Leadership

Educational Disadvantage: How Does England Compare?

This report by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) and Professors John Jerrim and Toby Greany at the UCL Institute of Education (IOE) examines how disadvantaged pupils in England compare with those in other countries.

It found that England would have to double the number of disadvantaged pupils achieving top GCSE grades in maths to match some of the best countries in the world.

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      string(360) "... as many as three A level grades when taking qualifications at this level.The new exploratory research finds that the disadvantage gap – the gap in educational attainment between poorer students and their peers – is substantial during the 16-19 education phase, with poorer students continuing to see far worse educational ..."
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      string(211) "The disadvantage gap is found to vary considerably across the country: poorer students are the equivalent of five whole A level grades behind their more affluent peers in some areas of England."
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      string(5037) "This Education Policy Institute report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, finds that poorer students in sixth forms and colleges trail their more affluent peers by as many as three A level grades when taking qualifications at this level.The new exploratory research finds that the disadvantage gap – the gap in educational attainment between poorer students and their peers – is substantial during the 16-19 education phase, with poorer students continuing to see far worse educational outcomes than their better off peers.Most existing research on the disadvantage gap in education has focused almost entirely on the outcomes of pupils at secondary school level and below. There has been very little understanding of what the gap is after this age, for those older students enrolling in sixth form or college. The EPI research brings into sharp focus the extent of educational inequality among older students at this critical period in their lives, just as they enter adulthood.The disadvantage gap at this education phase is found to vary considerably across the country: poorer students are the equivalent of five whole A level grades behind their more affluent peers in some areas of England. In other areas, poorer students are level with, or even ahead of, their more affluent peers.The 16-19 education phase includes students in sixth forms and colleges covering those taking qualifications including A levels, and vocational, technical and lower-level qualifications.With disadvantaged students shown to face further attainment losses at this phase, on top of those previously experienced in school, the new findings also provide evidence for the need for new interventions aimed at reducing the gap in 16-19 education.To prevent disadvantaged sixth form and college students from falling further behind, the report concludes that there is a strong case for additional government funding for 16-19 education. Targeted funding is needed to address learning losses caused by the pandemic, which are likely to disproportionately impact the poorest, and will have likely exacerbated the already large disadvantage gap among students at this stage of education.Key Findings:There is a large gap in attainment, equivalent to almost three A level grades, when comparing (on average) the best three qualifications of disadvantaged students (those who had claimed free school meals in secondary school) and the best three qualifications of their non-disadvantaged peers.For the very poorest sixth form and college students – those classed as “persistently disadvantaged” – who were on free school meals for over 80% of their time at school – the gap is even wider, equivalent to four A level grades.There was no progress in closing the 16-19 gap between 2017 to 2019 and this is likely to now be worsened by the unequal impact of the pandemic on learning loss, along with the very different approaches to assessments seen in academic and vocational qualifications during 2020.A large proportion of the gap (39%) at the 16-19 education phase can be explained by students’ prior attainment at school (GCSE). Poorer students enter sixth form and college at a significant disadvantage compared to their more affluent peers, having on average, achieved far lower grades previously at school.The type of qualifications taken by poorer students also explains a large part of the gap in 16-19 education (33% of the gap): disadvantaged students are more likely to enter fewer, and lower-level qualifications.However, while poorer students’ previous level of academic achievement and type of qualification play a strong role in the gap at 16-19, socio-economic disadvantage may be contributing to these students falling even further behind during this phase.When controlling for student’s prior attainment and qualification type, poorer students are still shown to achieve poorer grades compared to their more affluent peers – around the equivalent of half an A level grade. This is significant, as it shows poorer students face an extra attainment penalty during the 16-19 education phase.Poorer students are the equivalent of five whole A level grades behind their more affluent students nationally in Knowsley (5.4 A level grades behind) North Somerset (4.8 grades behind) and Stockton-on-Tees (4.7 grades behind).In sharp contrast, in many London areas, poorer students are level with or even ahead of their more affluent peers nationally. The areas with the lowest disadvantage gaps in the country are Southwark (poorer students are 1.2 A level grades ahead), Redbridge (0.5 grades ahead) and Ealing (0.5 grades ahead).Of the 20 local authorities in the country with the smallest 16-19 disadvantage gaps, almost all of them are situated in or around the London area, with the exception of Redcar and Cleveland (20th smallest gap).Link: Measuring the Disadvantage Gap in 16-19 Education"
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Leadership

