This week I highlight consultation on mandatory DBS checks for all Governors, new advice to be published from DfE on handling complaints, the consultation on how to get at least 90% of pupils to take GCSEs in the EBaccalaureate subjects and a new version of Ofsted’s toolkit to help schools to encourage parents to use Parent View.

COMPULSORY DBS CHECKS FOR GOVERNORS
Whilst it is not currently mandatory for all governors to have a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, the Government is currently consulting on all Governors in maintained schools having to be DBS checked. If the proposal goes ahead, checks will be compulsory for all new Governors from 1 April and for existing Governors from 1 September 2016.

In North Tyneside checks have been undertaken as a matter of good practice for a number of years so this shouldn’t present an issue. Schools maintain a Single Central Record for all staff, volunteers and governors and liaise with their Clerk to ensure Governors are DBS checked on appointment/re-appointment.

NEW GUIDANCE ON HANDLING COMPLAINTS
The DfE has indicated it will be publishing new advice on handling complaints “Best Practice Advice for School Complaints Procedures 2016: Departmental guidance for maintained schools, maintained nursery schools and local authorities” in January 2016. It will advise on the contents of a complaints procedure, contain a link to a model procedure and will recommend how to handle serial or persistent complaints, commonly called ‘vexatious complaints’.

In the New Year Governing bodies will no doubt want to review their existing policies against this new advice.

EBAC CONSULTATION
The Secretary of State for Education has set a target of 90% of all secondary school pupils to take the English Baccalaureate subjects (English, Maths, Science, a foreign language, and either History or Geography) in 4 years’ time. This isn’t planned to be done through legislation but by changing performance measures and giving the Ebac a more significant role in Ofsted inspection.

The consultation is running until 29 January 2016 if you would like to participate.

ENCOURAGING THE USE OF PARENT VIEW
Ofsted has issued an updated version of its Parent View Toolkit for Schools which provides information about Parent View and advice on how schools can encourage parents to use the site to register their views.

This week the DfE published the new Governance Handbook, an essential reference for all Governors and the Chancellor announced the Spending Review and Autumn Statement which included details of the DfE’s budget over the course of this Parliament.

GOVERNANCE HANDBOOK
The Governors’ Handbook has been re-named the Governance Handbook to make clear that it applies to all those involved in governance. It now refers throughout to the ‘board’ to emphasise that it applies equally to the governing body of a small maintained school as it does to the board of a large MAT.

The Governance Handbook is departmental advice from the Department for Education. It sets out the government’s vision and priorities for effective school governance, and:

• outlines the core role and functions of the board of governors in maintained schools and academies;
• summarises and provides a first point of reference on all the legal duties on boards, signposting to more detailed information, guidance and resources; and
• provides information on the support available to boards to be effective.

It has been brought up to date with reference to the Prevent duty and tackling extremism as well as the new requirement for maintained schools to publish information on their Governing boards.

IMPACT OF SPENDING REVIEW AND AUTUMN STATEMENT FOR EDUCATION
This week the Spending Review and Autumn Statement was published including details of the Department for Education’s budget. Over the course of this Parliament this means:

• doubling free childcare from 15 hours to 30 hours a week for working families of 3 and 4 year olds;
• protecting the schools budget in real terms, enabling a per pupil protection for the dedicated schools grant and the pupil premium;
• making around £600 million savings from the education services grant (ESG) and supporting schools to realise efficiencies;
• £23 billion capital investment over the Parliament to open 500 free schools, provide over 600,000 additional school places, rebuild and refurbish over 500 schools and address essential maintenance needs.

This week I report on a new enquiry into governor effectiveness and a study to determine the quality of governance in schools, a proposal for an amendment to the Education and Adoption Bill to enable schools to sponsor a failing school without converting to academy status and new non statutory DfE advice for schools considering cloud software services.

OFSTED LAUNCHES ENQUIRY INTO GOVERNOR EFFECTIVENESS
Yesterday, Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector announced that Ofsted had drafted in “outside experts” to carry out “urgent” external reviews of governance in over 500 schools last year. Inspectors had now been commissioned to carry out an “in-depth and far-reaching survey into the effectiveness of governance in our schools”.

