Keynote Address: The Role of Regional School Commissioners Sir David Carter, Regional Schools...

Keynote Address: The Role of Regional School Commissioners

Sir David Carter, Regional Schools Commissioner (South West)

“Within the next 3-5 years the South West will be the best region to lead, teach and

educate a child”Sir David Carter

RSC for the South West

What Attracted me to the role of the Regional Schools Commissioner?

Sir David CarterRSC for the South West

Core Aims of the RSC Role

• Monitoring the performance and intervening to secure improvement in underperforming academies

• Taking decisions on the creation of new academies• Ensuring that the sponsor market meets local need

by authorising new sponsors and challenging those that exist to perform even better

The Challenges in leading the new System

• Shift of accountability from Whitehall to the Regions• London to Regions• Regions to Sub Regions• Building the RSC team to be one of the most important

educational teams in academy delivery and performance

• Balance of Autonomy in proportion to Accountability• Post 2010-Maximum Autonomy with Limited

Accountability-”Autonomy from the centre was given to the system”

• Post 2015-Maximum Autonomy with Enhanced Accountability-”Accountability will be provided for the centre by the system”

What does this mean for Academies and Free Schools?

• A different model of accountability• Schools who were above the bar in a centralist

model of accountability will be less secure in a regionalised model

• Best practice identification and transmission will become more closely aligned between the originators of the practice and those seeking to implement it

• Better “joined up” communication between the key stakeholder groups in the region

What does this mean for Parents and Children?

• Every family needs access to a “good” or “outstanding” school within reasonable distance of their home

• If achieved, the choice of school and provider will be richer as quality will be defined by specialism & ethos rather than by results

• The best schools will play a bigger role in helping weaker schools become great quicker than before

• Could an indication of sustained outstanding performance involve how well a school supports another?

• When a school gets into difficulties or is in decline it will take less time to intervene and improve it

• Prevention or Cure?

The HT Board




Priorities for Day 1-100

• Aim 1-Visibility & Communication across the region• Aim 2-Understand the profile of the performance of

academies and free schools following the 2014 outcomes and plan interventions that are needed

• Aim 3-Start to approve academy convertors, MAT applications and broker sponsorship arrangements

• Aim 4-Work with existing sponsors to deliver improvement and support new MAT and sponsors entering the SW Academy arena

• Aim 5-Building of the “Education South West” vision and strategy

Aim 1-Visibility and Communication

• Open Academies and Free Schools• Academies and Free Schools

Principals (Studio and UTC)• SW Free Schools Network as

there are only 18 of them

• School Improvement groups who can be commissioned to deliver support

• Teaching Schools and Maths Hubs and other alliances

• NLE and LLE • Good and Outstanding Schools• Existing MAT with capacity to

support beyond their trust

• Current and Future Sponsors and MAT

• Chairs of MAT• Approved Sponsors without

a project• New sponsors wanting

approval• New pipeline projects in the

SW• National Chains with

Academies in the SW


• Other Key Sponsor Groups• Leaders of the Diocesan groups • University Vice Chancellors• Principals of FE Colleges

• Local Authorities• LA Leaders with oversight of

educational provision• LA Schools so that they are

included but respect the RSC remit

• Beyond the School Networks• Regional OFSTED and HMI• Members of Parliament• Business leaders in the Region

• Events and Meetings to set the scene

• Invite Chairs and CEO from SW MAT to meet in October

• Education South West Seminars across the region sharing practice on improvement themes

• SW System Leaders seminars with national speakers

• Breakfast Meetings for MP, Business leaders and Chairs of MATS

• Free School, Studio School and UTC network

• Education South West Conferences in March 2015

Aim 2-Monitor and Intervene where Academies are under-performing

• What will we do?• Step 1-Update performance database using 2014 outcomes

to update SW Risk Register• Step 2-Determine the rating of Academies and MAT to

prioritise visits and level of challenge required• Step 3-Use EA team & HTB members to visit and review

academy performance• Step 4-Request action plans and commission support &

add capacity in areas where there are no teaching schools• Step 5-Agree monitoring schedule for the year and when

we request scorecard updates

The SW Academy Performance Challenge

• Challenge 1-The performance of Pupil Premium students

• Challenge 2-The “coasting” school that needs to move forward

• Challenge 3-Improving the percentage of outstanding schools in the region

• Challenge 4-Rebrokering Academies and finding new sponsors

• Challenge 5-The performance of our most able students in the region

• Challenge 6-The performance of academies in seaside locations

• Challenge 7-The challenge of the SW rural poverty contexts which is different to the urban challenge

• Challenge 8-Ensuring there are enough groups and individuals able to deliver effective school support in the areas of greatest need

Aim 3-Approve applications to convert, to set up a MAT, determine the best fit for sponsored academies and advise on FS• Free Schools

• Up until March 2015, the RSC role on the application process is to recommend to Ministers, not to decide

• This covers• which projects should be rejected following a paper assessment

and then after interview; should a project be cancelled / deferred because EFA can’t find a suitable site? Should we approve capital expenditure on a project?

