Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the consultation entitled School accountability reform – school profiles, improvement and intervention, published on 3 February 2025, what are the differences in (a) role and function and (b) qualifications and experience required between (i) National Leaders in Education and (ii) external advisers in Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence teams.

Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellent (RISE) team advisers have an exceptional track record of school improvement and executive leadership. This includes individuals who are, or have recently been, headteachers, senior local authority officers or trust leaders. They have a much broader role in acting as the catalyst for driving a self-improving system, and designing bespoke, targeted interventions to under-performing schools, compared to National Leaders of Education (NLEs). Unlike NLEs, RISE advisors will not directly deliver these interventions but will draw on a range of high-quality organisations from curriculum hubs to high-performing trusts, to do so in line with evidence on driving improvements in school standards and outcomes.

The department’s targeted, mandatory RISE intervention is backed initially by over £20 million of funding for school improvement, far more than was available under the optional Trust and School Improvement (TSI) offer of a basic £6,000 worth of support per school compared to RISE’s of up to £100,000. In addition, the previous government had not planned to continue the TSI offer for schools which were newly eligible from September 2024, a decision this government has reversed.