The Labour and Conservative parties have both supported the academies programme as the key driver of educational reform. The Liberal Democrats, in contrast, have been more critical towards academies, ambivalent about their ability to select 10 per cent of pupils by aptitude and their status as a programme of central government rather than of local authorities.

But the Party appears to be revising its position. In his key speech on public sector reform, on 12th January, Nick Clegg said that there is “nothing wrong with allowing schools to exist outside direct daily local government management - as long as they are under local government oversight”.

A new report published by the independent think tank Reform argues that the current academies programme is the best available model for facilitating educational reform. Richard Tice, Chair of Governors at Northampton Academy and author of the report, shows that much greater freedom of management under the academy model has transformed the school leadership’s ability and willingness to take decisions. Specific improvements have included changes to the teaching and management staff and several changes to discipline policy including a new off-site centre for excluded pupils.

As a result a badly underperforming school is quickly improving, though major challenges remain. GCSE performance has significantly improved since the new management has taken over, truancy has fallen by a third, teaching absenteeism is much reduced and the school receives three applications for every place.

Richard’s practical experiences thus point to a key conclusion – it is the management freedom, not the new buildings, which have transformed the fortunes of this failing school. He therefore calls for the academy principle of freedom of management to be rolled out across the state sector, not the capital investment of the academy programme. With very little cost, all schools would be given the opportunity to radically improve.

There is thus significant opportunity for the Liberal Democrats to lead calls for education reform. Nick Clegg has stated: “I want us to look at establishing a new liberal model of schools that are non-selective, under local government strategic oversight but not run by the council, and free to innovate to drive up standards for all our children.” This is clearly in line with the proposals of the Reform research and could go far further than the Government’s target for 400 academies after 2010.

There are issues that need to be addressed before the academy model can be rolled out. Independent appeals panels on exclusions should be removed and the role of the National Curriculum, performance tables and tests need to be reduced. Liberal Democrats should not shy away from addressing issues that go deep into the culture of the education system, in particular the role of the teaching unions. Unions should change their approach to academies and particularly to the ability to vary teachers’ pay and conditions locally in the interests of their members and ultimately the students they teach. By supporting the academy model, unions can transform their role from a blocker of reform to a positive driver of change.

The Reform report shows that there is already a model that the Liberal Democrats can build upon to achieve their vision of “Free Schools”. Existing academies have already demonstrated that positive steps can be taken for effective leadership, improvement in teaching standards and better discipline. With the further reforms that Richard Tice proposes, these measures could transform state education in England.

* Elizabeth Truss is Reform’s Deputy Director and Laura Kounine is Reform’s Education and Crime Research Officer.