• Some of this work is seasonal – there are 3 Free School application rounds every year (but 2015 to be confirmed): the next one starts in October

• We will have a role to intervene in failing Free Schools

Aim 4-Support new sponsor groups who want to enter the Academy arena to add capacity to the SW Region• What we will do

• Meet with existing sponsors and MAT to understand their context and challenges

• Partner existing groups with new groups in a mentoring relationship

• Create sub regional sponsor network groups

• Work with approved sponsors who do not have a project

• Make sure pipeline projects are delivered smoothly

• Work with new groups and trusts who want to gain approval to sponsor new academies and FS

• Good and Outstanding Schools

• Teaching School Alliances• HE and FE• Diocese• Business and Industry

Sponsor Improvement and Sponsor Development

• Get the best from existing sponsors





• Set the expectation for new sponsors




Aim 5-Build the “Education South West” strategy

• What we will do• Engage the system to support the building of the SW

improvement identity• Invite Academy Principals to high quality seminars on key

performance themes and reinforce their role as system leaders

• Build a cadre of potential Principals for the region by working with schools delivering NCTL Leadership suite

• Work with Teaching Schools and HE to ensure there is a pipeline of good teachers entering the profession

• Work with OFSTED to share the vision and accountability for the performance of academies across the region

• Work with business groups to build a “Pool” of trained trustees to join MAT Boards

How will we know we have been successful?

• Children will be performing better in national tests and exams and the SW will be at or above national performance

• More SW Academies and Free Schools will be OFSTED good and outstanding

• 25% outstanding and 80% good

• More academies and free schools will be open providing greater choice and better education for children across the region

• More MAT will have been created to sponsor and support more schools

• 57 in Sept 2013 growing to 75 by September 2015

• A new regional model of system wide school improvement will be recognised as effective by schools in the South West

@IAA2014_15 #IAAConf

“Within the next 3-5 years the South West will be the best region to lead, teach and

educate a child”Sir David Carter

RSC for the South West

What Attracted me to the role of the Regional Schools Commissioner?



• Shift of accountability from Whitehall to the Regions• London to Regions• Regions to Sub Regions• Building the RSC team to be one of the most important

educational teams in academy delivery and performance

• Balance of Autonomy in proportion to Accountability• Post 2010-Maximum Autonomy with Limited

Accountability-”Autonomy from the centre was given to the system”

• Post 2015-Maximum Autonomy with Enhanced Accountability-”Accountability will be provided for the centre by the system”




• The best schools will play a bigger role in helping weaker schools become great quicker than before

• Could an indication of sustained outstanding performance involve how well a school supports another?

• When a school gets into difficulties or is in decline it will take less time to intervene and improve it

• Prevention or Cure?

The HT Board





• Open Academies and Free Schools• Academies and Free Schools

Principals (Studio and UTC)• SW Free Schools Network as

there are only 18 of them

• School Improvement groups who can be commissioned to deliver support

• Teaching Schools and Maths Hubs and other alliances

• NLE and LLE • Good and Outstanding Schools• Existing MAT with capacity to


• Current and Future Sponsors and MAT

• Chairs of MAT• Approved Sponsors without

a project• New sponsors wanting

approval• New pipeline projects in the

SW• National Chains with

Academies in the SW


• Other Key Sponsor Groups• Leaders of the Diocesan groups • University Vice Chancellors• Principals of FE Colleges

• Local Authorities• LA Leaders with oversight of

educational provision• LA Schools so that they are


• Beyond the School Networks• Regional OFSTED and HMI• Members of Parliament• Business leaders in the Region

• Events and Meetings to set the scene

• Invite Chairs and CEO from SW MAT to meet in October

• Education South West Seminars across the region sharing practice on improvement themes

• SW System Leaders seminars with national speakers

• Breakfast Meetings for MP, Business leaders and Chairs of MATS

• Free School, Studio School and UTC network

• Education South West Conferences in March 2015

Aim 2-Monitor and Intervene where Academies are under-performing

• What will we do?• Step 1-Update performance database using 2014 outcomes

to update SW Risk Register• Step 2-Determine the rating of Academies and MAT to

prioritise visits and level of challenge required• Step 3-Use EA team & HTB members to visit and review

academy performance• Step 4-Request action plans and commission support &

add capacity in areas where there are no teaching schools• Step 5-Agree monitoring schedule for the year and when

we request scorecard updates

Aim 3-Approve applications to convert, to set up a MAT, determine the best fit for sponsored academies and advise on FS• Free Schools

• Up until March 2015, the RSC role on the application process is to recommend to Ministers, not to decide

• This covers• which projects should be rejected following a paper assessment




Aim 4-Support new sponsor groups who want to enter the Academy arena to add capacity to the SW Region• What we will do

• Meet with existing sponsors and MAT to understand their context and challenges









• Get the best from existing sponsors










• What we will do• Engage the system to support the building of the SW

improvement identity• Invite Academy Principals to high quality seminars on key

performance themes and reinforce their role as system leaders

• Build a cadre of potential Principals for the region by working with schools delivering NCTL Leadership suite

• Work with Teaching Schools and HE to ensure there is a pipeline of good teachers entering the profession

• Work with OFSTED to share the vision and accountability for the performance of academies across the region

• Work with business groups to build a “Pool” of trained trustees to join MAT Boards



• More SW Academies and Free Schools will be OFSTED good and outstanding

• 25% outstanding and 80% good


• More MAT will have been created to sponsor and support more schools

• 57 in Sept 2013 growing to 75 by September 2015


“Within the next 3-5 years the South West will be the best region to lead, teach and educate a child”


What Attracted me to the role of the Regional Schools

Commissioner?




