ITEM 3
Report Title – De-delegation of Funding for Team supporting EAL/Underachieving
Groups (Inclusion Team)
Schools Forum – 29 th December 2014
Recommendation
The Schools Forum is asked to:-
1. Note the outcomes and impact the Inclusion team have made on supporting mainly Primary schools with minority ethnic and bilingual learners, and more recently pupils who are eligible for free school meals.
Members of Forum allowed to vote:-
Body of report:- Impact
2014 Data
The 2014 un-validated Raise report:
1. Attainment at Key Stage 1 indicates good improvements with the main
“significant pupil groups” the team work with, for example FSM
(Disadvantaged), Black and EAL pupils. The team have supported a number of schools to raise the attainment of these groups.
Mathematics a) Attainment at KS1 continues to show Disadvantage pupils and all Black groups are performing in line with NA at all levels. b) Attainment of EAL learners are mainly in line with NA at all levels, except at L2C+ and L3+ where they are significantly above NA. c) White British are now performing in line with NA at L3+, which is an
improvement from last year where they were significantly below NA.
Reading d) Attainment at KS1 continues to show Disadvantage pupils performing significantly above NA at L2C+ and L2B+, as does EAL at all levels,
White and Black Caribbean at L2B+ and Pakistani pupils at L2A+. e) White British are now performing in line with NA at L3+, which is an
improvement from last year when they were significantly below NA
Writing f) Attainment at KS1 continues to show Disadvantage pupils performing significantly above NA at L2C+ and L2B+, as does EAL and White and
Black Caribbean at L2C+.
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g) Black Caribbean is now in line with NA at L2A+ and L3+ compared to last year where they were significantly below compared with NA.
However, the Black African is significantly below at L3+ this year.
2. Attainment at Key Stage 2 shows an overall decline across all groups to significantly below NA in all subjects, Reading, Writing and Mathematics. This has been a challenge for Croydon’s School Improvement Team across the borough. However, the good news is: a) Mathematics : EAL, Indian and any other Asian Background perform significantly above at L5+ NA.
3. Progress Measure for Value Added from Key Stage 1 to 2 indicates all groups make expected progress in line with the NA for that group and when compared with overall NA. This is an improvement from last year. When we look at percentage making the expected progress in each subject this is variable: a) Indians make significant progress in mathematics, however Disadvantage and
Black Caribbean are performing significantly below NA b) In Reading all groups are in line with NA c) In Writing many vulnerable groups are making significantly less progress than
NA.
4. Attainment at Key Stage 4 indicates good performance for most of the vulnerable groups we support : a) The Average Capped point score is significantly above national for FSM,
Disadvantaged, EAL, Black and Pakistani groups. b) At 5 A*-C EM FSM, Disadvantaged and Pakistani groups perform significantly above national average. Other than the small group of 27 Bangladeshi pupils which are significantly below for this measure, the other groups are performing in line with the national average.
5. Progress Measure for Value Added from Key Stage 2 to 4 indicates all groups make expected progress in line with the NA for that group and when compared with overall NA. a) Expected progress is significantly above national in mathematics for White,
FSM, Disadvantaged and Black Caribbean pupils and in English for White,
FSM, Disadvantaged and Pakistani pupils.
However, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean and Black African pupils are making significantly less progress in English compared to national expected progress. The team continues to provide guidance and support in this area.
6. Closing the Gaps for Disadvantaged Pupils a) At Key Stage 1 the within school gap is closing slightly, as is the gap between Disadvantaged pupils and NA other. b) At Key Stage 2 the gaps are widening in all three subjects.
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c) At Key Stage 4, 5 A*-CEM indicates the gap is closing between
Disadvantage pupils and other pupils from -19% in 2013 to -16% this year. However, this figure needs to be treated with caution as this narrowing of the gap is due to the performance of the Disadvantaged group and other pupils declining, the latter at a greater rate.
Although there have been improvements at Key Stage 1 and 4, and much work has been carried out with schools at Key Stage 2, this has yet to be translated into the good outcomes at KS2. Writing and Mathematics continue to be a focus for the
Inclusion team this year, as is the focus on closing the performance gap between
Disadvantage group of pupils and others.
This year the Inclusion lead has continued to deliver Raise report data training to senior and middle managers, core subject coordinators, phase leaders, teachers, teaching assistants and Governors so that they interpret and use the data more effectively to raise the achievement of all pupils, but in particular to focus on the performance of their most vulnerable groups. The school-based data workshops with leadership teams have focused on robust tracking and monitoring of groups and individual pupils’ progress; forensic use of assessment data for progress tracking, target setting and how to provide support for pupils slipping behind with suitable targeted interventions. Some examples of schools who have received this support have been Parish Infants, Parish Juniors, Kensington Avenue, St Josephs, Davidson
Primary, Cypress Primary, Kingsley Primary and Winterbourne Girls. This training has built confidence in schools on how they interpret, use, disseminate and target support where it is required with vulnerable groups. Evidence from external reviews and Pupil
Premium on-line statements indicate data being used to better inform lesson planning, improved use of performance data to measure the impact of interventions and evaluating what works and doing things differently if a partic ular intervention hasn’t had the impact needed.
Support with the interpretation of data and how to use it effectively to inform practice at all levels continues to be a major part of the teams work with schools.
Core Service
The funds allocated to support the teams work with schools is two-fold. One aspect of their work is to develop and build capacity within the school improvement team and within schools. This is delivered through a Universal offer of support and training in the form of the following:

