Click here to read in English.

Nid yw mynd i’r afael â materion sy’n effeithio ar blant a phobl ifanc, fel bwlio, gordewdra a thlodi, yn hawdd i athrawon. Yn yr ysgol, profiadau bob dydd disgyblion sy’n cael yr effaith fwyaf – p’un a ydynt yn gadarnhaol neu’n negyddol – ar eu hiechyd a’u llesiant. Mewn adroddiad newydd, mae Estyn yn amlygu pwysigrwydd rhoi negeseuon cadarnhaol yn gyson ar draws pob agwedd ar fywyd ysgol.

Mae llesiant disgyblion bob amser wedi bod yn faes sy’n ganolog i’n harolygiadau. Ac, wrth i ysgolion ddatblygu’u meysydd dysgu a phrofiad yn barod ar gyfer y cwricwlwm newydd, bydd y ffocws ar lesiant yn gryfach fyth. Mae’r cwricwlwm newydd yn cydnabod bod iechyd a llesiant corfforol, meddyliol ac emosiynol da yn sylfaen i ddysgu llwyddiannus.

Mae ein hadroddiad yn dwyn ynghyd wybodaeth o amrywiaeth o ffynonellau gwahanol, gan olygu bod ambell ran enbyd ynghylch profiadau disgyblion eu hunain, gan gynnwys ysmygu, yfed ac iechyd rhyw.

Darganfuom fod negeseuon am iechyd a llesiant mewn gwersi, gwasanaethau ac mewn polisïau yn yr ysgolion gorau yn gyson â phrofiad bob dydd disgyblion.

Lle i gymdeithasu, diwylliant anogol, cyfleoedd pleserus i fod yn weithgar yn gorfforol, gofal bugeiliol amserol a gwaith cadarnhaol gyda rhieni, dyma rai o’r dulliau sydd, o’u cyfuno, yn cynorthwyo disgyblion i fod yn unigolion iach a hyderus, yn barod i fyw bywyd boddhaus.

Mae diwylliant anogol, lle y mae perthnasoedd cadarnhaol yn galluogi disgyblion i ffynnu, yn hanfodol i gryfhau iechyd a llesiant pobl ifanc. Ni ddylid tanamcangyfrif y pethau bach y mae athrawon da yn eu gwneud, fel gwenu a chyfarch disgyblion yn ôl enw ar ddechrau’r diwrnod neu wers unigol. Maent yn helpu disgyblion i deimlo’u bod yn cael eu gwerthfawrogi ac yn annog meddylfryd cadarnhaol.

Ystyriwch p’un a yw dull eich ysgol yn gyson ar draws bob agwedd ar ei gwaith. A oes gan yr ysgol:

• Bolisïau ac arferion sy’n sicrhau bod disgyblion yn gwneud cynnydd da yn eu dysgu?
• Arweinwyr sy’n ‘gwneud y dweud’ ynghylch cefnogi iechyd a llesiant disgyblion?
• Diwylliant anogol, lle y mae perthnasoedd cadarnhaol yn galluogi disgyblion i ffynnu?
• Cymuned ac ethos cynhwysol?
• Gwybodaeth fanwl am iechyd a llesiant disgyblion sy’n dylanwadu ar bolisïau a chamau gweithredu?
• Amgylchedd a chyfleusterau sy’n hybu iechyd a llesiant da, fel lle i chwarae, cymdeithasu ac ymlacio amser egwyl?
• Cwricwlwm eang a chytbwys, sy’n cynnwys profiadau dysgu unigol, yn seiliedig ar dystiolaeth, sy’n hybu iechyd a llesiant?
• Gofal bugeiliol cefnogol ac ymyriadau targedig i ddisgyblion sydd angen cymorth ychwanegol?
• Cysylltiadau effeithiol ag asiantaethau allanol?
• Partneriaethau agos â rhieni a gofalwyr?
• Dysgu proffesiynol parhaus i’r holl staff, sy’n eu galluogi i gefnogi iechyd a llesiant disgyblion?

