1. The Spencer Academies Trust The Spencer Academies Trust Disadvantaged Closing the Gap George Spencer Academy Challenge Partners National Conference Wednesday 24 February 2016

2. The Spencer Academies Trust George Spencer Academy Unique Nottinghamshire location – Mixed catchment area

3. The Spencer Academies Trust George Spencer Academy 2016 3 An ‘outstanding’ academy in 2010 – mixed comprehensive school with slightly above average intake; ‘outstanding’ again in May 2015 1490 students 11-18 approx 400 6 th form Stability of Leadership – only 4 Headteachers since 1960 Chief Executive NLE; Principal NLE Lead School in 10 strong, mixed phase MAT Teaching School, Maths Hub, SCITT, licensed deliverer of NPQs Two congratulatory letters from Ministers on the performance of disadvantaged students (2013, 2014) The Spencer Academies Trust

4. The Spencer Academies Trust Why focus on the disadvantaged and closing the gap? - moral purpose - priority in new Ofsted framework

5. The Spencer Academies Trust Closing the gap “Your results show that you have improved in terms of the attainment and value added progress of your disadvantaged pupils since 2011 and that you are increasingly effective in educating your disadvantaged pupils”. How? Some practical tips …… No silver bullet Keep it simple and aligned Make it the heart of everything you do from the moment the student joins the school

6. The Spencer Academies Trust The link with Ofsted A clear aim of the new framework is to: Close the gap between achievement of rich and poor pupils

7. The Spencer Academies Trust Leadership and management How well additional funding (eg pupil premium, PE premium, catch up funding) impacts on pupils’ outcomes…? Challenge Partners

8. The Spencer Academies Trust Outcomes for pupils Main emphasis is now the progress of pupils currently in the school, across a range of years and subjects Achievement of current pupils is main driver – very little emphasis on pupils’ achievement over the last 3 years – but previous outcomes will be considered as part of the inspection preparation to set inspection trails. Inspectors will evaluate: The progress from different starting points, of pupils in a range of subjects including English and mathematics The progress, from their starting points, of disadvantaged pupils, SEND pupils, the most able, pupils who need catch up Pupils’ preparedness for their next stage of education, training or employment

9. The Spencer Academies Trust Be explicit Demonstrating clearly the link between spending and impact over time

10. The Spencer Academies Trust Evaluating Impact - school example

11. The Spencer Academies Trust Be explicit Demonstrating you have evaluated the impact of your actions

12. The Spencer Academies Trust Evaluating Impact

13. The Spencer Academies Trust Align the ‘narrative’ across the school No new systems/ ’bolt-ons’ – part of existing ones Make it easy, make it unavoidable Tell the moral story – you need everyone’s buy in Has to be a school priority – one of our four In every class data pack – provided for people Make it part of everyone's appraisal – student progress target ‘with a particular focus on disadvantaged/PP’ Make it part of every pupil progress meeting Make it part of governance – keep reviewing school priorities

14. The Spencer Academies Trust Using data…. Make it visible, simple, everywhere…starts in the classroom Align it to what the framework is looking for – a data ‘narrative’ Outcomes Destinations – college/employment Gender ENGLISH KS2 TEST MATHS KS2 TEST English June 2013English June 2014 English Best English Literature Maths June 2013 Maths Nov-13 Maths June 2014 Maths Best Levels Progress En Levels Progress Ma Maths Teacher English Teacher NotesDestination tracking F4B5ACBBBAABA44L McCanceB Sugden4 LOP in bothGSA Sixth Form F4B4AA ABB AA55C CarrS Clayton5 LOP in bothGSA Sixth Form F5C CDCDC DC22J StubbsS Rutty2 LOP in both but 2 grade CsNCN

15. The Spencer Academies Trust Disadvantage Calculator TYPE OF STUDENT FSM+1 LAC+1 ARMY+1 EAL+1 TRAVELLER FAMILY+1 SCHOOL SUPPORT+1 EHCP+1 ABILITY Reading age below expected age+1 Spelling age below expected age+1 Low prior attainment+1 CATS score below 100+1 (For each section) In the nurture group+1 FAMILY SITUATION Single parent family+1 Siblings+1 (for each sibling) Parental issue (prison, alcoholism, drugs etc)+1 Known child protection issue+1 Sibling issue (prison, alcoholism, drugs etc)+1 Sibling who became NEET+1 History of self-harm+1 Living in Stapleford+1 RESOURCES No Mobile phone+1 No computer to do homework on+1 No printer at home+1 No e-mail address for parent+1 OTHER SCHOOL ISSUES Not attending progress evening+1 Not attending a presentation evening+1 No club attendance+1

16. The Spencer Academies Trust Get deep with the data and act…

17. The Spencer Academies Trust Get deep with the data and act… As the data shows that the attendance of Disadvantaged students is lower than that of their peers, are these students supported in catching up work missed due to absence? Data also shows that homework and deadline levels are lower for Disadvantaged students- how can you address this in your Faculty? What can we do as a whole school? Are Disadvantaged students prioritised for revision sessions?

18. The Spencer Academies Trust Examples of practical actions Working on homework – an additional lesson after school Personalising spending – knowing each child and how best to use the funding Profiles for disadvantaged pupils Simple strategies for staff that aren’t extra, eg, mark disadvantaged work first, always ask questions of them in lessons when selecting for feedback etc..

19. The Spencer Academies Trust Whole school strategies Developed a disadvantage calculator, which enables us to quantify a pupils level of disadvantage to know which pupils to target most urgently, marking their work first and ensuring they engage in lessons Established a disadvantaged working group with representatives from each faculty Looked at data outcomes for these pupils as a discrete group, allowing us to recognise that pupils eligible for pupil premium funding were often not meeting homework deadlines or quality standards of work Put in place strategies that responded to this data (eg, introducing additional homework lessons that provide support, encouragement and resources for pupils to complete homework on time and to a high quality) Made disadvantaged students a priority for the school and every teacher. Pupil Premium students are prioritised first for: Our Year 7 nurture group (if appropriate) with a separate ‘primary school’ timetable forensic data analysis premium seating in lessons, a focus in lesson planning, first for targeted questions to engage them in the lessons, first books a teacher marks engagement in the life of the academy and regular contact with parents. Set up an additional ‘period 6’ for disadvantaged students to complete homework / preparation for learning outside of lessons but inside school.

20. The Spencer Academies Trust What Ofsted said about GSA … “Gaps in achievement between disadvantaged and other students are narrowing rapidly, because leaders have reviewed how well pupil premium was being used to accelerate this group’s progress. In English, these gaps have been all but eradicated, while in mathematics, leaders have taken effective action to ensure that disadvantaged students are back on track to make good progress this year. The funding for Year 7 literacy and mathematics catch-up has been used effectively, particularly to improve students’ confidence in reading. This has enabled eligible students to make accelerated progress….”

21. The Spencer Academies Trust Impact – mostly on progress A significant reduction in our gap between the percentage of disadvantaged pupils achieving expected progress between KS2 and KS4 and their non-disadvantaged peers between 2014 and 2015, though we know there is more still to do Maths reduced the gap by 18% English progress gap reduced by 2%: In 2014: 44%In 2014 16% In 2015: 26% In 2015 14% KS2 to KS4 value added for disadvantaged students rose significantly from 981.1 in 2014 to 1003.5 in 2015. From at least 5 out of every 6 starting points: - the proportions of KS4 pupils making and exceeding expected progress in English and in mathematics were close to or above national figures - the proportion of disadvantaged KS4 pupils making and exceeding expected progress in - English and in mathematics was similar to that of other pupils nationally (source Data Dashboard).

22. The Spencer Academies Trust Lessons learned and still more to do How to manage staff who were initially reluctant to be so focused on disadvantaged pupils, on grounds of inequitable provision Focus on disadvantaged pupils from the moment they entered George Spencer Academy, to bridge identified gaps so they don‘t fall further behind. No magic formula just working hard to support disadvantaged students making them feel special, making sure they attend and are engaged. We want to do more research on the motivation and performance of disadvantaged students and find ways of isolating the strategies that have made the most impact as closing the gap in terms of attainment is still an issue for us.

23. The Spencer Academies Trust Questions Contact: sjowett@satrust.com jwilkinson@satrust.com info@george-spencer.notts.sch.uk www.george-spencer.notts.sch.uk