Robert Hill Consulting Closing the attainment gap and the role of the pupil premium Advice for school governors and leaders

Robert Hill Consulting The context – attainment and deprivation Pupil progress is affected by factors within and outside school There is a strong correlation between a student’s socio-economic background and their attainment But there are also schools that are breaking the deprivation link So schools should focus on those issues that are within their control

Robert Hill Consulting The link between deprivation and attainment Each 16 year-old is assigned a point score for their GCSE passes based on 8 points for an A* down to 1 for a G. A student’s score for English, maths and their three best other subjects is then added together: i.e. five As is 40 points and five Gs come to 5. Source: Chris Cook FT Blog 05/08/2012

Robert Hill Consulting FSM and pupil performance by school Each 16 year-old is assigned a point score for their GCSE passes based on 8 points for an A* down to 1 for a G. A student’s score for English, maths and their three best other subjects is then added together: i.e. five As is 40 points and five Gs come to 5. Source: Chris Cook FT Blog 18/01/2013 All pupils FSM pupils National average Floor target

Robert Hill Consulting The attainment gap is big and rises as pupils move through the school system Source: DfE Statistical First Releases 43/2013, 51/2013 and 05/2014 and State of the Nation 2013: social mobility and child poverty and in Great Britain 2013, Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission Note: Foundation Years data relates to children in the 30% most deprived Super Output Areas and Key Stage 5 data is for 2012

Robert Hill Consulting Other key features of the attainment gap FSM attainment is rising but the gap has only narrowed slightly over the past few years – more in primary than secondary The smallest gaps tend to be in schools with high or low FSM There are big variations in FSM performance –Between regions –Between local local authorities –Within local authorities

Robert Hill Consulting Reasons to focus on this agenda: funding Pupil Premium for ‘Ever 6 FSM’ pupils –Rising to £1,300 for primary pupils, £935 for secondary pupils and £1,900 for looked after children from April 2014 £50 million to secondary schools for summer schools for year 7 incomers that need extra support £500 per year 7 pupil who is below level 4 in reading and/or maths for literacy and numeracy catch-up

Robert Hill Consulting Reasons to focus on this agenda: accountability Performance tables include: –Highest and lowest performers –FSM pupils and gap on rolling three year basis –Progress of all pupils Ofsted inspection framework –Progress and performance of FSM –Use and impact of Pupil Premium funding –Not ‘outstanding’ unless disadvantaged making good progress –Review for RI schools with concerns about attainment of disadvantaged pupils

Robert Hill Consulting An important caveat Yes, FSM is a far from perfect proxy for deprivation But it is the measure the government is using FSM Level of parental education IDACI

Robert Hill Consulting A model for action Establish a strong culture of high expectations and achievement for all pupils

Robert Hill Consulting A model for action Establish a strong culture of high expectations and achievement for all pupils

Robert Hill Consulting Creating a high expectations culture Yes, you can! Deprivation and poverty cannot be an excuse to limit ambition or achievement “Outstanding schools have strong values and high expectations that are applied consistently and never relaxed. Such schools are highly inclusive, having complete regard for the educational progress, personal development and well-being of every student” Source: Ofsted, 2009, Twelve outstanding secondary schools: excelling against the odds

Robert Hill Consulting Raising expectations through a growth mindset Fixed mindset – intelligence is staticGrowth mindset – intelligence can be developed Leads to a desire to ‘look smart’ and so leads to a tendency to: Leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to: Avoid challengesEmbrace challenges Give up easily when presented with challenges Persevere despite obstacles See effort as uselessSee effort as a path to mastery Ignore useful feedbackLearn from criticism Be threatened by others’ successBe inspired by others’ success Source: John Clarke based on Carol Dweck, Mindset: how you can grow you potential

Robert Hill Consulting Identify the performance and progress of FSM pupils Use school’s data system to analyse progress of FSM pupils –By subject and by teacher –Within cohorts –Between cohorts –By reference to prior attainment and expected levels of progress –By comparison with schools with similar levels of FSM –By comparison with top performing schools with similar levels of FSM

Robert Hill Consulting

Analyse and understand the issues blocking progress Discuss data with: –Staff –Students – surveys and student voice –Parents Identify specific obstacles to progress: –Specific subjects –Areas of learning within specific subjects –Inappropriate curriculum –Quality of teaching –Quality of feedback & assessment for learning 12345

Robert Hill Consulting Behaviour At least three times more likely to be permanently excluded and to have unauthorised absence Cultural and social capital Less likely to have the experiences and support available to other students Teaching More likely to experience poorer quality of teaching Setting More likely to be allocated to low groups than similarly attaining but non-FSM pupils Turbulence More likely to change school and less likely to make successful transitions at Key Stages Key skills More likely to have problems with literacy and numeracy Curriculum Less likely to follow an appropriate curriculum and to make informed decisions on subject choices and qualification routes Common school- related characteristics of FSM students SEN Twice as likely to have a statement School-related characteristics of FSM students Source: Adapted from Rea et al, 2011 and based on DCSF, 2009 and analysis of DfE 2011 performance tables for Key Stage 2

