Schools causing concern

The DfE has recently published a revised version of the Schools Causing Concern guidance and response to the consultation on ‘Intervening in failing, underperforming and coasting schools’. The guidance can be found here (the ‘from 18 April’ version) and the wider government response can be found here.

These documents confirm publicly that the majority of the powers and duties introduced by the Education and Adoption Act 2016 will take effect from 18 April. This includes the duty on the Secretary of State to make an academy order for any failing school, the duty on the governing body and local authority to facilitate the conversion of these schools, the duty on any named sponsor to communicate to parents information about their plans to improve any underperforming school which is being required to become an academy, as well as the Secretary of State powers to issue warning notices to maintained schools, the ability to alter the membership of LA-imposed IEBs and the Secretary of State’s consistent powers to take action against failing academies and move them to a new sponsor where necessary.

The provisions allowing RSCs to take action in coasting schools cannot be used until the final elements of the definition are set and the 2016 performance data is published in December 2016 and January 2017. Section 1 of the Act will therefore be commenced later.

The guidance is statutory for local authorities and will also be useful for schools, governing bodies, parents, sponsors and – of course us internally – to understand exactly how the powers under the Act will be used. We have attached a Q&A document which aims to answer the core questions that you, or people you are having conversations with, have. We have alerted national organisations such as the ADCS, LGA, National Society, Catholic Education Service, Ofsted and the headteacher unions to the publication of these documents.  Whilst the Easter weekend is obviously upon us, we would encourage you to think about disseminating the guidance to local authorities, schools, dioceses and sponsors in your region to whom this is relevant over forthcoming weeks.”