Brian Sherratt
Encyclopedia
Dr. Brian Sherratt OBE JP FIMgt FRSA was Headmaster (1984–2005) of Great Barr School
a secondary school
on Aldridge Road in Great Barr
, Birmingham
, England
for children aged 11 to 19. During his time as Headmaster, Great Barr was the largest school in the UK.
Under Sherratt’s leadership, Great Barr was noted as a school with very high standards of pupil behaviour and pupil achievement. For these reasons, the school was heavily oversubscribed by parents on first choices. Visiting Great Barr School in November 1999, Chris Woodhead
, the then Chief Inspector of Schools, said “You have here an outstanding city comprehensive school – it is one of the most impressive schools I have visited. Great Barr School shows it is possible for a comprehensive school to give a very high quality of education”. He added that “the secret of the school’s success is strong, assertive leadership from the headteacher”.
Brian Sherratt was awarded the OBE for services to education in the 1995 New Years Honours.
Sherratt was noted for providing his deputy heads with training and professional opportunities to equip them for headship. Among those who, over the years, worked as deputy heads under Brian Sherratt’s leadership are Jenny Hawkins, who became Director of Education for Staffordshire, Carol Whitty, Deputy General Secretary of NAHT, John Martin, Head of Warley High School, Sandwell, Dame Maureen Brennan
, Head of Barr Beacon School and formerly Head of Hillcrest School and Community College
in Netherton, West Midlands
, Ian Fraser, Head of Ashfield School, Nottingham, Glen Goddard, Head of Menzies High School, West Bromwich, Neil Finlay, Head of Walton High School, Stafford, Billy Downie, Head of The Streetly School, Sutton Coldfield, Kate Abbott, formerly Head of The Bluecoat School, Walsall and now Head of Great Barr School.
Apart from running a very large school he demonstrated an active interest in environmental issues and was a director of ENCAMS from 1998 to 2005 and vice-chairman of ENCAMS from 2003 to 2005. In addition he was Chairman of the ENCAMS Devolution Committee (2004–2005). He was also a member of the ENCAMS Resources Committee (2002–2003), Audit Committee (2003–2005) and Trustee of the ENCAMS Pension Fund (1999–2005). From 1997-2001 he was Chairman of the Eco-Schools Advisory Panel and also of the Green Code for Schools Advisory Panel (1998–2005).
In 1999 he received the Queen Mother's Birthday Award for the Environment.
Sherratt was widely respected as a scholar and in 2005 received the BELMAS (British Educational Leadership Management and Administration Society) Award for the Best PhD Thesis of the Year. In the same year he also received the George Cadbury Prize in Education from the University of Birmingham.
From 1986 - 1990 he was a member of the Court of the University of Birmingham and from 1988 an honorary lecturer in the School of Education. From 2003 to 2005 he was a member of the Education Commission.
In 2003 he was elected a Freeman of the Guild of Educators
.
.
‘Opting for Freedom: a stronger policy on grant-maintained schools’, Policy Study No 138, Centre for Policy Studies, 1994. This trenchant policy study arguably represents Brian Sherratt at his most influential in shaping the views of policy makers. He argued that, whereas the grant-maintained schools policy offered schools the chance of freedom from LEA control, the government’s own hesitations over the policy were being exploited by members of the interest groups – heads, bureaucrats, and officials – whose present careers and future ambitions depended on the LEA system. The procedure for becoming grant-maintained had been allowed to develop into an obstacle course, while imposed central restrictions (such as the National Curriculum
) meant that grant-maintained status in fact offered limited independence. Sherratt argued that government should aim to make all schools grant-maintained (i.e. independent of LEA control) as a matter of general policy, and that it should loosen the constraints placed on grant-maintained schools so as to make diversity and choice in education a reality.
