The government will use a new RAG rating intervention model to target support to schools that need it, with turnaround leaders wanted to commission the help 鈥 and draw up new 鈥渓ocal area priorities鈥. officials have announced further details today of how their regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams will work (formerly known as regional improvement teams). Government is recruiting school leaders to work with civil servants in the new teams, who will commission support from bodies like trusts, councils or federations. Bridget Phillipson The government has set out new thresholds for intervention, which will be based on Ofsted report cards. But there appears to be confusion over who will decide which schools require support. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said the teams will ensure schools and trusts work 鈥渢ogether to drive high and rising standards across the board鈥. 鈥淔or too long, support for school improvement has been fragmented and complex. I want to change that.鈥 Here鈥檚 all you need to know鈥 1. Civil servants and school leader advisers to make up RISE teams Let鈥檚 start with who will make up the teams. The RISE teams will comprise officials *currently working* within the DfE鈥檚 regions group (so civil servants), and a 鈥渟mall number鈥 of advisers seconded in from schools, councils and trusts. Schools Week understands that DfE will not appoint extra civil servants to move into the roles. But from today, it will begin advertising for advisers. DfE expects to employ up to three full-time equivalents working about two days a week to each of the nine regional groups. This will equate to 鈥渇our to six actual people鈥 per area. They 鈥 or the organisations they will be seconded from 鈥 will be paid 拢600 a day for their time. This is the rate used for the department鈥檚 trust and school improvement scheme. Matthew Stevenson, deputy director for the southwest, said advisers will have 鈥渞ecent experience of school improvement or system leadership鈥. Regions group director general John Edwards added they will have 鈥渄emonstrated that they can improve schools and have worked across their areas and elsewhere to provide system leadership鈥. But he said: 鈥淲e know that there are lots of demands on such people’s time… and that we shouldn’t be taking everyone out of their schools and roles at this critical time. 鈥淪o we’re adopting a flexible approach as we appoint advisers, including part-time appointments, and utilising the knowledge, skills and relationships of people who may have recently retired as well.鈥 2. New intervention model 鈥 but who decides which category schools are in? The RISE teams will 鈥渟it within a new framework of support an intervention鈥, government documents state. This will be broken down into 鈥渢hree tiers鈥 of improvement support: universal help, targeted support, and intervention. On a slide shown to leaders today (see below), this was RAG rated as green, amber and red, respectively. The level of support required will be based on Ofsted鈥檚 new report cards, which will be introduced in September 2025. But the big question is WHO will decide which category of support schools fall in to? The DfE told us that the report cards will “identify schools requiring intervention and targeted support” – stating this will be Ofsted’s job. Ofsted has a legal duty to identify schools that are special measures or require significant improvement. However, it has no duty (currently) to identify schools requiring ‘targeted support’. When asked for comment, an Ofsted spokesperson was clear that DfE is “responsible for whether and how to support or intervene in schools” – saying the question is a “matter for them”. DfE added the “specifics are being developed”. 3. Universal support: For schools with ‘minimal issues’ Universal support will be offered where a report card identifies: Minimal issues and strong leadership/school improvement capacity Well-performing schools that can support wider system For these schools RISE teams, which will answer to regions group, will be charged with signposting all the support available to leaders, including hubs, training, financial support and professional development. In these cases, schools will be expected to 鈥渟elf-identify鈥 from Ofsted report cards areas of improvement. The teams will also 鈥減romote the sharing of good practice and networking鈥 between trusts and councils. 4. Targeted support: For schools with 鈥榮ingular or several issues鈥 (and LAs back in the picture) This is where it starts to get a bit messier. Schools will get 鈥渢argeted support鈥 if a report card identifies 鈥渟ingular or several issues needing specific, more intensive support, which have leadership capacity to improve鈥. Another example is where report cards identify 鈥渟chools requiring immediate support outside of inspections鈥. Southwest regional director Lucy Livings said that as 鈥渞eport cards [are] being developed [we] will also be developing the criteria鈥 鈥 so things could become clearer. For these schools, RISE teams will work with leaders to develop a 鈥渂espoke鈥 improvement package. This will be provided over 12 to 24 months by an organisation, commissioned by the teams, like a 鈥淢AT, federation or LA partnership鈥. This 鈥渕arks a break鈥 from the previous initiatives and 鈥渋s a way forward that’s collaborative and focused on support鈥, Livings added. DfE thinks only a 鈥渟mall number of schools鈥 will need such targeted help. But Stevenson said: 鈥淲e think the support will be irresistible. I think if a school ultimately refuses to have support, then we would need to consider what further action would need to be taken in that situation, but we think that would be very unlikely.