In the final week of this term I report on the DfE’s call for evidence on the relationships and sex education curriculum, changes to the EBacc in 2018 along with research on the effects of its introduction on schools, pupils and parents and new guidance on the recruitment of a Headteacher.

Consultation on the Relationships and Sex Education curriculum
The Government is asking parents, teachers and young people to help shape a new relationships and sex education curriculum that will help them stay safe and face the challenges of the modern world.  The current statutory guidance for teaching Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) was introduced in 2000 and fails to address risks to children which have grown in prevalence in recent years, including online pornography, sexting and staying safe online.

The survey was launched on the DfE’s website on Tuesday and the deadline to submit views is 12 February 2018.

English Baccalaureate (EBacc) update
The EBacc is a school performance measure that shows how many pupils study the core academic subjects at Key Stage 4 in state-funded and independent schools. The EBacc is made up of:

• English
• maths
• the sciences, including computer science
• history or geography
• a language

For 2017, the attainment measure shows how many pupils achieved both a grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE and a grade C or above in science, a language, and geography or history.

In 2018 the attainment measure will change to a school’s EBacc average point score. To calculate a school’s EBacc average point score the DfE will add together the EBacc average point score for all pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 and divide by the number of pupils in the group. To calculate a pupil’s average point score the DfE will take an average of the points scored in the 5 EBacc subject areas.

Yesterday updated research was published on the effects of introducing the EBacc on schools, pupils, parents and carers.

Recruiting a new Headteacher
Last week new guidance on the recruitment of a headteacher was published by the DfE and NGA recognising that appointing a high quality leader is something under the direct control of governing bodies that positively affects school improvement.

With the recruitment of a school leader being arguably one of the most important tasks a body will undertake, the guidance aims to steer those governing through the legal context and principles of recruitment. The guidance outlines the different stages of the process including:

• planning and setting up a selection panel
• preparing the application pack
• advertising and promotion
• the interview itself and the actions to be taken once an appointment is made

New to the guidance is information relating to an employer’s responsibilities under the 2010 Equality Act and guidance around flexible working options.

This week I report on the consultation on the statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, the publication of new non statutory guidance on peer-on-peer abuse, the Government’s launch of a plan to boost social mobility through education and the Chief Inspector of Ofsted’s first annual report.

Consultation on Keeping Children Safe in Education opens and advice on peer-on-peer abuse is published
A new consultation seeks views on revisions to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), the statutory guidance to which all schools and colleges must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The aim is to help schools and colleges to better understand what they are required to do by law and what DfE strongly advises they should do to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Changes have been made throughout the document to reflect the changes being made, in parallel, to the document Working Together to Safeguard Children (WT). WT is being consulted on separately and any resulting revisions to the final version will be reflected in KCSIE.

In addition, the consultation is also seeking views on new non-statutory advice covering sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges.

Launch of plan to boost social mobility through education
The national plan for dealing with social mobility through education was published this week. Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential sets out how the Government will try to remove obstacles that could stop people from achieving their potential. There are five core ambitions: four which span across each life phase – the early years, school, post-16 education, and careers – and a fifth overarching ambition focusing on delivering better educational and career outcomes more evenly across the whole country. It sets out action and investment in a range of areas including:

• £50 million to boost school nursery provision in some of the most challenging areas, so more children benefit from early education support before they arrive at primary school.
• A consultation on proposals to enhance early careers support and professional development for teachers, in particular those working in challenging schools and areas.
• A new £23 million Future Talent Fund to trial a range of new teaching approaches to support the education of the most-able children from less well-off communities.

HMCI launches her first Ofsted annual report
In her first annual report as HMCI, Amanda Spielman has said the life chances of the majority of young people are “the best they ever have been”. However, she also noted “areas of persistent under-performance”, with the report identifying about 130 schools which have not improved for up to 10 years.

This week Ofsted confirmed changes to short inspections, the Government’s new Careers Strategy was launched, the green paper on children and young people’s mental health provision was published and consultations on eligibility for the free early years entitlement for 2 year olds under Universal Credit and Early Education and Childcare Workforce Level 2 qualifications opened.

Ofsted confirms changes to short inspections following consultation
Ofsted will go ahead with plans to change the way it carries out short inspections of good-rated schools from next month. Under the new plans inspectors will continue to convert short inspections into full inspections, usually within 48 hours, if they have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education provided.

