“It could take a decade for the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their wealthier peers to return to pre-pandemic levels in England without faster and more effective intervention, MPs have warned.” The Guardian, 2023
With the attainment gap worsening over the pandemic, policy interventions promoting and enabling social mobility are more needed than ever. This feels like a good time to revisit the government’s flagship social mobility strategy which designates six Opportunity Areas (OAs) to address long-standing regional inequalities through place-based educational interventions. The first six locations were revealed in October 2016: Derby, Norwich, Oldham, Scarborough, West Somerset and, most notably for me, growing up a stone’s throw away from Blackpool.
The scale of the challenge in Blackpool is considerable, with all evidence pointing towards the fact that the town faces a complex web of challenges that impact attainment and educational outcomes. Blackpool is among the most disadvantaged regions in the UK, with the highest concentration of postcodes falling within the most deprived deciles anywhere in England. Furthermore, a higher proportion of children live in poverty than the rest of the country as evidenced by the fact that poorer pupils are over two full years of education (26.3 months) behind their more affluent peers by the time they take their GCSEs.
Blackpool also has a significantly higher number of children in care compared with the national average, over 3 times more in fact. In 2021 there were 223 per 10,000 children in care, compared to the average of 67 per 10,000 in England. Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach that considers the unique needs of the students and community.
The government programme had three objectives:
Priority 1: Raise attainment and progress in Blackpool’s schools.
Priority 2: Support for vulnerable children and families to improve attendance and outcomes, and to reduce exclusions from school.
Priority 3: Improve advice and support for young people when moving between schools/ colleges and into work.
How will we know if the programme is a success?
Firstly, the evaluation of the programme should include mixed methods reviews, specifically evaluating child-centric interventions tailored to individual children's learning needs. We need to ensure that the interventions for raising attainment are inclusive. As well, a comprehensive review of collaborative initiatives for attainment progress is imperative, ensuring the incorporation of established evidence-based practices across schools. Schools confronting similar challenges stand to benefit significantly from understanding effective strategies that have successfully elevated the attainment of less advantaged children. Equally critical is the evaluation of progress resulting from collaboration with community groups, with a specific emphasis on the sustainability of community engagement. A successful evaluation should include an exploration of the relationships and any challenges encountered in the implementation of initiatives.
Secondly, in evaluating the support provided to vulnerable children and families to enhance attendance, outcomes, and reduce exclusions, several key focal points should be considered. Again, collaboration is key here. There should be a notable emphasis on fostering increased collaboration between schools to ensure that all eligible children can access the National Tutoring Programme, specifically designed to address the exacerbated disadvantage gap resulting from the pandemic. Evidence has indicated that not all eligible children in Blackpool have access to the free additional tuition.
Furthermore, an assessment of the utilisation of the Pupil Premium Fund, designated for disadvantaged children on free school meals, is essential. The current trend of diverting these funds towards addressing general budgetary shortfalls underscores the need for a more effective management approach.
The evaluation must prioritize the implementation of attendance improvement strategies through targeted interventions and collaboration with local stakeholders. It is crucial to observe a concerted effort to reduce exclusions, with transparent evaluations that place a child-focused approach over financial considerations.
When researching the issue I came across a compelling quote from Glenn Thomas Millington's phD thesis on the topic of the OA, on the importance of child-centric approach to reducing exclusions.
"All they are doing, they aren’t PXing (permanently excluding) them, they are hiding them in isolation rooms and elected home education and lengthy fixed term exclusions. They are not fixing the problem, they are displacing it, and in doing so they have reduced the financial overheads of the PRU, so we’ve won. Great. Big tick. But no because it’s financially driven, not child led." Jenny, Senior Education Leader
Qualitative feedback like this is essential to gauge the success of a more inclusive approach to reducing exclusions and understand its preventive impact on both financial and social consequences for excluded young individuals. Additionally, the evaluation should seek evidence of progress in attendance data, accompanied by qualitative insights into the factors that facilitated or hindered the effectiveness of interventions.
Finally, to address the improvement of advice for young individuals transitioning between schools/colleges and into the workforce, the evaluation should include tangible evidence of collaboration between educational institutions and employers. Innovative partnerships between schools and employers must be explored, with a particular emphasis on addressing the advice gap for Blackpool's youth at risk of becoming NEET. Increased engagement with career resources, coupled with strategic collaboration with Blackpool Council, the Local Enterprise Partnership, and the Department for Work and Pensions, is critical to provide additional and effective support for those most vulnerable to NEET status.
In a nutshell, the evaluation of the programme stands as a critical undertaking. It's important that we see discussion on the relationships between schools and local stakeholders, as well as data insights into attainment progress, exclusions and support for young people transitioning through schools and into work. It's our roadmap to helping out the most disadvantaged children, making sure we're not missing any chances to level the playing field in education.
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