Management Information Sheet
A Good School for Every Norfolk Learner
Further to my letter of 24 May 2013, I am now writing with details of the pamphlets that give the detail on our refreshed approach to school improvement, 'A Good School for Every Norfolk Learner'.
Over recent months, we have emphasised the need for an increased focus on the standards of education being provided by Norfolk's primary and secondary schools. Whilst the proportion of schools that are rated by Ofsted as 'good' or better has risen quickly since September, a third of our schools are not yet 'good'. There is huge determination from Headteachers, Governors, the Dioceses, Academy Sponsors and the Local Authority to have 'A Good School for Every Norfolk Learner'.
The series of pamphlets are now available at www.schools.norfolk.gov.uk/improvement
The principles contained in the pamphlets have been discussed in many meetings between Headteachers, Governors, the LA and others over recent months, including at Termly Headteacher Meetings and at the Education Service Improvement Board (SIB). I hope you find them useful and informative.
A summary of the pamphlets
Title: A Good School for Every Norfolk Learner
Audience: All those with an interest in the strategy for improving schools in Norfolk.
Purpose: To establish the reasons for accelerating the pace of change and to describe refined approaches to monitoring, intervention and school to school support and challenge.
Title: Challenge and support for improvement in Norfolk's schools
Audience: Headteachers, Chairs of Governors, Governors and Senior Staff with responsibility for school improvement and standards.
Purpose: To set the Norfolk context, to describe the key Norfolk County Council teams that deal with school improvement and to provide a signpost to the various pamphlets.
Title: Towards Good Achievement for All
Audience: Headteachers, Chairs of Governors, Governors and Senior Staff responsible for school improvement and standards.
Purpose: To explain how we monitor and assess the risk of each Norfolk school not providing a good education and how we work towards a system in which every school is good or better.
Title: Intervention for Excellence
Audience: Headteachers, Chairs of Governors and Improvement Board Members of schools causing concern.
Purpose: To explain how the Local Authority (LA) undertakes intervention activity with schools regarded by Ofsted or the LA as schools causing concern. It explains how statutory powers of intervention (As described in DfE guidance in 2012 Schools Causing Concern - guidance for Local Authorities) are used alongside more informal means. It includes detail on how we work with all kinds of schools - LA maintained, Academies, Free Schools - that fall beneath minimum expectations.
Title: Improvement through Partnership
Audience: Headteachers, Chairs of Governors and others interested in how school improvement can be accelerated through various forms of partnership.
Purpose: To explain the LA's role in helping schools to consider and then become part of federations, trusts, Academy sponsors and other forms of partnerships. It outlines work with schools as they seek to improve through structural solutions.
Title: Norfolk to Good and Great (N2GG)
Audience: Headteachers, Chairs of Governors and Staff Development Coordinators of schools that are satisfactory or requiring improvement.
Purpose: To describe this new programme and its work in enabling effective school-to-school support specifically for those schools that 'require improvement'.
Title: Traded Services for Schools
Audience: Headteachers, Chairs of Governors, Governors and Senior Staff responsible for school improvement and resources.
Purpose: To illustrate NCC's approach to providing a range of traded school improvement services.
Title: Commissioning and Education
Audience: All those with an interest in how the County Council and its partners are making the most of resources in order to tackle key priorities, including better education for children and young people.
Purpose: To highlight the ways in which the County Council commissions services for children and young people that will have impact on school improvement in the broadest sense.
SIB has now agreed that the series of pamphlets should be issued widely and, as far as possible, used as the basis for our work together. Given that some of this is new practice in Norfolk, it would be helpful to receive feedback on the details and practical implications of the pamphlets over the remaining weeks of the Summer term. Necessary revisions will be made for the start of the new school year.
If you have comments or queries, please pass these to the colleague mentioned on the relevant pamphlet or to Caroline Ross.
There is much to do in improving Norfolk education for our children and young people. Equally, there are many examples of strong, inspiring and innovative practice on which to build.