Research School Network: Evaluating your Pupil Premium strategy with purpose Monitoring what really matters at the mid-point
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Evaluating your Pupil Premium strategy with purpose
Monitoring what really matters at the mid-point
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by Great Heights Research School: West Yorkshire
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Jessica Mellor
Great Heights Academy Trust
Jessica is the Research School Network Content Specialist for Disadvantage and Director of Great Heights Research School. Attainment gaps between the most and least advantaged children are found from early years and all the way through the education system. Jessica is committed to working with schools to utilise the evidence base to support improvements in teaching that can enable all children to access a good-quality education that can transform lives and open up the world of work and wider opportunities.
As we reach this mid-point in the academic year and look ahead to lighter days (hopefully), we often use this as an opportunity to take stock. Whilst the statutory Pupil Premium Strategy document only requires a review of the previous academic year, ongoing monitoring and evaluation is key. We know that effective implementation extends beyond the neat boundaries of half term chunks but we could use this as an opportunity to reflect on the implementation of our strategy whilst also identifying early signs of impact.
The purpose of evaluation:
The aim is not to ‘prove’ success in order to meet a benchmark. The aim is honest evaluation so that we know:
If the things we’re doing are working as intended – e.g. is the practice improving attendance, participation, outcomes etc.
How to improve what we’re doing – e.g. did the professional development session lead to the desired behaviour change or not?
Whether to continue, adapt, scale up or stop particular approaches
Successful strategies define clear success criteria and consider monitoring and evaluation at the point of development. Leaders are united around what they would expect to see if they were making a real difference for disadvantaged pupils, the changes they would expect to see in pupils’ experiences, engagement, or outcomes. They make decisions about how the strategy will be monitored, when this will occur and which people will be involved. They lean into existing systems and structures that can provide insights and data ensuring that this data is both meaningful and manageable. Importantly, time and space is identified to reflect on what this data tells us and where we might need to make adaptations to implementation. We need to monitor to give our strategy the best chance of being successful.
Identifying meaningful and manageable approaches
Questions to consider might include:
Fidelity
Are teachers consistently delivering agreed approaches? Has professional development translated into classroom practice? Are adaptations intelligent or drifting away from core components?
Reach
Is the provision reaching intended pupils? Are any pupils disengaging or not accessing support? Has participation trailed off after launch?
Acceptability
Do teachers find the approach manageable? Do pupils feel supported? Do parents understand the support available? Are staff workload concerns emerging?
Impact
Which strategies show strongest early impact? Where is impact weaker than expected?
Where is impact unclear?
Is monitoring and evaluation of our Pupil Premium strategy sharp? Is it informing adaptations to our approach to implementation? Can we show the line between barrier identification, strategy and measurable outcomes?
Governor and Trustee Involvement
School governors and trustees also play a crucial role in improving attainment for disadvantaged pupils by providing support and challenge to school leaders as part of the process of monitoring and evaluation.
Key questions might include:
Who is being impacted by implementation of strategies?
Which pupils are not benefiting yet?
What is changing because we know that?
The tools shown below also provide extremely useful questions that could be used by both leadership teams and governors/trustees at the point of strategy development and as part of ongoing monitoring and evaluation.
Fig 1. What Worked Education, Staff/Governor Discussion Questions. Fig 2. EEF Guide to Pupil Premium Discussion Prompts for Governors and Trustees
Ultimately, ongoing monitoring and evaluation forms part of a learning loop. It is part of a cycle of ongoing improvement that feeds into next year’s statement ensuring that funding is used effectively to help reduce barriers to pupils’ learning.
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What Worked Education, Staff/Governor Discussion Questions
