STEM: How to Bridge the Attainment Gap for Disadvantaged Pupils

Panagiota Letsou describes a unique project to engage children from disadvantaged communities in science and technology.

Our society is becoming increasingly dependent on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). From climate change to our reliance on the latest technologies, we are undeniably living in a world that is dominated by STEM-based issues and is destined to grow ever more so. As such, it is not a leap to suggest that those who build a solid foundation in STEM subjects and learning throughout their studies will not only be more employable in the future, but in fact more equipped for the future in general.

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      string(4668) "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.SCHOOL FUNDING AND PUPIL OUTCOMESREVIEWKeywordsSchool funding,pupil outcomes,academicevidence,impact,resources,attainment,disadvantagedpupils, freeschool meals,attainment gapSummaryThis DfE report shows how changes in school funding from 2010 to 2015 have affected pupiloutcomes in England. The report is a review of existing academic evidence and a new analysisof schools with reduced funding to assess whether this has had an impact on pupil outcomes.Overall, the relationship between funding and outcomes is not clear. It is a complex area to study,and some more recent studies – with better research designs – have found a small relationship. Thisreview focusses on these higher -quality studies.Establishing a robust, causal link between resources and attainment is difficult because of the needto control for a wide range of other factors that influence both attainment and school resources.Specifically, the level of disadvantage (typically measured by eligibility for free school meals (FSM) inEngland) is positively related to resources and negatively related to attainment; disadvantaged pupilsreceive higher funding in order to bridge the gap in attainment between them and more advantagedpupils.Key Findings:■ The magnitude of the estimated effect varies significantly between studies, usually explained bythe different methodologies that they employ. Overall, spending an extra £1,000 per pupil, canover time boost pupils’ attainment at GCSE, but only by a fraction of a grade. At Key Stage 2estimated effects range from a few weeks of progress to up to a term’s worth (in the most robuststudy).■ The majority of the evidence supports the idea that additional spending has a slightly greaterimpact on the attainment of FSM pupils than spending on other pupils.■ PISA evidence supports the conclusion that spending can play an important role in educationalachievement, although other factors explain the majority of the variation in PISA scores betweencountries.■ However, significant evidence gaps remain. Some could be filled by further research using theopportunity created to examine schools affected by the changes in funding arising from theintroduction of the National Funding Formula.■ The results indicate a small effect on primary results but none at secondary. This is in line with theother research on the topic summarised in this paper.Week Commencing 4th September 2017https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/634758/School_funding_and_pupil_outcomes.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/634758/School_funding_and_pupil_outcomes.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.■ At key stage 2, lower per-pupil funding was associated with very slightly lower attainment. Ourbest estimates suggest a 1% change in funding is associated with a 0.062-0.071 percentagepoint (pp) change in the proportion of pupils achieving at least level 4 in 2015.■ At key stage 4, a decrease in per-pupil funding does not result in a statistically significant changein attainment (after taking into account the fact that KS4 attainment was measured differentlyfrom 2013 onwards).■ At key stage 2, per-pupil funding has a small positive and statistically significant correlationwith attainment, albeit less than when looking only at schools that lost funding. The effectsize is modest and derives from large increases in funding in relation to smaller increases inpupil attainment. A 1% change in funding was associated with a 0.046-0.062pp change in theproportion of pupils achieving at least level 4 in 2015.■ At key stage 4, per-pupil funding has a small positive but statistically insignificant impact onattainment. Further analysis with a larger sample and a random change in funding may increaseour understanding of the causal effects of per-pupil funding at KS4.WEB LINKSchool Funding And Pupil Outcomes Reviewhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/634758/School_funding_and_pupil_outcomes.pdf"
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Leadership

