Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 20 October 2010.

The Secretary of State has today announced changes to the specialist schools programme. Funding for specialist schools, including for High Performing Specialist Schools (HPSS), will be mainstreamed from April 2011. This funding, approximately £450 million for 2010-11, is not being removed from the schools system and will continue to be routed to schools through the Dedicated Schools Grant.

The Government is also announcing that schools will no longer be required to designate or re-designate as specialist, removing this bureaucratic burden. Currently they must demonstrate that they meet a range of benchmarks set by DfE.

From April 2011 the Department will therefore no longer fund the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) and Youth Sports Trust (YST) to support schools through the designation and re-designation process and run networks of specialist schools. For this financial year, the total grant for the specialism programme for the SSAT is £13 million, and for the YST it is £2.5 million.

You can read Michael Gove’s letter to Elizabeth Reid, Chief Executive of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, below:

Elizabeth Reid
Chief Executive
Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
16th Floor, Millbank Tower
21-24 Millbank
London SW1P 4QP

October 2010

Since my appointment I have been reviewing existing policies and programmes in the context of the priorities that the coalition Government has set, including the Specialist Schools and High Performing Specialist Schools programmes. My aim is to ensure that the Government enables school leaders to achieve the best for the pupils and parents they serve. I know that many school leaders attest to the value of specialism as a catalyst for school improvement and as a means of developing a distinct character and ethos for their schools. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust has been instrumental in the creation of the near-universal specialist system which now exists. I am grateful to you and your predecessors, and to all SSAT’s directors and staff, for your tireless commitment to raising standards in our schools.

Now that specialism is so firmly established I believe that the time has come to remove the Government imposed prescription that has built up around the programme and to give school leaders greater freedom to make use of the opportunities offered by specialism and the associated funding. This is part of my wider commitment to trust school leaders to take decisions in the best interests of the pupils and parents they serve. Of course, Academies are already freed from centralised control and are not constrained in their choice of specialism or required to undergo designation or re-designation. I look forward to an increase in the number of schools and academies enjoying these and other Academy freedoms.

In particular, I have decided that from April 2011 funding for specialism should no longer take the form of a dedicated grant, so that all schools can decide how to develop their specialisms in the light of the total resources available to them. Schools will not be required to designate or re-designate. I should stress that funding is not being removed from schools: money currently paid as specialist schools grant will continue to be routed to schools through the DSG. This is in line with the approach set out in the Department’s consultation on the Pupil Premium, which envisaged the mainstreaming of dedicated grants wherever possible.

I have also decided not to fund the current range of HPSS options after March 2011. Again, the funding will remain with the frontline. Our best schools will continue to be able to take on system leadership roles and support others to improve, and I am looking to expand the opportunities and financial incentives available to them. Academy status already offers a route for outstanding schools to support others as does becoming a National or Local Leader of Education. I intend to set out further plans in the White Paper which is due to be published later in the autumn. Of course, I would expect locally driven collaborations to continue to develop and flourish.

I appreciated the opportunity to discuss the future of the specialist schools programme with SSAT’s National Headteacher Steering Group. Members of the Group spoke with passion about the benefits of the programme and I hope that I can continue to rely on the advice of the Group about how those benefits might be realised in a changed environment.

The Department’s grant funding agreement with SSAT, which covers support for the specialist schools programme, expires at the end of this financial year. The then Minister of State for Schools wrote to you in May 2009 explaining that the Department would to go through a competitive process in order procure any similar services in future. At this point we have no plans to commission centralised support for specialism. Officials want to discuss with SSAT the management of grant funded activities over the remainder of the financial year in the light of the changes outlined above. And I know that the schools, which spoke so eloquently about the value they place on your work, will continue to support you as willing subscribers to your services.

MICHAEL GOVE

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 20 October 2010.

