The shake-up in Bradford schools as they revert to a two-stage system was never going to be easy. We have accepted that from the start. The upheaval is necessary to bring Bradford into line with most of the rest of the country and with the National Curriculum. It is vital for the future of the district.

But it is a complicated business. As with any major organisational change, there are bound to be teething troubles. Initially at least, some people are going to be dissatisfied with their place in the new set-up, whether they be teachers, pupils or parents.

So it makes sense for the Council to appoint someone whose job is to steer the district's schools through the momentous changes which lie not very far ahead. There are closures for the Head of Reorganisation to oversee at some schools and expansion at others, staffs to redistribute, the new primary sector to establish. On top of that there is liaison with the future occupant of the other new post, that of External Projects Manager, who will have the job of overseeing a £170 million capital programme to build new schools and adapt existing ones.

The Head of Reorganisation's job is such a key one, in fact, that it is rather surprising that the post was not created and filled months ago. The first wave of the reorganisation takes place in September and already we are galloping into May, yet still no advertisement has been placed. A little more urgency is surely needed to give the appointee a chance to be in the job at the very beginning of the changes.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.