School Funding And Pupil Outcomes Review

30 Aug 2017

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      string(297) "Count von Count, the friendly, maths-loving vampire on Sesame Street might be many children’s maths entry-point, but the character is rarely described as a substitute maths teacher. Video, whether online or on TV, is fundamentally a one-way medium. While there is certainly value in using TV ..."
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      string(356) "... needs. It is convenient, flexible, and safe, making it ideal for the needs of the UK’s students.How can we provide online tutoring to disadvantaged students? Prior government programmes offer a precedent. The existing policy intended to bridge the attainment gap, the pupil premium, was introduced in 2011, and ..."
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      string(5715) "What is BBC Bitesize Daily? CEO TLC LiveRecently, the BBC introduced Bitesize Daily, a fourteen-week schedule of educational programmes which the BBC describes as the “biggest push on education in its history”. The ambitious initiative provides video lessons and interactive quizzes guided by the national media corporation’s 98-years of experience and an extensive list of talent. Stars already acting as celebrity ‘substitute teachers’ include Sir David Attenborough, Danny Dyer and Jodie Whittaker.The effort is commendable and has naturally been covered extensively by the media, but it is a supplement, not a substitute. A two-way exchange is fundamental to teaching, and without it, students cannot ask questions or clarify complex topics. Education is an interaction between a teacher and a student, and the BBC’s programmes, no matter how excellent, simply cannot offer this.The mechanisms in place for tracking student understanding face similar limitations. Part of the skill of a good teacher, acquired through years of training and experience, is the ability to identify students who have fallen behind and offer additional support so they can catch up to the class. Bitesize Daily offers a multiple-choice quiz after each day’s teaching, and while it may be able to identify whether the student has retained the information, it offers little recourse or guidance besides ‘try again’ for those who have not understood it.Bitesize Daily has drawn significant attention, but we must not be distracted: it is critical that students have access to educational solutions which offer genuine, two-way human interaction.An alternative for supporting studentsSome students are more disadvantaged than others, and they are falling behind during the pandemic. Many students come from households where parents are unable to provide them with academic support due to their jobs, childcare, and other responsibilities. The Guardian recently reported that while many students are able to study for around six hours every day during lockdown, disadvantaged students average just four and a half.Allowing these students to fall behind is a compounding problem: When a student doesn’t understand a core concept, they don’t understand the subsequent lessons built upon it. Students can quickly fall behind, become frustrated, and lose motivation, and while a good teacher can quickly identify and rectify this, the BBC’s Bitesize Daily – although well-intentioned – cannot. Fortunately, there is a solution for remotely providing students with interactive, oversight-driven education while maintaining social distance: online tutoring.Online tutoring is a cost-effective solution that provides students with the care of a dedicated, qualified professional teacher who can answer their questions and issue corrections, and can tailor lesson plans and assignments to their needs. It is convenient, flexible, and safe, making it ideal for the needs of the UK’s students.How can we provide online tutoring to disadvantaged students? Prior government programmes offer a precedent. The existing policy intended to bridge the attainment gap, the pupil premium, was introduced in 2011, and it provides schools with a lump sum for each student eligible for free lunches.In the early years of the scheme, it largely succeeded in closing the attainment gap, but much of the funding went to inhouse teaching and face to face teaching to provide direct support for disadvantaged students, unfortunately the benefits of online tutoring were not fully appreciated and it only used in a limited way, However, over time the focus on attainment was relaxed, and funding often went to supporting students in other ways.Despite the programme’s loss of focus, its early successes (and the ongoing success of the more narrowly focused Pupil Premium Plus) illustrate the potential for tutoring to support disadvantaged students in catching up to their peers. The Northern Powerhouse Partnership, a coalition of northern MPs, has already called for a £700 per-student ‘catch-up premium’. 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Blogs