Providing updates, guidance and support to Link advisers, external associates at internal Standard and Whole Service meetings and to schools via the school bulletin newsletters. This has allowed schools to keep abreast of changes in education legislation and statutory requirements especially with Traveller children and those entitled to Pupil Premium funding. The quick response to questions raised has been highly appreciated.

Providing specialist advice and centrally based quality training on making the curriculum more accessible to, and relevant for all groups deemed to be vulnerable e.g. Black and Minority Ethnic (BME), Pupils eligible for Pupil
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Premium, referred to as disadvantaged, Traveller children and EAL. These are generally very well attended. Excellent evaluations from training, school based work and networking events by schools.
 Detailed “Factsheets” on each vulnerable group are produced bi-annually and shared with schools and the School Improvement team. These factsheets have contributed to building further capacity. They have enabled resources to be deployed more efficiently and target support where it is most needed. Schools use these Factsheets to compare the performance of their own targeted groups with local and national data. (See Appendix 1 GRT Factsheet).

Three high quality guidance documents (EAL, BME, Able, Gifted and Talented) have been published and distributed to all schools. Advisers use these documents to promote a consistency in approach and model best practice.
Schools use the documents auditing tools and planning templates.

Increased use of on-line resources evidenced by an increase in schools accessing resources by 40%. The partnership with the EAL team and the
Swedish municipality of Bollnäs to develop a Toolkit for the integration of New
Arrivals has further improved the on-line offer. The Toolkit developed will be launched live in February reaching an audience in Sweden as well as across the UK. This is a huge achievement for the Inclusion team as this provides good evidence recognising the high quality EAL and Refugee support we provide
Croydon schools.

Five case study documents have been published on cross-phase projects overseen by the team: More Able Learners Project (MALP), White British
Boys/Pupil Premium Project, Raising Achievement of Black Boys project, the
Word Power Pilot and the Language and Communication programme for new arrivals. Additional funding from the council was used to commission additional support for the projects and this has added to the effectiveness of the team and enabled them to share practice across all schools in Croydon. The Word Power
Pilot was published on the National Association of Language Development in the Curriculum (NALDIC) website and as a result has generated much interest from schools outside the borough. The MALP was published in the Croydon
STEP-UP magazine and again raised the profile of our most able pupils in
Croydon.
All schools involved in Projects found the “Specialists” networks very informative and reassuring. These meetings enabled effective collaboration between Primary and Secondary schools, the dissemination and the sharing of best practice.
The other aspect of the team’s work continues to be with the Core Service offer of up to four days of high quality, specialist targeted support to all Croydon’s maintained schools. This support is more bespoke to meet individual school requirements, although most of this support is carried out in Primary schools. This is usually in the form of the following, the impact of which is highlighted below within specific specialist areas:
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
Training, Inset and one-to-one consultancy with Headteachers, senior staff and
Governors have improved their understanding of the different characteristics and needs of the vulnerable groups the team support. The team have supported over 60% of schools over the past 8 months;

Conducting Pupil Premium and More Able learner reviews and supporting schools with the monitoring, evaluation and implementation of good action plans. These have trebled in demand this year from around 4 to 12 reviews;

