Developing a School-led Improvement System in Essex A partnership between: Essex County Council Association of Secondary Heads in Essex Essex Primary Heads Association Essex Special Schools Education Trust Essex Schools Governors Association

What is a School-led Improvement System? White Paper – The Importance of Teaching 2010 –The Primary responsibility of school improvement rests with schools –The wider system should be designed so that the best schools and leaders take in greater responsibility, leading improvement work for the system as a whole David Hargreaves, National College July 2010 –Schools should form organic and sustainable improvement clusters which support each other, distribute innovation by sharing costs and transfer professional knowledge through joint mentoring, coaching and professional development. 2

What is a School-led Improvement System? Charlie Taylor, NCTL Chief Executive January In a school led system I see schools taking an increasing role in the following areas: Initial teacher training The selection and training of the next generation of school leaders School improvement Evidenced – based continuing professional development 3

What is a School-led Improvement System? National Standards of Excellence for Headteachers – DfE January 2015 Excellent headteachers – the self-improving school system Create outward facing schools which work with other schools and organisations – in a climate of mutual challenge – to champion best practice and secure excellent achievements for all pupils. East of England and North East London Headteachers’ Board, January 2015 Excellence as Standard The schools in the region – take significant and sustained steps towards being self-improving Increasing numbers of primary, special and secondary schools - particularly in mutually supportive clusters – as part of the self- improving system. 4

Why – in general? The primary responsibility for school improvement rests with schools. Schools are best placed to support other schools General policy shift to move more autonomy of school with formalised arrangements for mutual accountability There is a changing landscape that now includes Multi Academy Trusts, Teaching School Alliances, academies, national support schools and LA maintained schools The role of Teaching School Alliances in school improvement needs to be further developed The role of the LA is changing to a commissioning-led model with reducing resources for school improvement LA retains its role as ‘champion of children and families’ 5

The journey in Essex… Review into the role of the LA in January 2013 by ISOS Consultancy 6 A maker and shaper of effective commissioning A champion of children, parents and the community Convenor of partnerships

The journey in Essex… The ambitions remain the same: –Every School in Essex to be judged at least good by 2018 –Essex to be in the top quartile nationally for end of key stage attainment outcomes –The gap for disadvantaged pupils to be closed It is only as we work together that we will deliver our collective ambitions 7

8 The journey in Essex…

Primary Schools RankLA2014 % % pt change Bedford95 24=Central Bedfordshire =Hertfordshire847 91=Peterborough =Luton =Cambridgeshire =Thurrock =Essex =Southend =Suffolk =Norfolk718 9 Secondary Schools RankLA2014% % pt change =Thurrock931 46=Luton83 62=Hertfordshire795 67=Bedford =Essex742 82=Suffolk741 92=Central Bedfordshire =Southend =Peterborough =Norfolk Cambridgeshir e 56-23

Developing a School-led improvement system in Essex A system of local partnerships of schools: –With a shared ambition to rapidly raise outcomes for all children across the partnership at all key stages –That provides mutual support and challenge to each other –That holds each other to account to ensure agreed targets are met –That supports in challenging circumstances –That innovates and provides solutions to locality issues – curriculum, quality of teaching, leadership development, Ofsted preparation, recruitment of teachers, peer reviews, governance 10

Developing a School-led improvement system in Essex A system of local partnerships of schools: –That provides robust and effective performance monitoring and scrutiny of outcomes for children –That can (over time) be responsible for, and deploy resources for pupils with SEN –That will be supported by Teaching School Alliances, Essex Education Services, the LA and other providers –That may want to have an objective perspective from an independent chair and / or facilitator to drive change and provide challenge –That may be quality assured by an overarching collegiate governance group 11

Opportunities To have collective responsibility and aspirations for outcomes of children from Reception to Year 11 / 13 To work with the Special School sector to ensure the best provision is in place for pupils with SEN To ensure every teacher in every school develops to be a consistently good teacher To support every school to get to good or better and to sustain this outcome To develop effective approaches to supporting pupils at each transition point in their education, particularly between Year 6 and 7 To enable best practice in every school to be captured and widely shared To support recruitment and retention challenges and develop innovative models to attract, train and retain the best teachers To enable Teaching School Alliances to be at the heart of the improvement of each cluster To develop a system of headteacher led peer reviews 12

Challenges Transparency, trust and honesty Have we got the expertise and objectivity for headteachers to genuinely hold each other to account Capacity in the system to drive this change Funding – pump priming and sustainability Scale and size Whole system engagement – teaching staff through to governors 13

The role of the LA The role of the LA is to facilitate and co-ordinate this change, leadership and vision must come from headteachers and governing bodies To provide data and intelligence to the school-led partnerships To advise, guide and quality assure the partnerships To monitor the performance of the partnerships across the whole of Essex To retain our statutory responsibilities for maintained schools but to exercise these powers with the partnership To maintain our relationship with Ofsted and with the Regional Schools Commissioner Officer in respect of academies 14

The Role of Headteachers and Governors To move from individual school outcomes to collective outcomes for children both at each school and within the school-led partnership To have the highest aspirations and expectations for all children within the partnership and to challenge when they are not met To share resources, best practice, teachers and other staff to help all schools on their improvement journey within the partnership To innovate and develop solutions around common challenges such as recruitment, curriculum, SEN provision, behaviour 15

Current and future developments Basildon Excellence Panel formed February 2014, chaired by Sir Mike Tomlinson Harlow Education Improvement Partnership formed January 2015, chaired by Roger Abo-Henriksen Tendring clusters being formed around existing groups of schools with headteacher representatives shaping the Tendring Education Improvement Group Groups of schools encouraged to review their partnerships against the expectations and discuss with the LA what opportunities and gaps they may have – linked to Teaching School Alliances Small pump priming grants on a matched funding basis to be made available SEN strategy under development with devolvement of resource to follow 16

Other LA Models Peterborough –95% of schools signed up to School to School partnership model – Peer Challenge ‘Triads’ working in collaboratives led by a Lead Headteacher, –accountable to school improvement board –LA provides all data openly – including Year 6 pupil data to secondary schools –Strong intervention in schools and academies Hertfordshire - Herts Learning Partnership – partnership between schools and LA to deliver school improvement – 80% owned by schools –strategic direction from a Board of Directors, drawn from shareholders –commissioned by LA to deliver statutory functions on its behalf –shared moral purpose of improving outcomes for children and young people 17

Next steps Partnerships of schools to identify how they may want to move from an informal loose structure to a formal structure with accountability Iterative process across the county – two year process to develop school-led improvement partnerships Current partnerships include: –Teaching School Alliances –Local Delivery Groups –Multi Academy Trusts –Other existing Consortia/Trusts –Informal groups of schools meeting to address common themes 18

Timeline 11/12 th Febw/c 23 rd FebFeb - EasterSummer Term Sept 2015 Launch of School-led Improvemen t System Engagement events to co- construct strategy Strategy developed with ongoing dialogue and engagement Full consultation of strategy Partnerships start to form 19

Proposed Workshop questions What partnerships is my school engaged with? How loose / tight are they? What other schools do I work with/ provide support to? Is there an existing partnership which would form the basis of a School-led Improvement Partnership. What would need to change for it to meet the expected level of accountability? What would be the collective objectives and targets? Where is the capacity and objectivity – would it need an independent chair? How will the funding work and how will it be sustainable? What is the optimum size of the partnership? What is your school’s current level of engagement with the local Teaching School Alliance? Where else might I access school improvement support? What skills and expertise do I, my staff and governors need to support this transition? 20