Archived decisions

A NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH SCHOOLS : NATIONAL ROLL-OUT

1. The County Council has taken a leading role in a national trial exploring new relationships with secondary schools. The DfES is intending that the new relationship will be rolled-out across the country in three phases, beginning in September 2005. As a trial authority, Hampshire has been invited to join the first phase. The Executive Member for Education has endorsed this initiative and its introduction on the basis set out in the report to the Education Policy Review Committee on 15 March 2005.

2. In 2004 the Education Department invited ten secondary schools in Hampshire to be part of a trial programme. There are four inter-related parts - the School Profile, Self Evaluation, the Single Conversation and the School Improvement Partner. The School Profile is to replace the Annual Governors' Report to parents. It will be produced annually and will contain some common data on each school and further text written by the school to describe its broader work. Self Evaluation is something to which all schools will need to take a thorough and rigorous approach. A new Self Evaluation form has been produced by Ofsted and this will be the core document on which inspection is based in the future. It will also be the subject of an annual discussion between each school and its School Improvement Partner. The two most important developments have been the appraisal approach taken to gathering evidence for self evaluation and the way in which the school evaluation is now aligned with the Children Act.

3. The concept of the Single Conversation requires explanation. It is not "single" in the sense that there will only be one conversation: there will be a series throughout the school year. It is "single" in the sense that the external person will carry into the school the issues and concerns of a range of organisations:- the Children's Services Authority, for issues about school standards and provision, and issues around vulnerable children in the context of the Children Act: the Local Learning and Skills Council, for 14-19 and Post - 16 issues; and the DfES, for issues relating to targets and all the national strategies. The Single Conversation is intended to streamline those contacts and make sure that schools have one person who can speak authoratively on behalf of all these organisations.

4. The person who carries all these messages into schools is the School Improvement Partner (SIP). The SIP has to challenge and support the schools rigorously and sensitively, and in such a way as to add value and make a difference to the lives of pupils and students. There will be an annual written report from the SIP to the governing body and the person appointed will, generally, also act, as the external adviser in the process of the performance review of the Headteacher. About 75% of SIPs across the country will be serving or recently retired secondary Headteachers. Most of the remainder will be colleagues who are employed as permanent staff in the school improvement teams of Local Authorities. Although each SIP will have a relationship to the DfES through a regional structure, they will all be direct employees of the County Council for the time during which they undertake this work.

5. All Hampshire maintained secondary schools will be involved in the new relationship from September 2005. As far as possible, SIPs appointed to work in Hampshire will be recruited from Hampshire - from secondary schools and from existing members of the school improvement teams. The success of the scheme depends on the willingness of governors to release Headteachers for the time needed, about 20 days a year, for which the school would receive payment. About 15 will need to become accredited if this is to work properly, along with about 6 colleagues from the full time staff of the school improvement team.

6. The DfES has indicated that it intends to allocate extra resources to Councils to support the new relationships but details are, as yet, unclear. From September 2005, the roll-out will be funded through the HIAS Business Unit using the additional resources expected from the DfES.

7. This decision supports aim 1 of the Corporate Strategy (maximising life opportunities) by strengthening the approach to school improvement in secondary schools and thus leading to higher levels of educational achievement.

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