Tag: Department for Education

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 23 August 2023.

Over a thousand new special school places confirmed, as additional seven special free schools to be built.

Over a thousand more children and young people with SEND are set to benefit from access to high-quality specialised learning, with seven new special free schools in Cambridgeshire, Kent, Merton and Norfolk selected to be built alongside the existing 83 already committed to opening, located across England from Devon to Darlington.

Once complete, this investment will more than double the number of special free school places available across the country – from around 8,500 to 19,000 – ensuring all children receive a quality education, tailored to their needs.

Today, local authorities across the country have been selected to deliver a ground-breaking new programme to test and refine the reforms to services for young people and families.

Backed by £70 million, the local authorities will help inform the development of new national standards to improve the consistency of provision across the country.

Each area will also bring together education and health services, as well as parents and families to develop an inclusion plan that sets out how they will deliver local services in a co-ordinated way – for example making sure a child with special educational needs who is behind in reading is quickly assessed and given the right support. This addresses feedback from families that the current system is often fragmented with agencies not working together.

This follows recent confirmation that high needs funding is increasing by a further £440 million for 24/25, bringing total funding to £10.5 billion – an increase of over 60% since 2019-20.

Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, Claire Coutinho said:

Making sure children with special educational needs and disabilities get a superb education is a priority.

Earlier this year our Improvement Plan set out systemic reforms to make sure every child and young person gets consistently high-quality support, no matter where in the country they live.

Today we’re making sure that those reforms are informed by the experiences of real families, up and down the country, and creating the thousands of new places at specialist schools and in staff training courses that are needed to make sure our plan is a success.

The government is also confirming today an expansion in training for early years staff, adding an extra 2,000 training places for early years special educational needs co-ordinators on top of the 5,000 already announced.

Measures confirmed in the Improvement Plan included:

• A new leadership level National Professional Qualification for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (NPQ for SENCOs), ensuring SENCOs have the training they need to provide the right support to children.
• A new approach to AP will focus on preparing children to return to mainstream or prepare for adulthood. AP will act as an intervention within mainstream education, as well as high-quality standalone provision, in an approach that meets children’s needs earlier and helps prevent escalation.
• An extension until March 2025  to the AP Specialist Taskforces, which work directly with young people in AP to offer intensive support from teams made up of experts, including mental health professionals, family workers, and speech and language therapists, backed by an additional £7 million investment.
• A doubling of the number of supported internship places by 2025, from around 2,500 to around 5,000, backed with £18 million of funding to help young people make the transition into adulthood.
• £30 million to go towards developing innovative approaches for short breaks for children, young people and their families, providing crucial respite for families of children with complex needs – the programme funds local areas to test new services including play, sports, arts and independent living activities, allowing parents time to themselves, while their child enjoys learning new skills. 13 local authorities are taking part in the second year of the programme.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 22 August 2023.

Fifteen new free schools to open in areas where education outcomes are poorest to drive up school standards.

Around 12,000 young people in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the country will benefit from a wave of new free schools, another major step in this government’s work to raise school standards.

The government has announced today (22 August 2023) that 15 new free schools are set to be opened in parts of the country where education outcomes are weakest, providing more opportunities for local young people.

Free schools are funded by the government but are not run by the local authority, instead, they are run by other organisations – most commonly academy trusts – but also industry and universities. They have greater freedom to innovate and drive up standards, for example more autonomy over the teachers’ pay and their curriculum.

The new schools will include 3 schools run by the high performing Star Academies and Eton College, located in Dudley, Teesside and Oldham, spreading the highest standards of education across the North East, North West and West Midlands. These schools will help rapidly increase the progression of talented local pupils into top universities including Oxford and Cambridge.

Free schools and academies have been central to this government’s work to raise school standards, with 88% of schools​ now rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, up from 68% in 2010. In classrooms, England’s children have shot up the international rankings for reading and our 9 and 10 year olds are now the best in the western world.

The free schools programme provides parents with more choice of good schools, helping to level up opportunity across the country. It enables strong trusts to open high-quality schools in new areas and attract fresh expertise to areas across the country that need it most.

