Devon Association of GovernanceDevon Association of Governance

Spring 2025 Update

EFFECTIVE CHAIRS – Spring 2025

2025 Change coming into focus…

This term the government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will continue its progress through the commons and in addition three new government reform priorities will start to come into focus.  Ofsted will present its reform proposals this month, the curriculum and assessment review should present interim findings by Easter and school improvement reform in the form of RISE teams will begin implementation at the end of this month. Significant change is likely and we will keep you up to date with information as it becomes available.

  1. School Improvement. The plan means that schools will be supported regionally by groups of civil servants and advisers known as Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams. The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that the teams will be informed by the new Ofsted report cards due September 2025 (see below). Based on the findings of Ofsted report cards, schools will be placed into one of three categories and the RISE teams will play a role in supporting schools in the first two categories.
  • For schools with minimal issues, RISE teams will develop a set of local area priorities and will then signpost schools to hubs and leading schools, to help promote the sharing of good practice and support
  • For schools requiring more targeted support, RISE teams will commission help from a supporting organisation with a strong track record of improvement. This supporting organisation could be a trust, a local authority or another local partner. It is believed that the supporting organisation will receive funding to help with providing support
  • For schools needing intervention, there will be no role for RISE teams. These schools will either move into strong trusts or be subject to other appropriate intervention measures, with delivery teams in the Regions Group ensuring it happens.
  1. Ofsted. After their ‘Big Listen’ the following changes have already come into effect:
  • Ofsted now give notice of all routine, graded and ungraded, inspections on a Monday, inspectors visit on a Tuesday and Wednesday and write reports on Thursdays
  • Ofsted new approach to safeguarding means that if a school is ‘good’ or better in all other areas but fails in safeguarding and inspectors think the leadership has the capacity to fix this, they can call the inspection incomplete and return within three months to complete it, withholding judgment in the meantime.

Yet to come…

  • Ofsted to support legislation to allow it to inspect multi-academy trusts, but has not put a timescale on the reform
  • The consultation on introducing school report cards in September 2025 will launch this month and will also consult parents and children
  • Schools will retain their one-word judgements until they have been reinspected under the new report card system
  • Leadership and governance will form a key focus of the report cards: “How well are governors supporting leaders? How well are leaders supporting staff? How well are all of them supporting children in their setting?
  • Regarding the curriculum Ofsted will want to know how well teachers are being developed to deliver it along with pupil outcomes
  • Behaviour and attendance will feature, but should not necessarily be grouped together
  • Inclusion and supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable children will be a key focus
  • Safeguarding will become a separate criteria (no longer under the leadership and governance judgment) to be judged as met or not met
  • Recognising that the SEND system doesn’t work right now, Ofsted will direct schools to be more inclusive and reward those that are doing the difficult job.
  1. Curriculum and Assessment review under Prof Becky Francis, an expert in education policy, should present its interim findings by the end of this term. The government say that they will ensure that the curriculum appropriately balances ambition, excellence, relevance, flexibility and inclusivity for all our children and young people and it will ensure meaningful, rigorous and high-value pathways for all at 16-19. The Review will develop a cutting-edge curriculum, equipping children and young people with the essential knowledge and skills which will enable them to adapt and thrive in the world and workplace of the future. We will of course wait and see what is actually included and report back to you in due course.
  2. Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill has now been published. The bill has just passed its second reading. The 15 key changes are:
  • A maximum of three branded uniform items
  • Flexi-schooled pupils will need to be on council registers
  • Reform of the process for the issue of school attendance orders
  • Special school parents will need council permission for home education
  • First legal definition of full-time education
  • Ofsted will get power to seize illegal schools evidence
  • Teacher misconduct agency scope expanded to include misconduct when not employed as a teacher, but have at any time carried out teaching work
  • Qualified Teacher Status and national curriculum requirement for academies
  • New non-compliance directions for academy trusts prior to termination notice
  • No automatic academy orders for schools causing concern
  • Councils can open new schools (but regional director will decide)
  • National pay rules extended to academies, but CEOs will not be within its scope
  • Legal duty on mainstream state schools to co-operate on admissions
  • Councils get power to direct academy admissions following a refusal
  • Councils can challenge academies’ capacity through a PAN (published admission number).

See a recent schools week article for further details.

