Category: Governance

DfE review of literacy and numeracy catch-up strategies for low-attaining year 7 pupils

The Department for Education has updated guidance on Literacy and Numeracy Catch-up Strategies (external link) in order to incorporate the latest evidence.

The review is intended to support teachers to make evidence-informed decisions based on robust statistical analysis of what does and does not work. However, it is also useful for governing boards when it comes to ensuring that catch-up premium funding is being spent effectively.

In terms of literacy, interventions for writing and reading comprehension generally produced good results, as did computer-based interventions and some one-to-one methods. Evidence around phonics approaches, summer and Saturday schools and blended interventions was not as conclusive.

Much less is known about what works to support low-attaining year 7 pupils catch up with their peers in numeracy, as the few interventions trialled did not prove to be effective.

A smooth transition from primary to secondary school is also shown to help low-attaining pupils catch up with their peers, providing the general principles included in the guidance are observed. The evidence reviewed should not be considered definitive; those governing should closely monitor the impact of their own catch-up strategies and interventions

The Department for Education (DfE) has published a new toolkit (external link) aimed at helping schools to make the best use of their resources. NGA was consulted in the drafting of the toolkit, which includes support with managing the school workforce, procurement and developing financial skills as well as expanded capacity to provide direct support to schools at risk of financial difficulty. Ensuring schools’ money is well spent is one of the core functions of a governing board.

The government has announced that in 2018-19, a 3.5% pay rise will apply to the main pay range for classroom teachers, a 2% pay rise will apply to the upper pay band for teachers and a 1.5% rise will apply for school leaders.

To cover the increases in pay at school level, the DfE will provide a teachers’ pay grant of £187 million in 2018-19 and £321 million to all schools in England in 2019-20. This will cover the difference between the pay award and the cost of the 1% award that schools would have expected under the previous public sector pay cap. No additional money from the Treasury has been announced and the increase in pay will be funded from within the existing Department for Education budget.

The Department for Education (DfE) has updated its guidance on apprenticeships for the school workforce. This guide provides information specific to school leaders, governing boards and local authorities on what apprenticeships are, how your school can use them to benefit its workforce, and how the apprenticeship levy and public sector target apply to schools. It now contains myth-busting FAQs, case studies showing examples of best practice, and an up-to-date list of apprenticeships available to schools.

The guidance is available here (external link).

Ofsted has published an update for its inspectors (external link)  which includes the following clarification on governing boards' role during the inspection:

“It has been brought to our attention that some schools have not informed all of their governors/trustees about the inspection of their school, nor invited them to meet inspectors during the inspection.

Inspectors should make clear to the headteacher, at the start of the inspection, that all governors/trustees must be informed of the inspection and that arrangements should be made for inspectors to meet the chair of governors/chair of the board of trustees and as many governors/trustees as possible during the inspection, and that as many governors/trustees as possible should also be invited to attend the final feedback meeting.”

Ofsted has previously clarified that all those on the governing board should be informed of the provisional outcome, including those who are unable to attend the final feedback meeting.

The update also highlights some other issues that are relevant to governing boards:

• the new Department for Education (DfE) guidance (external link)    on safeguarding recommends that schools hold more than one emergency contact number for each pupil (above the legal minimum);
• inspectors will ask secondary school leaders about what they are doing in response to the DfE’s ambition (external link)    for the vast majority of pupils to study the EBacc;
• inspectors will consider  the DfE's recent guuidance (external link) on gender separation in mixed schools;
• that caution is required when considering the performance of groups of pupils (for example, by pupil characteristic), particularly small groups;
• Ofsted has no expectation about how primary schools should be carrying out assessment or recording pupils’ achievements and there is no requirement for numerical data to be used.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Analyse School Performance (ASP) is the official data dashboard provided free to schools by the Department for Education (DfE). It replaced RAISEonline in July last year and gives school leaders a comprehensive overview of performance against headline measures. Governors and trustees are entitled to access the service and it is an essential resource for holding a school to account and monitoring performance.

While governors may be familiar with the secure access login portal, the login page for ASP is changing. Users of ASP will now need to set up an account with the DfE sign-in service. You can see details of how to do this here (external link).

A SEND Governance Review Guide has recently been launched.The guide focuses on how the governing board can secure high quality outcomes for learners with SEND.

Chris Rossiter, chief executive of Driver Youth Trust and lead author of the SEND Governance Review Guide, said: “This guide provides a blueprint from which governors and academy trustees can acquire and reflect upon their strategic view of SEND for the benefit of these young people, who rightly should be central to our decision-making.”

The guide was commissioned by Whole School SEND and co-funded by the Department for Education (external link)  (DfE) and Driver Youth Trust (external link) in partnership with governance leaders.

You can also read a blog (external link) from one of the parent governors who sat on the review and also spoke at the launch.

A new report (external link) from the education and youth ‘think and action-tank’ LKMco and the school mental health organisation Minds Ahead looks into the scale and causes of youth mental health issues.

The report finds that “75% of mental health problems begin before the age of 18” and that “ONS data shows that suicide is the leading cause of death, for five to 19 year olds”. Whilst there is increasing concern about youth mental health within the education and health sectors, the debate continues about how much of a role schools should play in tackling the issues.

The report highlights that “school leaders, including governors [and trustees] have the power to set the climate within their schools and to place pupil wellbeing at the heart of their decisions”. Recommendations for governors and trustees include:

• “School leaders should be true to their moral purpose and prioritise pupil needs in the face of perceived accountability pressures, so that decisions are taken with due consideration for their impact on pupil and teacher wellbeing.”
• “Schools should review potential risk factors for pupil wellbeing within their school community.”

The Department for Education  has published research into the practices used by schools to prevent and tackle bullying (external link). The report contains seven thematic case studies and a summary of common strategies and challenges. The schools providing the case studies were identified as displaying innovative and effective practice in tackling bullying. Shared themes in the strategies deployed by these schools include:

• A whole school approach which involves both teaching and non-teaching members of staff, pupils, parents, carers and governors. This includes a highly visible, and inclusive, ethos which underpins everything that the school does; clear behaviour and anti-bullying policies which are regularly reviewed; and adequate training and support for staff.
• A focus on preventative practice, e.g. tackling prejudice, increasing empathy and encouraging awareness.
• An emphasis on keeping anti-bullying high profile throughout the year, rather than only during Anti-Bullying Week.
• A strategy of engaging and empowering pupils, for example through buddy systems, delivering assemblies, and anti-bullying ambassadors.
• Rapid responses to incidents to prevent escalation and build confidence that future concerns would be taken seriously.
• An awareness of the impact of technology on bullying through a concerted effort to keep up to date with online trends, and updating cyberbullying policies accordingly.
• Innovative methods of engaging with parents, such as termly parent forums and face-to-face meetings.

Governing boards play an important role in scrutinising and challenging senior leaders about the strategies they are employing and the board’s strategic role means that their contribution will be crucial in developing an effective whole school ethos.

Dominic Herrington has been confirmed as the interim National Schools Commissioner (NSC) (external link) following the retirement of Sir David Carter announced in April. Since 2014, Mr Herrington has been the regional schools commissioner for the East of England and South London and will continue overseeing this area of work. Discussing his appointment, Mr Herrington said that he was “looking forward to working with the regional schools commissioners in seven other areas of England to build on Sir David Carter’s achievements by continuing to challenge and support school leaders”.

The NSC leads the team of regional schools commissioners (RSCs) to:

• support the creation of new academies and free schools and recruiting high quality academy sponsors;
• improve the performance of underperforming academies and free schools.