Free schools outperformed other types of non-selective state schools in England in last week’s A level results. Around 35% of A levels taken by pupils in free schools achieved a grade A or A* compared to 22% studied by pupils in local authority schools.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

We want to make more good school places available to families, and these 15 new free schools will bring brand new opportunities to young people from Bradford to Bristol.

Free schools bring high standards, more choice for parents and strong links to industry – and all in the areas where those opportunities are needed most.

These new schools build on this government’s work to drive up school standards since 2010, with 88% of schools now rated good or outstanding – up from 68% – and high performing academies and free schools in all parts of the country.

Star Academies chief executive Sir Hamid Patel CBE said:

The free schools programme continues to inject innovation and creativity into the school system.

We’re delighted our 3 sixth form colleges – being delivered in partnership with Eton College – will be part of the programme and we look forward to working with our local stakeholders to provide more young people with the high-quality education and aspirational opportunities they deserve.

Eton College headmaster Simon Henderson said:

We are delighted by this decision. We believe these new colleges have the potential to be transformative both for the young people who attend and for the wider communities they will serve.

Collaborative partnership will be key to this project’s success and we are very grateful for the support we have had already from the respective councils, from the local communities and from our colleagues in other educational settings.

Each Eton Star sixth-form college will create 480 schools spaces and will be run through a strong partnership between Star Academies, a highly successful academy trust, and Eton College, who will provide financial and extra-curricular support.

Plans have also been approved for the BRIT School North in Bradford, 2 University Technical Colleges (UTCs), 1 new all-through school for pupils aged 4 to 16, a primary school, 2 secondary schools and a further 5 free schools for 16 to 19 year olds.

The 2 University Technical Colleges (UTCs) have been approved for Doncaster and Southampton to support young people build the skills they need for their future careers, including in health sciences and marine engineering.

The BRIT School North will create opportunities for rising stars in the north of the country to break into the performing arts industry. It is based on the award-winning performing arts school in South London which helped to launch the careers of Adele, Amy Winehouse and Jessie J.

Free schools in this wave have been approved where there is the greatest need for good new places, prioritising Education Investment Areas (EIAs)identified in the Levelling Up White Paper and Priority Education Investment Areas (PEIAs) identified in the Schools White Paper.

These are parts of the country with the lowest education outcomes that the government is investing in to support young people to get the education and skills they need to get a good job and help the economy continue growing.

The full list of new free schools that have been approved and are expected to open in 3 or 4 years include:

• Eton Star, a 16-19 school in Dudley
• Eton Star, a 16-19 school in Teesside
• Eton Star, a 16-19 school in Oldham
• BRIT School North, a 16-19 school in Bradford
• Great Stall East Academy, an all through school from ages 4 to 16 in Swindon
• Lotmead Primary School in Swindon
• Dixons Victoria Academy, a secondary school in Manchester
• Dixons Wythenshawe Sixth Form, a 16-19 school in Manchester
• Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy, a secondary school in Liverpool
• Bolsover Sixth Form, a 16-19 school in Derbyshire
• Cabot Sixth Form, a 16-19 school in Bristol
• New College Keighley, a 16-19 school in Bradford
• Thorpe Park College, a 16-19 school in Leeds
• UTC Southampton
• Doncaster UTC – Health Sciences and Green Technologies

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 21 August 2023.

Minister Coutinho writes to housing associations, social landlords and developers to urge them to allow childminders to work from their rented properties.

Housing associations, social landlords and developers in England are being urged to allow childminders to work in their rented properties, to help encourage entry into the profession and increase availability of childcare for parents.

The Children and Families Minister, Claire Coutinho, has today written to housing associations, developers and landlords, urging them to better support prospective childminders who too often face restrictive clauses in contracts which stop them from working in their homes. This will help tackle the unfair barriers to those who rent or have leasehold properties, compared with those who own their own home.

It comes as the government today launches new measures to support and inspire more people into the childminding sector. This forms part of the government roll out of its new childcare offer – the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. This massive new investment will take expected Government spending on childcare to over £8bn in total by 27-28 helping parents, especially mothers, access flexible childcare support, return to work and help us to meet our ambition to grow the economy.

