This presentation aims to showcase the range of strategies that might be employed to close gaps in achievement and to improve the attendance of vulnerable groups.

1. Raising Achievement
and Narrowing Gaps

2. Discussion: Narrowing Gaps
•What are your challenges?
•One question that you would like to
be explored during this workshop.

3. Parliament Hill: Context
• 11- 18
• Girls’ comprehensive with an intake of 1261
• Pupils Eligible for Pupil Premium 60%
• 32% Eligible for free school meals. 45% in some year
groups
• 82% of students live in the 30% most deprived areas
nationally.
• 30% White British heritage
• 46% EAL students - 59 languages spoken
• 30% refugee asylum seekers
• 34% of students are Muslim
• 50 plus feeder primaries

4. Parli Girls & Parli Parents
Parli Girls:
• Strong ‘belongingness’, delight in
diversity, celebrate difference, champion
tolerance
• Kirkland Rowell Pupil Survey –
outstanding scores for community spirit
and racial harmony
• SSAT Diamond Award for Cultural
Diversity
Parli Parents:
• Multiple, disparate and fragmented
parental communities
• Different personal experiences of
education.
• Varied levels of confidence and
resources for supporting their daughters

5. The challenges for girls…
• ‘Working class girls often channeled into low
status and ‘feminine’ qualifications leading to
limited occupational opportunities.’ Dr Alice
Sullivan
• Relationships between girls and mothers becomes
one of mutual support rather than of parent
supporting their child
• Girls become carers, taking on responsibilities for
siblings and sometimes vulnerable parents
http://www.schoolsworld.tv/node/2042

6. The data
5 A*-C including ENGLISH & MATHS

7. The data
3 A*/A

8. Six Key Strands
Raising
achievement and
attainment
Raising Aspirations –
through quality
careers education
and work related
activity
Strengthening
Parental
Involvement
Providing additional
support and
intervention for the
most vulnerable
students
Building Social and
Cultural Capital
Improving
attendance

9. Raisingachievementand attainment and
improvingattendance
• Make it a moral imperative
• Rigorous tracking of progress – keep it high on every teacher’s
radar.
• Know your students: PEPP Profiles
• Learning Coaching
• One to One tuition
• Maximise Learning Coaches
• Bristol Pupil Incentive project
• Dfe Narrowing the Gap project
• Achievement for All

10. Raising achievement and attainment
and improving attendance
Learning & Teaching: the Sutton Trust Toolkit
• Class Size
• Literacy
• Collaborative Learning
• Assessment and Feedback
• Meta Learning/ Meta cognition – the PARLI
learner
• Growth mind set approaches to build
resilience
• Professional Development – outstanding
teachers narrow gaps
• Homework – an equality issue

11. An Outstanding Parli Learner

13. Raising achievement and attainment
and improving attendance
Improving Attendance
• Employment of EWO supported by an
attendance team
• Early Intervention
• Information sharing and multi professional
problem solving
• Building relationships with parents
• Sanctions and Rewards
• Going the extra mile………

14. Parli Parenting: A model to strive for!

16. Strengthening Parental
Engagement
• Transition arrangements – know your parents – engage and
intervene
• Be transparent and honest. Share your successes
• Personalise communication
• What does ‘engagement’ mean?
• Home School Liaison workers – find the right person integrate
them
• Parent Forum – how can we make it inclusive?
• Parent Support Evenings
• One to one support – building relationships and partnerships

17. Raising Aspirations
•Independent careers advisor
•Work experience coordinator
•Links with HE, employers and
businesses
•Undergraduate
mentors
•Morrisby profiling

18. Building Social & Cultural
Capital
• ‘Blossom’ – extra- curricular entitlement
• Subsidised visits
• Duke of Edinburgh
• School Council & Student Ambassadors
• Building Relationships – modelling
• Breakfast club

19. Providing additional support
and intervention
• Behaviour Team
• Kids Company
• Counsellors
• CAMHs
• Tracking through Social Inclusion
meetings
• Education plans
• Investment in reengagement
programmes

20. Case Studies

21. Student X
Context
• Living with father
• Drug addiction – both parents
• Father had serious mental health difficulties
• Identified in Year 7 as bright
• Attendance okay
• Difficult relationships with other girls
• Hooked into education
• Support from primary school
• Extended family support/ lived with Grandmother
• Younger siblings
• Hostel in Year 11
• Low resilience/ challenging/ low self esteem/ aggressive

22. What did we do?
• Identified in year 7 – at risk of under achievement and
exclusion
• Met with PACE group – older students advising
• Relationship with ATL – always attended CIN reviews.
• Positive school experiences – Poetry project
• Ensure that she went on trips/ extra curricular opportunities
• Positive relationship with home – dad
• Home school liaison worker
• Year 9 – Construction work experience
• Year 10 – BAM – gave her a mentor. Paid work experience
• Sharing information with staff
• Year 11 – Learning Coaching – above and beyond
• Met with Headteacher
• Intensive intervention from behaviour team
• Multi agency united front

23. Impact
• Became a positive role model for younger
students
• 8 GCSEs mostly B grades
• Started at LA SWAP sixth form……
• …..Ended up at Kingsway College studying
Construction
• Agencies worked highly effectively to support
her

24. Student Z
Context
• Only girl – youngest of 5
• Mother – Irish traveller; Father – Turkish
• Strong family attachments but not much extended support
• Family had negative perceptions of school; low self esteem
• Lives in close proximity to school
• Low attendance; poor punctuality
• Didn’t see herself as a learner
• Influenced negatively by peer group
• Challenging behaviour in school

25. What did we do?
• Designated key worker – set up a personalised plan
• Created a healthy relationship with family – informal and
formal meetings
• Shared positive as well as negative feedback
• Outreach calls in the morning
• One to one meetings in year 10
• In class support
• Lunch & break provision – an open door policy
• Reinforced the school behaviour system
• Supported her in developing behaviour management
strategies
• Rewards for out of hours learning

26. Impact
• Happier in school
• Self regulating
• 6% rise in attendance
• Punctuality has improved significantly
• Mother no longer colludes. Family supportive and attend Parent
Evenings
• She now aspires to achieve good GCSEs – Predicted B grades in Art &
Drama
• Improved predictions – a borderline student but not a failing student
• Attends out of hours revision sessions
• Achieved a ‘B’ in Business Studies
• Applied for a college place – determined to continue her education

27. Over to you………..
• What will students and/or colleagues see me
doing……..
….around school?
….to develop colleagues?
….in my classroom?
What will I be celebrating in 3 months time?
•Questions?