• Taking decisions on the creation of new academies

• Ensuring that the sponsor market meets local need by authorising new sponsors and challenging those that exist to perform even better


• Shift of accountability from Whitehall to the Regions– London to Regions– Regions to Sub Regions– Building the RSC team to be one of the most important

educational teams in academy delivery and performance• Balance of Autonomy in proportion to Accountability

– Post 2010-Maximum Autonomy with Limited Accountability-”Autonomy from the centre was given to the system”

– Post 2015-Maximum Autonomy with Enhanced Accountability-”Accountability will be provided for the centre by the system”




• The best schools will play a bigger role in helping weaker schools become great quicker than before– Could an indication of

sustained outstanding performance involve how well a school supports another?

• When a school gets into difficulties or is in decline it will take less time to intervene and improve it– Prevention or Cure?

The HT Board


• Taking decisions on the creation of new academies

• Ensuring that the sponsor market meets local need by authorising new sponsors and challenging those that exist to perform even better


• Open Academies and Free Schools– Academies and Free Schools

Principals (Studio and UTC)– SW Free Schools Network as

there are only 18 of them• School Improvement groups who

can be commissioned to deliver support– Teaching Schools and Maths

Hubs and other alliances– NLE and LLE – Good and Outstanding Schools– Existing MAT with capacity to


• Current and Future Sponsors and MAT – Chairs of MAT– Approved Sponsors without a

project– New sponsors wanting

approval– New pipeline projects in the

SW– National Chains with

Academies in the SW


• Other Key Sponsor Groups– Leaders of the Diocesan groups – University Vice Chancellors– Principals of FE Colleges

• Local Authorities– LA Leaders with oversight of

educational provision– LA Schools so that they are


• Beyond the School Networks– Regional OFSTED and HMI– Members of Parliament– Business leaders in the Region

• Events and Meetings to set the scene– Invite Chairs and CEO from SW

MAT to meet in October– Education South West Seminars

across the region sharing practice on improvement themes

– SW System Leaders seminars with national speakers

– Breakfast Meetings for MP, Business leaders and Chairs of MATS

– Free School, Studio School and UTC network

– Education South West Conferences in March 2015

Aim 2-Monitor and Intervene where Academies are under-

performing• What will we do?

– Step 1-Update performance database using 2014 outcomes to update SW Risk Register

– Step 2-Determine the rating of Academies and MAT to prioritise visits and level of challenge required

– Step 3-Use EA team & HTB members to visit and review academy performance

– Step 4-Request action plans and commission support & add capacity in areas where there are no teaching schools

– Step 5-Agree monitoring schedule for the year and when we request scorecard updates

Aim 3-Approve applications to convert, to set up a MAT, determine the best fit for sponsored

academies and advise on FS• Free Schools

– Up until March 2015, the RSC role on the application process is to recommend to Ministers, not to decide

• This covers– which projects should be rejected following a paper assessment




Aim 4-Support new sponsor groups who want to enter the Academy arena to add capacity to

the SW Region• What we will do

– Meet with existing sponsors and MAT to understand their context and challenges



– Work with approved sponsors who do not have a project

– Make sure pipeline projects are delivered smoothly

• Work with new groups and trusts who want to gain approval to sponsor new academies and FS– Good and Outstanding

Schools– Teaching School Alliances– HE and FE– Diocese– Business and Industry


• Get the best from existing sponsors– Partner existing groups with

new groups in a mentoring relationship

– Create sub regional sponsor network groups

– Work with approved sponsors who do not have a project

– Make sure pipeline projects are delivered smoothly


• Work with new groups and trusts who want to gain approval to sponsor new academies and FS– Good and Outstanding

Schools– Teaching School Alliances– HE and FE– Diocese– Business and Industry


• What we will do– Engage the system to support the building of the SW

improvement identity– Invite Academy Principals to high quality seminars on key

performance themes and reinforce their role as system leaders– Build a cadre of potential Principals for the region by working

with schools delivering NCTL Leadership suite– Work with Teaching Schools and HE to ensure there is a pipeline

of good teachers entering the profession– Work with OFSTED to share the vision and accountability for the

performance of academies across the region– Work with business groups to build a “Pool” of trained trustees to

join MAT Boards



• More SW Academies and Free Schools will be OFSTED good and outstanding– 25% outstanding and 80% good


• More MAT will have been created to sponsor and support more schools– 57 in Sept 2013 growing to 75 by September 2015


Keynote Address: The Role of Regional School Commissioners Sir David Carter, Regional Schools...

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