In this section:
Introduction
The Portsmouth Education Partnership strategy covers a wide range of work across the partnership. The PEP structure, diagram below, consists of boards and groups that oversee the areas of work in the strategy as outlined below.
There are seven priorities in the strategy:
- Strong leadership and ambition, led by the School Leadership and Effectiveness Board
- Digital learning strategy, led by the Digital City Board
- Early communication, language and literacy, led by the Early Language and Literacy Development Group
- Attainment and progress in maths, led by the Solent Maths Hub and Maths Network
- Recruit, retain and grow the best teachers, practitioners and leaders, led by the Teach Portsmouth Board
- School attendance, led by the Removing Barriers to Inclusion Group / Behaviour and Attendance Group (BAG)
- Reducing the proportion of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), led by the Post 16 Forum
PEP STRUCTURE
PEP BOARDS
Priority Education Investment Area Subgroup
Chair: Frances Soul (Independent Chair of the PEP)
Contact: [email protected]
Cross-cutting priority: Taking forward the work associated with the EIA including the data led needs analysis, identification of priorities and preparation and monitoring of delivery plans, with the overriding objective of addressing entrenched underperformance including literacy and numeracy in Portsmouth.
School Leadership and Effectiveness Board
Chair: Jane Bush (HT Langstone Junior School UNiCAT)
Contact: [email protected]
Leading on priority 1: Strong leadership and ambition at all levels within individual schools and education settings to improve effectiveness and outcomes for children and young people.
Key responsibilities:
- consider and plan for the holistic development of school leaders,
- work collectively to scope and commission a co-ordinated leadership programme
- utilise knowledge of how schools and groups of schools use benchmarking and target-setting to set targets
- organise and oversee a process to ensure that there is effective peer review
- embrace the principle of distributed leadership and strong curriculum design
- support the development of governance
- use available performance data, to have oversight of the achievements of certain groups of children and young people who face barriers and vulnerabilities
- liaise with other boards and groups whose work connects with and contributes to the raising of standards and achievements.
Teach Portsmouth Board
Chair: James Doherty (Principal, UTC Portsmouth)
Contact: [email protected]
Leading on priority 5: Recruit, retain and grow the best teachers, practitioners and leaders and provide high quality continuing professional development.
Key responsibilities:
- to promote and increase visibility of Teach Portsmouth, with a focus on the ethos of a teaching city,
- to utilise the Teach Portsmouth website, social media and other initiatives, to provide clarity on pathways into teaching and easy methods to apply for vacancies,
- to recognise teaching excellence and encourage teacher recruitment through initiatives that promote teaching in Portsmouth,
- to promote continuing professional development,
- to identify and bid for funding opportunities to support time-limited initiatives related to teacher recruitment and retention which have a lasting positive impact in Portsmouth,
- to develop and implement a strategy for Grow Your Own and second career teachers,
- to develop an evidence base to underpin direction of travel for teacher recruitment and retention initiatives,
- to identify and bid for funding opportunities to support time-limited initiatives related to teacher recruitment and retention which have a lasting positive impact in Portsmouth.
Post 16 Forum
Chair: Shared by colleges senior leaders and rotated on a termly basis.
Contact: [email protected]
Leading on priority 7: Reducing the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) through NEET prevention and re-engagement activities
Key responsibilities:
- reduce the proportion of young people in Portsmouth who are not in education, employment or training (NEET),
- meet the needs of young people with special educational needs and disabilities,
- raise the aspiration and attainment of young people to increase the number of young people who progress to higher education and higher apprenticeships,
- support the regeneration of Portsmouth and up skilling of young people to meet the future skill and employment needs of the City,
- improve the provision of careers education, information, advice and guidance,
- share pupil / student information, data and intelligence,
- plan the post-16 curriculum,
- share information and intelligence about local education changes,
- support the planning and delivery of targeted youth support services.
Digital City Board
Chair: Nick Morley (Headteacher, The Harbour School)
Contact: [email protected]
Leading on priority 2: Implement a digital learning strategy for the city that supports learning within school and beyond for now and in the future
The key purpose of the Digital City Board to drive forward and support the implementation of specific
key actions set out in this focused priority of the Portsmouth Education Strategy.
For the Digital City Project, our vision is that we have a shared responsibility to ensure we are using
technology to:
· Enhance teaching and learning
· Reduce workload
· Support accessibility and inclusion
· Narrow the digital divide
so that every member of our community can select the right tool, for the right outcome, for them, in that
moment in time.
Early Language and Literacy Group
Chair: Matt Johnson (Headteacher, Copnor Primary School, LA-Maintained)
Contact: [email protected]
Leading on priority 3: Improving early communication, language and literacy to have a significant impact on all-round achievement and progress throughout all phases of education and beyond.
Key responsibilities:
- Agreeing and delegating particular elements of the key actions to individual members and sub-groups,
- Agreeing highly focused priority work so that it is manageable and can have the most impact,
- Building a network of professionals who can establish strong partnerships with clear channels of communication and collective responsibility.
