Many children are leaving school without the learning that they need to navigate the adult world effectively, the majority of whom are among the most vulnerable in our society. Closing the Disadvantage Gap in Schools helps teachers and school leaders to understand what educational disadvantage is and what research tells us are the “best bets” for making sure this disadvantage doesn’t stop these children from succeeding in life.
Designed as a highly practical workbook with accompanying sketchnotes that bring research to life, it uses reflective questions, worked examples, self-assessment tools and guided practice tasks to help educators to support the most disadvantaged pupils in their school community to achieve.
The book helps staff to:
- Understand what causes the attainment gap and what it might look like in school
- How to develop a positive school culture that values and supports every child
- Use data to identify and track underperformance driven by disadvantage
- Improve the quality of teaching and learning for the most vulnerable pupils
- Provide targeted support and interventions for pupils who need extra help
- Monitor and evaluate the impact of your actions and adapt accordingly
Whether you are a headteacher, a middle leader, or a classroom teacher, this book will equip you with the knowledge and skills to make a lasting difference to the attainment outcomes of the most vulnerable pupils in your school.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1 – How to Use This Book
Chapter 2 – Creating a Culture of High Expectations
Chapter 3 – What is Educational Disadvantage?
Chapter 4 – Small Changes on a Large Scale
Chapter 5 – Identifying Disadvantage
Chapter 6 – How Disadvantage Presents Itself
Chapter 7 – Three Layers of Support
Chapter 8 – Using Professional Learning to Make a Difference
Chapter 9 – The Science of Learning
Chapter 10 – Desirable Difficulties to Address Disadvantage
Chapter 11 – The Importance of Language and Other ‘Best Bets’
Chapter 12 – Using Data to Guide Instruction
Chapter 13 – What Makes Things Worse?
Chapter 14 – Is It Working?
Index
About the Author :
Finola Wilson is the Director of Impact School Improvement Ltd., a trusted partner to a wide range of education organisations across the UK and beyond, which uses the latest research and evidence to create professional learning and bespoke consultancy with impact.
Review :
"Improving the educational experience for the most disadvantaged is at the top of the agenda for nearly every school across the UK. This brilliant professional learning book doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but my goodness, it helps you ask all the right questions about narrowing the attainment gap in your school’s context." - Damian Benney, Headteacher, Penyrheol Comprehensive School, Swansea.
"I love this book! It’s a fantastic resource that will help senior leaders develop meaningful strategies to ensure all children succeed. The professional learning episodes in the book could easily be used in staff training and Fin provides worked examples and case studies throughout to clarify the process. Highly recommended!" - Paul Phillips, Headteacher, St Mary’s RC Primary School, Flintshire
"There is so much written about the 'Disadvantage Gap' for schools, but so little of it provides hard practical advice. What Fin has done with this book is to give schools a toolkit of what really works, backed up by rigorous research. It is an essential read for those leading in our education system." - Justin O’Sullivan, Headteacher, Cardinal Newman Catholic School, Pontypridd
"This book is a highly useful tool to help all practitioners to develop our understanding of how setting high expectations and improving our practice can support the most disadvantaged pupils to achieve good outcomes." - Ann James, Education Adviser and NQT Coordinator, Carmarthenshire County Council
"Closing the disadvantage gap is a fundamental responsibility of all schools. The Covid pandemic has further impacted on this gap to the point where there is a real, fundamental need for support. This book provides invaluable information to schools to help address this gap and provide research-led professional learning that will impact positively on disadvantaged pupils." - Jamie Tennant, Headteacher, Hawarden Village Church School.
