This week I highlight new guidance on the Catch Up Premium, a new webinar series on how to diversify governing bodies and information on a new DfE framework for schools to purchase school furniture.

Guidance on the Catch Up Premium
Yesterday the DfE published guidance on the Catch Up premium which details the funding allocation and payment schedule as well as a link to a support guide published by the Education Endowment Foundation on how to make best use of the funding.

The guidance is clear that school leaders must be able to show they are using the funding to resume teaching a normal curriculum as quickly as possible following partial or full school closure.  Governors are to scrutinise their school’s approaches to catch-up from September 2020, including their plans for and use of catch-up funding. This should include consideration of whether schools are spending this funding in line with their catch-up priorities and ensuring appropriate transparency for parents.

New webinar series: #DiverseGovernance
Governors for Schools are collaborating with Diverse Educators to bring a series of webinars on how to diversify governing bodies. The webinars will also consider why it should be a main priority for all schools and education settings. The #DiverseGovernance webcast series is made up of 6 free webinars as follows:

• Governance Webcast 1: Thursday 19th November from 4-5pm. Theme – The Equality’s Act and Your School – an introduction to the protected characteristics.  Speakers: Linda Lee Unternahrer, Stephen Edmond, and Jeannie Hume.
• Governance Webcast 2: Thursday 3rd December from 4-5pm. Theme – How to make your governing board inclusive – tips for recruitment.  Speakers – Adrian McLean, Raj Unsworth, Ninna Makrinov, and Emma Gregory.
• Governance Webcast 3: Thursday 14th January from 4-5pm. Theme – How to make your governing board inclusive – inclusive behaviours.  Speakers – Maureen Chiana, Prince Caesar, and Katie Caswell.
• Governance Webcast 4: Thursday 4th February from 4-5pm. Theme – What is the governing body’s strategic role in delivering an inclusive education? Speakers – Hannah Stolton, Dominic Judge, and Siraj Mayet.
• Governance Webcast 5: Thursday 25th February from 4-5pm (for non-teachers). Theme – Why to join a governing body, how to get on a board, what does the role include? Speakers – Karris Graham-Moore and Jordan Holder.
• Governance Webcast 6: Saturday 27th February from 10-11am (for teachers). Theme – Why to join a governing body, how to get on a board, what does the role include? Speakers – Sarah Amissah, Karen Giles, Sanum Khan, Connor Acton, and Sandeep Kaur.

You can register for each webinar on the Eventbrite web page.

New DfE Framework to purchase school furniture
On Monday, the DfE published information on how schools can buy furniture using a new framework from approved suppliers and have it delivered and installed.  This will be useful for Headteacher and School Business Managers to look at.

This week I highlight updated information on what the DfE expects schools will publish online, updated information produced for parents and carers on the new national restrictions that came into force on 5 November and the publication of a briefing note from Ofsted on interim visits carried out since September.

What schools must publish online
This week the DfE has updated the information maintained schools and academies must publish online.  An additional section on Coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium has been introduced and schools that receive the grant this academic year should publish details of how they intend to spend the grant and how the effect of this expenditure on the educational attainment of their pupils will be assessed.

What parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
The DfE has updated this guidance to include information on the national restrictions by adding a ‘national restrictions’ section and updating the relevant information about face coverings, clinically extremely vulnerable children and extra-curricular activities.

COVID-19 series: Ofsted briefing on schools
On 17 March 2020, all routine Ofsted inspections were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of a phased return to routine inspection Ofsted is carrying out interim visits during this Autumn term. On Tuesday Ofsted published a briefing note based on evidence from 380 visits to schools between 29 September and 23 October with a further briefing note to be published in December.

This week I highlight a new free governor webinar on supporting pupils wellbeing from a strategic position, updated guidance for schools confirming secondary school pupils must wear face coverings in communal areas and confirmation from Ofsted that Autumn term interim visits will be conducted remotely.

