Morning, Monday, 25th January 2027
Online
This conference will examine next steps for raising attainment in England's schools, including priorities for school improvement following the publication of the Government's Every Child Achieving and Thriving White Paper. Areas for discussion include place-based school improvement and the move towards a trust-led system, disadvantage funding and attendance, curriculum and teaching quality, workforce capacity, and the role of performance measures and inspection.
Bringing together stakeholders and policymakers, the conference will consider latest thinking on priorities for narrowing attainment gaps and improving outcomes across primary and secondary education, with the 2026 results showing a widening disadvantage gap at the end of primary school but some narrowing at GCSE. Delegates will discuss what is working in schools, where further support and intervention may be needed, and how funding, school improvement arrangements and wider services can better respond to differences in pupils' needs and circumstances. The agenda will also address implications of the Schools White Paper's proposals for schools, trusts and local authorities, including their responsibilities and capacity to support improvement.
Sessions will examine the practical choices facing schools as changes to disadvantage funding, SEND provision, curriculum and assessment are taken forward, alongside the Government's ambitions to improve attendance. Areas for consideration include early identification and support for pupils falling behind, the different needs of primary and secondary pupils, and priorities for improving teaching and access to specialist expertise. Delegates will also assess the resources and workforce capacity needed to deliver improvement alongside wider reforms, including the pressures on school budgets, recruitment and retention, and the demands on teachers and leaders.
Further discussion will draw on emerging evidence from RISE and place-based improvement initiatives, alongside early experience of Ofsted's renewed inspection framework, to assess the effectiveness of support available to schools and how it might be developed. Delegates will also consider the relationship between accountability, inspection and school improvement, including how performance measures recognise progress among pupils with different starting points, their implications for curriculum choices and inclusion, and how schools can demonstrate improvement without disproportionate administrative demands.
School improvement, trust reform & regional disparities
With the White Paper proposing that all schools should join or form school trusts, but without a fixed deadline, the conference will examine implications for maintained schools, existing trusts and local authorities, including governance, responsibilities and the support available to schools needing improvement. Delegates will also assess the effectiveness of place-based approaches and what can be learnt from early experience in areas with persistently low attainment.
Areas for discussion include:
- trust reform:
- practicalities of moving towards a trust-led system - proposed Trust Standards
- school autonomy, governance and local accountability - the capacity of trusts to improve teaching and outcomes
- local responsibilities: the future role of local authorities - coordination with children's services - relationships with schools, trusts and emerging strategic authorities
- RISE support:
- findings from the interim evaluation - identifying schools requiring support and matching them with appropriate organisations
- adviser and specialist capacity - evidence of improvement and timescales for demonstrating results
- place-based improvement:
- Mission North East and its focus on attainment among White working-class pupils, and Mission Coastal's focus on disadvantaged coastal communities
- collaboration between schools, trusts, local services and expert practitioners - funding and delivery arrangements - lessons for other areas and the potential for wider adoption
- regional disparities:
- differences within and between regions - particular needs of coastal, rural and disadvantaged communities
- targeting investment and strengthening local improvement capacity - partnerships and sharing effective practice
Disadvantage funding, attendance & early intervention
The proposed new approach to disadvantage funding will be discussed, with questions raised about how resources should be distributed and the implications for schools supporting pupils with different levels and forms of need. Delegates will also consider approaches to improving attendance and engagement, including the support schools and wider services can provide where pupils face barriers to learning.
Areas for discussion include:
- funding reform:
- using household income data - recognising the depth and duration of disadvantage - pupil-level and place-based measures
- implications for funding distribution, school and trust budgets
- pupil premium:
- interaction with expanded free school meal eligibility - supporting pupils facing persistent or multiple disadvantage
- effective use of funding and evidence-informed spending, including EEF guidance - revised strategy statements
- attendance and engagement:
- progress towards the Government's ambition for attendance above 94% by 2028/29
- persistent and severe absence - barriers to participation and pupil belonging - differences between primary and secondary schools - attendance data and administrative demands
- early intervention:
- identifying gaps in learning and responding before they widen - literacy and numeracy support
- access to effective targeted interventions, including for pupils approaching the transition to secondary school
- families and wider services:
- engagement with parents and carers - coordination between schools, local authorities, health services and Best Start Family Hubs
- support for pupils facing complex barriers to attendance and attainment
- inclusion:
- early identification of additional needs - the Inclusive Mainstream Fund and school inclusion strategies
- access to specialist services - implications of SEND reform for mainstream provision and support for pupils with low prior attainment
Curriculum, teaching quality & workforce capacity
With the revised national curriculum planned for first teaching from September 2028, the conference will consider what schools will need to prepare and the implications for teaching, subject provision and progression between educational stages. Attendees will consider recruitment and retention, professional development and the practicalities of maintaining and improving teaching quality while schools implement wider reform.
Areas for discussion include:
- curriculum preparation: revised programmes of study - sequencing and progression through key stages - implementation support - continuity between primary and secondary education
- primary to secondary transition:
- identifying pupils entering secondary school behind expected levels
- priorities for improving literacy, numeracy and progression through KS3 - the role of the RISE KS3 Alliance
- teaching quality:
- subject expertise and non-specialist teaching - adapting teaching for pupils with different starting points
- access to specialist teachers and subject provision across different schools - evidence-informed approaches and targeted intervention
- professional development: Teaching School Hubs and wider networks - support for early career teachers - sharing effective practice - training and subject knowledge needed for curriculum reform
- teacher supply:
- recruitment and retention - progress towards 6,500 additional teachers - shortages in particular subjects and areas
- staff deployment, workload and pressures arising from concurrent reforms
- leadership: professional learning and development across schools and trusts - attracting and retaining leaders in hard-to-staff areas - capacity to support teachers and sustain improvement
- EdTech and AI: evidence of effectiveness in teaching and targeted support - staff readiness and training - potential to reduce workload - costs and practicalities of adoption
Performance measures, inspection & accountability
Following the 2026 attainment results and the first independent evaluation findings on Ofsted's renewed inspection framework, sessions will examine what performance and inspection arrangements mean for schools seeking to improve outcomes. Discussion will consider proposed changes to accountability measures, how they reflect the achievements of different pupil groups, and the implications for school improvement priorities, curriculum decisions and workload.
Areas for discussion include:
- KS4 performance measures:
- proposed changes to Progress 8 and Attainment 8 - the proposed Best-Fit measure for pupils with low prior attainment
- recognising progress from different starting points
- curriculum and accountability:
- effects of performance measures on subject choices and curriculum breadth
- implications for inclusion and pupils requiring additional support - consequences for schools serving different communities and cohorts
- primary assessment:
- implications of the 2026 KS2 results and the widening disadvantage gap - restored progress measures
- future use of the reception baseline - understanding differences in attainment and progress
- inspection:
- early findings from IFF Research's evaluation of Ofsted's renewed framework
- experience of report cards - assessment of achievement, inclusion and attendance - proportionality, workload and staff wellbeing
- improvement support:
- identifying schools requiring intervention - proposed extension of targeted RISE support to low-attaining schools
- the relationship between accountability, autonomy and access to improvement expertise
- data and benchmarking: comparison with similar schools - consistent measurement of disadvantage and progress - effective and proportionate use of data to inform school improvement
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates.
