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Guidance

RISE: West Midlands regional support

Updated 3 July 2026

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rise-west-midlands--2/rise-west-midlands

Regional Director and advisers

The Regional Director for the West Midlands is Sue Lovelock.

The foreword from the Regional Director and information on the RISE advisers are available on the regional plan for the West Midlands.

Accessing RISE support and local hubs

RISE advisers will connect you to regional hubs and peer schools. Engage early to secure places on networks, CPD and discovery visits.

English hubs

English hubs offer a range of support and continuing professional development (CPD) to primary schools to improve the teaching of early reading.

Find your English hub and contact them directly.

Maths hubs

Maths hubs provide support to schools and colleges to help them continuously improve mathematics education. Each hub is a partnership of schools, colleges, multi-academy trusts and other organisations.

Find your maths hub from the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) website.

Music hubs

Music hub partnerships are made up of a range of organisations that work together to deliver high-quality music provision for all children and young people in and out of school.

Find your music hub and contact them directly.

Attendance and behaviour hubs

Find the West Midlands schools leading attendance and behaviour hubs and contact them directly.

Communities of practice

The communities of practice offer peer-led groups supporting education leaders to share expertise and address sector challenges. Each community focuses on national priorities of:

  • attainment (including English and maths)
  • inclusive mainstream
  • reception-year quality
  • attendance

The communities of practice for the West Midlands are:

Early years stronger practice hubs

Early years stronger practice hubs provide funded support and advice to early years educators. They can help to improve quality by:

  • sharing good practice via local networks
  • offering evidence-informed professional development opportunities

Find your early years stronger practice hub and contact them directly.

Reception networks

Contact a lead school directly if you wish to get involved or access support from the network. Find your lead school from Reception networks.

Research schools

The research schools for the West Midlands are:

Sector-led networks

Contact your regional director’s office if you are interested in working with us to develop or contribute to future networks.

You can also find a school business professional network in the West Midlands.

  • The Education Exchange West Midlands operates as a network of schools to share best practice so schools can draw on support from other members to receive intensive support.
  • Thrive at Five supports families and local partners to create the conditions children need to thrive.

Teaching school hubs

Teaching school hubs are centres of excellence led by schools and multi-academy trusts. 

They offer teacher training and professional development for teachers and leaders at all stages of their career.  

Find a teaching school hub and contact them directly.

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