Walk into almost any school and you’ll hear the same phrase:”The data looks good.”And often, it does.Assessment scores are improving. Predicted grades are rising. Progress measures look positive. Intervention trackers are full of green boxes. On paper, everything appears to be moving in the right direction.But sometimes the books tell a different story.As a HeadContinueContinue reading “The Data Says They’re Fine. The Books Say Otherwise.”
Category Archives: Curriculum
Eight Messages Every School Leader Should Take Away from the National Pupil Premium Conference
There is something reassuring about hearing experienced school leaders, researchers and organisations arrive at similar conclusions despite approaching educational disadvantage from very different starting points. That was one of my strongest reflections after speaking at the National Pupil Premium Conference. Throughout the day, presentations explored literacy, attendance, implementation, curriculum, family engagement, belonging, leadership and evidence-informedContinueContinue reading “Eight Messages Every School Leader Should Take Away from the National Pupil Premium Conference”
What I learned from my first conference
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of presenting at my first national education conference. The National Pupil Premium Conference, organised by Government Events, brought together school leaders, researchers, practitioners and educational organisations from across the country to discuss one of the most important challenges facing education today: improving outcomes for disadvantaged students. LikeContinueContinue reading “What I learned from my first conference”
The gap begins before most schools realise
By the end of Reception, disadvantaged pupils are already 4.6 months behind their peers. By the end of primary school, that has grown to 10.1 months. By GCSE, it reaches 17.9 months. For pupils who are persistently disadvantaged, the gap exceeds 21 months. This is perhaps the most important message from the recent EPI andContinueContinue reading “The gap begins before most schools realise”
Educational Disadvantage Is Not a Competition
The publication of the Independent Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes should prompt serious reflection across education. Not because the issue is new.It is not.For years, the data has shown that disadvantaged white British pupils are among the lowest-attaining groups in the English education system. What this report does, however, is bring together theContinueContinue reading “Educational Disadvantage Is Not a Competition”
Attendance Isn’t the Same as Learning: Why Schools Need to Think About Curriculum Access, Not Just Attendance Percentages
Over the last few years, attendance has quite rightly become one of the biggest priorities in education. Persistent absence has risen sharply since the pandemic, and the relationship between attendance and attainment is now impossible to ignore. Department for Education data has consistently shown that students with higher attendance are significantly more likely to achieveContinueContinue reading “Attendance Isn’t the Same as Learning: Why Schools Need to Think About Curriculum Access, Not Just Attendance Percentages”