13th December 2024
I would like to acknowledge and thank you for your comments and feedback regarding the finance consultation and in particular the ‘exclusion levy’. I want to emphasise that this was a consultation process, and your feedback will be actively considered in the Devon Education Forum’s decision-making process.
Reflecting on the system through the lens of the proposal, it is clear that we are in a very challenging time and that our partnership has to be improved. Everyone involved in Education has always known that all behaviour is communication, however we haven’t always been able to reflect on system behaviour with the same insight. The £21k per permanent exclusion proposal that will be voted on as a local agreement in January has upset, intrigued, angered and frustrated school leaders in ways that were not intended. Those emotions are real and they have elicited a variety of responses that need to be truly understood.
The emotions articulated directly to me, and through formal response to the consultation, indicate that there is a problem with the relationships in the partnership. Indeed, it is patently obvious to me that we haven’t established an effective and coherent partnership focussed on Devon’s children and young people. To address the challenge that we all have, and need to own, we have to improve relationships and work really hard at ensuring that those relationships are trusted at all levels.
I will be working closely with DCC colleagues to explore ways that we can be active partners in the enhancement, creation and maintenance of relationships and partnerships. These partnerships will need to have shared ownership of the responsibility to develop communities capable of including all of Devon’s children, helping them to flourish and thrive in times that all of us are finding difficult.
In today’s world the Local Authority cannot be the dominant agency in these partnerships, indeed when we are developing partnerships around children there shouldn’t be a dominant force. I think there needs to be shared understanding of all of our roles and responsibility to educate all of Devon’s children. I sense that this conversation is long overdue, but I am really looking forward to having it and I sense that optimism in most of the colleagues that I have met so far.
We are all aware that the conversation will be about exclusions, well-being, funding, provision, reform and outcomes. We need to commit to have the conversation and create the partnerships and community responses to address the challenge together. To do this we need to make sure that children, families, staff, teams, schools, settings, federations, trusts and council feel increasingly Seen, Safe, Soothed and Secure.
I am confident that as our partnership becomes more aware of how individual and systemic behaviour is driven by unmet needs, and that the best way of addressing this behaviour is to improve trusted relationships, we will actually create the environments where all children can thrive.
Thank you as always for your continued dedication and support as we work together to meet the needs of Devon’s Children and Young People.
Best Wishes
Jack Newton
Interim Deputy Director, Head of Inclusion and Learning
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Set up or Join an Academy Trust - added information about the academy conversion support grant ending from 1 January 2025.
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Statistics: Multiplication Tables Check Attainment - statistics on the multiplication tables check with breakdowns by pupil characteristics, at national and local authority level.
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Initial Teacher Training (ITT): Criteria and Supporting Advice - updated to reflect changes to the ITT general mentor training time requirements, and additional clarifications on the 80% contact ratio time requirement for part-time ITT courses.
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Breakfast Clubs Early Adopters Scheme - updated who is eligible, expectations for participants and how schools can apply.
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Academies Land and Buildings Collection Tool - updated to highlight the LBCT deadline has now passed.
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Schools Urged to Sign up for Free Breakfast Club Rollout - applications open for 750 schools to join “early adopter” rollout and support local children to start the school day ready to learn.
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Submit a School Land Transaction Proposal - updated the page to remove out of date content. Also updated the “School Land Transactions: Guidance” to confirm that Forms A, B and J should now be completed through the Land Transaction portal. Added a link to the Land Transaction portal. Also added a new section on “Nurseries”. Also added 3 new documents: “The School Land General Disposal and Change of Use (Childcare) Class Consent 2024”, “General Consent Order (GCS): School Based Nursery – notification form” and “Form N – Disposals of School Land for a School-Based Nursery Provision”.
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Monitor your School Attendance: User Guide - added “Monitor your School Attendance: How to use the Absence Bandings Report”.
