Lee Preston – Hayes School, BromleyDavid Ashmore – The Quest Academy, South Croydon

Challenge the Gap

Challenge the Gap

1. Introduction to Challenge the Gap2. Organisation of the Project3. Strategies employed to Challenge the Gap4. Impacts seen so far5. How could these strategies help in your school?6. If you are interested in getting involved7. Any questions?

1. Challenge the Gap

• Challenge Partners is being funded by the Education Endowment Fund to create a world class programme that will narrow the attainment gap between free school meals children and their peers

• This began in June 2012– Year 1 : pilot with 39 schools– Year 2 : extension to a further 93 schools; regional delivery by 14 Challenge

Partners Facilitation Schools– Year 3 : opportunity for more schools to join the programme

• The programme improves the academic performance of FSM pupils through school-to-school work that develops an effective whole school approach

• It identifies practitioners with the potential to become specialist leaders in this area and provides them with the tools, knowledge and support to do so

• At the heart of the programme is the City Challenges’ experience of effective school-to-school work and the belief that long term solutions need to be driven from within

The Challenge the Gap programme has had a strong start

• Schools are already seeing the benefits– Trio working– The opportunity to make a difference– Wealth of ideas– New skills and learning

• Evidence of impact on pupils, staff and parents

“Being involved in CtG has kick started for us a potentially very powerful project. Involving teachers and paraprofessionals as an in-school team has given us a strategic approach

through the school.”

Challenge the Gap is an evidence based approach and effective use of the Pupil Premium

• Challenge the Gap focuses on evidence based approaches….– International research: Michael Barber, John Hattie, Dylan Wiliam, Carol

Dweck, Guy Claxton– Targeted topics: Academic literacy, meta-cognition, independent learning and

resilience– Practical resources: Sutton Trust Toolkit, Academic Word List, pupil survey and

learning logs• ….and tangible outcomes : evaluation by the University of Manchester

– Impact: Pupils baselined on National Curriculum levels in English and Mathematics

– Process: Plans demonstrate a Theory of Change from issue through activities to progress and outcomes

• In 2011, nationally only 35% of pupils eligible for free school meals achieved five good GCSEs

Pupil Premium: “The challenge for school leaders is in how to use that money where it will have most impact.” Conor Ryan

Delivery is based on Trios of schools working together both in workshops and between workshops

• All schools work in a “Trio” consisting of a– Lead school

• A school that has successfully implemented the programme for one year

• Or has a track record in uplifting attainment and in school to school work

– Two Accelerator Schools• have a high number of underperforming FSM pupils

• Trios work in a cluster under the leadership of a Facilitation School– These schools led the delivery of the programme in

its first year and are collectively responsible for its quality

LeadSchool

Acceleratorschool

Acceleratorschool

Trio

The Trio model

The programme engages practitioners at three levels

• Leadership– This is the first priority ; no school improvement is successful without

effective leadership and changes to the school culture

• Teacher– The second priority; no school system can exceed the quality of its

teachers. This upgrades the skills of teachers and enables them to coach others

• Para professionals– This focuses on training para professionals (non-teaching adults) in the

effective support of FSM pupils

In workshops professionals work in Learning Threes with their peers

A

B C

English teachers

Maths teachers

E-Bacc teachers

Trio – Schools A, B and C

A

B C

A

B C

A

B CA

B C

A

B C

Leaders Teachers Para professionals

Thus each secondary Trio has 18 professionals working in six Learning ThreesLead

School

Acceleratorschool

Acceleratorschool

Trio

In workshops professionals work in Learning Threes with their peers

A

B C

Trio – Schools A, B and C

A

B CA

B C

Leaders Teachers Para professionals

Thus each Trio has 9 professionals working in three Learning Threes

LeadSchool

A

AcceleratorSchool

B

AcceleratorSchool

C

Trio

SECONDARY MODEL

• Each workshop participant works with two peers back at school

• The programme thus reaches 18 members of staff in each secondary school

• Secondary: Each school puts forward six participants for the workshop programme

– One leader– Three teachers

– English, Mathematics and an E-Bacc subject

– Two para professionals

Leader

Teachers

Para professionals

Leaders

Teachers

Para professionals

Workshop teamSchool based

team

PRIMARY MODEL

• Each school puts forward three participants for the workshop programme

– One leader– One teacher– One para professional

• Each workshop participant works with two peers back at school

• The programme thus reaches 9 members of staff in each school

Leader

Teacher

Para professional

Leaders

Teachers

Para professionals

Workshop team

School based team

The programme is structured around six workshops with in-school work between each

