Academy and School News Update, June 19 to July 23 2017

Documents mentioned below can be found on

  • Following its consultation, theDfE has set out an ambitionfor 90% of year 10 pupils to start to study the full suite of EBacc GCSEs by 2025, and 75% of year 10 pupils starting to study this combination of subjects by 2022. The government says it recognises the challenge some schools face in recruiting high-quality modern foreign languages (MFL) teachers but says it has various schemes in place to support schools.University technical colleges and studio schools have been excluded from the government’s EBacc entry target, but the measure willstill be included in the institutions’ league table scores.Ministers say schools will still be able to determine the “small minority of pupils for whom taking all of the EBacc subjects is not appropriate”. In doing so, they should “consider the overall impact that not entering the EBacc subjects will have on the options available to the pupil and their progression to post-16 education”.

From 2018, anaverage EBacc point score across the five pillarsof the EBacc will replace the existing headline EBacc attainment measure in secondary school performance tables. This means there will be two EBacc headline measures in that year: EBacc entry and EBacc average point score.The DfE will share data with schools about their performance in 2017 under the EBacc average point score measure.This is to help schools prepare but the data will not be published.The DfE also intends to publish EBacc entry and attainment data for mainstream secondary schools with similar intakes, and a value added measure on EBacc entry, from 2019.

The government says it intends for Ofsted to issue a note to clarify how the inspection of provision at key stages 3 and 4 will reflect the government’s EBacc policy ahead of September 2018.This will take into account the starting point of each school and the steps it has taken to respond to the EBacc policy. The government says no single measure, including EBacc entry and achievement rates, will determine the outcome of a school inspection.

More than a third of secondary school teachers say less than half of key stage 4 pupils were entered for GCSEs in the subjects that make up the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) last September, according to DfE-commissioned research.And more than two-thirds (68 per cent) of secondary teachers say their school plans to keep the proportion of KS4 pupils entering the EBacc the same from September this year – despite a push from ministers to increase it.

The DfE response to the consultation is in “Implementing the English Baccalaureate”

A copy of this document can be found on the above website, Documents-latest Documents

The government has also publishedfurther analysis on trends in arts subjectsin schools where EBacc entry has increased. The analysis is said to show that the proportion of pupils entering at least one arts subject has slightly increased since the EBacc was introduced, but at school-level there was a small positive correlation, suggesting schools where EBacc entry has increased tend to have also seen an increasing arts uptake.

A copy of this document can also be found on the above website, Documents-latest Documents

  • There is to be a £1.3billion boost for core school funding- £416million in 2018-19 and £884million in 2019-20, on top of the core school budget set in the last spending review -this means schools funding will be £2.6billion higher in 2019-20 compared to 2017-18.

This funding boost has been found from within the DfE’s budget. Efficiencies and savings across the main capital budget can release £420million. The majority of this will be from the healthy pupils capital funding – from which the DfE will make savings of £315million. In delivering the free schools programme, and the plans for a further 140 free schools announced at the last Budget, the DfE will work more efficiently to release savings of £280 million up to 2019- 20. This will include working more collaboratively with local authorities to provide free schools to meet basic need.Across the rest of the DfE resource budget – over £60 billion per year – the government will reprioritise £250 million in 2018-19 and £350 million in 2019-20 to fund the increase in spending. The government will redirect £200m from the Department’s central school improvement programmes towards frontline funding for schools.

The Education Secretary also confirmed that a new National Funding Formula will be introduced in 2018. The new national funding formula will:

  • Increase the basic amount that every pupil will attract in 2018-19 and 2019-20;
  • Allow for gains of up to 3% per pupil for underfunded schools for the next two years;
  • Provide at least a 0.5% a year per pupil cash increase for every school in 2018-19 and 2019-20; and
  • Continue to protect funding for pupils with additional needs, as proposed in the consultation published in December.

She also confirmed the PE and Sports Premium for primary schools will increase from £160million to £320million. All primary schools will receive an increase in their PE and sports premium funding in the next academic year.

Local authorities will continue to set a local formula for individual schools’ budgets in 2018-19 and 2019-20, in consultation with schools in the area. This longer transition will help provide stability for schools.Spending plans beyond 2019-20 will be set in a future Spending Review.

The Department will continue to support schools to make efficient use of their resources. There aregood value National Dealsthat procure better value goods and services on areas all schools purchase. The DfE will expect schools to be clear if they do not make use of these deals and have higher costs. The DFE has just launched a new online efficiency benchmarking service which will enable schools to analyse their own performance more effectively.

Luke Sibieta of theInstitute for Fiscal Studies said that,while the £1.3bnwill ensure that per pupil spending is frozen between 2017 and 2019, it will still bringa real terms cut of 4.6 per cent between 2015 and 2019. This isdue to inflationand rising pupil numbers.

