Educating for the Future Pilot

Pilot Information

‘Developing New Locality Models for English Schools’ began life as a report published in March 2021, following research sponsored by the Association of Education Committees (AEC) Trust and BELMAS, the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society. To access the report, click here.

A key finding of the research, which explored four leading international systems, was that – to borrow a phrase from educational researcher Michael Fullan – ‘Leadership from the Middle’ through locality-based governance and partnership working is key to building school systems that can deliver excellence and equity.

The research, outlined in the summary and in further detail in the literature review, provides examples of how the four leading systems tackle the function being tested through the pilots.

The final report made several recommendations to strengthen the role played by locality-based partnerships. The AEC Trust now want to explore piloting three approaches drawn from the recommendations which have received the most interest and support.

The LocalED project has partnered with local authorities, and local education partnerships working with schools, academy trusts and other local partners to develop new locality models across England.

The pilots will develop ways by focusing on localities to improve support for vulnerable pupils in individual schools and academy trusts; to explore using combined authorities as the basis for supporting school improvement, and, to test a different, more professionally – reliant approach to accountability.

Each pilot is running for 2 years, between April 2022 and April 2024, and a final report on learning from the pilots will then be published.

More information about the project and the three pilots below can be found on the Educating for the Future website.

Pilot 1 – Support for vulnerable young people
Pilot 2 – Combined Authorities as the base for supporting school improvement
Pilot 3 – Towards a new model of accountability

Learn Sheffield is taking part in Pilot 3 and more information about this can be found on the Sheffield Pilot tab above.

Sheffield Pilot

Learn Sheffield is taking part in the third strand of the pilot which is titled ‘Towards a new model of professional accountability’ and is being led by Dame Christine Gilbert (former HM Chief Inspector 2006-2011).

This pilot is working with local areas to explore approaches to developing an accountability system that demonstrates what stronger professional accountability looks like in action. Aiming for a system that is rigorous and less ‘high stakes’ than the current model, the pilot seeks to operate at the level of the individual teacher, the individual school, and across networks of schools, while also being considered a key part of the national system.

More information about Pilot 3 can be found on the Educating for the Future project website.

The Sheffield pilot contains two strands:

• Strand A: the development of school report cards to test how different reported information about a school could provide a more rounded perspective of a school and enhance both the culture of professional accountability and the quality of information for parents, carers and the community.
• Strand B: moderated MAT peer review to support rigorous internal evaluation using external (to the MAT but not the civic partnership) moderation. This will develop a locality framework to support rigorous and supportive accountability and explore how this might promote local professional accountability.

Sheffield Recruitment

We are now recruiting Sheffield schools to join this work, which will take place across this school year and next year. If you are a Sheffield school, academy or MAT and would like to express an interest in either strand, or would like to discuss further, please contact stephen.betts@learnsheffield.co.uk.

Strand A (developing school report cards) could be of interest to any school or small group of schools. The content of the strand will be developed alongside the participating schools or academies and so we are inviting any setting that is considering taking part to a workshop with Christine Gilbert on Thursday 29 September (11am-1pm in person at Albion House). Colleagues will then decide if they would like to take part after this session, so that they have a clearer idea of what it will involve before making their decision.

Strand B could be of interest to a Multi-Academy Trust. This strand will further develop a framework that we have already started to develop but the specific elements involved (i.e. what aspects to focus peer review on) will be determined alongside the participating MATs to ensure that the pilot also meets their needs.

To express an interest in either project or to come to the strand A workshop with Christine Gilbert – please complete this very short form.

Update: Autumn 2023

Learn Sheffield took part in the LocalEd 2025 conference on 14 September 2023 which was designed to celebrate the progress that has been made across the three pilots in year one and look ahead to year two. This event provided an opportunity for sharing of the learning and reflections to date from across the nine areas, and hear more about each pilot. The documents that we shared at this event, a short update presentation and an updated project action plan, are below.

Strand A (report cards) of the Sheffield pilot will move into a test and learn phase in Autumn 2 and Spring 1. This will involve testing the report card with parents, carers and stakeholders across two testing phases. The Report Card working group will finalise this plan in October, review the first phase of test and learn in December and then complete a final evaluation in February 2024.

Strand B (MAT peer review) of the Sheffield pilot has been on hold to enable the volume of work involved in strand A to take place. It will restart later this term and continue into 2024.

Please return to this page for further updates on the Sheffield pilot throughout 2023/24 and for information about the overall project evaluation when this becomes available.

Sheffield Pilot Update (Autumn 2023)
Sheffield Action Plan (September 2023)