The government’s new regional school improvement teams will ensure schools can be supported in areas where there is no capacity in the system, the schools minister has said.
Catherine McKinnell also said that the DfE’s teams will be able to use information from “diagnostic” findings in report cards being launched next year to support schools to improve.
The schools minister today gave her first major public speech since being appointed, at the Schools North East’s Educating Westminster conference in Newcastle.
In an interview with Tes afterwards, she said the regional improvement teams, which are to be launched in the spring of next year, will help ensure schools receive support in areas where there is no capacity to do so within the existing school system.
Asked how the new teams approach would work, she said: “There are a number of approaches that we know work, and we will look to build on what’s already working in the system, but there will be a role for the regional improvement teams to ensure that where that support capacity doesn’t exist within the system...we can look to make sure that schools can receive it.
“This is about building on what’s already working. Schools are already working incredibly hard to drive improvement and to deliver for their children, and they are working collaboratively to do that.
“Not all schools have that [support] though, so it’s about making sure that all schools have it where needed.”
In a keynote speech to an audience of school leaders from the North East at the conference, Ms McKinnell highlighted the government’s decision to scrap overall Ofsted effectiveness grades and replace them with a scorecard approach, adding that the regional improvement teams would be able to use the new school report card findings.
“We actually want a much richer and broader picture of a school’s performance. That’s what our system of report cards will provide in the next academic year, a diagnostic assessment that will support new improvement teams to empower schools to progress and learn from one another.”
Improved recruitment and retention can boost inclusion
In a question-and-answer session after her speech at the Schools North East conference, the schools minister was asked what the government’s plans were for responding to the special educational needs and disabilities crisis.
She said: “Our vision is for as many children as possible to be educated within the mainstream sector. And we know you share that vision, and sometimes there are challenges in delivering it.”
The MP for Newcastle said that one of those challenges related to teacher recruitment and retention, adding: “Just that ability to have a full strength of workforce, I think, is really important to meet those demands; having the training in meeting these needs and the support to do it. We’re looking at a whole range of measures and, as I said, it won’t be a revolution, but it will be an evolution.”
She also highlighted plans for Ofsted to look at inclusion under its new inspections.
Ms McKinnell said it was important that the inspectorate is “celebrating and reporting on where schools are being really inclusive and not disincentivising schools from taking that approach”.
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