Working with schools at all levels to analyse and interpret their RAISE report,
Closing the Gap data and linking this to effective improvement planning. The team have all been highly trained to use the Raise report in their work and strengthen school Inclusion leaders understanding of its implications for their work;

Supporting schools with evaluating the impact of their Pupil Premium spend and effectiveness of chosen Interventions. To support schools with their online Pupil
Premium statement for Parents and Governors. This has developed a better understanding amongst schools of the funding arrangements and the importance of the evaluative nature of their on-line statement needs to be;

Providing Pupil Premium training to newly qualified teachers, Governors, senior leadership teams, English and Maths middle leaders, Inclusion leads, teachers and LA School Improvement team. This has formed a consistent message amongst all colleagues about the enormity of the Pupil Premium funding, the accountability channels and ultimately its importance in making a difference to the future opportunities and life chances for the most disadvantaged pupils. It has encouraged more open conversations and involvement of key people in deciding the best use of this funding in order to make the most impact;

Working in partnership with schools to develop strategies and differentiated materials to support learners with EAL and address gaps in knowledge and understanding of traveller and other disadvantaged groups. Materials are regularly downloaded from the Inclusions rooms and contributions are added by
Inclusion Leads;

Supporting schools with the implementation of effective admission and induction procedures for EAL, refugee and asylum seeker and traveller pupils.
This year initial assessments have taken place in a number of schools, saving the school/ College time and resourcing;

Implementation of targeted projects in clusters of schools e.g. Language and
Communication programme for New Arrivals, White British on Free School
Meals (WBFSM), Black Achievement Project and the More Able Learners project (MALP). These provide excellent opportunities for schools to carry out focused action-research type projects, to share best practice and be supported by the Inclusion team to ensure various milestones and impact statements are achieved;
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
Working with schools to strengthen parental engagement and collaboration with the wider community e.g. Davidson Primary, Woodcote Secondary, and
Cypress Primary.
White British and Disadvantaged groups (Pupils eligible for Pupil Premium
Funding)
Closing the gap in attainment for underachieving groups is a key issue for many of our schools in Croydon, in particular for those pupils who are eligible for the Pupil
Premium funding. The increased focus on the narrowing of the performance gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantage pupils by the DfE and Ofsted has meant a larger number of schools are requesting core support with this target group.
Although there have been improvements in closing the gaps at KS1, this is not the case at KS2 and KS4.
The team have provided various documents, updates, training and support to schools on using pupil premium funding to best effect, based on strong action research by the
Education Endowment Fund. Schools need to demonstrate what difference this funding has made to the learning and progress of pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium, as shown by performance data and monitoring evidence.
In addition to this the Inclusion lead has conducted 6 Pupil Premium mini reviews this year supporting them mainly with their online Pupil Premium Statement (Davidson
Primary, St. Joseph ’s, Parish Infants and Juniors, Ryelands, Hayes Primary,
Kensington Avenue, Cypress Primary, Wolsey Infants and Winterbourne Girls). This training has enabled schools to have a better understanding on how to report the impact of the Pupil Premium funding. It has also helped to ensure the systematic planning and gathering of evidence to show the impact of their chosen interventions or enrichment activities in closing the gap between Pupil Premium and Non-Pupil
Premium pupils. As schools become more aware of the importance of reporting the impact of the additional Pupil Premium funding, the demand for support in this area is increasing. See Appendix 2 Raising the Achievement of White British pupils on
Free School Meals in Primary Schools
Able, Gifted and Talented (AGT)
Support for schools on raising the achievement of the more able is provided by contracting two specialist external consultants and the Inclusion manager. The nature of the support is generally based on the format constructed in the More Able Learners
Project (MALP), which is now in its third year e.g. clear analysis of data, focused action plan, learning walk, pupil voice, staff inset and school to school sharing of good practice. The impact of this support can, in part, be demonstrated with the seven schools listed below. They have accessed AGT support this year and are continuing to work with the team on further embedding effective practice and improving outcomes.
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Level 5+ 2014 (13) Reading Writing Maths
Cypress 44(39) 28(11) 40(32)
Monks Orchard* 42(42) 27(28) 39(52)
Parish Juniors* 51(49) 24(20) 53(55)
Regina Coeli
St Joseph’s
57(56)
53(43)
33(24)
15(24)
47(41)
42(19)
Woodcote 63(58) 49(34) 48(62)
Woodside* 53(49) 20(17) 49(40)

