the white paper education 2022 summary

This blog post was published under the 2015-2024 Conservative Administration

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/03/28/how-were-raising-standards-in-our-schools-and-colleges-what-the-schools-white-paper-means-for-you/

How we’re raising standards in our schools and colleges – what the Schools White Paper means for you

We’ve launched an ambitious plan to give every child the support they need in education. From targeted support in English and maths to ensuring every child has an excellent teacher.

The plan is set out in the Schools White Paper – also known as an Opportunity for all: Strong schools with great teachers for your child. ‘White papers' are formal plans from Government that set out proposals for future legislation before being decided upon by parliament.

Our plans are ambitious, wide ranging and affect every stage of school-age education – here we set out what the key proposals will mean for you.

Click on the following links to jump to the relevant section of this article:

Better education Targeted support Improved teacher training and development

Higher standards in terms of curriculum, behaviour and attendance will help every child to reach their potential

Education is the great leveller. Every single child should have access to an education that equips them with the knowledge, skills and experiences needed to fulfil their potential.

Primary education is critical to a child’s development and it is where they lay the foundations for their futures.

So, our mission for education is that by 2030, 90% of children will leave primary school having achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, up from 65% in 2019.

That means more pupils will be equipped to flourish in secondary school where we are also raising our expectations. We have also set an ambition to increase the national GCSE average grade in both English language and in maths from 4.5 in 2019 to 5 by 2030.

How will we achieve this?

The school day.

It’s unfair that a child who receives 20 minutes per day less teaching time loses out on around two weeks of education and time with their peers and teachers a year.

That’s why we plan to introduce a minimum expectation for the length of the school week of 32.5 hours (the current average) for all mainstream state-funded schools.

Most schools won’t have to change their opening hours because they already have a week at least this long – but those that don’t, will.

This move will help support all children from primary school onwards to have fair access to a high-quality education. We will also encourage schools to explore going further than the minimum expectation if possible to support a broad curriculum and enable access to high-quality extra-curricular provision.

Improving behaviour

For children to receive the best possible education, they must be taught in a calm, orderly, safe and supportive school.

That is why we are supporting teachers in all state-funded schools to develop their expertise in managing pupil behaviour and wellbeing through a fully funded National Professional Qualification in Behaviour and Culture.

We are also continuing to help heads use the full range of powers available to them – like suspensions and exclusions – appropriately where they have to, so they are more confident to take action where necessary.

Boosting attendance

Now, more than ever, face-to-face education is of paramount importance for children’s academic, social and emotional wellbeing.

We’ve been carrying out a consultation – which means we’ve been speaking to parents, teachers, and others – about how we can help pupils overcome whatever is stopping them from going to school regularly.

Subject to the results of this consultation, we will introduce new legislation to create new statutory guidance on attendance, including a requirement for every school to publish a clear attendance policy to improve support. By setting clear expectations for staff, pupils, and parents they will know what processes should be followed in cases of absence and what support should be offered. For parents this should result in greater consistency and improved, earlier support where required.

We will also make it easier for schools to understand individual attendance patterns and for trusts, local authorities and DfE to identify problems more quickly.

Every child who falls behind in English or maths will get the right support to get back on track

We are pledging to parents that every child who falls behind in English or maths will get targeted, evidence-based support to get back on track.

The high quality teaching of an ambitious curriculum is essential for every child to succeed, but some pupils will need additional support to help them to progress when they are falling behind.

Many schools already do this but we expect every school to provide the right support for any child that is struggling in English or maths. This includes assessing and monitoring pupils’ progress in English and maths and drawing on high quality evidence-based interventions to help them to catch up when they are behind. Schools will tell parents about their child’s progress and how they can also support their child’s learning at home.

We expect tutoring will be a key way schools will deliver targeted support and we have invested £1 billion to establish the National Tutoring Programme, financially incentivising schools to provide tutoring so that tutoring is embedded in every school. We will deliver up to 6 million tutoring courses by 2024, which when combined with our programmes to deliver tutoring for young people aged 16-19 equates to around 100 million hours of tutoring. Over one million courses of tutoring have started through the National Tutoring Programme, with the programme on track to deliver the ambitious target of two million courses this academic year.

