The press release issued by the Department for Education on 28 July 2010.

An independent commission into early intervention, which aims to ensure that children at greatest risk of multiple disadvantage get the best start in life, will be chaired by Graham Allen MP, confirmed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith and Children’s Minister, Sarah Teather, in an announcement today.

Early intervention can provide children with the social and emotional support needed to help fulfil their potential and break the cycles of underachievement which blight some of our poorest communities. The commission will look at and recommend the best models for early intervention and advise on how these could be extended to all parts of the country. It will also consider how such schemes could be supported through innovative funding models, including through non-Government streams.

The enquiry is being commissioned as one of the first pieces of work to be remitted to the Social Justice Cabinet Committee, chaired by Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith. The committee is the first time that a cross-departmental approach is applied to tackling the causes of poverty and will ensure that each department’s proposals deliver fairness and achieve a social return on investment.

Accepting the role of chair, Graham Allen MP said:

I am taking on this added burden not for sectional interest or to score political points but to improve the life chances for people in constituencies like mine. Nottingham has proved we can intervene successfully. Now we not only need to prove we can take early intervention to a national level, we also need to find inventive ways to fund it in a time of economic drought.

I have insisted that this work be strictly independent and the lessons shared with all parties. If early intervention is to be a success it must last a generation and therefore has to be owned and sustained by all parties.

Launching the review, Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions said:

I am delighted that Graham will be chairing this review. He understands that early intervention means tackling the root cause of social problems rather than spending years afterwards ineffectively treating the symptoms. If we are serious about unlocking children from generations of poverty and giving them a real chance to make something of their lives then we have to make sure the support is there from the start.

Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

No child’s future should be predetermined by the decisions or mistakes of his or her parents, and I firmly believe every child should have the chance to succeed, regardless of their background. Intervening earlier with troubled families can not only prevent children and their parents falling into a cycle of deprivation, antisocial behaviour and poverty but can save thousands if not millions of pounds in the longer term.

This review demonstrates the importance the Government places on improving early intervention, we want to learn from the areas already pioneering a successful approach to tackling troubled families early and build on local good practice.

The review will report by the end of January 2011 on the issue of best practice and provide an interim report on funding. A final report on funding will be produced by May 2011.

Notes to Editors

1. Graham Allen is MP for Nottingham North and has previously co-written a report on the merits of early intervention with Iain Duncan Smith for the Centre for Social Justice and the Smith Institute.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 26 July 2010.

A new pupil premium to raise achievement among disadvantaged children will start from 2011, the government announced today.

As set out in the coalition government document, the new pupil premium will provide additional funding for more disadvantaged pupils to ensure they benefit from the same opportunities as pupils from richer families.

Education Secretary Michael Gove and Children’s Minister Sarah Teather have launched a consultation to seek views on how best to operate the premium including what deprivation indicator to use. The premium will help target money so that more can be done to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds that are still not doing as well at school as they could or should do.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

Schools should be engines of social mobility. They should provide the knowledge, and the tools, to enable talented young people to overcome accidents of birth and an inheritance of disadvantage in order to enjoy greater opportunities.

Children from poorer backgrounds, who are currently doing less well at school, are falling further and further behind in the qualifications race every year – and that in turn means that they are effectively condemned to ever poorer employment prospects, narrower social and cultural horizons, less by way of resources to invest in their own children – and thus a cycle of disadvantage and inequality is made worse with every year that passes. Last year of the 80,000 pupils who had been on free school meals just 45 made it to Oxbridge. Just 2 out of 57 countries now have a wider attainment gap between the highest and lowest achieving pupils.

This is not good enough and addressing this disparity is a top priority of the coalition government. It is for this reason that we are implementing a pupil premium, to ensure that extra funding is targeted at those deprived pupils that most need it.

The latest figures available show that:

• only 53% of 7- to 11-year-olds known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM) achieved the expected level in both English and mathematics compared with 75% for non FSM pupils
• just 27% of pupils eligible for FSM achieved 5 A* to C GCSEs or equivalent, including English and mathematics, compared with 54% for pupils not eligible for FSM

The proposed pupil premium would provide additional per pupil funding on top of the existing funding provided to schools. Schools will be free to spend the additional funding as they choose to raise the achievement of disadvantage pupils.

Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

For too long social background has been a deciding factor in a child’s achievement and future prospects. In a fair society, it’s the government’s responsibility to close the gulf in achievement, where the poorest children are almost 3 times less likely to leave school with five good GCSEs than their richer classmates.

That’s why I’m delighted we are today announcing a new pupil premium, which will give extra funding to schools to help them tackle the inequalities that have been a part of our state system for far too long. Thousands of children will finally be getting the extra support they need to succeed.

The consultation on the pupil premium sets out options for how deprivation is calculated including:

• free school meal (FSM) eligibility – which could be current eligibility or a measure of whether the pupil has ever been eligible for FSM
• out-of-work tax credit – pupils in families in receipt of out-of-work tax credit
• commercial classifications such as ACORN or MOSAIC used by some local authorities

In addition, the government set out its proposal for the pupil premium to:

• include looked after children who have consistently low attainment with only 15% achieving 5 GCSEs or equivalents compared to 70% of all children
• explore extending to cover service children who face unique challenges and need to be supported as they progress through school as armed forces families

The government also set out its proposals for distributing overall school funding from April 2011. School funding will in the short term continue to be allocated using the current method to allow the pupil premium to be introduced smoothly. However, the government signalled its intention to review school funding for all schools including academies beyond the 2011 to 2012 year and details will be announced in due course.

The school funding consultation is also seeking views on

• ending the policy of funding a minimum of 90% of a local authority’s 3-year-old population
• ceasing to funding dual-subsidiary registrations at pupil referral units (PRUs)
• a proposal to allow local authorities to apply for additional funding where they have schools serving service children, whose pupil numbers are affected by troop movements
• a proposal to allow local authorities to claim for 10% of a unit of funding for home-educated pupils
• an intention to have a minimum funding guarantee

In addition, the government announced today that all local authorities will be required to introduce the early years single funding formula (EYSFF) from April 2011. For too long, early years funding has been inconsistent and patchy across the country – with too many children, particularly from disadvantaged families, not accessing any or all of their free nursery education hours.

The EYSFF will require all local authorities to be transparent about the funding that they are providing for free nursery education for 3- and 4-year-olds, so that parents and providers are able to hold their local authority to account. It will also require local authorities to fund providers for the children that attend their nursery – rather than allowing funding to be wasted on empty places. This will help to ensure that nurseries are making the best effort to fill their places by attracting and encouraging more families to take up free nursery education for their child.

The government has pledged to ensure that funding is focused on supporting those children from disadvantaged families who benefit most from nursery education. For that reason, every local formula must include a deprivation supplement so that more money will be targeted at the children who need it most. This will be set locally in the short term, but we will look at whether – over time – it is feasible to introduce a pupil premium for the early years.

Notes for editors

1. The consultation on school funding for the year 2011 to 2012 is available on the Department for Education’s e-consultations website and closes on 18 October 2010.
2. A written ministerial statement that has been made to Parliament and a Q&A document are available to download.
3. Until the comprehensive spending review has concluded this autumn, the government will not be able to give an indication of precise funding allocations.
4. The additional pupil premium funding will not be ring fenced at school level allowing schools to decide how this extra funding should be best spent to benefit the individual pupils it is targeted at. Schools will get help and advice from government on how best they can use the money to raise pupil attainment, by publishing information and evidence about what works, including about the impact of new and innovative practice. The government will monitor the achievements of disadvantaged children who are likely to benefit from the premium.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 22 July 2010.

As Minister of State at the Department for Education he will be responsible for apprenticeships (16 – 18) and careers advice.

John Hayes said:

“I am delighted to be able to take on this new role and look forward to helping take forward the government’s work on careers advice and apprenticeships for young people.

“I am completely committed to ensuring people of all ages have access to learning and the skills they need to get on in their lives and careers.”

As Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, John Hayes is responsible for: further education, adult skills, Skills Funding Agency, skills strategy, lifelong learning, informal adult learning, apprenticeships, UK Commission for Employment and Skills, Sector Skills Councils, Workplace Training reforms, qualifications reform programme.

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

Further moves to reduce bureaucracy and red tape in 16 to 19 education have been announced by the government.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said the current funding processes were too complex and had too many layers.