Feedback from the 3 schools involved with MALP 2 (* indicated in table above) has been very positive and are continuing with the support through a traded service offer. The outcome of the Learning walks, Book scrutiny
’s and pupil interviews have all provided constructive and detailed feedback on strengths and areas for development. Some examples of strategies recommended to improve outcomes for able writers that these schools are now developing are:

Non-negotiable expectations that pupils will respond to teachers’ comments by attempting to implement the advice offered;

Teachers will check the responses;

Ensuring comments are relevantly and simply focused on next steps, and that praise is generally reserved for effort.
 Identifying ‘expert learners’
 Establishing a ‘three before me’ system or similar to encourage pupils to take more responsibility for their learning
 Ensuring that when pupils present their work that they are clear and heard by others
 Organised group work to ensure that all pupils are actively involved and taking responsibility for their learning
EAL and Refugee Support
Croydon has one of the largest and increasingly diverse populations in England. More than 100 languages are spoken in schools and there are significant numbers of refugees and asylum seekers. The number of pupils with English as an additional language or those who are new to English is on the increase. In addition to bespoke co-ordinator/teacher/TA support in more than 27 schools e.g. Downsview Primary, The
Crescent, Fairchildes Primary, Park Hill Juniors and St. Joseph’s Infants and Juniors – to name a few. The EAL Advisory team has also targeted support where it has been most needed. The team recognises that schools are finding it extremely difficult to cater for the needs of these pupils, in particular New Arrivals who have little or no
English alongside the reduction of EAL practitioners in schools. Various impact measures for EAL listed below include:

Implementation of the Language and Communication Programme for New arrivals in13 schools (including one in Bristol) at Key Stage 1 and 2, 5 and at
EYFS. Initial assessments of pupils’ literacy and numeracy needs are assessed and the baseline information is recorded and shared with schools. These initial assessments provide detailed information to schools to ensure better targeted interventions are put in place. See Appendix 3: Language and
Communication Programme-New Arrivals
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
The recent ‘New’ arrivals, new opportunities (NANO) project Comenius Regio
Partnership w ith the Swedish municipality of Bollnäs to develop a Toolkit for the integration of New Arrivals. This partnership involves three main partner schools in the borough (Primary/Secondary/College) and an external partner.
The findings of which will be disseminated in a Conference planned by the team in February 2015 to other Croydon schools in order to build capacity and further best practice for the integration of New Arrivals across Europe/the world. (See
Appendix 4 NANO project information)

The involvement of 4 schools in a project looking at “Accelerating the progress of EAL learners through addressing the grammatical errors commonly made by
EAL learners through Literacy
” from Level 2 to Level 5 is progressing very well.
The focus is addressing the common grammatical errors made by EAL learners and developing their extended writing skills. Schools involved - St Joseph ’s, All
Saints
’, Winterbourne Girls and Park Hill Juniors.

The Croydon Young Refugees Network has been established. This is an umbrella group of organisations working to improve outcomes for young refugees and asylum seekers in Croydon. A newsletter to ensure that all
Croydon schools/Colleges are aware of the agencies available to support refugee and asylum seeking young people has been compiled and circulated through the school bulletin and at various local network meetings.
Support for the de velopment of an ‘Emotional and Behavioural Needs Toolkit for refugee pupils’ by a child psychiatrist from Oxford University has also been provided.
Specific Refugee needs in a college have been identified and effective emotional provision through the ESOL curriculum has been provided.
Partnerships between a particular college and a counselling agency have been facilitated through the ESOL curriculum to improve emotional well-being.

Schools have been supported to enter pupils for community language examinations and a database of language examiners/translators has been created and updated. E.g. John Ruskin College, St Mary’s, Edenham and Virgo
Fidelis secondary schools.

Support provided to schools to increase their awareness of Refugee Week. A collection of unwanted English books, dictionaries and stationary (in good condition) were collected and donated to the Refugee centre. A Refugee Week
Celebration was organised with materials disseminated to schools to promote celebration of diversity.
Black and Minority Ethnic groups

The EMA adviser has worked very successfully in a number of schools this year implementing strategies that improve the attainment for BME groups of pupils and which accelerate the progress of the most able (Primary schools: All
Saints ’, Cypress, Davidson, Downsview, Howard, Monks Orchard, Norbury
Manor, Oasis Academy (formerly Ryelands), Park Hill Juniors, St Josephs,
Winterbourne Boys; Secondary: Addington High, Woodcote and Priory Special).
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
Excellent evidence from the Raising Achievement Project (RAP) last summer indicates many positive outcomes for KS2 BME pupils, e.g. in three of the primary schools involved in the RAP project (Ryelands, Spring Park,
Downsview, Norbury Manor) targeted BME pupils who were identified as underachieving all performed above expected or made more than expected progress in Reading and Mathematics at the end of KS2; on average many made more than 2 sub-levels of progress over the two terms. This year the project has been extended to a further 5 schools.

