Schools White Paper, Opportunity for All, sets out plans to make sure every child can reach the full height of their potential
Any child who falls behind in maths or English will get the support they need to get back on track, as part of a pledge the Education Secretary will make to every parent in the country today (Monday 28 March), as he launches the first Schools White Paper in six years.
Schools will identify children who need help, provide targeted support via a range of proven methods such as small group tuition, and keep parents informed about their child’s progress.
The Parent Pledge will support the government’s Levelling Up mission for education, previously set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, for 90% of primary school children to achieve the expected standard in Key Stage 2 reading, writing and maths by 2030.
In 2019, only 65% of children achieved this standard, with the covid pandemic exacerbating challenges despite the incredible work of parents and teachers during this time.
A second ambition for secondary schools aims to see the national average GCSE grade in both English language and maths increase from 4.5 in 2019 to 5 by 2030.
The Schools White Paper sets out a series of new measures to support the delivery of these ambitions, including:
If achieved, the wider benefits of pupils in 2030 meeting the Key Stage 2 and GCSE ambitions are estimated to be worth at least £30 billion each for the economy.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said:
Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the Education Select Committee said:
Other plans in the White Paper to deliver on the missions for children’s attainment at the end of primary and secondary include:
The SEND and alternative provision green paper will launch tomorrow (Tuesday) and build on the Schools White Paper by setting out a national vision for more inclusive culture and practice in mainstream schools, helping the workforce to adapt to every pupil’s needs.
John Jolly, Chief Executive of Parentkind, said:
Dame Rachel de Souza DBE, the Children’s Commissioner said:
Local authorities are to be permitted to establish trusts and gain the legal power to request their non-academy schools join a trust, where that is the right approach for local schools.
The government plans to support schools that have received two consecutive Ofsted judgements of below ‘Good’ to join strong trusts – a significant step up from the current requirement for Inadequate local authority maintained schools to do so. The initial focus will be on schools in the 55 Education Investment Areas, as these are the locations where the most support is required area-wide.
The government will make £86 million available to grow and strengthen multi-academy trusts over the next three years, with a particular focus on Education Investment Areas. Across a subset of 24 priority Education Investment Areas – including all previous Opportunity Areas – which have some of the highest rates of disadvantage in the country, a further £40 million of additional funding is to be provided for bespoke interventions to address local needs, such as high absence rates.
As part of a review to launch in the summer looking at accountability and regulation of trusts, the department will consider how best to hold trusts accountable against a new strong trust definition, focused on the quality and inclusivity of the education they provide, how they improve schools and maintain their local identity, how they protect value for money for the taxpayer and how they develop their workforce.
Sir Hamid Patel CBE, Chief Executive of Star Academies, said:
Sir Dan Moynihan, Chief Executive of Harris Federation, said:
Leora Cruddas CBE, Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, the sector body for academy trusts, said:
Director of Children’s Services at Kent County Council, Matt Dunkley, said:
Updated data published today shows pupils continue to make progress following the pandemic with the support of the education recovery programme, now worth nearly £5 billion.
By Autumn 2021, the average primary school pupil was 1.9 months behind in maths compared to 2.8 months in the summer, whilst the average primary school pupil was 0.8 months behind in reading, compared to 0.9 months behind in the summer.
The new tools and interventions set out in the White Paper will make sure every teacher, school and trust in the country is focused on identifying children who remain at risk of not meeting their potential, and providing them the right combination of academic, pastoral and specialist support they need to thrive.