The schools budget will increase in real terms in each year of the Spending Review period. But economies in other areas mean that there will be a total real reduction in Departmental resource spending of 3% by 2014-15. Following on from the decision to halt Building Schools for the Future (BSF), capital spending will be reduced by 60% in real terms by 2014-15. The average annual capital budget over the period will be higher than the average annual capital budget in the 1997-98 to 2004-05 period.

This will be supported through the following measures:

• We will increase funding for the schools budget by £3.6 billion in cash terms by the end of the Spending Review period – this is a 0.1% increase in real terms in each year. Along with greater freedoms and flexibility for teachers and schools, this will ensure schools can meet the demographic pressures they face, and deliver a £2.5 billion pupil premium. This will support the educational development of disadvantaged pupils, and provide incentives for good schools to take on pupils from poorer backgrounds.
• Because the Government recognises that a good early years education is critical to later achievement, we will be maintaining 15 hours of free childcare a week for all 3 and 4 year olds, and extending it to all disadvantaged 2 year olds. It’s also why Sure Start will be protected in cash terms including investment in Sure Start health visitors.

There will be a 60% reduction in real terms in capital spending over the Spending Review period. Following the decision to end the wasteful BSF programme there will be enough funding to meet demographic pressures and to address maintenance needs. The independent review of education capital will ensure that the Department for Education’s capital budget is allocated in the most cost-effective way and targeted where there is most need. Over the Spending Review period there will be a total of £15.8 billion of capital spending. The average annual capital budget will be higher than the average annual capital budget in the 1997-98 to 2004-05 period.

We have had to prioritise in order to ensure that funding is maintained on frontline services that are critical to helping us build a world-class education system, and we are determined to protect the most vulnerable children and young people in society. We are therefore streamlining our funding grants to generate better value for money but ensuring that targeted support remains available to those who need it most. For instance, we are:

• Ending Education Maintenance Allowances, which have deadweight costs of around 90%, saving £0.5 billion, and replacing them with targeted support for those who face genuine financial barriers to participation;
• As we move towards full participation by 2015 we will secure reduction in individual unit costs;
• Within the schools budget, procurement and back office savings will allow at least £1.0 billion to be invested directly on frontline teaching while the public sector pay freeze will free up an additional £1.1 billion;
• Ending and rationalising a range of centrally directed programmes and instead streamlining funding for the most vulnerable children and families in a new Early Intervention Grant to ensure local authorities have greater flexibility.
• To ensure funds are rightly prioritised on frontline education and children’s services, we are committed to making a 33% reduction in real terms by 2014-15 from the Department’s administrative budget. This will be achieved by closing NDPBs, reducing headcount, reducing the costs of the DfE estate and cutting non-essential expenditure.

In addition, the Department for Education will be adopting ideas suggested through the Spending Challenge process to improve efficiency across Whitehall. These include selling surplus Government equipment through an online e-auction site, and working with the Efficiency and Reform Group to cut costs by centralising the Department’s procurement of commonly used goods and services.

The Department has a number of next steps in order to set out how the school system and children’s services will be reformed and how the education spending settlement will be spent. These include a Schools’ White Paper, a Special Educational Needs and Disability Green paper, further announcements about allocating voluntary sector grants, and confirmation of LA allocations for schools and early years provision. We will announce further programmes and further bureaucracy we intend to end in the next three months.

Secretary of State, Michael Gove said:

The size of the deficit means we have had to make tough decisions. There will be many savings across the Department but the Coalition Government is committed to improving education for all. That’s why we’re protecting the frontline, handing power to teachers and introducing a pupil premium for the poorest.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 19 October 2010.

Latest statistics for autumn term 2009 and spring term 2010 together show a decrease in overall and persistent absence rates in both primary and secondary schools compared with autumn term 2008 and spring term 2009.

