Ministerial taskforce to tackle child poverty
The Prime Minister has appointed leads of a new ministerial taskforce to begin work on a national Child Poverty Strategy.
Curriculum review launches
Professor Becky Francis, CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation, will lead the new government's curriculum and assessment review, launching a call for evidence in September and conducting national roadshows to gather input from schools.
No more personal statements
UCAS is revamping the personal statement process, a long-standing challenge for students in their final year of school, as part of university admissions.
Family holiday club bills increase
Families and parents paying for holiday clubs this summer face a bill of £1,045 for six weeks' care for one child, a rise of almost 6% nationally on average.
Term time holiday fines here to stay
The new education secretary has emphasised to the BBC that parents have a responsibility to keep their children in school and should avoid taking them on holidays during term time.
Research & analysis
Research: Annual report 2024
[Education Policy Institute, 2024]
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) Annual Report examines the state of education in England, focusing on the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.
The EPI’s 2024 Annual Report compares student performance in 2023 exams to those taken before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019.
It analyses gaps in attainment based on economic disadvantage, gender, ethnicity, English as an Additional Language (EAL), Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and geography.
By the end of primary school, 29% of pupils are classified as disadvantaged, with a gap of 10.3 months in 2023, remaining at its widest since 2011.
The disadvantage gap increased to 19.2 months in 2023 in secondary schools, the largest since 2011, with one-quarter of pupils defined as disadvantaged by the end of secondary school.
The disadvantage gap returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 at 3.2 grades, although gaps in A levels and other qualifications remain slightly wider than in 2019.
Adjustments for Universal Credit protections suggest that the persistent disadvantage gap for secondary pupils may be worse than indicated by main measures.
The report urges policymakers to take action, emphasising that closing the attainment gaps requires evidence-based policies and urgent intervention from the new government.
Later this year, the EPI will conduct additional research to better understand the factors contributing to the attainment gaps highlighted in this report, including the impact of school absence.
Source: Figure D6 - EPI, July 2024
Research:
What can implementation science tell us about scaling interventions in school settings? A scoping review
[Ryan et al, Educational Research Review, 2024]
Implementation Science (IS) offers a structured approach for scaling interventions in schools, but its application is still in the early stages.
This review by Ryan et al (2024) highlights that while IS use in educational settings is on the rise, there is a need for more systematic research foundations.
The study, which examined various methodologies and data sources, found that although a number of factors critical to scaling interventions were identified, only a fraction of studies employed a formal IS framework or model.
Furthermore, there was significant variability in terminology and application of IS tools, and many studies focused on only a single implementation outcome.
A key recommendation from the research review is that consideration of context, determinants and intervention outcomes is critical. This builds on research from the EEF (2024) that also highlights the value of understanding context.
To improve research quality and effectiveness, the review suggests using a more limited set of IS frameworks consistently over longer periods and emphasises the need to explore various contexts, barriers, facilitators, and multiple outcomes associated with interventions.
Research/insight:
Crafting curriculum with poverty in mind
[Morley and Harris, SSAT & TVEd, 2024]
The Summer 2024 edition of the SSAT Journal explores various educational topics in teaching and school leadership, offering a comprehensive overview of current challenges and innovations, along with practical insights and strategies for educators and school leaders.
This term, TVEd are delighted to feature and share research and insights from our research into curriculum and tackling educational disadvantage with Evidence Based Education and the Chartered College of Teaching.
This research is made possible by generous funding from our colleagues at SHINE
You can download a sample of the journal for free, but members will have access to all of it.
If you'd like to find out more about the project, then we will be delivering some training about our findings and poverty-informed practice as part of this series of CPD events with VNET.
Research/policy:
Fair Education
Driving System Change Together
[FEA, TVEd and many others 2024]
Access the resources for free here
Last week, we told you that the Fair Education Alliance has now launched "Fair Education in 2024: Priorities for a New Government".
This document, crafted by a coalition of nearly 300 organisations including TVEd, addresses the widening educational disparities between children from low-income backgrounds and their wealthier peers, which are currently at their most pronounced in a decade.
We are delighted to share that the FEA has now made recordings from their recent summit event available for all to access for free on their website.
