Who are the Regional Schools Commissioners?

Regional schools commissioners (RSCs) are responsible for approving new academies and intervening in underperforming academies and free schools in their area. They act on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education. The RSCs are accountable to the Schools Commissioner. They are supported by a board of 6 to 8 experienced academy headteachers and other sector leaders.

Their main responsibilities are to:

• monitor the performance of the academies in their area
• take action when an academy is underperforming
• decide on the development of new academies
• address underperformance in local-authority-maintained schools throughsponsored academy arrangements
• make recommendations to ministers about free school applications
• encourage organisations to become academy sponsors
• approve changes to open academies, including:
  • changes to age ranges
  • mergers between academies
  • changes to multi-academy trust arrangements

The eight RSCs are: 

Tim Coulson: East of England and north-east London
Jennifer Bexon Smith: East Midlands and the Humber
Vicky Beer: Lancashire and west Yorkshire
Janet Renou: north of England
Martin Post: south-central England and north-west London
Dominic Herrington: South East England and south London
Rebecca Clark: South West England
Pank Patel: West Midlands

Each RSC gets support from a headteacher board (HTB). HTBs are made up of experienced academy headteachers who advise and challenge RSCs on the decisions they make. The HTB generally meets 1 to 2 times each a month.

For board members of academy trusts, this means... 

The RSC is the right person to raise any significant local concerns with - Academy Ambassadors can put you in contact with the appropriate office contact should you wish to do so.  

Non-executive directors placed onto academy trust boards by Academy Ambassadors should expect an invite to a breakfast with their RSC within the first year of being in post. This is a great opportunity to share best practice and to highlight what's working, what's not working and what could be done differently. 

The RSCs also host various events for schools leaders and board members to share best practice and updates from the sector - most send details of these in monthly or quarterly newsletters. As part of your induction process, you should make sure to ask about the trust's relationship with the RSC and how they manage this day-to-day.  

The Education Select Committee's is currently undertaking an inquiry into the role of RSCs - evidence has now been gathered and the report is being compiled. Building on relevant aspects of the previous Committee's inquiry into Academies and Free Schools, this inquiry explores the expanding role of RSCs, their resources, impact and accountability. Find out more and read oral evidence here.