Spring Term - 26 March 2025
DSLS Spring Schools Leadership Briefing
13 March 2025
Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to the Spring Briefing event at the Exeter Golf and County Club. We hope that you found the speakers informative and helpful. Links to the presentations as referenced at the event are now available to view/download below.
Full presentation
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Going forward, DSLS will continue to work in partnership with DCC and the South West Regions Group to ensure that Devon school leaders from academy trusts and LA Maintained schools receive timely and consistent updates on key themes at the termly School Leadership Briefings. Please make sure you book your place and encourage other colleagues to attend as well to ensure everyone is hearing the same messages and collaboratively working towards the Devon strategy for Inclusion and Learning.
The Summer Briefing is being held on Wednesday 11 June at Exeter Racecourse and will include the following topics:
Ofsted – changes to the Education Inspection Framework to be implemented in Autumn 2025 (Sarah McGinnis, Assistant Regional Director).
DfE Curriculum & Assessment Review - overview of the aims, terms of reference and working principles for the review and interim findings (John Laramy CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Exeter College and member of the DfE Curriculum & Assessment Review Panel).
DCC Inclusion and Learning Service – the opportunity to meet the new Leadership Team and hear more about Phase 2 of the service redesign and locality teams - (Jack Newton, Interim Deputy Director and Head of Inclusion and Learning and Kellie Knott, Deputy Director and SEND Strategic Director).
Flexi-Schooling - overview of the revised DCC policy (Andrew Brent, Senior Policy Officer, Admissions).
Please note change of date owing to a clash with the Swift Conference – all existing bookings (see delegate list) will automatically be transferred across to the new date unless you advise otherwise by email to DSLS Office.
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South West Regions Group
Jess Trahar, Deputy Director for South West Regions Group outlined the new team structure and extended remit for the directorate.
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The role of the DfE Regional Director now extends to all schools (including local authority maintained) with additional responsibilities and areas of oversight for vulnerable children across Children’s Social Care and SEND.
Jess also outlined the components of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill which is currently passing through parliament. Details of the objectives of the new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams which will provide a universal offer of support working across local authorities and dioceses were also shared.
Presentation Slides
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Devon County Council
Jack Newton shared a final draft of the Devon Inclusion and Learning Service Strategy and clarified that this strategy has been written in a format that enables partners working with children and families in Devon to sign up to its core principals and strategic priorities.
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The detail necessary to address the challenges we all face in Devon will be co-produced with partner's Inclusive Learning Communities. Jack encouraged colleagues to focus on the spirit and direction of the strategy and decide whether or not the setting that they work in would be willing to 'sign up' and be part of improving outcomes for all children in Devon. Details of how to sign up will be shared in due course. There is much to do, but together we will be much stronger.
Jack and Kellie also provided an update on the 2024/25 Schools Block Transfer (0.25%) from last year and how this ring-fenced funding of £1.3k has been invested to support the expansion of Early Help in Devon (£0.8m), and to support schools with attendance difficulties, particularly around EBSA (£0.5m). Headteachers were interested to learn about:
- DCC webpages for families on Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) launched with practical guidance to support families.
- Expansion of the Education Keyworker Team.
- Overcoming Anxiety Programme for Parents (information to follow).
- A trial of 16 x AV1 Telepresence Robots in secondary schools from January 2025.
- Expansion of Early Help.
Finally, Kellie shared an Update on Local Area SEND Transformation which included:
- The Four Cornerstones approach to embed the Local Area SEND Strategy.
- Phase 2 of the Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision (OAIP) (to be published imminently) which focuses on the development of the ‘Ordinarily Available Targeted Support Framework’, i.e. enhanced adaptations, provisions and targeted interventions that may be put in place to support children and young people who may have SEND.
- Specialist Outreach Support Offer.
- Improving Statutory SEND Processes.
- Neurodiversity - online all-age Neurodiversity Hub, Neurodiversity Navigators and Partnerships for the Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS).
Presentation Slides
Local Offer to Children in Care
Gemma Wilson, Service Manager for Care Experienced Young People and Young Asylum Seekers updated on the support and resources available for Care Experience Young People on reaching age 18.
Presentation Slides
Devon Youth Council
Tianna Cox from Teignmouth Community School and Tia Lilley from Dawlish College, articulately presented on the findings of a survey undertaken by the Devon Youth Council to understand what would support young people’s mental health in educational settings.
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With the CEO and leaders from their own trust in the audience, this session was very well received with feedback describing the student’s presentation as "amazing! Clear content delivered with passion and measurable outcomes" and "really good to hear from those who matter". Well done Tianna and Tia!
Presentation Slides
This presentation was based on the results of the 2024 Make your Mark youth vote. The Make your Make vote 2025 (for 11-19 yrs) has now been launched and will run throughout March. Over 20 secondary schools and colleges have signed up to facilitate the vote including every school in the Ted Wragg Trust and the majority of North Devon schools. The results of the vote will be used to determine the Devon Youth Council campaign for the year - so if your school or college is not yet involved, this is your last opportunity. Please do get in touch on participation@devon.gov.uk. The process is short and simple for schools and shouldn’t create a lot of extra work - it would be fantastic for this vote to be as representative as possible of the c.90,000 young people so that the collective voice of young people is really heard by those in positions of power in Devon.
More information about Make your Mark vote can be read here.
DSLS Key Updates for Devon Schools
Headteachers representing Devon schools on various statutory boards and working groups provided the following updates:
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Finance:
School Budgets
- Outcome of the Schools Funding Consultation including the shortfall of £1.3m funding for the 2025/26 settlement for Devon.
- Following the vote by school and governor members at Devon Education Forum on 22 January 2025 to not support the 0.5% transfer to the High Needs Block, and in accordance with conditions under the SEND Safety Valve Agreement, DCC submitted a disapplication request to overturn this decision which was supported by the Secretary of State for the DfE.
- That as 101 schools are in receipt of Minimum Funding Guarantee protection, these schools will see no reduction in their budgets as a result of this transfer. Conversely the remaining 250 schools will be impacted.
- Headteachers have expressed an interest in some additional support or training to refresh their understanding on school finance and DSLS aims to include this at a Briefing event later this year. DSLS will work with DCC in providing detailed information sessions as part of the Autumn funding consultation.
Mutual Fund
- It was agreed that the 2025/26 Mutual Fund premium rates remain the same, based on responses to the consultation.
- Mindful that less than 50% of MF members responded, and there is still no clarity around which schools will continue with the Fund.
Free School Meal Auto-enrolment
- SFG endorsed the approach of introducing a recoupment model to fund a pupil premium auto enrolment approach.
Access Budgeting Software
- DCC acknowledges that a number of schools have been significantly affected by the issue and apologised for the impact on schools and staff.
- Those Schools are invited to attend the Schools Support Panel for assistance in implementing arrangements that were delayed due to inaccurate budgeting information being available at the relevant time. More information.
School Organisation, Capital & Admissions:
South West Norse
Capital Programme
- Any remaining maintained schools yet to respond to the Built Environments Team (BET) survey, please do so.
Fair Access Panels
Volunteer schools requested – particularly from West/North - to sit on these fortnightly panels. Contact: andrew.brent@devon.gov.uk
New Flexi-Schooling Guidance
- Will shortly be coming out to schools.
Please feel free to share these slides with your school team and other leaders within your trust or federation.
With thanks to all speakers and contributors on the day.
DSLS Schools leadership Group.
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