Trust's 'grow their own' to boost teacher recruitment
The Education Alliance (TEAL) in Yorkshire has developed the “UK’s first virtual work experience programme” for sixth-formers and undergraduates considering teaching.
London primary pupils drop
Primary school numbers in London are predicted to fall by over 50,000 pupils by 2028, double the national average, according to an analysis seen by the BBC.
Academy Trust bans smartphones to boost mental health for 35,000 pupils
Ormiston Academies Trust has shared it is phasing out access to smartphones for around 35,000 pupils across its 42 schools to support pupil focus and mental health.
Ofsted removes logos and other updates
Ofsted has published an updated school monitoring inspection handbook following key changes announced in its ‘Big Listen’ consultation response; it outlines why Ofsted logos carrying 'one word' judgments will also be stopped.
'PLACE' gets a boost in the North
The Fair Education Alliance and Bloomberg have provided funding to Tees Valley Education to help boost our place-based initiative to tackle educational inequality in the North East.
Research & analysis
Analysis:
Why the free school meal system in schools is broken and what to do about it
[Peirson, TES, 2024]
Under the current system, harsh eligibility requirements and complicated bureaucracy mean many children living in poverty miss out on a free lunch. Experts tell Ellen Peirson-Hagger what the government must do to change that.
Researchers and leaders at Tees Valley Education contributed to this feature.
One-third of children living in poverty are ineligible for FSM due to the low income threshold and other barriers.
Some families do not apply for FSM despite being eligible, partly due to stigma or lack of awareness.
The FSM eligibility threshold has remained fixed at an annual household income of £7,400, which hasn't kept pace with inflation or rising living costs.
Experts argue that the threshold is outdated and excludes many children who are in poverty.
London and Wales have introduced universal FSM for primary school students, but this has created regional disparities, with critics questioning why other areas, like the North East, don’t have similar policies as a whole.
There are growing calls for universal FSM across all primary schools or, at minimum, expanding eligibility to all children in households receiving Universal Credit.
An automated registration process for FSM is also suggested to increase uptake and reduce administrative barriers for families. This is something that local authorities such as Middlesbrough are committing to.
Research:
An evidence-based plan for improving children’s oral health with and through educational settings
[Child of the North et al 2024]
The eighth report in a year-long series – produced jointly by Child of the North and the Centre for Young Lives – that seeks to deliver a country that works for all children and young people, makes a series of new proposals to tackle the children’s oral health crisis in England which is seeing millions of children suffering from tooth decay.
The report, An evidence-based plan for improving children’s oral health with and through educational settings, calls on the new Government to develop a national child oral health strategy and makes recommendations to reduce sugar consumption among children, optimise fluoride exposure, and increase access to dental care. It urges Ministers to be radical and use sugar taxes, energy drink bans, targeted supervised tooth-brushing in nurseries and schools, and an expansion of fluoridation.
One in five Year 6 school children in North East England and Yorkshire have experience of tooth decay in their permanent teeth.
Research involving Year 7 and Year 8 children from deprived areas in the North of England, Scotland and Wales has found that over one-third had tooth decay in their permanent teeth. Four in ten reported that their oral health had an impact on their daily lives.
Last year, 27,000 children in England were on NHS waiting lists for dental care by specialists, with 12,226 children on waiting lists for dental procedures under general anaesthetic with average waiting times of up to 80 weeks.
Strategies to tackle this should include:
Reducing sugar consumption through policy action such as expanding the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to include other sugar-sweetened beverages such as sugary milk drinks.
Applying restrictions on food marketing, advertising and promotions.
Banning the sale of caffeinated energy drinks to under 16-year-olds.
Optimising exposure to fluoride through a combination of community water fluoridation and increasing the number of targeted programmes such as supervised toothbrushing.
Research/Blog:
Building a rich evidence picture: the importance of using multiple evidence sources
[Mullholland 2024; Education Endowment Foundation]
Access the blog and resources here
Dr Kirstin Mullholland, Senior Associate (Content and Engagement) at the EEF, is no stranger to us at Tees Valley Education and she is a passionate advocate of effective evidence use in schools.
In this blog, Kirstin introduces a recent resource to support understanding of some common types of research, together with information regarding what these can be useful for and potential limitations.
The blog discusses the growing importance of being "research-informed" in the education system, particularly how schools and educational organisations use evidence to guide decisions.
The blog highlights that "using evidence" can mean different things depending on the context, and that not all research is of equal quality or relevance.
I'm delighted to share that Tees Valley Education will be working closely with the EEF on this topic and drawing on some of Kirstin's thinking and that of our teachers as part of this new project. So, watch this space!
