Department for Education
 Printable version
|
 E-mail this to a friend
|
National Challenge Strategy launched to ensure more children get better GCSEs
£400m FUNDING AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT SCHOOLS TO IMPROVE AT ENGLISH AND MATHS
Ed Balls today set out the next phase of the Government's School Improvement Strategy - National Challenge - to transform schools, raise results in English and maths, and tackle underachievement by young people.
The Children's Plan sets out that by 2020 at least 90 per cent of children will achieve the equivalent of five higher level GCSEs by age 19.
National Challenge is important step on the way towards this - to meet the goal that in every secondary school, at least 30 per cent of its pupils will achieve five good GCSEs including English and maths by 2011.
In 1997 there were 1,610 schools below this 30 per cent minimum standard; today there are 638 - the National Challenge sets out how we will reduce this number to zero.
Ed Balls announced that he would double the £200m previously announced in the budget to £400m to help local authorities and schools.
The extra funding could mean that up to 70 National Challenge schools could be converted into Academies over and above existing plans, and that up to 120 new Trust schools could be created. This 120 could include 70 National Challenge Trusts where a school links with another high performing school as well as an external partner such as a university or business.
To kick-start the National Challenge, Ed Balls asked local authorities to set out by the end of the school summer term, individual action plans for how they will transform results in each National Challenge school from now until 2011.
The plans must contain realistic expectations of how school exam results will improve in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and assessments of whether their schools are high, medium or low risk of meeting the 2011 goal. He also asked governing bodies to hold meetings as soon as possible to review how they would need to support their Heads and teachers in improving results.
The key aspects of the National Challenge plans are:
* £400m available to support National Challenge schools over the next three years - £200m announced in the Budget - plus a further £200m allocated from existing resources and re-prioritised towards National Challenge schools;
* More one-to-one tuition and study support in English and maths for children in National Challenge schools; plus extra support from National Strategies' experts for weak English and maths departments;
* Additional support for senior leaders in schools to support maths and science departments;
* Highly respected education expert Sir Mike Tomlinson will chair a new National Challenge Panel of Expert Advisers to support low attaining schools. The panel will consist of heads who have successfully turned around underperforming schools, City Challenge Advisers and Directors of Children's Services;
* Each National Challenge school will be allocated a National Challenge Adviser, who will work with the school leadership to develop a tailored package of support;
* By 2011 150 more National Leaders of Education - outstanding super-heads with past experience of turning schools around - will work alongside Heads to help solve problems at the schools;
* The new Masters in Teaching and Learning will be made available in National Challenge Schools;
* As well as Academies, where a school is completely unable to raise their exam results, the Government will encourage local authorities to close the school and replace it with a National Challenge Trust, providing that they forge new improvement partnerships led by a successful school and a business or university partner. The aim would be to give the school and the community a fresh beginning and a break with previous underachievement;
* Encouragement to use tried and tested school improvement models, such as partnerships with successful schools (federations) or partnerships with business or universities (Trusts), so that National Challenge schools benefit from new governance arrangements and best practice;
* The Government will legislate to take new powers to direct local authorities to issue a warning notice where there is clear cause for concern - such as exam results getting worse; to appoint Interim Executive Boards where the school is under a warning notice; and to require a local authority to take on advisory services where there are large numbers of schools with unacceptably low standards.
Ed Balls said:
"Schools have made huge progress. In 1997, there were 1,610 schools where fewer than 30 per cent of pupils gained five good GCSEs including English and maths; today there are 638.
"Our goal over the next three years is to get every school to this minimum 30% standard and to get that 638 down to zero. Every parent needs to know that their local school will get to this basic standard.
"Most areas still have at least one National Challenge school.
"GCSE success is not the only measure of how a school performs, but it is critical - teenagers need these qualifications to go on to further study, work and prosperity. A young person with five good GCSEs will almost always earn considerably more than a teenager who leaves school with no qualifications. Employers expect these qualifications as a minimum.
"I know that teachers in National Challenge schools are working hard often in difficult circumstances. They need more support so that these schools and their children can reach their full potential. We need rapid but sustainable improvement to raise children's aspirations and their job prospects.
"Of course National Challenge schools face real challenges but no child and no school is on a pre-determined path to low results. There are many schools in communities of high unemployment and low aspirations where children achieve excellent GCSE results. For each National Challenge school, another school facing similar problems has already turned itself around.
"I don't want to see excuses about poor performance - I want to see clear plans to raise standards."
Jim Knight said:
"We know that excellent leadership is the route to excellent results. But good leaders need the right support; and good teachers need the space to concentrate on teaching.