BBC’s Bitesize Daily is not the solution to the Covid crisis

3 Jun 2020

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curriculum assessments at Key Stage 2 in England, 2014; The BT British
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      string(356) "... be eligible for free school meals achievedthe expected level in the combined reading, writing and mathematics measure,compared to 82 per cent of all other pupils – a gap of 18 percentage points, a onepercentage point fall since 2013.■ Sixty-seven per cent of disadvantaged pupils (pupils known to be ..."
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      string(5761) "which the law is made and applied inEngland.The understanding and knowledge expected of pupils as a result of schools promotingfundamental British values includes:■ an understanding of how citizens can influence decision making through thedemocratic process■ an appreciation that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and isessential for their wellbeing and safety■ an understanding that there is a separation of power between the executive andthe judiciary, and that while some public bodies such as the police and the armycan be held to account through Parliament, others such as the courts maintainindependence■ an understanding that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs isprotected in law■ an acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (orhaving none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause ofprejudicial or discriminatory behaviour■ an understanding of the importance of identifying and combating discrimination.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384958/SFR50_2014_Text.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384958/SFR50_2014_Text.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384958/SFR50_2014_Text.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384958/SFR50_2014_Text.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384958/SFR50_2014_Text.pdf14Vol 6.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comReportsLeadershipBriefing The data also shows primary school results as a whole are improving, with the samepercentage reaching new higher standards for whole school achievement.According to the DfE figures, 768 schools failed to reach what is known as the floortarget of 65 per cent of pupils gaining at least Level 4 in formal reading and maths tests,combined with an informal teacher assessment of children’s writing abilities. In 2013,the floor target was 60 per cent. The DfE said that if schools were judged against thatstandard this year, just 469 primary schools would not have met the standard. A totalof 693 schools saw all of their pupils achieve Level 4 or better in reading, writing andmaths.The data is based on tests taken last year by 11-year-olds in 16,000 schools.Main points■ Reading and grammar, punctuation and spelling tests have seen the greatestincreases. Improvements in mathematics and science are smaller.■ Seventy-nine per cent of pupils achieved Level 4 or above in all of reading, writingand mathematics, compared to 75 per cent in 2013.■ Sixty-seven per cent of pupils achieved Level 4b or above in both reading andmathematics and also achieved Level 4 or above in the writing teacher assessment,compared to 63 per cent in 2013.■ Twenty-four per cent of pupils achieved Level 5 or above in all of reading, writingand mathematics compared to 21 per cent in 2013.■ The percentage of pupils making expected progress has increased by threepercentage points to 91 per cent in reading and by two percentage points ineach of writing and mathematics to 93 per cent in writing and 90 per cent inmathematics.School performance:■ 768 schools are below the primary school floor standard. This represents six percent of state-funded mainstream schools included in the floor calculations.■ Attainment in sponsored academies increased by seven percentage pointsbetween 2013 and 2014, compared to percentage points in converter academiesand LA maintained schools. These comparisons are based on the same group ofschools in each year.Performance by gender:■ Ninety-one per cent of girls achieved Level 4 or above in the reading test comparedto 87 per cent of boys.■ Eighty-one per cent of girls achieved Level 4 or above in the grammar, punctuationand spelling test compared to 72 per cent of boys.■ Eighty-six per cent of both boys and girls achieved Level 4 or above in themathematics test.Performance by FSM and disadvantage:■ Sixty-four per cent of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals achievedthe expected level in the combined reading, writing and mathematics measure,compared to 82 per cent of all other pupils – a gap of 18 percentage points, a onepercentage point fall since 2013.■ Sixty-seven per cent of disadvantaged pupils (pupils known to be/have beeneligible for FSM in the previous six years or have been looked after by the localauthority for more than six months) achieved the expected level in the combinedreading, writing and mathematics measure, compared with 83 per cent of all otherpupils – a gap of 16 percentage points and a one percentage point fall since 2013.■ The largest increase in attainment for pupils known to be eligible for FSM wasin reading and grammar, punctuation and spelling, with an increase of fourpercentage points since 2013. Seventy-nine per cent achieved Level 4 or above inreading, and 62 per cent achieved Level 4 or above in grammar, punctuation andspelling.15Vol 6.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comReportsLeadershipBriefingThis research report by BT reveals British perceptions and attitudes towardsinvention and science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects, andrecommends ways to inspire the nation’s future inventive thinkers: ‘Generation I’.The study of 2,000 UK adults and 1,000 12-16 year-olds highlights the need to makeinvention more mainstream and accessible, through:■ challenging gender/class stereotypes■ broadening the common conception of invention to include art,"
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Leadership

