Fred Corbett.

Norfolk County Council’s Fred Corbett tells of struggle with government

By VICTORIA LEGGETT, Education correspondent Wednesday, February 15, 2012
6:30 AM

Norfolk has faced – and still faces – a constant battle to overcome the prejudices of national education leaders who see the area as a “backwater”.

That is the view of the assistant director of children’s services Fred Corbett as he prepares to retire next month after more than a decade at the top of the education system in this county.

Having seen seven secretaries of state take up the role since he came to Norfolk in 1998, the former teacher and chief inspector said a lack of continuity at the top made it impossible to ensure the department for education had an accurate view of this part of the country.

“The problem I find is there is so much change that happens in the DfE. We don’t get a huge continuity of people,” he said. “We felt, every time there was a change, we had to start again to get them to understand Norfolk – get them to feel that their own prejudiced view of Norfolk as a backwater was a lot of nonsense.”

When Mr Corbett first came to Norfolk 14 years ago as chief inspector, he was struck by the view other people had of the county.

After growing up on the outskirts of London and attending college and university in the city, he had originally thought concerns about government being too London focused were exaggerated, but soon began to change his mind.

“I really feel it now,” he said. “When I got the job here, a very, very senior person in the DfE said ‘what on earth are you going there for?’ There was this sense that people didn’t go there if they were ambitious on a national scale. That got under my skin.

“It’s a very mixed economy here. There are huge areas of deprivation that deserve to be fought for as well. From the go, I was banging the drum for Norfolk.”

But, more than a decade on, the assistant director of children’s services, whose last day in the office will be March 16, believes the idea of Norfolk as a “backwater” still exists.

Senior figures in the DfE still fail to acknowledge the differences between urban and rural areas and make little effort to get to know how education works here.

Issues surrounding a high number of small schools, high transport costs and widely dispersed social deprivation, are little understood.

He said: “The best of them would agree to come and meet us here in Norfolk, rather than in London. But we have to fight for that. I can think of some I felt really got to know us, got a sense of what was happening here.

“I can think of someone who comes here at the moment and still can’t see beyond ‘It’s not London’. It’s a real issue.”

The result is that Norfolk can sometimes miss out on funding packages aimed at other parts of the country because of a lack of understanding of the problems here.

The Building Schools for the Future funds prioritised urban areas between London and Manchester meaning many Norfolk schools were still waiting for improvements by the time the programme was cut, Mr Corbett said.

And a bid by the county council to create a Rural Challenge, in line with the government’s London Challenge which focused on raising attainment in the capital, was “never really understood”.

Mr Corbett added: “I don’t think it was deliberately anti-Norfolk but it is felt to be a relatively comfortable environment and some of the challenges aren’t appreciated.”

Even when the secretaries of state have had strong Norfolk links – including Baroness Gillian Shephard, Charles Clarke, and Ed Balls, who went to school here – there had been little change.

Mr Corbett said even if the ministers had a strong focus on this county, they could not force the rest of the department to do the same, and could not be seen to favour Norfolk.

But he said Norfolk County Council had long been trying to convince the government to focus on areas like Norfolk in the same way it focused on big urban areas.

And it is doing its best to overcome those ever-present prejudices.

The authority’s attempts to speak up for Norfolk and dispel myths that it is “the death bed of ambition” aim to help attract top professionals, including teachers, to come here.

“We still need to promote ourselves as being a rich and vibrant place to come and work,” Mr Corbett said.

victoria.leggett@archant.co.uk

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10 comments

Or even 104 authorities doing better.

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popeye

Monday, February 20, 2012
......why is the authority ranked 105th out of 141 in England......It could be because 140 authorities are doing better than Norfolk, but there again there might be another interpretation from the experts.

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popeye

Monday, February 20, 2012
If Norfolk isn't a backwater, why is the authority ranked 105th out of 141 in England? We are in the company of deprived urban authorities when we should be performing far better. Doesn't Fred have to take some responsibility for this?

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Pushbiker

Sunday, February 19, 2012
......Mr Corbett's torch should be carried by the whole county. .......I must remember to put him on my police commissioner shortlist. He could shine his Norfolk torch around the Norfolk police stations.

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popeye

Thursday, February 16, 2012
Backwater. A place or situation in which no development is happening. A stagnant place. Spot on, expat. If you are, or were, an expat have you now become a repat? Returned to assist the Stagnation, perhaps? We dornt loike chearnge rown these paarts.....

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Mad Brewer

Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Norfolk may be a backwater geographically but this is not the same as Norfolk being a backwater in terms of outlook and thinking. The 2000 +year old Aesop's fable of the Town and Country mouse-maybe the first example of the smart alec urban dweller putting down the countryman. It exists everywhere-the US media seems to have an especial taste for it. Norfolk has always been underfunded-whatever government we get-the Tories take the county for granted , Labour doesn't give a hoot because we are not a Northern county. The UEA should be ashamed of its motto, no sensible Norfolk person, no matter how strong their dialect, wants to see an academic body with a motto like that, is is almost a send up. And everytime some half wit TV comedian slags us off and makes contemptible remarks about us we should protest to the broadcaster. Our kids should be proud to say they come from Norfolk, not expect to be seen as inbred hicks because they have a accent that is not one of the "acceptable" regional accents and their county is the butt of jokes.They should also be able to expect the same per head schools spending as the rest of the country, and teachers who don't arrive at the job with the idea they are going to have an easy ride teaching thick kids -teachers who might strive to broaden horizons and expectations. Mr Corbett's torch should be carried by the whole county.

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Daisy Roots

Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Political morals and rectitude has used education as a football. The continuous disruption to schools as well as univeristies caused by policy changes after each and every change of government has got us to the point we are in. Education should be down to heads and teachers, they should set the curriculum and central Government should pay for it. The backwater attitude is down to our MP's lack of spine, their loyalty to party dogma and morals. Should the education portfolio be taken away from central Government and become a non politcal local tax concern? One could then split the contribution from centra contributions and spend it here in Norfolk, fairly, and without disrupting the schools and universities with ever more changes and cuts.

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ingo wagenknecht

Wednesday, February 15, 2012
......leaving our rural schools with little support.......How much extra support does a small school of 20 pupils require? Isn't it better to spend the money in schools that educate kids for £3000 per year rather than those that charge £6000 or more?

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popeye

Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Trouble is that the 'backwater' attitude also operates at a County scale where Norwich and the larger urban settlements are always the centre of attention leaving our rural schools with little support.

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xxxx

Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Norfolk IS a backwater, thats why its so nice to live here, lets keep it that way. Have a good retirement Fred and go back to your big city and now lets stop meddling with Norfolks lovely 'backwater' status.

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expat

Wednesday, February 15, 2012