The government has already tabled amendments to the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill (LURB) that will mean that childminders can work together in groups of up to four childminders in total, and spend more time working outside of their own homes such as in a community centre or village hall.

The government will also consult on reducing registration times to around 10 weeks, make sure childminders are paid monthly by local authorities, and soon launch the childminder start-up grant, worth up to £1,200 for all childminders who have joined the profession since the Spring Budget.

The number of childminders operating in England has more than halved over the past ten years, with many comparable countries facing similar pressures. The Government is determined to reverse that trend in England, and give parents maximum choice and flexibility when the radical expansion of free childcare begins from April 2024.

Recognising the need to grow and support the sector, the government has already boosted the funding rates paid to early years providers including childminders to deliver free hours – increasing them from an average of £5.29 to £5.62 for three and four-year-olds, and from an average of £6.00 to £7.95 for two-year-olds.

At the same time the Prime Minister and Education Secretary are urging every parent to check they are claiming the free childcare hours they are already entitled to, with the data showing around one in 20 children nationally may be missing out. There are just ten days to go to claim for hours for the upcoming autumn term.

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, said:

Over the next few years we are doubling our investment into free childcare, bringing 30 free hours for working parents of children down to just nine months old by 2025.

I wouldn’t want any family to miss out because they can’t find childcare that meets their needs or simply didn’t know how much they were entitled to.

With just ten days to go to sign up for free childcare hours for the autumn term, my message to every parent is don’t delay, check today!

Children, Families and Wellbeing Minister, Claire Coutinho, said:

We have outstanding, high quality childminders, offering flexible and accessible childcare in a home-like environment.

Too often prospective childminders are having the door slammed in their faces because they face a blanket ban on working from home.

However, parents tell us time and again how much they value the flexibility and quality that childminders bring so we are making sure that we are supporting the workforce to deliver what parents need.

To do this in the best possible way, we are addressing the challenges childminders face including loneliness, where they work, long registration times and local authority pay timetables. Through our support of the sector, we will deliver the flexible care that parents need.

Every working parent of three- and four-year-olds is being encouraged to check what they are entitled to for the autumn term so that they are getting the maximum possible support now, and are ready to sign up for the new offers when they roll out early next year.

Childminders can currently face challenging registration processes, and according to data collected by Tiney, a childminder agency, one in eight prospective childminders who did not complete the registration process were unable to do so because they could not secure permission to work from their home.

Childminders who are living in leasehold properties are sometimes being blocked by so-called restrictive covenants, which say that the properties cannot be used for business purposes. Some who are living in rented accommodation have found that their tenancy agreements prevent them from registering their business or that their landlords’ mortgage agreements include restrictions from the lender.

Within the letter to landlords, Minister Coutinho has urged them to engage with prospective childminders to unblock these issues wherever possible, for the good of local communities.

On top of the existing offers, from April 2024, eligible working parents will get 15 free hours for two-year-olds, from September 2024, 15 free hours will be available from nine months, and from September 2025, 30 free hours will be available from nine months until the start of school.

The offers will help more parents to increase their hours or return to work, as part of wider government support to families to help with rising prices.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 17 August 2023.

University acceptances are up on 2019, with 79% getting their first-choice as results return to pre-pandemic levels in an important step back to normal.

Young people across England are celebrating exam results this morning – with thousands of them moving on to university, apprenticeships and the world of work.

Overall, 79% of 18-year-old pupils in the UK receiving a decision today have gained a place at their first choice university.

16,530 students who received free school meals (FSM) have also gained a place at university which is a 60% increase from 2019.

In a sign that grading is returning to normal, this year, 27.2% of UK entries for A levels achieved a grade A and above, slightly higher than 25.4% in 2019, before the pandemic. 76% of UK entries achieved a grade C and above, in line with 75.9% in 2019.

This year has seen mathematics continue to be the most popular A Level since 2014 as well as record-breaking numbers of A Level entries in computing, producing over 16% more entries than last year. The data from this year’s results day show 34.8% of entries from free schools and 25.4% of entries from academies getting a grade A or above – compared to 22.0% of entries from local authority maintained comprehensive schools.

