Unlocking talent, fulfilling potential (DfE) suggests how the Government proposes to attack poor social mobility. They have broken the issue into four sections called ‘Ambitions’ and each Ambition has a set of ‘Challenges’.

Have a look at the aspect which is most important for you and consider the wider ranging implications. There are some interesting ideas. For example:  A ‘Teacher Development Premium’ that will aim to provide a £1,000 per teacher budget for ‘evidence-based’ professional development.

 

• Ambition 1 – Close the ‘word gap’ in the early years.

Challenge 1: Ensuring more disadvantaged children are able to
experience a language rich early environment

Challenge 2: Improving the availability and take-up of high quality
early years provision by disadvantaged children and in challenging
areas

Challenge 3: Improving the quality of early years provision in
challenging areas by spreading best practice

• Ambition 2 – Close the attainment gap in school while continuing to raise standards for all

Challenge 1: Improving the quality of teaching in challenging areas
and schools

Challenge 2: Improving the school improvement offer in more
challenging areas

Challenge 3: Supporting pupils from less advantaged backgrounds
of all abilities to fulfil their potential

• Ambition 3 – High quality post-16 education choices for all young people.

Challenge 1: Creating high quality technical education options to
improve the choice for young people at age 16

Challenge 2: Investing in the further education sector

Challenge 3: Ensuring young people from disadvantaged
backgrounds access the highest quality provision

• Ambition 4 – Everyone achieving their full potential in rewarding careers

Challenge 1: Collaborating with businesses large and small to
widen opportunity, and drive up local skills and productivity

Challenge 2: Improving the quality and availability of good careers
guidance and experiences, targeting ‘career cold spots’

Challenge 3: Ensuring those in lower paid work are able to re-train to
move into more rewarding careers

 

There are a lot of key findings in the full report 

It is important to see that the positive impact of feedback is only linked to Maths teaching in this instance.

The focus schools’ students gained an additional four weeks learning over a year’s work.

Teachers and principals in focus schools received:

• more frequent feedback than teachers and principals in control schools.
• more feedback sessions on their classroom practice with ratings and a written narrative justification

Teacher focus: class teaching skills

Principal focus: leadership skills, specifically Instructional Leadership and leader-teacher trust

The classroom observations were generally by video.

Focus group principals received more instances of oral feedback with ratings on their leadership than control principals.

Unsurprisingly, the study’s measures provided information to identify educators who needed support.

It is worth considering these main points in relation to the ‘reflective practitioner’ and knowing how much impact you have.