Leadership

Qualified Status: Two and a Half Cheers For The DFE

Emma Hollis, looks at the broader implications of the DfE’s proposals to strengthen QTS.

The consultation on ‘Strengthening Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and Improving Teacher Career Progression’ in May is, in the National Association for School Based teacher Training ‘s view, both welcome and brings lots of positive discussion points. But what does it mean, and how will it affect recruitment and retention?

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      string(5653) "pupil.Political lobbying and pressure have been mounting over several years, notably through the teaching unions and associations, the Local Government Association (LGA), and F40 (a campaign group comprising the 40 least well-funded LAs). The need for a root and branch reform was accepted by the coalition government and the commitment to it carried forward by the present government.The Stage 2 consultation has many positive features: it lays out very clearly how money will be allocated. The basic allocation for all pupils will be the same wherever they are in the country (£2,712 for primary, £3,797 for KS3 and £4,312 for KS4). To this will be added ‘Additional Needs Funding’ which, according to the government, is ‘vital to improve social mobility’. Deprivation funding will be allocated to schools for the number of pupils who have qualified for Free School Meals (FSM) in any of the previous six years, with a higher figure for those currently on FSM to cover the cost of providing the free meal. Deprivation funding will also be given to schools on the basis of the deprivation indicators for the areas from which they draw their pupils. Pupils with ‘low prior attainment’ will attract extra funding. This will be welcome even though there is some professional disagreement about the validity of the criteria used. More money is allocated for children who have English as an Additional Language (EAL) and a small amount is allocated to schools where there is a high level of pupil mobility. Given that the Pupil Premium is additional to the formula deprivation funding, those campaigning for investment to reduce the achievement gap should be pleased. School-led funding is allocated as a cash sum of £110,000 to all schools irrespective of size, with a small additional amount for sparsity. Extra money is also allocated for premises-related factors, in 2018-2019 based on historic spend and later in an as yet unspecified way via LAs. Finally, it is recognised that the provision of an equal amount of service costs more in some part of the country than others and so there will be an Area Cost Adjustment (ACA) which will be based on a hybrid of teaching salary differentials and the general labour market (GLM). The clarity with which this is laid out in the consultation document and its Technical Note are welcome. There will still be debate about the validity of the criteria used but the new formula should raise the level of the discussion above ‘Boo, you get more than me, it’s not fair’. New formulae inevitably bring about changes and the government proposes to limit the amounts a school can gain or lose, tapering the impact over two years. Over the country as a whole, more schools will gain than lose. Most important of all, the reasons for the differentials will be open to public scrutiny.  So why can we only give the proposals two and a half cheers rather than three full-throated ones? This change is happening at a time when public spending on education is severely constrained because of the wider financial crisis the country is facing. Even most of the schools that will benefit from the new formula will still find themselves worse off in real terms over the next four years as inflation bites (increases to national insurance contributions, employer pension contributions, cost of living increments, the ESG and the new apprenticeship levy). The claim of protecting school budgets is manifestly specious; their policy impacts negatively on school budgets and potentially standards, putting pressure on Heads, business managers and governors grappling with setting a workable budget at school level. Failure to invest in children and young people is a false economy.There is no attempt by the government to specify what level of service it thinks it is funding (e.g. class-size, teaching assistant support ratio, curriculum balance, teaching materials, examination entry costs). One of the strengths of the rejected Education Funding Strategy Group report in 2002 was its use of Activity-Led Funding (ALF), an ambitious attempt to define what level of provision our pupils are being offered. Government should not introduce changes to the expectations on schools without being able to demonstrate that they are properly funded.The government assumes that schools will be able to protect front-line services by reducing back office costs. It argues that if schools work together to procure ancillary services (school improvement, legal, HR, premises etc), they will be able to make savings. This is in conflict with another government policy which has been to reduce the role of the Local Authority which, at its best, provided these services cost-effectively. 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Financial Management