New free webinar: Supporting pupil wellbeing from a strategic position on Thursday 12 November from 12 to 1pm
This webinar is designed to help governors understand how they can support and improve provision for pupil mental health in their role. A panel of experts and educators will talk about how governors can support pupil wellbeing while remaining strategic. Discussion will focus on typical wellbeing governor activities, ways to monitor and measure impact, how to help create a culture of wellbeing and ways this can be built into the school strategy.

• Panellists include:
• Kaley Foran – The Key for School Governors
• Kelly Hannaghan – Wellbeing in education consultant
• John Midgley – Chair of Governors, Bradleys Both Community Primary School, North Yorkshire
• Nikki Hall – Youth Mental Health Champion / Nicky Corfield, Headteacher, Kingmoor Infant and Nursery School, Carlisle

Please use this link to register for the webinar.

Face coverings now mandatory in secondary schools
The wearing of face coverings will become mandatory in communal areas of all secondary schools from Monday next week. Following the announcement of the Government’s decision to hold another month-long lockdown from yesterday, the DfE published updated guidance for schools.

Until now, face coverings in communal areas have only been mandatory in some areas subject to local lockdown restrictions. This change extends the requirement to schools nationwide.

Ofsted to continue interim visits remotely during second lockdown
Ofsted has stated that they will conduct Autumn term interim visits remotely where possible. Regulatory work will continue to be carried out when responding to concerns around unregistered schools, safeguarding and breakdowns in leadership.

Prior to the announcement of the second national lockdown, Ofsted intended to restart full inspections in January 2021. The inspectorate has not yet specified whether the date to restart full inspections will be changed or reviewed as a result of the second lockdown.

This week I report on new guidance for keeping children safe in out-of-school settings as well as the DfE’s amendment to school guidance on keeping schools well ventilated and that students might need to wear additional clothing.

Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings
Information has been published by the DfE for providers, parents and carers on keeping children safe in community activities, after-school clubs, tuition, sports training and other out-of-school settings.

Allowing pupils to wear additional clothing in school
On Wednesday, the DfE stated that schools should consider allowing pupils to wear “additional, suitable indoor items of clothing” during the winter as classrooms get colder because of the need for ventilation.

In updated action for schools guidance, the DfE said increased ventilation “may make school buildings cooler than usual over the winter months” and in a section on school uniform, the guidance states that “while schools will want to maintain the benefits of their uniform, they may wish to consider allowing additional, suitable indoor items of clothing to be worn during the winter period in addition to the school’s current uniform.. Where this occurs, schools should ensure that no extra financial pressure is placed on parents”.

This week I highlight a free governors webinar on balancing support with challenge during the pandemic, the latest education news and the publication of new Headteacher’s standards and reformed national professional qualifications from September 2021.

Free governors webinar on balancing support with challenge during Covid-19
Governors for Schools is offering a free webinar on Thursday 5 November 2020 from 8 to 9 a.m. which will focus on how governors can balance the need to hold schools to account while providing support to school leaders and being aware of the impact on workload that the pandemic is having.

It will explore ways of showing sensitive and meaningful support along with practical and pragmatic strategies for continuing the work of governance under the challenging circumstances we all find ourselves in. Use this link to register for the webinar.

New Headteacher’s standards and reformed national professional qualifications
Headteachers are leading professionals and role models for the communities they serve. Parents and the wider public hold high expectations of headteachers and the headteachers’ standards set out how headteachers meet these high expectations. The new standards replace the national standards of excellence for headteachers 2015. They are non-statutory and intended as guidance to be interpreted in the context of each individual headteacher and school.

From September 2021, a reformed suite of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) will be available for teachers and leaders who want to develop their knowledge and skills in school leadership and specialist areas of teaching practice. These reforms include:

• reforming the 3 existing NPQs in senior leadership, headship and executive leadership;
• replacing the current NPQ in middle leadership with 3 new NPQs for teachers and leaders who want to develop their expertise in specialist areas of teaching practice.

