Closing the Gap

Using the pupil premium to

maximise achievement

Closing the Gap 2

Overview for this session

Welcome - introductions

What gap - why are we doing this?

Effective approaches to closing the gap

No excuses

Roles and responsibilities

Guiding principles and resources

Closing the Gap 3

Objectives

Raise awareness of the need to improve the attainment and progress of pupils eligible for the pupil premium in Bournemouth, with a particular focus on those eligible for free school meals (FSM).

Enable schools to share their own existing good practice in using the pupil premium and learn from good practice nationally.

Enable schools to reassess and plan changes to their own approaches to the use of the pupil premium.

What gap?

Closing the Gap 5

What gap?

Discuss the following briefly:

What do we mean by ‘the gap’?

What is the extent of ‘the gap’ for pupils in your phase of education:

nationally

in the local authority area

in your school?

Closing the Gap 6

What gap? In 2013, nationally:

60% of FSM pupils attained L4+ in reading, writing and maths compared to 79% of all other pupils who reached this benchmark – a gap of 19 percentage points.

38.1% of FSM pupils attained 5 GCSE grades A*-C including English and mathematics compared to 64.8% of non FSM students – a gap of 26.7 percentage points.

There was a 24% gap in the proportion of FSM at 16 students who attain L3 qualifications at 19 and those who were not FSM at 16.

Closing the Gap 7

Where does Bournemouth stand in comparison to other local authority areas in the South West? Key Stage 2

Isles of Scilly and Torbay supressed by DfE as information could lead to disclosure about individuals

Where does Bournemouth stand in comparison to other local authority areas in the South West? Key Stage 4

Closing the Gap 9

Free school meals pupils in Bournemouth Key Stage 2 attainment

The table below shows that Bournemouth was below the national FSM attainment level for Key Stage 2

Percentage attaining L4+ in reading, writing and maths

Bournemouth National

FSM (230 pupils in Bournemouth)

57 60

Non-FSM 79 79

Closing the Gap 10

Free school meals pupils in Bournemouth Key Stage 4 attainment

The table below shows that Bournemouth did not compare favourably with national FSM attainment level for headline GCSE pass rates in 2013

Percentage gaining 5A*-C with EN +MA

Bournemouth National

FSM (226 pupils in Bournemouth)

30.1 38.1

Non-FSM 67.9 64.8

Closing the Gap 11

Free school meals pupils in Bournemouth Key Stage 4 progress

The table below shows Bournemouth does compare favourably for the percentage of pupils making expected progress at KS4 in 2013.

Expected progress English

Expected Progress Maths

Bournemouth National Bournemouth National

FSM 61 56 52 54

Non FSM 82 74 80 76

Closing the Gap 12

Free school meals pupils in Bournemouth Key Stage 2 progress

The table below compares the percentages of pupils making expected progress in Bournemouth with national figures in 2013.

FSM pupils in Bournemouth fared worse than in England overall.

Expected progress Reading

Expected progress Maths

Bournemouth National Bournemouth National

FSM 81 84 81 84

Non- FSM 89 89 87 90

Closing the Gap 13

Free school meals pupils in Bournemouth Key Stage 2

Six schools in Bournemouth did not exceed the national level for percentage of FSM pupils gaining L4+ in reading, writing and maths

There is great variation in school performance: e.g. the percentage of FSM pupils gaining L4+ in reading, writing and maths varied from 100% to 39%.

Closing the Gap 14

Free school meals pupils in Bournemouth Key Stage 4

There is great variation in school performance: e.g. the percentage of FSM pupils gaining five GCSE grades A*-C including English and mathematics varied from 100% to 28%.

Closing the Gap 15

Improving the performance of pupils eligible for free school meals

Key priority for the Dorset Learning Partnership

A commitment from the schools in Dorset to focus on this priority as a matter of urgency

A key priority for Ofsted’s work in the South West – this will be a focus in:

section 5 inspections

monitoring visits and improvement work with ‘requires improvement’ schools

wider work in collaboration with local authorities.

Using the pupil premium: characteristics of successful approaches

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Using the pupil premium: Ofsted evidence

September 2012: Ofsted published a report on school’s use of the pupil premium based on the views of 262 school leaders gathered through inspections and telephone interview questionnaires conducted by HMI.

In autumn 2012, Ofsted visited 68 primary and secondary schools to see how effectively the schools were spending the funding to maximise achievement. A good practice report was published in February 2013.