Around 3,400 T Level students received their results today as the second ever cohort completed the new, high quality technical qualification. 90.5% of T Level students achieved a pass or above.

T Levels offer a wide range of progression options as many of these students will also go on to do apprenticeships, and UCAS has today revealed that 1,220 T Level students have been accepted into university, demonstrating the value and reputation of these qualifications.

Over 250,000 certificates were awarded for those completing their Level 3 vocational and technical qualifications.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

Congratulations to everyone receiving results today. There are more opportunities than ever before so whatever your results, I’m sure you will have a bright future ahead of you.

It’s fantastic to see the number of young people accepted to university – including to their first choice – continue to be up on the years before the pandemic, while thousands more go off to exciting apprenticeships and the world of work.

As always, there are a wide range of fantastic options for those who did not get the results they hoped for, and students can find out more by visiting the UCAS website or through the National Careers Service.

If students have not received the grades they were hoping for, there are thousands of high-quality courses available through clearing. This morning there were nearly 29,000 courses available, many of which are at the most selective universities. Clearing opportunities can be accessed through this link: Clearing Launch

For those who do not wish to go through clearing, students can call the National Careers Service on 0800 100 900 for advice on their next steps.

There are also options available other than university. Apprenticeships offer people of all ages and backgrounds the chance to gain the skills they need to build successful careers, while making sure employers can access the skilled workforce they and our economy need to grow.

For more information and to explore all the other exciting options available to young people go to: Get the Jump: explore your education and training choices

Almost £5 billion has been made available to help pupils to recover from the impact of the pandemic, including over £1.5 billion for the National Tutoring Programme and 16-19 Tuition Fund, which have supported millions of students in need of extra support. Nearly four million tutoring courses have now been started through the National Tutoring Programme, including over 1.3 million so far this academic year.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 17 August 2023.

Grades this summer are expected to be lower than last year due to the way they were assessed.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has praised the resilience and hard work of young people, as hundreds of thousands prepare to collect A and AS level, T Level and Level 3 vocational and technical exam results today (17 August).

The results mark the culmination of years of hard work for young people and their teachers, and pave the way for students’ next steps to university, further training, or into work.

This is the first year that AS and A Levels have largely returned to normal. During the pandemic, results were higher as exams could not go ahead. As the normal grading system returned this summer, grades will be lower than last year but similar to 2019 levels. That means, for example, a student whose work would have earned a C grade at A level in 2019 is just as likely to get a C this year, opening the same exciting doors to life after school.

The return to pre-pandemic grading is important for students – it means that universities and employers understand their performance, have confidence in their qualifications, and can use them to help students progress into opportunities that match their achievements, now and in the future.

This is also the second year the Government’s flagship new qualifications, T Levels, have been awarded, with thousands of students waiting to receive their results today. These new qualifications – the technical counterpart to A levels – are designed in collaboration with leading employers and offer a high quality technical education.

Universities have made sure entry requirements and offers reflect the grades students were expected to receive – as they do every year – and the number of places at top universities is not affected by the number of top grades.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

I’m incredibly proud of all students receiving their results today. For many, this will have been the first set of formal exams they have ever taken, having faced unprecedented circumstances in the years building up to this summer.

I know young people will have risen to the challenge, and thousands will get the results they need to take hold of their future, whether at university, through an apprenticeship or in the world of work. There are more options than ever before and a huge amount of support available, whether pupils get the results they wanted or not.

Congratulations to each and every young person taking their next step and thank you to the teachers who helped them get there.

By sitting exams, students have a fair chance to show their knowledge and understanding of a subject and ensure a level playing field.

For GCSEs and A levels, senior examiners will have made allowances where national performance was found to be slightly lower than before the pandemic. This will create a level of protection for students as grading returns to normal, following the disruption of recent years.

The Government has made almost £5 billion available to help children and young people recover from the impact of the pandemic, including £1.5 billion for high quality tutoring to support students taking exams this year and in the future. Nearly four million courses have been started through the National Tutoring Programme since 2020, including 1.3 million so far this academic year.

