Achievement for All Cymru

Plan for the session Background on the Achievement for All Programme What it is Where it’s come from Practical implementation in a school (including input from a current Pathfinder school) Next steps – how to get involved Questions

Background Overarching WG priority to tackle poverty: Building Resilient Communities Education – Breaking the link between poverty and low educational achievement “From tonight, cutting the link between deprivation and attainment becomes our top priority.” Huw Lewis, Minister for Education and Skills October 2013. "Our involvement with the Achievement for All Schools Programme has been the most significant driver for improvement at our school. The impact on student outcomes for the most vulnerable has been enormous. Working with our coach we look forward to continuing to develop our school systems and continue to improve results." Claire Price, Headteacher, Chepstow School

The Education Attainment Gap

Raising Attainment, Narrowing the Gap.

What is Achievement for All The Achievement for All schools programme is a tailored whole-school improvement framework that improves progress in reading, writing and maths for ALL children and young people, particularly those eligible for the Pupil Deprivation Grant, looked-after children, service children and those identified with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The programme is led by a strong partnership between an Achievement Coach, a senior experienced education professional who makes regular coaching visits to each school, and a nominated senior school leader, the ‘school champion’. Together with members from right across the school community, they develop an Action Plan that blends
tailored, school-driven activities with a series of high impact interventions, focused on our four interdependent elements: Leadership Teaching and Learning Parental Engagement Wider Outcomes and Opportunities.  

Our History Lamb Inquiry 2009: “A school cannot be a good school unless it caters properly for ALL the children it is there to serve.”

Pilot Evaluation Overview of the evaluation 28,000 pupils - able to compare outcomes with all pupils nationally Quantitative information studied, including pupil attainment and progress in English and Maths, absenteeism data, behaviour reports Qualitative information drawn from extensive interviews with school leaders, teachers, parents and students

Pilot Results Pupils with SEN in pilot schools progressed faster on average than all pupils nationally with SEN in English and Maths across all age groups Schools reporting “excellent” relationships with parents rose from 12% to 48% 10% improvement in attendance of persistent absentees across pilot schools Significant reductions in bullying and behavioural problems reported by teachers Increased awareness of and focus on SEND - “Putting SEND back with the class teacher”

Progress in Maths Compared with National Average for Pupils (with/without SEND)

Progress in English Compared with National Average for Pupils (with/without SEND)

2013 Impact Data Pupil Progress (Average Point Score*) (May 2013)   English (Reading and Writing) Maths Achievement for All Baseline to Term 3 Source: PwC 4.2 3.8 National SEND Source: DfE 2.8 2.5 National Non-SEND 3.2 3.0 Vulnerable pupils within schools working with Achievement for all make 50% more progress than the national average for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

Roll out in England We are now working in over 2000 Schools – Primary, Secondary, Special and PRU. We have an Early Years and a Post-16 pilot which extend the ages we are working with from 2-19 years-old. Achievement for All is written into the Green Paper on SEND 2011, and DfE Response in May 2012, and referenced in relation to the new draft Code of Practice 2013 Elements of AfA referenced in the Ofsted framework

Achievement for All Cymru In partnership with Welsh Government, The Wales Centre for Equity in Education and South Central Consortia we are currently running a Pathfinder across 14 schools which started in January 2014. The partners involved in this Pathfinder will support the development of Achievement for All Cymru in preparation for wider rollout from September 2014. This development will involve contextualisation of the programme materials and the creation of a Welsh medium version. This work will build on the very significant investment in both the pilot and national roll out in England (over £35m). Following on from our initial positive conversations, we also hope to involve the remaining three education consortia in development activity and secure their support for the broader roll out from 2014.

The Four Elements …and their synergy with ‘Improving Schools’ Effective leadership at all levels in schools, through supporting leadership development Effective learning and teaching in schools, through improving the quality of teaching in literacy and numeracy and, supporting teacher and support staff professional development. Strengthening our approaches to inclusion with a particular focus on improving behaviour and attendance Building effective partnerships around schools, through building capacity at national and regional levels, developing professional learning communities (PLCs) and empowering and engaging with parents/carers

‘Target Pupils’ Pilot schools targeted about 20% of pupils with SEND in years 1, 5, 7 and 10 (in first year, and then again in second pilot year) AfA schools choose which year groups and which vulnerable groups of children to target. Schools identify 2 target groups and track the progress of targeted groups/children. At least 20 pupils in a primary school and 50 in secondary. ‘Key teachers’ for targeted children hold a structured conversation with their parent/carer each term – so avoid ‘overloading’, but ensure large enough target groups.

