SCHOOL TO SCHOOL SUPPORT

School to school support can be given in a variety of different ways for a number of reasons. This is one of the roles of a Teaching School.

Such support could include but is not restricted to:

• assisting a school in developing and implementing policies designed to bring about school improvement
• bringing about improvements in the data analysis undertaken by schools
• raising attainment and standards by diminishing the difference for identified vulnerable and underachieving groups
• building leadership capacity
• addressing areas for improvement identified by Ofsted (or by other agencies) to improve the quality of teaching and learning in specific subjects; year groups or teams.

We have a cohort of specialists in a range of subjects and whole school areas. Further details for each SLE can be found here.

If you wish to arrange for an SLE deployment, please contact Jane Kennedy, Director of Teaching School to discuss your requirements in order that brokerage is targeted to need.

Deployment costs per day, in line with national benchmarks:

SLE - £350

LLE - £450

NLE - £550

School Improvement Offer

The School Improvement Offer is a government programme created to assist struggling schools via extra funding and help from national Leaders of Education (NLEs). To be eligible, schools must be one of the following:

• Entering the 2019/20 academic year with a “requires improvement” (RI) judgement for overall effectiveness, or
• Receives a “requires improvement” judgement during the 2019/20 academic year

Schools already receiving support under the 2018/19 academic year offer will not normally be eligible for the 2019/20 offer. However, where a school has taken up the 2018/19 offer and subsequently receives a RI judgement that results in meeting the eligibility criteria for another tier, it will become eligible for that additional support.

Tiers are used to determine the amount of support an eligible school can receive and, for the 2019/20 offer, the tier of support a school receives will depend on its Ofsted inspection history.

Tier 1 – schools with a single RI judgement

Tier 2 – schools with two consecutive RI judgements or schools that receive an RI judgement on their first inspection (where they have no previous published Ofsted rating)

Tier 3 – schools that currently have an RI judgement and have not been rated above RI since 2005, across a minimum of 4 inspections

If a school is eligible, they will be offered up to 3 days of free advice from a designated National Leader of Education (NLE) or equivalent. Tier 2 schools will be offered up to £16,000 of funded support to address the needs identified by the NLE. Tier 3 schools will be offered up to £24,000 of funded support to address the needs identified by the NLE.

The DfE will contact local authorities and academy trusts about schools that provisional data suggest are eligible for support. Schools receive support once their eligibility has been confirmed by the published schools’ performance data. All funded support will be delivered within three terms of the actions being agreed.

The Teaching School Council have a role to play within this Offer by ensuring that eligible schools are provided with the best support possible. They are the body co-ordinating the assistance given and it is they who designate appropriate NLEs to schools where their help is needed most.

Emergency School Improvement Fund

The emergency school improvement fund is a grant to support:

• primary schools
• secondary schools
• middle schools
• all-through schools
• alternative provision and special academies
• maintained schools
• pupil referral units

It is intended to address:

• unexpected or imminent failure
• unexpected withdrawal of planned or existing support addressing failure or imminent failure
• failure where other long-term support options are not feasible

Eligibility criteria

Where schools meet the eligibility criteria below, Teaching Schools can request permission from the RSC to submit bids to the “Emergency Fund”. If you wish to discuss this further, please contact Jane Kennedy, Director of Teaching School.