This week I report on the publication of the DfE’s latest governance update, the updated Governance Handbook and new role descriptors.

Latest DfE Governance update
The October edition of the governance update from the DfE provides information on the following:

• The updated Governance Handbook and new role descriptors (further details provided below).
• Guidance for governing bodies that choose to hold face to face meetings to ensure they comply with the rule of 6, social distancing, any local health and safety measures and the school or trust’s risk assessment. 
• Guidance for schools on cyber security due to the increasing number of cyber-attacks involving ransomware infection affecting the education sector.
• Publication of NFER research on school and trust governance with conclusions drawn about the governance system as a whole, as well as about specific types of governing bodies, and the report suggests areas where support and guidance for the sector could be improved.
• Publication of National Leaders of Governance reform recommendations.
• Information on the funded governance leadership training and development programmes that are now available virtually.

Updated Governance Handbook and new Role Descriptors
Yesterday the latest edition of the Governance Handbook was published to reflect policy and legislation changes from the past year and to clarify language where appropriate. Board diversity, professional clerking and executive leaders’ understanding of effective governance feature among the updates.

For those new to governance the Handbook defines the roles, functions and legal duties of governing bodies in maintained schools, academies and multi academy trusts. It’s described as setting out “the government’s vision and priorities for effective school and trust governance” and acts as a signpost for governance resources including many from the NGA.

In addition to the Handbook, the DfE has also produced new ‘governance role descriptors’ for maintained schools and academies which describe high-level school and trust governance structures and the responsibilities of each role.

They are an introduction to the governance system across the education sector and can be used in inductions for new volunteers.  The descriptors also include links to further support and guidance that governors may find helpful.

This week I report on the new legal duty for schools to provide remote education for school age children who can’t attend due to Covid-19, the removal of the outstanding inspection exemption and a new inquiry in home learning being carried out by the Education Select Committee.

Schools legal duty to provide remote education
Yesterday the DfE published a temporary continuity direction under the Coronavirus Act 2020 saying it would provide legal certainty for all involved in the education sector and makes clear schools have a legal duty to provide remote education for state-funded, school-age children unable to attend school due to coronavirus (Covid-19).

The direction comes into force on 22 October and will have effect until the end of the current school year unless it is revoked by a further direction.

Removal of the outstanding exemption
The Government has published its response to the consultation on removing the inspection exemption for outstanding schools which was carried out in January and February this year. The Government will now seek Parliamentary approval to remove the exemption and outstanding schools will start to be inspected again when Ofsted inspections resume next year. All formerly exempt schools must now receive an initial full inspection or short inspection within six years.

Education Select Committee inquiry into home learning
This week MPs launched an inquiry into home learning which will include looking at the role inspections should play in the future regulation of home educating.

In April 2019, the Government published a consultation on proposed legislation concerning children not in school, which included a proposal for a register of children not attending mainstream schools, maintained by local authorities, but has not yet published its response.

The Education Select Committee is now inviting written submissions, including on the duties of local authorities and the advantages and disadvantages children may face from home education. It is also asking for submissions on the role inspection should play in future regulation of home education and the support, including financial support, available for home educators and their children.

This week I report on the new requirement for maintained schools to publish financial information on their websites, guidance on the admission of summer born children into school and a delay in publication of the SEND Review.

Financial information maintained schools must publish online
From this academic year maintained schools must publish financial information on their website as follows:

Summer-born children: school admission
Yesterday the DfE published an updated statement on the admission of summer born children into school.  Whilst it does not intend for it to become the norm for summer born children to start school at age 5, where parents genuinely believe that delaying admission is right for their child, it expects admission authorities to give careful consideration to the age group in which the child’s needs can best be met, and to make sure they get the process right.

It also published some new advice to help parents who have concerns about their child’s readiness for school to make an informed decision about what would be right for their child, alongside some updated guidance to support admission authorities in fulfilling the duties imposed on them by the code.