Reforming the SEND and children’s social care systems

Over 15% of children have an identified special educational need or disability (SEND) and vulnerable children and children with SEND have lower educational attainment than their peers on average.

That’s why we are reforming the SEND and Children’s Social Care Systems, so that no child misses out. This will mean all children and young people with SEND are able to access the right support in the right place at the right time.

To make sure the right support is in the right places, we will invest £2.6bn in high needs capital investment, providing 34,000 additional specialist or alternative provision places. As part of that we will deliver new special and alternative provision free schools.

We will set out more in detail shortly in our SEND Review. We will also be considering the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, due this spring, as part of our commitment to make a real difference to the needs, experience and outcomes of those supported by children’s social care.

We will support schools in delivering all this by ensuring an excellent teacher for every child

We cannot achieve our vision for schools without excellent teachers. That is why we will give every teacher access to world-class training and professional development at every stage of their career.

We will deliver 500,000 teacher training and development opportunities across Initial Teaching Training, the Early Career Framework and National Professional Qualifications by 2024, giving them the expertise and support needed to deliver great teaching.

Schools will be able to have a trained literacy expert through a new National Professional Qualification for Leading Literacy. And we will make sure every child starts schools with a firm foundation of literacy and numeracy through a new National Professional Qualification for Early Years Leaders, and up to £180m investment in the early years’ workforce, including literacy and numeracy training for early years practitioners.

We will make sure every school can access funded training for a senior mental health lead to deliver a whole school approach to health and wellbeing.

To ensure we are attracting and retaining the best teachers, teacher starting salaries are set to rise to £30,000, and we will provide further incentives to those who work in schools with the most need. We have also proposed that experienced teachers and leaders receive their highest pay rise in over 15 years.

For more information on how we are delivering a leading education system for all, please see the Schools White Paper: Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .

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NGA publish summary sheets on the schools white paper and green paper

NGA has produced information sheets covering the government’s schools white paper and the long-awaited green paper, released on 28 March 2022.

These information sheets provide boards with an overview of the proposals that have been set out in the papers, so that governing boards know what to expect for the future of the education system. Boards may also want to share the information sheets with school leaders as summary documents to refer to.

Download Schools white paper summary (PDF)

Download SEND green paper summary (PDF)

The white paper, ‘Opportunity for all: Strong schools with great teachers for your child’ sets out the government’s vision for the future of education which includes:

• a range of programmes for teacher development and recruitment
• additional support for schools to secure the fundamentals of behaviour, attendance and wellbeing for all
• various interventions to target support to those who need it most
• introducing a fully trust- led system with a singular regulatory body

Read NGA’s comment on the white paper

The green paper, 'SEND review, Right Support, Right Place, Right Time' shares the findings from the government’s SEND review, which have shaped the proposals to improve education for children and young people with SEND and in alternative provision (AP). The proposals include:

• establishing a single national SEND and AP system that sets clear standards for the provision that children and young people should expect to receive
• strengthened accountabilities and investment that will help to deliver real change for children, young people and their families
• creating a single national system that has high aspirations and ambitions for children and young people with SEND and those in AP, which is financially sustainable

Read NGA’s comment on the green paper

Schools White Paper: everything you need to know

Ministers have set targets for higher grades at GCSE, better Sats scores and for every school to be in or on its way into a multi-academy trust by 2030, in its long-awaited Schools White Paper.

It also includes a new “Parent Pledge” that any child who falls behind in English and maths will get the support they need to get back on track, and sets the expectation that mainstream state schools will remain open for at least 32.5 hours per week.

• White Paper:   DfE expects schools to stay open for at least 32.5 hours
• Background:   Zahawi promise White Paper to tackle illiteracy
• Exclusive:   What Zahawi plans to do next

The Schools White Paper, the first in six years, is the first of two major announcements from the Department for Education this week, with a Green Paper being published tomorrow following the government’s long-running special educational needs and disability (SEND) review.

Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said the plans amounted to “levelling up in action”.

