lancashire.gov.uk
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LANCASHIRE
SERVICE LEVEL
AGREEMENT
2023 ~ 2024
Primary (Academy)
The SLA offer assumes that the academy does not vary significantly from the maintained sector in its pay and conditions of service
and is willing to enter a data-sharing agreement which allows the Local Authority to access its results within national datasets which
are used to support self-evaluation. If this is not the case, an additional workload may be required for the school adviser and charges
would therefore need to be individually negotiated.
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LANCASHIRE
SERVICE LEVEL
AGREEMENT
April 2023 ~ March 2024
Welcome
Julie Fryer, Mark Purcell and Jane Phythian
Thank you for taking the time to read our newly presented
Service Level Agreement (SLA) 2023/24.
We are very proud of the quality and consistency of what we
have provided over many years and, we are delighted that the
SLA continues to grow and develop in response to the changing
needs of our schools.
This year, there are several new features which are detailed in this
document. They are all designed to enable you to draw on the
widest possible skillset from the advisory team and wider
Lancashire Services.
As ever, our primary goal is to ensure that our children and young
people benefit from the best possible educational opportunities
that schools can deliver, working under the umbrella of the
Lancashire Education Strategy.
Our Skilled and Experienced Team
Humma Ahmed - [email protected]
Jane Thistlethwaite - [email protected]
Lisa Davison - [email protected]
Nicola Daniels-Green - [email protected]
Sarah Watson
- [email protected] - 07798 724040
LANCASHIRE
SERVICE LEVEL
AGREEMENT
April 2023 ~ March 2024
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LANCASHIRE
SERVICE LEVEL
AGREEMENT
April 2023 ~ March 2024
Our vision for Education and
Children's Services
Children, young people and their families are safe, healthy
and achieve their full potential.
Lancashire County Council has a duty to drive school improvement so
that every school is a good school. Our role is to be the 'Champion of
the Learner.'
Our Service Level Agreement (SLA) is part of our traded offer,
contributing towards achieving our vision by supporting and
challenging schools to deliver high quality primary provision. This
should be based on a rich, connected curriculum that deepens
learning and equips pupils for the demands of the next phase of their
school journey.
Our SLA is a traded, distinct offer for schools which compliments the
Team Around the School and Settings (TASS) work. This is our
universal, locality based, needs led model of support for all schools
which aims to address recurrent issues that impact on children's
educational outcomes. This multi-agency approach works in
partnership with all Lancashire schools and settings, to support all
children to reach their full potential in education.
Lancashire County Council's Values:
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LANCASHIRE
SERVICE LEVEL
AGREEMENT
April 2023 ~ March 2024
Our Guarantee
The Personal Touch
Year-long phone and email support with your named adviser, along with
five full adviser days which can be used flexibly by your school. '
A Service That Cares and Is Always There
Our new SLA offer builds upon the well-established model of School
Improvement in Lancashire which has grown and developed over the years
in response to feedback from our schools. The professional relationship
between an adviser, school leaders and governors ensures a detailed
knowledge and understanding of individual schools, which then informs
bespoke support and challenge.
Bespoke to Your School
This brochure outlines a core offer, but all of our support will be tailored to
you and your school.
Wide Ranging Support and Challenge
As a Service, we know our schools well. We are skilled in identifying
appropriate challenge, support and opportunities to enable all our schools
to be self-managing in responding to local and national developments. Our
close working relationship with other LA services, such as HR, Inclusion,
Safeguarding and Finance, ensures we are informed of the latest
developments within these areas.
Unparalleled Expertise
Our team of advisers are highly skilled and have substantial experience in
all aspects of education. They will empower and enable schools to deliver
the very best outcomes for all pupils.
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LANCASHIRE
SERVICE LEVEL
AGREEMENT
April 2023 ~ March 2024
New for 2023/24
In addition to our existing offer, we are pleased to include
the following support within the new SLA:
• One free place per school, per term, on the termly Headteacher or Nursery
Headteacher Forum.
