Government White Paper “Every child achieving and thriving”: what does it mean?

Early Years

The government has stated its view that the building blocks of success are laid in the early years. The white paper proposes to put in place support for children and families from their first days of life.

Early years providers will receive additional funding from a new ‘Inclusive Early Years Fund’ to support with the identification and response to children who have emerging additional needs. In addition, high-quality childcare will be made available and accessible via the expansion of school-based nurseries, as well as 30 hours of government-funded childcare.

Curriculum

In terms of curriculum, the government has flagged that many children leave primary school without reaching expected standards fundamental areas; approximately a quarter of children did not meet the expected standard in reading in each of the last ten years, whilst a fifth did not achieve the expected standard in maths over the same period. In addition, children with SEND, disadvantaged children, and children from white working-class backgrounds are reportedly less likely to meet these critical standards at the end of primary.

The government proposes to fund partnerships between early years settings and schools to allow staff to share knowledge, expertise and best practice. This will include developing shared resources and systems to help with early identification of needs and support, as well as shared pedagogy and curriculum, to ensure consistency of learning approaches. RISE Reception Networks will spread best practice.

At secondary school level, the government reports that the Curriculum and Assessment Review found that subject choice was ‘constrained’ affecting students’ engagement and achievement. To respond to this, the government proposes to:

• Refresh the programmes of study for first teaching from 2028 and update GCSEs for first teaching from 2029 onwards

• Create a fully digital and easily navigable version of the national curriculum

• Develop evidence-led resources to support teachers in adapting the curriculum for all children and young people, including those with SEND

• Prepare children and young people for life and careers through embedding oracy, financial, digital and media literacy in the curriculum and improving climate and sustainability education

• An ambition for every young person to have 2 weeks’ worth of work experience during their secondary education

• Improve the assessment of writing at key stage 2 with greater focus on fluent writing and a new statutory national assessment of reading fluency and comprehension in year 8

• Consult on Progress 8 options to ensure that pupils can access a strong academic core and a breadth of subjects at key stage 4, retaining the Progress 8 rules on English and maths and requiring 2 dedicated slots for science. Parity will be given for creative subjects by requiring study of at least 2 of languages, creative subjects and humanities.

• ‘V Levels’ will be introduced as a new vocational option alongside A levels and T Levels at level 3. There will also be 2 new post-16 level 2 pathways: an Occupational Pathway to prepare students for work, and a Further Study Pathway to help students progress to higher levels of study

As well as curriculum changes, the government has made clear its expectation for a new core enrichment offer by every school and college, providing access to civic engagement; arts and culture; nature, outdoor and adventure; sport and physical activities; and developing wider life skills as a minimum. £22.5 million will be invested over 3 years to enable up to 400 schools in the most deprived areas of England to meet the enrichment benchmarks.

Mainstream schooling for children with SEND

To support children with SEND to achieve high standards and expectations, the white paper proposes a more inclusive mainstream school system, where every child can go to their local school, within their local community. This means that every school will need access to resources to meet common and predictable needs.

However, specialist settings will continue to support children with the most complex needs. The white paper states that over the next three years, £1.6 billion will be invested to make the mainstream system more inclusive.

Support for children who need additional help to access education is proposed to be organised across 2 additional layers of support:

• Targeted support will provide interventions within mainstream schools, drawing on the Experts at Hand service to involve education, health and care professionals where needed

• Specialist support will provide a higher level of provision for children with complex needs, through new Specialist Provision Packages which will form the basis of EHCPs.

Schools will be required to develop an Individual Support Plan for children on either pathway, describing the day-to-day provision delivered in schools, any reasonable adjustments and intended outcomes.

When new legislation is introduced, it is anticipated that more children will receive support directly from their school without requiring an EHCP. Those who already have an EHCP will keep their plan until they finish their current phase of education.

After legislation takes effect, children with an existing EHCP will have a needs assessment as they approach the end of each phase of education to determine whether they require a Specialist Provision Package and therefore a continued EHCP. If not, they will move to an Individual Support Plan in a mainstream school.

In terms of investment, by 2028 the government proposes to invest up to £15 million to create National Inclusion Standards, a digital library of high-quality identification tools and provision covering all layers of support for children with SEND. It is hoped that this will provide guidance and approaches to design targeted support for specific areas of development.

