Raising the achievement of
White British pupils from low
income backgrounds
Lessons from research and inspections
Chris Wood, Her Majesty’s Inspector
27 June 2014
Pupils from White British backgrounds are
by far the biggest of the low income groups
Wide gaps in attainment for White British pupils
from low income backgrounds are firmly established
by the end of primary school…22% points in 2013
The gap between disadvantaged White British pupils
and their more advantaged peers is much greater
than for any other main ethnic group.
White British boys from low income backgrounds are
the lowest attaining group but White British girls do
not do much better…it is not solely a gender issue
Schools where
pupils from low
income
backgrounds do
best are often
clustered in urban
areas with higher
proportions of
pupils from minority
ethnic backgrounds
Sample based on the 97 schools
with above average proportions of
eligible free school meals pupils at
the end of Key Stage 4 (national
average = 14%) and where their
eligible free school meals pupils
attained above the national average
for all pupils at GCSE (59%) in 2012.
Whereas those
schools where pupils
from low income
backgrounds do less
well are often in
small towns and
coastal areas with
higher proportions of
White British pupils.
Sample based on the 111 schools
with above average proportions of
eligible free school meals pupils at
the end of Key Stage 4 (national
average = 14%) and where fewer
than 20% of their eligible free
school meals pupils attained the
GCSE benchmark in 2012.
There is no silver bullet…the strategies that
are most successful for one group tend to be
effective for others

In 2008, Ofsted published a report on successful strategies for
improving the achievement of white boys from low income
backgrounds:
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developing organisation skills
instilling the importance of perseverance
rigorous monitoring of progress and challenging targets
tailored, flexible intervention programmes
a curriculum that is tightly structured around individual needs
creative and flexible strategies to engage parents and carers
strong partnership with a wide range of agencies support
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In 2013, Ofsted surveyed 17 successful
schools…they faced very similar challenges:

children arriving with under-developed language and interpersonal
skills
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a high proportion of pupils had special educational needs
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several headteachers reported a rise in parental drug use, domestic
violence and mental health problems and an increase in teenage
pregnancies, often among children of one-parent families
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‘chaotic’ home lives also contributed to the poor attendance and
behaviour with which virtually all the schools had had to deal
pupils’ progress was often interrupted by frequent changes of school
or historically poor attendance
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Leaders recognised that low achievement
cannot be tackled in isolation…they:
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took account of personal challenges that children from low-income
families often face, BUT
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did not accept that personal problems inevitably led to
underachievement
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were relentless in helping children to develop the resilience to deal
with and overcome the difficulties that they faced
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provided what headteachers described as ‘tough love’
supported the emotional well-being of the children BUT ensured
that pupils were reintegrated quickly into lessons and back on track
in their learning
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Their approach shared important
features…they:
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had a deep-rooted commitment to the school and community
and a keen sense of social justice
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identified children in need of additional help quickly
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made prompt changes to support programmes when they were
not meeting the pupils’ needs
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ensured that all staff are responsible for the pupils’ performance
tracked the progress of individual children closely and used
information to plan suitable interventions ‘from the outset’
Used the curriculum to enrich children’s life experiences
looked for successful ways to work closely with parents
Worked well with other agencies
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Tracking individual progress and using
information to plan suitable interventions