  • DfEandCrown Commercial Service(CCS) will launch the second in a series of bulk buying deals (sometimes referred to as ‘aggregated deals’) for schools considering buying new tablets, laptops or desktop devices at the beginning of the autumn term.One hundred schools took up the previous deal, buying over 2,000 devices. Some schools saved thousands of pounds, with average savings of 8%.CCSwill publish full details of the deal on 4 September 2017. Schools will then have until 29 September 2017 to sendCCStheir equipment requirements.CCSwill work with suppliers to get the best prices and notify schools after they award the contract on 6 November 2017. Schools will then be able to place their orders for delivery and arrange payment at the agreed price.The DfE currently plans that the tablet devices will be branded products – for example, Apple iPad. Whereas laptop, desktop and Chromebook devices will not have a brand specified to increase competition and get the best prices.The DfE has scheduled further buying opportunities for spring 2018 and will announce dates later.
  • Update on school cladding safety checks. Details can be found at
  • On the 10 July the DfE released theSchool Teacher Review Body’s(STRB) recommendations on teachers’ pay and theSecretary of State’s responseto those recommendations.

The STRB has recommended the following:

  • 2% uplift to the minimum and maximum of the main pay range
  • 1% uplift to the minima and maxima of the upper pay range, the unqualified teacher pay range and the leading practitioner pay range
  • 1% uplift to the minima and maxima of the leadership group pay range and all head teacher group pay ranges
  • 1% uplift to the maxima and minima of the Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) and Special Educational Needs (SEN) allowance ranges

The Secretary of State has accepted all the STRB’s recommendations. The intention is that these recommendations will be implemented from September 2017 in an updated School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD). These recommendations apply to all maintained schools and any academies who have adopted the STPCD or have staff entitled to its conditions through TUPE

A copy of these documents can be found on the above website, Documents-latest Documents

  • On 12 JulyJustine Greening as said that “social mobility has always been an issue of profound importance” and that “Britain faces a social mobility emergency”. She said that leading national and local businesses have signed up to provide careers advice to young people in the 12‘Opportunity Areas’, which were announced in January, with the support of a £2million government-backed fund.

With a specific focus on the“Opportunity Areas”, described by the DfE as social mobility “coldspots”, Ms Greening emphasised the importance of the “intelligent use of evidence” in developing innovative solutions to poor performance.It was announced that Sir Kevan Collins, chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF will become the DfE’s new “Evidence Champion” across the Opportunity areas, to help ensure that the “every single pound of investment [and] every intervention at a local level … will make a difference”.

It is hoped that the establishment of a Research School, organised by the EEF, in each of the Opportunity Areas, will enable this evidence-based practice to be implemented and contribute to improving social mobility across each area.The 11 Research Schools have been named as:

  • Hastings Research School at Ark Blacklands Primary Academy;
  • Stoke-on-Trent Research School by The Keele and North Staffordshire Alliance;
  • Norwich Research School at Notre Dame High School;
  • Oldham Research School by The Greetland Academy;
  • Blackpool Research School at St Mary’s Catholic Academy;
  • Doncaster Research School by Partners in Learning;
  • Scarborough Research School by Esk Valley Alliance;
  • Derby Research School at Wyndham Primary;
  • West Somerset Research School at The Blue School, Wells;
  • Bradford Research School at Dixons Academies; and
  • East Cambridgeshire and Fenlands Research School at Littleport CP School.

Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Dr Fiona McMillan and Sir Martin Narey will chair the partnership boards in Derby, West Somerset and Scarborough respectively. These boards will forge local links with “early years providers, schools, colleges, universities, businesses, charities and LAs”.

  • Amanda Spielman, HM Chief Inspector hasoutlined her visionfor Ofsted

Firstly, she outlined that Ofsted will increase its “research function” in an effort to test the “validity and reliability” of the inspection process. As part of this, Ofsted will seek the views of stakeholders, including governors, “on how well [Ofsted] inform and advise” schools. The aim of this, Ms Spielman outlined, was to both inform practice as well as influence policy.

Ms Spielman also commented on the importance of the curriculum in schools, with Ofsted currently undertaking a project to look at curriculum practice in “hundreds of schools across the country”. She criticised the practice to “reduce education down” to labour market success and spoke out against preparing students for exams in year 4 and key stage 3. Ms Spielman went on to say that school leaders should ensure that teachers are “concentrating on the curriculum and the substance of education, not preparing … pupils to jump through a series of accountability hoops”. She said that rather than just focusing on accountability data, “Ofsted inspections must explore what is behind the data, asking how results have been achieved” and ensuring that “a good quality education – one that genuinely meets pupils’ needs – is not being compromised”. Commenting on the recent terror attacks across England, Ms Spielman also outlined how schools need to continue to fulfil their duty to teach students about British values through “a real civic education.”