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Education and Training Statistics for the UK: 2024 - data on schools, attainment, qualifications gained, education expenditure, further education and higher education in the UK.
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A Level and Other 16 to 18 Results: 2024 (provisional)- the attainment of students at the end of their 16 to 18 study in England.
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Schools Block National Funding Formula: Split Sites Funding - updated to show the most recent list of schools eligible for split site funding
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National Funding Formula for Schools and High Needs: 2025 to 2026 - details of the funding system for schools and high needs from 2025 to 2026.
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National Funding Formula Tables for Schools and High Needs: 2025 to 2026 - tables showing provisional allocations for the schools, high needs and central school services blocks from 2025 to 2026.
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Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Bursary: Funding Manual - added “Initial Teacher Training Bursaries Funding Manual: 2025 to 2026 academic year”.
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School Census 2024 to 2025: Technical Information - updated the business and technical specification, annexes and validation rules. Details of the changes are described in the version histories.
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Initial teacher training reform funding guidance - Added ‘General mentor training: additional guidance’ to explain how placement schools can apply for a training grant, and the assurance activities providers and placement schools need to undertake. Updated ‘Initial teacher training (ITT): reform funding guidance’ to correct minor formatting issues.
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Secretary of State reply to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel - The Secretary of State for Education responds to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s review into child sexual abuse within the family environment
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Schools' responses to financial pressures 2023 - Research on what schools and trusts do when they experience financial pressures.
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A process evaluation of the English Hubs Programme - Research report covering views of hubs and their partner schools on how the programme was delivered and experienced.
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School and trust business professional practice – making a difference - Research looking into the practices that multi-academy trusts (MATs) find most effective for managing school resource and adding value.
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Working lives of teachers and leaders: wave 3 - A summary report of early findings from the third wave of the working lives of teachers and leaders survey.
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Relationships, sex and health education: 2020 curriculum implementation - Updated ‘Relationships, sex and health education implementation of the 2020 curriculum guidance in school’ to add acknowledgements.
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Engagement with the Maths Hubs Programme - A management information report and data about primary and secondary school engagement with the Maths Hubs Programme
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Teachers’ pension scheme payments: 2024 to 2025 - Added ‘Teachers’ pension scheme payments: September 2024’.
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Secondary school performance data in England: 2024 - Accredited official statistics announcement - GOV.UK- The achievements of pupils at key stage 4, at school level, local authority area and in England.
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Submit a School Land Transaction Proposal – added a new section on “Nurseries”. Also added 3 new documents: “The School Land General Disposal and Change of Use (Childcare) Class Consent 2024”, “General Consent Order (GCS): School Based Nursery – notification form” and “Form N – Disposals of School Land for a School-Based Nursery Provision”.
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Submit a School Land Transaction Proposal – added a new section on “Nurseries”. Also added 3 new documents: “The School Land General Disposal and Change of Use (Childcare) Class Consent 2024”, “General Consent Order (GCS): School Based Nursery – notification form” and “Form N – Disposals of School Land for a School-Based Nursery Provision”.
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Copyright Licenses for State Schools in England – updated with information on new licence agreements renewed for 2024 to 2025 and the department’s expectations for schools on reporting usage of copyright materials.
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Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2023: England – England’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2023 results, with an international comparison of performance of pupils in years 5 and 9.
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Subject Knowledge Enhancement: An Introduction – the “SKE Funding” section has been updated for the 2024 to 2025 academic year and have more clearly separated the eligibility and bursary information for both UK and non-UK applicants.
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New Specialist Places to be Created in Mainstream Schools – major reforms to SEND system kicked off with £740million capital investment to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.
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Buy Musical Instruments, Equipment and Technology – use this framework to buy musical instruments, equipment and technology from DfE approved suppliers.
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Initial Teacher Training: Trainee Number Census 2024 to 2025 – provisional recruitment to Initial Teacher Training programmes in England in the academic year 2024 to 2025.