Two and a half cheers for the new funding formula

20 Jun 2017

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      string(5652) "62 Vol 3.2 n www.teachingtimes.comEvery Child Matters InclusionSchool Leadership TodaySupport and aspiration:a new approachto SEN63www.teachingtimes.com n Vol 3.2Every Child MattersInclusionWhere next for specialneeds provision in schools?With the governmentconsulting on its SENgreen paper, LorrainePetersen OBE looks at thekey areas of interest forschool leadersPublished in March, the government’s green papersets out proposals for major reforms to educationand health support for children with specialeducational needs and disabilities (SEND). Theconsultation period runs until the end of June, so what arethe key points for school leaders?The document consists of five main chapters which givean indication of the scope of proposed changes:Early identification and assessmentGiving parents controlLearning and achievingPreparing for adulthoodServices working together for familiesLet’s look at the issues under these headings – and seehow they might affect schools and their leadership teams.Feedback we have already received at Nasen has indicatedsome common areas where professionals are concerned orwant clarification, so we’ll pay particular attention to theseissues.Early identification and assessmentEarly identification and assessment has long played acrucial role in cutting the number of statements of specialeducational needs that occur when a school or localauthority is unable to meet the needs of a pupil with SEN. Toassist in early identification there will now be a health anddevelopment review when children are aged between twoand two and a half years. The Department for Health (DoH)plans to recruit and train an additional 4,200 health visitorsby 2015 to offer a full service to families.The green paper also highlights the need for a moreefficient statutory assessment process. By 2014 thegovernment proposes to replace statements with a singleassessment process and introduce education, health andcare (EHC) plans to identify the needs of young people frombirth to 25. These plans – replacing the current statements,while protecting the statutory duty – will provide parentswith a holistic plan outlining the support their child willreceive from all professionals in health, social care andeducation. The plan is intended to make it very clearwho is responsible across the services and to provide acommitment that all parties will fulfil.The proposals also set out the government’scommitment to providing the extended free entitlement of15 hours of early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds.Schools with early years settings in disadvantaged areas willneed to be able to accommodate children as young as twowithin their provision by 2013.Giving parents controlThe green paper highlights the importance of listening tofamilies and tailoring support around their individual needs.In order to extend parents’ influence, it proposes to supportnnnnn64 Vol 3.2 n www.teachingtimes.comEvery Child Matters Inclusionfamilies through the system with continuing Early Supportresources, local support from LAs and slimmed-down SENinformation from schools, which will clarify a system seenby some as being overly complex for non-practitioners. Theidea is that setting individual budgets by the year 2014 for allthose with an EHC plan will give parents more control oversupport and funding for their child.Additionally, the paper sets out the government’saims to offer parents a clear choice of school – a point ofcontention in the 2010 election campaign. Parents will nowhave rights to express a preference for a state-funded school.There will continue to be investment in short breaks forcarers and children, and there is a promise for mediation toresolve disagreements and avoid the need for tribunals.Learning and achievingContinuing professional development lies at the heart ofeffective provisions for SEN pupils; teachers cannot beexpected to have the right skills without the right training.The green paper reiterates the importance of developingexcellent teaching practice for SEN pupils and the criticalrole of leadership in getting the best from all school staff.There is a further year of funding for the National Awardfor SEN Co-ordination. School leaders should be mindfulthat all SENCOs must have qualified teacher status (QTS) bySeptember 2011 and those new to post since September2008 should have undertaken the national award. 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Leadership

