Leaders recruited to the government’s RISE improvement programme have faced “hostility” and resistance from the schools they are trying to turn around, an adviser said.
Another added he has faced questions over whether he was “trying to take over” one of schools he was appointed to support.
It comes as officials working on Labour’s improvement scheme reveal the teams could be expanded further in the new year, with regional plans also earmarked for release next year.
‘All of us have faced hostility’
Speaking at the Schools and Academies Show on Thursday, west Midlands RISE adviser Paul Drew said: “I think all of us advisors have actually had some hostility.
“It’s about getting that openness and that transparency and saying, ‘Actually, we’re working together on this – this isn’t done to, this is done with.’”
Christopher Mansell, another adviser and former CEO of the Birmingham Diocese Multi-Academy Trust, added one of his schools was “very mistrusting of the programme”.
It took “a few visits” for him to “start breaking that down”.
Adviser Tony Quinn added: “I don’t think there’s been a single school that haven’t asked a question about what we actually do, and if they don’t ask questions, I get worried because [for] every single school I’ve been involved with there’s different layers.
“One layer is, ‘Are you trying to take over my school?’ Number two is, ‘Are you trying to force academisation?’”
Dr Tim Coulson, director general of the DfE’s regions group and a former RISE adviser, also admitted some schools were “a little bit suspicious”
Quinn said he is regularly asked what happens if the school “fails the programme” and “how much power” the school is “losing”.
But he added: “That’s only human and natural.
Mansell also said considering the previous government pursued an agenda of “academisation and moving schools to other trusts”, he can “understand why straight away they might have been apprehensive about me coming in”.
And Drew, COO of the Lighthouse Federation, added that “continual dialogue” with schools and responsible bodies helps them “understand that you’re working together [and] you’re working with them for the best outcomes”.
Regional plans and more advisers
During a separate talk, slides shown by DfE officials showed RISE regional plans will be published in spring 2026, following the January release of the white paper.
They will include “a high-level overview” of local capacity “available to support the sector”, how each area will “support the delivery of national priorities, including targets and milestones”, as well as an “overview” of schools eligible targeted intervention.
Another “potential adviser recruitment” round has also been earmarked for January.
Douglas Leckie, of the DfE, revealed a new RISE digital service will be launched next September.
It will be a “system you can log into” that produces “report of your own data…that will help you then to both diagnose your school improvement needs but then, crucially, pairs you up with similar schools”.
Rebecca Brooks, also of the DfE, later revealed that “a small number of schools” were “invited” to apply to lead new reception networks.
They were “chosen for their strong and sustained outcomes, demonstrated by a good level of development data…and their strong Ofsted outcomes”.
It is hoped the networks, which will be “across the country” will “bring schools together across the region to share excellent reception practice, foster peer-to-peer support and increase knowledge and innovation sharing”.
They’re expected to launch in “early 2026”.
Coulson also said the first set of monitoring checks for the impact of RISE support will be done before Christmas.
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