Schools North East sent out the final ‘State of the Region’ survey this term. The survey is conducted regularly across this academic year. We ask the same set of core questions every term to get a snapshot of the situation in North East schools, tracking developments across the academic year.
The ‘State of the Region’ survey intends to monitor the situation in schools across this academic year. We ask the same set of core questions every term (as well as additional questions where relevant) to get a snapshot of the situation in North East schools, and to see how the situation develops across the year. These surveys will look at how the continuing impact of the pandemic develops, monitoring attendance, wellbeing, recruitment and retention, and other key priorities. This will ensure education stakeholders and policymakers get an accurate picture of the current environment and challenges North East schools are contending with. Our briefings are sent to a range of strategic stakeholders, including the DfE, Ofsted, and all North East Members of Parliament. Our Summer 22/23 survey was sent out in June 2023. Responses represent 178 schools. Responses came from every local authority in the North East, covering all stages and types of schools.
Staff attendance
Almost 84% of schools had staffing levels at 90% or more. In our Spring survey, this figure was two thirds, and in the Autumn term it was just above 60%.
78.4% of responses said that they were unable to access enough supply staff to adequately cover staff absences. This is an increase on previous terms, when the figure was just under 60%. Almost all responses said that this was due to issues of both quantity and quality of available supply staff.
Recruitment and retention
Two thirds of responses said that they were struggling with recruiting permanent staff. This figure was broadly the same in the Autumn and Spring terms. The main concern across the year has been in recruiting teaching assistants and classroom support staff (82% said they were struggling to recruit teaching assistants). Teachers were the second group of most concern at 46.2%, and then administrative staff at 30.8%. Responses said that they were struggling to recruit support staff with SEND specialisms.
Just under half (49%) of schools said they were struggling to retain current staff. This has fluctuated from previous terms. In Autumn this figure was 42.6%, and in Spring it was 31.3%. For those that are struggling with retention, the main concern is again teaching assistants (40.7%), followed by teachers (37%). 18.5% were struggling to retain senior leaders.
For most schools the number of applicants for temporary and permanent roles is limited, with many teaching assistants leaving for other occupations outside of education. 46.9% of schools said that vacancies are above what they would usually expect for the Summer term.
Staff wellbeing
We asked respondents to rate staff wellbeing on a scale of 1 to 5, with five being good. The graph below shows the results from each term. Despite improvements in the Spring term, the Summer term has seen a decline in the number of response rating staff wellbeing as 4 or 5 (in comparison to both the Autumn and Spring terms)
The main driver of poor wellbeing continues to be workload. Schools are having to support increasing numbers of students with complex needs. With limited budgets and a crisis in recruitment and retention, this is putting significant additional responsibilities on staff. Schools also mentioned the pressures of Ofsted, and increasing parental expectations on schools. Where wellbeing was above 3, schools emphasised the importance of having wellbeing strategies in place. 63% of responses said that staff wellbeing was worse or much worse in comparison with a pre-pandemic Summer term.
The chart below shows how respondents, as school leaders, rated their own personal wellbeing. As with general staff wellbeing, this term has seen a decline in school leader wellbeing.
Student absences
Three quarters of schools had attendance above 90%, with 21.6% over 95%. Attendance levels are below what was reported in previous terms.
Almost 80% of schools said they are particularly worried about attendance levels of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and just under half said they were concerned about students with SEND. 72.6% said that attendance levels are below what they usually expect for the Summer term.
Responses said that there had been an attitude change towards engagement from education, especially from parents, with increasing numbers of families taking holidays during term time. Attendance has been a key challenge for schools this year, and although it has improved on last year, schools are not yet back at pre-pandemic levels. Schools are concerned that children and young people who are absent won’t have complex needs identified, and so won’t be able to access support.
Student wellbeing
We asked respondents to rate student wellbeing on a scale of 1 to 5, with five being good. The graph below shows the results from each term. While over half of schools report wellbeing as four or five, there has been a decline in positive student wellbeing since the Autumn term.
Responses said that dedicated and supportive staff were essential to driving positive wellbeing among students. Drivers of poor wellbeing are related to the increases in mental health issues, and the lack of capacity in schools and the wider system to meet increased need. The impact of the cost of living on families was also mentioned. 80% said that students from disadvantaged backgrounds were a particular concern, and 60% said that SEND students were.
Three quarters of responses said that they are seeing more behaviour related issues than is usual for the Summer term. Schools said that increasing numbers of students have little respect for the expectations of schools, with poor behaviour often endorsed by parents.
