School effectiveness policy

Ealing Council's school effectiveness policy document specifcally sets out how Ealing local authority carries out its statutory duties in relation to school effectiveness. Log in to view document.

School effectiveness statutory functions

• Overview of educational standards and inclusion
• Quality assurance health checks of schools
• Securing good programme monitoring visits/reviews in the event of any school deemed to require improvement in relation to standards, inclusion, safeguarding or leadership and management.
• KS1 and KS2 basic monitoring/moderation sample schools only
• Instrument of Government and database - maintained schools
• Informal and formal interventions in schools in conjunction with DfE guidance – maintained schools
• Liaison with Regional Schools Commissioner and DfE on structural changes to schools
• Headteacher appointments panel (community schools)
• SEND compliance code of practice
• SACRE Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education
• Children educated at home monitoring

Overview of educational standards and inclusion

We have a key role in monitoring the overall effectiveness of schools, anticipating where schools are at risk of declining standards and brokering/delivering or commissioning appropriate support and challenge to accelerate progress. This role is most effectively achieved as part of a well understood framework for supporting school improvement that brings together a rich programme of central support and school-led programmes.

Officers work closely with the school research and statistics team to monitor the performance of schools and track the progress of groups of learners over time at all key stages. Senior officers also make use of wider management information including budget control reports, governing body minutes, attendance and exclusion reports to support risk assessment processes.

We are expected to anticipate underperformance, challenge schools, broker support and initiate appropriate interventions to secure rapid recovery for its maintained schools. Schools identified for local monitoring (Securing Good partnership programme) may choose to purchase bespoke support packages from the services to schools brochure or indicate if support is to be purchased from other school improvement providers.

If Ofsted judges a school to be inadequate, our proposals are subject to ministerial approval under the 2011 Education Act. (See Schools Causing Concern Guidance for Local Authorities updated 2018). The DfE and Regional School Commissioner are the decision-making bodies in the case of schools judged to be inadequate by Ofsted.

For further detail on how Ealing Council interprets its statutory duties, please see School effectiveness policy (EGfL log in required).

Headteacher appointments

We have a statutory right to advise the governing body at the final interview stage (full panel) of the recruitment processes for community schools. Academies, free schools, voluntary aided and foundation schools usually seek the input of the LA.

Support at final panel stage is offered free of charge to all ELP schools. In addition, governors may wish to purchase the full package of support including initial preparation and planning, stakeholder engagement activities, marketing, selection activities, assessment, and induction arrangements.

Year 1 phonics screening check

We must take reasonable steps to ensure that participating schools follow the STA guidance; this also applies to academies that have an agreement in place with us.

Responsibilities include:

• Ensuring training and advice is available to schools on all aspects of the phonics screening check
• Making unannounced monitoring visits to a sample of at least 10% of schools participating in the check
• Following and complying with the phonics data collection and submission guidance.

KS1 Moderation

We have a statutory responsibility for moderating teacher assessment by ensuring that the judgments made by a school are in line with the judgments of other schools nationally. At least twenty five percent of schools with key stage 1 pupils are included in the formal moderation arrangements once in a four-year cycle.

Academies are responsible for confirming their choice of LA external moderation provider to STA during the autumn term. Academies are treated in the same way as maintained schools in the external moderation process. We must ensure that academies are moderated once every 4 years or more frequently if required, in addition to the 25% sample of LA maintained schools.

Schools with identified needs or other circumstances, e.g. a teacher new to year two, an NQT, a new headteacher, Ofsted category, STA concerns or previous issues are included more frequently.

KS2 monitoring of test administration

We have a statutory duty to make monitoring visits to a sample of at least 10% of schools. The sample will be selected from schools in their authority and others that have chosen to be monitored by the LA. These visits will take place before, during and after the test period.

Monitoring visitors, on behalf of the LA or STA, will make unannounced visits to schools administering the tests. They will check if the school is following the published test administration guidance on:

• Keeping the test materials secure
• Administering the tests.

Schools must allow monitoring officers to:

• See all key stage 1 (KS1) and KS2 test materials, and any relevant delivery notes
• Observe any KS2 tests being administered
• See evidence to show that pupils using access arrangements, for example prompters, scribes or readers, are doing so in accordance with normal classroom practice.

KS2 Writing moderation

We are required to externally moderate a sample of at least 25% of LA maintained schools, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, to validate KS2 writing TA judgements.

Schools with identified needs or other circumstances, e.g. a teacher new to year two, an NQT, a new headteacher, Ofsted category, STA concerns or previous issues are included more frequently.

Academies are responsible for confirming their choice of LA external moderation provider to STA during the autumn term. Academies are treated in the same way as maintained schools in the external moderation process. LAs must ensure that academies are moderated once every 4 years or more frequently if required, in addition to the 25% sample of LA maintained schools.

SEND monitoring

Support services are in place to secure strong leadership for SEND in schools and schools can access peer reviews on request through Ealing primary Teaching School Alliance or through the secondary SENCo network. Challenge on pupil performance, provision and attendance is presented as appropriate in conjunction with the School effectiveness policy (EGfL log in required)

Where there are significant risk alerts that schools may not be meeting their duties in relation to the Code of Practice 2015, the LA will commission a full SEND monitoring visit and report.

SACRE

We are required to:

• Establish a permanent Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education
  • (SACRE) composed of four committees, and to appoint representatives to each of these committees (A) Christian denominations and other religions and tradition (B) Church of England (C) Teachers' associations (D) the LA Establish an occasional body called the Agreed Syllabus Conference to review the local agreed syllabus
• Institute a review of the local agreed syllabus within five years of the last review
• Ensure that the membership of committee A on SACRE and the ASC is broadly representative of the traditions in the area, and that, as far as is possible, the members selected are representative of their tradition
• Fund and support SACRE and the ASC to such an extent that they can effectively carry out their function.

Academies can use the locally agreed syllabus.

Governance

• Check and make the Instrument of Government for all maintained schools and federations of maintained schools
• Provide information and training for school governors
• Nominate local authority governors for all maintained school governing boards
• Arrange for parent governor representatives to local authority scrutiny committees dealing with education
• Establish temporary governing boards for new maintained schools
• Arrangements for the election of parent and staff governors - This may be delegated to the headteacher
• Schools causing concern – appointment of members to an interim executive board
• Schools causing concern – a duty to facilitate academy conversion where the RSC has identified an academy trust to run a maintained school
• Provide advice to governing boards in relation to staff pay
• Ensure that governing boards carry out their safeguarding duties effectively
• Monitor the governing boards compliance with the requirements of their financial scheme

Elective home education

In England, education is compulsory, but school is not. The law allows parents to educate their child at home instead of sending them to school.

The responsibility of parents in elective home education is established in Section 7 of the Education Act 1996: “The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable-(a) to his age, ability and aptitude and (b) to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.”

Our education consultant for children educated at home has a duty to intervene should the education provision be deemed unsuitable. The education consultant makes annual enquiries and offers support and recommendations when requested or if parents are in the initial stages or if there is information to suggest that the education may not be suitable.