School Improvement Service Guarantee (SISG) - Nursery and Primary Special Schools 2024/25

Lancashire Nursery and Primary Special Schools (maintained)

Welcome

Thank you for taking the time to read our School Improvement Service Guarantee (SISG) 2024/25.

We are very proud of the quality and consistency of what we have provided over many years and, we are delighted that the SISG continues to grow and develop in response to the changing needs of our schools.

Our offer is designed to draw on the widest possible skillset from the advisory team and wider Lancashire services.

As ever, our primary goal is to ensure that our children and young people benefit from the best possible educational opportunities that schools can deliver, working under the umbrella of the Lancashire Education Strategy.

Jane Phythian, Julie Fryer and Mark Purcell

Senior School Advisers

Why Lancashire SISG?

The Offer for April 2024 – March 2025

  • A named school adviser, assigned in consultation with your school.
  • Five adviser days which can be used flexibly. The nature of the support provided by the adviser is determined by the school’s own agenda and priorities for improvement. Your named adviser will compile reports and respond to emails and telephone calls from school staff/Governors.
  • Dedicated attention to providing and promoting wellbeing for everyone associated with your school.
  • Full year support via telephone and email, as required, with cover arrangements when the named adviser is on leave /absent.
  • Support during an Ofsted Inspection including discussion with the inspector and attending feedback.
  • Contingency support for emergency and critical incidents.
  • Support for challenging situations, e.g. capability, parental complaint, budget.
  • Assistance in brokering temporary senior leadership.
  • Records of visits will be maintained.
  • Half-termly updates on national and local level.
  • Recruitment for all senior leadership posts.
  • Senior English and mathematics Teaching and Learning Consultants' termly, online headteacher briefing.
  • Early Years termly briefing by consultants.
  • Access to the LPDS Lancashire Grid for Learning website with free access to the English and mathematics areas.
  • An annual online headteacher briefing on 'Promoting Equality and Diversity in School.'
  • One free place per school, per term, on the termly Headteacher Forum.
  • Online resources area, only available to SISG schools ( www.lancashire.gov.uk/lpds/leadership) including a weekly newsletter/roundup and the 'Great Teaching: Reflecting on Classroom Practice' publication.
  • One free place on a writing moderation session in January (Year 6).
  • Discounted delegate place(s) on the renowned '24 Hours in Leadership' Lancashire Conference.

Our vision for Education and Children's Services

Children, young people and their families are safe, healthy and achieve their full potential.

Lancashire County Council has a duty to drive school improvement so that every school is a good school. Our role is to be the 'Champion of the Learner.'

Our School Improvement Service Guarantee (SISG) is part of our traded offer, contributing towards achieving our vision by supporting and challenging schools to deliver high quality primary provision. This should be based on a rich, connected curriculum that deepens learning and equips pupils for the demands of the next phase of their school journey.

Our SISG is a traded, distinct offer for schools which compliments the Team Around the School and Settings (TASS) work. This is our universal, locality based, needs led model of support for all schools which aims to address recurrent issues that impact on children's educational outcomes. This multi-agency approach works in partnership with all Lancashire schools and settings, to support all children to reach their full potential in education.

Lancashire County Council's Values:

Values

 

Our Skilled and Experienced Team

Alison Lloyd - alison.lloyd@lancashire.gov.uk - 07826 876408
Angela Heyes - Angela.Heyes@lancashire.gov.uk - 07773 666915
Charlotte Emmott - charlotte.emmott@lancashire.gov.uk - 07812 772976
Chris Haworth - christine.haworth@lancashire.gov.uk - 07717 730286
David Bird - David.Bird@lancashire.gov.uk - 07717 423888
Gemma Whaling - gemma.whaling@lancashire.gov.uk - 07825 996467
Graeme Lucas - graeme.lucas@lancashire.gov.uk - 07827 873856
Helen Hesketh - helen.hesketh@lancashire.gov.uk
Humma Ahmed - head@walverden.lancs.sch.uk
Jane Phythian - jane.phythian@lancashire.gov.uk - 07795 812716
Jane Thistlethwaite - head@newchurchcofe.lancs.sch.uk
Julie Fryer - julie.fryer@lancashire.gov.uk - 07810 252372
Kevin Kendall - Kevin.Kendall@lancashire.gov.uk - 07815 018361
Lisa Davison - head@stoneyholme-pri.lancs.sch.uk
Mandy Goggin - mandy.goggin@lancashire.gov.uk - 07789 618068
Mark Purcell - mark.purcell@lancashire.gov.uk - 07976 053471
MT Bamber - marie.bamber@lancashire.gov.uk - 07774 420752
Nicola Daniels-Green - head@ightenhill-nur.lancs.sch.uk
Rachel Ballard - rachel.ballard2@lancashire.gov.uk
Rachel Clements - Rachel.Clements@lancashire.gov.uk - 07825 063568
Richard Kershaw - richard.kershaw@lancashire.gov.uk - 07773 065052
Sam Oates - Samantha.Oates2@lancashire.gov.uk - 07813 575568
Sarah Watson - sarah.watson2@lancashire.gov.uk - 07798 724040
Sue Penney - susan.penney@lancashire.gov.uk - 07866 226834
Suzanne Fish - suzanne.fish@lancashire.gov.uk - 07788 357207

Our Guarantee

The Personal Touch

Year-long phone and email support with your named adviser, along with five full adviser days which can be used flexibly by your school.