Mae arfer dda’n cael ei hamlygu drwy astudiaethau achos yn yr adroddiad. Mewn ysgolion uwchradd, yn benodol, nid yw profiad bob dydd disgyblion o iechyd a llesiant bob amser yn cyfateb i nodau sy’n cael eu datgan gan arweinwyr ysgol. Ond, fe wnaeth Ysgol Uwchradd y Dwyrain yng Nghaerdydd wella arweinyddiaeth yr ysgol yn llwyddiannus a chafodd hyn effaith gadarnhaol amlwg ar y diwylliant a’r gefnogaeth ar gyfer llesiant disgyblion. Mae ei diwylliant yn cydnabod bod pobl ifanc o hyd yn datblygu’n gorfforol, yn feddyliol ac yn emosiynol a bod gan athrawon gyfrifoldeb i fynd i’r afael ag anghenion datblygiadol y plentyn cyfan. Hefyd, mae’r ysgol yn nodi mai o ddealltwriaeth athro o’r ffordd y mae pobl ifanc yn dysgu y mae arbenigedd yr athro yn deillio, yn hytrach na dim ond ei wybodaeth bynciol.

Yn Ysgol Gynradd Gilwern, Sir Fynwy, mae ei hymagwedd at gefnogi disgyblion agored i niwed wedi helpu staff i ddeall yn well y rhesymau sydd wrth wraidd diffyg hunan-barch neu ymddygiad annymunol.

Mae iechyd a lles yn nodwedd bwysig o gyflawni pedwar diben y cwricwlwm newydd mewn ysgolion. Mae gan ysgolion gyfle nawr, yn fwy nag erioed, i gynnig buddion gydol oes i blant a phobl ifanc yng Nghymru.

Mae’r adroddiad llawn ar gael ar estyn.llyw.cymru ac mae’n argymell ffyrdd y gall ysgolion, awdurdodau lleol, consortia rhanbarthol, darparwyr addysg gychwynnol athrawon a’r llywodraeth wella iechyd a llesiant disgyblion. Gall athrawon ac arweinwyr ddefnyddio astudiaethau achos yr adroddiad i ysbrydoli newidiadau yn eu hysgolion eu hunain.

The NACE Challenge Award is far more than just a certificate or tick-box exercise, as Jamie Kisiel, Teaching and Learning Coordinator at NACE member Langley School explains…

Our decision to pursue accreditation with the NACE Challenge Award was originally generated from a surprising (to the school) target identified by the ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate). Our 2017 ISI report found that “more able pupils are not always sufficiently challenged to fulfil their academic potential”, generating a target to “ensure that all lessons provide sufficient challenge for more able pupils so that they are provided more opportunity to explore concepts and exploit their potential.”

The above was contrary to the school's efforts to increase rigour and challenge in the curriculum. So, following a review of strategic planning options, we decided that, although we had been working on challenge, we had not been doing enough to make a material impact. We decided to pursue the NACE Challenge Award, which would give us a framework to intrinsically address these targets as well as providing a wider vehicle for change.

1. Clear structure for school review and improvement

The NACE Challenge Framework provides a structure for schools seeking the NACE Challenge Award – but more importantly it offers a blueprint to build and drive challenge initiatives forward, developing a challenging academic environment for all. The Framework is categorised into six key elements which combine to ensure high-quality provision for more able learners, within the context of challenge for all. Through our focus on Element 3 (which relates to curriculum, teaching and support), a strategy to embed the Framework and develop a challenge initiative soon emerged.

2. Improve the quality of challenge for all learners

“A rising tide lifts all ships” – Joseph Renzulli.

Improving provision for the more able opens the doors of opportunity. The NACE Challenge Development Programme has given us a structure to introduce and maintain high-quality provision at whole-school, teaching and support levels. By emphasising challenge for all learners, including those with high abilities, a philosophy of enquiry and investigation can be nourished. A positive culture of learning continues to grow and develop, with opportunities to challenge mindset creating a more dynamic approach.

3. Challenge for staff, as well as students

The Challenge Framework requires that schools focus on developing challenge both for learners and for staff. This two-pronged approach helps to embed an ethos of challenge that permeates within and beyond the classroom. Staff are encouraged to become reflective practitioners and explore ways to professionally challenge themselves, whether it be through action research projects or coaching/mentoring programmes. This facilitates a symbiotic relationship where both students and staff work through the emotional struggles and triumphs by pushing personal boundaries, developing empathy in the process.