The Achievement Coach Experienced professionals who work alongside schools, providing support to implement the AfA framework 12 visits per year (1-3 hours) Partnership, coaching approach, working with the School Champion and others in school Undertake Needs Analysis with School Champion/SLT Help school identify target groups of pupils

Keys to Success Regular support of Achievement Coach working alongside the School Champion Builds on strengths of school and addresses priorities through initial and on-going needs analysis AfA integrated in school’s strategic plan – this is not bolt on Training/workshop sessions co-led Regular analysis of data and tracking of progress of individual children and groups by teachers Networking between AfA schools Leadership from SLT

First hand experience from a current Pathfinder School

Who has benefitted from Achievement for All? 69,995 Parents/ Carers 77,296 Target pupils 1,000,000 Pupils 25,674 Teachers 9,244 School Leaders 21,568 Wider Professionals

PwC Interim Social Impact Report Define scope & stakeholders Map outcomes Evidence & value outcomes Establishing the impact Communicate results School Champion survey conducted in May 2013 returning a total of 149 responses from an initial sample of 727 (a 20 per cent response rate); Teaching Staff survey also conducted in May returning 131 responses from a total of 72 Achievement for All schools; Achievement for All school Average Point Score (APS) data for 116 of the 149 schools that responded to the Achievement for All School Champion survey and returned a minimum of 3 terms of APS data by the Summer 2013 term, validated by PwC; and Qualitative data returned in Spring 2013 termly submissions and analysed by Achievement for All 3As. Drawing on part of the evidence base that will be available

Interim findings: motivation (SOURCE: PwC) On average respondents selected three choices from a list of characteristics, reflecting expectations that Achievement for All could have a positive impact for pupils with a range of needs. Children with SEN(D), pupils in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM) and Looked After Children (LAC) factored highly in decisions to take up the Achievement for All programme.

Interim findings: programme outcomes (SOURCE: PwC) Improved social-behavioural outcomes Accelerated progression and attainment Improved attendance Focus on reducing exclusions Fewer exclusions Increased aspiration and positive attitude (pupils and teachers) Pupil confidence and self-esteem Increased focus on attendance Student engagement with school Wider range of learning & teaching approaches Pupil voice Parents / carers engaged in their child’s education Focus on engagement through structured conversations Greater extra-curricular participation Improved teacher/pupil relations Better use of data Flexible curriculum Identification and confidence in SEN Improved teaching practices Focus on wider outcomes Increased civic involvement Focus on those with complex needs Parent / carer skill and confidence Reduced bullying Teaching staff share the leadership's commitment

Interim findings: pupil and parent impact (SOURCE: PwC) Impact on pupils Pupils in Achievement for All target groups are increasing their attainment in reading, writing and maths. According to teachers, pupils are also raising their aspirations and improving their confidence and self- esteem. According to teachers some of the largest increases in outcomes were in relation to pupil confidence and self-esteem, pupil aspirations and positive attitude, and in the use of data to better understand pupil progress. Based on a weighted average of APS data, schools involved in the Achievement for All programme for a minimum of three terms have increased APS in reading by 5.2 points, in writing by 4.9 points and in maths by 4.8 points. Impact on parents, carers and teachers Some of the most pronounced improvements to date have been in relation to; the height of teacher and pupil aspirations for pupil achievement, and parent/carer engagement with, and skill and confidence to support children’s learning. Qualitative case study research suggests that parents and staff are working more effectively together to address the individual needs of each child. Schools are beginning to devise bespoke methods of recording and reviewing Structured Conversations.

Interim findings: pupil and parent impact (SOURCE: PwC)

Achievement for All Cymru In partnership with Welsh Government, The Wales Centre for Equity in Education and South Central Consortia we are currently running a Pathfinder across 14 schools which started in January 2014. The partners involved in this Pathfinder will support the development of Achievement for All Cymru in preparation for wider rollout from September 2014. This development will involve contextualisation of the programme materials and the creation of a Welsh medium version. This work will build on the very significant investment in both the pilot and national roll out in England (over £35m). Following on from our initial positive conversations, we also hope to involve the remaining three education consortia in development activity and secure their support for the broader roll out from 2014.

Next steps Questions

Cost: £7,500 per year ex VAT for 2 years initially More information: Nick Aslett (Director of Quality) nick.aslett@afa3as.org.uk 07788 271836 Registration: registrations@afa3as.org.uk 01635 279499