Agenda item

The Panel will receive a presentation from representatives of the DfE Regional Office.

Tish Bourke (BANES lead, DfE) and Giles de Rivaz(Head of Somerset Sub-region and RISE SW, DfE) gave a presentation to the Panel, a summary of which is set out below.

The opportunity mission and Regions Group

The Opportunity Mission is focused on breaking down barriers to opportunity. We will deliver this through our four mission pillars.

·  Best start in life - high-quality early education; early-child health; home- learning environment; family support.

·  Every child achieving and thriving - high and rising school standards with a broad curriculum; excellent teachers; an inclusive approach to SEND; wider support and enrichment.

·  Skills for opportunity and growth - a strong skills offer; pathways into work including youth guarantee, work experience, careers advice.

·  Family security - removing underlying barriers to opportunity including tackling child poverty, improving housing and keeping children safe.

Roles and Responsibilities / How we Work

Schools:

·  High quality trust delivery

·  Addressing underperformance

·  Enhancing school infrastructure and capacity

·  Safeguarding in academies

Vulnerable Children: CSC and SEND:

·  Intervention

·  Improving performance

·  Engaging with Local Authorities

·  Care review implementation

BANES: Structure and performance

Structures

•  BANES highly academised – 91.4 %

•  9 MATs, most with more than six schools; & 3 SATs

OFSTED performance

•  Ofsted very strong with vast majority of schools with headline Ofsted judgement of Good or better, those with more recent inspections, performing well in sub-judgements.

•  Trust with schools with less than Good are held to account for improvement, supported to improve

2024 Pupil outcomes

•  KS2: ES RWM 60%, improving from 2023, but below NA of 61%

•  KS4: Progress 8,  0.16  slight dip on 2023 but above NA of -0.03

•  Disadvantaged: KS2 ES RWM 33% below NA of 46%; and KS4 progress 8 -0.56, just above NA but still to improve

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Keeping Families Together and Children Safe:

•  Mandating local authorities to offer family group decision-making meetings

•  Improving information sharing across agencies

•  Strengthening the role of education in safeguarding

•  Implementing multi-agency child protection teams

Driving High and Rising Standards for Every Child:

•  Delivering commitments on school admissions, qualified teacher status, and the national curriculum

•  Introducing new duties for schools and local authorities to co-operate on admissions and place planning; extending local authorities’ powers to direct academies to admit children

•  Changing the legal framework for opening new state-funded schools

Removing Barriers to Opportunity in Schools:

•  Providing access to free breakfast clubs for every primary school child.

•  Limiting the number of branded uniform items that schools can require

Accountability reform

•  Two consultations published from Ofsted and DfE on 3rd February.

•  Ofsted’s consultation seeks views from parents, carers, professionals and learners on the way it carries out its inspections, and the way it reports them, with a new inspection framework and toolkits, and report cards.

•  The DfE’s consultation seeks views on the principles we propose should underpin an effective accountability system:

o  The approach to, and the principles of, school accountability;

o  The introduction of a new digital service – school profiles, which will be a one stop shop for parents; and

o  The approach to improvement and support, with a stronger more timely, proportionate and effective approach to intervention.

RISE (Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence) Teams: Objectives

The goal of RISE teams will be to raise standards for all schools, as part of the government’s Opportunity Mission. Through targeted intervention and a universal service, RISE teams will work to ensure that capacity and expertise from across the school system is used to deliver improvement.

•  Schools facing particular challenges improve rapidly through bespoke targeted intervention for 12-24 months. Where necessary, RISE teams will secure support high-quality organisations with a strong track record of improvement, such as an LA partnership or a MAT.

•  Every school, with its Responsible Body, can navigate a path to improvement drawing on local expertise. RISE teams will make it easier for schools to do this by delivering a universal service to schools, signposting to hubs and best practice, facilitating connections between schools and trusts, and promoting peer review and networking.

•  Every part of the country has a coherent set of local area priorities, working across local authorities and dioceses so that local partners work collaboratively to solve issues affecting children in their communities.

What does this mean for schools in BANES?

•  Go deeper on disadvantage – South West Disadvantage Network / St John’s Ten Year Foundation Fund / Big Education work

•  Collaborate with each other and with the LA on SEND – It is only as a system that we will, together, solve the challenges around SEND and mainstream inclusion.

•  Lead across the system – There is huge strength in schools in BANES. If you’re not supporting others who need more support, why not?

Councillor Onkar Saini asked how schools would be identified for RISE interventions and how could it be ensured that the support given would be specific to that school. He also asked how they will address the challenge for maintaining standards after the intervention period has concluded.

Giles de Rivaz replied that the criteria was announced as part of the consultation that was launched on 3^rd February 2025 and said that there were two categories of eligibility:

•  Multiple ‘Requires Improvement’ judgements, with no structural change in status.

•  ‘Inadequate’ judgement, with no structural change in status.

He added that from September 2026 if a school were to receive a judgement of ‘Requires Significant Improvement’ they would also be eligible to receive RISE targeted interventions.

He said that support would be tailored to the needs of each school, be collaborative and allow them to work within their current structure. He added that they would be matched with a supporting Trust / Local Authority and develop a bespoke package of measures.

He said that previously the amount of time available to provide support had been limited and that there was potential now for two years of provision which would hopefully lead to standards being maintained following the intervention.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked how the DfE Regional Office works with the Local Authority.

Tish Bourke replied that they are active in visits to local schools throughout the year and formally meet every term with the B&NES Director of Education & Safeguarding.

She explained that they have a standing agenda item for when the School Standards Board meets and also hold meetings with the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, local Diocese representatives and other partners.

Kevin Burnett commented that he felt that the current system was fragmented, and that responsibility should be given back to the Local Authority. He asked in what ways do they work with colleagues in terms of Health & Social Care and providing Support Services to schools.

Giles de Rivaz replied that the team’s focus was on schools, but that there was a Vulnerable Children’s Unit that has been established within the Regions Group. He explained that providing services to school was not part of their role / function, their role is to hold schools to account.

He added that it was hoped that the measures of providing school based nurseries and breakfast clubs would help local families. The free breakfast clubs will help ensure pupils start every day ready to learn, and in turn will improve behaviour, attendance and attainment.

He explained that within the work of RISE they will bring partners together and said that improving the outcomes for disadvantaged young people was a key issue to tackle.

Tish Bourke said that the Vulnerable Children’s Unit was also working with the Integrated Care Board (ICB). She added that improving the outcomes for all children was important and that they will continue to work with the Trusts / Schools to seek these improvements.

Kevin Burnett stated that through government cuts and austerity measures services to schools have dissipated. He said that they need on the ground support to help our children as much as possible.

Councillor Joanna Wright said that she felt that more support was needed in schools and that support to young people in community spaces was lacking. She asked that they ensure that their priorities are coherent.

Giles de Rivaz replied that they were trying to bring cohesion to a fragmented system and bring schools back into the heart of their community. He said that the SEND system and school attendance were priorities for the team.

Councillor Paul May, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services said that he welcomed the regular attendance of Tish at the School Standards Board and the work they are doing on SEND priorities. He added that they were working to reduce SEND costs by 2030.

He said that they had also inputted into some joint strategies with the ICB.

Councillor Ruth Malloy referred to the disadvantaged gap and asked if there was a South West Task Group.

Giles de Rivaz replied that there was not a single easy answer and that areas such as Devon & Cornwall will have different issues to tackle within their localities. He added that the Social Mobility Commission has also raised some factors to be considered.

The Chair thanked Giles and Tish for their attendance and proposed that they return to the Panel in around 12 months to update them on their work.