DfE Livestream with Bridget Phillipson: RISE teams, RE, and a SEND whitepaper
Yesterday, the Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson set out a vision for high and rising standards in schools in a speech at the Centre for Social Justice.
We attended a virtual Q&A with Bridget Phillipson to hear more detail on the plan and picked up some hints for future DfE announcements along the way.
Much of the livestream examined details of yesterday’s announcement of the formation of Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams. According to the Secretary of State, these teams will support approximately 600 underperforming schools, each receiving up to £100,000 for specialist assistance.
As such, Ms Phillipson was joined by John Edwards, wearing an incredibly vibrant pair of socks, who as Director General to Regions Group of the Department for Education established in 2022 will oversee the new RISE teams.
All RISE for the Secretary of State…
In today’s livestream, viewers raised concerns that the RISE advisors appointed so far have been drawn primarily from large multi-academy trusts (MATs). This could bias the groups’ approach to school improvement, particularly in terms of the zero-tolerance approach on behaviour popular within MATs, which can disproportionately penalise the most disadvantaged learners.
More RISE advisors are set to be announced, so expect future RISE advisors to come from elsewhere in the education sector.
Mr Edwards also reassured viewers that the RISE teams need not replace existing internal capacity for school improvement but instead are intended to ensure all schools have some access to target support and best evidence as a baseline.
Ofsted report cards under consultation
Ofsted’s proposed school report cards were also at the top of the agenda for viewers. These are set to replace the one-word judgements previously used by Ofsted, and are currently undergoing a consultation in parallel with the measures set out yesterday,
The Secretary of State stressed that these are not the only long-term reform needed for Ofsted, suggesting deeper training for inspectors and improved governance procedures as other potential measures.
Mr Edwards also expressed is hopes about how Ofsted could interact with the new RISE teams.
The Director General suggested that the new “Exemplary” classification from the forthcoming report cards could be a medium by which best-practice could filter upwards and influence practice nationwide by example.
Is a SEND whitepaper on the horizon?
SEND provision remained a key concern for viewers, and there were some hints from the Secretary of State about wider reforms in the longer-term. These would complement existing short- and medium-term measures such as the additional £1bn shored up in October’s budget for the 2025-26 financial and academic years.
Ms Phillipson refused to commit to an education whitepaper in general, but did suggested that a whitepaper on SEND provision could be forthcoming.
Will RE be added to the national curriculum?
Addressing a question about the existing “postcode lottery” determining whether pupils receive religious education (RE), Secretary of State also hinted that RE’s position in the national curriculum is currently under consideration.
Will Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s unrelated announcement of an advisory council on Islamophobia impact the Department for Education’s strategy on RE? That remains to be seen.
The new 16-member advisory council is likely to be chaired by formed Attorney General Dominic Grieve and will advise ministers on strategies to combat anti-Muslim discrimination.
Reducing burdens on school governors
Both Mr Edwards and the Secretary of State harked back to their past experience as school governors, in response to a question on current challenges around recruitment of governors.
Ms Phillipson did not address whether the amount of governance work currently resting on unpaid governors is likely to be streamlined.
She did, however, express a desire to look more closely into the role that governors play in school improvement and the challenges surrounding their recruitment. So, boards of governors – watch this space.
Will schools get additional funding to cover the National Insurance rise?
Finally, a note on the eternal question of funding – specifically, if and when schools will receive additional funding to cover October’s National Insurance rise.
There was no firm response from the Secretary of State – which, in politics, is bordering on a cause for optimism. We were, however, reassured that schools would know about their staffing budgets well ahead of the 2025-26 academic year.
This will come as a particular relief following the chaos surrounding last year’s staff salary changes, which came nail-bitingly last minute as a result of the summer general election.