Updates, News & Resources

New Ofsted Framework

Ofsted has set out the renewed approach to education inspection that aims to give parents better and more detailed information, is fairer on professionals and will help to raise standards for all children.

The new framework will come into effect in November and will introduce new report cards. Examples of these report cards can be seen on YouTube videos within the press release.

In summary, the changes to the framework include:

• A new 5 point grading scale, to include a new ‘exceptional’ grade, designed to raise standards and identify the very best provision in the country.
• Parents and carers are to receive detailed information about educational settings with strengths and areas for improvement being highlighted through a report card around 9 areas. Safeguarding will then be judged separately as a stand alone area, being either ‘met’ or ‘not met’.
• Those schools and colleges where inspections have identified areas for improvement that need attention or urgent improvement will receive additional monitoring inspections to ensure that there are swift improvements being made.
• Nurseries and childminders will be inspected more frequently, with this now being every 4 years.
• A focus on inclusion at every inspection, particularly provision for disadvantaged children, those with SEND and those known to social care.
• A more collaborative approach to inspections, with a focus on professionals’ wellbeing and workload.
• New inspection toolkits for grading providers to provide grader clarity and a focus on driving consistent and fair inspections.

The full press release from Ofsted can be read here.

Welcome to the Autumn Term 2025

Dear Governor / Trustee

Welcome to the autumn term 2025 and the new school year! I hope you feel rested after the summer break and ready to take on the opportunities and challenges for the year ahead. As usual the Governance Services Team are here to support you in in all matters relating to strategic governance through our clerking, training and development services.

We commence the term with some changes to the team. Following my appointment as Governance Services Manager, I’m delighted to confirm that Catherine Grundy has been promoted to my previous role as Senior Governance Support Officer, leading the Clerking and Support team.  Over the summer period, we sadly said goodbye to Karen Riley who has decided to take a step back, though we are pleased that she remains with us as part of our Minute Clerk Team so will continue to support the service going forwards.

These changes left us with 2 vacancies within the Clerking Team. Through recruitment over the summer we were able to appoint Gemma Monks to one of these positions have been excited to welcome her to the team. Recruitment for a second Governance Support Officer is ongoing, and we hope to have further information in due course. Alternative arrangements are in place and schools have been notified of these.

We have some new and exciting opportunities through the Governance Training and Development Programme this year with over 30 centre-based courses held on multiple dates and times throughout the year, along with 60 e-learning sessions. All accessible via our competitive SLA and Pay As You Go rates. Highlights include new sessions focused on Ofsted, AI, Complaints, Safeguarding, working with your DSL and Sustainability.

Our annual Governance Conference, will be held on 8 November 2025. The conference theme this year is “sustainability” and will prove to be an informative and thought-provoking event. As usual, our regular offer of termly Chairs’ Briefings, Partnership Forums and Training and Development Lead Briefings continue to support shared learning and external perspectives.

Finally, don’t forget that the service, through our Development Programme, can provide bespoke learning opportunities for your Board on various governance areas, enabling effective strategic working and promotion of best practice and excellence.

So, from Team and I, thank you for your support in 2024/25 and we wish you and your school and governance teams well for the term and year ahead.

Rachael Worthington | Governance Services Manager | Bolton Council

Rachael.Worthington@bolton.gov.uk  |  01204 338603

Director identity verification required

From 18 November 2025, all company directors and people with significant control will be legally required to verify their identity for Companies House.

This verification must take place before the filing of the company’s next confirmation statement as each director’s personal code and verification statement will need to be included, otherwise the company will not be able to submit the filing.

All Trusts will receive communication directly from Companies House detailing how directors can verify their identities and also enabling them to check the deadline for this, based on when the next confirmation statement is due.

Further information on the changes can also be found on the Gov.uk website here.

Ofsted inspections paused

Following feedback from the Big Listen last year, together with the consultation on inspection reform, Ofsted has announced a new structure for inspections, with the intention of improving consistency.

The changes mean that following the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025:

• all schools and further education inspections will be led by current His Majesty’s Inspectors, or OIs with recent HMI experience, drawing on their more in-depth inspection expertise and training.
• Ofsted will make the best use of OI’s current sector knowledge and experience by deploying them as team inspectors, placing greater emphasis on matching their expertise to specific types of provision to complement the inspection expertise brought by His Majesty’s Inspectors.

