Brighton & Hove City Council
Brighton and Hove Local Authority (LA) have high aspirations for every pupil in the city because this is directly linked to better life outcomes. We are proud that attainment is high and a large percentage of our schools have been judged good or better by Ofsted. However, we need to redouble our efforts to support and champion pupils who are disadvantaged, ensuring that we are listening to them.
These pupils are not achieving in line with the national average on most measures despite our long-term commitment and targeted support. This is a city-wide issue, however, there are particular communities where poverty consistently has a greater impact on educational outcomes. Research has confirmed the detrimental influence of Covid 19 on educational outcomes for those that are disadvantaged (see Appendix 2). In addition, the percentage of pupils who are classed as disadvantaged, has grown by 3.6% between 2020 and 2021 in our city.
Now is the time to rethink how our local authority and schools address this issue ensuring that we build on our successes. We are determined that every pupil in our city who is disadvantaged is encouraged and supported to achieve their academic potential and will leave school or college with a positive relationship with education. We are committed to ensuring that the attainment of disadvantaged pupils is in line with and then exceeds national average.
Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils is complex because poverty is so multifaceted. This Education Strategy will form part of a broader Strategy addressing disadvantage which the LA is developing over the next year (See Appendix 4).
This plan runs from 2022 to 2026 and focusses on education from age 4-19. It builds on significant work that has been undertaken in the city including the development of a Toolkit and Pupil Premium reviews. The plan, informed by evidence based research, is centred around six themes each with an objective and associated actions. These themes are:
The strategy will bring about the collective action of both the LA and all schools via the Brighton and Hove Education Partnership (B&HEP) to improve educational outcomes for our disadvantaged pupils. These themes will be used in all providers Development Plans. A subgroup of the Board for B&HEP will be set up to ensure leads are held accountable for the meeting of the objectives.
Pupils are defined as disadvantaged by the Department of Education if recorded as eligible for free school meals (FSM) or have been in the last six years, looked after children, or those who have been previously looked after by the state but are now adopted or are subject to a special guardianship order, a ‘child arrangements’ order or a ‘residence order’, and children with parents in the armed forces. State-funded schools receive Pupil Premium funding to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.
To enable impact of the plan to be measured we will use this definition. However, we acknowledge that the Government’s definition of disadvantage does not capture all pupils who may be classed as experiencing vulnerability and may be disadvantaged in another sense. This definition can therefore be broadened by individual schools to meet individual circumstances. These pupils will benefit from this plan.
See linked strategies at Appendix 4.
This plan sits within a wider disadvantaged strategy under development (see Appendix 4 diagram). It should be noted that this Plan dovetails with and enriches work already undertaken by the LA run Virtual School for Children in Care and Previously Looked After Children, Ethnic Minority Achievement Service, Early Years’ Service. Their work addresses disadvantage in specific cohorts alongside Brighton and Hove Inclusion Support Service who lead on a variety of work including Attachment Awareness Training. The Virtual School in particular has a specific education process; directly supports with pupils and holds pupil premium funding. The work of the Virtual School will not therefore be replicated in this document.
We acknowledge that various School Partnerships; parts of the LA; or phases of education such as post 16 or post 18 may need to develop plans in a response to this strategy.
There were 31,884 pupils on roll at state-funded schools within Brighton and Hove in January 2021. Of these, 6,434 school age children were registered for free school meals (FSM). This is an increase of 1,062 pupils since January 2020 and is due to a significant number of first time FSM claims and eligibility, as a result of Covid-19. This represents 21.2% of school age children registered from FSM in January 2021 compared to 17.6% in January 2020.
Table 1 shows that in 2019 on most educational measures disadvantaged pupils do not do as well as non-disadvantaged pupils except for KS2 writing. When compared to other LAs we are mainly above average on measures for non-disadvantaged pupils but below average for disadvantaged pupils. We performed poorly on measures such as the foundation stage profile (EYFSP) and phonics completed by 5 and 6 year old pupils who are just starting their educational journey.