The National Governors’ Association has questioned the suitability of the inspectorate to undertake the review and last week Schools Week revealed that the Department for Education was planning a study to examine whether the quality of governance in schools could be monitored using performance metrics.

EDUCATION AND ADOPTION BILL PROVOKES DISCUSSION IN THE LORDS
The Education and Adoption Bill 2015 is currently being considered by a Grand Committee of the House of Lords. The Local Government Association (LGA) has lobbied for an amendment giving maintained schools or local authorities the option to sponsor a failing school, as there are a lack of academy sponsors available to take on new schools. Currently, schools have to convert to academy status and apply to become a sponsor before they can sponsor another school.

This issue has been raised by the National Governors Association and others throughout discussion of the Bill and as part of the inquiry into the role of regional schools commissioners. The government has stated it anticipates more high performing schools establishing local multi-academy trusts (MATs) to take on failing or struggling schools in their area.

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION ADVICE ON DATA PROTECTION FOR SCHOOLS CONSIDERING CLOUD SOFTWARE SERVICES
New non statutory advice has been produced by the DfE to assist schools in complying with the law outlining how schools need to consider data security when moving services and sensitive information to internet-based facilities of cloud computing (‘the cloud’).

This week I publicise the new legal duty for teachers to report any cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FBM) to the police and consultation on the English Baccalaureate.

MANDATORY REPORTING OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION (FGM) COMES INTO FORCE
From 31 October 2015, teachers now have a legal duty to report any cases of FGM, to the police. In a change to the FGM Act 2003, they will have to report any ‘known’ cases of FGM in under 18s. ‘Known’ is defined as where a girl informs them that this has taken place, or physical signs appear that do not seem to be from any surgical procedures.

Governing bodies have to ensure that senior leaders have introduced procedures for identifying, and reporting FGM, and that they will monitor those procedures to ensure they are understood and effective. You may wish to check with your Safeguarding/Health and Safety Committees that this item is being discussed.

CONSULTATION ON ENGLISH BACCALAUREATE
The DfE is currently holding a stakeholder consultation on how to get at least 90% of pupils to take GCSEs in the EBaccalaureate (Ebacc) subjects i.e. Maths, English, Science, a foreign language, and either History or Geography. In 2010, fewer than a quarter of pupils (22%) entered this combination of subjects; it is now 39%. The Government wants the EBacc to become the default for pupils, with the exception of a small minority of pupils for whom it is not appropriate. The expectation will be that the 90% mark will be hit by the time that this years’ Year 7 cohort reaches year 11.

Governors are welcome to participate in the consultation which continues until 29 January 2016.

This week has seen the announcement of the re-introduction of formal testing for 7 year olds, plans for a technical and professional education system, the publication of a new DfE report on the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and the creation of a new National Teaching Service.

PLANS FOR THE RE-INTRODUCTION OF KS1 NATIONAL TESTS
On 3 November the Education Secretary Nicky Morgan announced controversial plans for the re-introduction of formal SAT examinations for 7 year olds. The Department for Education has said these plans were triggered by a need for more confidence in knowing that students are progressing well through primary school. The Government has said it will be working with Headteachers in the following months to ensure clarity, while holding schools to account and also giving them “full credit for the progress they achieve”.

PLANS FOR A TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM
Yesterday the Skills Minister Nick Boles announced plans for up to 20 specific new professional and technical routes leading up to employment or degree-level study, which will be as easy to understand as academic routes.

These new routes will lead young people from compulsory schooling into employment and the highest levels of technical competence, which for many will mean moving on to apprenticeships as quickly as possible. The government has pledged to deliver 3 million quality apprenticeship starts by 2020.

To deliver the reforms, the government will work closely with an independent expert panel, headed by Lord Sainsbury, former Minister of Science and Innovation.

SUPPORTING THE ATTAINMENT OF DISADVANTAGED PUPILS
On Saturday 17 October I attended the NGA’s Northern Regional Conference and we heard from Professor Steven Higgins of Durham University on his research around pupil premium. The formal report has now been published by the DfE and the findings suggest that schools which have been more successful in raising the performance of disadvantaged pupils have put the basics in place (especially addressing attendance and behaviour, setting high expectations, focusing on the quality of teaching and developing the role of TAs) and have moved on to more specific improvement strategies.

