Tag: Department for Education

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 30 November 2022.

Decisions for GCSE maths, physics, combined science and modern foreign languages published following consultations.

Proposals to support students taking exams in some GCSE subjects in summer 2023 have been given the go-ahead after 2 Ofqual public consultations.

Permanent changes to assessment requirements in modern foreign language (MFL) GCSEs will also be introduced.

The outcome of a consultation on proposed changes to the assessment of mathematics, physics and combined science and a consultation outcome on proposed changes to the assessment of MFL from 2023 published today show:

• more than 90 per cent of respondents – including students and teachers – supported proposals to continue to require exam boards to provide formulae and revised equations sheets for GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science exams in 2023
• more than 95 per cent strongly agreed or agreed with proposals in GCSE modern foreign language (MFL) to remove permanently the requirement for exam boards to include unfamiliar vocabulary that is not on vocabulary lists. This will take effect for assessments from 2023 onwards

The Department for Education (DfE) confirmed its expectations for subject content in September. Ofqual then published its consultations on the arrangements for each, while the DfE hosted a separate consultation on minor amendments to the MFL subject content.

Ofqual Chief Regulator Dr Jo Saxton said: “In 2023, students will again have the opportunity to show what they know and can do in exams. We have listened to feedback and today’s decisions, together with some protection on grading, offer the degree of support students need as we move towards normality, while guarding against over-testing.”

Ofqual also today publishes the outcome of its joint consultation with the DfE on proposals to build resilience in the exam system for GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA qualifications. Ofqual and the DfE have decided to introduce guidance to support schools and colleges to gather evidence of student performance that could be used to determine grades, in the unlikely event that exams are not able to go ahead as planned.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 29 November 2022.

Amanda Spielman announces the joint Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) report on the area SEND consultation and a new area SEND inspection framework.

Today, Ofsted and the CQC are publishing our report on the area SEND consultation and our new area SEND inspection framework, which will take effect from early 2023.

For too long, outcomes for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have been poor. Families and carers have had negative experiences attempting to navigate a complex and often adversarial system. By strengthening accountability and clarifying where responsibility for improvement lies, our new framework will act as a catalyst for further improvement now and help areas prepare for future reform.

Going ahead with our main proposals

I would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to our consultation. We have carefully analysed and considered your feedback.

I am pleased that all the proposals received strong approval. Many received over 80% support and some over 90%. We will therefore implement the proposed changes to our new framework. We will strengthen accountability by introducing a continuous inspection cycle and three distinct inspection outcomes. Our inspection reports will set out what local area partnerships are doing well and what they need to improve. We will be clear about who is responsible for making improvements and what they need to do. We will increase transparency by asking local area partnerships to update and publish their strategic plan following each inspection.

I am pleased that 90% of the people who responded to our consultation agreed that our inspections should focus more on the impact that local area partnerships have on the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND. This will be central to our new framework. Our inspections will also consider how local authorities commission and oversee alternative provision (AP), following widespread support for this proposal.

Listening to your feedback: clarifications

While our proposals received strong support overall, we have listened to your feedback and have made some changes to our framework and handbook as a result. These include:

• Clarifying that inspectors will continue to take account of compliance with legal duties – we will focus more on the impact that the local area partnership’s arrangements are having on the lives of children and young people with SEND. However, we have made it clearer that inspectors will continue to take account of the local area’s compliance with legal duties and will report on how it affects children and young people with SEND if these duties are not being met.
• Altering the wording of the first inspection outcome – this will ensure that a local partnership that is performing well in many areas, but may still need to make some improvements, could receive this outcome if it is aware of weaknesses and is taking action to address them.
• Changes we’ve made to gather evidence more effectively from children and young people – we have improved our children and young people’s survey to make sure that the questions are easier to understand. We have also added some multimedia content to ensure that they are more accessible to children and young people with different needs and can be read using a screen reader, tablet or mobile device.

Why not wait for reform?

A minority of consultation respondents suggested that we should wait for the government to implement proposed SEND reforms before updating our framework. We know that large-scale system reform can take many years to implement and embed into practice. It would not be right to wait until reforms are implemented, given the scale and depth of problems in the SEND system. There can be no accountability gap while any new reforms are agreed and put into action.

We know that there are long-standing issues in the SEND system, from both our research and our inspection evidence. These issues include poor-quality education, health and care plans, poor co-production and poor outcomes for pupils with SEND. They existed before the pandemic and have only been worsened by it.

Given the persistent and worsening issues in the SEND system, we have been clear throughout that we cannot wait to act. To do so would risk creating an unacceptable accountability gap in a system that needs to improve urgently.

Future SEND reform

I am confident that our new framework will help raise standards across the SEND system. However, this does not change the need for wide-reaching SEND reform. I look forward to seeing the government’s national SEND and AP improvement plan.