鈥 However, Sir David Carter, the former national schools commissioner, said the plans 鈥渞eally feel a bit unthought out. It鈥檚 as if the approach is to recreate how local authorities used to attempt intervention, but on a huge scale.鈥 5. Intervention: For schools needing 鈥榚mergency support鈥 RISE teams will not automatically have a role in providing support for schools requiring intervention 鈥 who Ofsted will identify. However, they may 鈥減otentially, in the short term, provide emerging support to a school pending intervention鈥. An 鈥渆ven smaller number of schools, fewer probably than we’ve been working with before, will continue to need structural intervention鈥, Livings added. 6. And in the interim: 鈥榲ulnerable鈥 schools will get support The support teams are due to start in January, but Ofsted report cards won鈥檛 be introduced until September. So what happens in the interim? Livings said the teams will 鈥渟tart working with a smaller number of schools, of those that we deem most vulnerable at the moment, based on both the current judgments and the data that’s available. But from September, it will be the report card that will be the main criteria.鈥 7. RISE teams *won鈥檛* provide the support The early days under regional directors 鈥 when they were called regional school commissioners 鈥 blurred the lines between commissioning and providing school improvement support themselves. In 2018, the government stepped in to stop RSCs sending education advisers into schools 鈥 over concerns they were operating as a shadow Ofsted. Since then, regional academy teams solely commission support when schools fall into trouble. Stevenson said today the RISE teams 鈥渨ill not provide support directly, but will commission strong organisations鈥 who will 鈥渃reate a bespoke package of support鈥. Explaining the process, he added: 鈥淪o if a school becomes eligible for support, the process would start with our RISE teams reaching out to the responsible body, be that the trust or the local authority, as well as the diocese, if applicable, to discuss the challenges that school currently faces, as well as its existing plans for improvement鈥. 鈥淥ur advisors, with our teams, would then appoint a supporting organisation to work with the school to do that further joint diagnosis, to further co-construct a plan with the school to really make sure that school has exactly the support it needs and exactly the expertise it needs over that period of time. 鈥淎nd then obviously all parties, not least the responsible body itself, would then want to monitor the progress of that support going forward.鈥 8. And who will pay? This isn鈥檛 quite clear yet, and we鈥檝e asked for clarification. But Livings said that, in terms of the targeted support that is commissioned by RISE teams, that would be 鈥渁 funded element of support鈥. She added: 鈥淭here could be a traded services part of that, it will [need] to be worked through, but that’s the separate part where there is going to be some money connected to it.鈥 9. New 鈥榣ocal area priorities鈥, too Another 鈥渙bjective鈥 of the RISE teams will be that 鈥渆very part of the country has a coherent set of local area priorities鈥. The teams will work with local authorities, dioceses and mayoral combined authorities to draw up priorities, to be set out in the Autumn. This will allow 鈥渓ocal partners to work collaboratively to solve issues affecting children in their communities鈥. Livings said the priorities will 鈥渞elate not just to education, but also to the wider services affecting children and young people, including SEND and children’s social care鈥. 10. Will take until April 2026 for all schools to get 鈥榯argeted鈥 support The government has set out a timeline for its plans鈥 This week: Government will start advertising for advisers to join RISE teams January, 2025: The first advisers will be appointed, as part of a 鈥渢est-and-learn approach鈥. They will begin by providing targeted support to 鈥渁 very small number [of schools], perhaps about 30 nationally鈥, Stevenson said. April, 2025: More advisors appointed, with teams to start providing the 鈥渦niversal support鈥 offer September, 2025: New inspection framework and school report cards will start. Stevenson said these will 鈥渞eally help schools to identify both their strengths and areas of development, and not only for what support they might need, but also what support they might be able to give others, too鈥. Local area priorities will also be communicated this term. April, 2026: All RISE schools needing 鈥渢argeted support鈥 will have got this. An early evaluation of the scheme will also have been completed.
5 November 2024 I attended the Teams briefing session today with many others. It was a refreshing approach which was well presented by the civil servants. It was informative and very helpful, drawing together the sector from single academy trusts to larger trusts as well as the maintained schools, also recognising the local authorities too. This session instilled a sense of hope and collective responsibility for all our young people. We look forward to the range of ways we can all work together to achieve the aspirations of the new education secretary. This approach might help to bring together the so called fragmented system.