Start schools reopened in September 1998; this number raised to ten by May 2000. As an alternative to a "fresh start", the programme has enabled education secretaries and local authorities, via the

School Standards and Framework Act 1998 The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 was the major education legislation passed by the incoming Labour government led by Tony Blair. This Act: * imposed a limit of 30 on infant class sizes. * abolished grant-maintained schools, introducin ...

, to close failing schools (their students moving to good schools close by) or merge them with another school. Some Fresh Start schools have been established from mergers. Another alternative is a "collaborative restart", where a failing school reopens with strong links to another school nearby. Under the

New Labour New Labour was a period in the history of the British Labour Party from the mid to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The name dates from a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen ...

governments over 51 Fresh Start schools were created, of which 23 schools were

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, 27

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and one special. More have been created since then, such as Corelli College, which was given a fresh start as The Halley Academy in 2018. To qualify for a fresh start, a school originally needed below 15% of its students passing five

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private s ...

exams for three years in a row. This was raised to 30% by 2006. Typically, the school must also be in

special measures Special measures is a status applied by regulators of public services in Britain to providers who fall short of acceptable standards. In education (England and Wales) Ofsted, the schools inspection agency for England and some British Overseas Te ...

or require improvement. Fresh Start schools are expected to improve within a year of reopening and are rigorously scrutinised by inspectors until they attain acceptable standards.

Implementation

The first three Fresh Start schools reopened in September 1998, the first of which being Blakelaw Comprehensive which reopened as Firfield Community School. The government invested £1.5 million into the school and appointed new leadership. More schools received a fresh start the next year, including George Orwell School which reopened as Arts and Media School, Islington. The school's new headteacher Torsten Friedag earned an exceptional salary of £70,000 and was named Britain's first "super head". Super heads became a feature of the Fresh Start programme. After the resignation of three Fresh Start super heads in March 2000, Education Secretary

David Blunkett David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2015, and previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough ...

began contemplating changes to the programme. Scepticism around the programme began to grow after the third super head was found to have resigned because of a failed attempt to hide a critical letter from her school. The letter criticised the school's expulsion and truancy rates and bad behaviour and morale. Blunkett warned that "the alternative to Fresh Start is closure." At the same time, he announced the city academies programme. The programme would improve failing schools in inner cities and was originally seen as an extension of Fresh Start, being introduced as a "radical relaunch" of the programme. City academies were supported by Torsten Friedag, one of the Fresh Start super heads who resigned. City academies were later renamed as

academies An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

and became independent from Fresh Start. In April and June 2000 two Fresh Start schools, including Firfield Community School, began failing. Firfield had experienced a deficit of £200,000 due to low student numbers and had suffered from a loss of reputation and morale after a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

documentary exposed failures within the school. Plans for Firfield's closure were announced by

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...

and a consultation process with parents began. The council also considered merging the school with another nearby. Over £2.5 million was invested into Firfield in what became an "embarrassment" for David Blunkett. It was later revealed that only two out of 16 Fresh Start schools had improved. The Conservative Party and its

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education secretary

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...

criticised the programme as failing. Blunkett admitted to dissatisfaction with some headteacher appointments in the programme and directed the

Department for Education and Employment The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007, responsible for the education system (including higher education and adult learning) as well as children's services in England. ...

to take further control of the programme, introducing a two-year grant of £400,000 to its schools as a result. By December 2000 the fourth super head had resigned and another Fresh Start school was set for closure. David Blunkett and his schools minister

Estelle Morris Estelle Morris, Baroness Morris of Yardley, (born 17 June 1952), is a British politician and life peer who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2001 to 2002. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) ...

began disfavouring the programme; Morris began pushing local authorities to close failing schools instead of giving them a fresh start and Blunkett began restricting the programme's extent. Fresh starts have thereafter been reserved for situations where "closure is not an option" and improvements are likely to be made.

Other countries

United States

Fresh Start schools have been proposed in the United States by the Republican Party as part of its bid for school choice. Like British Fresh Start schools, these schools would replace failing schools and may fall under the control of a successful school nearby, benefiting from extra funds amounting to $2000 per pupil. Failing schools would have three years to improve before possibly being given a forced fresh start or may alternatively volunteer for a fresh start. The policy has already been implemented in parts of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

and has been put forward for approval in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

as part of a bill that focuses on school improvement. The National Association of

Charter School A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

Authorizers have adopted the policy under the name Start Fresh, in response to the growing movement for school improvement that was enabled by the

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based educati ...

South Africa

The Fresh Start Schools Programme (FSSP) was launched by the National Education Collaboration Trust in 2015. Schools participating in the programme were given extra equipment and had their sites renovated. The programme was delivered through the Trust's District Intervention Programme, which aims to boost curricular provision and coordination between schools and their districts and local communities. 409 schools are part of the programme.

References