I am pleased that the Department for Education (DfE) is incorporating our and others’ feedback on the SEND and AP green paper and engaging widely to develop its proposals in more detail. I urge the DfE to focus on accountability. The success of a reformed system will depend on clarity about which agency is responsible for delivering each part of the system and how they are expected to work together. It will also be crucial to equip the body/bodies responsible for coordination and oversight with the levers they need to do this. Otherwise, we run the risk of replicating the current system’s weaknesses.

Mainstream education must play a crucial part in this system. A strengthened mainstream offer must focus on a high-quality curriculum and effective teaching for all pupils. Teacher training and development form the foundation for this. The DfE must ensure that all routes into teaching, and further professional development, strengthen the consistency and quality of SEND training so that every teacher is well prepared to meet the needs of all children and young people. There should be a greater focus on pupils with SEND in both the core content framework and the early career framework.

First set of alternative provision thematic visits

We want our insights to help the DfE develop SEND policy. So, we will carry out an annual series of thematic reviews as part of the area SEND inspection arrangements. We will look in depth at particular aspects of the SEND system and share our findings.

Our first set of visits will focus on AP, to improve our knowledge of how it is used in practice, and the extent to which it meets pupils’ education, health and care needs. We want to examine how partners in local areas work together to deliver AP, highlighting and sharing examples of good practice in partnership working. In line with the DfE’s proposals in the SEND and AP green paper, we want to learn how mainstream providers use outreach services to support pupils. We plan to share our findings in autumn 2023. I hope that these insights will be valuable to government, strategic leaders and practitioners alike.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 25 November 2022.

A change to the KS2 test schedule next year will be necessary due to the additional bank holiday in honour of the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III taking place on Monday 8 May 2023.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 24 November 2022.

The first ever set of national data, alongside new investment from Government in high quality maths teaching.

The data shows an average score of 20 out of 25, with full marks the most common score, and follows a new Multiplications Table Check sat by year 4 children across the country over the summer.

The check includes 25 times tables questions, up to 12 x 12, with pupils having a maximum of six seconds to answer each one. It helps schools determine whether pupils can recall their times tables fluently – an essential skill for future success in the subject and day-to-day life. The Multiplication Tables Check is the first statutory assessment students complete online, either on a PC or tablet.

The Department for Education is also announcing funding of up to £59.3 million to continue driving up the quality of maths teaching in schools across the country, in line the Government’s commitment to making sure every child leaves school with a strong grasp of the basics.

The funding will support the continuation of the Maths Hubs Programme through to the end of the next academic year. The flagship programme which started in 2014 aims to reach 11,000 primary and secondary schools by 2023 and 40 hubs across England are now helping schools to improve their teaching quality.

Today’s announcements build on the significant boost to school funding announced in the Autumn Statement last week, with an additional £2bn going into schools’ budgets both next year and the following year.

Schools Minister, Nick Gibb said:

Learning your times tables fluently is so important for children – both for their time in school and in day-to-day life, and today’s data gives us an important benchmark to build from over the years to come.

Mathematics is vital for doing essential calculations like how a higher base rate will affect your mortgage or working out the best multi-pack bargains in a supermarket.

The additional funding for maths hubs announced today is also crucial, as we continue raising the standard of maths teaching across the country and driving towards our target for 90% of children leaving primary school with the expected standard in Mathematics and English by 2030.

Pupils knowing their times tables will make more complex mathematics like algebra and long division simpler to process and give children the platform they need to move on to more advanced mental arithmetic.

The Multiplication Table Checks results show:

Of pupils who took the check, the mean average score was 19.8 out of 25.

25 out of 25 was the most common score (27% of pupils achieved this score) and 24 out of 25 was the second most common score (12% of pupils achieved this score).

London was the highest performing region, with an average score of 20.9.

South West was the lowest performing region, with an average score of 19.1.

Over 625,000 students took the check in the summer.

The results from the data published today will provide teachers with standardised information to help to identify pupils who have not yet mastered their times tables, so that additional support can be provided.

The press release issued by Ofsted on November 2022.

From 2012, schools that had been judged outstanding were legally exempt from further regular inspection, unless there were specific concerns about the school. The exemption was lifted in 2020.

Today’s commentary notes that over 80% (308) of these schools that had a graded inspection last year did not retain the outstanding grade. The majority were judged to be good. However, around a fifth were rated requires improvement (17%) or inadequate (4%).

When selecting schools for inspection, Ofsted prioritised those that had gone the longest without inspection, which for some was as long as 15 years ago. The average for schools inspected last year was 13 years.

When the exemption ended, 43% of exempt schools had not had a graded inspection for at least 10 academic years, and a further 38% had gone between 5 and 10 academic years.