Table 2 indicates that there is significant difference in Attainment by the end of secondary school depending on where pupils live in the City. Pupils do less well in the parts of the city centre such as North Laine and The Lanes, areas in the north west of the city such as Mile Oak and Hangleton, and eastern areas of the city such as Coldean, Moulsecoomb, Bevendean, Woodingdean and Whitehawk.
This uses Middle Super Output Area (MSOA) which are used for reporting statistics nationally and are designed to have a minimum population of 5,000 and the average of 7,200. There are 33 MSOA in the city and show geographical variation at an appropriate level of detail for this strategy.
The minimum score for these areas in Brighton & Hove was 28. This was used as the lowest score of the colour scale (red). The national score for Disadvantaged pupils of 37 was used as the middle score of the colour scale (amber). The national non- disadvantaged pupils score of 51 was used as the highest score of the colour scale (green).
Names for areas with the lowest average attainment in the city have been indicated.
Our existing approach has centred around a variety of initiatives listed below with impact information. This approach pre pandemic led to some successes but there is clearly much more to do.
Outcomes including 100% of secondary schools becoming Ofsted Good in 2019 which directly impacts supporting educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
180 children improved reading age by an average of 18 months in 2017/18.
Schools involved in Maths Mastery project improved progress for disadvantaged from -3.73 (2017) to -1.57 (2019).
We have used evidence-based research to identify six key themes which affect the attainment and progress gap. These are not stand-alone, but provide a framework for holistically addressing the outcomes of pupils who are disadvantaged. Nor are they new themes; there has already been much work undertaken by schools in our City in relation to each of them. These themes allow for our LA and schools to address both existing inequalities and issues caused by the pandemic. Rationale and research informing choice of themes can be found at Appendix 3. There will be an LA lead for each theme who collaborates with primary and secondary school Heads, other partners and seeks out pupil voice. These Leads will be accountable to the Board of the B&HEP.
These themes are:
We acknowledge that as circumstances, particularly around Covid, are evolving our approach will need to be flexible. We also recognise the need for school leaders and teachers to collaborate within and across schools and to allow time for reflection on the learning from the pandemic. Therefore, we have set a clear objective under each theme which will remain constant. The actions connected to each objective will be reviewed and updated by the Theme Leads in consultation with schools and informed by current research, in order to meet the objective. The Initial Plan with objectives and actions can be found below. In addition, geographical data on disadvantage will be considered to prioritise resource.
Wise spending of the Pupil and Catch Up Premium as determined by school leaders across these themes on a small number of evidence-based programmes and interventions will help disadvantaged pupils reach their full academic potential. The City will have opportunities such as National Programmes addressing educational disadvantage which we will utilise to complement our approach. In addition, schools will be able to access the Government funded Catch-Up Premium. It may also be the case that funding will need to be identified to lead and coordinate this strategy and fund specific projects and initiatives.
A Disadvantaged Strategy Steering Group will meet termly. This steering group will consist of LA Leads for each theme and 3 Headteachers who will meet twice yearly to monitor the progress of the Plan. This group’s chair will report annually to B&HEP in the Autumn Term and will include an updated Score Card (see Appendix 1). A similar paper that includes data will be presented each March alongside the standards report.
We will use data as detailed on the Score Card to monitor e.g.
We will use reports from groups
All themes will have a partner headteacher to co-lead each theme.
Objective: To ensure a rigorous and unstinting focus on disadvantage so that 95% of schools are good and better in Ofsted and all schools and providers are committed to supporting the whole City to improve outcomes for disadvantage.
Actions:
Objective: Ensure training and practice encourages a relentless focus on Quality First Teaching so that 95% of schools are Good or better and we are in the top 50% of rankings for all progress measures when compared to other LAs on disadvantaged measures.
Actions:
Objective: Ensure appropriate interventions are in place across the City so that we are in the top 25% of rankings for all progress measures when compared to other LAs on disadvantaged measures.
Actions:
Head of Service - Integrated Team for Families, Youth & Parenting, Families, Children and Learning (Pupil Voice)
Objective: Work to ensure children and their families are well supported at school and feel that they can engage in their education so that we see overall SAWS data averages at pre Covid levels
Actions:
Objective: Further improve and extend a city-wide language and literacy strategy to improve language skills amongst disadvantaged groups and encourage avid reading for pupils so that we are consistently within top 25% for Phonics, KS2 reading progress and KS4 English on disadvantaged measures.