5.Funding: Following the budget last autumn, the main discussions around educational funding seem to be linked mainly to SEND. Whilst many local authorities are running significant SEND deficits, it is worth noting that poorly funded local authorities, of which Devon is one still have less money to educate all of their pupils than other authorities. F40 is the organisation that is trying to make this case to government. In the budget the new government announced that core school funding will increase by £2.3 billion a year, broken down as follows:

SEND and AP: £1 billion will be used for SEND and alternative provision (AP). The Treasury predicts it is likely that local authorities (LAs) will use additional funding to reduce in-year deficits. This is likely to eradicate around £865 million from councils’ SEND deficits next year, but this is only a quarter of the total of local authority deficits within High Needs Funding.

Teachers Pay Rise: Of the remaining £1.3 billion, £450 million will be needed to make up the full cost of this year’s teacher pay rise.

School Cost Pressures: This will leave around £850 million left for other cost pressures.

Extra Nurseries: The Budget confirmed £15 million already announced to create 3,000 new or expanded nurseries.

Capital Funding: The DfE will get £6.7 billion in capital funding next year. Of this, £1.4 billion is to deliver on the existing School Rebuilding Programme, which was announced in 2020 and aims to rebuild or refurbish about 500 schools in a decade. This extra cash also includes £2.1 billion for school maintenance, an increase of £300 million compared with this year. £740 million from this pot will create more specialist places in mainstream schools to become more accessible to pupils with SEND.

Other spending commitments: This includes £3 million to expand the Creative Careers Programme, which will help school children learn more about creative career routes. There will be a further £2 million spent on Holocaust remembrance and education, and £300 million for FE.

Still to do: The increase in National Insurance (NI) contributions for employers, increased by 1.2 percentage points from April 2025 is likely to cost school budgets £175-200 million over the next year. The Treasury has indicated that additional funding will be provided to public sector bodies including schools for the increased employer NI contributions. Further detail on this is expected to be set out in phase two of the Spending Review this spring.

While the large numbers quoted are somewhat dizzying, the Annual Report on Education Spending in England: 2024–25 from the Institute for Fiscal Studies provides welcome clarity around educational funding rates. The report is 99 pages long, but regarding overall school budgets, they say…

We estimate that mainstream school funding per pupil will grow by 2.8% in cash terms in 2025–26. We also estimate that school costs will grow by 3.6% in 2025–26 if the pay review body follows the government’s recommendation of a 2.8% pay award for 2025. In this case, schools might struggle to cover their costs without making savings.”

Boards to consider: Does our school have well trained finance governors/trustees and does the board provide full accountability for the funding it receives as evidenced by up to date statements on the school website?

6.Devon Local Authority

Devon Local Authority is still running with a very significant overspend of the SEND High Needs Block and is now part of the ‘safety valve’ scheme to reduce the deficit driven by SEND demand. The grant follows high needs reforms and savings targets agreed for local authorities with the highest dedicated school grant deficits. The Department agreed to pay Devon a total grant of just under £95 million. This funding will be provided in instalments and subject to continued satisfactory progress. Subject to full compliance, Devon County Council should eliminate their cumulative deficit no later than 2031-32. The DfE have agreed to uphold the existing safety valve scheme agreements with local authorities, but not agree to any more. One key area of Devon SEND provision is the recent Ordinarily Available Inclusive Education Framework which sets out expectations of what high quality, inclusive practice should look like for all children and young people in all schools and settings including those with SEND. More information here. Following Devon’s failed attempt to change EHCP processes last term, Devon has committed to undertaking a full review of the current process, paperwork and how they can tailor this to suit whether it is a new assessment or a review, the different types of provision and ages and stages of children. Devon schools should expect SEND provision to continue to be in the spotlight this academic year. DAG has produced a DAG Busy Governor Guide to SEND to bring together all the key information boards need in one document.

Boards to consider: How does the number of SEND children in my school compare with the National average and the Devon average? (noting that Devon has higher rates than National) and are all SEND children within my school supported by a plan for additional provision and do we use the Devon Graduated Response Tool or other appropriate plan throughout our organisation?

Devon Local Authority underwent an Ofsted inspection last term. It was an ILACs inspection (inspecting local authority services for children) focusing mainly, but not entirely, on Social Care practices and outcomes and is an important event in Devon’s improvement journey from ‘inadequate’ in 2020. The report is still to be published but we can expect that Devon will remain under heavy scrutiny.  Our local authority’s reputation has also taken a hit after one of the questions in the Devon schools revenue funding consultation 2025-26 made national headlines. Schools Week reported concerns that Devon County Council were considering introducing a new exclusion levy of £21,000 per pupil to incentivise inclusion. Permanent exclusion rates in Devon are higher than the national average and DCC believed that the charge could incentivise schools with high exclusion rates to explore every possible avenue to keep pupils in school rather than pass the financial burden on to the local council.  The fall out and outcome from the local funding consultation will be discussed at the Devon Education Forum later this month and we will report back.