He said: “The  Opportunity for All  White Paper will deliver for every child, parent and family, living anywhere from rural villages to coastal towns through to the largest cities, by making sure all children have access to a school that meets our current best standards, harnessing the incredible energy and expertise of the 1 million people that work in schools.

“Any child who falls behind in maths or English will get the support they need to get back on track, and schools will also be asked to offer at least a 32.5-hour school week by September 2023.”

In his only one-to-one interview with an education publication on the launch of the White Paper, Mr Zahawi told Tes he was confident the paper’s proposals don’t need extra funding to be achievable .

The key policies and targets in the Schools White Paper

90 per cent of primary school pupils to hit the expected standard in the three Rs

The White Paper includes the previously announced target for 90 per cent of children reaching the expected standard in r eading, writing and maths in key stage 2. It says this is estimated to be worth between £31 billion and £60 billion for the wider economy, for a single cohort in 2030.

In 2019, 65 per cent of key stage 2 pupils reached the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths, an increase of 7 percentage points in reading and 9 percentage points in maths since 2016.

The average GCSE grade in English language and maths to be a 5 by 2030

The DfE said it was setting the ambition for the average GCSE grade in English language and maths to rise to 5 by 2030 - up from 4.5 in the last set of exams before the pandemic, in 2019.

The White Paper says: “ Achieving our ambition of increasing the national GCSE average grade in both English language and maths by 0.5 is estimated to be worth £34 billion for the wider economy, for a single cohort in 2030. ”

Every school in a multi-academy trust - but free schools can start as single trusts

As expected, the White Paper includes plans for a fully trust-led system with a single regulatory approach. This will include trusts established by local authorities.

The government wants all schools to be in or moving towards multi-academy trusts (MATs) by 2030.

The White Paper says that the DfE knows that trusts typically start to develop central capacity when they have more than 10 schools.

It said it will not convert schools to standalone academies but will consider bids for high-quality free schools to open initially as standalone trusts.

It adds: “We expect that most trusts will be on a trajectory to either serve a minimum of 7,500 pupils or run at least 10 schools.”

The White Paper also says it will never expect a trust to expand before it is ready. It adds: “While there will be no maximum size of trust, we will limit the proportion of schools in the local area that can be run by an individual trust.”

A 32.5-hour week expected of mainstream schools, with Ofsted to check on this

The DfE announced on Saturday night that it would ask all schools to ensure they are  open for a 32.5-hour week .

The White Paper says it will “introduce a minimum expectation on the length of the school week of 32.5 hours (the current average) for all mainstream state-funded schools. We will expect all mainstream state-funded schools to work towards meeting this expectation as soon as possible and by September 2023 at the latest.”

It adds: “We will strongly encourage all state-funded schools to deliver two substantive morning and afternoon sessions each school day, with appropriate flexibility for religious observance. Thousands of schools, in every corner of the country, already deliver this length of week within existing budgets.

“Ofsted considers the overall quality of a school’s education, including the ambition of the curriculum. If Ofsted has concerns about the quality of education at a state-funded mainstream school and the school falls short of the government’s expectation on time, Ofsted will look at how they have come to that decision and what impact it has on the quality of education provided.”

A literacy and numeracy test for a sample of Year 9 students

As part of the DfE’s commitment to increasing the average grade at English and maths GCSE from 4.5 to 5, a new test of “national performance” will be introduced.

Today, as part of the White Paper, the DfE has announced a new test of literacy and numeracy that will be taken by a “sample of children in Year 9”.

This test will be used “to estimate performance at a national level” and will include a number of “digital activities”.

A new accountability regime for MATs

This summer, the government will launch a review looking at accountability and the regulation of MATs.

The department said it will consider how best to hold trusts accountable against a new strong trust definition “focused on the quality and inclusivity of the education they provide, how they improve schools and maintain their local identity, how they protect value for money for the taxpayer and how they develop their workforce”.

As previously announced, the government wants to move any school that gets two consecutive “requires improvement” judgements from Ofsted  into an MAT .

The DfE described this as a “significant step up” from the current requirement for maintained schools to be subject to academy orders when they are rated as “inadequate”.

The initial focus will be on schools in the 55  Education Investment Areas  announced earlier this year.