In cases where a student does not achieve their predicted grades, it is very common for them to still be offered a place by their preferred universities. In 2019, only 20 per cent of English 18-year-old applicants with a minimum of 3 A Level predictions met or exceeded their predicted grades, but almost 90 per cent of the same group still got a place at a UK university. Almost 65 per cent of those were accepted to their firm choice.

There’s a huge amount of support on hand for students:

• Students’ school or college – or the admissions team at the university which they are applying – should be their first port of call.
• Experts at the National Careers Service will be available throughout the results period.
• UCAS’s Clearing hotline is open to help students understand their options.
• The online ‘Clearing Plus’ service will help match students to courses with entry requirements that align with the grades they achieved.

There is also a variety of high-quality technical options open to students, including degree apprenticeships and higher technical qualifications, that will enable them to gain the skills they need to kickstart great careers. Students can explore their options through the Get The Jump website.

GCSE grades will be released on 24 August 2023.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 25 July 2023.

The government has ensured every state school in England has a defibrillator with 20,376 devices delivered to 17,862 schools.

The government has confirmed today (25 July 2023) that all state-funded schools in England now have a life-saving defibrillator, drastically increasing the chances of surviving cardiac arrest for all state school pupils in England.

Following the government’s £19 million rollout, over 20,000 defibrillators have successfully been delivered to almost 18,000 schools since January.

In June, the Department for Education oversaw the successful completion of deliveries of defibrillators to secondary schools. Now, all eligible primary, special and alternative provision schools who did not already have a defibrillator have received deliveries, boosting their numbers in communities across the country.

Today’s milestone marks another step in the government’s commitment to delivering stronger, safer communities across the country.

In July 2022, the government committed to delivering these devices before the end of the 2022 to 2023 academic year to ensure that all state funded schools in England had access to a defibrillator, following the campaigning from Mark King of the Oliver King Foundation to ensure all schools have a defibrillator. Mark tragically lost his son, Oliver, after he suffered sudden cardiac arrest at school during a swimming lesson when he was 12-years-old.

Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan said:

Having access to defibrillators in schools drastically increases the chance of pupils, teachers and visitors surviving a cardiac arrest.

Thanks to the tireless campaigning of Mark King, Jamie Carragher and Nicola Carragher we are proud to say that every state-funded school in England now has access to a defibrillator.

Teachers and pupils across the country can now be reassured that they will have access to one on school grounds should tragedy strikes.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, said:

We know that quick access to a defibrillator can save someone’s life if they’re having a cardiac arrest.

I’m proud that the government has ensured all state schools have defibrillators, but we want to go even further.

That’s why we’ll be inviting organisations to bid for a share of £1 million of government funding to buy life-saving defibrillators for community spaces, like town halls and parks across England.

Oliver King Foundation founder, Mark King: > We as a family and foundation will continue to strive for change so no other family has to suffer as we are. > > We would like to say a massive thank you to Nadhim Zahawi, Lord Stuart Polak, Jamie Carragher and the DfE for helping us aim for legislation. > > Oliver’s memory will live on and lives will be saved!

Large schools have been provided with 2 or more defibrillators so that they can be strategically placed in areas of the schools where a cardiac arrest is more likely, such as sports halls.

A defibrillator is a machine that is placed externally on the body and is used to give an electric shock when a person is in cardiac arrest i.e. when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood around the body. Prompt defibrillation can help save a person’s life.

The government is also supporting schools in making defibrillators available to the community, with 1,200 external heated defibrillator cabinets being provided to primary and special schools by the end of 2023 in areas of deprivation, where provision is generally lower.

The rollout will build on existing requirements for schools to teach first aid as part of the curriculum, with secondary school pupils being taught life-saving methods such as CPR and the purpose of defibrillators. This rollout will help protect schools and their local communities against cardiac arrest, delivering wider access to these devices.

George Woods, Chief Business Officer for Education and Enterprise at St John Ambulance, said:

It’s fantastic news that our eligible state schools will have this lifesaving technology at their fingertips should it be needed.

Defibrillators are an incredibly important piece of equipment and can often dramatically increase the chances of someone surviving a cardiac arrest.

We are delighted that pupils, staff and visitors to the school can benefit from these devices in the event of a medical emergency until further help arrives.

