October's education snapshot

Reflecting on the past month, as part of October's snapshot, keep up with the latest sector developments. 

Mental health and behaviour

Mental health and behavioural issues, as well as unidentified learning needs, are on the rise, making attendance a pressing concern. Pupil behaviour has become a headline issue in the sector, accompanied by a notable rise in exclusion rates. The issue of exclusions is particularly pressing, with the numbers of children outpacing local authorities' ability to keep up. At the same time, Schools are grappling with the challenge of handling a growing number of children with unidentified learning needs, as mainstream schools struggle to assess their requirements promptly.

The recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has also stressed the importance of staff health, wellbeing, and workload issues in schools. It's becoming increasingly evident that schools and trusts require high-quality support to ensure they operate effectively, maintain compliance, and optimise their resources in the face of these challenges. Explore our training options covering various HR and people issues. 

From the policymakers

The Children's Commissioner, Rachel De Souza, continues to actively engage with children and young people to inform future policy-making. Her initiatives, including the 'Big Ask', 'Big Answer', alongside the recent 'Big Ambition' campaign across 22,500 schools to encourage policymakers to consider the needs of young people and reflect their input in future policies. Remember to prompt children and young people (or their parents, where required) to complete the survey by 15 December. We're keen to see the findings of these initiatives anticipated in the new year. 

Manifesto time

Following Labour's manifesto, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Philipson, confirms continuity in the Academy and Free Schools Programme. According to the DfE, there has been a notable surge in academy transfers this year, with increased initiation by trusts themselves. Smaller primary schools are considering clustering into supportive academy chains, though concerns about fragmented system impact exist. In the last financial year, 275 academies (2.7% of national operations) transferred to different trusts, a 56.3% YoY increase. We've seen growing demand for our support in Readiness to Grow Reviews and academy transfers, including harmonising structures and services across growing trusts, demonstrating EPM's value in navigating the evolving educational landscape. For more details, delve into our Leadership & MAT development service.

Summary and conclusions

Overall, the current academy landscape prioritises the growth of strong trusts, with Regional Directors favouring groups of schools to join or transfer. Several critical points are emerging, including a growing demand from small trusts seeking partners, the importance of developing strong partnerships before growth, and the need for clear compromises as trusts expand. There also needs to be a significant focus on effective due diligence to embed vision and values across a trust, ensuring that "good" is well-defined and understood by everyone in your organisation.

We support academies and trusts across the sector, helping them determine their readiness for growth. Our focused reviews provide independent evidence of strengths and areas for development, which forms a central part of discussions with the DfE and other interested parties. Our ongoing commitment is to provide the support and expertise needed to thrive in an ever-changing educational environment.

If you’re looking for advice and guidance about growth or would like to learn more about our range of services and relevant training, please talk to us.