Six steps to implement in your school

1. Put in place an action plan in response to self-evaluation and research evidence, which includes performance measures.
2. Set whole-school end of key stage targets, using national benchmarks, which can be measured.
3. Use the same or higher targets for interim school years.
4. Set quantitative performance data targets, with attention to closing gaps in achievement between different year groups and subjects.
5. Include targets for defined groups of learners including: gender; ethnicity; EAL; SEND and disadvantage.
6. Identify other schools where performance is better in target areas and seek to work in collaboration or acquire support, dependent on needs.

Reviewing outcomes for more able learners

• Are historic attainment outcomes in line with or better than average for similar schools or family of schools? 
• What actions will lead to higher attainment and what quality assurance milestones can be put in place?
• Do more able learners make the same or better progress than other learners, relative to their starting points, and is this true regardless of learner groups?
• Have targets been put in place for all year groups and for all subjects?
• Are there any subjects or year groups where progress and attainment measures lie below whole-school targets and what specific action is in place to monitor and measure improvement?
• Have the targets been communicated effectively to middle leaders and have they acted to make changes which will lead to further improvements?
• When reflecting on the school’s position in relation to more able learners, there is a balance between where the school has been historically and what might be achieved if all barriers were removed.

• Choose a selection of departments/curriculum areas as “early adopters” of the review tool. These teams then present their findings to other departments, who go on to undertake their own reviews. Joint planning of next steps could take place at relevant meetings of department/curriculum leaders.
• The Challenge Framework lead works with a few/all departments to support review and development.
• A head of department/curriculum area asks a colleague to take responsibility for the review; the completed review is then used to inform planning, in the light of whole-school priorities.
• Departments/curriculum areas undertake peer reviews or triad reviews of provision for more able learners.
• All departments/areas focus on reviewing provision and practice in a specific strand of the Challenge Framework identified by senior leaders.
• The Framework is integrated within existing school self-evaluation and development systems and cycles.

The wheels of education research and policy continue to turn even when school’s out… To help you catch up and prepare for the new academic year, NACE Education Adviser Hilary Lowe summarises key takeaways from this summer’s education report releases.

School cultures and practices: supporting the attainment of disadvantaged pupils

Department for Education, May 2018

This qualitative research study compares cultures and practices in schools that perform well and less well for disadvantaged pupils, in and outside of London. It provides insights into practices that could be encouraged to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

Five key cross-cutting findings are identified:

1. School cultures and practices vary more by a school’s performance than by location.
2. Lower-performing primary schools outside London are most different from other schools.
3. High-performing schools, regardless of location, adopt a wide range of approaches to supporting disadvantaged pupils.
4. High-performing schools, regardless of location, are positive and solutions-focused.
5. There is a subtle but discernible “London culture”.

The main characteristics of high-performing schools for disadvantaged pupils are identified as:

• Shared sense of purpose
• Use of data
• Engaging parents
• High-quality teaching
• Strong and visionary leadership

The report gives specific examples in these five areas and makes recommendations for further research.

In the coming academic year, NACE’s own research will include a focus on effective practice in Challenge Award-accredited schools which perform well for disadvantaged more able learners.

Use and perceptions of curriculum support resources in schools

Department for Education, July 2018

This report examines:

• The curriculum support resources being used most often by schools and teachers
• How teachers judge the quality of curriculum support resources
• Gaps and priorities for the development of future curriculum support resources

Some common trends are identified from interviews with schools:

• The development of formal whole-school curriculum plans/schemes of work is more common in secondary schools. In primary schools planning relates more to broad themes to be followed according to year group/key stage.
• Individual lesson planning is undertaken by teachers at both primary and secondary level to structure day-to-day delivery and tailor content to the needs of particular classes.
• The importance of collaborative working and shared resources is emphasised by teachers and senior leaders in both primary and secondary schools.
• Social media is growing in popularity as a means of accessing resources and gathering peer feedback. This is particularly the case among early-career teachers who often use social media to share practice, ask for advice and provide tips on finding and developing resources.
• Resources need to be adaptable to meet the needs of a range of learners and abilities, across a range of areas, including challenge for high-ability learners and those with English as an additional language. It is important to be able to adapt resources to reflect individual teaching styles and learner needs, but also important that resources engage learners and motivate them to think independently.
• Apps and online software are mentioned as useful tools in maintaining learner engagement through a range of visual, audio and textual aids. Teachers are often able to adapt these resources to match the progress and targets of individual learners.
• Textbooks and hard-copy resources remain important for providing content, but digital resources are easy to access and often an engaging way for learners to develop skills and understanding. Textbooks are often used as a framework for lesson planning and as a reference tool for learners when conducting independent enquiry. Additional activities are used to supplement textbook content and add differentiation.
• Overall, it is generally accepted that a range of resources, formats and approaches should be used (rather than teachers depending on one type/format) to ensure curriculum delivery is high quality and works well for both staff and students. Although teachers can access existing resources easily, these are generally viewed as a starting point; they still need to be adapted to meet the needs of learners and to align with individual teaching styles.