Briefly discuss how the pupil premium is used in your schools

Closing the gap 18

Using the pupil premium: characteristics of successful approaches

Where schools spent the Pupil Premium funding successfully to improve achievement and narrow the gap, they shared many of the following characteristics, they:

never confused eligibility for the Pupil Premium with low ability

thoroughly analysed which pupils were underachieving, particularly in English and mathematics, and why

understood that day-to-day teaching must meet the needs of each learner rather than relying on interventions to compensate for weaker teaching

Closing the gap 19

Using the pupil premium: characteristics of successful approaches

tracked and monitored achievement data to check whether progress was being made and whether any interventions were working – and then made adjustments

ensured that the allocation and spending of the Pupil Premium was given a high priority in terms of staffing

ensured that a designated senior leader, linked to a governor, had a clear overview of how the funding was allocated and what difference it was making

Closing the gap 20

Using the pupil premium: characteristics of successful approaches drew on research evidence (such as the Sutton Trust

toolkit) and evidence from their own and others’ experience to allocate the funding to the activities that were most likely to have an impact on improving achievement

ensured that all teachers knew which pupils were eligible so that they could take responsibility for accelerating their progress

provided well-targeted support to improve attendance, behaviour or links with families where these were barriers to a pupil’s learning

Closing the gap 21

Using the pupil premium: characteristics of successful approaches made sure that support staff (particularly teaching

assistants) were highly trained and understood their role in helping pupils to achieve

allocated their best teachers to intervention groups in mathematics and English, or employed new teachers who had a good track record in raising attainment in those subjects

thoroughly involved governors in the decision making and evaluation process.

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Less successful approaches

Spending the funding:

indiscriminately on teaching assistants with little impact and not managing their performance well

on one-to-one tuition and booster classes that:

go on forever without being audited, quality assured or evaluated for their impact on raising achievement

do not relate to class teaching.

Pastoral work did not focus on the desired outcomes for pupils and did not have any evidence to show whether the work had or had not been effective.

Closing the gap 23

Less successful approaches

Planning spending in isolation – not part of the school action plan

Assuming that pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium will have learning difficulties

Comparing the performance of pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium with other eligible pupils nationally, rather than all pupils thus lowering teachers’ expectations of how well eligible pupils should achieve.

Governors were not involved in making decisions about the Pupil Premium, or challenging the way in which it was allocated.

Closing the gap 24

Using the pupil premium: characteristics of successful approaches

Sheet 1 sets out some key points from the previous slides, focusing on successful use of the pupil premium.

In the second column briefly summarise your own school’s situation in relation to each of the aspects of good practice.

In the third column note any actions needed to move your approach to the pupil premium towards the good practice situation.

Narrowing the gap: some practical strategies

Closing the gap 26

Narrowing the gap: improving teaching – the key to improving achievement

Enhance study and research

skills.

Independent learning and thinking skills

Improving developmental

feedback

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Narrowing the gap: improving literacy – additional support does not replace good teaching

Specialist lessons with the best teachers

Targeted support for literacy

Speaking and listening groups Reading clubs

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Narrowing the gap: working with parents

Facilities for supported self study: food, equipment, advice, inspiration

Practical work with parents: somewhere to study, getting to school

on time

Reaching out to all parents

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Narrowing the gap: pastoral support - this does not replace good teaching

Strong information, advice and guidance

Learning mentors – internal or

external

Vertical tutoring

Group work to develop

confidence and social skills

Closing the gap 30

Narrowing the gap: curriculum – this depends on the quality of teaching to be successful

Full range of educational experiences

Homework clubs

Extended school day

Summer schools

Educational visits

Access to ICT

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Narrowing the gap: your school

How are you using pupil premium funding to improve teaching?

How are you evaluating your pupil premium driven strategies? Explain the reasons for their success - or otherwise - in raising achievement.

How could some of the successful strategies set out here be applied in your school?

No excuses: individual pupil scenarios

Closing the Gap 33

No excuses Briefly discuss the following excuses for poor

achievement by FSM pupils.

‘My school is in an area of high deprivation, so we have a lot of children eligible for FSM – but how can we raise attainment when there are so many?’

‘We only have a very small group of pupils eligible for the pupil premium in my school, so it’s not an issue for us.’

‘It’s not just that they’re entitled to free school meals, but they have so many other needs, not to mention the difficulties that the children in care have.’

