Category: Governance

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Consultation Governance

Ofsted launch consultation on short inspections

Ofsted has opened a consultation on proposed changes to the process for short inspections of ‘good’ schools. These one-day inspections were introduced in September 2015 in part to reduce the burden of inspection for schools that are performing well.

A short inspection can convert to a full two-day inspection if there is not enough evidence that the school remains ‘good’ or if inspectors think it might be ‘outstanding’. The consultation proposes extending the period in which a converted inspection will be completed from 48 hours to 15 working days. This is for ease of scheduling and to reduce the burden on schools.

The consultation also proposes that schools “in complex circumstances” will automatically receive a full inspection. These will be identified through Ofsted’s standard risk assessment process.

Full details of the proposals are available on Ofsted's website (external link).

Categories
Governance

Governance survey

The National Governors Association (NGA) has again joined forces with the Times Educational Supplement (TES) to conduct a school governance survey. The survey is open to all governors, trustees, and academy committee members, including headteachers.

The survey aims to build a picture of who is governing our schools, of governance practice, and to understand the impact of government policies on schools. This includes key issues, such as the current crisis in school funding.

You can access the survey here (external link) until Monday 17 July.

Categories
Governance Schools

Future Models of School Improvement – monthly briefing paper

Please find attached a PDF of the monthly briefing paper for June on Future Models of School Improvement.

Future Models of School Improvement Briefing June 2017

Categories
Governance

Music Education: a Guide for Governors

The NGA, together with Arts Council England and Music Mark, has produced a document: Music Education, a Guide for Governors, which makes clear that music is a mandatory part of the National Curriculum in Key Stage 1-3 and forms part of the arts ‘entitlement area’ at KS4. 

Further information can be found on Music Mark's website (external link)

 

 

Categories
Governance Schools

DofE releases figures for allocation of Initial Teacher Training places

The Department for Education has published the allocation of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) places and Teacher Supply Model (TSM) for the academic year 2017/18 (external link). The TSM gives an approximate figure of the number of newly qualified teachers needed in 2018/19.

The department sets a higher number of allocations compared to the number of NQTs actually required.  This is to account for providers who don’t successfully fill their places and the trainee drop-out rate; as well as to accommodate trainees who don’t pursue employment in state funded schools.

The release was covered in the TES (external link) which states that “the government’s target for postgraduate trainees is 1,600 higher than last year.” At the same time, TES refers to UCAS figures that show that by April 2017 there was a drop of 6% in the number of people who had applied for teacher training.

There is clear evidence of a growing shortage of teaching staff across the board. 

 

Categories
Governance Schools

The future of assessment

LKMco and Pearson have published an interim report on the future of assessment (external link)  The report reflects the views of teachers, pupils, parents and governing boards. The report puts forward a number of initial conclusions based on the feedback received so far. Those which will be of particular interest to governors and trustees include:

  • assessment impacts workload and schools need to ensure that their policies and expectations are realistic;
  • concern about the impact of statutory tests on pupils’ and teachers’ wellbeing;
  • teachers do not feel their professional judgement is valued highly enough;
  • teachers, parents and young people are concerned that assessment is impacting on the content of the curriculum;
  • more should be done to share best practice across the system;
  • there was particular concern about how assessments are impacting pupils with special education needs.

A final report will be published later in the summer.

Would you like to have your say on assessment?

The online consultation, which will feed in to the final report, remains open to all governors and trustees serving in primary and secondary schools in England. You don’t need to be an assessment expert to take part; the consultation comprises three short questions about your views on assessment, and some brief questions about you. It will take between 5 and 10 minutes to complete.

Take part in LKMco and Pearson’s online consultation here (external link)

Categories
Governance Schools

MPs publish report into primary assessment

In 2016 the House of Commons Education Select Committee launched an inquiry into primary assessment, following the first set of end of key stage tests on the new national curriculum. Read the full report on the committee's findings(external link)

Among the recommendations are:

  • longer lead-in times for changes to assessment and improved communication with schools;
  • an independent review of the development process for tests;
  • the Department for Education (DfE) and Standards and Testing Agency (STA) should publish plans to improve the test experience for pupils;
  • the key stage 2 spelling, punctuation and grammar test should not be part of statutory assessment;
  • the DfE should evaluate the reliability of teacher assessment judgements and their use in accountability;
  • teachers should receive professional development training on effective assessment throughout their careers, with resources provided by the DfE;
  • the DfE should provide more advice and guidance for schools on assessment systems;
  • Ofsted should ensure that its inspectors consistently report on the full breadth of a school’s curriculum and explore alternative ways of using data in inspections;
  • the DfE should change its performance tables so that key stage 2 results are reported as a rolling three-year average;
  • the DfE should consider the wider impact of its proposal to measure progress from early years to key stage 2.

 As previously reported in an earlier bulletin, the government has published a consultation on primary assessment which is due to close on 22 June. Any future government will respond to both the Select Committee report and the responses to the consultation.

Categories
Finance Governance

Schools financial health check survey

Last summer, the Department for Education (DfE) developed a financial health check structure for schools (external link) to help them identify whether or not they would benefit from an external financial review. The Department is now undertaking a review to improve the offer and are keen to hear from those governing in schools about their views and experiences of the schools financial health checks offer. Whether or not your school has used the offer, if you would like to contribute to the review, you can do so through a short online survey(external link)  

One of the core functions of the governing board is to oversee the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent. A financial review is just one way in which the governing board can ascertain whether or not the school is securing good value for money. In the current climate of uncertainty over school funding, governing boards need to ensure that their schools are running as efficiently as possible and seeking ways to assure themselves of this.

Categories
Governance

Report on children and young people’s mental health

The House of Commons Education and Health Committees published a joint report into the role of education in supporting the mental health of children and young people (external link). The Committees received evidence from mental health experts, researchers, academics and education providers.

The reports outlines that despite a growing prevalence of mental ill-health in young people, education providers are having to scale back on time and resources that promote pupil well-being. The report also finds that an increasing number of education providers are having to restrict access to mental health services, such as in-school counsellors, owing to financial pressures. The committees made 13 recommendations, including:

  • for the next government to return to the issues of the inquiry, publish a Green Paper and uphold compulsory status of PSHE;
  • for school leaders to develop a whole-school approach to well-being which should be embedded across the curriculum;
  • that sufficient prominence be given to personal development and well-being criteria in the Ofsted inspection framework;
  • the government should build on the inclusion of mental health training in initial teacher training and extend it to current teachers;
  • the government should review the effect of budget reductions on the provision of mental health support services;
  • schools to include education on the risks of social media as part of PSHE.

 

Categories
Governance

Further information on the replacement for RAISEonline

The Department for Education (DfE) has released a video(external link)  with information on the replacement for the RAISEonline service(external link). The new “Analyse School Performance” service will be a “sister service” to the DfE performance tables(external link).

Unlike the performance tables, it will require secure access and those governing should speak with their business manager about obtaining access from the secure access approver. Any access provided should be in anonymised form. The anonymised data will also be available to Ofsted, local authorities, multi-academy trusts and dioceses. 

The service will allow governors and trustees to “view and analyse details on key headline measures” and compare performance at “school and pupil group level against national averages”. The system allows for both overview and in-depth reports (i.e. breakdown by pupil groups) on headline measures. The new system also allows users to use scatter graphs to identify trends over time. This useful feature will help those governing to see if “their school development plan and priorities” are being translated into better results in key areas.