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Session One

MAKING THE DIFFERENCE FOR DISADVANTAGED PUPILS

Mr Alastair Gittner

(Research Lead; Rotherham Associate Research School)

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Session One

Outcomes

Introduction

Know what is expected and what will be gained from completing the programme

Understand the context of educational disadvantage, both nationally and locally

Baseline the key areas related to Pupil Premium in your school to ensure a focus on monitoring & evaluation from the outset

Begin establishing the conditions needed to implement policies from your Pupil Premium strategy in your school

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MAKING THE DIFFERENCE FOR DISADVANTAGED PUPILS

Aims:

Improve pupil outcomes in Rotherham;

Develop the confidence and effectiveness of Rotherham school leaders in diagnosing needs and in implementing an evidence informed strategy in schools.

When:

Spring – Summer 2023, delivered as a modular programme.

For:

Senior Leaders in schools who have both the capacity and authority to effect change within their organisations.

Cost:�Free! This is an EEF – funded programme, delivered in collaboration between ROSIS and the Rotherham Associate Research School.

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Pre reading

Session 1: Role of evidence in meeting the needs of those at risk of underachievement

Wednesday 18^th Jan 3-5pm

Live online

Session 2: Analysing existing issues and strategies

SELF STUDY

Emailed during w/b 24^th January

Session 3: Understanding and reviewing the tiered approach

Thu 9^th Feb

3-5pm

Live online

Session 4: Identifying solutions

SELF STUDY

Emailed during w/b 13^th Feb

Session 5: Preparing through implementation planning

Wed 1st Mar

3-5pm

REMOTE DELIVERY

Session 6: Writing an implementation plan

SELF STUDY

Emailed during w/b 6^th March

Implementation Workshop

Date tbc

CORE and 1^st phase

CORE PROGRAMME 2^nd phase

(available for all but aimed at schools and colleagues who did not attend cohort1)

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Resources available through a padlet

https://padlet.com/agittner/ohpp4wcqnvl5pkb

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Learning with and from each other;
Sharing practice, insights and experience;
Putting aside distractions
Being prepared to ask and answer challenging questions;
Maximising this opportunity.
Could you put your name, role and school into the chat please; to act as a register

Our Protocols

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Introduction and pre-tasks	Session 1 The role of evidence in meeting the needs of children most at risk of underachieving	Session 2 Analysing existing issues and strategies

Session 3 The tiered approach	Session 4 Identifying solutions	Session 5 Preparing through implementation planning

Session 6 Writing an implementation plan	Workshop on Implementation

Programme Sessions

a) Know what is expected and what will be gained from completing the programme
b) Understand the context of educational disadvantage, both nationally and locally
c) Baseline the key areas related to Pupil Premium in your school to ensure a focus on monitoring & evaluation from the outset
d) Begin establishing the conditions needed to implement a Pupil Premium strategy in your school

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In-school Descriptors

a) Know what is expected and what will be gained from completing the programme
b) Understand the context of educational disadvantage, both nationally and locally
c) Baseline the key areas related to Pupil Premium in your school to ensure a focus on monitoring & evaluation from the outset
d) Begin establishing the conditions needed to implement a Pupil Premium strategy in your school

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DNA of the programme

High Quality Teaching

Targeted Academic Support

Whole-School Approaches

Explore the evidence which supports the tiered approach and how this impacts your schools’ Pupil Premium Strategy.

Identify the right priorities for your school and develop plans to implement evidence-informed processes, practices and programmes.

Monitor and evaluate the impact of your Pupil Premium Strategy and how to refine it to best effect.

Tiered Approach

@EducEndowFoundn

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Session 1

Session 2

Session 3

Session 4

Session 5

Session 6

Workshop

Session 9

Introduction

Explore

Prepare

Deliver

Sustain

Introduction & Preparation tasks

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Understanding the context of educational disadvantage, both nationally and locally.

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Why we do it

There is a consistent gap in children and young people’s attainment linked to economic disadvantage.

The attainment gap is largest for children and young people eligible for free school meals (the best available proxy measure of economic disadvantage) and those assessed with special educational needs.

The gap exists in all types of schools The attainment gap is not a problem restricted only to schools classified as under-performing: it is found in all types of schools.

• The gap begins in the early years and is already evident when children begin school aged 5.

• The gap grows wider at every following stage of education: it more than doubles to 9.5 months by the end of primary school, and then more than doubles again, to 19.3 months, by the end of secondary school. This shows the importance of intervening early and then of continuing to attend to the needs of disadvantaged pupils.

