1. Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Letterbox Club in Improving Educational Outcomes among Children Aged 7-11 Years in Foster Care in Northern Ireland Karen Winter 1, Paul Connolly 2, Irene Bell 3 and James Ferguson 3 1 School of Sociology Social Policy and Social Work, Queen’s University Belfast 2 Centre for Effective Education, Queen’s University Belfast 3 Stranmillis University College Seminar series Stormont Thursday 31st May 2012 EFFECTIVE CENTRE FOR EDUCATION

2. Overview of presentation 1.The educational attainment of ‘looked-after’ children in Northern Ireland 2.Interventions to improve the educational attainment of ‘looked-after’ children 3.Assessment of the Letterbox Club Pack 4.Evidence of the effectiveness of the Letterbox Club 5.Recommendations CENTRE FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

3. 1. Educational attainment of ‘looked-after’ children in Northern Ireland Outcomes: Statements of Educational Need (24% compared with 4%) Suspension rates (8% compared with 2%) Exclusion rates (1% compared with 0%) Absenteeism rates (5% compared with 5%) Attainment levels … CENTRE FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

4. 1. Educational attainment of ‘looked-after’ children in Northern Ireland Attainment Levels: Key stage 1 (8 year olds) English Level 2 (63% compared with 95%) Maths Level 2 (70% compared with 95%) Key stage 2 (11 year olds) English Level 4 or above (34% compared with 80%) Maths Level 4 or above (37% compared with 81%) CENTRE FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

5. 2. Interventions to improve educational attainment among ‘looked-after’ children Structural approaches: Virtual School Heads (VSH) Designated teachers Looked After Children Education (LACE) teams Personal Education Plans (PEP) Extra curricular activities Additional funding CENTRE FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

6. 2. Interventions to improve educational attainment among ‘looked-after’ children Approaches focused directly to ‘looked-after’ children: Bursaries Personal edcuation allowances (PEA) School entry prioritisation Alternative educational provision (AEP) Private tuition Schemes to improve literacy and numeracy CENTRE FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

7. 3. Assessment of the Letterbox Club pack Reading materials: Range of type of text Range of reading purpose Reading in a variety of contexts Ownership of the reading process Using reading to reflect on personal experiences CENTRE FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

8. 3. Assessment of the Letterbox Club pack Number materials: Compliment the NI Primary Curriculum Focus on number, problem solving and mathematical thinking Games and associated materials lend themselves to development of mathematical language and thinking Encourage those who might otherwise be reluctant Offer a constructive and important role in bridging both educational nd social gaps in a child’s life CENTRE FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

9. 4. Evidence of the effectiveness of the Letterbox Club Methodology: Analysis of before and after data collected on 268 children in foster care who received Letterbox Club Packs in 2009 and 2010 Sample of children: Boys (45%) and girls (55%) 7-9 year olds (35%) and 9-11 year olds (53%) Placement with a non-relative (69%) or extended family (27%) Broadly equal proportions across the five H&SC Trust areas CENTRE FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

10. 4. Evidence of the effectiveness of the Letterbox Club Outcomes: Reading accuracy (Neale Analysis of Reading Ability) Reading comprehension (Neale Analysis of Reading Ability) Bespoke mathematics test to measure children’s number skills (University of Leicester) CENTRE FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

11. 4. Evidence of the effectiveness of the Letterbox Club Main Findings: Reading Accuracy and Comprehension

12. 4. Evidence of the effectiveness of the Letterbox Club Main Findings: Number Skills

13. 4. Evidence of the effectiveness of the Letterbox Club Findings from subgroup analyses: No differences in rates of improvement between children in relation to: age; type of placement; and whether received additional tuition or not. Some differences found in relation to: gender attendance at Fostering Network Summer Scheme Attendance at additional Letterbox Club events CENTRE FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

14. 4. Evidence of the effectiveness of the Letterbox Club Gender differences in rates of improvement

15. 4. Evidence of the effectiveness of the Letterbox Club Differences in rates of improvement associated with other events

16. 4. Evidence of the effectiveness of the Letterbox Club Interpreting the findings: Encouraging evidence of improvement, especially given that this period covers the summer holidays Improvements made are very consistent with findings of previous evaluations in Northern Ireland and England However, need to be cautious as it is not possible to determine conclusively from the current data how much of this improvement is due specifically to the effects of the Letterbox Club

17. 5. Recommendations 1.Consider extending the variety of number games included in the Packs to reflect more contemporary materials and methods 2.Need for a rigorous trial (with a control group) to provide robust evidence of the specific effects attributable to the Letterbox club 3.For any future evaluations, need to consider using more standardised measure of number skills and also consider other education-related outcomes (enjoyment, confidence) CENTRE FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

18. More information Download PDF versions of the executive summary and copies of the full report from: Fostering Achievement’s website www.fosteringachievement.net Centre for Effective Education’s website www.qub.ac.uk/cee For more information on the Letterbox Club please visit: www.letterboxclub.org.uk www.letterboxclub.org.uk CENTRE FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION