House of Commons - Education and Skills

Select Committee on Education and Skills Minutes of Evidence

Memorandum submitted by the Department for Education and Skills

ISSUES IMPACTING UPON THE ACHIEVEMENT OF PUPILS FROM MINORITY ETHNIC OR DISADVANTAGED SOCIAL: ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS

INTRODUCTION

1. The Government's belief is that all pupils, whatever their background or circumstances, have a right to an education which reflects their particular needs, enables them to achieve their potential and equips them with the knowledge and skills they will need to secure a rewarding job and to play their full part in society.

2. Nationally over the past five years standards of pupil attainment within secondary schools have been improving. The charts in Annex A show the progress that has been achieved so far. For example, at GCSE between 1998 and 2002 the proportion of pupils achieving 5+ A*-C grades has improved by more than 5 percentage points. At Key Stage 3 (KS3), over the same period the proportion of pupils achieving Level 5 or above has improved by 2, 8 and 11 percentage points in English, mathematics and science respectively. Despite these gains in secondary schools, certain groups of pupils namely those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and particular minority ethnic groups continue significantly to lag behind national levels of attainment.

3. Nearly one in eight of all pupils in our schools are from minority ethnic backgrounds. Minority ethnic pupils are proportionately more likely to live in socio-economically disadvantaged areas. Most pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds live in the major conurbations: around 75% of all minority ethnic pupils in England go to schools in 50 local authorities and 40% attend schools in London. That is why the Government is continuing to invest so heavily in targeted programmes such as Excellence in Cities (EiC). But large numbers of minority ethnic pupils also live in areas of the country where the vast majority of the population is white; here mainstream programmes such as the recently launched Key Stage 3 National Strategy have a crucial role to play in driving up standards for these and all pupils.

4. Many minority ethnic pupils are already achieving at the highest levels however their achievement is diverse. For example, pupils of Chinese's origin are amongst the highest achieving nationally at secondary school in contrast, Black Caribbean pupils are amongst the lowest performing. There is encouraging evidence in recent years that EiC and other targeted programmes are beginning to narrow the gap in performance at both KS3 and GCSE of pupils from minority ethnic and disadvantaged backgrounds. While patterns of achievement vary across the country, on the whole, pupils from certain groups are still underachieving at school.

5. This paper records the current levels of attainment amongst particular groups of pupils at secondary school; highlights the issues that impact on the performance of these groups and details the Department's strategy for reform along with the policies and programmes currently being pursued to raise the performance of these underachieving pupils.

CURRENT LEVELS OF PUPIL ACHIEVEMENT

6. The new Pupil Level Annual Schools' Census (PLASC), introduced in 2002 has allowed the Department for the first time ever to monitor the achievement of minority ethnic and socio-economically disadvantaged pupils in a consistent way. The charts contained in Annexes B, C, D and E, have been derived from PLASC data.

7. As Annex B shows, pupils from Black Caribbean, Black African, other Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds in particular are under-achieving through secondary school compared with the average achievement across all ethnic groups. In contrast, the performance of pupils from Indian and Chinese backgrounds surpasses that of all other minority ethnic groups, including White pupils. However, the data in Annex B does not show smaller minority ethnic groups, such as Gypsy and Traveller pupils who are most at risk in the education system because of their low attendance and attainment,[1] as there is currently no overall systematic data to assess the extent of their underachievement.

8. Whilst patterns of achievement vary across the country, overall, there has been considerable progress made over recent years in improving minority ethnic pupil performance. For example, Tower Hamlets LEA which has nearly two thirds of its pupils from a minority ethnic group and high levels of deprivation, has over the period 1999-2002 improved the proportion of pupils achieving 5+ A*-C grades at GCSE by 13 percentage points compared to a national improvement of 4 percentage points over the same period.

9. Annex C shows the impact of socio-economic disadvantage across different ethnic groups by comparing the relative performance at KS3 and GCSE for pupils from each ethnic group who are eligible for free school meals (FSM). This shows that even within each minority ethnic group that socio economic disadvantage still is a strong influencer of pupil performance. For example, at both Key Stage 3 and GCSE, Black Caribbean and White FSM pupils are amongst the lowest performing in comparison with their respective non-FSM ethnic peers.

10. The data in Annex C also reveals that social economic disadvantage impacts the most on white working class pupils. White FSM pupils are the lowest achieving group of pupils at both KS3 and GCSE. Their achievement throughout secondary schooling is below the average achievement of FSM pupils across all ethnic groups. PLASC-derived figures in the National Pupil Database show the scale of this underachievement. About 25,000 White FSM boys did not reach at least Level 5 in the KS3 English tests in 2002. For White FSM boys and girls the figure was about 42,000. In contrast, the figure for all ethnic minority groups (boys and girls and both FSM and non-FSM pupils) was about 21,000. So in terms of actual numbers, there is clearly considerable scope for improving the results of white pupils from deprived backgrounds.

11. Annex D shows the relative achievement of different ethnic groups at the end of Key Stage 2, 3 and 4. It demonstrates that achievement gaps are apparent at the end of Key Stage 2 and, for many groups, widen further during secondary education. The achievement gap between white and some ethnic minority groups is smaller at Key Stage 2 compared with those at the secondary level. But even at Key Stage 2 there are some quite significant differences for children of Black Caribbean, Black other, Black African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin.

12. Data at individual school and local authority level reveals a more complex picture: in some local authority areas bilingual groups are amongst the highest performing groups at secondary level. For example, in one London LEA, Indian, Vietnamese and Chinese children achieve higher results on average, than African, Caribbean, Irish and English/Scottish/Welsh pupils[2]. Other smaller minority groups such as Portuguese pupils tend to underachieve throughout the primary and secondary phase.

13. Gender also has a significant impact: in most cases girls outperform boys of the same background at all key stages. Annex E shows that at GCSE the national gap in achievements based on gender (i.e. 11 percentage points at 5+ A*-C) is reflected fairly consistently across all minority ethnic groups except for pupils from a Chinese background where it is least prominent (i.e. only 7 percentage points).

14. The chart in Annex F uses FSM as a proxy for socio-economic disadvantage to demonstrate its impact on pupil achievement at GCSE. It shows a significant variation, over a 40-percentage point difference at the median point, in the performance of schools with low and high FSM, highlighting that socio-economic disadvantage is a key factor in influencing pupil achievement. However, the data in Annex F also shows that there is a wide variation of school performance within each FSM bands thus highlighting a definite school effect. This data shows that some schools have been more successful at negating the socio-economic factor than others.

15. The success of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies at KS2 offers important lessons for policies in secondary schools. The national strategies with their drive to raise standards for all have had a positive impact in reducing some of these socio-economic and ethnicity differences at KS2. Annex G shows that at the median point, the improvement from 1998 to 2002 in pupils achieving Level 4 or above was greater in schools with high FSM than those with low FSM. This demonstrates that the national strategies have been able, to some degree, to overcome socio-economic disadvantage; and since minority ethnic pupils are more likely to come from deprived backgrounds,[3] the strategies have also impacted positively on their performance. Ofsted evaluations of the impact of the Strategies on pupils from ethnic minorities, refugees, asylum-seekers and traveller families are positive and report that they provide helpful frameworks for planning and ensuring appropriately high expectations of pupils.

16. Similarly Excellence in Cities (EiC) has also had a significant impact in raising standards of attainment for pupils in socio-economically disadvantaged areas. Annex H shows that at the median point, the improvements made from 1998 to 2002 in pupils achieving 5+ A*-C grades at GCSE was greater in schools with high FSM than those with low FSM. Clearly, this demonstrates the effect EiC has had on standards of education within secondary schools serving our most disadvantaged communities. The signs for further progress in the future are encouraging. Between 2001 and 2002 the proportion of pupils gaining 5+ A*-C GCSEs or their equivalent improved by 2.3 percentage points within EiC schools compared to a 1.3 percentage point improvement in schools outside the initiative. This justifies the Government's continuing investment in EiC as its major targeted programme for narrowing the achievement gap of pupils from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

17. From data on current pupil achievement within secondary schools, it is clear that there is strong inverse relationship between socio-economic disadvantage and attainment within which ethnicity plays a complex role. However, some schools in disadvantaged and challenging areas along with certain minority ethnic groups are achieving good results. In determining why certain groups of pupils are more successful compared with others in similar circumstances it is worth first considering the factors which have an impact on their achievement.