In-school work In-school work

Workshop 2 Workshop 3

In-school work

Workshop 1

In-school workIn-school work

Workshop 4 Workshop 5 Workshop 6

Key themes:

• Leadership and management• Data and assessment

• Teaching and learning to deliver impact• Social and cultural capital

• Diagnosis and interventions

The combination of workshops and in-school work enables schools to embed the learning in practice

Benefits: Participants value the ideas and learning they gain from the workshops and each other

Wealth of ideas• “With the shared knowledge of lots of professionals, the wealth of ideas is

invaluable”• “A great opportunity to share good practice and ideas”

New skills and learning• “Fantastic INSET/CPD for all with benefits for all learning outcomes”• “Realisation of the impact to be gained from effective sharing and use of data and

feedback”• “…has revolutionised my perception of Literacy across the curriculum”• “invigorating and informative”• “key benefits … confidence amongst staff; strategies to raise achievement”

“….the skills and ideas to help impact young people's lives”

Benefits: Working with other schools for a moral purpose is highly motivatingTrio working• “Focussed school-to-school contact with a clear goal is so powerful”• “Working with two very different schools in a Trio has been inspiring and informative”• “the chance to learn from colleagues and share ideas…is gold dust and very rarely

happens. It's a great opportunity and not to be missed.”• “Working in a Trio is really beneficial. Having others challenge your ideas to help you

make the biggest difference with students is a very positive way to work”

The opportunity to make a difference• “The programme is unique …it is refreshing to be involved with something with a

purely moral imperative”• “We have the opportunity, working collaboratively, to make a difference to the life

chances of the children who need it the most”• “the chance to work with like-minded professionals and achieve potentially ground-

breaking results… is invaluable”

“…immensely exciting and very challenging… ..both I and my school are proud to be involved”

The programme is now being delivered in local clusters by 14 Facilitation schools

WandsworthBromleyBexley

North Yorkshire

Wiltshire

Devon

Manchester

Birmingham

Luton

Leicester

Facilitation Schools

Secondary

Altrincham Girls Grammar School, Trafford

Bartley Green School, Birmingham

Denbigh High School, Luton

Feltham Community College, Hounslow

Hayes School, Bromley

Kingsbridge Community College, Devon

Lampton Academy, Hounslow

Richmond School, North Yorkshire

Royal Wootton Bassett Academy, Wiltshire

Rushey Mead School, Leicester

The Compton School, Barnet

Pri

mary

Belleville Primary School, Wandsworth

Pickhurst Juniors, Bromley

St Fidelis Primary School, Bexley

Barnet

BromleyHounslow

Strategies employed this year to Challenge the Gap

Quest AcademySouth Croydon

Strategies employed this year to Challenge the Gap

At The Quest Academy we identified a range of strategies that were put into practice with our target Y9 cohort.These are outlined here:

Strategy 1 - A dedicated information board in the staffroom and dissemination of information through staff action research groups. Description - Ensure all staff know who the target Y9 students are and the strategies we will be using to support them. Why? - To make this high profile.

Strategies employed this year to Challenge the Gap

Strategy 2 – Learning DetectivesDescription - Students to design a lesson observation sheet and observe their own lessons recording 'good learning'. Why? - To ensure good teaching and learning in lessons.

Strategy 3 - Parent contactDescription - CTG staff to be allocated 2/3 students each and will contact families by phone to explain the project and how we hope it will benefit their child's learning and attainment. Why? - To provide support

Strategies employed this year to Challenge the Gap

Strategy 4 – Good learning auditDescription - Carry out a good learning audit of departments and then compare at the next action research group meetingWhy? – To check consistency

Strategy 5 - Target awarenessDescription - Ensure that all teachers in all departments have made the target group's targets explicitly clear to them.Why? – To know where you are, where you are going and how to get there.

Strategies employed this year to Challenge the Gap

Strategy 6 – 1-2-1 mentoringDescription - CTG staff to hold a 1-2-1 mentoring session with their allocated students initially to establish the individuals barriers to learning and subsequently to try to break these barriers and establish 'good learning' practices.Why? – To establish learning conversations and to try to break down any barriers to learning.

Strategies employed this year to Challenge the Gap

Strategy 7 – School measures data analysisDescription - Check all the available school measures data for each of the target group and make them explicitly aware of current performance and what this means.Why? – To track attainment, progress and attitudes to learning

What Impact have we seen?

