NEWS
Major new inquiry into how school trusts can improve education
A major new inquiry into how education in England can keep improving has been launched by the national sector body for school trusts.
The Confederation of School Trusts is bringing together diverse school trusts with a broad range of education experts to explore the theory and
practice of improvement within school trusts.
The Inquiry on Sector-led Trust Improvement will seek to answer four key questions that will help trusts deliver constantly improving education for their pupils:
1. How can trusts gain assurance about the quality of their work and capacity to improve? 2. What are the common goals of trust improvement? 3. Which practices do trusts mobilise towards these goals? 4. What are the implications of the above for building sector capacity and capability?
The inquiry will review and build upon existing evaluative tools such as the Department for Education’s MAT Assurance Framework and aim to create additional resources focused on how to improve trusts.
The inquiry panel will draw on expertise from a range of school trusts, of different sizes, geographies and operating models, as well as experts in education evidence from other organisations.
The inquiry will be chaired by CST Deputy Chief Executive Steve Rollett. Announcing the inquiry, Steve said: “We believe developing the professional capacity to improve trusts and schools is the responsibility of the sector itself, which should be supported but not prescribed by government.
“School trusts have already made a massive difference to the lives of thousands of children and there is some great work going on across the sector to do even more. This inquiry is about understanding what works and why, and how that can be applied so that everyone benefits.
“If all children did as well as pupils in the best school trusts, Key Stage 2 performance would be 14 percentage points higher nationally. The inquiry will seek to better understand how we can work together to make that ambition a reality.”
“We don’t believe there is a single model of how to run or improve trusts, but we do think there is more we can collectively know about trust improvement, with insight into concrete practices and approaches. This inquiry will not be the last word on how trusts improve but we hope it will make a significant contribution and be of benefit to the sector.”
uwww.cstuk.org.uk
Strain of school running costs leaving budget black hole for transport provision
Energy bills and the pressures of inflation are continuing to burden schools, with new research from Kura revealing that 78% of schools leaders are feeling the strain of running costs on finances. Staff shortages and workload are also presenting challenges for schools. Of the 250 school leaders surveyed, 66% admit it’s harder to fill teaching positions and more than three quarters (81%) expect staff workload to be an issue over the next year. Recruitment difficulties have also led to wage inflation for teachers, adding to the costs that schools must factor into their budgets.
In order to cover increased operating costs, schools have had to pull money from other areas such as transport provisions. Whilst 50% of schools have invested in classroom teaching, 39% in remote learning and 41% in school buildings, just 6% have invested in transport in the last 12 months.
This lack of investment means that 38% of schools are losing more than 11 hours each week to school run admin. In addition, outdated registration methods are posing a risk to student safety with 29% of schools still tracking usage via paper registers.
Commenting on the findings, Godfrey Ryan, CEO of Kura (pictured) 10
www.education-today.co.uk
said: “Schools have faced a plethora of challenges in recent times and while energy bills and staffing costs remain high, it’s clear that the majority of school leaders are feeling the pressure to make budgets stretch further. “Understandably, this means that in some areas, investment has fallen behind. Schools have had to make cuts to building maintenance, resources, trips, and transport, leaving budget black holes in their place. However, 72% of schools surveyed are not currently offering a home to school transport service, which plays a vital role in student safety, wellbeing and attracting students to meet admissions targets.
“Furthermore, transport technology is an often-overlooked area for investment, but it can help save stretched staff hours spent on admin and enable schools to enhance safeguarding and attendance processes by logging boarding and journey data. With our research showing that safeguarding and wellbeing of students, and workload and wellbeing of staff, are concerns for the year ahead, school leaders should recognise how investment in transport can help to tackle these issues, rather than pushing it down the priority list.”
uwww.hsdc.ac.uk April 2023
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