ISSUES IMPACTING ON PUPIL ACHIEVEMENT

18. The underlying factors contributing to underachievement and disengagement are varied and complex. As Annex C shows, socio-economic disadvantage is closely associated with low educational attainment. But poverty is not the only factor influencing achievement. There are strong indications that policies, practices and procedures within schools and the wider education system result in poorer outcomes for certain ethnic groups.

19. Statistics and research have revealed that there are inter-related factors which impact on achievement and also impact differently on different ethnic groups.

— Fluency in English is an important factor in some minority ethnic pupils' attainment. Studies have shown that minority ethnic groups who were getting poorer results (for example Bangladeshi pupils) were much more likely to be relatively new learners of English compared with higher performing Indian or African-Asian students who were more fluent in English (Camden, 1995). However, recent research (Ofsted, 2003) supports previous evidence that bilingual pupils continue to need support for academic writing even when orally fluent in English.

— School Effect: there is a great deal of variation in pupil attainment depending on which school they attend. Some schools are far more effective than others, in similar circumstances, in helping their pupils to progress (Annex F). Performance Tables published in January 2003 showed that during the early secondary years, pupils in the most effective schools made over two terms more progress than pupils in the least effective schools; and yet there is four times as much variation in pupil attainment within schools as there is between schools, and some groups of pupils are not being well served. For example, in the 2002 KS3 English tests, 59% of boys achieved Level five or above compared to 76% of girls.

— Special Education Needs (SEN): preliminary unpublished DfES data (2002) shows a higher incidence of SEN amongst some minority ethnic groups, especially Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students. For example, 28% of Black Caribbean secondary school pupils were recorded as having a SEN (2.9% with a statement; 25% without a statement), 23% of Pakistani pupils (2.4% with a statement; 21% without a statement), 23% of Bangladeshi pupils (2% with a statement; 21% without a statement), 18% of white pupils (2.45% with a statement; 16% without a statement) and 13% of Indian pupils (1.3% with a statement; 11% without a statement). This over-representation may be due to multiple factors. This may reflect social class differences rather than ethnicity, as some minority ethnic groups are over-represented amongst lower socio-economic groups. There is the possibility of misclassification due to the difficulties of distinguishing between English as an additional language and special educational needs.

— Institutional racism: the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry raised questions for all sectors of society about institutional racism. The Commission for Racial Equality define it as "organisational structures, policies and practices, which result in ethnic minorities being treated unfairly and less equally, often without intent or knowledge". It is vital that all schools give all pupils every chance to succeed. Many schools and LEAs now work hard to ensure this applies to children of all races and ethnic groups.

STRATEGY FOR REFORM

20. Despite the many and complex factors impacting on pupil achievement, many schools are succeeding in raising the achievement of their minority ethnic and socio-economically disadvantaged pupils. Research (Ofsted, 2002;[11] Blair and Bourne, 1998[12]) shows that schools which achieve successful outcomes for these pupils tend to:

— have high expectations of all their pupils and in turn encourage pupils themselves to aim high;

— work to achieve a positive culture and ethos throughout the school with an inclusive curriculum and a clear approach to tackling racism;

— adopt a whole school approach with strong purposeful leadership;

— monitor the impact of their policies on particular groups of pupils and make effective use of data to pinpoint and tackle underperformance;

— have a strong focus on effective teaching and learning; and

— show a genuine commitment to encourage the involvement of parents and the wider community.

21. It is the experiences of such successful schools and further discussions with over 2000 secondary head teachers that have been crucial in informing the development of the Government's Strategy for Reform.

22. The starting points for this Strategy for Reform are the belief that all children are capable of attaining high standards with an explicit aim of year on year increases in overall attainment and above average attainment for under-achieving groups. The key features of the Government's Strategy for Reform, as set out in its document[13] "A New Specialist System: Transforming Secondary" will be the following central drivers for improving attainment:

— Specialisation, collaboration and innovation—by enabling and encouraging schools to learn from and collaborate with schools which excel in their support of minority ethnic and disadvantaged pupils.

— School leadership—by enabling school management teams to give a clear lead on raising minority ethnic and disadvantaged pupils' achievement through developing a school ethos which actively tackles racism and disadvantage by using data to focus on and tackle areas of underachievement.

