A new programme will see £24m invested in teacher training and programmes to drive up standards in the North East of England it has been announced today.
Education Secretary Damian Hinds will launch Opportunity North East today to prevent pupils in the region, which had a lower percentage of young people going to top universities than any other area of the country in 2017, from “missing out”.
It comes after criticism that none of the Government’s first 12 Opportunity Areas were based in the North East.
Opportunity Areas are based in individual local education authorities but this is the first time the Government has launched this type of programme across an entire region.
Half of the £24m fund is set to be invested in boosting early career training for new teachers in a bid to raise standards in schools, with the remaining £12m going towards driving up standards, improving outcomes for students aged 16 or over and improving the transition from primary to secondary school.
The programme will also partner with local businesses in order to create more opportunities for young people across the region.
Projects funded by the programme will be in place in 2019, and an executive board of education, business and council leaders in the North East is to be formed with the goal of pushing Opportunity North East forward.
The announcement comes ahead of School NorthEast’s annual summit on Thursday where hundreds of school leaders from the region will gather.
Schools NorthEast director Mike Parker told Tes: “We have campaigned ever since the Opportunity Areas were launched for flagship government policies focused on education outcomes to be targeted at the North East
“I think that essentially this is going to be a super Opportunity Area and that gives the initiative far more power. In terms of the content of it some things to be welcomed - not least on recruitment and retention.
“But what we are not hearing from the secretary of state is what they think the problems are. Schools in the North don’t necessarily do worse than schools in South it is just that they have different pupils.
“What we are not hearing today is how this programme will look to work with communities in the North East. Unlocking those communities is key to this initiative.”
Although the North East has some of the best-performing primary schools in the country, secondary school performance lags behind other regions.
At an event at Cardinal Hume Secondary School in Gateshead today, Mr Hinds is expected to say: “There are today too many education measures on which the North East is listed ninth in the list of nine English regions. It doesn’t have to be like that.
“In fact the North East has a lot of really outstanding education - especially so at primary level. The job now is to spread that through more of the secondary level and beyond.”
During the visit, Mr Hinds is also set to challenge a panel of education experts, comprised of headteachers, business leaders and university staff, by asking what they can do to “raise aspirations among all working class communities”.
The education secretary will discuss the need to create better access to university for students from black and ethnic minority groups, but will add that educational disadvantage “is not limited to a single group”.
He will say: “White British disadvantaged boys are the least likely of any large ethnic group to go to university.
“We need to ask ourselves why that is and challenge government, universities and the wider system to change that.
“It’s vital that we do this to make sure that no part of our country feels as though it has been left behind, and that every community feels like this is a country that works for everyone.”
Russell Hobby, chief executive of Teach First, said: “It is good to see the Department for Education investing in their recruitment and development.
“For every young person in the region, we look forward to working with government, schools and the wider community to support more young people to thrive.”