As part of the RAP project, support was provided to schools on the importance of valuing diversity. Documents and training were provided on Classroom
Rules for Learning and Achieving; Creating an Inclusive Classroom
Environment; Core Improvement priorities, Strategies for Raising Achievement of BME pupil; Understanding Golden and Whole-School rules for BME pupils.
As a result, the above guidance documents and training contributed to developing a more inclusive ethos in classrooms, a better understanding of
BME pupils’ needs, greater collaboration with parents and promoted higher aspirations by teachers and by pupils themselves – all this was evidenced from les son observations, pupil interviews and looking at pupils’ work in books and displays.

Schools are increasingly requesting support from the EMA adviser to work with them on resolving difficult issues with parents, particularly when communication channels have broken down. Some examples of issues resolved effectively and promptly were ‘a parent threatening to physically assault a class teacher’, ‘a parent refusing to send her Year 9 son back to school after one year at home’, and a ‘parent accusing a class teacher of bullying her
Year 6 son’- to name a new. Schools which the EMA adviser worked with this year on
‘Parental Engagement’ were All Saints’ Primary, Cypress Primary,
Davidson Primary, Green Lane Primary (Kingston), Gresham Primary, Howard
Primary, Monks Orchard Primary, Oasis Academy – Shirley Park Primary,
Papillion Special School (Tadworth), Priory Special School, St. Mark’s C. of E.
Primary Academy and Woodcote High. Many schools now have a
Communication Policy for Parents and Carers developed and written together with the EMA Adviser.

Useful guidance documents have been produced for parents in order to involve them more with supporting their child at home. Home visits by the EMA adviser have been very effective in emphasising to parents the importance of their role in supporting their child if they are to achieve well. Schools have reported changes in attitudes of parents towards education and learning, feedback from parents have influenced proposals and altered practice.
Traveller Services

Continued work in fostering good home/school relationships with Traveller families which promotes better attendance and limits fixed term exclusions. E.g.
Castle Hill, Rowdown and Addington High.
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
Good relationships with the Traveller community and ability to continue working with them has helped secure school placements for hard to place pupils within other non-mainstream educational settings. The team has also encouraged and successfully enrolled Traveller parents into further education courses so that th ey themselves can be better equipped to help their child’s education.
 Initial assessments of Traveller pupils’ literacy and numeracy needs are shared with schools. This enables schools to offer the most appropriate interventions either by providing one-to-one tuition based at home or in school. Pupils are tracked and monitored closely by the team and progress is shared with all educational professionals involved. Evidence provided by schools indicates improvement in attendance, punctuality and progress of some of the pupils who have received this support. E.g. Rowdown, Heavers Farm, Castle Hill and
Davidson Primary schools.

Regular family contact, input and individual attendance plans have resulted in higher attendance percentages figures for those families identified as needing improvement.

Regular feedback to parents, pupils and teachers on the progress made by traveller pupils being supported through home tuition. Pupil assessments and support for SEN applications e.g. St Mary High.

Ensures schools behaviour and attendance policy are adhered to by families by effectively liaising between home and school e.g. Ryelands Primary.
The integration of council services (Virtual schools team, Admissions, Education
Welfare, Housing and the Enforcement team) have been key in resolving some issues around Traveller families and the Traveller team have been able to resolve some of these because of their expertise and knowledge of the community and individual families they work with. The outcomes of which have been successful.
See Appendix
1 for case studies – as referenced above.
Appendix 1: GRT Factsheet
Appendix 2: Raising the Achievement of White British pupils on Free School Meals in
Primary Schools
Appendix 3: Language and Communication Programme-New Arrivals
Appendix 4: NANO project information
Appendix 5: Evaluation and feedback comments from schools .
Author’s Name: Tomris Ibrahim
Author’s job title: Improvement Adviser Inclusion Support
Date: 29.12.2014
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