The PAG Newsletter - Issue 10
Introduction from Tom Legge
Hello,
As I’m sure you can imagine, the last month has been incredibly busy here at PAG. The current free school wave has dominated our focus for several months now, and in February we finally came to the end of the AP application window, submitting high quality bids for several of our clients.
However, if our hard-working consultants thought they might finally get some respite from free school bid writing they were sorely mistaken as yesterday the DfE announced which local authorities have been successful in the SEND wave, and you can read more about the announcement below.
In the spirit of the upcoming SEND wave, we’ve focused our attentions on the latest SEND news, with features on the SEND capacity crisis, and how computer adaptive testing could make assessments more accessible for pupils with SEND. We’re also delighted to announce that PAG was named as one of the UK’s best workplaces? for wellbeing by Great Place to Work UK, and you can read more below.
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Sector News: DfE announces successful Local Authorities in the SEND Free School Wave
By Helena Senior
Yesterday morning, the Department for Education released the list of successful Local Authorities in the SEND Wave, marking the next phase in this round of free school bidding. The list reflects a strong trend towards improving provision specifically for SEMH and ASD, with those being the two most prevalent specialisms on the list.
You can find details of all the successful LAs here.
Whilst we are still waiting for the How To Apply Guidance to be released, Trusts who are interested in bidding for one or more of the successful schools should get in touch with Create: Schools - our free to use support service for all free school proposers - here.
Additionally, if you are looking for support with crafting your bid, PAG has a >90% success rate in writing free schools bids across both the central free school waves, and local authority competitions. To find out more about how we can support you with your bid, please get in touch here.?
Sector News: Overcrowded SEND schools - The rising need for official capacity figures
By Ernestina Alvarez Corona
The Department for Education (DfE) has announced that it will gather data on the capacity of special schools following a shortage of places for children with special needs. The decision was made in response to the crisis faced by families of children with special needs who were unable to secure a place in a special school reported by Schools Week and BBC News.
Both pieces of research compared student headcount figures to the number of commissioned spaces at 1,012 state-funded schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England for the 2021–22 academic year. The reports revealed that over 50% of SEND schools had more pupils in classes than commissioned places.
The DfE has stated that it will work closely with local authorities to collect data on the capacity of special schools across the country. The data will be used to identify areas where there are shortages of places for children with special needs and to inform future planning for the provision of special education.
This move by the DfE has been welcomed by campaigners for children with special needs, who have been calling for greater transparency and accountability in the provision of special education across social media. There are hopes that the data collected will lead to better planning and investment in special education, and ultimately, to more children with special needs being able to access the quality support they need.
The DfE added that the collection of capacity data for special schools is part of a wider programme of work aimed at improving the provision of special education in England. The Department for Education is providing ￡2.6bn in capital funding up to 2025 to help deliver new places at SEND schools, including the SEND Free Schools Wave.
You can find out more about the SEND Free Schools Wave here.?
PAG News: PAG named one of the UK’s 2023 Best Workplaces? for Wellbeing
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that PAG has been officially named one of the UK’s Best Workplaces? for Wellbeing (2023) by Great Place to Work UK, the global authority on workplace culture.
Great Place to Work’s culture experts analysed thousands of employee surveys, assessing people’s holistic experiences of wellbeing at work to determine the UK's Best Workplaces? for Wellbeing list. The surveys asked employees to comment on how their company supports their work-life balance, sense of fulfilment, job satisfaction, psychological safety and financial security. Evaluations also included an assessment of how well the organisation was able to deliver consistency of their employee experience across all departments and seniority levels.
As a purely work-from-home organisation, being recognised for supporting your employee's wellbeing feels even more significant. We hope that there are plenty of reasons why our team consider PAG a great place to work, and this is just one of them, and we will continue to strive to ensure that PAG employees feel safe, happy, and heard at work.
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We are delighted to be recognised in this way and even more so for it to come from our wonderful team.
Partner News: Moxton Education offering free consultations ahead of BETT 2023?
By Gabriel Senior
This year, Create: School’s ICT partner, Moxton Education, will be attending the leading education technology exhibition, BETT. Taking place at ExCel London between the 29th and 31st of March. BETT brings together educators and resource providers to find solutions for a range of challenges facing technology in the education sector.?
Moxton education are well aware of the challenges faced by many schools when it comes to ICT services. From uncovering the hidden costs, to helping ensure that Trust wide systems are supporting teaching and learning, Moxton are able to provide support and ensure that schools and Trusts are getting the best out of their ICT strategy.?
Over the last seven years, Moxton have collated detailed benchmark data from individual primary schools to the largest MAT’s covering every aspect of ICT including the optimum mix of capital and revenue expenditure, analysis of provider performance, views on the different models of delivery and the balance of insourcing/outsourcing.?
The team will be at BETT 2023 and are offering a free 45-minute consultation to support schools and Trusts with costs, strategy and procurement support ahead of the event. To find out more about BETT 2023, click here.?
To get in touch with the team at Moxton Education, click here.
Sector News: Is computer adaptive testing the answer to making assessments more inclusive for pupils with SEND?
By Helena Senior
What is computer adaptive testing?
Computer adaptive testing (CAT) is a form of assessment in which the test adapts to the candidate’s ability in real time by responding to the answers already given and selecting different questions in order to provide a more accurate measure of progress and capability.
For example, the test may start with a baseline level of difficulty set as the average or medium level appropriate for the candidates age group. If they get the initial question(s) correct, then the test will increase the level of difficulty, whereas, if the candidate is incorrect, then the test will decrease the level of difficulty. Each individual will take a different path through the test, based on their own ability level. The test ends either when an accurate ability estimate has been reached or the maximum number of questions has been asked; this means that the text may also vary in length for some candidates.
The problem with testing in Primary Schools
A recent TES article revealed that whilst 11% of SEND pupils were able to achieve top marks in the new multiplication tables check (MTC) taken in November, 17% of pupils with SEND did not actually take the test, and a whopping 54% of pupils with EHCP’s did not sit the test. This reveals a serious problem in ensuring that primary school testing is accessible for pupils with SEND.
A deeper look into these pupils who were unable to access the tests reveals that the most common reason (39%) was pupils working below the national curriculum standard, with other reasons including being unable to participate, or being absent from school. There were also 3000 pupils who did not take the test with no reason specified.
In comparison, just 1% of pupils with no special educational needs or EHCP did not take the test.
How can computer adaptive testing help?
A report published by the EDSK Think Tank suggests a series of reforms for approaches to assessment and tracking progress including suggesting that schools should move to using adaptive tests instead of ‘one-size-fits-all standardised’ testing by 2026.
CAT can provide a shorter, lower stakes approach to testing that is more inclusive of a range of different needs. By responding in real time to the ability level of the candidate, it allows for progression to be more accurately tracked in a manner that is adaptive to the candidate. These tests can also benefit from accessibility features such as introducing audio versions of the questions, allowing for breaks during the test, and removing limits on how long pupils have to take the test.?
Live Bids
For more information on current opportunities, you can check out the live bids page on our website?here.
Thank you for reading this edition of The PAG Newsletter! You can check out our previous issues?here. Make sure to follow PAG on?LinkedIn?and?Twitter?for regular updates on all of our exciting projects!