The revised education inspection framework will come into effect in November 2025 and Autumn inspections will be paused until then.

The full press release from Ofsted can be read here.

New DfE AI Guidance for schools

The DfE have published guidance on the use of Artificial Intelligence in school on 13 June 2025.

The guidance highlights the potential benefits of using AI to reduce workload and enhance learning, whilst stressing the need to retain human oversight. Other considerations and potential pitfalls the guidance highlights are the need to be mindful of data protection and safety considerations.

The guidance can be downloaded directly from the www.gov.uk website using the following link.

Bolton Governance Services have commissioned a new training course AI and the Role of the Board for the new academic year. Further information on the course can be found here.

DfE New procurement advice for governing boards

The DfE have recently published updated procurement advice for governing boards on 6 June 2025. The guidance is intended to help governors get the best value from non-staffing expenditure and to understand legal requirements for procurement.

Overseeing financial performance is a core function of both Governing Boards and Trust Boards. It is vital that boards play an active role in providing challenge to ensure that schools are getting value for money.

To support with this, the guidance highlights the following tools that can be useful for comparative analysis:

• compare your school or trust’s budget: financial benchmarking to compare spending with other similar schools, to see if spending could be more efficient
• school financial values standard(SFVS)
• self-assessment tool(SAT) for maintained schools and the schools resource management self-assessment checklist (SRMSAC) for academies
• integrated curriculum and financial planning(ICFP) explains how schools can create the best curriculum with available funding and provides free, practical resources

The guidance can be downloaded directly from the www.gov.uk website using the following link.

Governance Services Update

After 20 years with Bolton Council, I wanted to let you know that I will soon be leaving my role as Governance Services Manager on 23 May 2025.  I plan to use this opportunity to pursue new interests, spend more time with family and travel. I do, however, hope to continue supporting the service on a casual basis, so you may still see me around!

It has been a privilege to support strategic school and academy governance over the years and to work alongside so many passionate and dedicated professionals. I’m incredibly proud of all that we’ve achieved and grateful for the relationships built during my time here.  Bolton is a great place to work, and the concept of the Bolton family truly resonates with me. The positive collaborations between the LA, schools, volunteers and wider communities are both inspirational and heartwarming. Working with our school and academy governance volunteers has also been an amazing experience. To support individuals that give so much to their schools and communities; sharing successes and sometimes difficulties for the greater good, is extremely important and rewarding. You, our governors and trustees, are absolutely cracking and without this dedication, governance wouldn’t be as strong as it is.

I’m pleased to share that, following a rigorous recruitment and assessment process, Rachael Worthington has been successful in securing the role of Governance Services Manager. Rachael is currently Senior Governance Support Officer and has made a significant contribution to the team, working closely with many schools and colleagues across the borough.  Her experience, dedication, and commitment to supporting effective school and academy governance make her an excellent fit for this role.

As I step away from my position, I also want to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to all team members—past and present—for their hard work, support, and dedication over the years. It’s been a pleasure to work alongside such committed and talented individuals, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together.

Please join me in congratulating Rachael on her well-deserved appointment and thank you for your support and collaboration throughout the years. I wish you all the very best for the future, both professionally and personally.

Kind Regards, John

John Ashworth, Governance Services Manager

Bolton Checklist for School Admission Arrangements

The Pupil and Student Services Team have recently undertaken a review of most schools’ admission policies and have established a checklist for leaders and boards to determine whether their school’s policy is compliant. It is recommended that all own admission authority schools (Voluntary Aided, Free Schools and Academies) consider this during the summer term board meetings, so if consultation is required, there is sufficient time to plan this for the autumn term. This will be for the policy for the 2027-28 intakes.

Please note that Community or voluntary controlled schools are exempt, as the LA manages their admission policies.

Boards are expected:

•  to consider the compliance of the school/academy admission arrangements with the School Admissions Code 2021 (checklist to download)
• to ensure compliance with the requirement for consultation (at least once every 7 years) by 31 January 2026
• to ensure the determined admission arrangements are published on the school website and sent to the local authority by 15 March 2026

Governance Services, through the Clerking and Support Service, will provide guidance at the upcoming summer term meetings. Copies of the checklist may be downloaded here (download to the left).