This recording features me et al talking about system change in and through educational settings.
Source: FEA, #FairEdForAll image
Research/blog:
Student agency and strategy
[Cummins and Di Prato, 2024]
Dr. Phil Cummins is the Managing Partner of A School for Tomorrow, Managing Director at CIRCLE, Associate Professor at Alphacrucis University College, and co-host of the Game Changers podcast.
Adriano Di Prato is a best-selling author, broadcaster, co-host of the Game Changers podcast, and Academic Operations Manager at LCI Melbourne.
Both thinkers are no strangers to us at TVEd and have contributed significantly to thinking and developments in education.
This latest blog examines the value and distinctiveness of student agency as part of school culture and improvement.
Research/analysis:
Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England
[Department for Education, 2024]
This latest data from DfE (2024) presents statistics on suspensions and permanent exclusions across state-funded schools.
The analysis shows that the use of school suspensions and permanent exclusions has significantly increased, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, with the suspension rate reaching its highest since 2006.
The suspension rate for 2022-23 is 9.33 per 10,000 pupils, up from 6.91 the previous year. Permanent exclusions rose to 0.11 per 11,000 pupils, the highest since 2006-07.
Persistent disruptive behaviour remains the leading cause of suspensions and exclusions, with significant increases in both categories from the previous year.
Secondary schools continue to have higher rates of suspensions and exclusions compared to primary schools, reflecting more complex behavioural issues.
The number of pupils receiving one or more suspensions increased by 20% to 304,000, illustrating a rise in both the frequency and number of pupils affected.
In this recent SchoolsWeek feature, Education Minister Stephen Morgan said the “shocking figures are a wake-up call about the problems that have grown in our schools in recent years”.
Research/feature:
Screentime, social media and anxiety
[Cope and Cope, SecEd, 2024]
Dr Andy Cope is no stranger to us at TVEd and we have long championed his work.
Dr Cope is a wellbeing expert, author, and recovering academic. He specialises in positive psychology and the science of human flourishing.
He is the author of a number of books including The Art of Being Brilliant and The Little Book of Emotional Intelligence.
This latest instalment in SecEd from Dr Cope and Ollie Cope examines the impact of excessive screen time and social media on anxiety and attention issues.
The article suggests that ADHD and anxiety might not just be individual problems but symptoms of a broader societal issue, where accelerated technological and social changes are causing widespread stress and distraction.
The authors highlight that teenagers are particularly affected by excessive screen time and social media use, which contribute to diminished attention spans and increased mental health issues.
They suggest that addressing these problems requires a collective approach involving teenagers, parents, and teachers, focusing on education and cultural change rather than temporary fixes.
Opportunities
Impact policy food poverty in 5-minutes with CPAG
A number of schools have shared with Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) that dinner money debt is becoming a more prominent issue in schools, with more parents struggling with school dinner money costs and falling behind with payments.
Our colleagues at CPAG are inviting school leaders and trust leaders of primary schools to help us to understand the current picture in relation to dinner money debt, including the scale of the issue and the impact that it has on both schools and families.
Colleagues are working to explore what changes are needed to improve the school food system to ensure that the system works for children, parents and schools.
Regular subscribers and partners with TVEd will know that we continue to champion the work of CPAG in the arenas of research, policy and practice. They are leading some fantastic work.
Please take 5-minutes before the end of term to fill out the survey and impact systems/policy,
Please also share the link with colleagues working in other settings.
Child of the North
SEND research and report
We continue to work with our research colleagues at Child of the North, N8 Research Partnership, Centre for Young Lives et al in delivering this series of reports aimed at tackling inequality.
Reports are being published throughout 2024, focusing on prioritising the interests and life chances of children and young people (CYP) in policymaking and delivery.
These reports address major governmental challenges such as reducing child poverty and improving mental health support for CYP, providing rigorous research and pragmatic, evidence-based recommendations that consider financial limitations.
Highlighting the crucial role of universities, schools and research institutions, the reports aim to offer actionable suggestions for systemic changes needed across the UK.
Coming up at the end of July is our collective research report on addressing the SEND crisis in schools, featuring research and best practice examples from across the North of England.
The report will land here and we'll feature it in our roundup as always.