Committee publication · Correspondence · 4 February 2025
Letter from Secretary of State on School accountability reform – school profiles, improvement and intervention, 03.02.25
From: Education Committee
Inquiry: The work of the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted)
Summary
The Secretary of State for Education announces a twelve-week consultation on school accountability reform, including new school profiles (a digital service combining Ofsted report cards with performance data), intervention arrangements for maintained schools and academies, and deployment of Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams. The government commits over £20m for targeted interventions over 15 months, aiming to intervene in approximately twice as many schools per year, with pupil attendance as the first national priority for universal RISE support.
Key findings
- Government launching consultation on three interconnected reforms: school accountability principles, digital school profiles integrating Ofsted report cards and performance data, and new intervention arrangements for maintained schools and academies.
- Department will mandate targeted RISE interventions in approximately twice as many schools per year, with over £20m committed for 15 months, replacing previous 'blunt and too slow' approach.
- Initial school eligibility criteria for targeted RISE interventions announced and commencing this month; universal RISE support service available to all schools with pupil attendance as first national priority.
- Government characterises previous accountability system (single headline Ofsted grades) as providing 'low information for parents and high stakes for schools', justifying removal and replacement with more comprehensive report cards.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Bridget Phillipson MP (Secretary of State for Education), Helen Hayes MP (Education Select Committee), Department for Education, Ofsted, Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams
Notable line
“… single headline grades were low information for parents and high stakes for schools which is why we took swift action to remove them.”
Key Quotes
“… single headline grades were low information for parents and high stakes for schools which is why we took swift action to remove them.”
“The previous government's approach to improving schools was blunt and too slow.”
“We will structurally intervene swiftly with schools with the most serious issues but will also broaden our approach to tackling failure, providing bespoke, intensive and timely intervention …”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