This week I report on the education related aspects of Wednesday’s Budget, the launch of the updated NGA’s Skills Audit, which incorporates elements from the Core Competency Framework for Governance and publication of the Government’s new Early Years Workforce Strategy.

Education implications of the Budget 2017
The Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his first Budget on Wednesday and detailed below are the key points relating to education:

• Free schools and grammar schools expansion – extending the free schools programme with investment of £320m in this Parliament to help fund up to 140 schools, including independent-led, faith, selective, university-led and specialist maths schools. Also the current ‘extended rights’ entitlement for children aged 11-16 who receive free school meals or whose parents claim Maximum Working Tax Credit will also be extended so that they will now get free transport to attend the nearest selective school in their area.
• T-levels: funding technical education – a pledge to increase the number of programme hours of training for 16-19 year olds on technical routes by more than 50%, to over 900 hours a year on average, including the completion of a high quality industry work placement during the programme. The routes will be introduced from 2019-20 and £500m of additional funding per year invested once routes are fully implemented.
• Funding for school maintenance – a further £216m investment in school maintenance, to help rebuild and refurbish existing schools. The money will be allocated over the course of two academic years, with half spent in 2018/19 and the other half in 2019/20.
• £1bn funding for school sports from the sugar tax – whilst the sugar tax revenue was lower than initially forecast (as manufacturers have reduced the sugar content in some products) the Department for Education will get £1bn over the rest of this Parliament to spend on sports activities in schools and to help promote healthy lifestyles amongst pupils.

New 2017 NGA Skills Audit
As promised the NGA has published a brand new version of its skills audit tool, in response to the DfE’s Core Competency Framework for Governance which was published in January. Whilst the interactive version is not yet available I thought it would be helpful for you to see the new version.

The NGA continues to believe that governing bodies are best placed themselves to individually assess which areas outlined in the framework are most important for them, so while the new skills audit is structured around the DfE’s six features of effective governance, it doesn’t attempt to replicate all 200 plus competencies, knowledge skills and behaviours. Instead it combines the core aspects of the framework with the experience and feedback of its members to inform the skills, experiences and knowledge included.

Publication of the Early Years Workforce Strategy
Launching the Government’s Early Years workforce strategy late last week, the Early Years Minister, Caroline Dinenage, confirmed that equivalent qualifications would now count again from April this year.  Since 2014 new recruits have needed at least C grades in GCSE English and maths, with equivalent “functional skills” qualifications not accepted. Childcare organisations have been complaining that this requirement was putting off talented staff, risking a recruitment crisis and the roll out of the 30-hours free childcare scheme for working families in September could only make this situation more difficult.

Commitments included in the Strategy are:

• enabling staff with an Early Years Educator (EYE) qualification who also hold level 2 English and mathematics qualifications, including Functional Skills, to count in the level 3 staff:child ratios;
• consulting on allowing those with Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS), and its predecessor Early Years Professional Status (EYPS), to lead nursery and reception classes in maintained schools;
• working with the sector to develop level 2 childcare qualification criteria;
• improving the quality of early years training and providing access to continuous professional development (CPD);
• providing funding to support the sector to develop quality improvement support in partnership with schools and local authorities.

This week I report on the Government’s plans for all secondary schools in England to teach relationships and sex education, £415m funding for schools to improve facilities and encourage healthier lifestyles and two new DfE guidance documents on managing staffing and employment issues.

Schools to teach 21st century relationships and sex education
On Wednesday, the Government tabled amendments to the Children and Social Work Bill which will make it a requirement that all secondary schools in England teach relationships and sex education (RSE).

The amendments also allow the Government to make regulations requiring personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) to be taught in all schools in England – primary, secondary, maintained and academy – in future. Currently only pupils attending local authority maintained secondary schools are guaranteed to be offered current sex and relationships education, and PSHE is only mandatory at independent schools. Neither are currently required to be taught in academies.

The Government is proposing the introduction of the new subject of ‘relationships education’ in primary school and renaming the secondary school subject ‘relationships and sex education’, to emphasise the central importance of healthy relationships.

Full public consultation will take place later this year and its expected the new curriculum will be taught in schools as soon as September 2019. Schools will have flexibility over how they deliver these subjects, so they can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs of the local community; and, in the case of faith schools, in accordance with their faith.

Schools to benefit from £415m to transform facilities and encourage healthy lifestyles
The Education Secretary, Justine Greening, has announced £415m funding to boost school facilities and help pupils benefit from healthier, more active lifestyles. The Healthy Pupils Capital Programme will be available to all primary, secondary and sixth form colleges in 2018/9 and will be paid from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, introduced by the Government last year to tackle childhood obesity.