• Online resources area, only available to SLA schools
www.lancashire.gov.uk/lpds/leadership
• Weekly newsletter - important matters for your school, hosted within the
online resources area.
• One free place on a writing moderation session in January (Year 6).
• Termly online drop-in surgery.
• Discounted delegate place(s) on the renowned '24 Hours in Leadership'
Lancashire Conference.
• Complimentary collaboration spaces available to book in certain Lancashire
County Council buildings.*
• A free digital copy of the 'Great Teaching: Reflecting on Classroom Practice'
publication.
* liaise with your school adviser for assistance with this.
"I buy in SSG for school improvement as, above all else, I know my named
adviser knows and understands me as a person / leader, and my school
to a tee. I know support is there quickly for small queries and help with
bigger and more serious issues. The breadth and quality of support
available to me through this is immense and instills the confidence in me
that I am on the right track!"
Joanne Geldard, Headteacher Lancaster Lane Community Primary School
LANCASHIRE
SERVICE LEVEL
AGREEMENT
April 2023 ~ March 2024
• Two free places per school, per term, on the termly Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and Nursery
Headteacher Forum.
• ADD NEW FOR 2023/24 to this list.
Why Lancashire SLA?
The Offer for April 2023 – March 2024
and mathematics areas.
• Termly Early Years briefing by consultants.
• Direct access to Digitech resources and support.
• An annual online headteacher briefing on 'Promoting Equality
and Diversity in School.'
• Two free places per school, per term, on the termly Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher
and Nursery Headteacher Forum.
• ADD NEW FOR 2023/24 to this list.
• A named school adviser, assigned in consultation with your school. Five adviser
days which can be used flexibly. The nature of the support provided by the
adviser is determined by the school’s own agenda and priorities for
improvement. Your named adviser will compile reports and respond to emails
and telephone calls from school staff/Governors.
• Dedicated attention to providing and promoting wellbeing for everyone
associated with your school.
• Full year support via telephone and email, as required, with cover arrangements
when the named adviser is on leave /absent.
• Support during an Ofsted Inspection including discussion with the inspector and
attending feedback.
• Contingency support for emergency and critical incidents.
• Support for challenging situations, e.g. capability/parental complaint.
• Assistance in brokering temporary senior leadership.
• Records of visits will be maintained.
• Half-termly SLA update document.
• Weekly Newsletter.
• Lancashire School Information Profile (LSIP) (academic year 2022/23) alongside
other data products including the unique 'closing the gap' report.
• Supporting schools to meet statutory requirements around ECT induction.
• A termly, online headteacher briefing from the Senior English and mathematics
Teaching and Learning Consultants.
• Continued access to the newly designed Lancashire Grid for Learning website
with continued free access to the improved English and mathematics areas.
• Termly Early Years briefing by consultants.
• Direct access to Digitech resources and support.
• An annual online headteacher briefing on 'Promoting Equality and Diversity in
School.'
• One free place per school, per term, on the termly Headteacher or Nursery
Headteacher Forum.
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LANCASHIRE
SERVICE LEVEL
AGREEMENT
April 2023 ~ March 2024
• Two free places per school, per term, on the termly Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and Nursery
Headteacher Forum.
• ADD NEW FOR 2023/24 to this list.
Additional Support within the
Lancashire SLA
• Pastoral support for school leaders and staff in dealing with the national and
local challenges faced by schools.
• Brokering of additional support from the expertise within both the School
Improvement Service and the wider Local Authority Teams, for example,
finance, HR, health and safety, legal, media, Inclusion, LPDS etc (subject to
individual service SLA’s).
• Swift access to Monitoring and Intervention Team support in response to an
identified vulnerability.
• Brokering of support from local and national systems and associations, as
appropriate.
• Co-ordinated and partnership working with diocesan colleagues (where
appropriate).
• Facilitation of collaborative, school led projects, for example, 'Small School
Curriculum Development Project 2022 / 24 and the Formative Assessment
Project.'
• Drawing on expertise and capacity within the TASS cross phase networks.
and mathematics areas.
