This week I report on the implications of the general election on 4 July for schools, the launch of a consultation on GCSE computer science and updated cyber-security standards for schools.

What does the general election mean for schools?
With the Prime Minister calling a general election for 4 July the Government enters the pre-election “purdah” period on Saturday where public bodies are restricted in making both announcements and decisions that could influence voting decisions.

Even if the Conservatives retain power there is no guarantee a new Tory administration would keep current plans on policy and commercial contracts.

Bodies including government departments, local authorities, quangos such as Oak National Academy, and non-ministerial departments including Ofsted are affected.

Previously, purdah has meant school funding agreements could not be signed by civil servants – impacting new free schools and academy conversions. Ofsted does not publish reports making council-wide judgments and might not release Inadequate reports in cases subject to “significant local political campaigning”.

Any decisions not made by Saturday are likely to be stuck in election limbo.

GCSE computer science consultation launched
The DfE has launched a consultation on updating the subject content for GCSE computer science to reflect advancements in technology since the publication of the current subject content in 2015. The final version of the revised content will be released in early 2025, with first teaching from 2026/2027. The consultation closes on 21 July 2024.

Cyber-security standards for schools updated
The DfE has updated the cyber-security standards in its toolkit for ‘Meeting digital and technology standards in schools and colleges’. The changes address tasks that should be completed by both the SLT and ICT support, with the DfE’s change summary stating: “Cyber security is not something that IT teams can carry out alone, it is a shared responsibility between multiple roles and teams. The new cyber security standards contain the same key information that the previous cyber security standards held, but the format of this has changed to make them more accessible to staff without cyber expertise.”

This week I highlight the publication of draft guidance on RSHE and updated guidance on what schools must or should publish online.

DfE releases draft guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE)
The DfE is seeking views from parents, school staff and governors on new draft RSHE guidance. The guidance was produced following a review of the RSHE curriculum conducted by independent experts.

It sets out new expectations, including the age at which pupils can be taught sex education which the DfE suggests must be no earlier than Y5. In addition, it has been proposed that there be restrictions on the teaching of gender identity and the use of materials that suggest that gender is a spectrum.

The DfE has opened an eight week consultation to gather views on the proposed changes.

DfE updates guidance on what schools must or should publish online
The DfE has updated its guidance on what maintained schools, academies and FE colleges must or should publish online. The update message states that each of the guidance pages has been reformatted to improve usability. The DfE also states that it has added a new section on ‘Pay gap reporting’, updated the ‘Test, exam and assessment results’ section, and included information about publishing a music development plan in the ‘Curriculum’ section.

This week I report on the removal of deep dives from ungraded inspections from September and a DfE consultation on new national standards for unregistered Alternative Provision.

Changes to ungraded inspections
At last weekend’s NAHT conference Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, announced changes to ungraded inspections. The changes are designed to reduce the burden on school leaders and allow more time and flexibility for inspectors to get to know the school, including its context and priorities.

From September, inspectors will no longer conduct subject deep dives during ungraded inspections, which are designed to check on standards in schools that already carry a good or outstanding grade. Instead, school leaders will have the opportunity to discuss their school’s strengths and areas for development with inspectors.

The lead inspector’s initial phone call will focus on getting to know the school, its context, priorities and progress since the previous inspection. There will then be more space for school leaders to help shape the inspection plan and ensure it is focused on the right things.

The inspection framework will remain unchanged, but in place of the deep dives, inspectors will typically use extended learning walks to consider the impact of the curriculum and pupils’ personal development. Safeguarding arrangements, behaviour and attendance will continue to be evaluated in the same way.

DfE consults on national standards for unregistered Alternative Provision
Today the DfE launched a consultation that proposes measures for alternative provision providers to be subject to new, proportionate quality assurance frameworks, underpinned by national standards. It also sets out proposals to use unregistered alternative provision as an intervention, not a destination, to complement the education provided in school. The proposals build on the findings of the government’s previous call for evidence, which closed in 2022 and the consultation will close on 5 July.

This week I highlight the publication of new DfE guidance on how schools should prepare for and respond to terrorism and other major incidents, new research from the Nuffield Foundation on how Covid could impact on GCSE results into the 2030s and Ofqual’s response to the DfE’s consultation on the approach for the Advanced British Standard.