- Securing funding and co-ordinating bids for training and professional development of school leaders, teachers and practitioners in education and pre-school and family settings,
- Co-ordinating the sharing of information and resources including regular updates and data sharing of evidence-based impact so that we can learn from best practice,
- Presenting regular updates to the Strategic Board on early language and literacy development programmes and the impact they are having on individual settings, schools and overall outcomes in the city.
Early Years and Childcare Reference Group
Chair: Early Years Leadership Team (PCC)
Contact: [email protected]
Cross cutting theme: Critical to the PEP Education Strategy is a clear understanding of the importance of early years provision and practice upon which future stages of education are built.
Key responsibilities:
- Ensure improved communication across the sector and the sharing of information or gaps in service provision,
- To consider how far the crisis provides an opportunity for, and requires, more radical thinking around consistent expectations,
- To consider the financial implications and sufficiency of the childcare market during this crisis,
- To provide a strong voice to Government on what is needed,
- Representatives will act as a conduit for information to and from the wider market.
Removing Barriers to Inclusion Group and Subgroups
Chair: Tbc
Contact: [email protected]
Cross cutting theme: Creating an educational environment that is welcoming to all children and young people and not giving up on any child whatever their circumstances.
Leading on priority 6: ensure all pupils regularly attend school.
Key responsibilities:
- identify further support for schools to address SEN Support variability,
- identify further support for schools to improve literacy,
- carry out a review of secondary schools’ internal AP provision,
- embed the work of the Turnaround project in the Early Help and Prevention Service in order to increase reintegration rates,
- renew the focus on addressing school absence for children with SEND,
- embed the new model of delivery for the Inclusion Outreach Service,
- make available grants for mainstream schools to support inclusion building projects.
Removing Barriers to Inclusion Subgroups:
Children’s Emotional Health and Wellbeing Group
Chair: Laura Peterkin-Aldred (Headteacher, Solent Junior School, De Curci Trust)
Contact: [email protected]
Behaviour and Attendance Group
Chair: Christian Down (Headteacher, Castle View Academy, ULT)
Contact: [email protected]
Solent Maths Hub and Maths Network
Contact: Sarah Anderson (Solent Maths Hub Lead)
Email: [email protected]
Leading on priority 4: Secure a step change in attainment and progress in maths across all key stages.
Key responsibilities:
- Develop teacher and support staff mathematics subject knowledge in all key stages through the work of the Solent Maths Hub
- Support maths subject leaders to help unpick pupils’ specific areas of weakness and ensure the pedagogy is appropriate, inclusive, effective and impactful
- Raise aspirations through making maths learning exciting and meaningful, by highlighting the relevance of concepts or specific knowledge with collaborating specialists who can offer inspirational activities, experiences, resources and equipment, linked to a wider focus on STEM
- Consider ways of training and supporting school staff in how to use digital technology to enhance maths teaching and learning and reduce workload (with reference to the EEF evidence-based Using Digital Technology to Improve Learning recommendations)
MEETING SCHEDULE
The meeting schedule for the remainder of the 2024/25 academic year is as follows:
| PEP Strategic Board (At least termly) |
Tuesday 10 December 2024 Tuesday 11 February 2025 Tuesday 22 April 2025 |
| PEIA Sub-Group (At least termly) |
Thursday 21 November 2024 Thursday 20 March 2025 |
| School Leadership and Effectiveness Board (Half-termly) |
Monday 25 November 2024 Monday 27 January 2025 Monday 24 March 2025 |
| ITT Teacher Recruitment and Retention Group (Termly) |
Please contact [email protected] and [email protected] |
| Post 16 Forum (Termly) |
Please contact [email protected] |
| Digital Strategy | Please contact Gemma Gwilliam at [email protected] |
| Early Language and Literacy Group (Half-termly) |
Friday 7 February 2025 Friday 21 March 2025 Friday 5 May 2025 Friday 11 July 2025 |
| School Sufficiency Board (Termly) |
Please contact [email protected] |
| Early Years and Childcare Reference Group | Please contact Mindy Butler at [email protected] |
| Removing Barriers to Inclusion Group (Half-termly) |
Monday 16 December 2024 |
MEMBERSHIP
The list of multi-academy trusts (MATs) operating in Portsmouth and the schools in each MAT is available here.
The current membership of each group can be viewed here.
In the spirit of openness and transparency, any headteacher or MAT representative within the city is at liberty to request to attend meetings of this group/board in the capacity of an observer.
The timings of PEP Boards and meetings can be found on the PEP calendar.
Minutes of previous meetings are available here (please email [email protected] to request access).
For further information regarding the PEP, please contact:
- Sarah Christopher, PEP and School Inclusion Manager
Email: [email protected] - Frances Soul, PEP Independent Chair
Email: [email protected]