At St John Ambulance, we know that community first aid saves lives, and this is the perfect example of a whole community coming together to make it a safer place to be.

James Cant, Chief Executive at Resuscitation Council UK said:

It’s great news that 20,000 defibrillators have now been delivered to all state schools across England, it’s now essential that they are regularly checked, registered on the Circuit and always rescue ready.

We need to see more defibrillators placed outside school gates in high-risk areas so they are available to the community, so it’s encouraging to see that 1,200 community facing defibs will be rolled out by the end of the calendar year.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 26 July 2023.

First local areas selected to test initial set of transformational programmes within children’s social care, supporting families through early help.

Dorset, Lincolnshire and Wolverhampton are the first 3 areas to be chosen today (26 July 2023) to deliver the Families First for Children programme. They will test new ways to reform every part of the children’s social care system, helping children to stay with their families in safe and loving homes, whilst protecting vulnerable children where needed.

The programme aims to ensure early help and intervention is available for families with challenges such as addiction, domestic abuse or poor mental health, to help them overcome adversity and stay together where possible, and to identify when to intervene to protect a vulnerable child when needed.

Separately, Brighton and Hove, Sunderland, Gateshead, Telford and Wrekin, Staffordshire, Hartlepool and Hammersmith and Fulham have been chosen to deliver Family Network pilots to find transformative ways to involve wider family members in supporting parents so that children can stay at home with their families.

The programmes, which are the cornerstone of the government’s ambitious and wide-ranging children’s social care implementation strategy, Stable Homes, Built on Love, will transform the current system, focusing on more early support for families, reducing the need for crisis response at a later stage. Funded by £45 million collectively, the 2 programmes will help develop the best practice models for the entire children’s social care system that can then be rolled out across the country.

Stable Homes, Built on Love responds to recommendations made in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, led by Josh MacAlister, the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s review into the tragic deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) children’s social care market review. The findings revealed the current care system is often fragmented, siloed, and struggling to meet the needs of children and families across England.

The areas will work to deliver support to families based on 3 principles:

1. Delivering family help through local multi-disciplinary teams working with partners to provide welcoming and effective support, tailored to the needs of children and families.
2. Where child protection is necessary, it is carried out by social workers with greater expertise and experience, and time to dedicate to the family and child.
3. Greater use of family networks, involving the wider family in decision-making and with them being the first port of call if the child does have to leave the family home.

Brighton and Hove, Sunderland, Gateshead and Telford and Wrekin will start their Family Network pilots this month (July), and Staffordshire, Hartlepool and Hammersmith and Fulham will start in spring 2024.

Local authorities are also encouraged to apply to set up regional care co-operatives, another element of reform first announced in Stable Homes, Built on Love.

Children, Families and Wellbeing Minister, Claire Coutinho, said:

We committed earlier this year to deliver wide-ranging reforms that put strong relationships at the heart of the children’s social care system, to make sure children in care receive the same love and stability as everyone else.

Today, we take a step closer to achieving just that, thanks to the ambition these areas are showing for the life chances of their most vulnerable children.

The programme they are running will inform future reform across England to give every child the best possible chance to grow up in their family, delivering on the Prime Minister’s ambition to support families across the country.

Regional Care Co-operatives will plan, commission, and deliver children’s social care placements and are part of a broader package of measures to transform the care placement market. Further measures include: responding to the Competition and Markets Authority recommendations to provide national forecasting, procurement and market shaping support; supporting local areas to increase sufficiency of placements; introducing a financial oversight regime; and reforming care standards.

To achieve this long-term vision, the Regional Care Co-operatives pathfinders will enable a test and learn approach to find the most effective way of implementing this reform, doing so in conjunction with local government and the children’s social care sector.

Children who grow up in loving, stable homes tend to have better outcomes, which is why the proposals put relationships at the heart of the care system.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 21 July 2023.

Largest ever expansion of free childcare in England backed by fair funding for all age groups.

Nurseries and childminders are a step closer today to rolling out the government’s largest ever expansion of free childcare, as a fair funding formula is set out for the extension of free childcare to cover all ages from nine months to the start of school.