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Pupil Attendance in Schools – statistics updated to include data covering the period 9 September 2024 to 22 November 2024.
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Secondary School Performance Data in England: 2023 to 2024 – the achievements of pupils at Key Stage 4 in England at school level and local authority area.
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School Resource Management – added “Capital Advisers Programme: Part 2 Evaluation” report.
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Secondary Accountability Measures (including Progress 8 and Attainment 8) - Updated ‘Secondary accountability measures: 2024 guidance for maintained secondary schools, academies and free schools’ with information about KS4 performance measures for 2023 to 2024. Entries into triple sciences (the percentage of pupils entered for biology, chemistry and physics) and entries into languages (the percentage of pupils entered for an EBacc language) will remain as additional measures. Also updated to include the 2023 to 2024 provisional KS4 data, including how the KS4 data will be used. We have added clarification on the use of P scale teacher assessments for 2017, 2018, and 2019 to the ‘Pupils working below the level of the test’ section.
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Universal Free School meals uplift in the funding rate – The government have announced an uplift in the per-meal rate Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) and will be increased from £2.53 to £2.58 for 2024 to 2025, backdated to the start of the academic year.
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SEND Mainstream Capital Investment announcement – the Secretary of State announced £740 million capital investment to create more specialist places in mainstream schools via classroom upgrades and adaptations. She also named Professor Karen Guldberg as Chair of a new “Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group” - a group of experts that will work alongside the Department to drive inclusive education.
The University of Birmingham is at the forefront of research on the impact of climate change on natural woodlands through their Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR). Their ambitious 15-year experiment, currently in its eighth year, involves exposing mature oak trees to future levels of carbon dioxide, providing valuable insights into climate change adaptation. To extend the benefits of this research to the educational sector, they have developed a comprehensive set of free resources designed to integrate this cutting-edge science into school curricula. These resources, which include lesson plans, adaptable slides, and practical projects, aim to enhance students' understanding of biodiversity, climate change, and sustainability. They align with the Department for Education's climate change action plans and cover essential topics such as decarbonization, carbon capture, biodiversity assessment, and green careers. For more detailed information, please refer to the attached document.
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Please find attached below the latest editions of the Governance Alerts for your information.
As you may know, Devon’s OAIP Framework is now available on the website. It describes the inclusive provision and practice that all Devon schools, early years, and post 16 settings should be able to provide for all children and young people, including those with SEND, from within their own resources. This will support all children and young people to attend, engage and thrive in their educational setting.
Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision - Support for schools and settings (devon.gov.uk)
There are now some bitesize training videos available for you to use with your staff teams which explain the framework and how to use it.
OAIP: Video resources for schools and settings - Support for schools and settings
The Uniform Intelligence Hub (UIH), developed by Camera Forensics for the Home Office, is a secure, searchable database accessible only to UK Law Enforcement. It catalogues school uniforms across the UK to aid in Child Sexual Abuse Material investigations. The UIH relies on contributions from schools to ensure accurate data, including images and descriptions of uniforms. We are seeking support from safeguarding leads to upload their school's uniform images and details. Please see the attached letter for further details and instructions on how to book an online presentation to learn more about the UIH and how to contribute.
If you do have any school specific questions in relation to the UIH, please contact Jon Galling, Strategic Lead for Safeguarding and vulnerable groups, Devon Education Services:
Jonathan.galling@devon.gov.uk
Secondary schools are currently in the process of holding GCSE options parent forums. This time is crucial in supporting children and families to understand the options available, to help to make the right choices, as well as exploring subject content and being able to ask questions. If you have bilingual or non-English speaking parents/guardians you should be arranging an interpreter for these discussions, to support with clear communication. Schools can arrange interpreting and translation services through Devon county council’s preferred service, the Ethnically diverse education achievement service (EDEAS) through their booking request form.
To discuss English as an additional language support, including bilingual support, identifying SEN or EAL, interpreting and translation services and consultancy please email the EDEAS team.
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