At The Quest Academy we conduct a data trawl every half term. We collect ‘Working At Grades’, ‘Working Towards Grades’ and ‘Attitude to Learning’ scores. The most recent data is showing that students in the cohort are on the whole raising their attainment levels in all subjects but particularly in maths.

Progress in English in 1 year

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AMINU Abraham C Ea Dc Dc Db Da -1 3CHAUDRY Bushra C Fa Fa Ec Ec Eb -2 2CROSS Aaron C Dc Eb Ea Ea Ea -2 3HUDSON-FLOWERS Courtney-Paris B Eb Eb Dc Dc Dc -2 2JONES Danielle C Ea Fb Ea Ea Ea -2 0KIYANGA Jonathan C Eb Ea Eb Ea Ea -2 1MCNEILL Kieran B Ea Ea Eb Eb Ea -3 0ROBINSON Chanel B Cc Db Da Da Da -2 -1SOULAM Levy C Eb Ca Cb Cb Cb 0 6TEIXEIRA Miguel C Ea Eb Db Db Cc 0 4TIMPE Lena C Eb Dc Ea Ea Ea -2 1

72% made at least one sub-level of progress in English, 19% have stayed the same and 9% have dropped one level

YEAR 9

Progress in Maths in 1 year

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AMINU Abraham C Ga Ga Fc Fb Ec -2 4CHAUDRY Bushra C Fa Fc Ec Eb Eb -2 2CROSS Aaron B Ea Da Da Cc Cc -1 4FRANCIS-WOLFENDEN Mariyah C Eb Ea Dc Db Db -1 3HUDSON-FLOWERS Courtney-Paris C Fa Fa Ec Ea Dc -1 4JONES Danielle B Fb Fa Ec Ea Ea -3 4KIYANGA Jonathan D Ga Fa Fa Fa Fa -2 3MCNEILL Kieran A Dc Cb Cb Cb Cb -2 4ROBINSON Chanel B Eb Eb Eb Ea Dc -2 2SOULAM Levy C Fa Dc Db Db Db -1 5TEIXEIRA Miguel C Ec Fa Ec Dc Cb 0 7TIMPE Lena C Ec Ec Eb Ea Da -1 5

All students have made at least 2 sub-levels of progress this year in maths

YEAR 9

Progress in all subjects

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AMINU Abraham Da C -1 Ec C -2 ## Pa Pa 0 ## Gb C -4 Cc C 0 ## ## ## ## Pa Pa 0 Db C -1 Db C -1 100

CHAUDRY Bushra Eb C -2 Eb C -2 ## Pa Pa 0 ## ## ## ## Cc C 0 Bb C 1 ## Pa Pa 0 Bb C 1 Ca C 0 99.4 72%

CROSS Aaron Ea C -2 Cc B -1 ## Pa Pa 0 ## Eb B -3 ## ## ## C ## ## Pa Pa 0 Cc C 0 Db C -1 91.5 22%

HUDSON-FLOWERS Courtney-Paris Dc B -2 Dc C -1 ## Pa Pa 0 ## ## ## ## ## B ## ## Pa Pa 0 Cb B -1 Cc B -1 97.7 6%

JONES Danielle Ea C -2 Ea B -3 ## PaMe

-1 ## ## Cc C 0 Da B -2 ## ## ## PaMe

-1 C ## Db C -1 90

KIYANGA Jonathan Ea C -2 Fa D -2 ## Pa Pa 0 ## ## ## Db C -1 ## ## Db D 0 Pa Pa 0 C ## Ea C -2 96.3 94% Very likely or probably going to meet target

MCNEILL Kieran Ea B -3 Cb A -2 ## PaMe

-1 Da B -2 ## ## ## ## ## Da A -3 PaMe

-1 B ## Bc B 0 90.6 6% Not currently likely to reach target.

ROBINSON Chanel Da B -2 Dc B -2 Da B -2 ## ## Ba B 0 Cc B -1 ## ## ## ## PaMe

-1 B ## Db B -2 90.6

SOULAM Levy Cb C 0 Db C -1 ## Pa Pa 0 ## Cc C 0 Cc C 0 ## ## ## ## Pa Pa 0 C ## Bc C 1 96.6 Average attendance of the group is 95.5%

TEIXEIRA Miguel Cc C 0 Cb C 0 ## Pa Pa 0 ## ## ## Cc C 0 ## ## Db C -1 Pa Pa 0 C ## Ca C 0 97.5

TIMPE Lena Ea C -2 Da C -1 ## Pa Pa 0 ## ## ## ## Cc C 0 Db C -1 ## Pa Pa 0 Dc C -1 Cb C 0 100

Students are above, at or only 1 grade below their target level for the end of key stage 4. The latter is still considered green since pupils still have 2 years of school to make up one grade which is considered very likely to happen.

