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Education Leaders' Guide to...the Year: November

image of november calendar

For busy school leaders, forewarned is forearmed. So we’ve revised the timetable we published at the start of the academic year to indicate, as far as possible, what developments to expect over the coming months.

 

The major event is likely to be the publication of the White Paper on Education. The Department for Education says no date has yet been set for this, but indications suggest it will be the first three weeks in December. Given the number of announcements planned for that month, this looks like the likeliest scenario.

 

The Government’s plans for its next education bill are equally opaque, but a single hint on its new transparency website does suggest legislation beginning in January 2011. This would be fast, but not impossible considering the speed of the Academies Bill back in the summer.

 

Otherwise, the Coalition plans to push forward on its major plans for education: promoting academies and free schools; developing the pupil premium; tweaking teacher training and pay and conditions; tightening up on discipline; developing a new curriculum; developing citizen service for teenagers and relaxing bureaucracy. 

 

November 2010

  • Removing bureaucracy: second announcement due
  • Ofsted: work begins on developing a streamlined school inspection framework and guidance.
  • Pay and conditions: DfE starts work to revise teacher standards and performance management regulations.

 

December

The Education White Paper is likely to be published, and many of the following announcements may appear within its pages.

  • SEN: DfE publishes green paper on special educational needs and disabilities
  • Capital spending: DfE completes review of all capital programmes to ensure affordability and value for money, and publishes options for future revenue funding for schools in the Schools White Paper. It also plans to start work on a reform of capital funding in the light of the review.
  • Academy status: a “wider group of schools” will be able to start applying for academy status
  • Pupil premium: Complete development work on this by identifying eligibility criteria, the model and sources of funding. Consult with stakeholders on how it will work.
  • National Curriculum: DfE starts review and consultation on new primary and secondary curriculum.
  • Reform of qualifications: the DfE completes proposals for this, including the English Baccalaureate
  • Bureaucracy: DfE announces policy changes including plans to remove requirements currently enshrined in law after a review of key policies, duties and guidance.
  • Vetting and Barring: DfE, Home Office and Department of Health complete review of Vetting and Barring scheme and “scale it back to commonsense levels.”
  • Discipline: DfE announces new discipline strategy, which will include removing need for detention to be preceded by a letter home, anonymity for teachers facing false allegations, and innovations on bullying in schools.
  • Quangoes: DfE announces what will happen to functions currently carried out the the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency and the General Teaching Council for England. Some activities will transfer to the DfE.
  • Teacher training: DfE publishes proposals to improve the quality of the school workforce by improving initial teacher training and continuing professional development, and by creating new programmes to attract trainees, including former members of the armed forces.
  • Independent review begins on the commercialisation and premature sexualisation of childhood.
  • Child Poverty: DfE starts to develop a new strategy, plus a new approach to turning around dysfunctional families. 

January 2011

New Education bill is likely to be introduced to Parliament, including sections on discipline; legislation to abolish the QCDA, the GTCE, the SSSNB; and reforming Ofqual and Ofsted.

  • Free Schools: school building guidance revised to make it easier to set up Free Schools
  • Health and Safety: DFE to encourage schools to undertake personal development activities for their pupils in the light of Lord Young’s review.
  • Mental health: DFE to develop and publish a mental health strategy to include improved support for children and adolescents with the Department of Health
  • House of Commons Select Committee on Education is likely to produce its report on behaviour and discipline in schools.

 

February 2011

  • Free schools: Government amends planning guidance to increase number of potential sites for new schools
  • Apprenticeships: plans to improve these announced by DfE

 

March 2011

  • Academies : DFE to identify and match new sponsors for underperforming schools to become academies in the 2011/12 academic year
  • University Technical Colleges: DFE introduces proposals on how to introduce these colleges for students aged 14 to 19. They will specialise in technical studies and will be sponsored by a university, offering full time courses which combine practical and academic studies.
  • Pay and conditions: DFE starts work on new proposals.
  • Early years: DfE to start implementing the new Single Funding Formula for 3-4 year olds, and announces proposals to include the quality of the workforce.
  • Young people: DfE announces proposals to enable a wider range of providers to offer services.
  • Completion of Child Poverty Strategy
  • The House of Commons Select Committee on Education is likely to publish its report on the role and performance Ofsted in March or April.

 

April 2011

Education Act may be passed this month

  • Pupil premiums: Schools receive first payments
  • Bureaucracy: burdens in secondary legislation removed, probably by passing of new Education Act.

 

May 2011

  • Children at risk of harm: DfE completes feasibility study of a service to help those working with children support those at risk of harm.

 

Spring 2011

  • Dame Clare Tickell’s Early Years Foundation Stage Review reports. Changes will not be implemented until September 2012.  

 

June 2011

  • Reading tests for six year olds: DfE starts pilots
  • Ofsted inspections: new streamlined inspection framework and guidance for schools completed.
  • SATS: final report of Bew review published

 

July 2011

  • DfE to give model advice on using pupil premium resources to raise achievement

 

August 2011

  • New school development: DfE to establish a revenue funding model
  • Apprenticeships: Expanded and improved programme starts

 

Sept 2011

  • First Free Schools open
  • Pupil premium funds transferred to schools
  • First University Technical Colleges opened
  • Pay and conditions: DfE publishes revised teacher standards and performance management regulations
  • Publication of first annual figures of Teach First teachers.

 

October 2011

  • Pupil premium: First annual data released on proportion of pupils receiving Pupil Premium in each school.

 

December 2011

  • Ofsted: school inspection system reformed.

March 2012

  • National Curriculum: review and consultations end. Curriculum then finalised before legislation by July 2012
  • Quangoes: Closure of QCDA and GTCE
  • Reform of local authority children’s services inspection regime

 

September 2012

  • Free Schools: DfE publishes document outlining lessons learned from opening first tranche.
  • Pay and Conditions: DfE completes work on its proposed changes.
  • Pupil Premium: Department for Education starts to evaluate initial findings
  • National Curriculum: documents arrive in schools to give a year’s preparation time
  • National Citizen Service: pilots will have been completed before roll out in 2013.

 

April 2013

  • National Citizen Service begins

 

September 2013

  • National Curriculum: being taught in schools.  
Susan Young, new pic

Susan Young is an education journalist.

Page Published: 12/11/2010