Grant-Maintained Status: considering the options, Longman, 1994. In this book Sherratt examines the nature of the grant-maintained policy and its implementation; the implications of self-government and the benefits of grant-maintained status; the role of the Funding Agency for Schools and the Common Funding Formula. The book also looks at the obstacles that there had been to implementing the policy and suggests some necessary changes to overcome them.
A Structured Approach to School and Staff Development: from theory to practice (1996) – with John Wyatt. This book considers the relationships between school aims and values, whole school review, appraisal, school development planning, value for money in school planning and school evaluation.
Headteacher Appraisal (contrib, Arena, in association with the NAHT, 1997). In this book, Brian Sherratt writes about his experience of being appraised as the head of a large secondary school. He comments on the effect it had on his view of his job, and the impact it made on the school as a whole.
Radical Educational Policies and Secretaries of State (with Peter Ribbins, Cassell 1997). In this book Sherratt and Ribbins argue that the post-war consensus
on the purpose of education, and the role played by the Secretary of State in defining it, had all but collapsed. In a series of conversations with Secretaries of State, the nature of the unfolding agenda for educational reform which the Conservative Party had developed since 1979 is explored. The authors present a series of portraits of seven very different people: Mark Carlisle
, Keith Joseph
, Kenneth Baker
, Kenneth Clarke
, John MacGregor, John Patten
and Gillian Shephard
, revealing the ways in which they sought to define and deliver educational change against a backdrop of conflicting messages from within their own party, and in the face of determined opposition from much of the educational establishment. These illuminating, entertaining and provocative conversations suggest that what was once regarded as radical in the Conservative agenda for education is now increasingly taken for granted by allies and opponents alike. Including a thorough analysis of the seven interviews, this book provides a mine of information for all those interested in contemporary politics, the future of education and the workings of government.
Policy, Leadership and Professional Knowledge in Education (contrib, Chapman, BEMAS, 1999).
Journal of Education Policy, The role of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the making of educational policy: Kenneth Baker and the Lawson factor? Volume 19, No 6, November 2004 (with Peter Ribbins). Until this paper, the role of Chancellors of the Exchequer in the making of policy in education has attracted the attention of few researchers, and little has been published that seeks systematically and comprehensively to examine this issue. This is remarkable given that, for most of the last 25 years, this office has been filled by four unusually powerful and long-serving figures. In this paper, Sherratt and Ribbins, drawing on their interview-based studies of the Secretaries of State and of the Permanent Secretaries who have held office at the Department of Education since 1979, consider the influence of Prime Ministers and Chancellors on educational policy over these years. In this context, the bulk of this paper focuses on the role of Nigel Lawson
in the making of the 1988 Education Reform Act. In doing so, it draws on face-to-face interviews with Lawson along with other key participants such as Kenneth Baker and David Hancock. It concludes that, although Lawson may not have been, as he had hoped to be, the architect of the Act, he did exercise an important influence in shaping many of its central characteristics. As such, his claim that he was the catalyst of reform may well be justified.
'Managing the Secondary School in the 1990s: A New View of Headship' with Peter Ribbins, Educational Management and Administration.. This paper, which has been influential among researchers, talks about ‘a new approach to the study of headship in which they have been involved together; an approach which they describe as a dialectic of biography and autobiography’.
Effective Use of Resources in Pursuit of Leadership Aims (University of Buckingham, 2008). This book deals with: Curriculum organisation and timetabling; Staffing structures; Deployment of resources, including administrative and support staff; Management Information Systems (MIT); Education law as applied to schools; Financial management of schools; Building and accommodation; Health and Safety; Development planning; Delegation; Public relations and marketing. The book is intended as a wade mecum to accompany the head through the unexpected challenges of leadership.
(Adult Court and Youth Court) and a Magistrate Training Observer. Since 2005 he has been a member of the Academic Advisory Council of the University of Buckingham. From 2005-2011 he was a director of Nottingham Park Estate Ltd (a company limited by guarantee) and from 2008-2011 its chairman.