DfE releases new guidance ‘Protective security and preparedness for education settings’
The DfE has released new non-statutory guidance covering how education settings should prepare for and respond to terrorism and other major incidents. It covers preparatory measures such as security culture and practice drills; immediate actions during an incident such as safe communication and evacuation; and post-incident procedures such as welfare support and evaluation of the response. Alongside the guidance, the DfE has released a ‘Protective security and preparedness self-assessment’ template to helps schools evaluate strengths and weaknesses in provision.

New research shows that coronavirus (COVID-19) could affect GCSEs into 2030s
A new Nuffield Foundation study predicts that successive coronavirus cohorts are on course for the biggest overall decline in basic GCSE achievement for at least two decades.

Ofqual responds to DfE’s consultation on the approach for the Advanced British Standard
Ofqual has released its response to the DfE’s consultation on the approach to the Advanced British Standard, which aims to set a new vision for what students should learn post-16, at what level and with what balance across subjects. The consultation closed on 20 March 2024.

This week I highlight a Governors for Schools free webinar on understanding governors’ responsibilities around digital safeguarding, a new DfE web page for its resources on improving behaviour in schools, the publication of an updated version of the EEF’s guide to implementing new ideas and approaches in schools and publication of Ofsted and Ofqual documents on how they will use Artificial Intelligence.

Free Governors for Schools webinar on understanding governors’ responsibilities around digital safeguarding
In conjunction with Smoothwall, Governors for Schools are holding a webinar on
Thursday 16 May from 5-6 p.m. on understanding governors’ responsibilities around digital safeguarding. Smoothwall’s Head of Education & Wellbeing will discuss the intricacies of digital safeguarding, shedding light on the challenges students encounter in their digital world and offering practical safeguarding strategies aimed at fostering optimal outcomes and safety for students. You can use this link to register.

DfE behaviour in schools resource page
Yesterday the DfE published a new web page for its resources on improving behaviour in schools, including case studies from schools that took part in the Behaviour Hubs programme and its existing guidance on issues such as suspensions, mobile phones, confiscation, and use of reasonable force.

EEF publishes ‘A School’s Guide to Implementation’ update
The EEF has released an updated version of A School’s Guide to Implementation, a 2021 report on implementing new ideas and approaches in schools that have the biggest possible impact on children and young people’s outcomes.

Ofsted and Ofqual release documents on their approach to AI
Ofsted has published a paper which outlines how it will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) responsibly and fairly, setting out its position on the use of AI by education and social care providers. Ofqual has also released a document which sets out its approach to regulating AI. It covers issues such as managing malpractice, using AI to mark work or remotely invigilate, and Ofqual’s key regulatory objectives.

This week I report on a Governors for Schools free webinar on the new school governance guides, publication of updated guidance on sharing school attendance data, information on what to expect from KCSIE 2024 and the release of an Ofsted RE subject report.

Free Governors for Schools webinar on the new school governance guides
In conjunction with Better Governor, Governors for Schools are holding a webinar on Thursday 9 May from 8-9 a.m. exploring the new school governance guides to help you stay informed about the expectations of your role. They will discuss both the Academy trust governance guide and Maintained schools governance guide, which have now replaced the Governance Handbook. Use this link to register.

Updated guidance on sharing school attendance data
The DfE’s guidance on how to ‘Share your daily school attendance data’ now includes information about mandatory attendance data sharing, which begins in September 2024. The mandatory sharing of attendance data was first announced earlier this year in the February update to ‘Working together to improve school attendance’, which will become statutory from 19 August 2024.

KCSIE 2024 update
The Government has announced that it is to make only technical changes to KCSIE for September 2024, with a view to providing a more substantively updated document, encompassing wider changes, in 2025.

The DfE has launched a Call for Evidence from practitioners and others which is deliberately broad and seeks to reflect areas and issues that have been shared by school and college safeguarding professionals, or where wider systemic changes mean there is an opportunity to better align school and college safeguarding policy, including the findings from Ofsted’s Big Listen.

Whilst the DfE won’t be publishing the results of the Call for Evidence it will consult on any substantive changes it makes to future iterations of KCSIE, and school and college safeguarding policy in the normal way.

Ofsted releases RE subject report
Ofsted has published another of its subject report series, this time examining the factors that influence the quality of RE in schools in England.