Measuring the Disadvantage Gap in 16-19 Education

3 Mar 2021

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      string(5686) "Leadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.EDUCATION IN THE NORTH OF ENGLANDKeywordsEducation, Northof England,primary andsecondaryschools, qualityof education,NorthernPowerhouse,young people,disadvantagedbackgrounds,underperformingSummaryThis DfE research looks at evidence on primary and secondary schools in the North tounderstand problems with the quality of education in the north of England and its causes, andto identify effective provision in the North.Improving academic education to age 19 is a key component of efforts to create a ‘NorthernPowerhouse’, centred on the ‘core cities’ of Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle.It is widely recognised that in order to maximise the potential of the North of England, it will benecessary to improve educational performance, especially for young people from disadvantagedbackgrounds and those in underperforming schools and colleges.The primary objective of the report was to synthesise available evidence on academic education toage 19 in the north, specifically: ■ Identifying, defining and understanding problems with the quality of education in the north ofEngland including its causes; ■ Identifying and understanding effective provision in the north and its causes; ■ Identifying and assessing the impact of interventions which have specifically tried to addressissues resulting from northern-specific problems.Key Findings: ■ There is a disparity between school performance in the North compared with other regions, evenwhen relative socio-economic disadvantage is taken into account. ■ This difference is most marked at secondary level where 79% of schools in the South of Englandare good or outstanding, compared with only 68% in the North and Midlands. ■ All three regions in the North (the North East, the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber) arebelow the national average in terms of the percentage of pupils achieving 5+ A* to C grades atGCSE including English and maths (Ofsted 2015). ■ Data on school attainment in England indicate that overall the North performs relatively well onprimary school attainment for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds but that many of thesepupils fare less well at secondary schools and it is widely argued that this is where the policyfocus should be when considering how to tackle education inequality in the North. ■ Fewer pupils in the North that are eligible for free school meals went on to higher level study in2014 compared with the national averageWeek Commencing 28th November 2016https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/571077/Northern_schools_Final_report.pdfLeadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents. ■ A greater proportion of young people go on to become NEET (not in education, employment ortraining). ■ A number of secondary schools in the North which have large numbers of disadvantaged pupilshave been identified as ‘beacons of success’ (Clifton et al 2016) and these may well provide asource of effective strategies that could be shared across the North. ■ Schools in socially disadvantaged areas struggle to recruit new headteachers compared withschools in more affluent. While the available research on leadership and govenance does notseparate disadvantaged areas in the North from elsewhere in the country, the English Indices ofDeprivation list Middlesbrough, Knowsley, Kingston upon Hull, Liverpool and Manchester, all inthe North, as the most deprived areas in the country. ■ Headteachers appear less inclined to move out of their current geographical area than teachers,perhaps reflecting their more settled family commitments and the need to consider jobopportunities for partners. This may make it harder to attract head teachers to some local areasin the North. ■ Ofsted (2015) report that middle leaders in schools with high numbers of disadvantaged pupilsperform less well than middle leaders in other schools, perhaps reflecting the high turnover ofstaff and the consequent lack of support from more experienced leaders. As noted above, theNorth has a number of areas of deprivation. ■ With increased competition for good quality newly trained teachers, many new teachers opt forwell-performing schools in attractive areas even though the literature suggests that teachersare relatively mobile after qualifying.  As noted above, the North has a number of areas of highdeprivation and a higher proportion of lower-performing schools which may struggle to attractsufficient high-quality teachers. ■ Once recruited, teachers in disadvantaged schools are more likely to leave, perhaps because theyfeel they lack support and opportunities for development. 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Leadership