Under the new programme, schools will be able to use the funding to support physical education (PE), after-school activities and healthy eating. Schools will also be able to use it to improve facilities for children with physical conditions or support young people struggling with mental health issues.

Local authorities and larger MATs will receive an allocation for schools and will make decisions locally on how this money is invested. Smaller MATs, individual academies and sixth-form centres will be able to bid for grants for specific one-off projects.

DfE Guidance on managing staffing and employment issues
This week the DfE published two new guidance documents:

• Staffing and employment advice (replacing the 2009 ‘Guidance on managing staff in schools’) to help schools with staffing and employment issues, and to inform their decision making.
• Flexible Working in schools to help schools consider how best to encourage, support and enable flexible working requests.

Whilst helpful documents they don’t replace HR advice obtained from the school’s HR providers.

This week I report on the DfE’s announcement that a new service will replace RAISEonline from April, the House of Commons Education Committee remains unconvinced about plans to increase selective education and the Local Government Association has called on the Government to make sex and relationships education compulsory in all schools.

Replacement for RAISEonline from April
The DfE has announced that a new service to replace RAISEonline (the web-based system used to disseminate school performance data to schools) will launch in April. The DfE led service will “provide schools and other existing user groups with detailed performance analysis to support local school improvement” and the data will also be securely available to other accredited suppliers.

Grammars ‘unnecessary distraction’, say MPs
On Monday, the House of Commons Education Committee heard evidence from a panel of academics and policy experts about plans to increase selective education and expressed their scepticism at the influence of grammar schools in improving attainment. Members of the panel were in broad agreement that the evidence that pupils from lower socio-economic backgrounds did better in grammar schools was weak. The Committee called on the Government to publish a thorough assessment of the impact of introducing new grammar schools on the wider school system, given the potential consequences for school funding, the supply of teachers, and the overall health of schools in England from expanding selective education.

Neil Carmichael, the Committee’s Chair, says the focus on expanding grammars has become an “unnecessary distraction” from improving the school system. The DfE has argued that removing the ban on opening new grammars will be a way of making “more good school places available, to more parents, in more parts of the country”.

Renewed calls to make SRE compulsory in all schools
The Local Government Association (LGA) released a statement this week calling on the Government to make Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) compulsory in all schools. The LGA claims the lack of compulsory SRE in academies and free schools is “creating a ticking sexual health time bomb”, pointing to sharp increases in the number of people diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection on leaving school.

Last week, a group of cross-party MPs tabled several amendments to the Children and Social Work Bill going through parliament. The amendments included the requirement to make Relationships Education a statutory subject within the National Curriculum and to extend the duty to provide sex education (currently applied in maintained schools) to academies and free schools.

This week I highlight the publication of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership’s first report identifying key priorities to increase the impact and contribution of the North to the UK economy, a new teaching resource aimed at preventing abusive behaviours within young people’s relationships and a request from the DfE for feedback on its current financial benchmarking website.

Increasing attainment at 16 and the number of good and outstanding secondary schools identified as priorities in a new report
The first report published by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) says improving educational attainment at 16 should be a priority in the development of the Northern Powerhouse and suggests that eliminating the gap with the rest of the UK in the percentage of good and outstanding secondary schools can be done by building on the approach of the Ofsted annual report published last year. A not inconsiderable task given that education in the North East is currently underfunded compared to the rest of the country and the Government’s proposed new national funding formula would only benefit the North East by 0.0058% of the national share of funding.

The NPP is commissioning a group of leading employers and education experts to come together to draw on the latest evidence and thinking, producing reports during this year making specific recommendations for actions which can be pursued in the short, medium and long term to drive change.

Disrespect NoBody Campaign publishes new teaching resources for PSHE
A new teaching resource has been developed by the PSHE Association with the Home Office and Government Equalities Office to support the Disrespect NoBody campaign. The campaign builds on the Government’s previous This is Abuse campaign, and is aimed at preventing abusive behaviours within relationships.

The discussion guides are aimed at young people aged 12-16 with additional guidance on how to use the Disrespect Nobody campaign with young people aged 8-12 and 16-18. The resource features session plans that aim help young people to understand what a healthy relationship is, to challenge their views on abuse and consent and to signpost further advice and resources. It aims to help young people to develop key skills needed to enjoy healthy relationships, such as empathy, respect, communication and negotiation.

