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Could your expertise help improve outcomes for children and young people across the North West?

If you have the capacity and experience to support the North West RISE Programme, please register your interest here.

KS3 Alliance - A call for evidence

We want to uncover and learn from the expertise that already exists across schools, trusts, colleges and communities. We are looking for evidence of what is working, where and for whom, as well as honest reflections on approaches that have not delivered as hoped.

The Call for Evidence covers our four priorities: engagement and belonging; foundational literacy and numeracy; assessment and data coherence; and skills, agency and pathways to adult life.

You can find out more and contribute at Home | KS3 Alliance  The Call for Evidence closes at 5pm on Monday 9 November 2026.

KS3 Alliance - Help us hear directly from young people

Alongside the Call for Evidence, we are launching a national pupil survey to understand how young people themselves experience Years 7, 8 and 9.

For those of you who lead trusts, we would be enormously grateful if you could arrange for pupils in every school in your trust that educates Key Stage 3 pupils to take part. Hearing directly from young people across different schools, communities and contexts will be central to the Alliance’s work.

The survey can be accessed at www.smartsurvey.co.uk/t/ks3-alliance/ and closes at 5pm on Monday 9 November 2026.

Please share both opportunities through your networks. If each person receiving this email encouraged even five more schools, trusts or individuals to contribute, we would be off to a very strong start.

We will also be taking the conversation around the country, with regional events in Addlestone, Cambridge, Doncaster, Exeter, Leicester, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Worcester. We hope these will provide further opportunities to contribute, challenge our thinking and connect with others who share our ambition for the early secondary years.

To stay in touch with the Alliance and receive details of forthcoming events, please sign up to our mailing list at www.ks3alliance.org.uk.