Great Barr School
Great Barr School is a co-educational secondary school on Aldridge Road in Great Barr, Birmingham, England for pupils aged 11 to 19. The school is usually the next level for children who attended Great Barr Primary School on the same area site.-History:...
a secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
on Aldridge Road in Great Barr
Great Barr
Great Barr is a large and loosely-defined area which straddles the boundaries of Birmingham, West Bromwich and Walsall , West Midlands, England...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for children aged 11 to 19. During his time as Headmaster, Great Barr was the largest school in the UK.
Acclaim
He is acclaimed with making Great Barr School one of the best in the country until his formal retirement from the school in August 2005.Under Sherratt’s leadership, Great Barr was noted as a school with very high standards of pupil behaviour and pupil achievement. For these reasons, the school was heavily oversubscribed by parents on first choices. Visiting Great Barr School in November 1999, Chris Woodhead
Chris Woodhead
Sir Christopher Anthony Woodhead was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England from 1994 until 2000 and is one of the most controversial figures in debates on the direction of English education policy...
, the then Chief Inspector of Schools, said “You have here an outstanding city comprehensive school – it is one of the most impressive schools I have visited. Great Barr School shows it is possible for a comprehensive school to give a very high quality of education”. He added that “the secret of the school’s success is strong, assertive leadership from the headteacher”.
Brian Sherratt was awarded the OBE for services to education in the 1995 New Years Honours.
Sherratt was noted for providing his deputy heads with training and professional opportunities to equip them for headship. Among those who, over the years, worked as deputy heads under Brian Sherratt’s leadership are Jenny Hawkins, who became Director of Education for Staffordshire, Carol Whitty, Deputy General Secretary of NAHT, John Martin, Head of Warley High School, Sandwell, Dame Maureen Brennan
Maureen Brennan
Dame Maureen Brennan is headteacher at Barr Beacon Language College in Walsall, West Midlands. She took over leadership of this school in Easter 2007 after spending several years as the Principal of Hillcrest School and Community College in Netherton, West Midlands...
, Head of Barr Beacon School and formerly Head of Hillcrest School and Community College
The Hillcrest School
The Hillcrest School and Community College is a secondary school located in Netherton, near Dudley, England.The school was opened in about 1960 as one of two new secondary schools built in the expanding town. The other was Saltwells Secondary School. Both of these schools replaced a smaller...
in Netherton, West Midlands
Netherton, West Midlands
Netherton is a town in the West Midlands within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. It lies around south of the town of Dudley and north of Cradley Heath...
, Ian Fraser, Head of Ashfield School, Nottingham, Glen Goddard, Head of Menzies High School, West Bromwich, Neil Finlay, Head of Walton High School, Stafford, Billy Downie, Head of The Streetly School, Sutton Coldfield, Kate Abbott, formerly Head of The Bluecoat School, Walsall and now Head of Great Barr School.
Earlier career
Before taking up the headship of Great Barr School in 1984, Sherratt was Headmaster and Warden of Kirk Hallam School and Community Centre, (now Kirk Hallam Community Technology College), Ilkeston, Derbyshire. Earlier in his career he had worked in grammar and comprehensive schools and was a lecturer at Avery Hill College, now part of the University of Greenwich.Apart from running a very large school he demonstrated an active interest in environmental issues and was a director of ENCAMS from 1998 to 2005 and vice-chairman of ENCAMS from 2003 to 2005. In addition he was Chairman of the ENCAMS Devolution Committee (2004–2005). He was also a member of the ENCAMS Resources Committee (2002–2003), Audit Committee (2003–2005) and Trustee of the ENCAMS Pension Fund (1999–2005). From 1997-2001 he was Chairman of the Eco-Schools Advisory Panel and also of the Green Code for Schools Advisory Panel (1998–2005).
In 1999 he received the Queen Mother's Birthday Award for the Environment.
Sherratt was widely respected as a scholar and in 2005 received the BELMAS (British Educational Leadership Management and Administration Society) Award for the Best PhD Thesis of the Year. In the same year he also received the George Cadbury Prize in Education from the University of Birmingham.