Potential for success: fulfilling the promise of highly able students in secondary schools

Sutton Trust, August 2018

This report analyses how high-attaining students fare in secondary schools in England. It also explores approaches to maximising the potential of high-attaining young people through analysis of literature and case studies of good practice in schools that do particularly well for these students.

Important points highlighted include:

• Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to be in the top 10% for attainment in English and maths at the end of primary school. Disadvantaged students are three times less likely to be in this high-attainment group than their more advantaged peers: only 4% of disadvantaged students have high attainment at KS2, compared to 13% of non-disadvantaged pupils.
• Disadvantaged pupils who perform well in primary school are much more likely to fall behind at secondary school, compared to other high-attaining students, across a range of measures. While high attainers overall make about an average level of progress between KS2 and KS4, those from disadvantaged backgrounds fall substantially behind.
• They are also less likely to achieve the top grades: while 72% of non-disadvantaged high attainers achieve 5 A*-A grades or more at GCSE, only 52% of disadvantaged high attainers do. If high-attaining disadvantaged students performed as well as high-attaining students overall, an additional 1,000 disadvantaged students would achieve at least 5A*-A at GCSE each year.<
• High attainers from disadvantaged backgrounds who are white have the lowest level of attainment at GCSE compared to their peers in any other ethnic group. Only 45% of disadvantaged white students with high prior attainment gain 5A*-A at GCSE, compared to 63% of black students and 67% of Asian students from similar backgrounds.
• Students with high attainment do better at GCSE in schools with lower proportions of students on free school meals, schools in London, in converter academies, and in schools with higher numbers of other previously high-attaining students.
• Disadvantaged students make up a much smaller proportion in grammar schools, compared to comprehensives, with disadvantaged high attainers only half as likely as high attainers overall to enter a grammar. In grammar schools, only 1 in 17 of all high attainers are from disadvantaged backgrounds, compared to 1 in 8 high attainers in comprehensive schools.

Plus…

The government recently announced the creation of a national Centre of Excellence for modern languages, to be supported by leading schools in the field which will become language hubs. Of the nine schools named as language hubs so far, two have attained the NACE Challenge Award – The Broxbourne School in Hertfordshire and Sir William Borlase's Grammar School in Buckinghamshire.

In July, the government also announced new online resources designed to help schools reduce teacher workload, freeing up time from “unnecessary and time-consuming tasks” so more time can be dedicated to teaching. The workload reduction toolkit is available here.

For more research and reports of relevance to schools working to improve provision for more able learners, click here.

Tired of collecting, recording, testing and reporting? Ahead of her upcoming workshop "Using data to inform learning and secure high achievement", NACE associate Dr Ann McCarthy shares five ways to ensure your use of data is much more than just a tick-box exercise…

Historically many schools have had reputations for collecting silos of data, which had no apparent use. Criticisms have included the fact that demands have been made for teachers to collect and record data, with only a fraction of that information being used to report on overall school effectiveness. Concerns about teachers’ workload have led to questions about the quantity and relevance of testing, marking, data recording and reporting activities.

However, most schools now understand that there is a place for data – as long as it is meaningful, targeted, and leads to positive actions in support of effective teaching and learning. Here are five ways to make use of data to improve provision for more able learners…

1. Focus on the individual.

All activities related to data collection should focus on the individual. Often we have a particular perception about what counts as “data”, but in fact all information collected in relation to any individual can be classified as data – whether this is qualitative or quantitative. Data collection should focus on supporting the creation of a learning environment in which individuals are able to demonstrate their learning, share what they know and can do, and have opportunities to take their learning forward. Teachers need to know what information and support learners require to achieve this. More able learners will then grow in skills and experience, take risks, extend their learning and take control.

2. Empower learners through data-sharing.

Teachers should share relevant data and information with learners, including the planned success criteria and measures – empowering learners to take control of their own learning. Collaboratively, teachers and learners should assess progress, taking steps to accelerate learning or overcome barriers to help learners understand and develop the knowledge and skills they need to be successful and move forward as expert learners.

