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ADDRESSING DISADVANTAGE/NARROWING THE GAP This page lists documents, guidelines and links to useful advice on raising attainment among pupils on free school meals; narrowing the gap; using the Pupil Premium effectively
All hands on deck for an honourable tradition The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has undertaken extensive study and research in poor and deprived neighbourhoods across the UK. In the shadow of the recent riots, it compiled this report to summarise that work. The report looks at: the problems in these areas; challenges of living and working there; misconceptions and stereotypes; representation and participation in society; and the need for appropriate services. One finding has been that community organisations and active residents play a vital role in uplifting neighbourhoods. But, the report says, 'all hands are needed on deck' to keep up the UK's honourable tradition of supporting and regenerating its deprived communities.
Priorities to prevent more riots: a list that won't surprise you. Key facts about the recent riots, according to Guardian statistics: 66 per cent of the 2,000 people arrested were under 25; 17 per cent were aged between 11 and 17. Only a few were over 30; and 90 per cent were male. Here are the priorities we need to focus on according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The list won't surprise you.
Seven vital ingredients for closing the achievement gap This article by John West-Burnham looks at the essential things that are needed in leaders if they are to close the attainment gap. At its most basic, he says, school leadership should be driven by ‘personal values that focus on enhancing achievement and well-being, irrespective of personal circumstances.’
Pupil Premium: can we make it work? Research by Gail George, published by the National College for School Leadership, discusses how to close the performance gap between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who are not. It looks at what has gone before and proposes several ways forward.
Raising attainment of children on free school meals This is an article from the Key: the Service for School Leaders, which makes an initial foray, with many useful links, into advice for schools on using the pupil premium to raise the attainment of disadvantaged groups of children.
Spending the Pupil Premium: Toolkit of Strategies to Improve Learning A useful summary for schools from the Sutton Trust on how to effectively apply the Pupil Premium.
Narrowing the gap: Providing for all children This publication explains how inequalities in the early years sector can be reduced and outcomes improved. It includes sections on inclusion in action, parents and partners, after-school clubs and good foundations.
Get Involved: How Tooting Distributed the Disadvantage Subsidy Fund A presentation on how Tooting used vouchers to get people to use extended services, the challenges they faced and their future plans. (The Disadvantage Subsidy was part of a Labour government commitment to extended services in and around schools and was designed to subsidise access to extended services activities for economically disadvantaged children and young people and children in care. The subsidy aimed to improve well-being, raise attainment and narrow the attainment gap.)
Living through change in challenging neighbourhoods This Sheffield Hallam University project, over three years, aimed to develop better understanding of:
how the experience of households living on low incomes in Britain varies according to space and time; where place fits into the perceptions, actions and decisions made by different types of households, in different contexts; the comparison and contrast between the experiences of households in deprived neighbourhoods with divergent geographical, social and economic characteristics; and what the implications of the study's discoveries are for the assumptions behind policies desinged to tackle deprivation at household and neighbourhood level.
Extended services subsidy pathfinder in schools: evaluation The DfE's 2010 report on the uptake of the disadvantage subsidy and its use within extended services.
Disadvantage Subsidy FAQs - The TDA collected a huge range of answers to questions that schools and clusters asked about using the Disadvantage Subsidy; these may still be useful to schools and extra-curricular programme developers.
Extended Services Evaluation Reaching Disadvantaged Groups and Individuals This January 2010 report aims to increase our understanding of how schools in a range of circumstances have been defining and responding to disadvantage in their development of extended services. In particular, it looks at how schools have been targeting disadvantaged groups and encouraging them to take up services. The sample of fifteen schools in the North West and North East of England that were selected for the study reflects differences in terms of levels of disadvantage, ethnic composition of the school population, rural-urban context and primary/secondary phase. (The report is by Colleen Cummings, Karen Laing, Karen Scott and Liz Todd (School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, University of Newcastle); Alan Dyson and Lisa Jones, Centre for Equity in Education, University of Manchester).
Personal Impact Stories Read some extraordinary stories about how schools and school clusters are using the disadvantage subsidy to improve the life chances of children and young people.
Lessons Learnt from the Disadvantage Subsidy Tips gathered from all over the UK on each stage of implementing the Disadvantage Subsidy.
Disadvantage Subsidy checklists Checklists showing when different members need to be involved during the process of designing programmes that target disadvantaged groups of young people.
From flame-throwing to surfing Case study showing how the the Disadvantage Subsidy can be used effectively.
Social Mobility White paper New opportunities - Fair chances for the future - read what the government intends to do about social mobility.
Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, pronounced the findings of this 2005 report to be 'truly shocking'. Results show that ocial mobility in Britain is much lower than in other advanced countries and is declining - those from less privileged backgrounds are more likely to continue facing disadvantage into adulthood, and the affluent continue to benefit disproportionately from educational opportunities.
Thinking About Summer Learning: Three Perspectives What sets one summer learning campaign apart from another? ‘Summer learning loss’ can be particularly severe among low-income youth and is cited as a leading cause of the achievement gap between them and more affluent students. Here's a useful new publication from the Wallace Foundation, which includes reports by two people involved in a recent webinar on the subject. There’s also a shorter fact sheet: Effective and promising summer learning programs and approaches for economically-disadvantaged children and youth by Mary Terzian, Ph.D., M.S.W. Kristin Anderson Moore, Ph.D., Kathleen Hamilton, M.A. June 2009.
Download this document at the Wallace Foundation website. All documents are free to download.