4. Develop in-school action research

The Challenge Framework provides a structured audit process that clearly identifies areas for improvement. Within these areas, schools can develop professional enquiries to address identified issues and investigate potential solutions and strategies for improvement. Regardless of size and scope, action research projects can provide practitioners with excellent opportunities for professional development that are tailored to an area of interest and bespoke to the school’s context and priorities. These investigations can be supported and shared through the NACE Research and Development Hubs – which offer regional-level guidance and support for practitioners conducting research with a focus on provision for more able learners.

5. Professional networking and peer support

Along the journey towards Challenge Award accreditation (and beyond), NACE offers a wide range of support, including formal training and INSET as well as opportunities to connect with peers. Free networking days such as the NACE member meetup I attended in Oxford last term have proved invaluable – offering a platform to generate and exchange ideas with likeminded practitioners, and an opportunity to establish contacts. These networks can then be used to create links across schools to benefit both students and staff. Many schools that have achieved the Challenge Award are very open to collaboration and support, whether through resources or observation days.

Find out more…

The NACE Challenge Award is an accreditation given to schools evidencing school-wide high-quality provision for more able learners, based on the detailed criteria of the NACE Challenge Framework. Both are part of the Challenge Development Programme, which also offers bespoke CPD and consultancy for schools seeking to improve their provision in this area. To find out more, click here or contact NACE to discuss available support and next steps for your school.

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.

This month the Fair Education Alliance (FEA), a coalition of almost 90 organisations spanning business, education and the third sector, has published its third annual State of the Nation Report Card. In this blog post, FEA director Lewis Iwu outlines key priorities for UK government and schools, to ensure all young people are supported to fulfil their potential, regardless of their starting point in life.

Since the release of our last report card, the FEA has more than doubled in size, and we are proud to have welcomed organisations such as NACE that are doing great work to ensure that all children receive a world-class education.

As an alliance, we have set five ambitious Fair Education Impact Goals which, if achieved by 2022, would mean significant progress towards closing the gap between the most disadvantaged young people and their wealthier peers. These five goals are:

• Narrow the gap in literacy and numeracy at primary school;
  
• Narrow the gap in GCSE attainment at secondary school;
  
• Ensure young people develop key strengths, including character, wellbeing and mental health, to support high aspirations;
  
• Narrow the gap in the proportion of young people taking part in further education or employment-based training after finishing their GCSEs;
  
• Narrow the gap in university graduation, including from the 25% most selective universities.
  

Accelerated progress needed to close the gap

The year’s report finds that since last year there has been marginal progress made towards closing the gap between disadvantaged young people and their wealthier counterparts. For example, the gap in literacy and numeracy at primary level has narrowed from 8.4 months to 8.2 months, while the GCSE achievement gap has decreased from 13.1 months to 12.8 months.

However, the gap in permanent and fixed period exclusions remains stubbornly wide, and the gap in university entry has increased for the first time since 2010. On the current trajectory, we will not achieve the five Fair Education Impact Goals by 2022.

Inequality in education is still deeply entrenched in our country and our Report Card is a stark reminder of the scale of the challenge. As the UK seeks to reposition itself in the world, it becomes more crucial than ever that our young people are able to fulfil their potential irrespective of their parental background.

Five priorities for schools and government

We know that educational inequality is a complex issue to tackle – too complex for one institution or organisation to solve alone. But we believe that by combining the passion, talent and ideas of educationalists, charities and businesses, we can offer a strong collective voice that creates a lasting impact on young people’s lives.

In response to the findings, the members of the FEA have worked together to identify five key priorities:

• School funding: A commitment from the government that national spending should not decrease in real terms on a per pupil basis.
  
• Destinations and careers: Every primary and secondary school in England should have a designated and trained senior leader responsible for developing and delivering a whole-school approach to destinations.
  
• Avoiding an expansion in selective education: The government should continue to resist calls to expand selective education in the future.
  
• Measurement of social and emotional competencies: A framework of measures should be available to all schools in the UK to support their knowledge of the social and emotional competencies of their students.
  
• Early years: The government should commit to ensuring that every group setting serving the 30% most deprived areas in England is led by an early years teacher or equivalent by 2020.
  

We’re extremely proud that the Fair Education Alliance has provided the platform for such a diverse range of organisations to come together and collaborate on this joint report and the recommendations that stem from it. You can read the full report here.

Lewis Iwu is the director of the Fair Education Alliance, leading the coalition of 86 organisations. He was previously a campaigns adviser at corporate advisory firm Brunswick, where he specialised in education and social policy.