Better Spring 2009

READING
Evidence in the news
Free school meals
Making Good Progress: One-to-one
tuition in English and maths
pilot scheme
The pilot scheme of a new initiative,
Making Good Progress, which offers
pupils falling behind in maths and English
one-to-one tuition, has received £15m
IN JANUARY the government announced a
two-year pilot scheme to test the impact
The pilots will help us to
in support from the government. The
grant has been awarded following the
of free school meals on the education and
discover whether offering free
publication of an interim report, which
health of children. This comes as part of
school meals has an impact on
evaluated the scheme in its ﬁ rst year. The
their signiﬁ cant investment in school food –
child health and obesity, behaviour
pilot also included greater ﬂ exibility in
over £650m between 2005 and 2011.
The £20m scheme will run in three local
and performance at school and
testing, with Single Level Tests for pupils
given individually when teachers felt each
authorities from September 2009 to July eating habits at home to be ready.
2011. In one of these areas eligibility for The interim report concluded many
free school meals will be extended, and in behaviour and performance at school and children involved in the ﬁ rst phase of the
two areas free meals will be available to eating habits at home. The pilots can help us pilot showed improvements in maths and
all primary children. Volunteers are also to have a better understanding of the value English, as well as in their conﬁ dence and
being sought to act as control groups, with for money of free school meals for all and attitude. Although much of the evidence
their current criteria for free school meals test whether we have the current rules for was qualitative, with conclusions based
remaining the same. Researchers will then free school meals eligibility right.” on the views of those involved, there was
be able to compare those schools that Intense debate has surrounded the also positive statistical evidence. Teacher
participated with those that did not. issue of school meals for some time. As assessment showed that a signiﬁ cantly
Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, such, increased evidence on the impact of higher proportion of pupils getting tuition
said: “The pilots will help us to discover providing free meals to more children will be progressed faster than pupils who did
whether offering free school meals has widely welcomed. not – in Key Stage 2 English reading and
an impact on child health and obesity, DCSF, January 2009 writing and mathematics and Key Stage 3
reading and writing.
National SEAL programme – little
However, not all aspects of the
programme were considered successful.
Single Level Tests at secondary level
evidence of success
will be abandoned due to a failure
to differentiate between abilities.
ENGLAND’S ﬂ agship social and emotional with many of the children involved reporting Furthermore, Heads cited issues arising
learning programme (SEAL) was introduced improvements in their own conduct. around recruiting tutors, workload
with the aim of improving pupils’ behaviour and However, the researchers did not ﬁ nd issues, and tutors and teachers working
attendance through small-group work. SEAL evidence of success when schemes were closer together.
is not only expected to show improvements formally evaluated, with little substantive In the next phase of the scheme,
in the classroom, but also at home. The impact at the school level and a failure for over 36,000 10- and 11-year-olds will
government commissioned researchers from any improvements in the classroom to be receive up to 10 hours of one-to-one
Manchester University to assess the impact transferred to the home. tuition in either subject during the
of the programme, which already runs in 80% Schools will soon be rated by Ofsted on Spring and Summer terms in 2009. The
of primary schools and is being introduced at wellbeing, and it is proposed that all pupils ﬁ nal conclusions will inform a proposed
secondary level. will have lessons in social and emotional national roll-out of the scheme.
The researchers assessed more than skills by 2011. Further research may be DCSF, December 2008
600 pupils, aged six to 11, as well as their needed to assess whether the existing
teachers and their parents. The government SEAL programme really offers what children
has said the programme is doing much to need.
tackle bullying and behavioural problems BBC News and University of Manchester,
and the anecdotal evidence was positive, December 2008
Research award for top academic
PROFESSOR ROBERT SLAVIN, Editor-in- considered “outstanding” by AERA.
Chief of Better, has been given the American It is also part of the Best Evidence
Educational Research Association (AERA) Encyclopaedia website (www.bestevidence.
annual “Review of Research” award. It was org.uk), which aims to provide fair and
given for an article he co-authored with useful information about the strength
Cynthia Lake, a colleague from his role at of evidence supporting a variety of
Johns Hopkins University in the US. The educational programmes. The award was
article, Effective Programs in Elementary presented at the AERA’s annual meeting
Mathematics: A Best Evidence Synthesis was in April.
24 Better: Evidence-based Education spring 2009
Better Spr09 pp24-25 News.indd 24 20/4/09 09:20:34
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