19 May 2015 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

Closing the Gap

We have recently completed a piece of work to collect some of the best practice in Secondary schools in using the Pupil Premium to reduce the performance gap at Key Stage 4.

There is a lot of impressive work going on in schools and there is a willingness to share strategies which exemplify good practice and help to forge collaboration between schools.

Having analysed all the data, we are hopeful that we can look forward to a significant reduction in the gap this year between Pupil Premium students and other learners at 5 or more  GCSE A*-C grades with English and maths. From the schools that responded we can see that schools are closing the gap by an average of 8%. If the patterns were to be replicated across all Kent schools, it would mean that our gap may reduce to 25% (from 33%) with the possibility that Kent could be better than the national average on this performance measure for the first time. The outcome would be an additional 287 pupils in Kent achieving this key benchmark for success in the next stage of their learning at post 16.

Kent's free school meal gap at Key Stage 4 has stubbornly remained around 33% over the last three years. There has been a lot of work across the county to reduce this to the national average (27%) at least, or below, by 2015. Strategies have included a conference with key national speakers and workshops, network meetings across the county to share good practice and receive updates, funding for schools to become hubs of good practice, school to school support, and work to increase the number of more able Pupil Premium students who attend grammar schools.

The Most Effective Strategies

The most effective intervention strategies focus on the quality of teaching and learning, and on ensuring that staff providing interventions, outside of main classroom teaching, are good teachers.

• By far the most popular strategy reported by schools was one-to-one intervention for English and Maths provided by subject specialists. While TAs and Learning Mentors were less successful, these staff can make a difference when highly trained and well supervised.
• Where possible, schools invested some of their PP funding in creating smaller classes at GCSE.
• Some schools supplemented this with supervised homework clubs, holiday revision school and Saturday morning school.
• There was also frequent use of 6th form peer ambassadors and University Ambassadors working one-to-one with individual pupils.

Schools report a shift in school culture, with a stronger focus on closing gaps and on ensuring all learners make good progress. This reflects Ofsted's stated priority to evaluate the provision for, and progress of, PP students. Whole school strategies include:

• Making the outcomes for Pupil Premium students an explicit part of teachers' performance management targets
• Ensuring PP progress is a standing agenda item for all meetings, including Governors
• Mentoring of individual students by SLT with Individual Learning Plans for students.
• Ensuring Year 11 form groups have Curriculum Leaders of English, Maths and Science as tutors to use tutor time for interventions.

The support of families underpins much of the work reported by schools, whereby they are involving families directly through:

• Family interviews and work reviews to look at their child's progress, agree targets and support
• Regular and sometimes weekly parental contact and updates by Heads of Year and Deputy Heads
• Texts and phone calls to all parents to attend, for example, parents' evenings
• Intervention and revision timetables and programme outlines sent home to all parents.

Intelligent use of data

Identifying pupils' learning needs, tracking their progress and evaluating intervention strategies through the use of data is recognised as essential for success. Schools ensure:

• Constant referral to progress data with pupils and by the PP champion, Head, SLT, and by all subject leaders and teachers
• The use of 4Matrix data to identify specific learning needs, interventions and progress
• A cycle of accountable, fortnightly meetings with Heads of English, Maths and Science to assess pupils' progress, plan the next two weeks' intervention strategies and carry out action plans
• A tracking wall of PP pupils (with photos and updated progress data) in the staff room.

Mental and Emotional Wellbeing

Schools have also focused on the need for emotional and behaviour support for pupils whose backgrounds are challenging, including group workshops on self-esteem to individual longer term counselling.

Attendance and parental engagement

Attendance is a key issue and improving students' attendance rates can have a significant impact on outcomes. Schools would welcome more advice and collaboration with other schools to achieve more impact on improving attendance, as part of their Pupil Premium work.

A good Impact on improving attendance has been made in schools where:

• There are regular parent interviews where attendance targets are set.
• Heads of Year or other staff make home visits
• Taxis are arranged where transport may be a problem
• Reward trips are provided
• Texts and phone calls are made to the home for attendance at parents' evenings
• There is first day calling for absence
• Parental workshops are provided on how parents can support their child.

Very Able Students

We are challenged in Kent to ensure very able PP students achieve well and in line with their peers. For example only 2% of the most able PP students attend top universities compared to 9% nationally. More needs to be done to improve aspirations and widen the cultural experiences of these students. The following are strategies used by schools.

• Making good use of the Most Able report by Ofsted March 2015
• Using Pet xi tutors. These are targeted booster lessons for A/A* and C/D borderline support.
• Goffs School in Hertfordshire use this tsp@goffs.herts.sch.uk .Tom Sparks is the lead for Pupil Premium in Goffs and is happy to discuss their strategies which have been very successful.
• Arranging university visits and cultural visits
• Looking at the Sutton Trust Summer Schools which work with PP most able students to improve their chances of going to top universities with great success. Applications for 2016 are open.
• Using other organisations such as the Brilliant Club and future Scholars Awards.
• Supporting pupils to focus on achieving A and A* grades
• Broadening KS3 social and cultural horizons
• Providing music instrument  lessons for able PP students.

These students are a small group and do not always receive the attention they deserve. Many schools ensure personal education plans are in place for these learners and that they are given extra support for projects. Successful schools target these students' learning at A and A* grades, and ensure they experience sufficient challenge in teaching and learning and they make better than expected progress.

Self-esteem and confidence

Schools report that they seek to improve self-esteem for PP students by employing a counsellor, using Human Toolbox workshops (by Lindy Wheeler), providing self-esteem workshops (for example at Herne Bay High), arranging trips that aim to improve confidence (such as outdoor pursuits for example at Arethusa Venture Centre in Upnor, and using Youth workers for mentoring (Goffs School).  tsp@goffs.herts.sch.uk Tom Sparks is the contact.

As we go forward we aim to continue to support the local networks of PP champions to share good practice and to disseminate examples of best practice. We would also like to encourage more cross phase work focusing on the needs of PP pupils, especially on transition from Primary to Secondary school.

If you would like more information please contact Marie.Neave@kent.gov.uk

We hope this summary is helpful.

Patrick Leeson 
Corporate Director Education and Young People's Services