Delay to publication of the SEND Review
The Education Secretary has confirmed that a review into provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities won’t now be published until next year, as work had stalled because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Ministers commissioned the review last September to look at how the system has evolved since reforms in 2014 that brought in new education, health and care plans, and explore the role of health care in SEND in collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Care.

This week I report on the HMI visits taking place this term and a new research project to help understand Covid-19 transmission in schools.

Ofsted visits this half term
Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) will visit around 1,200 schools across England this Autumn term, as Ofsted aims to tell parents, government, and the public about how schools are managing the return to full education of their pupils. The visits, initially announced in July, will include schools of different types and of all Ofsted grades across England. Visits will be based around constructive discussions with the school or college leaders; they are not inspections, so will not result in a grade.

They will notify a school of the visit on the day before and talk about the practicalities of the visit – including any specific considerations related to COVID-19. Normally, 2 inspectors will visit a school for 1 day, when they will have collaborative conversations with school leaders.

On the visit, they will talk about any barriers that the school is facing in managing the return to opening fully, how pupils are getting back into expected routines and their behaviour, and the school’s safeguarding arrangements. Inspectors will also talk to school leaders about how remote learning fits into their wider curriculum plans. After a visit, the inspector will write a short letter, which will be published on our reports website.

The first visits will take place at the end of this month. Inspectors will observe social distancing and all other national or local guidance from the government to carry out these visits safely. Full inspection is set to resume in January 2021, but this is being kept under review.

Major research project to help understand coronavirus transmission in schools
The University of Bristol study will saliva-test 4,000 pupils and 1,000 school staff across Bristol once a month for six months. The aim of the study is to understand exactly how pupils transmit coronavirus, whether or not they are symptomatic – it should provide information on how schools should deal with outbreaks.

Schools and the NHS Test and Trace programme will receive the data from the study to help map infections in Bristol. Researchers will also work with schools to help them put appropriate measures in place to stop the transmission of the virus.

This week I report on the Governors for Schools new Wellbeing Governors campaign, HSE plans to carry out telephone safety checks with schools and the latest news on plans for next year’s A Level and GCSE examinations.

Wellbeing governors
On Tuesday Governors for Schools launched a year-long campaign (Wellbeing Governors) to highlight why they think link governors for wellbeing are vital on school governing bodies.

Working with Place2Be, the children’s mental health charity, over the next few months they will share blogs on key topics around mental health and wellbeing, questions for link governors to ask at meetings and best practice.  They are also hosting a panel about pupil wellbeing later this month via a webinar and you can register your attendance here.

Health and Safety Executive plans telephone safety checks and possible follow-up visits in schools
The HSE will be calling schools to check on plans for keeping pupils and staff safe and reducing the transmission of coronavirus.  During these calls, the HSE will also check on schools’ risk assessments, and if any concerns are raised, on-site visits may be conducted.

Schools have been told to ensure staff are aware that these checks are taking place and that designated individuals are familiar with their school’s risk assessment.

Ofqual chair suggests using online tests as a back-up plan for 2021 exams
According to Ofqual whatever next Summer’s circumstances are, exams will go ahead in some format. In last week’s Education Select Committee hearing, Ofqual was asked what the 2021 exam series will be like, including what contingency plans will be in place if pupils are unable to sit traditional exams.  Ofqual’s Chair, Roger Taylor, said it is “absolutely essential that students are themselves able to take part in some kind of fair, comparative test that gives them the ability on a level playing field to demonstrate their skills and knowledge and to be able to influence their own future”.

When asked further about how this would operate in areas under local lockdown, Mr Taylor said: “There are mechanisms including, for example, using online tests. We feel we have enough time [to] come up with a solution to that problem.”

Since June, Ofqual has been considering whether next year’s exams could be delayed and it’s Executive Director for general qualifications, said that this decision would need to be made in conjunction with the DfE and was aiming to publish its conclusion with the DfE in the coming weeks.