Dany Thomas, Senior Education Adviser, 0-19 Standards Team Intervening in failing, underperforming and coasting schools Government Consultation 21 Oct – 18 Dec 2015

Context Education and Adoption Bill to improve standards Speeding up process by which failing schools become sponsored academies 3 groups of school to be eligible for intervention Schools judged ‘inadequate’ Coasting schools Schools who have failed to comply with a warning notice

Consultation on:- Content of the new ‘Schools Causing Concern’ guidance Coasting schools definition, including whether ‘coasting’ can be applied to SEN schools and PRUs

Schools Causing Concern Guidance New powers for Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) Any school judged inadequate – must make an academy order To make decisions about interventions for any coasting schools Issue of performance standards and safety warning notice to maintained schools Existing intervention powers for LAs in maintained schools eligible for intervention Strengthened intervention powers for Secretary of State in maintained schools, exercised by RSCs Powers to take effect from Summer term 2016, at the earliest, for inadequate & failure to comply with a warning notice Performance Table publication (Nov 2016) for coasting schools

Questions for consultation Schools Causing Concern Guidance Clarity of Schools Causing Concern guidance Is the approach, action and process of how RSCs intervene in coasting schools appropriate? Use of RSCs’ discretion not to intervene where a school is coasting as a result of its circumstances or pupil characteristics. Appropriate and any other circumstances that should be included? Factors that may constitute low standards of performance when a warning notice is being considered Specific powers of LAs, RSCs (using powers of the SoS). Are responsibilities and interactions clear ? Any other comments?

Definition of Coasting Schools Consultation For ease and clarity, using floor standards measures (RWM combined and expected progress measures) but more challenging allA ‘coasting school’ is one whose data falls below all 4 elements of the coasting bar for 3 consecutive years: Below 85% achieving RWM attainment bar Below KS1-2 expected progress measure in each of reading, writing and maths

Coasting Definition 2014 and 2015 –Below 85% L4+ combined RWM –Below the median for expected progress, in each year, in each of reading, writing and maths 2016 –Below 85% achieve expected standard combined RWM (scaled score of 100+) –Insufficient progress in reading, writing and maths – progress measure to be identified, once tests taken in 2016 NB No school deemed coasting until after the publication of the Performance Tables.

Questions for consultation Proposed definition of coasting Do you agree that the principles underlying the coasting definition are the right ones? Should the definition be where data shows that over a 3 year period, the school is failing to ensure that pupils reach their full potential? Should the proposed interim definition for be based accountability measure for those years – are these thresholds right? Or should the new 2016 measures be applied retrospectively? Should coasting standards be applied to special schools and PRUs? –Can this be data driven? If so, what metric? –What other indicators could be used?