The government has said it will make £86 million available to grow and strengthen MATs over the next three years, with a particular focus on these Education Investment Areas.

Legislation on recording attendance

The DfE has said it will be introducing legislation to modernise how attendance is recorded, with a “national data solution” used to track attendance and provide a “safety net” for vulnerable pupils at risk of disappearing from school rolls.

Alongside this, new statutory expectations will be set out for local authority attendance services to help “severely absent” pupils get back to school.

And the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) and Youth Endowment Fund will also develop further attendance interventions for schools and new “voluntary standards” for attendance professionals.

The DfE also said today that, following the results of the February consultation on attendance, every school will be expected to publish a clear attendance policy.

Revising behaviour guidance

The department has said it will revise the Behaviour in Schools guidance and Suspension and Permanent Exclusion guidance. The consultation on proposed changes to these is due to close on 31 March.

The DfE has also committed to the launch of a new national behaviour survey in order to “better understand” the thoughts and feelings of parents, pupils and teachers on behaviour and wellbeing.

Reaction: ‘It’s a policy gimmick’

The White Paper has received a mixed reaction from senior leaders .

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, described it as “mechanistic and lacking in ambition” despite containing some “helpful and promising” measures.

He said: “Disappointingly, this White Paper lacks any big ideas for the future of the education system. The nearest it gets is its targets for improved results in English and maths by 2030, but the plan of how to achieve these targets is vague, and there does not appear to be very much in the way of funding to help schools deliver them.”

Mr Barton also criticised one of the main policy announcements in the paper, adding : “The Parent Pledge seems like a policy gimmick designed to grab headlines. In reality, any child who falls behind in English and maths will already receive timely and evidence-led support, and this is already communicated to parents via existing channels such as parents’ evenings.”

The White Paper also include a series of measures that have already been announced, including:

• Ofsted will inspect every school by 2025 , including the backlog of “outstanding” schools that haven’t been inspected for many years.
• At least £100 million to put the Education Endowment Foundation on a long-term footing.
• 500,000 teacher training and development opportunities by 2024.
• £30,000 starting salaries to attract and retain the best teachers.
• Payments to recruit and keep talented physics, chemistry, computing and maths teachers working in disadvantaged schools.
• A register for children not in school to make sure no child is lost from the system.
• Every school to have access to funded training for a senior mental health lead.
• Oak National Academy becoming a government body with sole focus on supporting teachers to deliver the very best lesson content.
• Up to 6 million tutoring courses by 2024.

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Schools White Paper delivers real action to level up education

Schools White Paper, Opportunity for All, sets out plans to make sure every child can reach the full height of their potential.

Children and teacher in classroom

Any child who falls behind in maths or English will get the support they need to get back on track, as part of a pledge the Education Secretary will make to every parent in the country today (Monday 28 March), as he launches the first Schools White Paper in six years.

Schools will identify children who need help, provide targeted support via a range of proven methods such as small group tuition, and keep parents informed about their child’s progress.

The Parent Pledge will support the government’s Levelling Up mission for education, previously set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, for 90% of primary school children to achieve the expected standard in Key Stage 2 reading, writing and maths by 2030.

In 2019, only 65% of children achieved this standard, with the covid pandemic exacerbating challenges despite the incredible work of parents and teachers during this time.

A second ambition for secondary schools aims to see the national average GCSE grade in both English language and maths increase from 4.5 in 2019 to 5 by 2030.

The Schools White Paper sets out a series of new measures to support the delivery of these ambitions, including:

• Schools will offer a minimum school week of 32.5 hours by September 2023
• Ofsted will inspect every school by 2025, including the backlog of ‘outstanding’ schools that haven’t been inspected for many years
• By 2030 all children will benefit from being taught in a school in, or in the process of joining, a strong multi-academy trust, which will help transform underperforming schools and deliver the best possible outcomes for children
• At least £100m to put the Education Endowment Foundation on a long-term footing so they can continue to evaluate and spread best practice in education across the country

If achieved, the wider benefits of pupils in 2030 meeting the Key Stage 2 and GCSE ambitions are estimated to be worth at least £30 billion each for the economy.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