Boards to consider: Is your board aware of the impact on schools from the work of Devon as a local authority?  Would anyone within your board consider becoming a governance representative on The Devon Education Forum (DEF) where schools debate and directly challenge the local authority?  If you would like more information please contact Amanda Blewett on [email protected]

7.Academy Trusts:

As te relationship between the new government and academy trusts settles down, it is worth considering some of the changes already made. Grants for schools choosing to become academies have now ended and the Department for Education has also said that it has no plans to continue to run its trust capacity and trust establishment and growth funds. The DfE have advised that there are no plans to introduce future rounds of this funding and trusts that had already applied have been told that no funding will be given. Results from the third annual National School Trust Survey, conducted by the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) with Edurio uncovers the main priorities and challenges for the academy sector for the upcoming academic year. The survey covered trusts of all sizes, from trusts with single academies to running dozens of schools and is well worth a read.

8.On Your Governance Radar?

Clerking Handbook. Have you seen the free clerking handbook guide from the National Association of Governance Advisory services (NAGAS)? A practical guide for governing board clerks and governance professionals in maintained and academy schools.  Advice, examples and resources to support this key role within governance. Download a copy at www.nagas.org.uk

Flexi-schooling on the rise and Ofsted are worried by it according to their annual report . Does your school provide flexi-schooling?  Do you know what is involved in elective home education and part time timetables?  Have a look at the DAG Busy Governance Guide to Elective Home Education for more information.

Devon Schools Section 175 Safeguarding Audit is live until 3rd February 2025. The audit should be completed by the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), or in their absence the Deputy DSL and involving the Safeguarding Governor in completing this audit is appropriate. The DSL should report the completion of this audit and any areas for development to their governing board.

Grants for schools on the Devon County Council website page ‘Grants for schools’ over sixty links to grants available. Also remember to stay up to date with general grants available from your local district council, many provide weekly email updates, have a look at their websites for further information.

Environmental Sustainability, by this year, all education settings will need to have nominated a sustainability lead and put in place a climate action plan. The DfE are clear that senior decision makers, SLT and governors should support and drive school sustainable activity. The DAG Sustainability Forum on 24th June 2024 brought together experts to discuss with members how schools can get ready for the Department for Education’s sustainability leadership and climate action plans initiative. The recording is available on the DAG website, click here to watch.

Attendance is still a big issue for all schools ‘Working together to improve school attendance came into effect from August 2024 and is now statutory. Governors and trustees need to engage with their responsibilities around this educational priority, see the DfE School Attendance Guidance Training Webinar, Effective governance that supports stronger attendance.

Music: All schools should have a music development plan, as set out in the national plan for music education and are now expected to publish a summary of their music development plan on their website and then update the summary before the start of each new academic year.

Admissions: It is important that all boards consider if they are compliant when it comes to their role in the admissions process. All schools are requested to review their entry in the Local Authority Admissions Directory and advise on any amendments that are required. Own admissions governing boards and academy trusts should have a meeting scheduled this term to consider the policy. Are you an own admissions authority school? See DAG Busy Governance Guide to Admissions to find out and help understand this complicated subject.

  1. This is definitely not going away. Generative AI tools are to be trained to help teachers create lesson plans and mark homework under a new project announced by the government. Need help understanding this area, then have a look at the presentation on our website: ‘The challenges and benefits of AI in education and governance’ from Julia Adamson MBE– Managing Director for Education and Public Benefit for BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.

Boards to consider:

How do we ensure that we stay up to date and aware of what is happening within the education sector both locally and nationally that will have a direct impact on our school or trust?

9.DAG Supporting Your Governance

In addition to over 150 articles each year and bespoke resources supporting more informed governance, all free to DAG members, we support members coming together online to discuss the latest issues affecting governance. Have you considered our community networks?

DAG Community Networks – Chairs: Support for chairs each term from across the Devon local authority to come together in a free interactive session. Those who attend are chairs of governing boards, chairs of academy trusts and chairs of local academy bodies.

DAG Community Networks – Governance Professionals/Clerks: DAG supports clerks and governance professionals each term to come together in a free interactive hour-long session recognising the key role they have in delivering effective governance.

DAG Community Networks – Governors/Trustees: DAG supports all governors and trustees to come together in a free interactive hour-long session to consider key responsibilities.

Each forum has a theme and is facilitated by DAG board members or associate members with considerable governance experience, dates for this term will be available soon.

Board to consider: Are all opportunities being taken to upskill the board, share experiences and concerns and support all board members and the clerk/governance professional?

Upcoming Events

  • 2025 Forums

    25-02-2025