From 1986 - 1990 he was a member of the Court of the University of Birmingham and from 1988 an honorary lecturer in the School of Education. From 2003 to 2005 he was a member of the Education Commission.
In 2003 he was elected a Freeman of the Guild of Educators
Company of Educators
The Company of Educators is a guild in the City of London. The Guild was founded on 24 May 2001 to represent the education and training profession and for charitable purposes....
.
Published work
Local Education Authorities Project [LEAP 2] (BBC 1988) The Locally Managed School (with Hywell Thomas). This BBC training programme was designed to support governors, school heads and senior staff in training associated with the introduction of local management of schools following the implementation of the Education Reform Act 1988Education Reform Act 1988
The Education Reform Act 1988 is widely regarded as the most important single piece of education legislation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since the 'Butler' Education Act 1944...
.
‘Opting for Freedom: a stronger policy on grant-maintained schools’, Policy Study No 138, Centre for Policy Studies, 1994. This trenchant policy study arguably represents Brian Sherratt at his most influential in shaping the views of policy makers. He argued that, whereas the grant-maintained schools policy offered schools the chance of freedom from LEA control, the government’s own hesitations over the policy were being exploited by members of the interest groups – heads, bureaucrats, and officials – whose present careers and future ambitions depended on the LEA system. The procedure for becoming grant-maintained had been allowed to develop into an obstacle course, while imposed central restrictions (such as the National Curriculum
National Curriculum
The National Curriculum was introduced into England, Wales and Northern Ireland as a nationwide curriculum for primary and secondary state schools following the Education Reform Act 1988. Notwithstanding its name, it does not apply to independent schools, which may set their own curricula, but it...
) meant that grant-maintained status in fact offered limited independence. Sherratt argued that government should aim to make all schools grant-maintained (i.e. independent of LEA control) as a matter of general policy, and that it should loosen the constraints placed on grant-maintained schools so as to make diversity and choice in education a reality.
Grant-Maintained Status: considering the options, Longman, 1994. In this book Sherratt examines the nature of the grant-maintained policy and its implementation; the implications of self-government and the benefits of grant-maintained status; the role of the Funding Agency for Schools and the Common Funding Formula. The book also looks at the obstacles that there had been to implementing the policy and suggests some necessary changes to overcome them.
A Structured Approach to School and Staff Development: from theory to practice (1996) – with John Wyatt. This book considers the relationships between school aims and values, whole school review, appraisal, school development planning, value for money in school planning and school evaluation.
Headteacher Appraisal (contrib, Arena, in association with the NAHT, 1997). In this book, Brian Sherratt writes about his experience of being appraised as the head of a large secondary school. He comments on the effect it had on his view of his job, and the impact it made on the school as a whole.
Radical Educational Policies and Secretaries of State (with Peter Ribbins, Cassell 1997). In this book Sherratt and Ribbins argue that the post-war consensus
Post-war consensus
The post-war consensus is a name given by historians to an era in British political history which lasted from the end of World War II in 1945 to the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1979....
on the purpose of education, and the role played by the Secretary of State in defining it, had all but collapsed. In a series of conversations with Secretaries of State, the nature of the unfolding agenda for educational reform which the Conservative Party had developed since 1979 is explored. The authors present a series of portraits of seven very different people: Mark Carlisle
Mark Carlisle
Mark Carlisle, Baron Carlisle of Bucklow QC DL PC was a Conservative British politician and was Member of Parliament for Runcorn 1964-1983 and Warrington South 1983-1987...
, Keith Joseph
Keith Joseph
Keith St John Joseph, Baron Joseph, Bt, CH, PC , was a British barrister and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet under three Prime Ministers , and is widely regarded to have been the "power behind the throne" in the creation of what came to be known as...