This week I report on the publication of new non statutory DfE guidance on PE, the governor’s role in cyber security and publication of a range of resources to help promote staff wellbeing and support workload reduction in schools.

New DfE PE guidance for schools
New non statutory guidance explains how schools can meet the ambitions of the PE national curriculum, the aims of the school sport and activity action plan and the Chief Medical Officers’ physical activity guidelines. It includes a variety of schools’ approaches to providing a minimum 2 hours of PE per week and equality of access to PE and extra-curricular school sport and competition.

A Governor’s role in cyber security
One third of secondary schools and around 1 in 10 primary schools experienced cyber crime last year. As governors are aware cyber security if the responsibility of the whole Governing body because it’s central to a school’s ability to operate and function. Paragraph 144 of Keeping Children Safe in Education also explains that governors and school leaders are responsible for making sure they have the appropriate level of security protection procedures in place.

It’s good practice to have at least one governor who has completed cyber security training and this is recommended by the DfE in its guidance on meeting digital and technology standards and in the Governance guide for maintained schools (section 7.7.3) and academy trusts (section 7.9.3). Basic cyber security knowledge among staff and governors plays a vital part in promoting a more risk aware school culture.

With that in mind, please use this link to complete the NCSC’s Cyber Security training for school staff – it only takes around 35 minutes to complete.

Publication of resources for improving workload and wellbeing for school staff
The DfE has published a range of resources to help promote staff wellbeing and support workload reduction in school.

This week I report on the closure of the Inspiring Governance service in September with the withdrawal of DfE funding, the expansion of Ofsted’s Big Listen consultation with the opening of the children’s Big Listen survey and DfE’s publication of its evaluation of the first year findings of its attendance mentor intervention programme.

No government funding for governance
DfE funding of the Inspiring Governance school governor recruitment service will come to an end on 30 September after 8 years. From October this could be the first time in 25 years that there is no funded support for schools to recruit diverse, skilled governors from business. It only leaves Governors for Schools, an independent charity, as an avenue for Trusts and Governing bodies to use to recruit governors. The Co-Chief Executives of the National Governance Association have written an open letter to the Secretary of State for Education, to highlight the removal of the final piece of DfE governance funding.

Ofsted opens children’s ‘Big Listen’ survey
Ofsted has now extended its ‘Big Listen’ consultation to hear directly from children. The consultation, which aligns with the main ‘Big Listen’ consultation, asks a series of short questions for children to anonymously answer about how Ofsted should inspect schools.

Publication of the Evaluation of the attendance mentors pilot
The DfE has released its report on the first-year findings of the three-year attendance mentor intervention. The pilot aimed to test and evidence effective practice for improving school attendance through individual support and targeted family engagement.

This week I report on Ofsted’s Big Listen consultation, a free webinar on how governors can support schools in developing their provision for their EAL learners and updated non-statutory guidance for education settings on sharing nudes and semi-nude images.

Ofsted ‘Big Listen’ consultation
Ofsted’s consultation for the ‘Big Listen’ is now open for the public to respond to and will run for 12 weeks. The ‘Big Listen’ is seeking views from the full range of professionals and providers Ofsted works with, as well as parents, carers, children and learners. It asks a series of questions based around four themes:

• How Ofsted reports on its findings
• How Ofsted carries out inspections
• How Ofsted can have a positive impact in all the sectors it inspects
• What Ofsted needs to do to be a world-class inspectorate and regulator

The consultation will close on 31 May 2024 and you can access is using this link.

Governors for Schools free webinar on how governors can support schools in developing their provision for their EAL learners – Monday 25 March 2024 from 12 to 1pm
With over 20% of learners in schools utilising English as an additional language, it’s crucial to ensure that schools are equipped to meet the unique strengths and needs of this growing cohort. That’s why Governors for Schools are excited to host Sheila Hopkins from The Bell Foundation, who will delve into the pivotal role school governors play in fostering an inclusive pedagogy. Use this link to access the Governors for Schools website to book a place on the webinar.

Updated guidance on responding to incidents involving the sharing of nudes
The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology and the UK Council for Internet Safety have updated the Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people non-statutory guidance. The update has expanded the guidance to cover nude image sharing incidents involving AI-generated images, and financially motivated sexual extortion.