Actions:
Objective: Revise the council’s practice in providing challenge and support to schools, Trusts and Dioceses regarding the attendance and exclusions of disadvantaged pupils. Seek to ensure the city’s attendance and exclusion statistics are within the top 50% of Local Authorities on disadvantaged measures. Ensuring that pupils have the opportunity to engage in learning.
Actions:
This card is based on data produced in Autumn 2019 for disadvantaged pupils only.
National data shows that the closing of this ‘disadvantaged gap’ had stalled even before the event of Covid 19 (Education Policy Institute, 2020). A briefing published by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (2020) identifies some key characteristics which pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds may be subject to more acutely as a result of the pandemic. They include insufficient, inadequate or insecure space for children to learn and lack of access to the internet and / or devices needed for remote learning. In addition, the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 upon BAME people and communities has and will continue to have significant negative impact on BAME pupils (National Foundation for Educational Research, 2020). The NFER report also highlights other issues such as the ongoing attendance issues of disadvantaged pupils, lack of engagement with home learning and the lower quality of teaching due to issues such as social distancing and lack of usual resources.
The impact on learning of the Covid 19 Pandemic which has led to the suspension of most formal assessment has yet to be fully understood. However, early reports conducted in primary phase suggest that attainment has fallen across all subjects and year groups and this is a trend which is mirrored globally (Educational Endowment Fund, 2020). For example, the DfE Interim Report (2021) found that there had been a learning loss in reading in primary schools from the first lockdown alone of in the region of 1.7-2.0 months. It also noted that schools which have higher levels of pupils who are disadvantaged suffered higher levels of learning loss especially in secondary phase.
The LA has worked alongside schools to address the issues within the remit where we can affect change during the pandemic. For instance, 6566 laptops were delivered to disadvantaged pupils across the Authority. Further examples can be found in the Authority’s Children, Young People and Skills Committee Report, dated 8 March 2021. In addition, this reactive response was complemented by the proactive measures addressing disadvantage we already have in place across our schools such as Every Child a Reader.
The EEF’s (2020) review of remote learning emphasises the importance of teaching quality and strong partnership working. CPD and shared practice from the South Coast Teaching Alliance with LA schools has shown the quality of online teaching has improved over the pandemic. The use of digital technology in professional learning conversations is evident as is increased engagement of parents/carers of disadvantaged pupils with access to laptops. Many multi-agency meetings focusing on individual children and families have been easier to organise and often better attended. Schools report that both parents and teachers welcome the many advantages of virtual learning and meetings.
The link between leadership in schools and outcomes for disadvantaged pupils is well established (National College for Leadership of Schools and Colleges (2010), DfE 2015). Research by the DfE in association with Centre for Education & Youth (2018), states that high performing schools are more likely to have a culture where pupils are encouraged to be ambitious and aspirations are high for all and well communicated to staff, pupils and parents alike; where staff share a common purpose in supporting their disadvantaged pupils; where success is celebrated. These factors feed into Brighton and Hove’s vision for disadvantaged pupils and are directly linked to how leaders create the culture of their schools.
High Quality teaching, whether it be in class or remote, is of essential importance to improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils especially for those pupils with fewer external opportunities for quality instruction or experiences. This is corroborated by the EEF (2020) who endorse a range of strategies including explicit teaching, high quality instruction, scaffolding, cognitive and metacognitive strategies and flexible AFL grouping most relevant to helping children during 2021 and beyond and ensuring sustained impact. Quality First Teaching also incorporates effective assessment for learning which should be a top priority in order to ascertain gaps and map where pupils currently are following school closure and periods of absence. This then links into the ability to prescribe targeted academic support.
This theme links directly into leadership and governance given that teachers can only provide quality teaching if they are properly trained and prepared. Training and CPD in schools which is focused on QFT improves the quality of teaching overall for all pupils and underpins an ethos of progress and current research. It also links to the implementation of wider pastoral strategies because teachers can incorporate social and emotional learning within their delivery and are often best able to assess a pupil’s wellbeing and need within the classroom environment.