The new measures will simplify the system by * freeing up LAs to focus on their strategic role in 16 to 19 education * scrapping the need for LAs to set up sub-regional groups and regional planning groups * paying further education colleges, sixth-form colleges and other training providers direct from the Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA), the change coming in from August

Nick Gibb and Education Secretary Michael Gove outlined the changes in letters to Councillor Shireen Ritchie, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, Marion Davis, President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, and other stakeholders.

Ministers added that further simplification would be introduced for the allocations round for the 2011 to 2012 academic year, with education institutions’ annual funding shares for 16 to 19 being based on the previous year’s student numbers. This will ensure funding follows the student and will end the need for drawn-out planning involving lengthy local negotiations. Institutions will be free to decide on their curriculum, responding to the needs of students and employers.

Nick Gibb said:

These measures will cut red tape and allow local authorities to focus on their strategic role as champions of young people, taking action where they identify significant issues in terms of gaps in supply or quality, particularly in ensuring access amongst the most vulnerable groups.

These moves further underline our principle of freeing up schools and colleges to focus on providing an excellent education to their students.

Martin Doel, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges, said:

These changes will be welcomed by colleges as a means by which the funding arrangements for 16- to 18-year-olds can be simplified and in the process costs contained to the benefit of front-line services to students. They are also entirely consistent with the wider government policy of ‘setting colleges free’.

Local authorities must be key partners in influencing and informing college provision to young people, and in particular vulnerable learners. We look forward to discussing with local authority partners how this might best be achieved.

Mark Bramwell, Principal of Totton College and Chair of the Sixth-form Colleges’ Forum stated:

I welcome this announcement. Sixth-form colleges value the relationship they have with local authorities but these decisions tick all the right boxes in terms of a simpler system achieving better value for money. The decisions also reflect the fact that we have a national funding methodology and a national service to students in sixth-form colleges.

Dr Richard Williams, Chief Executive, Rathbone, said:

By passing payments and contract management responsibility to the Young People’s Learning Agency, and letting us work in partnership with local authorities, the government is emphasising both the importance of local government in the planning and development of services for young people and ensuring that funding gets to the frontline on a basis which minimises costs.

The government has already announced outstanding FE and sixth-form colleges will be exempt from routine inspection, that sixth-form colleges will no longer be required to undertake surveys of learners views and that plans to introduce in-year funding adjustments would be scrapped.

 Notes to editors

Under the current system, LAs are required to form sub-regional groups and regional planning groups to support the planning and commissioning of 16 to 19 education provision. * Sub-regional and regional planning groups * Payment of further education providers. The new system cuts out a layer of bureaucracy, with the YPLA paying sixth-form colleges, further education colleges and other training providers direct, so freeing up local authorities to focus on their strategic role in 16 to 19 education. * The Young People’s Learning Agency. The YPLA supports the training and education of all 16- to 19-year-olds in England.

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

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

Today’s report from Ofqual recognises that overall the testing system is sound and that the results are a fair reflection of each pupil’s level of attainment. Rigorous external assessment provides parents and teachers with valuable objective data and plays a vital role in the accountability system. But I also agree with Ofqual’s report when it says that the current testing system can be improved. That is why we are committed to reviewing national curriculum tests to ensure they are as rigorous as possible and in the best interests of schools, children, parents and the public.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 7 July 2010.

Ministers today put headteachers and teachers back in control of the classroom by stripping away bureaucracy that far too often prevents them from maintaining good behaviour.

The government will cut red tape and simplify guidance and legislation so that teachers can ensure better behaviour.

Nick Gibb MP, Minister for Schools, announced today that the government would:

• end the rule requiring schools to give 24 hours written notice for detentions
• allow heads and school staff to search pupils for mobile phones, pornography and cigarettes
• strengthen guidance and legislation if necessary surrounding use of force in the classroom
• give anonymity to teachers accused by pupils and take other measures to protect against false accusations

Nick Gibb said today:

All pupils should show respect and courtesy towards teachers, towards other staff and towards each other. Headteachers help to create that culture of respect by supporting their staff’s authority to discipline pupils. The role of the government is to give schools the freedom and support they need to provide a safe and structured environment in which teachers can teach and children can learn.