Students are 2 grades below their target level for the end of key stage 4. This is considered to be amber since pupils still have 2 years of school to make up two grades which is considered to be probable but intervention may be needed.

Students are 3 or more grades below their targets and are unlikely to meet the target unless a planned programme of intervention is introduced.

What Impact have we seen?

We completed an evaluation tool, shown below, which plots changes in progress and attainment against changes in attitude and aspiration.

We found that a majority of the cohort fell in the top right quadrant having improved attainment and attitudes.

X-axis: achievement (progress & attainment)

Y-axis: attitude & aspiration (eg B&A etc)Outstanding progress in both X & Y

Outstanding progress in X & deterioration in Y Serious deterioration in both X & Y

Outstanding progress in Y& serious deterioration in X

0

1

2

35

6

78

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Next steps

There have been many advantages to working as a trio.• We have all visited each others schools and have begun the

process of Joint Practice Development• We introduced similar strategies in each school and are able

to compare the impact on different cohorts• Our teachers and paraprofessionals are networking• We learn from each other• Our students will all meet and carry out the ‘learning

detectives’ audit together• Students will learn from each other and will discuss what

makes good learning

Next steps

• Our 3 schools will hopefully be embarking on another collaborative project, again linking up with some of our feeder primary schools, but this time focusing on teaching and learning and the model of joint planning, delivery, feedback, delivery again.

Year 2

• Now in Year 2 The Quest Academy has become a lead school• We are working with 2 local primary schools • We will help them to implement strategies similar to the

ones we tried in order to raise the attainment of FSM children

• This will be mutually beneficial• It will lead to closer ties and greater cooperation• It will lead to a better prepared cohort to enter secondary

school who have narrowed the gap on their peers• This is excellent CPD for the staff involved

Year 9 Reach Project 2013Sedgehill School

Working together to build bright futures

AimsOur aims are:

Recognising potentialRaising aspirations

Broadening horizonsBuilding learning power

Improving life chances through gaining better skills and qualifications.

How the programme met the aims...

• Regular mentoring sessions in pairs.• A day off-timetable focusing on how to build learning

power• Trips and visits to raise aspirations• Encouraging literacy through a visit to Foyles to buy a

book to challenge reading• Focus on English Maths and History

04/09/2023 Siiimple Media Presentation

The Year 9Reach Project

IMPACT:75% of students have made good progress

60% have raised their attendance and motivation

“The year 9 Reach project is a fantastic initiative which aims to help students learn to the best of their potential. As well as activities and tripsdesigned to raise aspirations, students are also going to be having weekly mentoring sessions which help them to make progress in all of theirlessons.”Ms Clease

“The year 9 Reach trip to the London Eye was a great experience for me and I would love to go on more trips like this”. Jessie Jones, 9G

“I really enjoyed the trip because I learnt about some of the history of London, I enjoyed

the London Eye, Foyles bookshop and the meal we had.”

Danielle Nash, Year 9K

Summary

• A robust, pioneering programme that will tackle one of the biggest challenges in education

• Professional development in narrowing the gap, collaborative working and knowledge transfer for six staff

• Develops a critical mass of staff to lead whole school change• Deep partnerships formed with two other schools to share learning

and develop approaches• After one year, opportunity to lead collaborative working and effect

change in others

“We have the opportunity to make a difference to the life chances of the children who need it the most” Accelerator school leader

How could my school benefit from this?

In small groups (10 mins)

- Discuss how you immediately think this approach could help your school Challenge your Gaps

- Identify 1 strategy that you will take back and try to implement at your school

I’m interested, can I get involved?

If you are keen to know more and potentially get involved…

• Take a copy of the Prospectus / flyer etc and case-studies

• Leave us your details on the Expression of Interest form (in your lanyard) and post it in one of the Challenge the Gap boxes here

• Attend a Challenge the Gap carousel over the lunch period (Atrium and Gallery Hall) to hear more about the programme from Year 1 schools• Session 1: 12.50 – 1.10pm• Session 2 1.20 – 1.40pm

• If you want to know more please speak to us at the end or email us• L.Preston@hayes.bromley.sch.uk • DAshmore@thequestacademy.org.uk

Any Questions?