More from this theme Recent articles The government has written to thousand of schools with the lowest attainment rates, signposting help through its “universal RISE” offer. The Department for Education launched its targeted Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) scheme last February, with interventions aimed at more than 600 “stuck” schools. Universal support – a “service to help every school improve” – was then launched a month later as part of a broader RISE offer. But the DfE said targeted RISE remains “better understood” than the universal programme. It has now written to thousands of schools to raise awareness of the support available through the scheme. So what is universal RISE, and how will it work? Letters sent to schools On Friday, Tim Coulson, director general of the DfE’s regions group, wrote to responsible bodies for all schools in the bottom 25 per cent for attainment at key stages 2 and 4. The 2,092 schools were identified by looking at attainment both for all pupils and for disadvantaged pupils specifically. Coulson wrote to “remind” …