SLT 6.4 Report Update

27 Jan 2015

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      string(5797) "Officially, 28% of the UK’s school pupil cohort are classified as ‘disadvantaged’, leaving them on average 18 months behind their non-disadvantaged peers by the end of secondary school – and the closure of schools during the COVID pandemic is projected to have widened the gap by as much as 75%, equating to a lag of 2.5 years1.Senior Leaders within schools are doing all they can to mitigate the immediate impact of the current crisis on their pupils – and disadvantaged children are going to need more support than ever before to catch up in the months to come2.Deciding how best to use Pupil Premium funding – and the £350m government catch-up fund earmarked for those from disadvantaged or vulnerable communities – to maximise pupil outcomes is a key priority.Tutoring – often viewed as the preserve of more affluent families who contribute to the £2bn annual income generated by the private tutoring industry – is a well-known, effective intervention that can play a big role in raising attainment and have a positive effect on many other areas of pupils’ development.Schools can help to level the playing field by using available funding to enable disadvantaged pupils to access tutoring – the Pupil Premium funding a school receives for one child per year can cover the cost of a term of tutoring delivered by Action Tutoring for up to 20 pupils.Boosting academic progressGood standards in English and maths in particular are crucial to progressing well in further education, employment or training, yet currently every year 75,000 disadvantaged children leave school without basic qualifications in English and maths.The academic attainment gap between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and their more affluent peers opens before they start school and widens throughout their education. Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are not less academically able, but lack of access to tools and resources means currently only 41% of this group pass English and maths GCSEs, compared to 69% of all other pupils.Evidence shows that an intense programme of one-to-one or small-group tuition could add as much as five months’ progress to a young person’s schooling, according to The Education Endowment Foundation3 – which could mean the difference between reaching national standards, or not, for many pupils.Often, simply helping pupils to grasp basic concepts is the key that unlocks their potential, as well as improving their confidence. For example, Adam, a pupil from London, attended 23 English sessions with Action Tutoring leading up to his exams. When he began he was working at a Grade 3 but incredibly managed to achieve a Grade 6 in his GCSEs.He said, “I’m so pleased. Action Tutoring really boosted my confidence and helped me remember all the important things for my exams. It helped me with punctuation and grammar – it sounds like basic things but it’s really valuable.” His results mean he can stay on at sixth form to study performing arts, music and DT.Developing confidence and perseveranceSmall-group tuition provides a safe space for pupils with low confidence to speak up and learn from their mistakes – fundamentally important to effective learning.Farzana, a Year 11 pupil at the Academy of St Francis of Assisi, Liverpool, received maths tutoring from September up until her GCSEs, “I absolutely hated maths at the beginning, I despised it. I used to dread maths lessons. Now, I feel more confident and that is all down to my tutor – I love my sessions with her because I know she’s there to help and we have loads of fun whilst learning. I think the fun element of it is what has made me learn.“I used to worry when I would see a question and if I didn’t understand it straight away I would just turn the page and not attempt it, but now I realise that if I look at it, read it again and break it down, it’s much simpler than it looks. I feel I can approach questions that I never used to want to try. If I don’t understand a question, my tutor will explain it 100 times in loads of different ways until I understand it. I want to be a doctor in the future. I’m choosing chemistry, biology and sociology as A Levels, but my maths will play a key role in my future learning and I’m so thankful for the help.” Across the year Farzana attended 18 maths sessions and took her GCSEs in summer 2019. She achieved a Grade 4, climbing three Grades in her time with Action Tutoring.Building a mindset of successThe adage ‘success begets success’ is particularly true in a school setting. Tutoring allows disadvantaged pupils to experience success and receive personalised, specific praise which they may not be accustomed to experiencing in other areas of their lives. This can transform a pupil’s mindset and attitude to learning and be a turning point in their lives.Codie, for example, was a Year 6 pupil at Hareclive E-ACT Primary Academy in Bristol during the previous academic year. He attended 14 tutoring sessions, over the course of two terms, to help prepare him for his SATs and moving onto secondary school. “Before I started tutoring I didn’t enjoy English very much but I do now, I like writing very much. I also enjoy maths because I now know how to do lots more things and I can ask people for help when I get stuck.“I feel much more confident in tests too because I’ve seen my marks improve a lot. I like my tutor because she helps us and she’s funny too. She makes the subject fun.“When I’m older I’d like to become a professional footballer and my"
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Special Needs

The Advantages Of Tutoring For Disadvantaged Children

5 Oct 2020