Pupils who are disadvantaged are less likely to have access to targeted academic support despite the fact that carefully selected interventions such as small group work which is structured, short and consistent can help support academic achievement (EEF, 2020). It is recognised that access to tutoring is often limited to the schools and parents that can most afford it further highlighting the inequality arising from Covid 19 disruption for disadvantaged pupils. Whilst Quality First Teaching is of the utmost importance, supplementing this with targeted academic support for some pupils has been shown to be effective. In addition, the realities of the loss in learning resultant from the pandemic will also require greater targeted academic interventions in some situations.
The Government has funded a National Tutoring Programme delivered by EEF which has been specifically designed to reach England’s most disadvantaged children for additional, targeted support. We are keen that children and young people in the City can access significant support from this programme. EEF (2020) highlight that schools should ensure that they direct the tutoring process so that it is relevant to the pupils needs and curriculum. The need for effective communication and feedback between tutor, teacher and pupil is of great importance to effectiveness. In addition, the EEF (2020) suggest that the use of teaching assistants to complement and supplement the teacher in order to provide academic support can be effective when well managed and defined.
The Education Policy Institute (2018) state that ‘…given that the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills necessary to succeed at school are primarily a result of parental cultivation and investment from birth onward, facilitated by the resources to which families have access, assessment scores in large part reflect family socio-economic position.’
The pandemic has heightened the inequalities experienced due to school closures and remote learning due to issues in connectivity, access to devices, physical and learning appropriate space and differing parental participation in remote learning, for example (Office of the Children’s Commissioner, 2020). In addition, the effect on physical and mental health and wellbeing has had a greater impact on those who were already disadvantaged (Mental Health Foundation, 2020).
Evidence shows that wider strategies to support attainment can have impact, for example, the link between providing breakfast and academic achievement (Adolphus, Lawton, Dye, 2013). EEF (2020) also highlight the importance of interweaving social and emotional learning into the curriculum as a way of supporting wellbeing and finding ways to develop and enhance parental engagement. However, it is recognised that ‘[…] factors beyond the school gates and in the communities where pupils live can have a detrimental impact on their achievement. Schools can do much to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils but only so much’ (Ofsted, 2014).
Pre-pandemic evidence from the NFER (2019) showed that ‘On average, the association between being absent from school and KS4 outcomes is worse for disadvantaged pupils than their more affluent peers.’
School closures, burst bubbles, shielding, mental health issues and isolation as a result of the pandemic have impacted upon the attendance of and therefore the attainment of disadvantaged pupils significantly. The current instability of the situation means that a standardised approach to absenteeism is not appropriate. Research by NFER on behalf of the DfE (2015) suggests ‘…that disadvantaged pupils are a diverse group of young people who are likely to benefit from personalised and targeted intervention rather than purely universal approaches to support.’.
Literacy skills are interwoven into outcomes across all subjects and aspects of life. Language influences a child’s ability to express feelings and emotions and develop relationships (Public Health England, 2020) which directly links into the theme of pastoral support and pupil voice. An EEF report (2017) stated that ‘…researchers found that the strongest factor affecting pupils’ science scores is how well they understand written texts’ which influences the theme of quality first teaching and targeted academic support. In our own Authority, 65% of pupils who defined by the DfE as disadvantaged achieved age related expectation in KS2 in reading as opposed to 85% of their peers in 2019. The pandemic will further impact literacy skills. The DfE Interim Report (2021) found that there had been a learning loss in reading in primary schools from the first lockdown alone of in the region of 1.7-2.0 months. It also noted that schools which have higher levels of pupils who are disadvantaged suffered higher levels of learning loss especially in secondary phase.
Evidence Summaries compiled by the Education Endowment Fund (2021) show that strategies connected to low cost literacy interventions such as phonics, reading comprehension and oral language interventions have moderate to high impact. Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) is a high-quality, evidence-based, 20-week intervention designed to improve the language skills of reception age pupils. It involves scripted individual and small group language teaching sessions, delivered by trained school staff, usually teaching assistants. Several EEF (2020) trials have found that NELI improves both children’s oral language and early literacy skills. A recent trial of the programme found that children made on average three months of additional progress compared to children in the comparison group.
