Achievement for All

Achievement for AllECAS Meeting

Friday 17th June 2011

Background The Achievement for All (AfA) project

aimed to improve the outcomes of all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The two year project took place in over 400 schools, starting in September 2009.

It was a project designed to enable schools and local authorities to reflect on existing strategies that are effective for children and young people with SEND and provide the capacity to strengthen provision in areas which will impact on this group of learners.

Background 2 year innovative action research

pilot project with 10 LAs and 460 schools

Commitment from Children’s Plan - £31m funding

Target groups Y1, Y5, Y7, Y10 Builds on good practice - MGP, AfL,

APP, QFT and Personalised Learning

Enable schools and LAs to reflect on existing strategies that are effective and provide capacity to strengthen provision

The case for changeThe current system is failing too many

children The achievement gap between 20% of

pupils with SEN and disabilities and those without is wide at each key stage and is not closing.

Moral purpose – too many children are not fulfilling their potential and are unhappy at school

Lamb Inquiry – exposed failures in the system, parents’ frustrations, focus on processes rather than outcomes

Ofsted’s findings in ‘A Statement is Not Enough’

SEN Green Paper recognises and builds on all of this – system will change.

AfA Project outlineThe Achievement for All project took a whole school approach to school improvement. It focused on improving teaching and learning for all children and young people.

The main aims of the Achievement for All project were to: 1) improve the aspirations, progress and

achievement of all children and young people;

2) improve engagement with parents;3) improve wider outcomes for children and

families.

Three strands of the project

Strand one: The use of Assessing Pupil Progress (APP) to track pupils’ progress, the setting of curriculum targets and implementation of appropriate interventions.

Strand two: The use of a clear framework for developing an open, ongoing dialogue with parents about their child’s learning.

Strand three: Development of key actions to support children and young people with SEND to make progress in one or two of the following areas; attendance, behaviour, bullying, developing positive relationships and increasing participation.

The three A model

3 CIRCLES OF INCLUSION:• Overcoming barriers• Providing suitable

learning challenges• Using a range of

teaching styles

Impact & outcomes of the project

AfA pupils in Y5 and Y10 made significantly better progress in English and Maths than pupils with and without SEN nationally in the first year (University of Manchester 2011) 90% of AfA schools achieved average gains

of 2 sub levels, primary ( reading, writing and maths) secondary ( English and Maths) in the first 2 terms.

The averages mask some exceptional progress. In one LA over 45% of Y10s, made at least 3 sub level gains in English and 36% in Maths in 4 terms. 18% made at least 6 sub level gains in English and 15 % in Maths in the same period.

Impact & outcomes of the project

The structured conversation continues to be one of the resounding successes of AfA for schools and parents alike.

One school said “it has been the most powerful part of the project” and “an absolute roaring success”.

Huge cultural shift in parental engagement and, for some, the first time a genuine partnership between home and school.

Parents feel more included and empowered. Change in dynamic of the contact with parents –

no longer a conversation about being in trouble but uses termly data on achievement to focus on learning

% of schools saying they have an excellent relationship with parents has grown from 12% to 46% in first year of project.

Impact & outcomes of the project

Our qualitative data collected from key strategic figures suggested that AfA: is developing thinking about what we mean

by SEND is promoting ‘joined up’ provision for children

with SEND can be used as a tool to build upon and

improve existing practice and other initiatives is promoting communication and sharing of

ideas and practice between schools is raising aspirations and expectations for

children with SEND (Achievement for All Evaluation: Interim Report May 2011,

Professor Neil Humphrey & Dr Garry Squires)

Impact & outcomes of the project

Our qualitative data collected during initial case study school visits suggested that: Strand 1 (assessment, tracking and intervention) is

helping schools to make better use of data to improve outcomes for children with SEND

Strand 2 (structured conversations with parents) is having a very positive impact on parental engagement and confidence

Strand 3 (provision for wider outcomes) is promoting flexibility and creativity in school practice

key facilitators of effective implementation include strong leadership and assimilating AfA into existing structures and practices rather than seeing it as a ‘bolt on’

(Achievement for All Evaluation: Interim Report May 2011,Professor Neil Humphrey & Dr Garry Squires)

AfA within the current educational context Increased emphasis on progress for

all, rather than solely emphasising headline figures,

Continuing importance of the Narrowing the Gaps (NtG) agenda

SEN green paperProposed changes to the Ofsted

guidelines Introduction of the Pupil Premium

RBWM plans for AfAAfA in RBWM will be closely aligned

with the coherent CPD programme that’s offered to schools and settings.

AfA project has been planned as part of the CPD offer.

In addition, schools can buy in bespoke in-school AfA support, as part of the SLA.

Parallel to this is the cross-phase Assessment at the Heart of Learning project, aimed at supporting assessment in foundation subjects.

AfA project