Services to Schools

Service Level Agreement

School Improvement Service

Document Version: / v1
Date: / November 2014
Completed by: / Mark Patton

Service Level Agreement

1. The Service Level Agreement

This document is a formal agreement and is intended to set out the service provided, how provision will be managed and monitored, and the ongoing relationship between the parties.

This agreement commences on the 1st day of April 2015 until 31st March 2016 (unless you are an academy when the contract will run from 1st day of September 2015 until 31st day of August 2016 in order to align with the academic year) and is between:

a)Hartlepool Borough Council of Civic Centre, Victoria Road, Hartlepool, TS26 8AY and;

b) Name of School, school address

2.Service Provider

Education Division of Hartlepool Borough Council and its approved, trained and contracted specialist external consultants.

3. Services in Scope

The School Improvement Service from the Local Authority will provide:

  • an ongoing commitment from the Local Authority to work together with schools;
  • forensic analysis of school performance;
  • a service that keeps schools up-to-date with the latest thinking, as well as keeping abreast of regional, national and international initiatives;
  • highly credible, collaborative support and challenge, including a school review when requested;
  • solutions that take account of the local context;
  • a core team of outstanding teachers to work with and support schools on their improvement journey;
  • targeted support for schools exhibiting any vulnerabilities;
  • support for succession planning and leadership;
  • help for schools in building capacity and continually improving.

4.Service Delivery

The Local Authority is committed to offering high quality support and challenge to its schools through the School Improvement Service Level Agreement. The Education Division has recently increased in size again this year with the appointment of a Senior School Improvement Adviser (Primary). Further appointments are planned during 2014-15. Amongst the team we have four fully accredited and trained school inspectors (primary and secondary); high quality expertise in the Early Years Foundation Stage and primary literacy and numeracy. We also have attendance and inclusion staff who provide excellent support to schools in working with some of our most vulnerable and hard to reach young people and their families. An Education Division Contact Directory 2014-15 will be circulated to all schools shortly. The School Improvement Team has excellent links with the Hartlepool Teaching School Alliance to maximise the potential support available to all schools. This partnership also enables us to support newly qualified teachers and teachers in training very effectively, and to draw down funding to support particular school issues or innovative teaching and learning projects.

As a simple measure of our work, 79% of our educational establishments are judged as good or outstanding by Ofsted (which places Hartlepool in the top quartile of local authorities in the country). Our espoused target is that every establishment will be good or outstanding by December 2015.

All of the school improvement services we offer are quality assured at the highest level with ongoing monitoring and evaluation of all our programmes. Schools can therefore be confident that when they engage in school improvement work with us there will be measurable impact upon their school, and the work carried out will support them in making a real difference to young people’s lives.

We will work with individual schools or clusters to provide appropriate solutions that meet their needs. Our services will target one or more of these key school improvement areas by offering, or brokering, the support needed to move your school forward in:

  • Preparing for an Ofsted or SIAMS inspection
  • Improving the quality of teaching in school
  • Improving basic skills and standards in numeracy, literacy, oracy and ICT/computing
  • Behaviour and discipline, including behaviour for learning
  • Maximising resources for supporting individual pupils
  • Developing a high quality and flexible curriculum that engages and challenges all pupils
  • Developing and building leadership and management capacity
  • School self-evaluation and strategic planning
  • Attracting and recruiting high quality staff

5.Performance Monitoring

The School Improvement Service is quality assured by the Senior School Improvement Advisers or the Assistant Director for Education. All training and service delivery evaluations are read by one of these senior officers to ensure that our high standards are being met and our approach with schools is absolutely consistent.

All school improvement personnel meet at least half-termly to receive key messages and updates. This is also part of the quality assurance process underpinning the vital service to schools.

6.Charges and Costs

The charge for the School Improvement Service ServiceLevel Agreement is detailed in the ‘My Contract’ spreadsheet via the Services to Academies/Schools website.

7.Conflict Resolution

Concerns regarding service delivery should be reported in the first instance to the Senior School Improvement Advisers, who will attempt to resolve the issue.

If the issue cannot be resolved at this stage, then the Assistant Director (Education) will take up the matter.

Final arbitration of disputes would be by the Chief Executive or a representative.

8.Termination/Cancellations

Variations or termination of the Service level Agreement must be discussed and agreed by all parties.

9. Confidentiality

School and pupil level data will be shared securely between school improvement service personnel and the school, and according to established Hartlepool Borough Council protocols.

School and pupil level data may be shared by the School Improvement Service, or by the school, with Hartlepool Borough Council employees by agreement.

10.Summary of Responsibilities

Core Responsibility / Hartlepool Borough Council / School (NAME)
Communication / Dean Jackson, Kath Mullen, Mark Patton
Data / Kay Forgie
(national benchmarks) / < name >
(school and pupil level)

11. Key Contacts

Company / Hartlepool Borough Council / The School (NAME)
Contact Name / Mark Patton
Kath Mullen
e-mail /

Telephone / (01429) 523932
(01429) 284 362
Address / Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Brierton Lane, Hartelpool

12.Signatures and Approval

Signed on Behalf of Hartlepool Borough Council / Post / Date
Signed on Behalf of……. / Post / Date

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