The Legacy of the London Challenge Merryn Hutchings Emeritus Professor Institute for Policy Studies in Education, London Metropolitan University Project team members: Sumi Hollingworth, Ayo Mansaray and Anthea Rose, IPSE; and Charley Greenwood, Coffey International

The Legacy of the Challenge The legacy in schools in London attainment Ofsted judgements strategies and practices Legacy activities national London What more could be done to benefit from the lessons of the Challenge?

The legacy in London schools: attainment London primary and secondary schools now perform better than schools in any other region

Percentage of secondary pupils reaching the expected level, 2013, by region National figure

Percentage of pupils eligible for Free School Meals, by region

Percentage of FSM pupils achieving GCSE 5A*-C inc. English and maths, by region

Attainment at GCSE 2012, using the FT GCSE score and IDACI deprivation ranking, by region poorer richer Deprivation ranking FT GCSE score Source: Cook 2013

Other pupil groups that do better in London than elsewhere  Not eligible for FSM  White  Minority ethnic  With SEN  Without SEN  With EAL  English first language

Percentage of schools below the floor target PRIMARYSECONDARY

Legacy in London schools: Ofsted judgements (as at 31/08/13) Secondary

Is the London Challenge responsible for London’s success? Possible other factors:  Pupil factors – higher aspirations?  Teacher factors – pay, age?  Teach First  Sponsored academies Conclusion: London Challenge is the main factor responsible

Was the Challenge responsible? the views of school leaders Interviewees identified school changes initiated by the Challenge which contributed to higher attainment:  Becoming more outward looking, ongoing and new partnerships  Developing more effective processes and structures  Stronger focus on teaching and learning  Having higher expectations of pupils  Development of coaching skills  Teachers’ careers, energy and enthusiasm  Gaining awareness of what to do to improve further  Becoming more comfortable with external scrutiny

Why was the London Challenge successful ? Recognition that genuine improvement takes time and involves reviewing all aspects of school practice Working at area level, tackled issues specific to London Central team of expert advisors, plus coordination and administration Using the strengths of the leaders and teacher to support and coach others Support for schools to become more outward looking Different strategies for schools at different stages Bespoke solutions Ethos of support and encouragement, moral purpose

Legacy activities: London The London Leadership Strategy Continues some programmes developed during the Challenge Has developed new programmes to fit current needs (e.g. Securing Good)

Legacy activities: national  Greater Manchester and Black Country Challenges ( )  Teaching Schools  National Leaders of Education (NLEs)  Organisations – e.g. Challenge Partners  Strategies used by e.g. some LAs, dioceses and academy chains  New regional and local Challenges being set up  Schools and areas turning to London for support and advice

What more could be done to benefit from the lessons of the London Challenge? Recent research for Ofsted showed that heads and other stakeholders would like to see:  Coordination/administration at area level, and financial support for this  A process to identify schools with the greatest support needs and to provide advisor and some funding for these  Wider adoption of Challenge strategies for Satisfactory and Good schools  Improved information for heads about what is available /continued

What more could be done? (continued)  Review of geographical distribution of Teaching schools and National Leaders of Education  The balance between competition and collaboration reviewed  Recognition in Ofsted framework of value of school-to- school support  Monitoring the school improvement support provided by academy chains  Recognition that school improvement takes time, and focusing on short-term improvement in results may be counter productive  Stronger recognition of the importance of an ethos in which school are supported and encouraged

Further information in: Hutchings, M., Greenwood, C., Hollingworth, S., Mansaray, A. and Rose, A. with Minty, S. and Glass, K. (2012) Evaluation of the City Challenge programme, Research Report 215, DfE. ad/DFE-RR215.pdf ad/DFE-RR215.pdf Hutchings, M. and Mansaray, A. (2013) A review of the impact of the London Challenge (2003-8) and the City Challenge ( ), Research paper for Ofsted’s ‘Access and achievement in education 2013 review’, Ofsted. achievement-background-papers achievement-background-papers