Education Briefing 2018
Changes to be aware of in 2018 • Who is the accountable Body? School, Free School, Academy • Ofsted priorities have changed
• Governors have increased responsibility for Leadership • Changes to Public Examinations at GCSE and Post-16
• Changes to Primary School Assessment • The Importance of the Early Years Foundation Stage
• Changes to the way Nurseries are funded • Changes to the funding formula for schools
The Difference between Academies and Schools • Academies receive their funding directly from the government, rather than through local authorities like other state funded schools. • There are two types: converter academies (those deemed to be performing well that have converted to academy status) and sponsored academies (mostly underperforming schools changing to academy status and run by sponsors). These are known as Multi-Academy Trusts.
• Comparing the most recent Ofsted grade of each type of school, converter academies are the most likely to be good and outstanding while sponsored academies are more likely than maintained schools to be graded requires improvement or inadequate. But this is to be expected as converters were high performing, and sponsored low performing, to begin with.
What is a Free School? • Free schools are funded by the government but aren’t run by the local council. They have more control over how they do things • They’re ‘all-ability’ schools, so can’t use academic selection processes like a grammar school
• Free schools can set their own pay and conditions for staff • They can change the length of school terms and the school day • They don’t have to follow the national curriculum
Department for Education DfE National Schools Commisioner: Sir David Carter Regional Schools Commissioner (East of England & NE London): Sue Baldwin CB Vision:“The East of England and North East London is a large, diverse region, covering schools in areas of urban deprivation, small rural schools and coastal areas. The role of the Regional Schools Commissioner - advised by the Headteacher Board (HTB) - is to ensure there are a sufficient number of high quality academy trusts to support schools to improve; to challenge underperformance and facilitate rapid improvement; to establish excellent new provision by supporting high quality applications to open new free schools; and to encourage and develop collaboration and the sharing of best practice as a step to a self-improving schools led system leading to higher standards across the region.” There is a Deputy Director assigned to the Festival Bridge Area. “RSCs commission teaching schools, national leaders in education, MATs and other leaders in education to improve underperforming schools.” Further details about the vision: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/517205/East_England_North_East_L ondon_RVS__PT_.pdf
Ofsted Ofsted: Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman Regional Director: Paul Brooker Revised to align to the updated handbooks.
Includes topics such as: • Lesson planning • Self-evaluation • Lesson observation • Evidence used
• Leadership and governance https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/651824/Insp ections_clarifications_for_schools.pdf
Teaching Schools Council A network of support for local partnerships of schools to work together Area Representative: Lesley Birch http://teachingschoolseast.org/ This link enables you to identify the Teaching Schools in the Festival Bridge Area.
“Teaching schools are strong schools led by strong leaders that work with others to provide high-quality training, development and support to new and experienced school staff� They receive funding from the DfE and generate income through a range of programmes.
Governing Bodies 2018 – Six Clear Areas • Strategic Leadership that sets and champions vision, ethos and strategy. • Accountability that drives up educational standards and financial performance. • People with the right skills, experience, qualities and capacity.
• Structures that reinforce clearly defined roles and responsibilities. • Compliance with statutory and contractual requirements. • Evaluation to monitor and improve the quality and impact of governance. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-handbook
New A Level & AS Level complete 2018 The main features of the new qualifications are: • Assessment will be mainly by exam, with other types of assessment used only where they are needed to test essential skills. • AS and A levels will be assessed at the end of the course. AS assessments will typically take place after 1 year’s study and A levels after 2. The courses will no longer be divided into modules and there will be no exams in January. • AS and A levels will be decoupled – this means that AS results will no longer count towards an A level, in the way they do now. • AS levels can be designed by exam boards to be taught alongside the first year of A levels. • The content for the new A levels has been reviewed and updated. Universities played a greater role in this for the new qualifications than they did previously.
New GCSE – first results for majority 2018 The main features of the new GCSEs are: • A new grading scale of 9 to 1 will be used, with 9 being the top grade. This will allow greater differentiation between students and will help distinguish the new GCSEs from previous versions. • Assessment will be mainly by exam, with other types of assessment used only where they are needed to test essential skills. • There will be new, more demanding content, which has been developed by government and the exam boards. • Courses will be designed for two years of study – they will no longer be divided into different modules and students will take all their exams in one period at the end of their course. • Exams can only be split into ‘foundation tier’ and ‘higher tier’ if one exam paper does not give all students the opportunity to show their knowledge and abilities. • Re-sit opportunities will only be available each November in English language and maths. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-the-facts-gcse-and-a-level-reform/get-the-facts-gcse-reform
Primary Curriculum 2018 • New Tests 2017 • No new tests before the 2018 to 2019 academic year • EYFSP will remain in place for the 2017 to 2018 academic year “It is important that we now set out a clear path to a settled system where our collective focus can be on achieving strong educational outcomes for all children.” Justine Greening , Secretary of State
Early Years Entitlement Funding managed by Local Authority The early years entitlements are: • the 15 hours entitlement for disadvantaged two year olds • the universal 15 hours entitlement for all three and four year olds • the additional 15 hours entitlement for eligible working parents of three and four year olds https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-national-funding-formulaallocations-and-guidance
National Funding Formula to be introduced 2018 – 2019 The NFF will provide funding gains for schools across England, allocating: • an increase in the basic amount allocated for every pupil • a minimum per pupil funding level for both secondaries and primaries to target the lowest funded schools • a minimum cash increase for every school of one per cent per pupil by 2019-20, with the most underfunded schools seeing rises of three per cent per pupil in 2018-19 and 2019-20 • a £110,000 lump sum for every school to help with fixed costs, and an additional £26million to rural and isolated schools to help them manage their unique challenges https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fairer-funding-system-to-end-postcode-lottery-for-schools
Local Knowledge • Identify who is the responsible body for the school or academy you are in contact with. If it is in a Multi-Academy Trust then research the Trust as well as the local contact. They may have a lead for Arts & Culture. • Obtain a copy of the Academy/School improvement priorities for the academic year.
• Research the website for staff members committed to partnership working with other providers e.g trips, visits, sports and arts activity. • Know who on the Governing Body has the lead for Arts and/or Humanities. They may be worth meeting to discuss your plan with a suitable member of staff. • Match the offer to the priorities to demonstrate how the education experience will improve and be measured. • Ensure that you have cost/risk assessment/Evaluation documentation to support the school or academy when they engage. • Be ready to demonstrate impact against national measures. This might be subject, Spiritual, Moral, Social or British Values and Character. Every organisation needs to demonstrate impact.