19 July 2019 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

As we arrive at the end of another school year, I would like to thank you for your ongoing hard work and the progress achieved in continuing to deliver better education and support to make Kent a county that works for all children.

There are more children going to a good or outstanding school now than this time last year, because of your hard work and the partnership between schools and KCC to support school improvement. Improving the achievement, welfare, safety and life chances of all children and young people that we are collectively responsible for is the most important thing we can do, and all the positive differences we make matter for many years to come.

This is the time of year when we say goodbye to a number of colleagues. I would like to thank all those Headteachers and other senior leaders who are retiring, or moving on to new posts, for all their hard work to improve education in Kent and for the strong legacy they leave behind.

Education Endowment Foundation consultation

KCC are in the initial stages of setting up a partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation. To consult with you and to kickstart the partnership, Sir Kevan Collins, the CEO, and Stephen Fraser, deputy CEO, presented at the Headteacher briefings last week. These sessions aimed to explain the EEF’s work and to understand areas of common challenge and interest for Kent schools.

The EEF are offering to contribute joint funding with KCC for schools who are interested in participating in ‘promising projects’ - approaches that the EEF has tested in multiple contexts, with strong evidence of impact on pupils’ attainment. The benefit to the EEF is the chance to work with schools to scale-up these approaches and help close the attainment gap in more schools across England. The benefit to Kent schools is the chance to deliver innovative and proven approaches to improve pupil outcomes, particularly for disadvantaged children, and of course to access additional funding.

The EEF used the briefing sessions to introduce the idea of working together and to ascertain the interest of Kent schools in participating in this type of partnership. There was a strong response with over 190 expressions of interest in a range of promising projects.

If you were unable to attend the briefings but would like to participate in the consultation, please view the Headteacher Briefing presentation (PPTX, 2.1 MB) and the list of promising projects from the EEF. We want to know which of the promising projects you would be interested in, so please add your comments to the consultation using this feedback form (DOCX, 14.8 KB) and return it to Wendy.Dunmill@kent.gov.uk.

Over the summer we will be working with the EEF on the next steps for this partnership. This will include finalising a list of ‘promising projects’ for Kent schools, working with the project providers to establish timeframes and detailed costings, leading to a finalised partnership offer for Kent. We anticipate the offer will be ready for early Autumn. Please watch out for further details or send an email to Wendy.Dunmill@kent.gov.uk to register your interest and receive updates.

I hope you, your staff and pupils have a relaxing and well-earned summer break. My colleagues and I look forward to working with you in the coming year.

Matt Dunkley CBE
Corporate Director
Children, Young People and Education