Research:
Open innovation networks: a driver for knowledge mobilisation in schools?
[Pietsch et al 2023; Journal of Professional Capital and Community]
This study explores how the concept of "open innovation" — which involves the active exchange of knowledge with external actors to develop new ideas — can be applied to the field of education.
Specifically, Pietsch et al (2023) investigated the nature and impact of school innovation networks in Germany, focusing on how these networks influence knowledge mobilisation.
The research found that German schools primarily rely on internal knowledge for innovation, with limited engagement in external knowledge exchange.
The processes of knowledge mobilisation varied based on the type of innovation network a school was part of.
The study offers new insights into how schools can potentially enhance their teaching and learning through more effective knowledge mobilisation.
The paper addresses a gap in the existing literature by introducing the concept of open innovation to school improvement discussions. Useful for those exploring innovation in and through the education sector!
Best Practice:
The ABC of equity: A three-pronged approach to school attendance
[Bromley 2024, SecEd]
Continuing his focus on attendance as part of his series on equity in schools, Matt Bromley considers a three-pronged approach to reducing absence and offers self-evaluation questions to help you assess current practice and actionable next steps.
Bromley emphasises the importance of focusing on factors within schools before addressing external issues like parental involvement or socio-economic factors.
School-based Factors: Examine and enhance curriculum content, coverage, social and emotional environment, and routines and expectations within the school.
Home-based Factors: Improve parental understanding and engagement, address household routines and logistics, support parental presence and decision-making, and mitigate socio-economic challenges.
Learner-based Factors: Identify and address academic and social-emotional barriers, support students with special educational needs and mental health issues, and manage illness-related absences effectively.
Research:
Life Lessons 2024
[Montacute et al 2024, Sutton Trust]
Last week, the Sutton Trust published new research revealing the extent to which teachers view development of life skills as crucial to determining how well young people do in adulthood.
Despite the importance of teaching life skills, state school teachers are twice as likely as private school teachers to say their school doesn’t provide good opportunities for pupils to develop these non-academic skills.
The development of oracy skills of critical importance.
More progress is needed to embed this into the curriculum and the government curriculum review team have shared that this will be an important focus for them.
State school teachers are more likely to have had training in oral language interventions than private school teachers (30% vs 19%)
State schools also appear more likely to have a whole school oracy strategy, oracy leaders and intervention beyond the classroom to embed approaches to oracy for students.
1 in 5 teachers in state schools do not think their school provides good opportunities for pupils to develop these non-academic skills, compared to just 1 in 10 teachers in private schools.
The majority of state schools already report some type of oracy related activity. The most common being to embed oracy in some lessons (e.g. English or History), reported by 37% of senior leaders. 31% said oracy was embedded in most lessons, and 30% that teachers had training in oral language interventions. Debate clubs were popular in private schools (53%), but much less common in state schools (18%).
The biggest barriers to improving oracy reported in state schools were not enough teaching time (48%), not enough staff time (46%), and not enough teacher training or development (46%).
If government were to commit additional funding to oracy, 68% of state school senior leaders would like to see additional teacher training, 50% implementation of a whole school oracy strategy, and 30% one to one or small group oracy interventions outside of lessons.
Opportunities
Planning your pupil premium strategy: Insights from schools
Thursday 26 September (4pm - 5pm)
Marc Rowland, Unity Research Schools and the Department for Education are facilitating a free webinar exploring best practice from schools regarding the use of pupil premium funding/strategies.
The session will include presentations from both primary and secondary school headteachers who have a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils in their schools and who excel in their support for this cohort.
There will also be an opportunity to ask questions in the second half of the session.
You can find information on pupil premium funding, how school leaders can use it effectively and pupil premium strategy statements on GOV.UK.
Coming Soon
Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools
I am delighted to be able to give you a preview of this very exciting forthcoming project.
I’m proud to have co-authored this book with a range of contributors nationally from across different sectors.
This book is aimed at those working or alongside the education sector, especially in tackling inequality.
It contains actionable, road-tested approaches to understanding and tackling poverty in schools
The stark reality of poverty and disadvantage in our communities is one of the biggest challenges faced by schools today. Schools need better understanding of the broader impact of poverty and disadvantage and what they can do about it – that's where this book aims to help!
The book contains a host of resources and research links to support leaders in navigating the complexities of poverty and tackling them in local place-based contexts of their school.
All royalties from the book are being used to support children and community projects in the Tees Valley, so please do consider purchasing a copy and sharing with your teams.
Watch this space for updates about events, resources and news about the project!
We'll also have a cover to share with you soon too.
Pre-order your copy here or from other book retailers.