3. Draw on data to enhance classroom practice.

Teachers need information to be effective. They need to know what learners already know and can do, and the body of knowledge needed by learners to flourish in the future. This is supported by a strategic understanding of the curriculum and age-related expectations, as well as the ability to plan for the development of subject-specific knowledge and critical enquiry. Classroom practice is enhanced when teachers and leaders work together with the available data to develop consistently high-quality classroom provision, which remains focused on learners as individuals.

4. Share data to support professional development.

A challenge for teachers is to interpret subject-specific criteria and provide the best possible learning opportunities which will extend more able learners. Through the use of challenging and explicit learning objectives, teachers are better equipped to measure the impact of their work and refine their practice. Teachers should be given opportunities to develop their own subject knowledge so they have the confidence to deliver an aspirational curriculum. Through the use of high-quality shared and transparent data everyone can work together, provide collaborative support and raise expectations of what can be achieved. Through a shared ambition and supportive culture, data can be used effectively and constructively to improve professional practice.

5. Track data to promote raised expectations.

The performance of both individuals and groups of learners should be analysed and understood in order to ensure effective provision and support for continued challenge and growth. Data can be used to track the progress of individuals, groups and classes so that early action is taken to support teachers and learners. Excellent teaching should also be promoted and acknowledged. Through a focus on the routine use of data to inform the impact of teaching on each individual learner, expectations will rise and overall school outcomes will improve year on year. Through raised expectations there is clarity about what the school does well and must still achieve, precision in the activities that follow and rigour in the way this is undertaken.

Dr Ann McCarthy has been a NACE associate since 2017, with a focus on developing the charity’s more able school review work, guidance on the use of data to support more able provision, and action research programme. She is currently Improvement Director for a multi-academy trust, and has extensive experience in coaching, training and consultancy, as well as teaching and leadership roles in both primary and secondary schools.

Find out more…

The NACE Essentials guide to using data to improve provision for more able learners is now available via the members’ area of our website. Log in to access your free copy, or join NACE to access all member benefits and resources.

Whole-school leadership

Within the classroom

Beyond the classroom

The Gold Programme was established for Year 9 students in 2012, aiming to:

• Give students every opportunity to broaden their intellectual experience well in advance of applying for university;
• Expose them to discussions and thinking beyond GCSE;
• Introduce them to universities, courses, and university alumni;
• Model a passion for learning and intellectual rigour.

In 2013, following our reaccreditation with the NACE Challenge Award, the NACE report recommended that Maiden Erlegh School should “create opportunities for younger [more able] students to work together as a group in the way that older students do through the Gold Programme”. In 2014, the school launched the KS3 Gold Programme, which has now evolved into the Silver Programme. This programme aims to:

• Provide students with the opportunity be stretched and challenged beyond the classroom;
• Help them become independent, higher-order learners;
• Celebrate their academic ability.
  

Students and parents are invited to a launch event at the beginning of Year 7 (Silver Programme) and Year 9 (Gold Programme). They are invited to join the programme if they are interested in the events that will be run throughout the year. Participation is not compulsory; the emphasis is on the student to engage with the opportunities provided. Each student is given a badge to wear on their blazer if they are a member of the Silver or Gold Programme.

The Gold and Silver Programmes offer a selection of sessions run voluntarily by staff after school, including:

• Studying… grade 9 skills which are subject-specific and include debating, critical essay writing, questioning
• Introducing… Latin, Greek, Italian, Chinese
• Exploring… psychology, criminology, philosophy, scene of crime officer (SOCO)
• Informing… medicine, Oxbridge, careers, developing resilience and using failure
• Thinking… “Gender neutrality: the way forward or PC gone mad?”; “Will we get a white Christmas?”; “The Lightning Process”; “The Palestinian Israeli conflict”; “Siege of Kenilworth Castle 1215”; “The Economics of Brexit”
• Reflecting… “If only I’d known then…”
• Visiting… Reading University, Thales, Tech Deck, STEM challenge days, Cambridge University

What has been the impact?

Learning walks and lesson observations indicate that there has been a noticeable shift in the pedagogy being used. Staff ensure students have enough time to think, question and explore ideas. At every data collection point, the more able data is analysed separately and included in the self-evaluation form for governors, senior leadership and teaching staff to evaluate. From this data it is clear that over 90% of the more able Year 7 students are making at least good or expected progress, or are now above national or well above national levels. KS4 and KS5 results analysis has also shown that students involved with the Gold Programme have performed well.

How is your school developing provision and support for more able learners? Contact us to share your story.