Guidance

Memorandum of understanding between DfE and GSHA, 2023 to 2027

Updated 14 June 2023

Applies to England

Purpose and remit

This is a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Department for Education (DfE) and the Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA). It sets out the shared aims of both parties and how they will work together and communicate effectively in order to achieve these aims.

GSHA represents 151 of the 163 grammar schools. Its role is to represent and promote the interests of its member schools.

Officials within the DfE schools group will be the main point of contact responsible for this work. They will carry out this work in accordance with ministers’ wishes.

This MoU covers 2 areas of shared interest. These areas are the:

• access of pupils from lower income backgrounds to selective schools (‘fair access’)
• partnership between selective schools and non-selective secondary and primary schools (‘partnership’)

This MoU sets out shared aims and activity until the end of 2027.

Shared aims

The government wants a diverse schools system that allows every child to go as far as their talents can take them.

GSHA has demonstrated commitment to encouraging more disadvantaged pupils to be admitted to selective schools.

Both parties have a shared ambition to see:

• more pupils from lower income backgrounds being admitted to selective schools
• increased partnerships between selective schools and non-selective secondary schools and primary schools locally, with a view to collaborating to improve outcomes for children across their area

The purpose of the joint working between GSHA and DfE is to:

• accelerate progress from selective schools around fair access and partnership, understanding and helping to overcome any barriers
• continue to build the evidence base of what works in these areas
• encourage and strengthen good practice within the sector

Areas of joint working

GSHA, supported by DfE, will deliver 3 commitments, and in doing so set a gold standard for the rest of the sector. These commitments are to:

• continue to promote to their member schools, and support them in implementing, priority for pupils eligible for pupil premium funding in their admissions oversubscription criteria (after looked after and previously looked after children, as mandated by the School Admissions Code) and consider how best to publicise this
• support member schools to design admission arrangements which increase access to their schools for disadvantaged pupils
• undertake outreach with primary schools to increase the number of applications and admissions of disadvantaged pupils to selective schools – this should be targeted at more disadvantaged areas and designed to address local circumstances and barriers

DfE will support GSHA member schools in designing their admission arrangements to achieve their desired outcome in line with the School Admissions Code.

GSHA and DfE will return to these commitments and may update them in light of emerging findings around best practice on fair access.

Other areas of joint working

GSHA and DfE have also agreed to work together in other areas.

Increasing and strengthening selective schools’ activity around fair access and partnerships

GSHA and DfE agree to do this through events and communications activity, including:

• communicating shared aims and expectations to selective schools
• encouraging links between interested parties, with a particular focus on local primary schools
• facilitating links into the department for GSHA members
• helping selective schools to participate actively in local school improvement arrangements where appropriate

Gathering information and local intelligence from schools

GSHA and DfE agree to do this to help build the evidence base, keep informed of schools’ activity and what’s working. They will do this by:

• sharing GSHA findings and outputs from working groups
• collecting data from GSHA members, for example by circulating questionnaires
• sharing intelligence on suitable candidates for visits and fieldwork to develop further case studies of good practice and understand barriers schools are facing
• sharing access to DfE data as far as possible to support this work
• using the findings to inform any relevant DfE guidance or evaluation in this area

Facilitating the sharing of best practice

DfE and GSHA agree to do this by:

• using GSHA annual events to showcase good practice
• establishing or promoting a central hub or forum to share good practice
• establishing GSHA members as leaders and trailblazers on fair access and partnership across the education sector
• developing an in-depth understanding of the most effective approaches and practice and sharing this across the sector

In carrying out this MoU, both parties agree to maintain open and regular lines of communication, handling sensitive information appropriately.

Success measures

DfE and GSHA will evaluate progress by:

• monitoring the number of selective schools effectively prioritising disadvantaged children in their admissions arrangements, with a view to all GSHA member schools doing so
• developing case studies of outreach activities being carried out by member schools
• monitoring the numbers of disadvantaged children being admitted to selective schools with a view to seeing an upward trend
• monitoring the number of high-quality applications from selective schools to departmental programmes promoting partnerships in the system, for example, teaching school hubs, national leaders of education, specialist leaders of education, subject hubs