Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) School Improvement Grant

The Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) initiative is a programme by the DfE that is central to the goal of raising standards for all children in all schools across the country. RISE forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission which focuses on breaking down the barriers to opportunity and ending the link between background and success.

The RISE grant will provide mandatory targeted intervention to schools that Ofsted have identified as needing to improve which will act as a catalyst for collaboration and improvement. Where appropriate, RISE teams will arrange for a high-quality organisation to work with a school, via its responsible body, with grants available to fund supporting activity.

- Funding organisation: Department for Education - Location: England - Award: £40,000 to £240,000 per award; total scheme size £12 million - Opening date: 2025-06-06 - Closing date: 2027-04-01

Summary

Regional Improvement in Standards and Excellence (RISE) aims to break the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success. At the core of RISE are the RISE advisers, who are educational experts with direct experience improving schools. RISE advisers work as part of a wider RISE team within the Department for Education (DfE).

RISE grants will be issued as a part of targeted intervention, RISE advisers will engage with the eligible school and its responsible body to consider the school’s specific improvement needs, as identified through Ofsted inspections. Where appropriate, RISE teams will arrange for a high-quality organisation to work with a school to support improvement. RISE teams will be able to draw on funds to support this activity. Ofsted will monitor the school’s improvement progress, with RISE teams regularly reviewing implementation progress and engagement with the targeted intervention.

Eligibility

For this academic year, schools will be eligible for targeted intervention through RISE if they:

- were previously due to receive structural intervention after 1 January 2025 but have had that intervention revoked - are a stuck school, defined as a school that was graded Requires Improvement or equivalent at its most recent Ofsted inspection, and was also graded below Good at its previous inspection and is still within the same structure

Schools will be contacted directly by the relevant RISE regional team if eligible for the programme.

Objectives

Ultimately, the goal of RISE teams will be to raise standards for all schools, as part of the government’s Opportunity Mission. Through targeted intervention RISE teams will work to ensure that capacity and expertise from across the school system is used to deliver improvement. Their specific objectives will be to ensure that:​

- Schools facing particular challenges improve rapidly through bespoke targeted intervention for 12-24 months. - RISE teams will secure support from high-quality organisations with a strong track record of improvement, such as an LA partnership or a MAT. ​​

How to apply

Eligible schools will be identified through Ofsted judgements. These schools will be contacted directly by RISE regional teams. There is no application process.

Apply / more information: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regional-improvement-for-standards-and-excellence-rise