DfE request for feedback on its current financial benchmarking websites
The DfE is redesigning the two financial benchmarking websites (Academies financial benchmarking and Maintained schools financial benchmarking) and wants to hear from as many governors and trustees as possible about how they use these websites to inform their understanding about the financial health of their schools. If you’re interested in helping to improve this service, please fill out the user research survey.

This week I report on the Government’s decision to abandon plans for a Year 3 phonics re-check, school governors in West Sussex are threatening to “strike” over the new funding formula and new research published examining good practice in early education.

Year 3 phonics re-check abandoned
This week Government officials have told Schools Week that a phonics re-check for eight year olds will not be rolled out to all primary schools following a pilot carried out in June last year.  Pupils will continue to be assessed on phonics in Years 1 and 2.

Escalating dispute over spending cuts threatening the first ever school governors “strike”
Schools governors in West Sussex are warning MPs that they will refuse to sign off budgets or carry out their supervisory work unless their “urgent concerns” about funding are addressed. The DfE has argued that the new funding formula will provide a much fairer basis for allocating funds to schools, and will give Headteachers more certainty over their future budgets and long-term planning.

Governing bodies and schools can have their say on the next stage of the National Funding Formula by filling in the online survey before the 22 March 2017 deadline.

Research examining good practice in early education as part of the study of early education and development (SEED)
At the end of last month results from a study exploring how good quality early years settings articulated, established and sustained good practice, which had the potential to improve child outcomes, was published.

Focusing on provision for two to four year olds the study examines good practice in relation to curriculum planning, assessment and monitoring, staffing, managing transitions and communication with parents and home learning.

This week I report on the Government’s plans for a ‘comprehensive careers strategy’, new secondary school resources to help to teach pupils about Brexit and the Article 50 process and new publications from the DfE to support schools to save money on their non-staff spend by improving how they buy goods and services.

Ministers review incentives and consider toughening Ofsted over school careers advice
The Government is to unveil plans for a “comprehensive careers strategy” on Monday, which were initially scheduled for the beginning of 2016. Minister for Skills, Robert Halfon, told a meeting in Parliament on Wednesday that incentives for schools to offer better careers advice will be reviewed by officials, as well as a tougher approach by Ofsted.

The Government expects the strategy to be published later this year as the review of careers advice is still ongoing. The Minister spoke of the need to “raise the prestige of careers guidance” and creating “widespread quality provision”.

Brexit and Article 50 process resource pack
Every secondary school in the UK will receive a resource pack developed by the Bar Council and the Citizenship Foundation to help them teach pupils about Brexit and the Article 50 process. The resources were launched on the day that the UK’s highest court dismissed the Government’s appeal, meaning Parliament will now be required to give its approval before official talks on leaving the EU can begin.

New DfE publications on buying and leasing and subscription services for school equipment

• Schools Buying Strategy – a new document outlining various initiatives to help all schools improve how they buy goods and services. It is intended to support schools to save over £1 billion a year by 2019-20 on their non-staff spend, allowing them to maximise the resources they can invest in high quality education for their pupils and supporting them in managing cost pressures.
• Leasing and subscription services for school equipment – non statutory guidance designed to help schools to select a cost effective solution for their needs and highlight some of the common pitfalls some schools have encountered in the past.

This week I report on the expansion of the ‘opportunity areas’ programme, the publication of final KS4 figures and performance tables based on last year’s GCSE results, guidance on Progress 8 and Attainment 8 headline measures and confirmation from the DfE for funding for SEND from April this year.

Expansion of ‘opportunity areas’ programme
Yesterday Justine Greening the Education Secretary announced the expansion of the ‘opportunity areas’ programme by adding Bradford, Doncaster, Fenland and East Cambridgeshire, Hastings, Ipswich and Stoke-on-Trent as areas of focus.

The Government will also partly fund a new £3.5m programme that will see the Education Endowment Foundation establish a research school for each of the 12 opportunity areas. These schools will lead the development and dissemination of evidence-led practice in local schools.

All opportunity areas are social mobility cold spots identified by the Social Mobility Index, published by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission. A key aim of the programme is to build young people’s knowledge and skills and provide them with the best advice and opportunities, including working with organisations such as the Careers and Enterprise Company, the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses and the National Citizen Service.

Finalised KS4 figures and performance tables and Guidance on Progress 8 and Attainment 8
Yesterday the Government released the final Key Stage 4 figures and performance tables based on last summer’s GCSE results. Schools are now judged against a new Progress 8 measure, rather than the proportion of pupils that achieve five A* to C at GCSE.

