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Oracy and Disciplinary Mathematics
Bridging Communication and Mathematical Thinking
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When we encounter a pupil marked as ‘Pupil Premium’ (PP), it’s easy to assume we understand their challenges. However, disadvantage is complex and multifaceted, affecting students and families in diverse ways. By the age of 11, disadvantaged students are typically nine months behind their peers academically (Sutton Trust). The challenge when developing a Pupil Premium Strategy is to look beyond the ‘PP’ label to identify the specific needs of each student. Simplifying disadvantage through labels can lead to stereotypes and misdiagnosis, preventing us from addressing what pupils truly need (Hart and Risley, 1995).
Marc Rowland emphasises: “Pupils are not at risk of underachievement because of any particular label, such as ‘Pupil Premium.’ Rather, it is due to the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage on their learning.”
Strategies such as prioritising PP students for answering questions or marking their books first can raise awareness but don’t fully address how disadvantage impacts their learning. The key is to explore why and how socioeconomic factors affect learning. Without this understanding, interventions are less likely to succeed.
“The impact of socioeconomic disadvantage on learning is a process, not an event. In many cases, it starts before birth, meaning schools must take a long-term view when adopting any approach.” — Marc Rowland
The DfE’s guidance on PP funding encourages schools to identify both academic and non-academic challenges facing disadvantaged pupils. Using diagnostic assessments and both internal and external data helps identify where intervention will have the most impact. At the same time, it’s important to consider that pupil premium funds can be used to support other students with identified needs, not just those eligible for funding.
Key questions for educators include:
>What does socioeconomic disadvantage look like in our context?
>How does it affect learning in the classroom, and how does this evolve over time?
>A New Perspective with the Disadvantage Calculator
When I became PP Lead at Wyndham Spencer Academy, I faced the challenge of understanding disadvantage in a new context. While both Birmingham and Derby schools served inner-city populations, the labels didn’t capture the specific challenges our pupils faced. The Wyndham team had implemented a ‘disadvantage calculator’ to better understand the barriers confronting our families. This tool, although simple, opened the door to important professional discussions, allowing educators to connect and collaborate on the challenges families experienced.
The calculator was initially a spreadsheet that captured a range of barriers to learning:
>Pupil Characteristics: SEND, LAC, EAL, social care involvement.
>Learning Factors: Reading and spelling ages below expectations, not on track for age-related milestones in core subjects, need for speech, language, or communication interventions.
>Family Situation: Access to the internet, family support worker engagement, high number of school moves, parental issues (e.g., imprisonment, addiction).
>Attendance: Noted when attendance fell below 96%, 90%, or 85%.
The calculator assigned scores based on these factors, and what became clear was the complexity and variety of disadvantage. For example, some pupils with a high score weren’t eligible for PP, while some PP-eligible students had low scores. This helped us avoid assumptions based solely on labels and brought attention to pupils who were disadvantaged in ways not reflected by traditional eligibility criteria.
This approach aligned with the Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) recommendation to diagnose barriers to learning not only through academic measures but also by recognizing social, emotional, and environmental factors.
Schools have adapted the calculator in various ways to reflect their unique contexts. For example:
>Schools serving Roma communities ensured the calculator reflected their specific needs.
>Some incorporated ACES (Adverse Childhood Experience Scores) into their calculations.
>Schools used postcode data to note whether pupils lived in low-income areas with low IDACI (Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index) scores.
In some cases, schools integrated the calculator into their management information systems (MIS), automating data collection from stored information. This made the process more efficient and allowed schools to maintain a dynamic, ongoing assessment of disadvantage.
The calculator itself was just the beginning. The most important aspect was the conversations it sparked. Teachers and staff were able to use the data to discuss strategies, share insights, and build collective expertise around addressing disadvantage.
The second part of this tool — provision mapping — allowed us to record what was being implemented for each pupil. This included classroom support, targeted academic interventions, and broader resources aligned with the EEF’s Tiered Approach. Updated termly, the provision map informed pupil progress reviews, helping us evaluate the impact of our strategies.
The provision map brought us back to how external factors impacted pupils’ learning in the classroom. It encouraged us to focus on what was within our control, leading to productive conversations about why certain strategies weren’t working and helping us refine our understanding of the root causes of disadvantage.
Marc Rowland explains: “Impact evaluation is not trying to prove something has worked; it is about understanding whether it has, and in what circumstances.”
At Wyndham, we dedicated time each year to reviewing and transferring this understanding from teacher to teacher during transitions. As pupils moved through the school, the document synthesized summative and formative assessments, as well as observations of their learning behaviors and emotional well-being. This systematic approach ensured continuity in understanding and supporting each pupil.
For school leaders, the calculator also provided a broader view of patterns across the school. It helped us refine our parental engagement strategies and take an informed, deliberate approach to supporting families, especially the most vulnerable. This process reinforced the importance of relationships and communication with families.
While the calculator didn’t capture everything, it gave us invaluable insight into the layers of challenges our families faced. By visualizing disadvantage, we gained a better understanding of its impact, enabling us to design targeted interventions and improve outcomes for all pupils.
This journey at Wyndham taught us that unpicking disadvantage is a continuous process. The calculator was just one tool in a broader effort to strip back labels and better understand the complex barriers our pupils faced. More important than the tool itself was the commitment to ask, again and again: What does disadvantage mean for the pupils in our classroom?
Ultimately, the process was about fostering a shared mission among staff to understand the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage and develop strategies to support each child. There are many ways to achieve these insights, but all approaches must focus on one key question: How does socioeconomic disadvantage impact learning?
As educators, we need to go beyond labels, dig deep into the root causes of disadvantage, and collaborate to create environments where all students can thrive. How will you begin to unpick the challenges in your own context?
Marc Rowland, Addressing Educational Disadvantage in Schools and Colleges: The Essex Way.
Sutton Trust (2017). Closing the Gap? This report outlines the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their wealthier peers.
EEF (2019). Attainment Gap Report. A detailed study on how socioeconomic disadvantage affects learning outcomes and strategies to close the gap.
Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children
EEF (2015). The Guide to Pupil Premium. This guide focuses on evidence-based approaches for using Pupil Premium funding effectively and highlights diagnostic tools.
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