Additionally, students have lower resilience and stamina when it comes to learning, and younger pupils are struggling with socialising and language skills. Many behaviour incidents relate to increases in SEMH issues, and unmet SEND needs. Again, students from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with SEND are of particular concern on behavioural issues (71.4% and 62.9% respectively).
Three quarters of responses said that students aren’t stage ready, with 25% especially concerned about Y6s. These children had the early stages of their KS2 learning disrupted and have not matured in the same way as others in order to meet the demands of KS3. However, there were concerns across year groups, especially younger pupils as mentioned above, and those about to start their GCSEs.
Parents
62.7% of responses said that they are facing increased challenges in regards to relationships with parents. Some parents are increasingly more willing to be confrontational with schools and staff. Parental expectations are high, with schools being expected to take on responsibilities where other services are not available. Additionally, parental attitudes towards education have changed, leading to higher levels of persistent absences.
Finances
Schools continue to face serious pressures on their budgets. Two thirds are expecting to use reserves to meet increased costs, with most schools expecting to go into a deficit in the next few years.
Top priorities
Finances were a common theme throughout the concerns raised by schools, as without adequate funding they are unable to address the range of challenges they currently face. After funding, the two priorities most commonly mentioned were support for mental health and SEND, and the crisis in recruitment and retention.
Responses highlighted the lack of resources across the system, not just in schools, to support children and families, in meeting educational, health, and social care needs. Schools are seeing rises in a range of complex needs, and the system isn’t able to meet demand, leading to wider concerns about educational catch-up, attendance, and behaviour.
The recruitment and retention challenge has been highlighted above, especially around those support staff necessary to meet increasing needs. Schools are unable to compete with sectors outside education, which offer better pay and more flexible working arrangements.
Another key priority is the lack of respect for the education profession. Education policy currently fails to trust the profession. Ofsted and the accountability system were mentioned as a critical concern, putting undue pressure on school staff. Responses wanted to see a more collaborative approach to school improvement. Beyond Ofsted, it isn’t clear that education has been a priority for policy makers. Responses also mentioned negative media narratives, and unreasonable parental expectations.
Finally, responses also said that the challenges of working in disadvantaged communities wasn’t properly recognised. The impact of deprivation, and other contextual factors, needs to be taken into account in education policy and the accountability system. Areas with high levels of disadvantage have additional challenges in attendance, and meeting the needs of students.
Ofsted
The Education Select Committee of the House of Commons has launched an inquiry into Ofsted’s work with schools, looking at:
The usefulness of Ofsted inspections and inspection reports, and whether inspections are carried out in sufficient depth to meet the expectations of schools, governors and parents.
The impact of Ofsted judgements on schools and pupils, and the adequacy of the support schools can access to enable them to improve following an Ofsted judgement.
The impact of Ofsted inspections on workload and wellbeing for teachers, school leaders, governors and pupils, specifically relating to workload required by the inspection process, and what measures are put in place to mitigate this.
The effectiveness of Ofsted’s complaints procedure and the extent to which Ofsted is accountable and transparent in its work.
The impact of the new Education Inspection Framework introduced in 2019.
Schools North East surveyed school leaders using these headings as part of this State of the Region survey, and will be submitting a more detailed written submission to the HoC inquiry using the responses from the survey and information from other Schools North East roundtables and data collection. Below is an overview of the responses:
The chart below shows how respondents rated the new Education Inspection Framework on a scale of one to five, with one being very negative and five being very positive. Most responses saw the new framework as an improvement on the previous framework, with its move away from a focus solely on performance data. However, concerns were raised about the pressure on staff, as well as how appropriate deep dives are, especially for primary schools.
On Ofsted inspections and reports, schools said that these rarely helped with school improvement, and that one word judgements were not fit for purpose. Reports only provide a snapshot of schools, and don’t reflect the full breadth of work schools do. The length of inspections was seen as too brief to support the high stakes nature of the current accountability system. Responses also discussed the negative impact inspections have on staff workload and wellbeing.
The majority of schools said that there is not adequate support to enable them to improve following an Ofsted judgement. While schools emphasised that support was accessible from networks of schools or from the Local Authority, funding and resources were limited. Ofsted was not seen as playing an active role in school improvement by most schools.
Schools that have complained said that Ofsted rarely valued the opinions or experiences of schools. Additionally, schools are unclear on how Ofsted is held to account. On transparency, schools said that while the inspection framework is clear, its application is inconsistent, with judgements depending on the inspector rather than the framework.
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