Closing the gap

There is much talk about the gap in attainment between advantaged and disadvantaged students in a school. The definitions of disadvantaged vary widely but a simple definition of disadvantage is based around the idea of students who come from a low income family and so are entitled to a free school meal. 

According to a DfE report in 2022: "FSM eligible pupils perform worse on average than their non-FSM eligible peers in all ethnic groups. Among the six aggregated ethnic groups only Chinese FSM eligible pupils outperform any non-FSM eligible cohort, showing that FSM eligibility is more indicative of academic success than ethnicity."

Outcomes by ethnicity in schools in England (publishing.service.gov.uk)

So, what can and should schools do to close this attainment gap? 

Schools in the UK receive additional funding to support these students - pupil premium funding. Much of this funding is often put into reading schemes, pastoral support, extra-curricular activities, to purchase uniform, etc. In 2018 I worked on a project with a group of local schools where we applied for funding from a charity and focused our efforts on closing the gap. We discussed many ideas around inspirational trips to university and mentoring but then decided that really most impact happens in the classroom.

Trips are good. Mentors are great. But daily interactions with staff are best. We therefore spent our money employing a Higher Level Teaching Assistant for pupil premium students. Most schools have teaching assistants to support students with SEND but this member of staff had a different aim - to close the gap by tackling passivity. Lemov in Teach Like a Champion talks about the problems of passivity. How many times have you let a child in your class get away with "dunno" as an answer to the question. To close the gap we need to remove this as an option. Teachers need to ensure verbal answers are clear and complete, written work is completed and clearly assessed and in practical subjects tasks are clearly completed. 

The addition of the HLTA raised attainment across the year group with an increase of 35% of students more achieving grades 9-5 in Science (the target subject). Students had additional support to complete required practicals and discuss results, the culture of "dunno" was transformed and results increased for both FSM and non-FSM students. A culture of learning and high expectations for all was key. 

What do you do in your school to close the attainment gap between the most advantaged and disadvantaged students? What more could be done? 

(Interesting study here from the Office of National Statistics. It shows the earnings of 25 year olds and highlights, on average, the reduced earnings of those who were in receipt of free school meals whilst at school: Education, social mobility and outcomes for students receiving free school meals in England - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)