in one primary, the progress of individual children was closely tracked from
entry into EYFS to gauge how well they were doing and to plan suitable
interventions to help them learn
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children all experienced a 30-minute daily phonics session, designed to
stimulate their interest in books and other forms of the written word
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those with limited speaking and listening skills received extra support from
speech therapists
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large wall displays were used to plot progress in reading, writing and maths
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this information was used by class teachers, senior leaders and support
staff to plan additional support for those children
teachers conducted half-termly assessments which were used to identify
any children who were not reaching the levels expected of them
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Making sure ‘the right kids have the right
intervention, at the right time, from the right
people’
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in the past interventions in English and maths for White boys in
KS4 had been unsuccessful:
 they were often delivered by non-specialist support staff who lacked
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knowledge and skills
the timing of additional sessions had proved unpopular with the most
disaffected students.
the revised strategy involved:
 regular and rigorous assessment, to identify students in need of
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additional help and to set challenging targets for them
1-1 support from additional, qualified teachers of English and maths
intensive hour-long sessions for each student, over 6 weeks and
focusing on specific areas of weakness, identified in a personal learning
plan.
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Making sure ‘all staff share responsibility
for the pupils’ performance’
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every July all staff in one primary school attend a ‘Data Day’ to examine
the achievement data for every class and every year group
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staff account for any underperformance in front of their
colleagues. While this is sometimes uncomfortable, teachers are keen
that their pupils make the best progress and that ‘their charts look good’
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staff joining the school attend the day so that they understand the context
of the school and its ways of working from the outset
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teaching assistants are also expected to attend and when, on one
occasion, an individual questioned their need to be there, the headteacher
made it very clear that they were ‘all in it together’
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shared accountability is reinforced by the performance
management arrangements for teaching assistants which are clearly
linked to pupil progress
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Learning from strategies that have been
successful in engaging with parents
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at one primary, the number of formal parents’ meetings had been reduced
and replaced by half-termly ‘drop-in sessions’ where parents visit
children’s classrooms, see work and receive updates on progress
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the school also offered workshops, for example on phonics and
calculation, to help parents support their children’s learning at home
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improvements to the Early Years Foundation Stage meant that visits were
now made to the home and parents attend ‘Stay and Play’ sessions
where they pursue a range of activities with their children
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school staff also went into the community to meet parents, for example
at church or the bingo hall, and put on activities, such as cooking classes,
that would appeal to parents and encourage them to take an active part in
the school’s life
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Working with agencies to support families
who are experiencing problems
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one primary school worked with the NSPCC to support families who were
experiencing problems with alcohol and substance misuse
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another worked with the LA’s ‘Pressure Point’ programme which provided
multi-agency support to families with complex difficulties
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primary schools were working well with their local children’s centres
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schools typically provided breakfast and homework clubs to ensure that
children from low-income families were properly fed and had the space,
resources and advice to complete additional work
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one secondary school found that, although the local library had good
after-school facilities, students were more comfortable with doing their
homework in the spaces that had been provided for them in school
one secondary school had its own full-time Barnardo’s officer on site and
provided specialised counselling to support students
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Improving children’s language, literacy and
communication
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one primary school had invested heavily in speech and language,
particularly in the EYFS - it employed its own speech and language therapist and
an extra educational psychologist.
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teaching assistants were key in preparing pupils for phonics screening in Y1 and
in raising reading levels in Y2 – they were highly trained and monitored closely
by SLT.
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a secondary school had identified students in Years 7 and 8 with low reading
ages:
 they and their parents were invited to a literacy breakfast club to help the students
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improve their reading skills and to give families advice on how to support at home
during the tutor periods specifically devoted to reading, students received
further help from well-trained teaching assistants
the progress of each student was very carefully monitored, with the
information being collated by the non-teaching pastoral head of year
the latter ensured that families were informed of any slippages in performance
and, where necessary, arranged additional support to help them deal with any
personal problems that might be detracting from the student’s progress.
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Supporting transition and raising
aspirations
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in one school, the main vehicle for supporting successful transition to one
secondary school was the ‘Smooth Move’ programme
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‘What’s it like to be back in school for a day?’ - children and their
parents followed a structured day, attending short learning activities, eating
in the dining hall and finding their way round
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this was particularly important since many of the parents had had
negative experiences during their own school days
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in another school, every KS4 student attended three mandatory afterschool sessions where former students, who had been eligible for free
school meals and were now pursing successful careers, talked about the
importance of having high aspirations and how they had overcome
problems during their lives
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parents of pupils eligible for free school meals also talked to students about
the way that residential visits to Cambridge had raised their children’s
ambitions
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Enriching pupils’ life experiences and
knowledge of the world
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On ‘enrichment afternoons’, pupils worked on specially devised tasks in classrooms and the
school grounds:
 an ‘Old Curiosity Shop’ and a museum contained unusual and interesting objects that
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which prompted considerable discussion and stimulated pupils’ imagination
a pavement café provided opportunities to find out about different foods and customs
of the world.
A dinosaur garden, eco garden, story house and Anderson shelter helped them to write
creatively and at length.
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the curriculum was further enriched by visiting speakers and very well-attended after-school
clubs. All the pupils in Years 3 and 6 took part in a residential event
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pupils visited the Royal Opera House, the Tower of London and professional sporting events
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the environment provided a haven for those pupils who lacked stimuli, including books and
regular opportunities for developing their speaking and listening skills
music had a high profile in the school. Every pupil played the recorder and most played a
second instrument which included the guitar, cello or viola
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Making sure there is a good balance of
academic and vocational elements
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one school adapted its curriculum to ensure ‘flexibility’ and ‘capacity’
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students on the borderline for their targeted grade in mathematics worked
for a whole morning on the subject and received individual advice and
support
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recent tests had shown that most students had difficulty with fractions.
Therefore, the additional work also consisted of whole-class activities
focusing on this common area of weakness
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the ‘Work on Wednesdays’ sessions were also used to supplement courses
if pupils wished to gain additional qualifications, such as in three
individual science subjects
it established a ‘Work on Wednesdays’ system, where older students
were provided with work experience or with additional teaching and
revision sessions on their areas of weakness
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Attendance and behaviour had to improve
before real progress could be made in raising
standards
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schools had clear policies so that students and their families knew exactly
what was expected of them and what they could expect from the school
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leaders ensured that all staff applied these policies rigorously and
consistently
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schools conducted regular monitoring, at a senior level, to check on how
effectively policies were being implemented and to identify those students
whose behaviour and attendance were detracting from their attainment
and progress
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schools often appointed additional staff to support the implementation of
the behaviour and attendance policies
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they had good communication systems that quickly alerted parents to
any problems with attendance or behaviour
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Questions