News

Parents fear government accountancy rules are severely impacting the chances of getting a care programme for SEND children. Although this has come to light with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) councils, this is a widespread deficit problem, may I suggest, of the government's making.

The Guardian hi-lighted in this recent article that:

'Most councils in England have overspent their budgets on special education needs and disabilities (SEND) since 2015, when the government extended the age range of young people who qualify for Send support without providing councils with the necessary funding. These deficits have fed into councils’ overall education budgets – known as the dedicated schools grant (DSG).'

The government response is that: 

“We are working with councils who are affected by deficits from the dedicated schools grant to ensure they can move to a more sustainable position in the future. “Councils are ultimately responsible for their own finances, but we remain ready to talk to any concerned about its financial position."

“We recognise councils are facing challenges and that is why we have announced a £64bn funding package* to ensure they can continue making a difference, alongside our combined efforts to level up.”

*Michael Gove, the communities secretary, will announce the £64bn support package on Monday, less than a fortnight after he was warned that an unprecedented number of councils are likely to declare themselves bankrupt.

Ofsted school inspections to restart on 22 January after mental health training. The new year starts with the announcement by the new by Sir Martyn Oliver, the new head of Ofsted, that there will be a two week pause in inspections. The Guardian says that we must not 'squander this opportunity' to question the existing Ofsted structure. 'Instead, the highly symbolic switch to a more supportive and less adversarial model of school inspection ought to form part of a broader transition in public services. Schools Week noted that,  'Inspections were paused before Christmas. Ofsted and the Department for Education have until February 7 to tell the coroner what actions they will take over her concerns about school inspections'.

 Tim, the former schools commissioner for London, where he led the highly-regarded London Challenge, and chief education officer for Birmingham and Oxfordshire, died yesterday after a short illness.

The education sector paid tribute to “education giant” Sir Tim Brighouse. Harry Brighouse, speaking on behalf of Tim’s family, said: “He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather and a towering figure in the word of education. Susan Brown, Oxford city council leader, tweeted: “Tim’s contributions to education in our country were immense but all those who knew him will miss him for his wit and kindness. Tim Brighouse (when he was chief education officer for Birmingham)  “became renowned for kindnesses , sending more than 5,000 handwritten letters of congratulations to teachers, and even turning up with champagne to one school after a tough Ofsted inspection. When asked what prompted this, he said: “Blummin’ hell…that’s about being human!

Source: School Week

Tim was NAPE's President and gave most generously of his time to NAPE. You can see and hear him in action at NAPE's 2023 Summit here. 

Where does Ofsted go from here? The BBC poses five questions that need to be answered after the coroner's report of the Ruth Perry inquestion and the teaching Unions ask for an immediate pause to inspections. We know that Sir Martyn Oliver will be taking over from Amanda Spielman on January 1st 2024 as Chief Inspector of Ofsted. So the pressure on Sir Oliver to ring those changes will start in the new year.

'Ofsted seen as toxic and schools should self-evaluate', says inquiry. The Beyond Ofsted inquiry, chaired by former Schools Minister Lord Knight and funded by the National Education Union, called for a "transformational" alteration to school inspections. Read more.

The report can be accessed here.