Robert Hill Consulting Review and identify potential interventions Don’t reinvent the wheel Build on what is known to work Some useful sources of information: –DfE survey –National College report: System leadership: does school-to-school support close the gap –Education Endowment Fund (EEF) toolkit –Ofsted 12345

Robert Hill Consulting DfE survey* – some headlines Most schools target all disadvantaged pupils –A minority target specific groups or individuals – most commonly those with low attainment or not making good progress Schools offer a range of support: –Inside the classroom: tutoring, small group teaching, extra staff (teachers, TAs, learning mentors,) –Outside the classroom: trips, out of hours activities, parental support and family support workers Schools think they are using effective interventions –A Sutton Trust survey of 1,600 teachers/school leaders found that two of the cheapest and most effective ways of raising attainment – student feedback and peer-to-peer tutoring – weren’t commonly used *

Robert Hill Consulting Potential interventions – National College TARGETED STRATEGIES FOR PUPILS ELIGIBLE FOR FSM …which specifically benefit FSM pupils STRATEGIES FOR UNDER- PERFORMING PUPILS …which benefit FSM and other under-achieving pupils WHOLE SCHOOL STRATEGIES...which benefit all pupils Source: Rea et al, National College 2011

Robert Hill Consulting Potential interventions – EEF toolkit

Robert Hill Consulting It’s all about the quality of the teaching

Robert Hill Consulting Successful interventions - Ofsted PP funding ring-fenced for target group Maintained high expectations of target group Analysed which pupils were under-achieving + why Used evidence to allocate funding to big-impact strategies High quality teaching, not interventions to compensate for poor teaching Able to demonstrate impact – using achievement data to check interventions and make adjustments Highly trained support staff and teachers knowing which pupils eligible for PP Senior leader with oversight of PP spend Governors involved pupil-premium-how-schools-are- spending-funding-successfully- maximise-achievement

Robert Hill Consulting Less effective interventions – Ofsted Lack of clarity about intended impact of PP spending Funding spent on teaching assistants, with little impact and poor performance management Poor monitoring and no clear audit trail Focus on threshold pupils, so more able under- achieved PP spending not linked to school development plan Poor performance comparisons, thus lowering expectations Pastoral work not focused on desired outcomes for PP pupils Governors not involved in PP spending decisions es/pupil-premium-how-schools- are-spending-funding- successfully-maximise- achievement

Robert Hill Consulting Make it personal

Robert Hill Consulting Set success criteria Identify the progress that pupils are projected to make without any intervention Consider what progress students might be expected to achieve as a result of the intervention(s) Discuss with staff, students and parents Agree goals or targets for impact of interventions Put in place systems for tracking progress on a real time basis

Robert Hill Consulting Implement interventions Identify a member of the leadership team to have overall responsibility Allow time to plan Plan and implement collaboratively Involve pupils Explain to staff not directly involved Consider working and learning with another school Plan use of Pupil Premium

Robert Hill Consulting Review progress Measure progress Gather feedback Identify what has not worked as well as what has been successful Document lessons learned Decide whether to: –Continue but refine intervention(s) –And/or extend or expand intervention(s) –And/or target another cohort of pupils 12345

Robert Hill Consulting Some evaluation tools Pupil voice – to help assess motivation, engagement and wellbeing Attendance, behaviour, homework completion Progress with mastering key skills or overcoming learning challenges APS scores, pupil books and teachers’ marking/feedback Test papers and outcomes

Robert Hill Consulting

Mainstream the strategy SEF School development plan Professional development Lesson observation Pupil progress tracking Performance appraisal Governor reviews Ofsted readiness “Schools that use the Pupil Premium effectively ensure that all day-to-day teaching meets the needs of each learner, rather than relying on interventions to compensate for teaching that is less than good” Ofsted

Robert Hill Consulting Things to watch out for Positive development in staff capacity Better use of data Big improvement in teaching and learning Improved outcomes

Robert Hill Consulting Things to watch out for Positive development in staff capacity Better use of data Big improvement in teaching and learning Improved outcomes Cynicism at the start Lack of rigour Insufficient preparation Expecting too much too quickly

Robert Hill Consulting A checklist for school leaders and governors

Robert Hill Consulting A task Difficult Easy Small benefit Large benefit Identify actions that will support closing gaps in attainment in your school – assessing ideas for ease of achieving and potential benefit – and locate them in the grid below