NEWS
Does supporting pupils to positively impact their classmates’ behaviour improve attendance? EEF & YEF launch new research projects to find out
year. The independent evaluators of this trial will find out if taking part in the programme improves attendance levels in participating schools, as well as reducing bullying and behavioural problems.
A new trial will find out if empowering well-connected pupils to positively impact their fellow pupils’ attitudes and behaviours can have an impact on attendance rates and bullying, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) have announced. Secondary schools in England can sign-up to take part in the randomised controlled trial of Grassroots, which will be delivered by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) and independently evaluated by researchers from UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society (IOE).
In the programme, BIT will select a ‘seed group’ of around 30 pupils in each school. Trained research assistants will work with the groups of pupils through fortnightly sessions. Together, they’ll identify how student interactions in their school could be improved, think about what they might do to encourage their peers to have positive interactions, and make sure their initiatives are visible to others, for example, through posters and social media content.
In a trial in schools in the USA, the Grassroots programme was found to reduce disciplinary events related to conflict and bullying by 25% over one
Grassroots is one of two new randomised controlled trials launched by the EEF and YEF to add to the evidence base of what works for improving attendance and reducing exclusions. One hundred secondary schools will take part in a trial of the Behavioural Insights Team’s BITUP programme, which sends personalised text messages to parents and carers to update them on the number of days of school their child has missed over the last half term. A smaller trial of BITUP boosted rates of good attendance by four percentage points.
Professor Becky Francis CBE, Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, said:
“We know that pupils who are persistently absent from school are less like to achieve well academically. Improving attendance is also a real and immediate priority for schools. But we just don’t know enough about the best ways to improve attendance. Teachers deserve a much clearer picture of how best to support their pupils who are persistently absent.
“Our new research projects with the Youth Endowment Fund will help fill some of these evidence gaps. By funding high-potential approaches like Grassroots and BITUP across many schools, we’ll also provide direct support to schools who are looking for programmes to improve attendance.”
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and- evaluation/projects-recruiting
School governor survey reveals true impact of recession on children and families
school meals, and increased anxiety in children.
And despite growing pressure on school budgets – driven by reductions in real-terms funding, unfunded teacher pay rises and rising energy bills – 56% of respondents said their schools had put in place additional measures to reduce the impact of the cost of living crisis on their families. Measures included opening a community shed to provide food and other household items, coat banks, increasing breakfast club numbers and referring more families to social care.
Hard-pressed schools are pulling out the stops to support pupils and their families during the cost of living crisis – despite an increasing squeeze on budgets.
The cocktail of pressures being faced by schools has been highlighted in a survey marking the second annual National School Governors’ Awareness Day on Tuesday 28 February.
More than half of the governors (53%) polled by organisers Strictly Education said there had been an increase in the number of pupils arriving at school hungry.
A similar proportion (51%) had seen parents becoming increasingly unable to afford school uniform and appropriate footwear for their children.
Governors said they have seen a range of other economic impacts on their school community, including more families being unable to afford
Governors said cuts were being made in a range of areas to tackle the budget squeeze. The most common measures were reducing the number of teaching and classroom assistants, cutting back on school trips and other enrichment activities and reducing hours of support staff. The survey questioned more than 300 school governors across England during February 2023.
Steve Barker, head of governance services at Strictly Education and a governor with more than 30 years’ experience, said: “These findings are significant because governors are reporting the very real impact and extent of the cost-of-living crisis on the lives of their school communities and their own school budgets.”
“What is heartening is the extent to which school governors and leadership teams are working together to try as hard as they can to alleviate some of these pressures through a range of community initiatives. All this is happening at a time when they are having to consider significant cost savings.”
https://schoolgovernorsday.co.uk
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www.education-today.co.uk
March 2023
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