This week the DfE has also published guidance on how the two new headline measures (Attainment 8 and Progress 8) were calculated last year and changes that will apply this year, in 2018 and 2019.

Funding for special educational needs support confirmed
Last week the Government confirmed funding from April this year of nearly £60 million to support children with special educational needs and disability (SEND). The funding includes:

• £15 million for the Independent Supporters programme in 2017 to 2018, run by the Council for Disabled Children;
• £2.3 million for Parent Carer Forums in 2017 to 2018, which aims to give parents a voice in influencing local decision-making;
• £1.8 million to Contact a Family, to support Parent Carer Forums and their National Network, and to run a national helpline for families.

The funding also includes £40 million (up by £4.2 million last year) to support councils planning for the final year of the transition to the new SEND system.

This week I report on the publication of the new Competency Framework for Governance, the newly updated version of the Governance Handbook and the Prime Minister’s plans to transport mental health support.

Competency Framework for Governance
Yesterday the DfE published the much-anticipated Competency Framework for Governance, which sets out the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for effective governance. It is non-statutory guidance applicable to governing boards of maintained schools and academies and should be read alongside the updated version of the Governance Handbook.

The framework begins with the principles and personal attributes which, alongside the commitment of time and energy to the role, underpin effective governance. Around 200 competencies have been identified, grouped under the headings of the six features of effective governance as follows:

• 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.

Within each of the six features of effective governance the competencies have been organised into those which are essential for everyone on the governing board, those which are required of the chair and those which at least one member of the governing board should have.

I will provide a full briefing paper for our meetings as governors will need to consider which knowledge and skill areas outlined in the framework are most important for their context. It would be sensible for governors to bear in mind that the core competencies are designed not to be used as a checklist and the National Governors’ Association is going to update it model skills audit as soon as possible.

Governance Handbook (January 2017)
The latest edition of the Governance handbook was also published yesterday by the DfE, having last underwent review in November 2015. As well as the content being revised to take account of changes made to the law and policy over the past year, the DfE has also given the handbook a complete restructure.  It’s now structured around the newly identified “six features of effective governance” developed alongside the new competency framework.  It sets out the Government’s vision and priorities for effective governance by:

• outlining the core role and functions of the governing board;
• summarising and providing a first point of reference on all the legal duties on governing boards, signposting to more detailed information, guidance and resources; and
• providing information on the support available to governing boards to be effective.

The most significant changes to the content from the previous version include:

• Section 2 – a new section at 2.3 bringing together material about the board’s role as the key decision-maker.
• Section 3 – a stronger emphasis on ensuring financial propriety at 3.4.
• Section 4 – updated text at 4.1.2 to reflect the new requirement that all those involved in governance in maintained schools and academy trusts must have a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.  New advice on conducting informed elections at 4.1.4.  New sections bringing together material on the important role of the chair at 4.3 and the clerk at 4.4.  A new explanation at 4.8 of the risks associated with close family relationships between those involved in governance or between them and senior employees.  Details of the duty on boards to provide information about individuals involved in governance via Edubase at 4.8.
• Section 5 – updated guidance on the role of Trustees and Members at 5.2.1.  Clarification at 5.6 that all boards are required to publish a scheme of delegation to explain their governance arrangements, together with new guidance on what makes an effective scheme of delegation.
• Section 6 – confirmation at 6.7 that an individual on the board should take leadership responsibility for the organisation’s safeguarding arrangements, which include its Prevent duty.  New advice at 6.7.1 on handling allegations of abuse made against other children.
• Section 7 – updated content on schools causing concern and on coasting schools at section 7.4.

Government plans to transform mental health support
On Monday, the Prime Minister Theresa May announced a package of measures designed to transform mental health support in schools, workplaces and communities. The support includes free mental health first aid training for secondary school staff and new trials to look at how to strengthen the links between schools and local NHS mental health staff.

The Prime Minister has also asked the Care Quality Commission to lead a “major thematic review” of children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) across the country. This will identify what is working and what isn’t and will produce a new green paper on children and young people’s mental health which will “set out plans to transform services in schools, universities and for families”.

Welcome back!  This week I report on the publication of the Children’s Commissioner’s Growing up Digital Taskforce Report on equipping children and young people with adequate skills to negotiate their lives online, provide information on a SCHOOLS NorthEast Regional Governance Conference and congratulate those who were recognised in the New Years Honours  for their services to education.

