15 UPDATE ON THE SCHOOLS ALLIANCE FOR EXCELLENCE PDF 431 KB
Purpose of the Report:
·
To outline the purpose and impact of SAfE.
·
To provide assurances that SAfE is
meeting the council’s core statutory duties for school
improvement, as well as steering the changes needed to support the
achievement of a sector-led education partnership.
·
To provide a summary of the role of SAfE during the current COVID-19 crisis.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Witnesses:
Julie Iles, Cabinet
Member for All-Age Learning
Liz Mills, Director
– Education, Learning and Culture
Maria Dawes, CEO
– Schools Alliance for Excellence
Key
points raised during the discussion:
- The CEO of the
School’s Alliance for Excellence (SAfE) informed Members that
SAfE was a non-profit, schools-led organisation seeking to bring
coherence to the local education system to enable young people to
achieve the best possible outcomes through education. Strong
partnership working between schools and the other partners is key
to the efficacy of SAfE. SAfE is contracted by Surrey County
Council to deliver statutory school-improvement services on the
behalf of the Local Authority. An objective of SAfE was to
encourage all schools in Surrey to become members; currently two
thirds of schools were signed up to pay the 89p-per-pupil
subscription fee and the CEO hoped that this proportion would
increase following the high levels of engagement seen from all
schools with SAfE’s professional learning events which were
provided free of charge during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- SAfE had identified
26 maintained primary, 2 secondary and 2 pupil referral units and
special schools that needed additional school-improvement support.
SAfE had worked with these schools throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
and had already started risk assessments for the following academic
year. Owing to the pandemic, it was likely that there would be a
50% increase in the number of primary maintained schools that would
require additional support from SAfE.
-
SAfE had also helped schools to develop remote
learning, risk assessments and reopening plans, had supported
governors through webinars, and supported headteachers with their
wellbeing, free of charge throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Uptake
and engagement from schools during this period had been
significant.
- SAfE’s key
roles in the coming year were to be supporting all schools to
ensure that pedagogy and the learning children receive is of the
highest quality and to narrow the learning gap, which would be
exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Paul
Bailey, Partnership Development Manager, queried, on behalf of
Simon Hart, Chair of the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership,
whether safeguarding could be referenced in the objectives of SAfE.
The CEO stated that the responsibility for safeguarding remained
with the Local Authority but, nevertheless, SAfE always endeavoured
to ensure the safeguarding of children and it remained a top
priority. The Director stated that safeguarding was integral to the
Local Authority’s Ofsted rating and explicitly stated in the
contract with SAfE, adding that this matter could be tabled for
further discussion at the board of directors.
- A Member
highlighted that the majority of schools under the support and
challenge category were Primary education settings and asked for
what reasons this was so. The CEO stated that this was because
there were only eleven maintained secondary schools; it was a
product of the structure and status of a school, rather than due to
Secondary settings outperforming Primary settings.
- Member
asked about improving the educational performance of disadvantaged
children in Key Stages 2 and 4. The CEO stated that, on average,
disadvantaged children in ...
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