Literacy and numeracy are the building blocks of a world-class education. They unlock the learning, knowledge and skills that every child needs to succeed in later life. So today, we are making a pledge to every parent – if your child falls behind at school in either of these key subjects, their school will help them get back on track. By making sure every child receives excellent teaching which helps them reach their full potential, we will spread opportunity and futureproof our mission to level up the country.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said:

This is levelling up in action. The Opportunity for All White Paper will deliver for every child, parent and family, living anywhere from rural villages, to coastal towns through to the largest cities, by making sure all children have access to a school that meets our current best standards, harnessing the incredible energy and expertise of the one million people that work in schools. Any child who falls behind in maths or English will get the support they need to get back on track, and schools will also be asked to offer at least a 32.5 hour school week by September 2023. We know what works in schools and we are scaling up to ensure that every child can expect interesting, enriching lessons. Parents rightly expect a world class education for their children and that is what we will deliver.

Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the Education Select Committee said:

The publication of the Schools White Paper could not have come sooner. The four key pillars of teacher development, improving curriculum standards especially with regard to literacy and numeracy, parental engagement and uniformity of school hours are a welcome ambition to help ensure the Government works to level-up education. Increasing parental engagement through the “parent pledge” will help break down long-standing and often complicated barriers that exist to help increase attendance, especially in relation to the 124,000 “ghost children” who have dropped out of the school system following the outbreak of the pandemic. I am particularly pleased to see the commitment made by the Department to establish a uniformity of school hours. It is my hope that this will mean pupils up and down the country will have more time to catch up on their lost learning from the pandemic, and to also develop their skills by exploring creative subjects like sport, drama and music. Not only will this benefit their mental health and resilience, but it will also improve their educational attainment and allow every child to climb the ladder of opportunity, regardless of their background or circumstance.

Other plans in the White Paper to deliver on the missions for children’s attainment at the end of primary and secondary include:

• 500,000 teacher training and development opportunities by 2024
• £30,000 starting salaries to attract and retain the best teachers
• Payments to recruit and keep talented physics, chemistry, computing and maths teachers working in disadvantaged schools
• A register for children not in school to make sure no child is lost from the system
• Every school to have access to funded training for a senior mental health lead to deliver a whole school approach to health and wellbeing
• Oak National Academy becoming a government body with sole focus on supporting teachers to deliver the very best lesson content
• Up to 6 million tutoring courses by 2024 and action to cement tuition as a permanent feature of the school system
• The school system working as a whole to raise standards with trusts responsible for running schools while local authorities are empowered to champion the interests of children

The SEND and alternative provision green paper will launch tomorrow (Tuesday) and build on the Schools White Paper by setting out a national vision for more inclusive culture and practice in mainstream schools, helping the workforce to adapt to every pupil’s needs.

John Jolly, Chief Executive of Parentkind, said:

Parentkind strongly welcomes the ‘parent pledge’ that is embedded at the heart of this white paper. Our organisation exists to give parents a voice in their child’s education, and our aim is to bring schools and parents closer together in partnership. I am delighted that the Education Secretary has taken notice of the research on parent voice, recognised the vital contribution of parents and sought to place parents at the front and centre of the schools paper. Children’s literacy and numeracy have been shown to improve with parental support, and making dedicated efforts to enable greater parental participation in children’s learning can only have hugely beneficial consequences for families and society.

Dame Rachel de Souza DBE, the Children’s Commissioner said:

Last year, I conducted the largest ever survey of children, The Big Ask, and the overwhelming message I got back from over half a million responses was that today’s generation are bright, outward looking, and aspirational, in every corner of England. They like school, and its absence over lockdown meant they relish the chance to be back. I welcome the commitment to making sure all children receive the help that they need to succeed, we should be ambitious for every child, regardless of their background, family circumstances or whether they need additional support. Analysis by my office this week tells us that ‘vulnerable’ and ‘disadvantaged’ children are less likely to go to a good school, and yet when they do, their outcomes are much better. We must now redouble our efforts and have a race to the top so that all children receive a fantastic education and springboard to happy, successful adulthoods. The commitments to making sure all children receive the help they need to succeed are important, in particular that every school will be able to access mental health training, that all schools will be inclusive of children with additional needs, and that we will have a national register to make sure no child can go missing from the system.

