November 2016
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Focusing on raising pupil attainment in the North of England, this timely seminar took place following the allocation of £20 million in new funding in the 2016 Budget for the Northern Powerhouse Schools Strategy and in light of the government commissioned report, conducted by Sir Nick Weller, into transforming education across the Northern Powerhouse regions.
It also followed the concerns raised by Ofsted about the disparities between the levels of attainment in the North and the South of England.
Delegates considered barriers to attracting high quality teachers and teaching leaders to Northern cities, and the conference was an early opportunity to assess the impact of Government initiatives such as the launch of the National Teaching Service from September - as well as best practice examples in teaching from schools in the North of England that have made improvements in overall attainment.
There was also discussion of the impact of the new grants for top-performing academy sponsors to drive up standards in schools across the North of England where historically performance has been poor. The agenda also looked at the wider role of academy chains, multi-academy trusts and collaborative school partnerships on attainment, alongside the role of Regional Schools Commissioners in the context of the rise in the number of academies and free schools.
Further sessions focused on improving employment pathways for young people, developing skill-sets, investing in rural and coastal areas to increase employment and education opportunities, supporting disadvantaged pupils to enter into higher education and tackling underachievement of white working-class students.