Schools should teach all pupils ‘digital citizenship’, says Children’s Commissioner
Yesterday the Children’s Commissioner, Anne Longfield said schools should teach ‘digital citizenship’ to all pupils aged 4 to 14 to help keep them safe online. In a report from her Growing up Digital taskforce, the Commissioner calls for 3 key interventions:

• creation of a digital citizenship programme to be compulsory in all schools from age 4-14 (this would include what it means to be responsible online, how to protect your rights and how to respect those of others. It would also cover how to disengage and engage with the digital world);
• implementation of the intent of the General Data Protection Regulation by introducing simplified Terms and Conditions for digital services offered to children;
• a new Children’s Digital Ombudsman to mediate between under 18s and social media companies.

This follows confirmation by the Government in December that it is considering its position on compulsory PSHE as it attempts to get the children and social work bill passed.

The Commissioner is also supporting a proposal to review the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and bring the articles up to date for the digital age.

SCHOOLS NorthEast Regional Governance Conference – 30 March 2017
SCHOOLS NorthEast is holding a conference at Durham County Cricket Club in Chester-le-Street on Thursday 30 March to support those in school governance roles in carrying out their duties confidently and effectively. The event is also aimed at senior leaders who want to make sure they have a high performing governing board and those looking to recruit new governors. Belita Scott HMI, Ofsted’s National Lead for Governance will be a keynote speaker and key themes will include:

• Ofsted and compliance: what is expected of governing boards and how to make sure you are inspection ready (including feedback from schools that have recently been inspected).
• Selection and recruitment of governors: what makes a good governor and how can schools attract the right people.
• The changing education landscape: helping governors and school leaders horizon scan the changes to come (including changes planned in the National Funding Formula and how schools will have to cope on ever tightening budgets)
• The future economy: the Government is focusing on the destination outcomes for young people.
• Pushing for excellence: best practice in governance (how leaders and Chairs can work more effectively together; the importance of external support; training and development for governors).

The cost is £40 per delegate with SCHOOLS NorthEast Partner Schools attracting a half price discount at £20 per delegate and you can get a third free delegate when you book two places. To book your place at this event, please email info@schoolsnortheast.com.

New Years Honours 2017
Four people from the North East received an award in the New Years Honours for their services to education.  Many congratulations go to Tracey Booth, Chair of Governors at Churchill Community College who was awarded an MBE. She’s been Chair at the College for the past 15 years and is also a National Leader of Governance.

Merry Christmas to all Governors and a Happy New Year

This week I report on the next stage of the consultation on a new national funding formula, the publication of Ofsted’s new ‘improving governance’ study, information on subsidised funding for the Chairs and aspiring Chairs programme and the release of revised Key Stage 2 SATs results and Primary School performance tables .

Schools National Funding Formula
On Wednesday the Department for Education published its response to stage 1 of the consultation on a new national funding formula. The new formula will be introduced in 2018 to 2019 and there will be a transitional year during which local authorities will continue to set local schools funding formulae. The Government also provided an interactive spreadsheet illustrating the impact of the proposed formula on individual schools. You can look up your school on the first sheet of the document or see a full list of schools in the tab ‘NFF all schools’.

The Government announced the second stage of its consultation on the new funding formula and at the same time opened a consultation on High Needs funding. High needs funding is for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities who need extra support at school, college or alternative provision settings. The Government is looking for views on the weighting for each factor in the proposed formula as well as the transition to and implementation of the formula.

Ofsted ‘Improving governance’ study
Yesterday Ofsted published its ‘improving governance’ study looking at the challenges facing governing bodies in schools. The report draws on evidence from visits to 24 improving primary, secondary and special schools  situated in some of the poorest areas of the country to look at their governance arrangements. It also uses evidence from routine inspections and monitoring visits over the last year and from 2,632 responses to a call for evidence initiated by HMCI in November 2015. The report identifies the barriers faced by governors in these schools and the actions taken to strengthen their professional skills and fulfil their roles as effective, strategic school leaders.

Funded training for Chairs and aspiring Chairs
Leading Governance is running the Governors’ Leadership Development programme for governors in Spennymoor, Durham, with the support of the Governor Services teams from Durham and Middlesbrough. The programmes are open to all chairs and aspiring chairs in the North East.

These six month accredited programmes normally cost £399, but the National College of Teaching and Leadership has made scholarships available, meaning that the cost to you/your school is just £79.

The first session will start on 23rd January 2017. For more information and to register for the programme, please go to www.leadinggovernance.org or call 0121 237 4600.

Primary School Performance Tables and revised Key Stage 2 SATs results
Yesterday the DfE published the Primary Schools performance tables as well as the revised Key Stage 2 SATs results at national, regional and local authority level.