Disclosure and Barring

New online Update Service available from 17 June 2013

They say that “  This service will dramatically change the way individuals use their criminal record check and how employers check their suitability……individuals will be able to apply to have their criminal record check kept up to date and employers will be able to go online to see if the information released is still current and valid. …..The Update Service will ultimately reduce the number of criminal record checks people need to have, saving everyone time and money.” It is free for volunteers (otherwise £13 a year) How it will be used by school governors needs to be followed up.

Web page

Governors’ Handbook

For governors in maintained schools, academies and free schools replaces the Governors’ Guide to the Law.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governors-handbook

Teachers pay

Advice helping schools decide how to pay their teachers has been published by the Department for Education. The advice is being sent to all schools in England, alongside a revised version of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document that reflects reforms to teachers’ pay.

Link to DfE advice

Schools will, from 1 September 2013, be able to link teachers’ pay to performance allowing them to pay good teachers more. This follows recommendations from the independent School Teachers’ Review Body, which last year called on the government to link teachers’ pay more closely to their performance.

By this September every school will need to have revised its pay and appraisal policies setting out how pay progression will in future be linked to a teacher’s performance. The first performance-linked pay increases will be made from September 2014.

From September, a new “simpler, more flexible” national pay framework for teachers will come into effect. DfE say it will:

•end pay increases based on length of service – currently virtually all full time classroom teachers on the main pay scale automatically progress to the next pay point

•link all teachers’ pay progression to performance, based on annual appraisals – already the case for some teachers who are on a higher pay scale

•abolish mandatory pay points within the pay scales for classroom teachers to give schools greater freedom on how much teachers are paid. They would remain in place for reference only in the main pay scale to guide career expectations for new teachers entering the profession

•retain the higher pay bands for London and fringe areas

Union advice

The NUT and NASUWT have agreed a joint school pay policy checklist for schools and academies.

Link to NUT

Statutory Policies updated April 2013

DfE remind Governing bodies they  required to hold each of the policies and other documents, as outlined, however:

• the drafting of school policies can be delegated to any member of school staff
• there is no requirement for all policies to be reviewed annually
• not all policies need to be signed off by the full governing body

see the document here

The document makes clear how often each policy must be reviewed and also shows the level of approval required, where this is prescribed in regulations.

There are instances where statutory guidance states that policies and procedures should be in place. Although this is not the same as a legal requirement, the list makes clear the policies referenced in statutory guidance.

DfE will continue to review these requirements and look to “simplify the legal obligations on schools wherever possible”

DfE say the Document amendments April 2013 are:

Updated links for the following:

• charging and remissions
• teacher appraisal
• data protection
• freedom of information publication scheme
• instrument of government

Removal of

Governor’s annual report to parents (maintained nursery schools) –      It has come to light that the removal of the requirement for maintained schools to prepare a Governors’ Annual Report to Parents in The EducationAct 2005, and Commencement Order No 1 to that Act, has resulted in an anomaly in the legislation. We can confirm that governing bodies of maintained nursery schools are no longer required to prepare a report.

Addition

register  of pupils’ admission to schools

New advice – performance-related pay

Department for Education is sending advice to all schools alongside a revised version of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document that reflects reforms to teachers’ pay.

“From 1 September 2013, school will be able to link teachers’ pay to performance allowing them to pay good teachers more. This follows recommendations from the independent School Teachers’ Review Body, which last year called on the government to link teachers’ pay more closely to their performance.

By this September every school will need to have revised its pay and appraisal policies setting out how pay progression will in future be linked to a teacher’s performance. The first performance-linked pay increases will be made from September 2014.

Link to advice

Improving School Governance

Teach First and the Wellcome Trust, two charitable organisations with a shared interest in education, have announced plans to help improve the quality of school governance as part of their commitment to the field. With the support of a Strategic Award from the Wellcome Trust, Teach First will design, pilot and evaluate a programme to train new school governors to overcome educational disadvantage in schools in low-income communities using the Trust’s Recommended Code of School Governance.

Teach First has already supported more than 100 ambassadors (alumni of the leadership development programme in primary and secondary schools

Press notice

Sports premium for Primary Schools

A new fund worth £150 million per annum for the next two years.  Funded by the Department for Education (£80m), the Department of Health (£60m) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (£10m), it will see funds go directly into the hands of primary school head teachers for them to spend on sport.  The Sport Premium will be ring fenced and can only be spent on sport provision in schools.  No other funding for schools is ring-fenced.