For further advice or information about the admission process or assistance in developing your policy, please contact Helen Dowman, LA Head of School Admissions via email at Helen.Dowman@bolton.gov.uk

Governance Services have Moved!

The Governance Services Team, with Primary School Improvement and Playing for Success have moved to new premises from 7 April 2025, at the newly formed ‘Inclusive Education and Learning Centre @ Smithills’, Ground floor, Smithills Dean Road, Bolton, BL1 6JT.

The Council have invested in the newly renovated office, conferencing and meeting space, providing modern and purpose built facilities, following the return of the Bolton Science and Technology Centre to educational use.

All in-person training provided through the Governance Training and Development Programme will now be held at the new centre. Parking is free of charge; however, spaces are limited, with additional street parking available.

The centre situated at the Smithills campus (the former Smithills 6^th Form site), is also home to a number of existing council services including Schools ICT, SENDAS, Behaviour Support, Pupil and Student Services, Education Psychology and Play and Youth Services.

Conferencing and Meeting Space

Similar to BSTC, The Inclusive Education and Learning Centre provides conference and meeting rooms for hire, for up to 50 delegates, including free parking.

The rooms boast state of the art smart screens, with video conferencing capability and guest Wi-Fi, and can be booked at competitive rates with various catering options. For further information, prices and to book, please contact us on 01204 338100 or email at ielc@bolton.gov.uk

Upcoming ESFA closure

The government announced the transfer of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) functions to the Department for Education (DfE) in the autumn term 2024 and recently published a letter to accounting officers confirming the closure date of 31 March 2025.

The letter makes clear that existing financial frameworks, agreements and guidance will continue to apply, and academy trust staff will work with the same contacts. All new communications will use the DfE brand.

The letter can be viewed via the www.gov.uk website, using the following LINK

Ofsted Consultation – Improving the way Ofsted inspects education

Ofsted want to know what parents, carers, professionals and learners think about their proposed plans for inspecting schools and other settings where children and adults learn. In summary, the proposals are:

Report cards – these would give parents and carers more detailed information than the current reports, including a new 5-point grading scale to evaluate more areas of a provider’s work and short summaries of what inspectors found.
Education inspection toolkits – this tool shows providers and inspectors the evaluation areas that Ofsted will focus inspections on and how they will assess and grade providers.
Inspection methodology – changes to how Ofsted carry out inspection.
Full inspections and monitoring inspections, state-funded schools – Ofsted plan to end ungraded inspections of state-funded schools and change their monitoring programmes so that they can check that timely action is taken to raise standards.
Identifying state-funded schools causing concern – a new approach to how Ofsted place a school into a category of concern.

The consultation is now live and closes on 28 April 2025. A link to the consultation, along with an explanatory YouTube video of the proposals, is available via the www.gov.uk website via the following LINK

National School Governors’ Awareness Day 2025

The National School Governors’ Awareness Day (NSGAD) is an opportunity to recognise the impact, celebrate the commitment, and highlight the vital role that governors and trustees play in shaping education.

This year, the National School Governors’ Awareness Day will be held on 13th February 2025 and will be a day of thought-provoking free webinars planned to support professional development, hosted by ‘Governors for Schools’ and ‘Strictly Education’.  The sessions are as follows:

• 8am – Welcome & Hot Topics in 2025
• 10am – The Structure of Education 2025
• 12pm – Governance and AI in 2025
• 12pm – Introduction to Governance
• 30pm – Introduction to Trusteeship
• 3pm – Effective Governance in 2025
• 4pm – Being Effective as a Link Governor

Further information and registration can be found via the Strictly Education website using the following LINK

DfE – SEND Guidance for School Governing Boards

The DfE has published Special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities: guidance for school governing boards on 3 February 2025. The guidance is intended for boards of both maintained schools and academy trusts to:

• support school governing boards’ understanding of their role and responsibilities in relation to children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities
• empower governors and trustees to hold their schools to account

The board is the decision-making body of the school and is accountable and responsible for what the school does. It is vital that boards play an active role in providing support and challenge, to ensure schools are providing the best support for pupils with SEN and disabilities.

