The impact of our work to narrow the gaps in performance between disadvantaged and other students 2013/14.
Context:
At the end of academic year 2012/2013 we audited the performance of students in receipt of the pupil premium compared with other students and concluded that our priorities were to:
1. Improve progress in English. In 2012-13 it was clear that the gap between the performance of disadvantaged students in English and all other (non- disadvantaged) students nationally was too large. This was a reflection of more general underperformance in English, affecting many other students, caused by staffing issues that year.
2. Improve the amount of progress made by disadvantaged students in English and Mathematics in their first three years in school. Progress was less than that of other students in these years whereas in Years 10 and 11 there was little difference between the progress made by all students and disadvantaged students.
3. Improve attendance: in every year group in school disadvantaged students had lower attendance than other students
Our priorities for 2013-14 were, therefore, set around these priorities.
What we did:
1. Developed our English curriculum, teaching strategies and resources; worked with Lancashire’s Teacher Advisor to improve preparation for the GCSE examination and improved teaching standards in English.
2. Allocated increased teaching time to English and Mathematics in all years with an additional lesson per week for each subject in years 7-9 and an additional lesson per fortnight in years 10 and 11. We also introduced strategies to improve reading amongst year 7 students, using the Accelerated Reading Programme. This was focused on disadvantaged students.
3. Reallocated staff duties to create a leadership role and increase staff time to manage attendance. We also introduced a new attendance policy that featured, for example, a strict adherence to a “no holiday in term time” policy.
As a result:
27% of our Pupil Premium Budget was spent on improving staffing and resources in the English Department.
38% was spent on improving staffing and resources in Mathematics
16% of the budget was spent on improving attendance
12% was spent on training and professional development for staff
7% was used to support Pupil premium children with items such as transport, meals and clothing
As a result of our work:
1. There was a significant improvement in the performance of students in English. The percentage of all students achieving a pass at grade C or above rose from 66% to 73% at time when, nationally, results fell from 63.6% to 62%. More students made expected and above expected progress. These improvements impacted on students in receipt of the Pupil Premium as the table below shows. As a result of our work the amount of progress made by disadvantaged pupils in English is rapidly approaching those of other pupils nationally. However, the gap in progress in mathematics worsened from the excellent levels the previous year. The decision to move away from modular mathematics and to remove the possibility of early entry may have had a detrimental effect on progress for disadvantaged students. It is also clear that we need to increase the number of disadvantaged students making more than expected progress in Maths.
2012-2013 / 2013-2014English / D / AOS / AON / Gap** expressed as number of students / D / AOS / AON / Gap expressed as number of students
Making expected progress / 38% / 73% / 74% / 22 / 51% / 76% / 75% / 10
Making above expected progress / 12% / 31% / 34% / 13 / 24% / 38% / 35% / 5
Mathematics
Making expected progress / 69% / 89% / 76% / 4 / 46% / 83% / 71% / 11
Making above expected progress / 15% / 46% / 37% / 13 / 5% / 39% / 33% / 12
Key: D = disadvantaged students; AOS = All other students in the school; AON = all other students nationally
** The gap is between the performance of disadvantaged students in the school and all other students nationally, expressed as the number of students who make up that gap.
2. Progress in the first three years in school.
The impact of our work can be seen in the following table:
Making Expected Progress English / Making Expected Progress MathsD / AOS / Current
Gap / Gap on entry / D / AOS / Current
Gap / Gap on entry
Year 7 / 77% / 86% / 4 / 7 / 67% / 85% / 9 / 6
Year 8 / 53% / 84% / 15 / 11 / 73% / 79% / 3 / 7
Year 9 / 58% / 72% / 12 / 17 / 60% / 88% / 14 / 12
D = Disadvantaged students school AOS = All Other Students School
The current gap is between the number of disadvantaged students in school and all other students in school who, by the end of the year, had made expected progress to their school targets. The gap is expressed as the number of students who make up that gap. The gap on entry is the difference between the number of disadvantaged and other students attaining Level 4b or above in Key Stage 2 in each subject.
The gap in progress in English is narrowing in year 7 from the point of entry as result of the accelerated reading programme in place for that year group. The impact of the additional lesson time in English and Mathematics has not yet consistently narrowed the gap in performance in years 8 and 9 in both English and Mathematics. The full benefits of this have will not be seen for several years as this is a long term strategy, though it is clear that more work needed to be done to bring about the desired impact in Key Stage 3.
3. Attendance. There was a significant improvement in the attendance of all students, though the improvement was greatest amongst disadvantaged students, as can be seen in the table below. There was also a significant reduction in persistent absenteeism, especially amongst disadvantaged students.
Attendance / Persistent Absentees*AOS / DS / AON / AODN / AOS / DS / AON / AODN
2012-13 / 94.6% / 89% / 95% / 91% / 5% / 19% / 19% / 16%
2013-14 / 95.23% / 92.13% / NA / NA / 3.6% / 8.72% / NA / NA
*Persistent Absentee is defined as a student with 15% absenteeism or more for whatever reason
Key: AOS = All other students DS = Disadvantaged Students School
AON = All other students nationally AODN = All other disadvantaged students nationally
NA = figures not yet available