Josh Mitchell, head of sales with Spyro Management Ltd, takes a look at the Department for Education’s schools white paper – Opportunity for All
The Department for Education has published its schools white paper Opportunity for All which outlines a number of key aims to improve the UK’s education offering over the next few years.
Of course, this publication is tied to the government’s Levelling Up white paper which was published in February and promises to see 90% of primary school children achieving the standard in reading, writing and maths by 2030. There was an expectation that this – the first schools’ white paper in six years – would expand on how this mission would be delivered, especially coming after two years of pandemic-disrupted education.
What are the aims?
One of the flagship policy announcements is that, by 2030, all children will benefit from being taught in a school in, or in the process of joining, a strong multi-academy trust, which will help to transform underperforming schools and deliver the best possible outcomes for children.
The Department for Education has responded to initial queries around these aims, stating that it does not expect MATs to suddenly grow in size. It says that it will work to ensure that MATs only expand when they have the capacity to do so, and that decisions will be based on what is best for individual schools and pupils.
At Sypro we have a strong understanding of multi-academy trusts, their ways of working, pressure points and processes. We understand how effective management systems can be in helping reduce certain pressures across teams when it comes to the behind-the-scenes work, allowing school staff to focus on their primary job – educating the next generation to the best possible standards.
The pressures on education institutions and staff are innumerable, and this white paper seems likely to intensify this further with several announcements such as the revelation that Ofsted will inspect every school by 2025, including the backlog of ‘outstanding’ schools which haven’t been inspected for many years.
The education system has, for a long time, put its greatest focus on grade outcomes, but we must remember that schools are responsible for so many other things such as health and wellbeing, safeguarding, condition and assets, to name just a few.
If we overlook the broader responsibilities, there is a risk that the pressures of bringing all schools into an academy format over the next eight years will mount to a point where teachers and teaching standards suffer, thus impacting results.
The white paper has aims to deliver half a million teacher training and development opportunities and there is also a proposal to increase education time to a 32.5-hour week. Longer school days are meant to foster more learning but, with this increase equating to just 15 minutes a day, we must question if this is the best route to improved results; focusing on processes, environments and other areas could positively improve the learning environment with a stronger impact.
Is there enough funding?
As with any government guidance and intention, there is always a debate around funding, and whether what has been promised is enough. When it comes to education, there is always a shortfall, so any system that can help manage processes will be invaluable over the coming years. If a system – such as Spyro’s Risk Manager – can automate any of those processes, it will work towards keeping the pressures on teachers as light as possible so that they can focus on improving outcomes.
Another key element will be effective leadership. Schools not currently in a multi-academy trust will need somewhere to look to for guidance. Existing MATs need to play a part in the process even if they are not able to take on new schools, and any high performing trust could be used as a figurehead to create a blueprint of what ‘good’ looks like.
Ultimately, the aims of Opportunity for All are noble. The key will be ensuring the necessary investment and guidance are there.
Simply saying ‘academise’ without the necessary guidance and systems will not be enough.
This is a sponsored article, brought to you by Spyro Management Ltd. To find out more about Spyro’s products and services, contact them in one of the following ways:
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