The authorities are:
- East Midlands - Leicestershire
- East of England - Essex
- London (north) - Westminster
- London (south) - Bexley
- North West - Liverpool
- South East - East Sussex
- South West - Gloucestershire
- West Midlands - Solihull
- Yorks & Humber - Calderdale
- North East - South Tyneside
The pilot, announced in the consultative document “Making Good Progress”, is designed to improve the rate of progress which children make year by year, as well as between key stages. The announcement of the participating LAs is the first step. These authorities will now appoint a pilot leader, and identify schools in their areas wishing to take part in the pilot. Further details, including the names of the schools involved, will be announced in April. After training and preparatory work during the summer term, the pilot will run for two years from September 2007.
The pilot will trial:
- Changes to assessment, allowing children to take national key stage tests as soon as they are ready, rather than only at the end of a long key stage.
- One-to-one tuition in English and/or mathematics, to lift the performance of children who entered Key Stage 2 or Key Stage 3 behind the expected level; children will receive up to 20 hours of individual tutoring to get them back on target and help them sustain progress.
- New progress targets to measure the school’s success in moving pupils forward.
- A progression premium payable to schools in the pilot which make excellent progress, which could be used to further enrich the school curriculum.
Alan Johnson said:
“I congratulate these ten authorities, which have succeeded in a rigorous selection exercise from amongst over 30 authorities which applied. Many children who do well at one stage of their education slow down or stall at the next stage. I want a relentless focus on the progress of each individual; maximising the chances for every child to learn, achieve, and fulfil their potential. New approaches to assessment will help parents, pupils and teachers to track progress better, so that no child gets left behind.
“I said when I published our plans for consultation that we would thoroughly road-test these plans, pilot and evaluate. Today’s announcement is an important step in that process and I look forward to working with the ten local authorities as they start selecting schools to take part in this exciting pilot project.“
