It is 12 months between the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s ‘Does money affect children’s outcomes?’  Oct 2013

and the

Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s ‘Cracking the code: how schools can improve social mobility’   Oct 2014

The JRF quote “There is abundant evidence that children growing up in lower income households do less well than their peers on a range of wider outcomes.”  Several studies are from the USA, but the impact here is parallel. Cognitive development and school attainment appear to be the hardest hit in poorer families. There are strong links to other factors.

‘Cracking the code’ states “Social mobility in the UK is slow and stalling” and suggests that if you are born poor can often lead to a lifetime of poverty. The report cites how some schools do better than others with the same economic background. There is a clear message that schools can make a difference.

The ‘code breaking’ schools have these characteristics:

• Well planned use of pupil premium
• High expectations of every student
• An ‘incessant focus’ on high quality teaching
• Strategies to engage parents (tailored to individuals)
• Preparing students for all aspects of life, not just passing exams

This report provides evidence of the harmful impact of low-level disruption in lessons.

There are interesting research findings, although not many will come as a surprise for most of us. Note the comments about how out of touch some senior leaders are.

“Some teachers surveyed said that senior leaders do not understand what behaviour is really like in the classroom.”

 Continue the conversation: have a look at Tom Bennett’s TES blog.  As usual, it is worth looking at the teachers’ comments below.