1. EDBE Annual Report Academic year 2015-2016 John Searson DDE

2. THE HEADLINES
National education policy has accelerated organisational change for all schools.
Our smallest schools are the most vulnerable.
Once in a generation opportunity to increase the influence of the Church of England in education and grow the church family of schools.
Partnership activity should add capacity - especially with neighbouring diocese.
This is the time for confidence, clarity, creativity and commitment – and a little more investment.

3. Our vital statistics:
133 schools – 37 academies, 47 voluntary aided, 49 voluntary controlled;
Plus 2 non-church academies as part of St Christopher’s MAT;
5 secondary schools the rest primary or infant/junior
The expansion of the influence of the Church of England in education is gathering pace in Devon

4. Getting our house in order
EDBE actively self-evaluating – best practice guidance
School Organisation and Governance Group
Approvals for Foundation Directors, Governors
Due diligence academy transformation
Standards and Ethos Group
Monitoring of school and academy performance
Academic standards and Christian Distinctiveness
School improvement strategy – support and challenge
Work in Progress
Monthly meeting - Education and Property Services
Capital works, land and assets

5. Inspection Standards SIAMS to April 2016
Outstanding
Good
Satisfactory 57 61 11
44.1%
47.2%
8.5%
OFSTED GRADINGS TO DECEMBER 2015
Inspection coverage
Inadequate
Requires improvement
Good
Outstanding
Diocese 1%
10%
73%
15%
National
13%
68%
18%

6. Number of schools

7. Standards – pupil outcomes

8. Educational Challenges Ahead
Locus of control moving away from individual schools – ‘the era of the stand alone school is drawing to a close’ (Sir David Carter National Schools Commissioner)
Structural solutions and MAT developments -all schools will join MATs by early 2020s
Age profile of Heads and Principals – recruitment hard
Shrinking finances – schools face real terms cuts (12%) Isolationism – (HMCI, RSC, DfE) especially academies
‘Stuck schools’ – community aspirations, deprivation
Increased business focus - mergers, acquisitions
Escalating floor standards – only 53% of Y6 pupils met new higher national expectation in 2016

9. The Diocesan MAT Vision
A range of Church school-friendly academy Trusts and federations in the Diocese collaborating in the best interests of learners.
Supporting the development of a local Diocesan academy Trust (through St Christopher’s MAT) but encouraging many alternatives to suit a range of circumstances and preferences.
Strong church academies and federations with structural and operational models that will protect the church foundation in perpetuity.

10. National Developments
The State is not seeking to alter the distinctive nature of Church Schools through the Academy process
(extracts from Memo of Understanding between DfE and National Society dated April 2016)
“…the Secretary of State remains committed to securing the religious character of every church school and to preserving diocesan families of schools”
“..church schools that wish to convert will do so as part of a MAT with governance arrangements that reflect, at member and director level, no dilution of the level of church governance and involvement as it was immediately prior to conversion.”

11. CoE Vision for Education
Our vision is deeply Christian, with the promise by Jesus of ‘life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10) at its heart. At the same time, it is accessible to those of all faiths and none. ‘Life in all its fullness’ embraces the spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, moral and social development of children and young people. We offer a vision of human flourishing for all, one that embraces excellence and academic rigour, but sets them in a wider framework. This framework is rooted in four basic elements: • Educating for wisdom, knowledge and skills: enabling discipline, confidence and delight in seeking wisdom and knowledge, and developing talents in all areas of life. • Educating for hope and aspiration: enabling healing, repair and renewal, coping wisely with things and people going wrong, opening horizons and guiding people into ways of fulfilling them. • Educating for community and life together: a core focus on relationships, participation in communities and the qualities of character that enable people to flourish together. • Educating for respect and dignity: the basic principle of respect for the value and preciousness of each person, treating each person as a unique individual of inherent worth.

12. CoE Foundation for Educational Leadership
Aims:
to build a national movement of inspirational leaders equipped to transform education, that fosters wisdom, hope, community and dignity,
to enable children to flourish and experience life in all its fullness, regardless of their background or starting point.
This will be achieved by:
building networks to challenge and inspire each other;
rigorous leadership development programmes to equip those leaders to realise our vision;
robust research to provide an evidence base on the outcomes for children’s spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional and social development.

13. Understanding Christianity
Understanding Christianity is an exciting and powerful new RE resource for EYFS, KS1, 2 and 3. Developed by the Church of England and RE Today, with the aim of helping pupils to become knowledgeable about the Bible, Christian belief and practice. It works through well-planned, distinct steps, encouraging pupils to ‘make connections’ whilst ‘making sense of the text’, learning how to ‘think theologically’. It will be the benchmark by which RE is inspected in future SIAMS inspections.

14. Reasons to be thankful….
The EDBE is skilled, ambitious, hard working and passionate about our shared work in education
We have a family of schools that can work together for the common good with the support of the MOU
We will continue to build and maintain good working relationships with DCC, PCC and TBC and community schools and other strategic partners.
Strong and compelling Vision for Education, Leadership Foundation, Understanding Christianity, Character Education – we have so much to offer the educational system.

15. Last words….
‘a willingness to seize the initiative rather than sitting back and waiting for something to happen, or someone else to propose a solution. A failure or reluctance to do this, a longing for the status quo, will leave us with a system that was good for yesterday’s world, but is not fit for the purposes of education in the modern world; doing nothing is not an option’.
(The Future of Rural Church of England Schools 2014)