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Studies show that Covid-related disruption has negatively impacted the attainment of all pupils, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds (DfE, 2021; NFER, 2021; FFT, 2022; DfE, 2022).

A recent DfE study (2022) suggests that pupils have experienced a greater impact in areas of high deprivation.

There is evidence that the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates has grown since the onset of the pandemic (DfE, 2021; RS Assessment, 2021; NFER, 2021; FFT, Teacher Tapp and EEF, 2022; DfE, 2022).2

Pupils have made progress since returning to in-person learning, but by summer 2021, they continue to be behind in their learning compared with what would be expected in a typical year. Time back in class has not yet made up for the disproportionate learning loss experienced by disadvantages pupils.

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Disadvantaged pupils start

and stay behind.

a) Know what is expected and what will be gained from completing the programme
b) Understand the context of educational disadvantage, both nationally and locally
c) Baseline the key areas related to Pupil Premium in your school to ensure a focus on monitoring & evaluation from the outset
d) Begin establishing the conditions needed to implement a Pupil Premium strategy in your school

The graphics on this slide and the next two are taken from EEF’s Attainment Gap report: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/about/annual-reports/the-attainment-gap-an-eef-analysis/

The important messages are:

The differences in attainment and ‘school readiness’ are evident in the early years. They continue to grow throughout the school years and evidence suggests they are harder to close the more they become entrenched. Evidence from the EPPSE studies (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/research/featured-research/effective-pre-school-primary-secondary-education-project) shows that effective early years settings can provide a ‘protective effect’ for subsequent years of schoolings, but the attainment gap does not close if they are not followed up by effective primary and secondary schooling.
The gap exists in all types of school: Outstanding to inadequate.
Measuring the ‘within-school’ attainment gap might be useful as a first step, but what we are really talking about here is the overall improvement of disadvantaged pupil’s attainment compared to national averages (including non-PP national attainment).

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Why are we here?

The gap may have widened, but the link between family income and educational achievement can be broken

a) Know what is expected and what will be gained from completing the programme
b) Understand the context of educational disadvantage, both nationally and locally
c) Baseline the key areas related to Pupil Premium in your school to ensure a focus on monitoring & evaluation from the outset
d) Begin establishing the conditions needed to implement a Pupil Premium strategy in your school

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???

Pause the video recording

Discuss the experiences of two children: one comes from a socio-economically disadvantaged family and the other from a more affluent family.

Suggest factors at each stage of childhood that act to mediate the relationship between socio-economic position and educational attainment

Source: Education Policy Institute

Annual Report 2019

Self reflection activity

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???

Healthy Preg-nancy

REVEAL

What factors did you identify?

What is the key message here?

Source: Education Policy Institute

Annual Report 2019

Healthy develop-ment nutrition

High quality home learning

Benefit from a selective school? Private tutor?

Stress and ill health during preg-nancy

Poorer develop-ment, ACEs?

Weak home learning environ-ment

Less experien-ced teachers. Lack of role models

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a) Know what is expected and what will be gained from completing the programme
b) Understand the context of educational disadvantage, both nationally and locally
c) Baseline the key areas related to Pupil Premium in your school to ensure a focus on monitoring & evaluation from the outset
d) Begin establishing the conditions needed to implement a Pupil Premium strategy in your school

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1986, Stanovich.�

“The concept of Matthew effects springs from findings that individuals who have advantageous early educational experiences are able to utilize new educational experiences more efficiently” p381 Reading Research Quarterly, xxi/4

a) Know what is expected and what will be gained from completing the programme
b) Understand the context of educational disadvantage, both nationally and locally
c) Baseline the key areas related to Pupil Premium in your school to ensure a focus on monitoring & evaluation from the outset
d) Begin establishing the conditions needed to implement a Pupil Premium strategy in your school

This is a model proposed by Stanovich, relating to reading development, coming from St Mathews gospel = the rich get richer. “ The parable of the talents; For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath”. It describes the effect that children who have strong early reading skills can build on those. Those without move at a slower pace. The early intervention argument suggests that we need to intervene in order help children ‘get back on track’. This applies to early intervention (not structured intervention, but changing the way we do things) in order to support the progress of children. These might be different to general classroom practice, they might be the same but with more emphasis, or they might be tightly targeted and focused.

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It includes pupil attainment; the size of the disadvantage gap; the latest trends on the gap; projections for when it is set to close; breakdowns by pupil group, including by ethnic background and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

a) Know what is expected and what will be gained from completing the programme
b) Understand the context of educational disadvantage, both nationally and locally
c) Baseline the key areas related to Pupil Premium in your school to ensure a focus on monitoring & evaluation from the outset
d) Begin establishing the conditions needed to implement a Pupil Premium strategy in your school

https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/infographic-epi-annual-report-2020-key-findings/

This infographic displays the key findings from the Education Policy Institute’s report.

https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/education-in-england-annual-report-2020/

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Use pages 3, 7, 11, 15, 22 the 2020 EPI report

Geographical analysis pack

to gather data on local context:

How is Rotherham performing?
How does it compare with other areas?