"I would like running a school in tough circumstances to be viewed as a plum job for which the best teachers compete."
National Challenge is based on the successful London Challenge scheme, which is transforming results in the capital's schools.
Andrew Adonis said:
"London Challenge is going national. The success of London Challenge shows that targeted interventions work. Since 2003 London schools have had an intensive focus on improvement, with targeted support for different schools. London's inner city schools are amongst the fastest improving schools in the country so it makes sense to learn from that experience."
Sir Mike Tomlinson said:
"I am delighted to be chairing this panel of expert advisers. It is really important that all Local Authorities who need it have access to support from people with expertise. The Panel reflects some of the best names in the business. Everyone should be clear that we are here to provide a source of advice and support to Local Authorities: we're not going to sit around but will expect to get stuck in."
The National Challenge is part of the School Improvement Strategy, the Government's drive to transform education for the long term. Forthcoming plans will look at improving results in 'coasting' schools - where pupils get high results but make slow progress; good schools which have the potential to be outstanding schools; and primary schools.
Many of the local authorities with the most National Challenge schools are those in selective areas where "secondary moderns" face particular challenges. As part of the School Improvement Strategy there will be intensive engagement to raise attainment in these schools where pupils often start school with low aspirations. One of the panel of experts, Richard Wallis, has considerable experience of what turns around attainment in "secondary moderns". 60 per cent of secondary moderns already have results that meet the National Challenge 30 per cent standard.
NOTES TO EDITORS
* National Challenge documents are available at http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/publications/nationalchallenge
* For enquiries please call 0870 000 2288
* The Children's Plan sets out that by 2020 every child will be ready for success at secondary school with at least 90 % at or above the expected level in English and maths at age 11 - and at least 90 % achieving the equivalent of five higher level GCSEs by age 19. The School Improvement Strategy is a key part of achieving these goals.
The National Challenge announces that Sir Mike Tomlinson will Chair a National Panel of Expert Advisers. Other members of the panel include:
* Chief Adviser to Greater Manchester Challenge, Professor Mel
Ainscow
* Chief Adviser to the Black Country Challenge:
Professor Sir Geoff Hampton
* The Principal Adviser to the
City Challenges, Professor David Woods
* Director of
Children's Services, Kent, Graham Badman
* Directors of
Children's Services, Walsall, David Brown
* Directors of
Children's Services, Tower Hamlets, Kevan Collins,
* Dr
Liz Sidwell: Executive Head of Haberdashers' Aske's
Academies
* Sir Michael Wilshaw, Mossbourne Academy and
formerly St Bonaventure's, Newham
* Richard Wallis of
Sandwich Technology College (Secondary Modern Expert)
* David
Kershaw, former executive head, currently Strategic Lead for
Transforming Leicester's Learning.
£400million to support National Challenge schools
* Budget 2008 announced investment of £200million to support National Challenge schools over the next three years. In addition, we are now able to allocate a further £200million of existing resources to the National Challenge. The additional financial support available from Government to help schools and local authorities meet the National Challenge by 2011 will thus be £400million.
* We will provide universal support across all National Challenge schools, including a National Challenge Adviser (NCA) in each school9, at an expected cost of £20million. These Advisers will both support each school directly with their expertise, and will broker a tailored package of additional support for every school. These school plans will draw on £380million of National Challenge funding, and will need to reflect the individual circumstances of each school and their risk of not reaching the 30% benchmark by 2011.
* Lower risk schools will need less support. Higher risk schools are likely to need significantly more support, including structural solutions. Schools and local authorities, working with the Department, will need to identify the appropriate package in each case. The table below sets out an illustrative and feasible scenario for how the funding could be allocated.
Indicative allocation of £400m National Challenge funding
National Challenge Advisers £20m
National Leaders of Education and other leadership support £20m
Teaching, learning and study support £100m
Academies £195m
Trusts £65m
On this basis, we would be able to transform up to an additional 70 National Challenge schools into Academies over and above existing plans. There are currently 83 open Academies, with another 50 due to open in September 2008, and 55 more in each of September 2009 and 2010. The additional
National Challenge funding means that we could now be able to expand the Academies programme to up to 80 and then up to 100 Academies opening in 2009 and 2010. There would then be more than 300 Academies open in September 2010, and Academies would have replaced more than 200 National Challenge schools.
PUBLIC ENQUIRIES:
0870 000 2288
info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
INTERNET ADDRESS :
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk
YOUTUBE
http://uk.youtube.com/dcsf
If you would like to receive email notification of new press notices in the subjects of your choice, please click on 'register' on our site: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk, 'Latest News'.