Education In The North Of England

25 Nov 2016

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      string(274) "This DfE report of year 10 students shows that young people in England in 2014 have been growing up in a rapidly changing environment. The attitudes and behaviours of year 10 students in 2014 were markedly different to those in 2005.
Leadership Briefings 11.01(121)"
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      string(394) "... tackling social economic disadvantage remains a keypriority, but it should be acknowledged that rising levels of psychological distress do not onlyaffect young people whom experience disadvantage. ■ Encouragingly, in 2014, young people demonstrated higher levels of what we have termed‘equates hard work with success’ compared with their counterparts in ..."
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      string(5667) "Leadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF YOUNG PEOPLE INENGLANDKeywordsYoung People,England, year10 students,attitudes,behaviours,UK economy,work, mentalwellbeing,aspiration SummaryThis DfE report of year 10 students shows that young people in England in 2014 have beengrowing up in a rapidly changing environment. The attitudes and behaviours of year 10students in 2014 were markedly different to those in 2005.The previous cohort of year 10 students, who were interviewed in 2005, lived in a world in which theUK economy had seen 13 years of uninterrupted growth in GDP, and social media and the fast andconstantly connected mobile devices that many now take for granted had not yet been fully integratedinto young people’s lives.Two fundamental themes emerged from the analyses: ■ Year 10 students in 2014 were markedly more ‘work focused’ than their counterparts in 2005 ■ There were signs that the mental wellbeing of year 10 students – particularly that of girls – hadworsened and that young people felt less control over their own destiniesKey Findings: ■ Compared to 2005, young people in 2014 are, essentially speaking, more serious about school,more aspirational about university and are less likely to take part in risky behaviours (includingsmoking, drinking alcohol, using cannabis, shoplifting, graffiti and vandalism). ■ Attitudes towards school in year 10 were more positive in 2014 than 2005. Overall attitudes toschool have risen from a mean score of 16.0 in 2005 to 16.8 in 2014 (scale of 0-24). Interestingly,and in contrast to many of the trends reported later in this research brief there was little differencebetween boys and girls in their overall attitudes. ■ There was a significant drop in the proportion of young people who reported truanting. Theproportion of young people who reported playing truant at least once in the last year had almosthalved from 23% in 2005 to 13% in 2014. In both cohorts the majority reported truanting forparticular lessons or odd days (20% in 2005 and 11% in 2014), with smaller proportions reportingmore serious absences lasting several days or weeks at a time. The decline in truancy levelsbetween 2005 and 2014 applied to both short term and long term truancy. ■ Similarly, there was a marked decrease in the proportion of young people being kept off school bytheir parents for a reason other than illness. In 2014, one in six (16%) young people said that thishad happened to them at least once in the last year compared to 23% in 2005. ■ Educational aspiration has increased since 2005. The proportion of young people expecting toWeek Commencing 1st August 2016https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/540563/LSYPE2_w2_research_report.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/540563/LSYPE2_w2_research_report.pdfhttps://learningpolicyinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Teaching_Experience_Report_June_2016.pdfLeadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.study A levels increased from 59% in 2005 to 65% in 2014. In addition, expectations to applyto University increased from 60% in 2005 to 71% in 2014, in spite of the intervening increase intuition fees. ■ Young people’s general wellbeing was slightly worse in 2014 than in 2005 in terms of both self-reported health and psychological distress. This was particularly observed for girls, young peopleliving in single parent and step families and those with a longstanding illness or disability thataffects their schooling. ■ However, there is an association between advantage and increased levels of psychologicaldistress; on average those from more advantaged backgrounds are more likely to report higherlevels of psychological distress. Clearly tackling social economic disadvantage remains a keypriority, but it should be acknowledged that rising levels of psychological distress do not onlyaffect young people whom experience disadvantage. ■ Encouragingly, in 2014, young people demonstrated higher levels of what we have termed‘equates hard work with success’ compared with their counterparts in 2005 (believing thatworking hard at school will help you get on later on, in the importance of doing well at school, andthat working hard at something will usually lead to success). ■ They also appeared to be more restrained, reporting fewer risky behaviours than in 2005. In 2005,44% of young people reported one or more risky behaviours, and in 2014 20% reported one ormore.Conclusions: ■ There were many apparent positives to be seen in the data and it is clear that the year 10students who were interviewed in 2014 had markedly different attitudes and behaviours thanthose spoken to in 2005. This appears to be a cohort of young people who are significantly more‘serious’ than their predecessors. ■ Young people in 2014 were more likely to believe in the importance of hard work, were morepositive about school, were less likely to play truant and, in spite of the increase in tuition feessince 2005, were more likely to have aspirations to apply to university. They were also markedlyless likely to engage in a raft of risky behaviours including"
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Leadership