In addition, the government proposes to invest £1.8 billion over the next three years to improve access to health professionals such as speech and language therapists and educational psychologists. It is hoped that this will establish the ‘Experts at Hand Offer’.

There are also proposed reforms to the role of Alternative Provision to include outreach into mainstream schools for preventative support, time-limited placements, and longer-term placements where necessary.

Schools can also expect changes to the SEND Code of Practice, placing a stronger emphasis on an evidence-based, ‘support first’ approach, and providing guidance in respect of universal strategies of support. The current areas of need will also be replaced with new areas of development reflecting key aspects of child development. The updated SEND Code of Practice will also require schools to ensure that their staff receive training on SEND and inclusion. 

Improving engagement

Many schools will be aware of the strain on parent-school relationships since the Covid-19 pandemic. The white paper states that around one in five children miss a day or more of school every fortnight, and seven out of every 30 minutes of teaching time is lost to misbehaviour.

To tackle this challenge, by 2029 schools will be expected to monitor pupils’ sense of belonging and engagement and the government will publish a Pupil Engagement Framework to enable schools to measure key factors that determine engagement.

To drive attendance each school will be given a minimum annual improvement target for overall attendance. RISE attendance and behaviour hubs will be available to provide an attendance and behaviour training programme.

Schools can also expect changes to the Behaviour in Schools guidance, and Suspension and Permanent Exclusion guidance. Reintegration Support Partnerships will be introduced, requiring a formal meeting following a suspension leading to an agreed plan and responsibilities. Further, it is proposed to give schools flexibility to suspend children while requiring them to complete their sanction on site in a supervised environment.

Schools should also be conscious that a new, internal dashboard will be used to identify patterns in pupil movement that could suggest off-rolling or other concerning practices, including off-site direction and managed moves. Data on pupil movement will be shared with Ofsted to strengthen its ability to identify poor practice and, where inspectors find evidence of bad practice, the school’s leadership and governance evaluation will likely be graded ‘urgent improvement’, leading to intervention.

In terms of parent complaints, it is proposed to introduce a new digital process for handling complaints, and new mutual expectations for complaints handling will be set out. There will also be a consultation in respect of requiring maintained schools to include an independent member on complaint panels.

The government also proposes to consult on changes to the School Admissions Code to promote fairness for all families. This will require schools to give parents more information about decisions on in-year admission and to set out more details about how their arrangements work in practice. Consultation is due to take place later this year.

A School Profiles system is also proposed to be introduced, bringing information from Ofsted’s most recent report card, along with the latest data on attainment, progress and attendance into one place. This service is being piloted, with planned implementation  in the next school year.

Changes for trusts

Trusts will be interested to note that the white paper sets out proposed changes specifically for them. The government proposes to consult on requiring trusts to have local governance structures that include all their schools, hold annual parental forums, and ensure boards hear directly from parents and school communities.

Trusts can also expect new Trust Standards, building on the current pillars to emphasise the importance of standards, inclusion, value for money and contributing willingly to community collaboration.

In terms of trust inspection, the government will consult with the sector, and with Ofsted, on the details of how the new inspection arrangements will operate.

The white paper also sets out that the academy trust handbook will require executive pay increases to be proportionate and justified, to prevent excessive increases for individuals carrying out broadly similar roles.

AI and technology in schools

With the increasing prevalence of AI in day to day life, it would be challenging for the white paper to be published without mentioning AI.

The white paper sets out an expectation for all AI tools used by schools to meet high standards of safety and quality, with principles for use of AI in education to be produced. Schools should anticipate updates to the AI product safety standards to account for emerging risks around mental health and social, emotional and cognitive development, and to help make sure that AI products used in education do not cause harm.

The government also proposed to develop a new ‘data spine’ to offer a secure and streamlined way to connect and share information across different systems in education. This will include data such as pupil records, attendance, progress and assessments.

Practical steps for schools

Whilst many of the proposed changes set out in the white paper are yet to be implemented, schools should take time to carefully review the proposals and consider any changes which will be required to internal processes and procedures.

Inevitably, it will be necessary for schools to update their policies, and to take stock of updates to guidance including the SEND Code of Practice and Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions guidance.

Please get in touch for bespoke advice in respect of how the white paper may impact your school, and strategies to prepare for potential changes on the horizon.