Speaking on leadership challenges in “tough schools”, Ms Spielman recognised that pupil intake made a significant difference to accountability outcomes. She outlined that Ofsted recognise “the [role played by] leadership and management teams in overcoming” significant challenge. She outlined that Requires Improvement schools in less affluent areas were two-and-a-half times more likely to achieve a “Good” for leadership than schools in affluent areas. Continuing on the theme of school leadership, Ms Spielman outlined how too much emphasis is placed on the headteacher in “transforming a school”. Instead, schools need “strong deputies and assistants … good department heads, [an] effective business and finance manager… and, of course, governors providing strong support and challenge”. Thus, in their “public pronouncements”, Ms Spielman outlined that Ofsted would put more emphasis on the importance of school management as a whole, rather than just focusing on the headteacher. See

For an interesting follow up to this, see

  • Amanda Spielman, chief inspector of Ofsted later delivered a speech about the importance of supportive leadership and the future of local authority children’s services inspections.The address acknowledged the challenges of the growing population and the pressures this places on school places in “an ever more fragmented education landscape”, with Ofsted continuing to refine their processes to make the inspection framework as effective and consistent as possible.Curriculum practice has been a particular focus during Ms Spielman’s first year in post; it was announced that Ofsted will be exploring whether routine inspection needs “rebalancing in favour of the curriculum”. If so, this will be reflected in the new inspection framework being developed for 2019.The speech also drew attention to the needs of children outside of mainstream education, and the collective responsibility that Ofsted share in relation to these children. You can read the speech in full at
  • The DfE has published its report on the second wave of the omnibus survey of pupils, parents and carers in England. The survey provides key information on the views and experiences of school life for both parents/carers and pupils. The report on the first wave of the omnibus survey was published in January.Questions covered a range of topics including parental choice of a child’s secondary school, changes to school timetables, changes at school, bullying, subject choices and careers guidance. Significant findings include:
  • the most prevalent reason for choosing a school was academic performance followed by location
  • over half of parents/carers (54%) were in favour of extending the length of the school day for at least some pupils, with that time being directed at career guidance and academic support
  • of the 86% of pupils who had heard of the reforms to GCSE’s, 9% said they understood the rationale for the reforms
  • while a third of pupils reported being bullied for one of the given reasons listed, only 9% of parents/carers concurred; 45% of pupils said they had been bullied during the last year
  • 85% of parents/carers thought that ‘enjoying the subject or finding it interesting’ was the most important consideration when choosing a subject for GCSEs or A levels
  • The survey revealed that there is confusion around secondary assessment and accountability measures.
  • When asked about Progress 8, only 19 percent of the parents surveyed had heard of the measure.
  • The survey also highlighted confusion around the new 9-1 GCSE grading system – a fifth of parents have not heard of the numerical system that is currently being phased in to replace the A*-G system.
  • Out of the parents that have heard of the 9-1 grading system, only 16 percent totally understand the rationale for the reforms.
  • Fewer parents than last year have heard of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). Last year, 58 percent of parents reported that they knew about the EBacc; however, this figure has decreased to just half of parents this year.

See

  • In the autumn of 2016, the DfE used another survey to collate the views of teachers and senior leaders relating to: curriculum reform, professional development, alternative provision, character education, bullying, careers, and support for pupils with special educational needs.Some of the main findings include:
  • a higher proportion of secondary school leaders said they would attempt to recruit outside the UK
  • 71% of teachers indicated they were confident in implementing the Prevent duty
  • in supporting pupils on SEN support to improve progress and attainment, 83% of teachers used their own professional judgement, 77% used standard pupil monitoring.

A copy of this document can be found on the above website, Documents-latest Documents

  • TheConfederation of British Industry (CBI) and Pearson have released the resultsof their 2017 skills survey. The researchers found that the “most important factor employers consider when recruiting school and college leavers is their attitude to work (86%), followed by their aptitude for work (63%) and general academic ability (43%)”.The report also outlined that young people are perceived to lack “skills of analysis”, “resilience” and “self-regulation”, but were generally good at “teamwork” and had a positive “attitude to work”. In terms of primary school pupils, businesses also believed that schools should focus on “self-management”, “literacy and numeracy” and “technical skills”. A large number of those surveyed reported the need to “address shortfalls in skills amongst young recruits”, with 26% putting on numeracy training for school/college leavers.Encouragingly, the report also found that businesses were engaging more with schools, with 81% of businesses working with secondary schools to deliver careers advice. However, three quarters expressed an interest in helping more with careers education with 84% felt that careers advice was not good enough.83% saw apprenticeships as a valuable route into business and a third intended to use the money to develop existing staff rather than “increasing access to new talent” (20%). Furthermore, nearly half struggled to fill apprenticeship places, 33% believed there was a lack of guidance on the new system and 29% highlighted that there was significant “inflexibility” in the system.

A copy of this document can be found on the above website, Documents-latest Documents