MOBILISING THE

EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY

AROUND THE SCHOOL PLAN

Public thematic report

January 2023

2

Executive Summary

Although national expenditure on education is higher than the average for countries in

the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (USD 109,584

compared to USD 105,502 for the education of a pupil aged 6 to 15 in 2021

1

), the French

education system is struggling to produce satisfactory results; the difficulties encountered in

its particularly centralised management raise questions about how schools can mobilise, at

their own level, to build and implement an educational plan adapted to the specific

characteristics of their pupils, in order to impr

ove their success, on which parents’ attention is

focused. As international surveys show, the French school system is not succeeding in

reducing inequalities; rather, they are tending to increase, despite the measures implemented

to remedy the most disadvantaged situations, which have their limits.

Indeed, despite the equality objectives of the education system, all the reports on co-

education in schools, as well as the analyses of the differences in results in national

examinations and access to the general stream of the

lycée

, show the extent to which the

national uniformity specified can deal with real large inequalities in the treatment of pupils.

In addition, decentralisation has enriched the strictly national management of education

by transforming secondary schools [

lycées

and

collèges

] into local public education institutions

(EPLEs). By entrusting more responsibilities to local authorities while maintaining the extensive

powers of central government, this new statute invited the institution to play its full role in

managing education, in particular by exploiting the flexibility allocated to it. Adopted by

Framework Act No. 89-486 of 10 July 1989, the notion of a school plan has been added to the

methods of managing the EPLE.

The survey conducted by the Court sought to take stock of the situation by analysing

how EPLEs mobilise themselves around this plan. It looked at the role of the local public

education institution within the education system and its capacity to take action, as defined by

the regulations.

The Court was able to measure the extent to which these institutions have been affected

in recent years by normative provisions aimed at both their actions and their relations, in

particular Law No. 2019-79 of 26 July 2019 on Trust in School, which has strengthened the

role of evaluation at all levels of the education system.

Its work also analysed the role of the headteacher in order to better highlight the

ambiguities that are still attached to this post. There is thus a significant gap betwe

en families’

perception of the role of headteachers and the reality of the levers that headteachers have at

their disposal on a day-to-day basis to manage their schools.

A school plan that is still not sufficiently mobilised

As required by the French Education Code, each secondary school must draw up a

school plan, setting out its educational choices and policy for the school for a period of three

to five years. In particular, it is about adapting the national school framework to the

characteristics of the

school’s pupils in order to promote their success. The process initiated

by the headteacher is collective. On the basis of an analysis drawn from the evaluation of each

school, it aims to define, together with the representatives of the educational community, the

specific procedures for implementing national guidelines, objectives and programmes, as well

as the academic plan. However, half of the schools do not have such a plan and, among those

that do, the quality of the approach and scope of the document vary greatly.

1

OECD, Education at a Glance 2022, 2022.

3

Survey question

“Did your school have a school plan signed

with the academic services?”

Source: Court of Accounts

The room for manoeuvre is underexploited

Beyond the legal autonomy granted to EPLEs by the regulations, their capacity to take

action can be seen at several levels, including human resources management, the educational

organisation of teaching hours, and pedagogical and educational management through

building their school plan, which is adapted to the needs of pupils and the specific features of

the area. However, it should be noted that, behind the declaration of formal autonomy, schools

do not always sufficiently exploit the flexibility available. With comparable environmental,

social, economic and cultural situations, and with similar teaching resources, two schools can

have very different results in terms of educational achievement.

The Court sought to understand the reasons for this. It also attempted to measure the

cost and effectiveness of the resources allocated to EPLEs and to identify ways of improving

efficiency.

Faced with growing inequalities and the mixed results of French pupils in international

assessments, an improvement in school organisation is essential. To do this, the Ministry must

adopt a real strategy based on several pillars that are still lacking, the first of which should

involve strengthening the role of headteachers and overhauling the methods of allocating

resources to EPLEs.

Formal and limited legal autonomy

Based on observing some forty schools, the Court sought to understand what levers

were available to schools to ensure their pupils’ success, and how they used them to

recommend possible changes. Although EPLEs legally have autonomy, in practice, the

flexibility they have to adapt their educational organisation is unequal. Many obstacles can

indeed limit the willingness of educational teams to mobilise themselves. These obstacles are

as much linked to the governance of schools as to the various different stakeholders who must

be brought together (schools, teachers, parents, and local authorities).

This inequality is the result of a combination of factors, primarily related to a rigid and

highly centralised management model. Little room is left for the appraisal of educational teams

in the face of an

administration rooted in a “top

-

down” management culture. It also reflects the

varying ability of headteachers to bring their teaching teams together. Finally, the social

situation of the pupils as well as the geographic location of the school are determining factors

in the educational choices made by an EPLE.

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Empowering headteachers

Headteachers are key stakeholders in implementing a pedagogical and educational plan.

They are responsible for building collective momentum within the school and ensuring its

follow-up on a day-to-day basis.

Despite this, their legitimacy and the definition of their prerogatives suffer from

shortcomings. Although positive developments have taken place in recent years to strengthen

their local supervisory role, the levers at their disposal, particularly in terms of teacher

evaluation, are still limited. They do not have enough flexibility to enable them to value of the

contribution of a teacher involved in the school’s life, to motivate their team and to better reward

those members who are the most committed.

Headteachers’ responses to the question “Do you consider the level of autonomy

within the overall allocation of teaching hours to be sufficient?”

Source: Court of Accounts

In view of this, the Court calls for a change in the conditions under which headteachers

work in order to turn them into true senior managers within the institution, benefiting from the

prerogatives associated with their status, without necessarily extending their current powers

of recruitment. The Ministry must support this development by strengthening their training and

support as well as by modernising the management of their careers.

Further adjusting the allocation of resources to EPLEs

The French school system is based on a generally uniform allocation of educational

resources, with the exception of priority education institutions and the operating resources

provided by local authorities. In most cases, the main criterion is the number of pupils attending

the school in relation to a number of divisions (classes). The achievements and social situation

of pupils, as well as the geographic context of the school, are not taken into account

systematically throughout the country; some academies use methods for the gradual allocation

of resources based on indicators developed by the Directorate for Evaluation, Forecasting and

Performance (DEPP), while others do not.

Under the guise of equality, in reality, the school tends not to rectify existing inequalities

sufficiently. To counteract this situation, the Court considers that the resources allocated to

schools would be more effective if the methods for allocating them took greater account of the

results of evaluations and the constraints of the school’s location, and if they were better

coordinated with the intervention of local authorities.