Closing the Gap 34

No excuses: primary/middle school scenarios

1. Jo is in year 6. He is in his sixth foster placement in five years. There are child protection concerns that he is self-harming. He has a statement of special educational needs for BESD and has 25 hours of LSA support. Previously he attended a special school. He joined your school in the summer of year 5 in order to get used to mainstream school before moving to secondary school. There is a diagnosis of attachment disorder. His social worker is about to take maternity leave. He is working at level 4b for mathematics and level 3a for English. Attendance is 100%.

2. Sam is in year 6. Her current attendance level is 85%. Her predicted end of key stage 2 levels are: Reading: 4a, Writing 4c and mathematics 5c. There are no concerns about her behaviour when in school. Her mother is a single parent with a child in reception year. Her mother is a wheelchair user.

3. Ash is in year 5. His attendance is 98%. He does not have any special educational needs. His current levels are 5b for mathematics and 4a for English.

Closing the Gap 35

No excuses: secondary/middle school scenarios 1. Jo is in year 8. He is in his sixth foster placement in five years.

There are child protection concerns that he is self-harming. He has a statement of special educational needs for BESD and has 25 hours of LSA support. Before he joined your school in year 7 he attended a special school. There is a diagnosis of attachment disorder. His social worker is about to take maternity leave. He is working at level 4a for mathematics and level 3b for English. Attendance is 100%.

2. Sam is in year 10. Her current attendance level is 85%. She is predicted to gain grade C in mathematics, science and food technology. Her current achievement grade in English is E. There are no concerns about her behaviour when in school. Her mother is a single parent with two other children still at primary school.

3. Ash is in year 7. His attendance is 98%. He does not have any special educational needs. His KS2 levels are 5a for mathematics and 5c for English.

Closing the gap 36

No excuses: individual pupil scenarios

Read the individual pupil scenarios on the sheets provided.

For three of the individual pupil case studies:

identify potential barriers to learning

set out how those barriers can be overcome

consider how the pupil premium can support the strategies to overcome barriers to learning.

Share your suggestions with other schools.

No excuses: roles and responsibilities – a whole school approach

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Best Practice – Senior leaders

Make sure that the school is inclusive of people (parents and pupils) who do not have as much money as others

Make sure the pupil premium has a high profile

Dedicate a member of staff to be responsible

Set up an effective system for frequent and regular tracking

Make sure that students are in the building - attendance

Intervene early – take a long-term view.

Find out what it is that is holding these pupils back and help pupils overcome barriers to learning - gap busting

Hold all staff to account for results

Report on website

Closing the gap 39

Best Practice - Middle leaders Track progress of FSM/CLA/Service children as

discrete groups and hold team members to account

Ensure that teaching improves achievement for all pupils

Ensure that FSM/CLA/Service children are fully involved in school life, that they and their parents feel that the school serves their needs as much as others

Encourage imaginative ways of ensuring that effective interventions can happen

Find out from pupils what they need

Hold the line on the ‘no excuses’ philosophy.

Closing the gap 40

Best Practice - Teachers Plan and deliver lessons that meet the needs/interests

of all pupils in the class

Mark work and give meaningful feedback with follow-up

Know who is vulnerable in the class, spend time with them

Track progress regularly and frequently

Modify teaching to remove barriers

Talk to parents

Endorse high aspirations – no excuses

Closing the gap 41

Best Practice - Governors

Ask for information about how many pupils are eligible

Look at the breakdown of funding allocation and provision

Ask what is being done

Ask why

Ask for information about impact of actions on progress and attainment

Ask why it is working and why it isn’t

Closing the Gap 42

Best practice – case studies.

Read the case studies of the primary and secondary schools that have used the pupil premium successfully.

For one case study:

highlight and annotate the text to identify aspects of good practice and strategies for narrowing the gap

identify possible next steps for the school ?

Closing the Gap 43

Summary: guiding principles

Leadership – including governors

Analytical approach alongside challenging success criteria - planning

All staff- all lessons

Quality of teaching – including marking and feedback

Curriculum provision - ‘wrap-around’ package

Monitoring, reviewing, evaluating: tracking impact

…and changing what you do.

Closing the Gap 44

Resources

The Pupil Premium: How schools are spending the funding successfully to maximise achievement Ofsted Reference number 130016

The Pupil Premium: analysis and challenge tools for schools Ofsted Reference number 130045

Unseen children: access and achievement 20 years on Jun 2013 Ofsted ref: 130155

Toolkit of Strategies to Improve Learning – Summary for Schools, Spending the Pupil Premium – Sutton Trust/Education Endowment Foundation

(//educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit/approaches)