Which authorities may have similar challenges?

What, if anything, makes Rotherham ‘different’?

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Figures for Rotherham

2020

Disadvantage gap

EYS 5.2 months

KS2 11.5 months

KS4 22.8 months

Up to date data difficult because of inconsistencies in collected data

But 2022

KS4 Rotherham disadvantage grade ave KS4 is -1.5 (13^th worse in country)

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The gap may have widened, but the link between family income and educational achievement can be broken.

Look at the impact being in school and classroom teaching has on the most disadvantaged.

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Other data taken from the Nov 2022 EEF/NFER report

Pupils who were in Year 3 in spring 2022 (seven- and eight-year-olds) have caught up in both reading and maths compared with pupils before the pandemic.
Year 2 pupils (six- and seven-year-olds) have also – on average – caught up in maths, but they are still behind in their reading by about three months.
For Year 2 pupils, the proportion of very low attainers in reading more than tripled from 2.6 per cent before the pandemic to 9.1 percent in spring 2022.
For Year 3 pupils, the proportion more than doubled from 2.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent.�Year 2, the disadvantage gap in spring 2022 was around six months’ progress for reading, and around five months’ progress for maths.
For Year 3 pupils, the gap was even wider, at around nine months’ progress for reading and around eight months’ progress for maths.

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Families of Schools Database | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF

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Open mics……join the chat

Does this ring any bells??

What are your experiences?

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Activity

Complete the ‘Existing beliefs & assumptions’ sheet

Individually
Honestly
Without fear of judgment

Have about 5-10 mins.

Then there will be chance to chat

Just record first responses but please feel free to change your mind later

a) Know what is expected and what will be gained from completing the programme
b) Understand the context of educational disadvantage, both nationally and locally
c) Baseline the key areas related to Pupil Premium in your school to ensure a focus on monitoring & evaluation from the outset
d) Begin establishing the conditions needed to implement a Pupil Premium strategy in your school

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Self/school reflection task

In break out rooms of 4

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a) Know what is expected and what will be gained from completing the programme
b) Understand the context of educational disadvantage, both nationally and locally
c) Baseline the key areas related to Pupil Premium in your school to ensure a focus on monitoring & evaluation from the outset
d) Begin establishing the conditions needed to implement a Pupil Premium strategy in your school

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Dispelling myths…

What are the barriers to learning for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds?

If you pooled the responses from staff across your school, what would the top three barriers be?

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Dispelling myths…

Parental engagement

Lack of aspiration

Behaviour

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Dispelling myths…

Literacy knowledge & skill

Numeracy

Metacognitive strategies (independent learning)

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"Pupil Premium pupils’ aspirations are generally low. The way to improve attainment is to raise aspirations.”

�

�“1. The current evidence base on aspiration interventions is extremely weak. The lack of studies identified means than an impact in months progress is not communicated. Schools should carefully monitor the impact on attainment of any interventions or approaches.

2. The existing wider evidence suggests that the relationship between aspirations and attainment is not straightforward. In general, approaches to raising aspirations have not translated into increased learning. Approaches linked to gains in attainment almost always have a significant academic component, suggesting that raising aspirations in isolation will not be effective

3. Most young people have high aspirations for themselves. Ensuring that students have the knowledge and skills to progress towards their aspirations is likely to be more effective than intervening to change the aspirations themselves.”

Myth or Reality?

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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'There is strong evidence to suggest that parental engagement interventions raise pupil attainment.’

�

Myth or Reality?

“1. Parental engagement has a positive impact on average of 4 months’ additional progress. It is crucial to consider how to engage with all parents to avoid widening attainment gaps.

2. Consider how to tailor school communications to encourage positive dialogue about learning. There is some evidence that personalised messages linked to learning can promote positive interactions.

3. Parental engagement strategies are typically more effective with parents of very young children. It is important to consider how you will maintain parental engagement as children get older. For example, providing flexible communications (e.g. short sessions at flexible times) might create opportunities for parents of older pupils to engage with the school.”

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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‘There is something fundamentally different about how Pupil Premium pupils learn compared to non-Pupil Premium pupils.’

�

‘Classroom strategies shown to be effective for one ethnic or socio-economic group tend also to be effective for others.’

