Local Management of Schools (LMS) has placed considerable pressures on heads, managers and school governors. It has raised the issues of budget management and wider decision making and on top of this has been the additional pressure of OFSTED inspection. Drawing on their research into 18 secondary schools, the authors of this work examine the practicalities of managing a budget. They discuss their findings from the perspectives of all those involved, including parents, pupils, governors, teachers, heads and support staff. Using a variety of case studies, the book illustrates and analyzes the effectiveness of a range of management styles, and focuses in particular on the effect these have on the pupils on these schools. It describes how schools can successfully use their responsibility over resources to develop and support a wide range of initiatives. Throughout the book, the authors highlight examples of good practice, placing this in the context of OFSTED inspections. This work should be of use to all heads, managers and governors who are concerned about how management of resources can be linked to the educational experiences of the pupils in their schools.

Under the 1988 Education Act, schools became autonomous bodies with control over their own budgets. This process of decentralization of school management has been followed by other countries worldwide. Based on empirical research incorporating data from over 800 schools and collected over three years, this book takes self-management as its starting point. From this, the book examines how management systems have changed across a range of countries, often with very different natures and purposes. It also studies in detail the particular developments in the UK system, which has undergone one of the more radical changes. From their findings, the authors draw out the implications for management practice and the effect this has on pupils, managers and all those employed within schools.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor and Francis, an informa company.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor and Francis, an informa company.