School Improvement Commission

Sheffield City Council have commissioned Learn Sheffield to deliver statutory duties in relation to school improvement since we were incorporated in August 2015. The sequence of commissions has reflected the changing educational landscape both nationally and locally, with the size and scope of the activity and the funding reducing over time.

More detail about the series of school improvement commissions can be found in A Brief History of Learn Sheffield 2015-2023. The timeline of key moments in the history of Learn Sheffield includes the four commissions between 2015 and 2023. Pages 10/11 of this document contains a focus on the commissions with additional detail, including the values.

The current school improvement commission began in September 2023 and lasts for two years through to August 2025. It has four components:

• Ofsted inspection in maintained schools (speaking to inspectors and attending feedback)
• Supporting headteacher recruitment in maintained schools
• Primary (Key Stage 2) writing moderation
• Primary SATs and Y1 phonics monitoring.

In 2024/25 this will be supplemented by and extension to the contract to deliver a Raising Attainment programme focussed on primary writing.

More details about the primary writing programme will follow but this will include an in-kind contribution from Learn Sheffield to make the Primary Assessment Programme available to all Sheffield settings.