The attainment gap is one of the most insidious social injustices in the developed world, responsible for concreting the growing inequality of our societies. Schools everywhere are obliged to tackle it, if not officially by their national or local government, then morally. It is now seven years since the UK government expressed this obligation in policy form in the pupil premium grant, but despite this, and the reams of academic research conducted all around the world on the attainment gap, there is still a limited amount of practical guidance out there for school leaders on how to actually respond.
The path towards narrowing the attainment gap is not as simple as a ‘one size fits all,’ hard data-based solution. Every school leader has access to the mass of research, which offers explanations of what the attainment gap is and the contexts in which it commonly occurs, however in reality, much of this research is not often practically in-sync with individual schools. Solutions for each school need to be customised to that school and its community.
Over a series of three articles, I will be looking at what I believe are the fundamental approaches to closing the attainment gap. I will outline them here and develop them further throughout the articles, as well as touching on the context in our schools and the responsibility our institutions and we as teachers hold. The pieces are based on work I’ve done with over 1,000 schools and my book Narrowing the Attainment Gap, published earlier this year by Bloomsbury and launched at the House of Commons.
Three key areas
Firstly, a key area is that inclusion and the attainment gap are mostly to do with soft data. Hard data is useful for absolute measurement – that’s it. The route to success is through soft data: it tells us the real motivations and barriers for a student; it highlights the quality of engagement of the student in any lesson or intervention; and it guides the teacher to directly meet the specific needs of the student. A focus on soft data often entails a mental shift for school leaders who may be rooted in hard data, but through this shift a school can begin to best improve its inclusion approach.
Secondly, I believe the key issues to closing the achievement gap are time, money and attitudes. I believe that if implemented correctly, differentiation and personalised learning should ultimately save a teacher time and save the school scarce funds. Once teachers and senior leaders witness this, hearts and minds are won over, the whole system becomes efficient and wide reaching, and effective inclusion can begin. Good inclusion extends to reducing a school’s paperwork and improving meetings, something that may come as a surprise.
Finally, there are two fundamental challenges that underlie all inclusion issues. These are classroom teaching and whole-school systems. These are the key themes that crop up time and again in the schools I’ve visited. Outstanding teaching can halve a school’s attainment gap. It is vital to approach whole-school systems to focus on how to assess need, strategically deploy staff and resources, and evaluate and demonstrate impact. When these two themes are addressed together, and through planning that is bespoke to each school’s unique setting and context, the results are transformational.