Since their last inspection many of these schools will have experienced significant change, including a new headteacher, new governors, or becoming an academy managed by a multi-academy trust.

Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, said:

Regular inspection gives parents confidence in the quality of their child’s school. Exempting outstanding schools deprived parents of up-to-date information. It also left a lot of schools without the constructive challenge that regular inspection provides.

The exemption was a policy founded on the hope that high standards, once achieved, would never drop, and that freedom from inspection might drive them even higher. These outcomes show that removing a school from scrutiny does not make it better.

There were 3,900 outstanding primary and secondary schools when the exemption was introduced, and 3,400 were outstanding when it ended.

Some 1,400 schools remained outstanding throughout the period because they were not inspected at all and so kept their grade. About 1,900 schools ceased to be outstanding (usually after an inspection triggered by a risk assessment), and 1,500 additional schools were judged outstanding during the exemption period.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 18 November 2022.

An Ofsted report published today, finds that local authorities are struggling to find homes for children coming into care.

Local authorities are struggling with a last minute dash to find homes for children coming into care due to the rising demand for places and a lack of suitable accommodation, according to Ofsted.

In a report published today, Ofsted found that the lack of enough suitable accommodation, and the need to find placements quickly, mean local authorities often struggle to plan for and meet their legal duty to offer sufficient accommodation for children in need of care. Difficulty forecasting demand and the need for urgent placements leaves local authorities with little option but to respond to individual cases as and when they arise.

Some local authorities told Ofsted that a lack of time and resources for forward planning results in a last-minute response when a child comes into care. Even when local authorities can plan, there is often a lack of available accommodation and care for children with more complex needs.

Local authorities also noted tension in their relationships with some private providers and their ‘power’ over the children’s social care market. Some suggested that providers can cherry-pick certain children, making it difficult for them to follow their plan and fulfil their sufficiency duty. Conversely, other local authorities highlighted how positive relationships with providers mean they are better able to find homes for children with more complex needs and negotiate the cost of placements.

Ofsted’s report draws on interviews and focus groups with social workers, regional commissioning groups and other local authority staff.

The research also found:

• local authorities’ knowledge about providers and agencies is often held by individuals, which can be lost when there are staff changes
• some local authorities are concerned about the ageing population of foster carers in their area and their ability to plan for long term placements

Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s National Director for Regulation and Social Care:

Today’s report lays bare some of the challenges facing local authorities when it comes to finding the care children need. More children are coming into care, many with high-level physical and mental health needs. The need to find places for these children quickly overrides local authorities’ long-term planning.

It is clear that these findings are set against the issues affecting children’s social care nationally, and local authorities cannot solve the sufficiency issue on their own. There is a lack of suitable homes in the right places, particularly for children with the most complex needs – this needs to be addressed.

Text of Ofsted Report.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 15 November 2022.

Student loan borrowers will be further protected from rising inflation rates with additional cuts to planned interest rates from September for those on Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans.

Student loan interest rates will now be capped at 6.3% from September 2022. The government intervened in June to protect borrowers in response to the rise in the rate of RPI due to global economic pressures which meant student loan borrowers faced a 12% interest rate in September.

To provide reassurance for student loan borrowers on Plan 2 (undergraduate) and Plan 3 (Postgraduate) loans, the government used predicted market rates to bring forward a cap on interest rates to a maximum of 7.3%. The actual market rate is now 6.3%, so the cap has been reduced to this figure.

By setting an interest rate of 6.3% rather than the expected 12% this will bring down the student loan interest rates by the largest amount on record and will mean, for example, a borrower with a student loan balance of £45,000 would reduce their accumulating interest by around £210 per month compared to 12% interest rates. This is on the total value of the loan, as monthly repayments do not change.

The government is taking every opportunity to protect the public from the rising cost of living and global economic pressures.

Minister for Skills, Further and Higher Andrea Jenkyns said:

We understand that many people are worried about the impact of rising prices and we want to reassure people that we are stepping up to provide support where we can.

Back in June, we used predicted market rates to bring forward the announcement of a cap on student loan interest rates down from an expected 12% and we are now reducing the interest rate on student loans further to 6.3%, the rate applying today, to align with the most recent data on market rates.

For those starting higher education in September 2023 and any students considering that next step at the moment, we have cut future interest rates so that no new graduate will ever again have to pay back more than they have borrowed in real terms.

Monthly student loan repayments are calculated by income rather than interest rates or the amount borrowed. Unlike for commercials loans, repayments will stop for any borrowers who earn below the relevant repayment threshold.

A spokesperson for the Student Loans Company said:

The change in interest rates is automatically applied so customers don’t need to take any action. We encourage customers to use SLC’s online repayment service to regularly check their loan balance and repayment information, as well as ensure their contact information is up-to-date.

