Issue 82 Spring 2017 A Termly Newsletter for Liverpool Governors Contents Liverpool Learning Partnership 04 Coasting Schools 05 Engaging Parents 08 Liverpool School’s Parliament 10 Obesity strategy 12 Publishing information about governors 14 Standard for teachers’ professional development 16 Headteacher Wellbeing 19 LGF Conference 22 Courses for Spring 2017 24 Liverpool Learning Partnership 100% Attendance Awards Arts and Culture Working with School Improvement The Liverpool Cultural Education Liverpool and the Families Programme, Partnership is now in full swing with we recently held a fantastic event with schools and a wide range of the Lord Mayor in the Town Hall for cultural partners working together. children who had 100% attendance The strategic plan is in place and we throughout their time in either primary are leading the way in making our city or secondary school. One pupil a foremost Artsmark city in the UK. managed to be in school every day We have recently enlisted five schools from Reception to Year 11! All the in the Cultural Citizens Programme pupils received certificates, medals and with Curious Minds. More young a Kindle in recognition of this amazing people will be given the opportunity to achievement. engage with the arts and work towards Arts Award. Whole school approaches to mental health and wellbeing Alice Demba, our Cultural Education Ambassador, will soon have an intern Thank you to all schools who working with her on communications. completed the survey on school For more information on our cultural approaches to mental health and initiatives contact Alice at: wellbeing. The findings are currently [email protected]. being analysed and a report will be published shortly. School to school support Thanks to Archbishop Beck! The Partnership continues to broker support for primary schools through The Finance team at Archbishop Beck the school to school support protocol. have held the LLP accounts and To date this year, we have allocated all managed them on our behalf until but £50,000 of the budget. Schools are recently. Many thanks for their untiring reporting clear benefits from the support. LLP finances are now support put in place and impact managed via a service agreement templates are being completed by all with SIL. schools that are being supported. Multi Academy Trust It’s your partnership…. We are currently working with the Please contact me to discuss any Local Authority, SIL and other partners support you would like or any initiative to consider the formation of a Multi you wish to be involved with. Almost all Academy Trust. Liverpool schools have now joined LLP and we want to serve everyone as best we can. Elaine Rees, CEO, [email protected] 4 Coasting Schools What are ‘coasting’ schools? and • In 2014 and 2015, fewer than 60% During 2016, the government defined of pupils achieved 5 A*-C including a new category of schools eligible for English and mathematics, and the intervention: coasting schools. A school number of pupils who made could be defined as coasting if, over a expected progress in English and three-year period, performance data mathematics was less than the showed it had failed to ensure that national median percentage. pupils had reached their potential. A school will have to be below the The ‘coasting’ definition coasting definition in three consecutive years to be defined as coasting. For primary schools: This definition applies to both • In 2016, fewer than 85% of children maintained schools and academies. achieve the expected standard in Certain types of school are not subject reading, writing and mathematics. to the ‘coasting’ definition: maintained Average progress made by nurseries, infant schools, special pupils is below -2.5 in English schools, and pupil referral units. reading or -2.5 in mathematics or -3.5 in English writing. What happens when your and • In 2014 and 2015, fewer than 85% school is defined as ‘coasting’? of pupils achieved level 4 in reading, There is no automatic route for schools writing and mathematics and below whose performance falls within the the median percentage of pupils ‘coasting’ definition. Although LA’s also made expected progress in all of have powers to intervene in ‘coasting’ reading, writing and mathematics. schools, Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) will be primarily As an example, this means that if a responsible for intervention and will primary school where the median have discretion to decide on the most percentage of pupils made expected appropriate course of action. progress in reading in 2014, it could not then be ‘coasting’ in 2016. When a school has been notified by an RSC that it has fallen within the For secondary schools: ‘coasting’ definition, the governing • In 2016, the school’s progress 8 board must inform the parents and score is below -0.25 and the upper keep them up to date with what is band of the 95% confidence interval being done to address this. is below zero. 5 Step 1: The RSC will make judgements (especially on leadership an assessment of what and management) intervention is required • The effectiveness of the school’s pupil premium strategy. RSC will consider the full range of factors affecting school performance. The process will be a dialogue between The Schools Causing Concern guidance the RSC and school leaders. The school’s groups these into two broad governing board, as the accountable categories: body for the school’s performance, should be integral to this dialogue. The 1) Performance and other RSC may ask for relevant information to quantitative data make an assessment and the • Educational performance data for governing board should make every that school, further to the data that effort to accommodate requests. meant the school was identified as coasting; If, after reviewing the evidence, the RSC concludes that no further action is • Performance of the school in relation required, either because the school is to schools in similar contexts and supporting pupils well or has sufficient pupils with similar starting points; plan and capacity to improve, the RSC will continue to monitor the school (Step 3). • The educational performance data of groups of pupils with particular Step 2: Potential intervention characteristics e.g. disadvantaged pupils, those with special educational Maintained schools needs and disabilities (SEND). If the RSC decides that further action is Other data about the school, such as required to improve a ‘coasting’ school, pupil cohort size, attendance and there are a range of options available mobility of pupils (i.e. the number of to them: pupils who joined and left the school) and what impact that may have had on • Additional support and challenge e.g. the school’s data. through Teaching School Alliances, partnership with other schools, or 2) Other information about the National Leaders of Education. school, and its plans and capacity • Require the governing body to enter to improve into arrangements. This may take • The school’s plan to improve its the form of: educational performance and pupil progress, whether that plan is - A contract for advisory services. sufficient and has the rigour and credibility to bring about the - Collaboration with the governing necessary improvement of the body of another school. school; - Collaboration with a further • Capacity to deliver against that plan, education body. taking into account recent Ofsted - Creation of or joining a federation. 6 Before doing so, the RSC must Academies consult the governing body, the appropriate diocesan authority (if If the RSC considers that action is applicable), and (in the case of a required to improve the performance foundation or voluntary school) the of a ‘coasting’ academy, they may issue person or persons by whom the the academy trust with a termination foundation governors are appointed. warning notice. This will detail specific actions which the academy trust must • Appoint additional governors or an take to improve its performance by a Interim Executive Board (IEB). Again, specified date e.g. working with a the RSC must consult as above. particular school improvement partner. The academy trust will be • Issue the school with an academy required to respond to this warning order. There is no requirement for a notice. consultation to be carried out unless the school is a foundation or Where the academy fails to comply voluntary school that has a with the termination warning notice, foundation, in which case the RSC the funding agreement for that must consult the trustees, the academy may be terminated. If the RSC person(s) by whom the foundation decides to terminate the academy’s governors are appointed, and (if funding agreement, in most cases they applicable) the appropriate religious will identify a new sponsor to take on body. responsibility for the academy. For stand-alone academies, this will When an academy order has been usually mean joining a multi-academy issued, the governing body and LA are trust (MAT), while those which are under a duty to take all reasonable already part of a MAT will usually be steps to facilitate the conversion. The ‘rebrokered’ to join a different MAT. RSC can direct the governing body and LA to take specified steps within In exceptional cases where the specified timescales. academy is not viable in the long term, the funding agreement will be The RSC will identify a sponsor for the terminated in order to close the school. school and that sponsor will be under a duty to communicate to parents about Step 3: ongoing monitoring their plans for improving the school before the conversion takes place. Whatever course of action the RSC chooses, they will continue to monitor the school’s progress. This may include collecting further information and/or visits to the school by the RSC, their staff, or a representative. While the school’s performance meets the ‘coasting’ definition, the RSC may revise their decision about the support and challenge required by the school at any time.