We know that the majority of pupils are well behaved and want others to behave well too. Heads and teachers know best how to improve behaviour but are too often constrained by regulations which inhibit them from maintaining control of the classroom. Today we are removing red tape so that teachers can ensure discipline in the classroom and promote good behaviour.

Teachers should feel confident in exercising their authority, and pupils should not have to suffer disruption to their learning caused by the poor behaviour of others.

The government is removing the ban on same-day detentions, giving heads and teachers a stronger deterrent against poor behaviour. Currently, the law gives teachers the power to put pupils in detention, but only if the school gives their parents 24 hours’ notice in writing. In future each school will be able to decide what notice to give and how to inform parents.

Currently headteachers and authorised school staff only have the statutory power to search without consent anyone who is suspected of carrying a knife or other weapon. Alcohol, controlled drugs, and stolen property will be added from 1 September 2010. Under the changes announced today we plan to extend the list this autumn to include:

• personal electronic devices such as mobile phones, MP3 players and cameras
• legal highs
• pornography
• cigarettes
• fireworks

We will introduce further legislation to allow teachers to search for any item which could cause disorder or pose a threat to safety.

The government will also issue simplified guidance about the use of force for safety or restraint. Schools should not have ‘no touch’ policies and teachers should feel able to use force when they need to.

Reporting restrictions will be placed on allegations made about teachers. Ministers wish to put an end to rumours and malicious gossip about innocent teachers which can ruin careers.

Improving behaviour in schools is a major priority for the government. Further measures, including on tackling bullying, exclusions, and reforming alternative provision will be announced soon. The government will consult teachers and schools representatives on the best way to implement these changes, to ensure that legislation gives teachers the powers they need.

Nick Gibb added:

Same-day detentions will give immediacy to pupil discipline and will strengthen the impact detention can have. It is also profoundly wrong that teachers feel they cannot search pupils for items that put pupils and their peers at risk such as drugs, alcohol or fireworks – so we will expand search powers for teachers to put an end to this nonsense.

It cannot be right that teachers are afraid to use force to constrain out-of-control and disruptive pupils for fear of retribution and malicious allegations. We will strengthen the guidance and legislate if necessary to make it plain when and how teachers might need to use force to control pupils. We want to put an end to rumours and malicious gossip about innocent teachers which can ruin careers and even lives.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 6 July 2010.

Children’s Minister Sarah Teather today asked Dame Clare Tickell, Chief Executive of Action for Children, to carry out a review of the early years foundation stage (EYFS) so that it is less bureaucratic and more focused on young children’s learning and development.

Ministers are concerned that the EYFS framework is currently too rigid and puts too many burdens on the early years workforce, which has led to some of the workforce saying they are spending less time with children, and more time ticking boxes.

The government has asked Dame Clare, a children and families expert, to make sure the standards that support young children’s learning are based on the best and latest research on children’s development. They want to shift the focus to getting children ready for education and to increasing the attainment of children from deprived backgrounds.

The review will cover four main areas:

• scope of regulation – whether there should be 1 single framework for all early years providers
• learning and development – looking at the latest evidence about children’s development and what is needed to give them the best start at school
• assessment – whether young children’s development should be formally assessed at a certain age, and what this should cover
• welfare – the minimum standards to keep children safe and support their healthy development

Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

I am always impressed by the dedication of professionals who are working hard to give young children the best start in life. They play a vital role in helping children from all backgrounds to have a good start in school and reach their full potential. Professionals deserve to have the freedom to do their jobs and not have to deal with unnecessary bureaucracy.

It is not right or fair that children from deprived backgrounds that do really well in their early years are overtaken by lower achieving children from advantaged backgrounds by age five. We need good quality early learning for all children and a framework that raises standards, as well as keeping children safe.

Through this review we want to hear about what is and isn’t working well in the EYFS. We also need to create a fairer and more flexible childcare market that is responsive to parents and the rising numbers of children in childcare settings.

I am delighted that Clare has agreed to lead this important review. Her knowledge of the needs of children and families, especially those from more disadvantaged areas, as well as the importance of early intervention, means she is well placed to assess the best way to support young children, and free up the system so that it works for both childcare workers and parents.

Dame Clare Tickell, Chief executive of Action for Children, said:

There has been a lot of debate in recent years about what young children should be learning before they reach school, and the pressure and burdens this puts on the early years sector.