CREATION OF A NEW NATIONAL TEACHING SERVICE
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan also unveiled plans this week to create a National Teaching Service (NTS) which will deploy the country’s teaching elite to work in underperforming schools. A pilot of the service has been launched in the North West to recruit 100 teachers and leaders to start work in primary and secondary schools from September 2016.

This week has seen the launch of the much anticipated Government consultation on proposals to intervene in under-performing maintained schools and views on a definition of what constitutes a ‘coasting school’. There have also been calls for national guidelines for Regional School Commissioners as well as having responsibility for smaller geographical areas.

CONSULTATION ON PROPOSALS TO INTERVENE IN UNDER-PERFORMING SCHOOLS AND AGREEMENT ON THE DEFINITION OF A ‘COASTING SCHOOL’
On Wednesday the Government launched its consultation on proposals for tackling maintained schools causing concern, including seeking views on a definition of what constitutes a ‘coasting’ school.

The consultation document sets out:

• the background and context, including an overview of the changes being introduced in the Education and Adoption Bill;
• that the Schools Causing Concern guidance will describe how Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) and local authorities should use their intervention powers in practice; and
• how it is proposed that schools will be identified as coasting.

A school will only be identified as coasting in light of three years of results. This means in the first instance results from 2014, 2015, and 2016. RSCs will only be able to notify schools that they are coasting at the point of publication of performance tables reflecting final 2016 results and no school can be identified as coasting prior to that point.

According to the Government’s proposed definition, a coasting secondary school would be one that falls below 60% of pupils achieving five good GCSEs or an above average proportion of pupils making acceptable progress in 2014/5. From 2016, the level will be set based on Progress 8, the government’s new accountability measure, which shows how much progress pupils make between the end of primary school and their GCSEs.

At primary level, the definition will apply to those schools who have seen fewer than 85% of children achieving an acceptable secondary ready standard in reading, writing and maths over the course of three years, and insufficient pupil progress. If a school is below the 85% performance standard but above the progress standard, or vice versa, in any of the three years it will not be regarded as coasting.

Whether and when Special schools and Pupil Referral Units might be considered to be coasting is yet to be determined, and will be subject to responses to this consultation.

The deadline for responding is 18 December 2015 and you are encouraged to do this online by visiting http://www.education.gov.uk/consultations. If you are unable to do this you can download a word document and email it to intervention.consultation@education.gsi.gov.uk or post it to Nathan Hug System Reform Group, 3rd floor Department for Education Great Smith Street London, SW1P 3BT.

CONCERNS REGARDING THE WORK OF THE REGIONAL SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS
In the first of a series of hearings into the work of the Regional School Commissioners (RSCs), witnesses from across the schools sector on Wednesday told the Education Select Committee of differing approaches between the eight Commissioners appointed last September to oversee academy performance.

As previously reported the Government is planning to increase their powers to intervene in ‘failing’ and ‘coasting’ maintained schools, but concerns about their different approaches have been raised by many organisations. At present there are no national guidelines on the way Commissioners take decisions and witnesses reported a lack of shared practice for RSCs was leading to inconsistencies in the way they were holding schools to account. There was also concern expressed that the territories represented by each RSC were too large and that an increase in the number of Commissioners was required.

This week I provide some advice on how to recruit new Governors, report on the proposed right to request wraparound childcare provision from schools and a consultation on proposals for newly qualified Early Years staff to hold a Paediatric First Aid Certificate.

RECRUITING NEW GOVERNORS
It can sometimes be difficult to find new Governors and I am often asked where Governing bodies can go to for support. There are a number of routes available including registering with:

• School Governors One Stop Shop (SGOSS) – an independent charity dedicated to recruiting volunteers to serve on school governing bodies across England.
• Inspiring Governors Alliance – a wide range of organisations demonstrating their commitment to high quality school and college governance. The programme has thousands of employee volunteers with a wide range of skills and experience interested in becoming school governors.