Support and aspiration: a new approach to SEN

26 Jul 2011

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      string(5652) "This month’s FeaturesSupport and AspirationThe Government’s consultation document ‘Supportand aspiration: A new approach to specialeducational needs and disability’ was publishedin March. Here Lorraine Peterson from NASENsummarises the main points for ECUThe SEN Green Paper, currentlyfor public consultation, has fivemain chapters:1. Early Identification and assessment2. Giving parents control3. Learning and achieving4. Preparing for adulthood5. Services working together forfamiliesThere are key points for each ofthese chapters all of which will havean impact on schools and schoolleadership in particular.Early Identification andassessmentEarly identification and assessmenthas long played a crucial role indecreasing the number of statementswhich occur when a school or LocalAuthority is unable to meet the needsof a pupil with SEN. To assist in earlyidentification there will now be ahealth and development review whenchildren are aged between two andtwo and a half years. The Departmentfor Health (DoH) plans to recruitand train an additional 4,200 healthvisitors by 2015 to deliver a full serviceto families.The Green Paper  highlights theneed for a more efficient statutoryassessment process. By 2014 itproposes to replace statements witha single assessment process andintroduce Education, Health andCare (EHC) Plans to identify theneeds of  children from birth to 25.These plans replacing the currentstatements, whilst protecting thestatutory duty, will provide parentswith a holistic plan outlining thesupport their child will receive from allprofessionals including health, socialcare and education. It is hoped thatthe plan will reflect their ambitions,for now and for the future, and willmake it very clear who is responsibleacross the services and will providea commitment that all parties willdeliver.http://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’s FeaturesThe Green Paper sets outthe government’s commitmentto providing the extended freeentitlement of  15 hours of  earlyeducation for disadvantaged two yearolds. Schools with early years settingsin disadvantaged areas will need tobe able to accommodate children asyoung as two within their provision by2013.Giving parents controlThe Green Paper highlights theimportance of listening to familiesand tailoring support around theirindividual needs. In order to extendparents influence it proposes tosupport families through the systemvia a continuation of Early Supportresources, local support from LAsand slimmed down SEN informationfrom schools. It is intended that thiswill  clarify a system which is seen bysome as being overly complex for non-practitioners. Giving parents morecontrol over support and funding fortheir child is hoped to be addressed byindividual budgets by the year 2014for all those with an EHC plan.The Government intends to offerparents a clear choice of  schools– a point of  contention in the 2010election campaign. Parents will nowhave rights to express a preferencefor a state-funded school if  preferred.Short breaks for carers and childrenwill continue to be offered andmediation to resolve disagreementsto avoid the need for Tribunals ispromised.Learning and achievingContinuing professional developmentlies at the heart of effective provisionsfor SEN pupils; teachers cannot beexpected to have the right skills inplace without the right training. TheGreen Paper reiterates the importanceof developing excellent teachingpractice for SEN pupils and thecritical role of leadership in getting thebest from all school staff.The Department of  Educationhas committed to a further year offunding for the National Award forSEN Co-ordination. School Leadersshould be mindful that all SENCOsmust have Qualified Teacher Status(QTS) by September 2011 and thosenew to post since September 2008should have undertaken the nationalaward. The SENCO is going to play apivotal role in implementing the finalrecommendations that come from thisGreen Paper and school leaders needto ensure that their SENCO is fullytrained and prepared to do this.The government is committedto extending the Achievement forAll programme, which was verysuccessfully piloted in ten localauthorities and is offering funding tofacilitate the transition to open marketfor the Every Child a Reader andEvery Child Counts programmes.This will mean that schools that wishto use these approaches will be ableto access training to enable leaders toembed this excellent practice in theirschools.At the same time outstandingspecial schools will be able to apply http://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’s Featuresto become Academies as well asTeaching Schools, developing theirown staff  alongside their networkand sharing their expertise. 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Special Needs

Support and Aspiration (open access article)

