Schools Week

For some, it means making assessments easier. For others, it’s something that only really matters for SEND students. In reality, accessibility is about ensuring any student can demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding without unnecessary barriers getting in the way. Done well, it strengthens fairness, validity and confidence in assessment. As student needs continue to become more diverse, accessibility has become much more than a technical assessment issue.

It would be “fine” for government SEND reforms to create more specialist provision packages underpinning future education, health and care plans than first planned, a top official has said. An expert panel led by inclusion tsar Tom Rees is currently drawing up specialist provision packages (SPPs) which will inform what support is needed for pupils with complex needs before an EHCP is issued. The Department for Education said in February that it would develop seven of these packages.

A well-known CEO who oversaw his academy trust’s growth from three to 21 schools is set to step down, as his chain moves ahead with a large merger. Chiltern Learning Trust boss Adrian Rogers is due to leave the role he has held since 2015 at the end of this academic year. The announcement comes as his organisation prepares to join forces with 22-school chain Inspiring Futures through Learning (IFTL). The new trust will be led by IFTL chief Sarah Bennett.

The ASCL school leaders’ union has said it has no confidence in Ofsted’s leadership to “address the damage being done by the new inspection system” following a vote of its ruling council. The union has also agreed to survey members “on whether to hold an indicative ballot on industrial action if change is not forthcoming”, calling for a pause to inspections so Ofsted can “review the inspection system as a matter of urgency”.

At least six councils with combined SEND deficits of about £195 million have been told to revise their reform plans in exchange for a government bailout. The Department for Education this week said it had approved the reform plans of more than nine in 10 local SEND partnerships – which include councils and health bodies. They are now eligible for a 90 per cent bailout of their dedicated schools grant deficits up to March this year.

Academy trusts are using Ofsted grades, in-house pay scales and length of service to justify bumper salaries for chief executives, sparking concerns they have been “forced to write their own rules”. In July, the Department for Education named and shamed 56 trusts for high executive pay, ordering them to explain how the salaries were “defensible” and represented “good value for money”.

Almost nine in 10 schools warn Ofsted inspections are having a negative impact on staff wellbeing, according to a study commissioned by the watchdog to evaluate its renewed framework. Ofsted commissioned IFF Research to carry out an independent evaluation of its new education inspection framework (EIF), for schools, early years settings, and FE colleges.

Ministers will consider whether any extra “safeguards” are needed in future SATs procurements, following failures by contractor Pearson this summer. The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) has begun early market engagement to “inform the assessment of our options” for delivery of primary school tests, according to a contract notice.

Ministers plan to introduce a certification model to assess standards for education technology products to help schools choose safe tools for the classroom. The Department for Education will consult on an ed tech certification scheme, but it is unclear when this would be put in place if it goes ahead, or what the specific standards would be.

The government’s school performance website will shut down shortly, amid hopes its replacement will be a “key part of the school accountability system”. Visitors to the compare school and college performance (CSCP) site have been met with a message stating it will close “soon”, with a new service set to launch this autumn. The Department for Education has refused to reveal more.