The new formula reflects extensive data gathering on the costs early years providers face in offering places for different age groups and how those costs vary across the country. It builds on the existing formula for three- and four-year-olds, where eligible working parents already receive 30 hours of free childcare a week and all parents receive 15 hours.

The proposed formula, now out for consultation, provides additional funding for areas of deprivation, helping to support families by making sure all children get the best start in life no matter where they live.

It also extends eligibility for additional disability funding and for the early years pupil premium down to nine months old, so providers will be able to access these funding streams for every eligible child receiving free government childcare hours.

The historic increase in funding announced by the Chancellor at Spring Budget has allowed the expected average rate paid to local authorities for 2024/25 to be set at £8.17 for two-year-olds and £11.06 for under twos. This makes the government rate for under twos almost double the average hourly fee of £5.68 charged to parents.

It comes as radically expanded free childcare offers are being rolled out. On top of the existing offers, from April 2024, eligible working parents will get 15 free hours for two-year-olds, from September 2024, 15 free hours will be available from nine months, and from September 2025, 30 free hours will be available from nine months until the start of school.

The offers will help more parents to increase their hours or return to work, as part of wider government support to families to help with rising prices.

Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, Claire Coutinho said:

The Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, just announced increases to the amount we pay nurseries and childminders to offer free hours to two-year-olds. Today we’re giving providers further confidence that the largest ever expansion of free hours over the coming months and years will be properly and fairly funded.

Working parents can start getting ready for a helping hand with costs from the end of maternity leave right up until the end of primary school, with average savings of £6,500 a year if they use the full 30 free hours for their children.

The increased rates will help childcare providers invest in training and development opportunities for their staff, building on the up to £180 million package of learning and qualifications the government is providing to the sector to support the development of the youngest and most disadvantaged children.

As part of the consultation, illustrative local authority hourly funding rates for 2-year-olds and under twos have been set out so that local authorities and childcare providers can see what the proposals will mean for them.

Final 2024-25 hourly funding rates for local authorities for all age groups will be confirmed in the autumn.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 20 July 2023.

The Education Secretary has selected Sir Martyn Oliver due to his successful track record and experience on the front line of education.

The Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan, has announced that she is recommending Sir Martyn Oliver for the post of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills at Ofsted.

Sir Martyn has been selected as the preferred candidate because he is an accomplished school and trust leader with a track record of driving up standards in areas with high levels of disadvantage. He is currently the Chief Executive of Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT), a large multi-academy trust (MAT) which has grown under Sir Martyn’s leadership from 17 academies to 41 primary, junior, secondary and alternative provision academies in the North of England.

He was knighted in 2022 in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for improving the education of thousands of children.

While supported by OGAT, 35 schools have been inspected – 28 have improved their Ofsted rating (including eight which were Inadequate or Requires Improvement when they started working with OGAT and are now rated Outstanding) and six have stayed the same (including two remaining as Good, and one remaining Outstanding). There are 10 schools rated Outstanding in the trust.

He is also a Trustee of the Education Endowment Foundation, the National Institute of Teaching, and the Office for Students and was a founding trustee of the Confederation of School Trusts.

Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan said:

Sir Martyn Oliver has demonstrated exemplary leadership and an unwavering commitment to driving up standards in areas of disadvantage in his time as a school and trust leader.

I want to sincerely thank Amanda Spielman for successfully steering Ofsted over the last seven years, introducing key reforms including hugely important new education and social care inspection frameworks.

I am confident the breadth of Martyn’s experience will enable him to build on this vital work as Ofsted moves into the future.

Under Amanda Spielman’s leadership, Ofsted has evolved, most notably with the introduction of its Education Inspection Framework for schools, early years, and further education in 2019. This has brought a new focus to the importance of a rich, knowledge-based curriculum.

Ofsted has also put a greater emphasis on the quality of the Initial Teacher Education curriculum by introducing a new framework to help build great teachers. Furthermore, it has introduced new inspection frameworks including inspecting Local Authority Children’s Services in 2018, and a new framework for Area SEND inspections with the Care Quality Commission to make sure that education, health and care services for children with SEND are effective, and that all children in care receive what they need, no matter where they live.

More recently in June, Ofsted announced changes to improve the inspection arrangements and reduce pressures on teachers and school leaders following the tragic death of Ruth Perry.