Funding for schools will be calculated by reference to the number of primary-aged pupils (i.e. children between the ages of 5 and 11).  All schools with seventeen or more primary-aged pupils will receive a lump sum of £8,000 plus a premium of £5 per pupil.  Smaller schools will receive the sum of £500 per pupil.

DfE have agreed that Ofsted will strengthen its coverage of sport within the Inspectors’ Handbook and supporting guidance, so that schools and inspectors are clear about how sport will be assessed in future as part of the overall provision offered by the school.  A revised version of the handbook will be published for implementation from September 2013.  The handbook is what all inspectors follow when doing their inspections and these changes will ensure that sport is a high priority for inspectors and will hold schools to account appropriately.  The revised handbook will ask inspectors to consider: “How well the school uses its Sport Premium top improve the quality and breadth of its PE and sporting provision, including increasing participation in PE and sport so that all pupils develop healthy lifestyles and reach the performances levels they are capable of.”

The Government and Ofsted will provide schools with information on effective practice taken from case studies provided by the very best award winning schools.  One year on, Ofsted will carry out a survey reporting on the first year’s expenditure and its impact, holding schools to account for how they have used this money.  DfE will require schools to include details about their sporting provision on their school website, alongside their curriculum details.  This will enable parents to compare sporting provision across and between schools, both within and beyond the school day.

DfE press release

Evidence based teaching

Dr Ben Goldacre sets out how teachers in England have the chance to make teaching a truly evidence-based profession.

The paper, Building Evidence into Education, is available to download from DfE

Ofsted guidance on inspections

The new subsidiary guidance was published on 28 February for inspectors who carry out section 5 inspections from September 2012. It should be read in conjunction with the School inspection handbook and The framework for school inspection.

On p. 20  the governance section of the quality of leadership in, and management of, the school, includes

76.          …. inspectors must evaluate the extent to which governors both challenge and support the school and hold senior staff, including the headteacher, to account for the achievement of the pupils.

77.          Inspectors should meet with as many governors during an inspection as is possible, and should determine how well governing bodies evaluate the performance of the school, particularly in terms of:

• pupil     progress;
• the leadership of teaching;
• the management of staff;
• the difference made by initiatives such as the pupil premium or the Year 7  catch-up premium.

78.          Inspectors should consider whether governors:

• carry out     their statutory duties
• understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school, including the quality of teaching
• ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
• understand and take sufficient account of pupil data, or whether they are misled by ‘headlines’
• are aware  of the impact of teaching on learning and progress in different subjects  and year groups
• are challenging and supporting leadership in equal measure
• are providing support for an effective headteacher, or whether they are      hindering school improvement by not successfully tackling key concerns
• understand  how the school makes decisions about teachers’ salary progression
• performance manage the headteacher rigorously
• are failing to perform well and contributing to weaknesses in leadership and management.

79.          Inspectors should also satisfy themselves that the governing body is ensuring that the school’s finances are properly managed, and investigate governors’ role in deciding how the school is using the Pupil Premium.

Separately, and to complement Ofsted reports, a new online tool (School Data Dashboard) was launched in February 2013 to help governors, as well as parents and others, understand and review essential school performance data. The Chief Inspector has given considerable emphasis to the importance of Governors.

http://dashboard.ofsted.gov.uk/

Training for Prospective Governors

SGOSS – Governors for schools have recently launched a new campaign aimed at recruiting more school governors  -But Modern Governor (on line learning) say “its not just about recruiting new school governors, its about recruiting the right school governors. Governors need to represent the wider school community and bring all kinds of different perspectives from ‘ordinary’ life. They need to bring the skills and abilities that the school requires, and be a “critical friend” so it is not simply a matter of finding people willing to be governors, but about finding the right people to be governors.

At a time when schools are facing many complex challenges, changes in the curriculum, examinations and structure of governance to name but a few, recruiting the right person is extremly important.

What makes a good governor?

• They should be able to offer strategic leadership as well as challenging performance
• Be willing to make the necessary time commitment to fully understand complex educational issues
• Must want children to enjoy school and to achieve the best they can
• Be willing to accept responsibility and make difficult decisions
• Be confident enough to articulate their views and not be overwhelmed by longer serving members of the  governing body

Lack of understanding about the role of governors is one of the most cited reasons for people not taking on the role. So Modern Governor has produced a free module that anyone can look at about becoming a school governor, it can be found here. http://www.moderngovernor.com/free-resources/

We have modules for The New Governor, one that covers some of the most frequently asked questions, and Modern Governor subscribers can view My Role as a Governor “