For new students from August 2023, student finance will be put on a more sustainable footing. Student loan interest rates will be reduced so that they will not, in real terms, repay more than they borrow.

In response to the rising inflation, the government is providing Cost of living support: help for households to help those struggling to make their incomes stretch to cover the basics. This includes providing 8 million of the most vulnerable households with £1,200 extra support this year, with all domestic electricity customers receiving at least £400. In early July, the National insurance contribution threshold was raised, giving the typical worker a tax cut of up to £330 per year, and millions of low-income households have now received the first instalment of their Cost of living payment.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 14 November 2022.

Thousands more students will benefit from high quality language teaching as part of a programme to boost the number of pupils taking languages like French, German and Spanish at GCSE and A level.

Leading schools in language teaching will form a new Centre of Excellence, comprised of up to 25 schools, which will work with other schools to improve standards of language teaching across the country in line with the teaching methods set out in Ian Bauckham’s 2016 Modern Foreign Languages Pedagogy Review. The programme will be backed by £14.9 million over the next three years, which will also aim to raise interest in studying German.

The programme will deliver on the pledge made in the Schools White Paper to create a network of language hubs and build significantly on the previous Modern Foreign Languages Hubs programme, which was made up of nine lead schools.

Languages are a key part of a broad and balanced curriculum and evidence suggests learning a language has strong economic benefits, including improving international trade. The British Council also identified that Spanish, Mandarin, French, Arabic, and German are the top five priority languages to improve the UK’s skills, security and influence in the world.

This initiative will support the Department for Education’s ambition that 90% of year 10 pupils in state-funded schools study a combination of the core academic subjects as part of the EBacc by 2025, which includes a language.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

In an increasingly globalised economy, it has never been more important for our pupils to be taught modern foreign languages. There is mounting evidence which shows the economic benefits of learning an additional language.

This programme will give teachers the rigorous training and knowledge they need to support pupils in learning some of the most prominent global languages such as French, German and Spanish.

The Centre will be overseen by a centre of language teaching expertise – which could be a range of institutions including a trust, university or business – and will bid for the contract launched today (Monday 14 November).

The scheme will also raise the profile of learning German in schools including increasing awareness of the benefits of studying it, by setting up a German Promotion Project. Included within the investment, this project worth £400,000, will involve increasing the number of German teachers in schools and will champion German as a subject.

The Department has successfully launched Hubs Programmes for other subjects in the curriculum including English and mathematics, linking schools across the country to subject specialist schools – also known as Lead Hubs – which can support in increasing the quality of teaching.

The Lead Hubs will engage with schools to improve the languages offer and ensure more effective transition from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3, as well as ensuring pupils aged 14-18 from all backgrounds have the opportunity to study languages through to Key Stage 5.

The press release issued by Ofsted on 9 November 2022.

Ofsted has today published findings from a thematic survey of the quality of education provided in Skills Bootcamps.

Ofsted’s survey found that, while learners value the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge on Skills Bootcamps, there are a number of areas that need to improve.

Skills Bootcamp courses run for up to 16 weeks and form part of the government’s commitment to helping adults learn the necessary knowledge and skills for new jobs in expanding sectors, such as digital, engineering, construction, manufacturing and green technologies.

Ofsted’s report finds that, overall, leaders have developed a wide range of digital and technical Skills Bootcamps to help people move into sectors where there are skills shortages. In most cases, they are responsive to meeting employers’ skill needs.

Most providers organised the curriculum appropriately and used learning resources and materials of a high quality. They included opportunities for learners to develop their personal and professional behaviours and gain a range of skills, in addition to learning the vocational content of the course.

However, we found that the quality of teaching was not consistently high and assessment practice was often weak. Too many providers did not carry out rigorous initial assessments, meaning leaders and managers cannot fully or accurately measure learners’ progress.

Among the other concerns identified, there were a minority of providers that were planning courses that do not allow learners enough time or opportunity to master skills or develop their understanding to a suitable level. Some leaders had not made sure that each learner was guaranteed a job interview. At a few providers, the overall purpose of the programmes was unclear.

Today’s report was commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) to help understand how well Skills Bootcamps are delivering a good-quality education. The report draws on findings from visits to 14 providers that were delivering the accelerated skills programme. The survey visits took place between January 2022 and March 2022.

We have agreed with the DfE to inspect Skills Bootcamps as part of our regular inspection of further education and skills providers, from April 2023.

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, said:

These courses provide good opportunities for adults to learn new skills in sectors vital to our economy, but it is important that all courses are of high quality and that they lead to jobs.

I welcome the DfE’s agreement for Ofsted to inspect Skills Bootcamps as part of our regular inspections. This will support the government’s approach to tackling skills shortages in England by ensuring that learners and employers benefit from well-planned and effective programmes.