Ofsted has a vital role in maintaining a focus on quality and standards in the context of critical reforms to the education system – including the roll out of T levels, reforms in children’s social care, reforms to Initial Teacher Training and the priority given to evidence-based teacher professional development and the increasing importance of school trusts.

Sir Martyn has the right experience to provide strong direction during this time across the range of Ofsted’s functions, from schools and colleges to childcare providers and children’s services.

Sir Martyn Oliver, Chief Executive Officer of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, said:

I am deeply honoured and hugely privileged to have been recommended for this role. Subject to the pre-appointment hearing, I can promise that I will work extremely hard and very closely with the whole sector so that we can together build on what has been done to date to create the best system in all areas of education, children’s services and skills for the benefit of children and young people.

Working with others, prioritising inclusion, and aiming for the highest standards in all areas have been key principles for Outwood Grange Academies Trust under my leadership and these would remain the case if I am appointed to the Ofsted role.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 17 July 2023.

Schools in England to receive highest ever funding rates in 2024-25.

Schools in England are set to receive their highest ever funding in real terms, totalling almost £60 billion for 2024-25 as the government today announces the extra funding they will receive through the National Funding Formula (NFF).

Mainstream schools in England will receive an average of around £6,000 for each pupil from next year through the NFF, with additional funding for teacher pay coming on top of that. More money than ever before is being invested in schools, ensuring every child gets a world class education.

Overall, funding will be at its highest ever level in real terms per pupil in 2024-25, as measured by the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) – underlining the government’s commitment to education.

This money can be spent on staff salaries, school trips and classroom equipment which will help raise school standards and education outcomes. These increases form part of the additional £9.8 billion being invested in the schools core budget by 2024-25, compared to 2021-22.

This follows news last week that teachers in England have been given the highest pay award for 30 years of 6.5%, following government accepting in full the recommendations set out by the independent pay review body. In doing so, the Government will be delivering on its manifesto commitment to raise the minimum starting salary for teachers to £30,000 from September. This deal will allow teachers and school leaders to call off strike action.

This will support the Prime Minister’s plans to build a better future, where children are given the highest standard of education no matter where they grow up and have the skills they need for the future.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

Providing children with the best education sets them up for a better future, which is why we are funding our schools at record levels and have awarded our fantastic teachers with the highest pay award in 30 years.

This investment means every pupil in England will receive a world class education and our brilliant teachers will have the resources they need to continue to inspire the next generation.

Nationally, funding for mainstream schools through the schools NFF will increase by 2.7% per pupil in 2024-25 (compared to this year), as schools continue to benefit from the additional funding announced in the Autumn Statement.

For 2024-25, every mainstream school will attract at least £4,655 per pupil for primary schools and at least £6,050 per pupil in secondary schools through the NFF.

The schools NFF funding sits on top of the additional funding for teachers’ pay announced in July 2023. The Teachers Pay Additional Grant (TPAG) provides £482.5 million in 2023-24, and £827.5 million in 2024-25 for mainstream schools, special schools and alternative provision schools.

Today’s funding announcement confirms how the vast majority of school funding will be allocated next year, supporting headteachers to meet their day-to-day costs. Schools can use an online tool to see their notional allocations through the NFF, to help with their budget planning.

Funding allocations announced today are key to this government’s plans to raise school standards across the country and as of December 2022 88% of schools were rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, compared to just 68% in 2010.

The Department for Education has also published local authorities’ provisional high needs NFF allocations for 2024-25. This funding, to support children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities, is increasing by a further £440 million, or 4.3%, in 2024-25 compared to this year. This brings the total high needs budget to £10.54 billion in 2024-25 – an increase of over 60% in just five years. The additional funding for teachers’ pay in special schools and alternative provision schools is on top of this.

The high needs NFF will ensure that every local authority receives at least a 3% increase per head of their 2-18 population, with the majority of authorities seeing gains of more than 3%.

The latest data by the OECD shows that the UK invested more than any other G7 nation in schools and colleges as a share of GDP between 2010-11 and 2019-20, showing Government’s continued commitment to prioritise funding the education system.