A Service That Cares and Is Always There

Our new SISG offer builds upon the well-established model of School Improvement in Lancashire which has grown and developed over the years in response to feedback from our schools. The professional relationship between an adviser, school leaders and governors ensures a detailed knowledge and understanding of individual schools, which then informs bespoke support and challenge.

Bespoke to Your School

This brochure outlines a core offer, but all of our support will be tailored to you and your school.

Wide Ranging Support and Challenge

As a Service, we know our schools well. We are skilled in identifying appropriate challenge, support and opportunities to enable all our schools to be self-managing in responding to local and national developments. Our close working relationship with other LA services, such as HR, Inclusion, Safeguarding and Finance, ensures we are informed of the latest developments within these areas.

Unparalleled Expertise

Our team of advisers are highly skilled and have substantial experience in all aspects of education. They will empower and enable schools to deliver the very best outcomes for all pupils.

Additional Support within the Lancashire SISG

  • Pastoral support for school leaders and staff in dealing with the national and local challenges faced by schools.
  • Brokering of additional support from the expertise within both the School Improvement Service and the wider Local Authority Teams, for example, finance, HR, health and safety, legal, media, Inclusion, LPDS etc (subject to individual service SLA’s).
  • Swift access to Monitoring and Intervention Team support in response to an identified vulnerability.
  • Brokering of support from local and national systems and associations, as appropriate.
  • Co-ordinated and partnership working with diocesan colleagues (where appropriate).
  • Facilitation of collaborative, school led projects, for example, 'Small School Curriculum Development Project 2022 / 24 and the Formative Assessment Project.'
  • Drawing on expertise and capacity within the TASS cross phase networks.

How You Might Use your Lancashire SISG

Teaching and Learning

• Working with schools to enhance their curriculum offer.

• An audit of the quality of teaching and learning, including ‘Deep Dives’.

• Challenge for good and outstanding schools to further improve and to share their practice more widely.

• A review of assessment and tracking systems across the school.

Leadership and Management

• Professional development for Senior Leadership Teams.

• Preparation for an Ofsted Inspection and assistance with post- Ofsted action planning.

• Supported monitoring and evaluation of teaching through observations of lessons, scrutiny of pupils’ work, pupil discussions etc.

• A whole school review in response to changing national frameworks and expectations.

• School Development review.

• Self-evaluation review (tailored to the needs of the school.)

• Leadership and management audit.

• A review of the impact of discreet funding streams, for example, Pupil Premium Grant, Catch Up and Sports Funding.

Professional Development

• The adviser provides the role of External Adviser in supporting the Governor Appraisal Committee with headteacher appraisal.

• “Spotlight” profile coaching by accredited advisers, at a reduced rate..

• Professional development for effective subject leadership.

• Arranging mentor support for new and acting headteachers.

• Provision of Local Authority references for staff who apply for a headship post.

• Access to coaching conversations for all staff.

• Attendance at termly Headteacher or Nursery Headteacher briefings by senior advisers, and English & maths updates from consultants.

Governance

• Support for Governing Boards with brokering External Review of Governance, support from a National Leader of Governance or support from within Lancashire.

• Full support for Governing Boards in the recruitment of a headteacher, deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher.

• Support in exploring, establishing or dissolving a collaboration or federation.

• Bespoke professional development not covered within the Governor Services SLA.

"I buy in SSG for school improvement as, above all else, I know my named adviser knows and understands me as a person / leader, and my school to a tee.

I know support is there quickly for small queries and help with bigger and more serious issues.
The breadth and quality of support available to me through this is immense and instills the confidence in me that I am on the right track!"

Joanne Geldard, Headteacher Lancaster Lane Community Primary School

"The SSG for School Improvement provided by Lancashire has always been of such a high quality. Focused meetings throughout the year offer a range of support and advice:

an identified school adviser who knows the school well; in-depth discussions which help to challenge and validate the school internal self-evaluation; critical friend to provide constructive feedback and development ideas; a wealth of advice and guidance if and whenever necessary as well as immediate telephone availability for immediate support. In addition, the LSIP is available without additional payment alongside termly informative Headteacher Briefings. What more could we ask."

Adele Robinson, Headteacher Dalton St Michael's Church of England Primary School

Continue or Start your Relationship with Lancashire

£3150 for an April 2024 to March 2025 School Improvement Service Guarantee (SISG). If you wish to continue with your SISG then there is no need to do anything, your contract will automatically renew and roll forward.

For a collaboration of two or more schools, the SISG will be arranged with you at a bespoke price.

 

Our senior advisory team are happy to informally discuss your experiences and requirements, so that your package is the perfect fit

Jane Phythian, 07795 812716, jane.phythian@lancashire.gov.uk

Julie Fryer, 07810 252372, julie.fryer@lancashire.gov.uk

Mark Purcell, 07766 367552, mark.purcell@lancashire.gov.uk

General enquiries, 01257 516166, advisory.support@lancashire.gov.uk

 

Terms and Conditions

If in the event your adviser is unavailable, we guarantee to provide you with an immediate substitute, with another named adviser. If you no longer wish to renew your SISG, then we ask that you inform us via email advisory.support@lancashire.gov.uk no less than three months before the renewal due date.

The cost of the SISG is non-refundable for the year in which it is taken out. However, any school subject to an Academy order due to an Ofsted inspection outcome should contact their senior adviser for the area to discuss the future of their SISG contract.

If you have any complaints about the quality of service you receive against the SISG, please make direct contact with a Senior Adviser, who will seek to resolve this.