, Kenneth Baker
Kenneth Baker
Kenneth Wilfred Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking, CH, PC , is a British politician, a former Conservative MP and a Life Member of the Tory Reform Group.-Early life:...
, Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
, John MacGregor, John Patten
John Patten
John Patten is the name of:*John Patten , American soldier and politician from Delaware*John Patten , British Conservative politician*Jack Patten, Australian Aboriginal leader-See also:...
and Gillian Shephard
Gillian Shephard
Gillian Patricia Shephard, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, PC , née Watts, is an English Conservative politician; she was the Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk, and a former Cabinet Minister and is now Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers.-Early life and career:The daughter...
, revealing the ways in which they sought to define and deliver educational change against a backdrop of conflicting messages from within their own party, and in the face of determined opposition from much of the educational establishment. These illuminating, entertaining and provocative conversations suggest that what was once regarded as radical in the Conservative agenda for education is now increasingly taken for granted by allies and opponents alike. Including a thorough analysis of the seven interviews, this book provides a mine of information for all those interested in contemporary politics, the future of education and the workings of government.
Policy, Leadership and Professional Knowledge in Education (contrib, Chapman, BEMAS, 1999).
Journal of Education Policy, The role of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the making of educational policy: Kenneth Baker and the Lawson factor? Volume 19, No 6, November 2004 (with Peter Ribbins). Until this paper, the role of Chancellors of the Exchequer in the making of policy in education has attracted the attention of few researchers, and little has been published that seeks systematically and comprehensively to examine this issue. This is remarkable given that, for most of the last 25 years, this office has been filled by four unusually powerful and long-serving figures. In this paper, Sherratt and Ribbins, drawing on their interview-based studies of the Secretaries of State and of the Permanent Secretaries who have held office at the Department of Education since 1979, consider the influence of Prime Ministers and Chancellors on educational policy over these years. In this context, the bulk of this paper focuses on the role of Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, PC , is a British Conservative politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974–92, and served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the government of Margaret Thatcher from June 1983 to October 1989...
in the making of the 1988 Education Reform Act. In doing so, it draws on face-to-face interviews with Lawson along with other key participants such as Kenneth Baker and David Hancock. It concludes that, although Lawson may not have been, as he had hoped to be, the architect of the Act, he did exercise an important influence in shaping many of its central characteristics. As such, his claim that he was the catalyst of reform may well be justified.
'Managing the Secondary School in the 1990s: A New View of Headship' with Peter Ribbins, Educational Management and Administration.. This paper, which has been influential among researchers, talks about ‘a new approach to the study of headship in which they have been involved together; an approach which they describe as a dialectic of biography and autobiography’.
Effective Use of Resources in Pursuit of Leadership Aims (University of Buckingham, 2008). This book deals with: Curriculum organisation and timetabling; Staffing structures; Deployment of resources, including administrative and support staff; Management Information Systems (MIT); Education law as applied to schools; Financial management of schools; Building and accommodation; Health and Safety; Development planning; Delegation; Public relations and marketing. The book is intended as a wade mecum to accompany the head through the unexpected challenges of leadership.
Successor
Dr Sherratt's successor as head of Great Barr School is Kate Abbott who also prides herself in promoting the strong values which he established and maintained throughout his time as head. She was Curriculum Deputy at Great Barr before leaving to take up the headship of Bluecoat School, Walsall. She returned as head to Great Barr in September 2005.Current Positions
Dr Sherratt is a magistrate on the Nottingham BenchNottingham Magistrates' Court
Nottingham Magistrates' Court is a Magistrates' Court in Nottingham, England.-History:Until 1996, Nottingham Magistrates were housed in two separate buildings, the Guildhall and the Shire Hall....
(Adult Court and Youth Court) and a Magistrate Training Observer. Since 2005 he has been a member of the Academic Advisory Council of the University of Buckingham. From 2005-2011 he was a director of Nottingham Park Estate Ltd (a company limited by guarantee) and from 2008-2011 its chairman.