Authorised absence rates decreased in both primary and secondary schools. Unauthorised absence rates increased in primary schools and decreased in secondary schools.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

The small fall in the overall absence rate in all schools, and in unauthorised absence in secondary schools, is very welcome but the level of absenteeism in schools is still too high. It is crucial that children are not missing out on valuable lessons that could leave them vulnerable to falling behind.

The Government is committed to tackling the underlying causes of absenteeism, raising academic standards and ensuring every child can meet their potential, regardless of their background.

We are putting in place a series of measures to raise standards of behaviour, put teachers back in control of the classroom and ensure pupils understand that the authority of their school can extend beyond the school gates. We need to ensure that all pupils have the basic skills of reading, writing and maths before they leave primary school so they can cope with the new challenges of secondary school.

We are also introducing the first ever pupil premium to ensure pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds benefit from the same opportunities as their more affluent peers.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 15 October 2010.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has today given a speech setting out the Coalition Government’s approach to fairness and social mobility. He has announced £7 billion funding for a ‘fairness premium’, which will give all disadvantaged two-year-olds an entitlement to 15 hours a week of pre-school education and also to deliver a pupil premium for disadvantaged children.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 15 October 2010.

The Careers Profession Task Force has today published its report, Towards a Strong Careers Profession, setting out its vision for high-quality careers education, information, advice and guidance.

The report’s recommendations are designed to uphold common professional standards and help raise the status and integrity of career guidance in this country. The report calls on careers professionals to work together to provide a strong and unified voice, to show professional leadership and to take responsibility for transforming careers advice for young people and their parents, who rightly expect excellence in the services they receive.

The task force was chaired by Dame Ruth Silver, DBE FCGI MA Dip Ed, Chair, the Learning and Skills Improvement Service, who said today:

I was delighted to be asked to chair the Task Force on the Careers Profession. This is a subject close to my heart, having devoted my own career to supporting young people and adults to make the most of their talents. I saw first hand as Principal at Lewisham College, where a professional culture pervaded everything we did, the critical role of career guidance in helping all members of the local community to succeed.

We owe it to all young people to give them the best possible support in making decisions about their future learning and work.

John Hayes, Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, said:

This report highlights the importance of maintaining and strengthening a motivated, quality careers profession. We know that high-quality careers advice is crucial in helping young people make the right choices about their future careers and supporting vulnerable young people to overcome barriers to entering employment, training or higher education. This was also highlighted by Lord Browne this week in his report.

I welcome the Careers Profession Task Force report. Its findings and recommendations will inform the plans we are making to bring together guidance for young people and adults in an all-age careers service. I will take the opportunity to reflect further on the report when I speak on the future of careers advice at the Institute for Careers Guidance conference in November.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 29 September 2010.

Mr Hayes outlined the changes to apprenticeships in a speech to the Group Training Association (GTA) England in London.

He said:

“The truest measure of the success or failure of this Government’s commitment to apprenticeships will be found in how well-equipped today’s young people will be in future years to face the shifting challenges of life and work.

“To be successful in that, we must create a radically new model for workplace training with Apprenticeships at its heart and with partnership between Government, employers and individuals as its motive force.”

Mr Hayes said the Government would reform the apprenticeships system by:

• Expanding the number of apprenticeships on offer
• Taking a firm approach in establishing what the employer contribution to Apprenticeship programmes should be
• Making it easier for businesses to access apprenticeships.

The Government announced in May that £150 million from the Train to Gain budget would be redeployed to provide an extra 50,000 apprenticeship places.

Another £50 million from Train to Gain has been allocated for college building projects.

Consultations

Mr Hayes reminded the sector to have their say via the two consultations launched in July. They include:

• Skills for Sustainable Growth
• Skills funding system

UKSkills merged

Mr Hayes also announced in the speech that UKSkills, an independent charity which promotes skills, is to become part of the Skills Funding Agency. Activities and staff will be transferred across to the Agency as part of the merger.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 24 September 2010.

All young people should have the chance to learn an instrument, read music and receive top quality music education, Education Secretary Michael Gove said today.

