Labour announced last year that new “Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence teams” would be recruited to “work with schools who need support, pairing them with experts from the sector and developing plans to help them.” Seeing as the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will get rid of the guarantee that failing schools will automatically be turned into academies the RISE teams are going to be under some pressure to turn around those institutions which Ofsted points the finger at…
A parliamentary question this month revealed that only a measly 35 staff make up the entirety of England’s roster of RISE teams. The staff are expected to provide universal support to schools who have only “minimal issues,” offer “targeted support” to schools with “singular or several issues” and “emerging support” to schools which are designated “emergencies.” Academy orders were the Tories’ longstanding tested method of dealing with issues here…
Guido’s analysis of the Department for Education has meanwhile identified at least 106 full time civil servants whose remit is limited to communications, media, press, or campaigns. That means there are over three times as many communications staff than there are staff responsible for turning around failing schools. Can’t polish a….
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”