However, if there are no “significant issues” with safeguarding or behaviour, but inspectors have concerns about the quality of education, leadership or management, instead of converting the inspection Ofsted will publish a letter outlining areas for improvement.  A full inspection will then take place within one to two years, to give the school time to address weaknesses. In the meantime, Ofsted’s letter will make it clear that the school’s overall rating has not changed.

If inspectors believe a school is moving towards an outstanding judgement, Ofsted will publish a letter confirming the school is still good and setting out how it can improve. A full inspection will then take place in one to two years, but these schools can apply for an early inspection.

Ofsted ran its consultation after receiving feedback that short inspections that immediately convert to full inspections were challenging for schools and inspectors.

New national Careers Strategy
Earlier this week the Skills Minister Anne Milton launched the long-awaited Careers Strategy which sets out how the Government intends to improve careers advice and guidance across the education system. With detailed plans to the end of 2020 the key actions by September next year are as follows:

By January 2018

• Schools and colleges should use the Gatsby Benchmarks to improve careers provision, as set out in new statutory guidance.
• Schools must give providers of technical education and apprenticeships the opportunity to talk to all pupils.
• Ofsted must comment in college inspection reports on the careers guidance provided to young people.

By September 2018

• The Careers Employment Company (CEC) will launch a new investment fund of £5 million to support the most disadvantaged pupils.
• Schools and colleges are expected to publish details of their careers programme for young people and their parents.
• Job specification and standards for Careers Leaders developed and started to be used by schools and colleges.
• A named Careers Leader should lead the careers programme in every school and college.
• The CEC will begin to take on a broader role across all the Gatsby Benchmarks.
• 20 “careers hubs” will be funded by Government and supported by a coordinator from the CEC.
• Government sponsors two UK Career Development Awards for 2018.

Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision Green Paper
The Government is asking people for their views on a green paper setting out measures to improve mental health support for children and young people. The proposals include:

• every school and college encouraged to appoint a designated lead for mental health;
• creating a new mental health workforce of community-based mental health support teams;
• a new 4-week waiting time for NHS children and young people’s mental health services to be piloted in some areas.

Consultation on eligibility for the free early years entitlement for two-year-olds under Universal Credit 
On Monday the Government launched a consultation inviting views on its proposed approach to setting eligibility for the free early education entitlement for two-year-olds under Universal Credit.  The consultation seeks views on the level at which to set a net earned income threshold under Universal Credit and explains the general principles the Government has taken into account in considering changes to the eligibility criteria in light of the introduction of Universal Credit and its plans for communicating these changes to parents, early years providers and local authorities, and the steps it will take to support their implementation.

Early education and childcare workforce level 2 qualifications consultation
The Government has also launched a 12 week consultation seeking views on the proposed early years assistant (level 2) criteria and their suitability for qualifications in early education and childcare.

This week I report on additional funding to help embed SEND reforms, a report indicating parental engagement could improve pupil progress and publication of a new Ofsted report suggesting reading should be central to the reception curriculum.

Government pledges £45 million to ‘fully embed’ SEND reforms
The Government has announced an extra £29 million for councils “to continue pressing ahead with implementation of the reforms to the SEND system.” A further £9.7 million will go on setting up “internship forums”, which will aim to create work placements for young people with SEND so they can move into paid work. The funding could also be used to train job coaches, said the Government’s release. Finally, £4.6 million will go towards parent-carer forums, which aim to give parents a voice in the processes involving children with SEND.

However, there was concern from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission back in October that pupils categorised as needing “SEN support” were getting a worse deal than those with a full Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). The summary report on local area inspections concluded that these children are more likely to have their needs overlooked, be excluded, and achieve less well than those with a legally binding EHCP.

Parental engagement ‘improves pupil progress’
A Sutton Trust report has found training staff to aid parents of disadvantaged pupils in getting involved with their education helps improve children’s progress. Results of a trial with 18 schools, where parents were provided with resources, showed a “boost to academic progress” in most schools.

Publication of a new Ofsted early years curriculum report called Bold Beginnings
Yesterday, a new report was published by Ofsted indicating a third of five year olds do not have the essential knowledge and understanding they need following their first year at school.  They say the picture for children from poorer homes is worse, with nearly half failing to gain necessary skills.

It recommends headteachers put reading at the heart of the reception curriculum, focus on developing children’s spoken language and teaching them to read using systematic synthetic phonics.  Ofsted is also recommending that the Department for Education:

• reviews the Early Years Foundation Stage to make sure that it provides sufficient clarity for the effective teaching of reading, writing and numbers
• streamlines the EYFSP in order to reduce teachers’ workload
• raises the profile of early mathematics teaching, and makes a similar investment to that made in teaching phonics