WHITE WORKING CLASS ACHIEVEMENT

Dean Jackson,Assistant Director, EducationHartlepool Borough Council

The Problem…1.4 million: the number of children aged 4-15 eligible for free school meals (FSM) in this country22 months: the age at which the attainment gap between children from rich and poor backgrounds is detectable75,000: the approximate number of pupils who do not reach Level 4 in English aged 11 every year63%: the proportion of FSM children who did not achieve 5 good GCSEs, including English & Maths last year

• White British pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds perform worse than disadvantaged pupils from any other ethnic group, and the attainment gap is much bigger’ (DfE evidence to Education Select Committee, December 2013)

• ‘White Children from low income backgrounds are being left behind. They have the lowest attainment compared with poor children from any other ethnic group’ (Michael Wilshaw, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Annual Report, 11 December 2013)

• MPS examine underachievement in education of White Working Class Children (BBC Parliament, Dec 2013)

• MPs on the education select committee delivered the verdict that they are ‘consistently the lowest performing group in the country’ (BBC 18 June 2014)

• ‘The problem of poor, White British under-attainment is real and the gap between those children and their better-off classmates starts in their earliest school years and widens as they get older," (Graham Stuart, chair of the committee, Parliament 18 June 2014).

Underachievement of White Working Class Pupils: Media and Policy Concerns

Is it a School Improvement Issue?FSM GAP BY OFSTED RATING

‘the FSM gap does not result from a small number of failing schools’ (SELECT CTTE.)

National GCSE 5+A* C including English and ‐Maths 2013

White working class refers to pupils from a White British background who are eligible for free school meals

Hartlepool has a relatively high proportion of FSM pupils in the North East

secondary schools in 2013primary schools in 2013

Hartlepool: The performance of Hartlepool’s FSM pupils at Key Stage 2 is broadly average. Non-FSM performance is the best in

the region

The proportion of pupils securing L4+ in reading, writing and mathematics in 2013:

FSM non-FSM

The FSM gap for pupils at KS2 is very wide in Hartlepool

Difference between the proportion of FSM and non-FSM pupils securing L4+ in reading, writing and mathematics in 2013:

Hartlepool schools show broadly average performance for both FSM and non-FSM pupils at Key Stage 4

The proportion of pupils securing 5A*CEM in 2013:

FSM non-FSM

KS2-KS4 progress in Hartlepool secondary schools is amongst the lowest in the region in both English and mathematics

KS2-4: expected progress in mathematics in 2013

KS2-4: expected progress in English in 2013

White Working Class Achievement:Barriers to Learning

• Lack of aspiration among WWC families• Lack of family engagement with a child’s schooling• Marginalisation and a perceived loss of culture• Effects of poverty on WWC children’s achievement• Low literacy levels and language deprivation• Lack of targeted support• Curriculum barriers• Older WWC boys particularly prone to demotivation

leading to poor secondary progress• Issues ‘beyond the school gate’

Key Strategies Used to Raise the Achievement of WWC Pupils (1)‘There is no silver bullet but the strategies that are most successful for one group tend to

be effective for others.’ (OFSTED)

• Strong and visionary leadership with high expectations of pupils and all staff sharing responsibility for the pupils’ performance

• A relevant, experiential curriculum• Targeted support – ‘the right kids have the right

intervention at the right time from the right person’. (e.g. EEF – Switch-On Reading)

• Use of data to track and raise achievement / tracking individual pupils and using the information to plan suitable interventions

Key Strategies Used to Raise the Achievement of WWC Pupils (2)

• The work of Learning Mentors• Strategies that successfully engage parents• Working with agencies to support families that

are experiencing problems• Early and ongoing focus on improving children’s

language, literacy and communication skills• Using transition to raise aspirations• Improving the attendance and behaviour of

WWC pupils

DISCUSSION

What are the three key points / issues that you would want the Commission to be aware of / to discuss / to consider further to raise the achievement of white working class pupils in Hartlepool?