Low literacy skills, poor attendance, and social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) and wellbeing needs are the most frequently cited barriers to attainment for socio-economically disadvantaged pupils, according to a new analysis of schools’ Pupil Premium statements in 2024 – 25. 86% of the primary schools in the sample analysed (1,255 published strategies) cited challenges related to literacy attainment.
Through widespread engagement with research and evidence-based resources in recent years, English schools have a wealth of reliable and effective evidence to use to meet this challenge, including:
Yet awareness of evidence and support with writing action plans do not necessarily always result in improved outcomes in schools. Effective implementation is crucial for turning this engagement into tangible and sustained changes in school practices, most especially for pupils experiencing socio-economic disadvantage.
In Spring 2024, the EEF published its updated A School’s Guide to Implementation incorporating lessons learnt from a new review of the evidence. This update unpacks how to do implementation well and emphasises that implementation in schools is fundamentally a collaborative and social process driven by how people think, behave and interact. It shows that much can be achieved by improving how people work together during implementation.
In early January, Yorkshire Endeavour English Hub, funded by the DfE, partnered with Huntington and the North Yorkshire Coast Research Schools to update the Hub Literacy Specialists and leaders from partner schools around the guidance. The aims of the day were:
- To understand the implementation process - To critically reflect and adapt your current Early Reading Action Plans - To know how to sustain e.g. phonics - To know how to plan and prepare for another English Priority
What resonated most with me was the emphasis on implementation being a process rather than a single event. The evidence around the importance of careful planning, staff training and ongoing support stood out, particularly the idea that change is more likely to be effective when it is introduced gradually and revisited over time.
For others, recommendation 1 from the guidance report stood out: Adopt the behaviours that drive effective implementation. These cross-cutting behaviours include:
- Engage people so they can shape what happens while also providing overall direction - Unite people around what is being implemented, how it will be implemented and why it matters. - Reflect, monitor, and adapt to improve implementation
What stuck with me was the idea of 'being in'; not just 'buying in' and the use of implementation teams to ensure that people feel valued, involved and motivated to be part of the change
Ultimately, however well-evidenced a phonics programme is, the evidence tells us is that it is how it manifests itself in the day-to-day work of people in schools and how well school leaders and their teams develop and nurture these processes that matters. Therefore, we must also ensure that we develop and continue to support great implementation processes from start to finish. Additionally, can we stop trying to get colleagues to ‘buy in’ and use the systems, provide the opportunities and create the conditions for them to ‘be in’ from the outset?