It is important that professionals in the early years sector have the time to tackle the important issues – helping children from poorer backgrounds, and those with special needs, as well as giving all children a fun and stimulating learning experience.

I look forward to conducting this review and to listening to professionals, parents, carers and early years experts. I hope to find a way forward that supports the different approaches to learning and development, so that we have some of the best early years standards in the world.

The coalition government is committed to investing in the early years, and recently announced the extension of free childcare for all 3- and 4-year-olds to 15 hours a week. The review of the EYFS will ensure that good quality early learning benefits all children, as the government believes this can make a real difference to success in later life. It also has a more significant impact for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Dame Clare will provide a final report in spring 2011. The government will then consult on any proposed changes before they take effect from September 2012.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 6 July 2010.

Speaking at an Every Disabled Child Matters event yesterday, Children’s Minister Sarah Teather, said:

We want to make sure that the most vulnerable children get the best quality of support and care. Children with special educational needs and disabilities should have the same opportunities as their peers. The system needs to be more family friendly so that parents don’t feel they have to battle to get the support their child needs.

That is why I will launch a green paper in the autumn to look at a wide range of issues for children with SEN and disabilities. Before then I will be looking at the results of the Ofsted review of SEN we are expecting later this summer, in addition to the many reviews of SEN policy in recent years. I’ll also be listening to the views of parents, teachers and organisations with an interest in this area.

The system needs to be far more transparent. We need to give parents more choice and involve them in the decision-making process. The green paper will also look at how to manage the transition beyond school so that young people over 16 can get the support they need.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 5 July 2010.

Education Secretary Michael Gove today set out a complete overhaul of capital investment in England’s schools.

Mr Gove said he was making tough, immediate decisions to help get the best value for money.

Bringing an end to Building Schools for the Future programme (BSF), he said in the light of the public finances, it would have been irresponsible to carry on regardless with an inflexible, and needlessly complex programme.

And he said it was right to set out a clear way forward for prudent future capital investment in education up to 2015, to flexibly target schools in the worst condition, cut red tape, and tackle urgent demand from rising birth-rates.

The Chancellor made clear in last month’s budget that existing overall public capital investment plans, put in place by the previous government, would remain with no further cuts.

The key elements of today’s announcement are that:

• the government is launching a comprehensive review of all capital investment in schools, early years, colleges and sixth forms. Led by Sebastian James (Group Operations Director of DSG international plc), the review team includes Kevin Grace (Tesco Director of Property Services), Barry Quirk (Chief Executive of Lewisham), John Hood (former Vice-Chancellor of University of Oxford) and Sir John Egan (former Chief Executive of Jaguar and BAA)
• the review will guide future spending decisions over the next spending review period (from the financial year 2011 to 2012 to the financial year 2014 to 2015). It will look at how best to meet parental demand, make current design and procurement cost-effective and efficient, and overhaul how capital is allocated and targeted.
• the Department for Education is reducing its end-year flexibility (EYF) requirements by £1 billion to help ensure no additional borrowing this year. This is in line with the government’s plan to reduce the deficit, and the Treasury’s announcement today that departments have agreed to address unrealistic inherited spending commitments for the financial year 2010 to 2011, where funding was reliant on underspends through the EYF system or additional funding from the government’s reserve. The department expects to be able to manage most of this through better financial management and tighter controls. Because of the size of the reduction, however, the department will have to make £156.5 million savings from capital budgets where commitments are no longer affordable.

The Secretary of State is also announcing today that he will be ending the £972,000 annual funding for the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) design advice service associated with the BSF programme.

Sebastian James, Group Operations Director of DSG International plc and chair of the review, said:

I am delighted to be involved in this vital project and feel very passionately that we can build a schools infrastructure in Britain that is truly world class, while significantly reducing our spending. In my view, success in this review means that we will have found a way to have great schools for our children against a more measured investment backdrop.

This has also been welcomed by educational organisations with experience of working through the current BSF process.

Sir Bruce Liddington, Director General of E-Act said:

The current BSF programme is very bureaucratic, slow and unwieldy and I would welcome a review.

Aredi Pitsiaeli, Director of Business and Strategic Development at Oasis Community Learning said:

We welcome the review of the BSF programme as to learn lessons from past experience in order to find a better way of working for the future can only be a good thing.