Effective classroom strategies for closing the gap in educational achievement for children and young people living in poverty, including white working-class boys,

Sharples, J., Slavin, R., Chambers, B., & Sharp, C.(2011)

Myth or Reality?

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

Not about getting something ‘different’

To get a grounding in this report, read the executive summary. Also, this paragraph from Becky Allen’s 2018 blogs on PP is useful: https://rebeccaallen.co.uk/

“Noting the letters ‘PP’ on seating plans does not provide teachers with useful information for classroom instruction. Labelling students by their educational needs is helpful (and essential for secondary teachers who encounter hundreds of children each week) and I think paying more attention to variation in cognitive function within a class has far more value than their pupil premium status.

…

The neuroscience of socio-economic status is a new but rapidly growing field and SES-related disparities have already been consistently observed for working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility and attention. There is much that is still to be understood about why these inequalities emerge, but for a teacher faced with a class to teach, their origins are not particularly important. What matters is that they use instructional methods that give students in their class the best possible chances of success, given the variation in cognitive function they will possess.”

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‘Literacy levels among Pupil Premium pupils are lower on average than non-Pupil Premium pupils’

Myth or Reality?

Pupil Premium is simply a flag to indicate economic disadvantage in the family. However, economic disadvantage is the driver of many symptoms of educational underperformance.

Less exposure to books and vocabulary in the early years
Less secure relationship forming
A greater frequency of inter-parental conflict,
Adverse childhood experiences.

These can inhibit cognitive development which manifest themselves in educational under-performance:

Lower test scores,
Poor vocabulary,
Limited background knowledge.

Pupil Premium represents a risk factor that needs to be anticipated and planned for

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

All of this does not mean that they learn differently from non-PP pupils, but it represents a significant ‘risk factor’ that needs to be anticipated and planned for in making up for deficiencies that may be present.

It is important to be clear about the drivers of the attainment gap and the symptoms of it:

Drivers are the causes of the attainment gap which are related to the impact of being brought up in poverty. The symptoms are how it manifests itself in school.

Schools often complain about lack of parental engagement or external factors. The symptoms are easier for schools to fix and this is where the focus should be: what can we do in schools to improve the educational outcomes of the PP pupils. Not an excuse to explain away - the challenge is to focus on the drivers

Question about Persistent Absence: see Stephen Gorrard’s work

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EEF: What we do …

children and young people reached

1,300,000

13,000+

schools, nurseries, colleges involved

Generation

Mobilisation

Synthesis

@EducEndowFoundn

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EEF: What we do …

Updated 2022

@EducEndowFoundn

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Pupil Premium spending and ‘best bets’

We will review the updated Teaching and Learning Toolkit e.g. what has changed? What are ‘best bets’?

We will explore key strands and explore key points ‘behind the average’ and what is important for effective ‘implementation’?

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Teaching makes the biggest difference

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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“Our leaders are more evidence-rich than a decade ago. But leaders face a clear choice about the ways in which they use it.

Ironically, as the language of evidence proliferates, there is a risk that it loses its impact. Surface-level compliance is the biggest threat to any change in education.”

Prof. Becky Francis

Chief Executive

Education Endowment Foundation

February 2020

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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TEA BREAK IMAGE

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Metacognition

Averages – ‘best bets’

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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Getting under the bonnet

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Getting under the bonnet

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Getting under the bonnet

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ECF

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“Evidence does not provide easy solutions, but evidence-informed improvement is a process that has integrity and holds greater promise than any alternative.”

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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At the intersection…

Practical wisdom & local experience

Research evidence and data

Evidence-informed school improvement

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TEA BREAK IMAGE

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Which of these are true?

a) “Only eligible children can benefit from Pupil Premium spending”

b) “All data is good data”

c) “The Pupil Premium has to be spent on interventions”

d) “Pupil Premium strategy can’t be separated from whole school strategy”

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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Common Myths

What might the negative consequences of believing this myth?

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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Common Myths

What might the negative consequences of believing this myth?

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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Common Myths

What might the negative consequences of believing this myth?

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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Common Myths

What might the negative consequences of believing this myth?

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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In breakout rooms

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

Reflect on the extent to which colleagues in your school would articulate any of these myths (or any others)

Discuss how you would address this myth within your context

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a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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a) Dispel common myths associated with the Pupil Premium
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Describe the tiered approach for developing a Pupil Premium strategy
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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Systematically explore issues

a) Dispel common myths about pupils
b) Understand the EEF Toolkit and how to avoid surface level compliance with evidence
c) Pupil Premium Strategy Misconceptions
d) Using data to accurately identify priorities

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Session 2: Self-directed