Of course, your skills audits will help you to identify any gaps in expertise and determine how best to recruit. Some schools have also placed adverts in their local post office windows, approached local churches and voluntary organisations or contacted local chambers of trade to help fill gaps on their governing bodies.

NEW RIGHT TO REQUEST WRAPAROUND CHILDCARE PROVISION IN SCHOOLS
Addressing the Conservative party annual conference last week, the Secretary of State for Education, announced that parents would be given a new ‘right to request’ wraparound childcare provision from their children’s school.

Whilst full details weren’t provided Schools Week (newspaper for schools) had access to a briefing note for MPs indicating schools would be “expected” to allow childcare providers to use their sites outside school hours or at times when the sites were used for clubs or activities. A consultation is expected to take place this term to identify and provide models of schools and childcare providers already working together, so that the rule can come into force in September 2016.

CONSULTATION ON PROPOSALS FOR NEWLY QUALIFIED LEVEL 2 OR 3 EARLY YEARS STAFF TO HOLD A PAEDIATRIC FIRST AID CERTIFICATE
The Department of Education has reviewed the current paediatric first aid requirements and is now consulting on proposals for newly qualified level 2 or 3 early years staff to hold a paediatric first aid certificate.

Responses can be made online or via a response form emailed to Consultation.PFA@education.gsi.gov.uk or by post to Paul Oates, Childcare Providers and Regulation, Department for Education, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BT.

This week I highlight the Prime Minister’s speech at the Conservative Party Conference, the Government’s continued commitment to retain universal free school meals and news on the publication of a re-branded version of the Governor’s Handbook.

ALL SCHOOLS TO BECOME ACADEMIES!
On Wednesday, David Cameron caused a stir with his Leader’s speech at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester when he declared:

“Head teachers are growing in confidence as they throw off the shackles of local council control……raising the aspirations of children, parents, communities. This movement is sweeping across our country. So my next ambition is this. 500 new Free Schools. Every school an academy……and yes – Local Authorities running schools a thing of the past.”

Mr Cameron didn’t mention that currently decisions on academy conversion in schools performing well are taken by Governing bodies and not the Government.

UNIVERSAL INFANT FREE SCHOOL MEALS TO CONTINUE
Rumours that universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) are to be cut in the government’s November spending review have been dismissed by the Prime Minister. Mr Cameron restated a commitment the Conservative party made in their 2015 election manifesto, saying that the government was “committed to free school meals in England”.

NEW GOVERNANCE HANDBOOK
At yesterday’s National Co-ordinators of Governor Services Conference in Nottingham, it was announced that a re-branded version of the Governors’ Handbook – to be known as the Governance Handbook – is due out sometime in late October 2015.

This week I highlight preparations you can make for Ofsted inspection, publication of new Ofsted Inspection Dashboards, a reminder on the revised timetable for the consultation and determination of Admissions arrangements for 2017 and notification on updated guidance on handling complaints in schools.

ARE YOU OFSTED READY?
Is your school anticipating inspection this academic year and are you prepared for when the call comes? Have you identified a small number of Governors who will meet with the Inspection team and have you thought about what the inspectors might ask?

I reported on the new edition of the Ofsted Inspection Handbook in the first Friday Update this term and now draw your attention in particular to the section on governance (page 40, point 145):

‘Inspectors will consider whether Governors:

• work effectively with leaders to communicate the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school and develop a culture of ambition
• provide a balance of challenge and support to leaders, understanding the strengths and areas needing improvement at the school
• provide support for an effective headteacher or are hindering school improvement because of a lack of understanding of the issues facing the school
• understand how the school makes decisions about teachers’ salary progression and performance
• performance manage the headteacher rigorously
• understand the impact of teaching, learning and assessment on the progress of pupils currently in the school
• ensure that assessment information from leaders provides governors with sufficient and accurate information to ask probing questions about outcomes for pupils
• ensure that the school’s finances are properly managed and can evaluate how the school is using the pupil premium and the primary PE and sport premium
• are transparent and accountable, including in recruitment of staff, governance structures, attendance at meetings and contact with parents.’

NEW OFSTED INSPECTION DASHBOARDS
From a data perspective there are new Ofsted Inspection Dashboards now available to download from RAISEonline. These are different to the existing Ofsted School Data Dashboards, which show a brief overview of each school’s performance data and are publicly available on Ofsted’s website.

Each Inspection Dashboard is only accessible to the school it concerns. It’s primarily aimed at inspectors undertaking the new short inspections of ‘good’ schools, and features charts showing some of the headline data from RAISEonline. Whilst they only include 2014 data currently, they will be updated once the 2015 data is available and for primary schools this should be mid-October and for secondary schools the end of November.

REMINDER ABOUT THE TIMETABLE FOR ADMISSIONS AUTHORITIES TO CONSULT ON AND DETERMINE THEIR ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR 2017
When we determined Admissions arrangements for 2016, back in the Spring term last academic year, I advised that the timetable for consulting on and determining Admissions arrangements for 2017 had been brought forward as part of the new Admissions Code. I’ve been in touch with the LA’s Access Manager and she will be advising schools of the process for 2017 in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime key points to be aware of:

• Admission authorities must consult when admission arrangements are changed or if they have not been consulted on within the last 7 years – the minimum consultation period is 6 weeks and should take place between 1 October and 31 January;
• schools must determine their admission arrangements by 28 February (previously 15 April);
• Admission authorities must send a copy of their determined admission arrangements to the LA by 15 March (previously 1 May);
• the deadline for objections to the Schools Adjudicator is now 15 May (previously 30 June).

Depending on when your Governing body meetings are scheduled in the Spring term we may need to delegate the determination of your Admissions arrangements to your Admissions Committees.

NEW GUIDANCE ON HANDLING COMPLAINTS TO BE PUBLISHED
The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed it’s currently working on a toolkit on handling complaints in schools, which will include guidance on best practice. Whilst most of you will have already adopted the LA’s guidance it will be interesting to see what DfE has come up with in January 2016 when the toolkit is scheduled for publication.

This week I highlight the publication of new postcards from Ofqual on GCSE, AS and A Level reforms, a new on-line resource of science and maths questions for primary school governors, the launch of the DfE’s Literacy drive and the publication of updated Statutory Guidance on Behaviour and Discipline in schools and Home-School Agreements.

OFQUAL RELEASES USEFUL ‘POSTCARDS’ TO HELP UNDERSTAND EXAMINATION REFORMS
Last week the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) launched a series of eight ‘postcards’ detailing the reforms being made to GCSEs, AS and A levels. Providing information on the new grading structures and how grades are set, the postcards have been sent to all secondary schools in England. Whilst primarily for the use of students, teachers and parents they will also be useful to governors who also need to be aware of these changes.

WELLCOME TRUST PRIMARY SCHOOL QUESTIONS FOR GOVERNORS LAUNCHED
The Wellcome Trust has recently launched a free online resource for primary school governors, on the back of the success of a similar resource aimed at secondary schools. Questions for Governors has a set of questions focused on science and maths, evidence for why they are important, national benchmarks to compare against and ideas for improvement. It can be used by governors for discussions with senior leaders and identify areas to celebrate or challenge.

LAUNCH OF LITERACY DRIVE
This week the Education Secretary Nicky Morgan and children’s author and comedian David Walliams urged leading publishers, schools and early years providers to join forces in a bid to make English pupils the most literate in Europe in five years.  The Department for Education has created new resources in conjunction with 4Children to equip parents and early years providers with high-quality activities and resources to help children master the essentials of language.

In August 2015 Nicky Morgan announced the first steps in the Government’s Literacy campaign, including funding The Reading Agency to extend their Chatterbooks scheme and set up new book clubs in 200 more primary schools across the country and to work with schools and get more Year 3 pupils enrolled at their local library.

UPDATED STATUTORY GUIDANCE ON BEHAVIOUR AND DISCIPLINE AND HOME-SCHOOL AGREEMENTS
This week the Department for Education confirmed it had reviewed and republished its Statutory Guidance on Behaviour and Discipline in schools and Home-School Agreements.