• Termly Early Years briefing by consultants.
• Direct access to Digitech resources and support.
• An annual online headteacher briefing on 'Promoting Equality
and Diversity in School.'
• Two free places per school, per term, on the termly Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher
and Nursery Headteacher Forum.
• ADD NEW FOR 2023/24 to this list.
How You Might Use your
Lancashire SLA
Teaching and Learning
• Working with schools to enhance their curriculum offer.
• An audit of the quality of teaching and learning, including ‘Deep Dives’.
• Challenge for good and outstanding schools to further improve and to share
their practice more widely.
• A review of assessment and tracking systems across the school.
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LANCASHIRE
SERVICE LEVEL
AGREEMENT
April 2023 ~ March 2024
Leadership and Management
• Professional development for Senior Leadership Teams.
• Preparation for an Ofsted Inspection and assistance with post- Ofsted action
planning.
• Supported monitoring and evaluation of teaching through observations of
lessons, scrutiny of pupils’ work, pupil discussions etc.
• A whole school review in response to changing national frameworks and
expectations.
• School Development review.
• Self-evaluation review (tailored to the needs of the school.)
• Leadership and management audit.
• A review of the impact of discreet funding streams, for example, Pupil
Premium Grant, Catch Up and Sports Funding.
Professional Development
• The adviser provides the role of External Adviser in supporting the
Governor Appraisal Committee with headteacher appraisal.
• “Spotlight” profile coaching by accredited advisers, at a reduced rate..
• Professional development for effective subject leadership.
• Arranging mentor support for new and acting headteachers.
• Provision of Local Authority references for staff who apply for a headship
post.
• Access to coaching conversations for all staff.
• Attendance at termly Headteacher or Nursery
Headteacher briefings by
senior advisers, and English & maths updates from consultants.
Governance
• Support for Governing Boards with brokering External Review of Governance,
support from a National Leader of Governance or support from within Lancashire.
• Full support for Governing Boards in the recruitment of a headteacher, deputy
headteacher and assistant headteacher.
• Support in exploring, establishing or dissolving a collaboration or federation.
• Bespoke professional development not covered within the Governor Services
SLA.
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LANCASHIRE
SERVICE LEVEL
AGREEMENT
April 2023 ~ March 2024
Continue or Start your
Relationship with Lancashire
£3250 for an April 2023 to March 2024 Service Level Agreement (SLA).
(All prices quoted are net of VAT, which the Local Authority is required to apply but which can subsequently be
reclaimed by the individual school).
If you wish to continue with your SLA then there is no need to do anything, your
contract will automatically renew and roll forward.
For a collaboration of two or more schools, the SLA will be arranged with you
at a bespoke price.
Our senior advisory team are happy to discuss your
experiences and requirements, so that your package is the
perfect fit
Jane Phythian, 07795 812716, [email protected]
Julie Fryer, 07810 252372, [email protected]
Mark Purcell, 07766 367552, [email protected]
General enquiries, 01257 516166, [email protected]
Terms and Conditions
If in the event your adviser is unavailable, we guarantee to provide you with an immediate substitute, with another
named adviser. If you no longer wish to renew your SLA then we ask that you inform us via email
[email protected] no less than three months before the renewal due date.
The cost of the SLA is non-refundable for the year in which it is taken out. If you have any complaints about the
quality of service you receive against the SLA, please make direct contract with a Senior Adviser, who will seek
to resolve this.
"The SSG for School Improvement provided by Lancashire has always been of such a high quality. Focused
meetings throughout the year offer a range of support and advice:
an identified school adviser who knows the school well; in-depth discussions which help to challenge and
validate the school internal self-evaluation; critical friend to provide constructive feedback and
development ideas; a wealth of advice and guidance if and whenever necessary as well as immediate
telephone availability for immediate support. In addition, the LSIP is available without additional payment
alongside termly informative Headteacher Briefings. What more could we ask."
Adele Robinson, Headteacher Dalton St Michael's Church of England Primary School