Longitudinal Study Of Young People In England

28 Jul 2016

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      string(320) "... compare against general inflation or school-specific cost changes over the last decade.The government has allocated an extra £7.1 billion for schools in England through to 2022–23. This will increase spending per pupil by 9% in real terms between 2019–20 and 2022–23 (as measured against ..."
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      string(5706) "Schools serving more deprived pupils in England have already seen the largest falls in spending per pupil over the last decade, according to this report by the lnstitute for Fiscal Studies.School spending per pupil in England fell by 9% in real terms between 2009–10 and 2019–20. This represents the largest cut in over 40 years, though these cuts come on the back of a significant increase in spending per pupil of over 60% during the 2000s. Recent cuts have mainly been driven by cuts to school sixth-form funding and big reductions in the spending role of local authorities. Cuts look similar whether we compare against general inflation or school-specific cost changes over the last decade.The government has allocated an extra £7.1 billion for schools in England through to 2022–23. This will increase spending per pupil by 9% in real terms between 2019–20 and 2022–23 (as measured against expected general inflation) and near enough reverse the cuts of the 2010s. If we account for expected increases in teacher pay, the real-terms increase in spending per pupil will be lower, at 6%. In either case, school spending per pupil in 2022–23 is set to be no higher in real terms than in 2009–10.Secondary school spending per pupil fell by 9% in real terms between 2009–10 and 2019–20, partly reflecting cuts of over 25% to sixth-form funding per student. In contrast, primary school spending per pupil has grown by 4%. As a result, the per-pupil funding difference between secondary and primary schools fell from 30% at the end of the 2000s to 16% in 2019–20. This continues a long-run trend, with this funding difference already down from over 50% during the 1980s. Whilst empirical evidence shows high benefits to spending at younger ages, it is not clear evidence supports such a dramatic shift.This report analyses the extent to which plans are targeted at the likely challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as pre-existing challenges such as the teacher labour market and the state of school buildings.Key Findings:School spending per pupil in England fell by 9% in real terms between 2009–10 and 2019–20. This represents the largest cut in over 40 years, but came on the back of a significant increase in spending per pupil of over 60% during the 2000s. Over the 2010s, cuts in spending per pupil were lower in Wales (5%), but similar in Northern Ireland (10%). In contrast, spending per pupil in Scotland rose by 5% in real terms over the 2010s, reflecting extra funding to pay for increases in teacher pay totalling more than 10% over 2018 and 2019. Spending per pupil is highest in Scotland (£7,300), of similar levels in Wales and England (£6,100) and lowest in Northern Ireland (£5,800). The government has allocated an extra £7.1 billion for schools in England through to 2022–23. This will increase spending per pupil by 9% in real terms between 2019–20 and 2022–23 (as measured against expected general inflation) and near enough reverse past cuts. If we account for expected increases in teacher pay, the real-terms increase in spending per pupil will be lower, at 6%. In both cases, school spending per pupil in 2022–23 would be no higher in real terms than in 2009–10. Secondary school spending per pupil in England (£6,000) was about 16% higher than in primary schools (£5,200) in 2019–20. This is down from a secondary/primary funding difference of 30% in 2010–11, partly reflecting large cuts to school sixth-form funding. It also continues a long-run trend, with the funding difference down from over 50% during the 1980s. Whilst empirical evidence shows high benefits to spending at younger ages, it is not clear evidence supports such a dramatic shift. The school funding system in England provides greater levels of spending to more deprived schools to help narrow the achievement gap between rich and poor. During the 2000s, the funding advantage enjoyed by the most deprived schools grew from 20–25% in 2000–01 to 35% by 2010–11. Despite the introduction of the Pupil Premium in 2011, the deprivation funding premium shrank back to 25% in 2018–19. This can be partly explained by faster falls in deprivation inside London and a school funding system that did not adjust to such changes. In the long run, the new National Funding Formula should ensure the funding system is more responsive. However, the new formula will deliver funding increases of 3–4 percentage points less to schools in poorer areas up to 2021. We also see faster falls in spending per pupil of 13% for deprived secondary schools outside London since 2010–11. These patterns run counter to the objective of using school funding to ‘level up’ poorer regions. Given lost schooling and a likely widening of educational inequalities during lockdown, the government has announced a range of measures to help schools. These include a one-off extra £80 per pupil aged 5–16 and a national tutoring programme. Whilst the focus on tutoring is well aligned with empirical evidence, the plans are modest compared with the likely reductions in skills. Only the National Tutoring Programme is targeted at more disadvantaged pupils, making it harder to address the inequalities that have widened during lockdown. Faster falls in spending per pupil over the last decade, slower increases under the National Funding Formula, a likely widening of educational inequalities and higher costs associated with higher teacher starting salaries, given that deprived schools are more likely to employ new teachers, all provide a case for greater"
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Leadership

2020 Annual Report on Education Spending in England: Schools

22 Sep 2020

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