1 Jun 2011

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      string(5659) "a result of its ‘outstanding’ status the school has become a Teaching School and is part of a Teaching Schools Alliance providing ‘high-quality training and development to new and experienced school staff’ (GSHS school website). The school has a reputation in the area as one that embraces innovation and is currently one of the two UK schools funded by Professor Sugata Mitra’s TED prize money as a ‘School in the Cloud’ and researching into Self Organised Learning Environments (SOLES) (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/solecentral/research/projects/schools/index.htm).In 2010, before it became a Teaching School, under the direction of a newly appointed member of the Senior Leadership team (Teacher A), the school developed a bespoke curriculum for its Year 7 students. ilearn is a Humanities course combining History, Geography and RE. The rationale for the design of ilearn as identified in the teacher interviews is as follows:It eases the transition of students moving into the high school from their primary schools as it reduces the number of teachers they come into contact with each week.It introduces the newly arrived students to the ‘GSHS learning habits’ which are based on the work of Guy Claxton (Building Learning Power: www.buildinglearningpower.co.uk/index.html.)It introduces new members of staff to the school and the ‘George Stephenson way of learning’ (Teacher A).Ownership of the learning is placed as far as possible in the hands of the students.The school had recently become an advocate of Project Based Learning (PBL) and the staff have worked with teachers from High Tech High in San Diego, USA in order to develop this approach. The ilearn project was the means through which PBL would be further developed.The themes for the ilearn  projects always have a local focus in order to engage the students with the neighbourhood around them and to encourage them to develop a sense of place  The ilearn curriculumis made up of projects which gradually build in scale and scope. Whereas in the first few years these projects were half-termly, from September 2015 the students will start with a short class-based project and then embark on three longer projects. The students spend 5×50 minutes per week in ilearn lessons.Professional development for ilearn staffThe Senior Leadership Team (SLT) realized in advance the challenge that EPBL would present to staff and consequently carefully planned processes and structures to ensure a well-designed curriculum and support for both the teachers and the students in what would be a new way of working for all.The initial design of ilearn took place over a year and involved 8 teaching staff.  Approximately 15 after school meetings and two half days off timetable were devoted to the planning process. This reflected the commitment of the SLT towards the profile of the project but also to ensuring that the curriculum would be well thought-through and any potential difficulties considered and pre-empted. Teacher A, for example, described how an expert team was created who were asked to teach a lesson to staff which incorporated the learning habits but was not their own subject:So we had an RI teacher [Religious Instruction] doing dance, we had a history teacher doing maths and the point was it doesn’t matter your subject we can do it, so we kind of looked at the potential questions we would get and people would say you can’t do it in my subject and these sessions were using their subjects.The processes and structures put in place were:A sequence of projects that would build in challenge for both teachers and students: ‘so it went from doing a little team thing in the first unit, and the second unit you are doing something just within the class and then in the third unit you are making something where another class is going to see and in the fourth unit you are making a film which […..] in the second year we showed at the Tyneside [cinema]’ (Teacher B)Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in the form of meetings for all members of staff so that they would understand the ilearn course and the learning habits even if not taking part in it.At least one member of staff from each department attended a BLP course.Teach Meet style events where staff shared ideas: ‘It was one of the best CPDs  and it was that whole kind of sharing on what we had done and getting ideas [….] It was a really worthwhile experience to get people on board’ ( Teacher A)Parent’s meetings in the July for the parents of students who were due to start at the school in September. The ilearn project and the philosophy behind it were explained.Regular timetabled ilearn meetings for the staff involved. A ‘buddy system’ which pairs up the more experienced teachers with the Newly Qualified Teachers so that the NQTs have a designated person to go to for help.The ilearn project leader role has been given status – this has been achieved through providing the person in question with additional financial rewards, additional time to work on the project and  a raised profile whereby they attend all ‘curriculum leaders meetings and have curriculum review meetings as well based on ilearn’(Teacher A). Financial resources are allocated to ilearn in the form of the additional salary costs outlined in point (8) above but also in terms of the purchasing of the resources that are required by the students when working on their projects. With the curriculum so strongly linked to the ideals of EPBL the physical environment in which both the students work and also"
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'How to do it' Guides

How to … lead EPBL and the professional learning of EPBL teachers

20 May 2019