The guidance can be downloaded directly from the www.gov.uk website using the following LINK

Bolton Governance Services have provided a role descriptor for the nominated governance lead for SEND through the Clerking and Support Service. This is available via your Clerk or Governance Professional.

Wraparound Childcare Programme: Supporting Families and Strengthening Schools

Wraparound childcare provides before and after school childcare from 8am to 6pm during term time for school-aged children from reception to year 6.

As part of the national wraparound childcare programme, Bolton Local Authority has additional funding to contribute to set-up or expansion costs, and running costs, of new provision, to remove any financial risk while demand is built. The funding is not aimed at covering the costs of delivering wraparound childcare in the long term but should cover costs in the set-up or expansion phase.

If you would like to explore how your school can benefit from the wraparound childcare programme, further information is available to download here (select the  download button)

DfE Guidance: Use of reasonable force in schools

The Department for Education has reviewed its guidance about the use of physical restraint in schools for governing bodies, headteachers and school staff.

This guidance provides clarification on the use of force:

• to help school staff feel more confident about using reasonable force when they feel it is necessary
• to make clear the responsibilities of school leaders and governing bodies in respect of this power

The guidance can be downloaded directly from the DfE website using the following LINK

What Does the Budget 2024 Mean for Education

The Chancellor has recently announced the government’s Budget for 2025-26. The Budget is the point at which the amount of money the government spends on public services like health and education is decided.

The DfE Education hub blog explains what this year’s Budget means for early years providers, schools, colleges and children’s social care.

The blog can be viewed directly from the www.gov.uk website by following this LINK

A whole School Approach to Food – Free E Learning

The NGA (The National Governance Association) have announced the release of a whole-school approach to food e-learning session developed with the Department for Education.

You don’t have to be a Learning Link subscriber to benefit from this learning – the module is free to all governors and trustees, providing essential guidance on the legal requirements and best practices around the School Food Standards, the board’s oversight responsibilities, creating policies, and effectively monitoring school food provision.

The module is free of charge via the NGA trial site via the following LINK

If you subscribe to Learning Link you can access it in the usual way on the platform.

Children in Care: Guide for Governors & Trustees 2024

BECOME, a charity for children in care and young care leavers, in partnership with Aaron King (9000 Lives.org) have revised the Children in Care, Guide for school governors and trustees for the current 2024/25 year.

This is a short handbook to advise governors and trustees what they need to know about children in care (CIC). It explains the basics quickly and clearly, as well as giving sensible questions for governors to ask of their leaders.

BECOME use the term ‘children in care’ (or CIC for short). However, these same young people are sometimes described as Looked After Children (LAC) or Children Looked After (CLA).

The guidance can be gained directly from the BECOME charity website, using the following LINK

School Inspection Handbook 2024

Ofsted has published a revised School Inspection Handbook which was published on 16 September 2024.

Single headline gradings have been removed but grading of the four areas across the existing categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management, have been maintained. There has also been a “suspend and return” approach for safeguarding concerns, allowing schools time to address issues before a final judgment is made. Schools will now be notified of upcoming inspections at approximately 2pm on the Monday of the week that the inspection is scheduled to begin.

Details of the updates can be found in the new School Inspection Handbook, which includes responses from ‘The Big Listen’ consultation, held earlier in the year. The Handbook can be accessed via the www.gov.uk website using the following LINK

The full summary of changes can be accessed via the www.gov.uk website using the following LINK

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024

The DfE (Department for Education) has updated its Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. The statutory guidance, which comes into effect from 2 September 2024, applies to all schools and academies and sets out the legal duties that must be followed to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 in schools and colleges.

The full table of substantive changes, may be found at Annex F of the Keeping Children Safe in Education document; however, the following changes are highlighted:

• Definition of ‘safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children’ – amended to reflect the duties that relate to school and college staff within the updated ‘Working together to safeguard children 2023’
• ‘Early help’ – amended to reflect the duties which apply to school and college staff within the revised ‘Working Together’ guidance
• When talking about abuse and neglect – ‘exploitation’ has also been added throughout the document.
• In relation to ‘Safeguarding Issues’ – ‘deliberately missing education’ has been amended to reflect revised definition of ‘unexplainable and or/persistent absences from education’.

The statutory guidance can be downloaded directly from the www.gov.uk website by following this LINK