Launching an independent review of music education, which will be led by Darren Henley, Managing Director of Classic FM, Mr Gove said broadening the access and opportunities young people have to experience and understand music is central to raising standards.

Research shows that quality music education improves behaviour, attention and concentration, and has a hugely positive effect on numeracy and language skills. Giving all young people the best possible music education will help the Government achieve its twin aims of driving up standards and reducing the attainment gap.

The review will look at

• how to make sure music funding benefits more young people
• improving the music opportunities young people receive both in and out of school
• improving the teacher training and professional development offered to music teachers
• how to attract more music professionals into schools
• how best to offer quality live music experiences to all young people.

Michael Gove said:

It’s a sad fact that too many children in state schools are denied the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument. Evidence suggests that learning an instrument can improve numeracy, literacy and behaviour. But more than that, it is simply unfair that the joy of musical discovery should be the preserve of those whose parents can afford it.

Mr Henley issued a public call for evidence today, seeking the views of parents, schools and music specialists. He said:

Having worked closely with leading music educators and thinkers over the past few years, I know how much of a positive difference high quality music education makes to children’s lives. I am looking forward to delivering to ministers a report which outlines how we can ensure that every child in England benefits from a world-beating music education system.

Minister for the Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey, said:

Young people are the lifeblood of creativity in the UK. We produce some of the greatest musical talent in the world but there is so much more that can be done to harness the passion and enthusiasm that children have for music.

Young people need to be given greater and more equal opportunities to benefit from formal music education. We need to encourage them to see the link between learning an instrument, and the artists they hear on the radio and the songs they download.

As well as it being important to learn skills in music for its own sake, the benefits don’t stop there. Immersion in music can lead to improved social skills and educational success, with behaviour, wellbeing, confidence, team-working and concentration skills all proven to improve with good music provision. I look forward to supporting the review and seeing its results.

The review is expected to make its recommendations before the end of the year.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 23 September 2010.

Education Secretary Michael Gove today announced another step in the lifting of the bureaucratic burden on heads and teachers. The school Self Evaluation Form (SEF) process takes days out of heads’ time and can cost schools tens of thousands of pounds. The Secretary of State has asked Ofsted to ditch it. It is the next stage in a rolling programme of reducing bureaucracy for teachers and trusting them to get on with their jobs.

The SEF asks teachers and heads to collect and verify facts and figures about their school in preparation for their Ofsted inspection. Headteachers say it can take many long hours to fill in and take teachers out of the classroom for extended periods. It can run to over a 100 pages once it has been filled in.

The Coalition Government has already taken several steps to reduce bureaucracy including:

freeing schools from local authority and national government control by allowing them to gain academy-style freedoms
abolishing three quangos that created vast additional bureaucracy for schools without proven benefit
reducing the burden on teachers and improving the quality of inspection by asking Ofsted to change their framework to focus on four principal areas: the quality of teaching, the effectiveness of leadership, pupils’ behaviour and safety, and pupils’ achievement.
This rolling programme will continue into the autumn as ministers engage with teachers and frontline staff on their plans to give them more power and remove the form-filling and bureaucracy that takes them away from the classroom.

Michael Gove said:

The Coalition government trusts teachers to get on with their job. That’s why we are taking steps to reduce the bureaucracy they face and giving them the powers they need to do a good job. We believe that teachers – not bureaucrats and politicians – should run schools.

The removal of the SEF was welcomed by teachers:

Kate Dethridge, Head of Churchend Primary School in Reading, said:

Removing the SEF will free up huge amounts of time – many heads spend most of their summer holidays updating the SEF, then you would need at least two or three senior management meetings to discuss it.

Amanda Whittingham, Assistant head of Wensley Fold School in Blackburn, said:

Just to update the SEF took up two full days of work for the head, deputy and a paid external consultant brought in as an expert on filling in the SEF.