As principal and CEO of Greensward College and CEO of Unity City Academy – two schools currently at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of achievement – I am of course deeply interested in the new opportunities and greater freedoms the education white paper has to offer. In recent years, I have gained experience in a number of schools, each at different stage of development but all facing very specific challenges.

What has proved to be a common factor in each of these situations is the need to embrace the government’s Every Child Matters agenda. School turnaround is not based on rocket science, but is often down to hard work, consistency of practice and a determination to succeed. If students are to make a positive contribution, they must first feel safe and healthy; once this has been established, they will begin to engage and achieve.

While successive governments have placed parents at the centre of school reform, only now are we about to see a system where parental choice and expectations will be honoured. The removal of selection by interview and the creation of schools’ commissioners will lead to a fairer choice for all. Amendments to the school transport arrangements, as well as the potential introduction of banding for admissions, has the potential to offer parents from all socio-economic backgrounds a wider choice of schools. It is in this area where I believe the white paper will have the most impact.

It is clear from my previous work with two city academies that the prime minister’s drive to create ‘a system of independent non-fee- paying state schools’ or trust schools will be fundamental to the achievement of widening educational access. The freedoms enjoyed by city academies and the former city technology colleges will be available to all schools, secondary and primary.

Freedoms, however, can be over-played, and freedom to make decisions, determine a school’s direction, create parents’ forums or choose how many staff to employ may prove to be meaningless unless there is parity of funding. The white paper sets out the intention to move local education authorities to ‘commissioners’ of education services rather than deliverers, and it is here where we must seek the greater clarity.

City academies and the few remaining city technology colleges are under a significantly different funding regime. Therefore, if schools are to have parity of freedoms with city academies, they must have parity of funding. Local authorities, as commissioners of education, must have the right to determine the number of schools and places in an area. If we are to deliver the five outcomes of Every Child Matters, schools must be commissioned with maximum delegation to coordinate the work on behalf of children.

It is my view that we face a pivotal moment. We must not allow distractions such as selection by aptitude (less than six per cent of all schools that can employ selection by aptitude do so) and the sponsors of trusts to deflect us from our mission to develop a world-class education system.

If the white paper delivers on all of its potential, we will witness the creation of a new generation of citizens who achieve world-class outcomes and examination success. The co-ordination of public services must be the priority for any government, and this white paper gives life to the dream of delivering public services ‘without unnecessary bureaucratic interference … in a system of fair admissions, fair funding and clear accountability’ (Prime Minister’s Forward to Higher Standards, Better Schools For All).