The impact of disadvantage starts early. “Disparities in early language and communication development relating to social deprivation are recognisable in the second year of life; they have a negative impact on children’s development by the time they start school, in terms of literacy development, as well as social, emotional and behavioural development”. The Early Years Strategy covers pre-birth up to age four when children start their reception year in school. The aim of the Strategy is to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children in child development and school readiness. The strategy is being updated to further develop an integrated approach to speech, language and communication in the early years starting in pregnancy.
There is a significant link with this strategy as many disadvantaged pupils are SEN, for instance, 59% of children in the City’s Special Schools are disadvantaged. The Special Educational Needs Strategy 2021-2026 is being adapted in light of the impacts of the pandemic. It has already started to improve outcomes for SEND.
We are developing the Anti Racist School’s Strategy and have secured funding of £100, 000 per year for five years to support it.
Priorities in the City Employment and Skills Recovery Plan have core values including ‘no-one left behind’ and supporting ‘learn to earn’ transition and contain specific actions to support disadvantaged students and young people.
The Ethnic Minority Achievement Service can support schools to understand the impact of Covid-19 on their EAL cohort of pupils’ individual acquisition of English and adapt teaching and learning methods to provide relevant intervention for progress with this via training, teaching and bilingual assistant support.
There is a city wide commitment to improving outcomes for the most disadvantaged families and children which will be addressed in an overarching disadvantaged strategy. Funding of £25,000 has been allocated to support the development of this strategy. It is anticipated there will be a draft strategy available for full consultation in Spring 2022. This strategy will support the LA’s overarching Strategy addressing disadvantage.
There are multiple factors creating and compounding issues of disadvantage for children, young people, and families. These often result in poorer educational, health and skills outcomes. There is national evidence that helping families as early as possible and providing the right support at the right time can stop problems getting worse and help families lead happier and healthier lives. The longer-term impact of Covid for families and communities is likely to be significant, particularly in relation to factors known to increase disadvantage. The LA is leading a multi-agency development programme on early help with the aim of improving the coordination of services to improve the outcomes of disadvantaged families. The early help development programme and the overarching disadvantage strategy are closely linked and will be developed simultaneously.
There will also be clear links to the work of social care for some disadvantaged families.
The list below demonstrates the range of areas the citywide overarching strategy will likely cover, including educational disadvantage:
The diagram demonstrates that the LA are also developing a much wider strategy that the Education Disadvantaged Strategy will fit within. The wider strategy currently consists of 7 parts. Education Disadvantage Strategy links to a range of strategies and plans in place or under development.
This shows that in 2019 on most educational measures disadvantaged pupils do not do as well as non disadvantaged pupils with the exception of KS2 writing. When compared to other LAs we are mainly above average on measures for non disadvantaged pupils but below average for disadvantaged pupils. We performed poorly on measures such as the foundation stage profile (FSP) and phonics (PHO) completed by 5 and 6 year old pupils who are just starting their educational journey.
EYFSP is Early Year Foundation Stage Profile (Reception). Phonics (National Curriculum Year 1), KS1 is Key Stage 1 (National Curriculum Year 2), KS2 is Key Stage 2 (National Curriculum Year 6), KS4 is Key Stage 4 (National Curriculum Year 11). There typically 150 Local Authorities with data, occasionally this is 149. Ranks are reversed so 1 refers to the highest scoring local authority and 150 the lowest scoring. When ranking is occasionally tied then the middle rank between the preceding and following rank(s) is used. Lowest refers to the bottom quarter of local authorities, highest refers to the top quarter of local authorities. In the middle half of local authorities scores are often close to each other and so ranking has less meaning here.
In 2020, 25% of all school-aged pupils were disadvantaged. 25% of all BAME pupils were disadvantaged, 43% of pupils with SEN Support, 23% of EAL pupils and 51% of pupils with an EHCP.