Local authorities are to be permitted to establish trusts and gain the legal power to request their non-academy schools join a trust, where that is the right approach for local schools.

The government plans to support schools that have received two consecutive Ofsted judgements of below ‘Good’ to join strong trusts – a significant step up from the current requirement for Inadequate local authority maintained schools to do so. The initial focus will be on schools in the 55 Education Investment Areas, as these are the locations where the most support is required area-wide.

The government will make £86 million available to grow and strengthen multi-academy trusts over the next three years, with a particular focus on Education Investment Areas. Across a subset of 24 priority Education Investment Areas – including all previous Opportunity Areas – which have some of the highest rates of disadvantage in the country, a further £40 million of additional funding is to be provided for bespoke interventions to address local needs, such as high absence rates.

As part of a review to launch in the summer looking at accountability and regulation of trusts, the department will consider how best to hold trusts accountable against a new strong trust definition, focused on the quality and inclusivity of the education they provide, how they improve schools and maintain their local identity, how they protect value for money for the taxpayer and how they develop their workforce.

Sir Hamid Patel CBE, Chief Executive of Star Academies, said:

At the heart of the White Paper is an unwavering commitment to improving the life chances of all our young people. High-quality teacher development, a knowledge-rich curriculum and personalised intervention are recognised as crucial to success. Renewed parent partnerships centred on children will help to create the conditions in which their talents can flourish.

Sir Dan Moynihan, Chief Executive of Harris Federation, said:

The White paper creates a coherent blueprint for the future development of schools, and represents the right way to proceed in a mature school led system. The additional resources and higher priority for SEND announced in the White Paper are very welcome and much needed. This will lead to more joined up and better provision for children in need. The increased academic aspiration in both primary and secondary schools are to be welcomed, especially the greater emphasis on using what works to improve standards in literacy and numeracy. The development and provision of free schemes of work and lesson plans will play a major role in reducing teacher workload and help free teachers up to focus on providing every child with a great education.

Leora Cruddas CBE, Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, the sector body for academy trusts, said:

The evidence is clear that the quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for pupils. CST strongly supports the focus on evidence-informed professional development. There is no improvement for pupils without improvement in teaching, and no improvement in teaching without the best professional development for teachers. We believe School Trusts have the capacity and can create the culture and conditions where professional development can be most effective. CST supports the ambitions of this White Paper and the proposal for all schools to be part of a group in a strong trust. We particularly welcome the recognition that strong trusts will be solely accountable for school improvement. We look forward to working with ministers on the proposed regulatory review.

Director of Children’s Services at Kent County Council, Matt Dunkley, said:

Kent County Council very much welcomes the government’s ambitious reform agenda and the commitment to a stronger, fairer school system. We support the focus on helping each child meet their potential with the right support at the right time. We agree that putting evidence at the heart of school improvement activity is vital. We know this approach works as we have started to see the benefits from our jointly-funded project with the Education Endowment Foundation that is embedding evidence-informed practice in over a third of our schools and academies so far. We look forward to Local Authorities now having new opportunities to work with schools and academies to build further on this. Streamlining of the current fragmented school system is well overdue, and we appreciate the proposals to match Local Authorities’ responsibilities as system leaders with the appropriate powers to meet those responsibilities. The creation of a unified school system that works for all children, enables schools to benefit from collaboration whilst maintaining their own identity, autonomy and accountability to their local community is the ambition, and the prize at stake here.

Updated data published today shows pupils continue to make progress following the pandemic with the support of the education recovery programme, now worth nearly £5 billion. By Autumn 2021, the average primary school pupil was 1.9 months behind in maths compared to 2.8 months in the summer, whilst the average primary school pupil was 0.8 months behind in reading, compared to 0.9 months behind in the summer.

The new tools and interventions set out in the White Paper will make sure every teacher, school and trust in the country is focused on identifying children who remain at risk of not meeting their potential, and providing them the right combination of academic, pastoral and specialist support they need to thrive.

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