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Independent schools chief steps down after member mutiny 2

Finance | Gareth Jones | 14 Jul 2011

The chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC) has stood down in order to defuse a dispute which saw 250 headteachers vote to leave the umbrella organisation.

Chief executive David Lyscom left the post last week after months of negotiations with the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) over the future strategy of the ISC.

The HMC had voted to leave the ISC from the end of August, a move which would have robbed the ISC of 40 per cent of its £1.4m annual membership revenue and reduced its authority to speak on behalf of the independent schools sector.

Chair Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas had already stood down in March, with the entire board dissolved as part of restructuring plans, although some trustees remained on the new interim board.

Loss of focus

The HMC’s concerns are believed to have centred around concerns that the ISC had become bloated with too many layers of management, was too costly for members, and had “lost its focus”.

In light of Lyscom’s resignation, the HMC has now voted to remain within the umbrella body, on the understanding that it will be “slimmed down and refocused”.

It is understood that, on the whole, the HMC’s dissatisfaction does not stem from the ISC’s handling of the legal challenge to the Charity Commission’s implementation of the public benefit requirement.

Lyscom stepped into the role in 2008 following another rocky period for the organisation, when Chris Parry stepped down after less than seven weeks in the job.

Former rear admiral Parry had ruffled feathers with a combative approach which included frequent use of military metaphors, such as describing the Charity Commission’s draft guidance on public benefit as “a missile aimed from the maintained sector into the independent sector”.

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