— Reforming the school workforce—through professional development and publication of curriculum materials particularly through the KS3 National Strategy, to ensure that all those working in schools are skilled and confident in working in increasingly diverse schools and that meeting the needs of all pupils is firmly at the heart of the teaching and learning agenda.

— Partnerships beyond the classroom—to ensure minority ethnic and disadvantaged pupils benefit from the range of activities beyond the classroom including study support; that children from minority ethnic and disadvantaged backgrounds have access to good quality early learning opportunities; that parents of minority ethnic and disadvantaged pupils are given opportunities to engage with and become involved in their children's education.

23. A further stimulus is provided by the introduction of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2002 which will help to ensure that policies and programmes address the needs of all pupils through giving public bodies a statutory duty to promote race equality.

24. The Government's Strategy for Reform will deliver change and improve standards both through the mainstream of education and through targeted provision towards minority ethnic groups and in areas of socio-economic disadvantage. The final sections of this memorandum give details of this twin-track approach.

DELIVERING CHANGE THROUGH THE MAINSTREAM

Data Collection

25. The introduction of new Pupil Level Annual Schools' Census (PLASC) has allowed for the first time ever monitoring of the achievement of minority ethnic pupils locally and nationally in a consistent way. This represents a huge step forward for the Department. It gives schools, local and central government a much clearer picture of the relative performance of particular groups of pupils. It will enable school managers and policy makers to ask questions about which groups are doing well and which are doing less well and will also improve accountability. Over time, PLASC data will allow the Department to assess in greater depth the real impact of initiatives and programmes on pupils as well as helping to shape the policies of the future.

Education Development Plans

26. The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 emphasised the school improvement role of Local Education Authorities (LEAs) and established Education Development Plans (EDPs) as a key mechanism by which this role would be achieved. EDPs provide a framework for LEAs to carry out their duty to support their schools in raising standards. The EDP framework comprises three key elements: an audit of current pupil performance in the LEA's area, targets for individual schools and the LEA as a whole, and a statement of the LEA's specific priorities for delivering school improvement and raising attainment for all pupils.

27. The first EDPs ran from 1999-2002 and the second generation of EDPs (EDP2) which have been approved will run until 2007, to coincide with the national targets for raising pupils' attainment to be achieved in 2004 and 2007. A particular focus of the second generation of EDPs (EDP2) is to raise the attainment of underachieving groups, as identified by the LEA's analysis in its local audit of pupil performance. This is one of the five mandatory national priorities for EDP2.

Primary Strategies

28. As highlighted earlier (paragraph 15), the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) and National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) have been effective in raising standards for all pupils including those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds and minority ethnic groups. There are valuable lessons to be learnt from the national strategies, particularly about effective teaching and learning, creative materials and pupil engagement which could be built upon to improve the performance of secondary pupils. As part of the NLS and NNS, specific detailed guidance and materials have been provided on meeting the needs of minority ethnic and or English as an additional language (EAL) pupils in the literacy hour and daily maths lessons. The materials also provide both training and examples of good practice (written and video) in the management of literacy and maths for EAL and minority ethnic pupils.

29. As the primary strategy develops from the NLS and NNS it will both broaden its remit and focus increasingly on ensuring pupils at all levels maximise their progress. This includes a clear focus on enabling teachers to meet the needs of pupils from all ethnic groups.

Key Stage 3 National Strategy

30. The Key Stage 3 National Strategy aims to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom by investing in teachers' professional development. It expects teachers to have high expectations for all pupils. However, the Strategy recognises that additional support may be required for pupils learning English as an additional language (EAL) and for minority ethnic pupils who may be underperforming. Case study material (written and video) has been sent to schools and LEAs to assist them in focusing on the achievement of minority ethnic pupils at Key Stage 3. Also subject specialist guidance has been issued to all schools on effective practice for EAL learners which have been produced to be disseminated within subject departments to mainstream teachers. This is supplemented by a training module on effective methods of teaching grammar to EAL learners.

31. Intervention programmes, which target additional funding and support to underperforming groups of pupils, are increasingly becoming an important aspect of the National Strategy. As the Strategy develops, the intervention programmes are becoming ever more differentiated in focusing additional resources on underperforming pupils which will predominately tend to be those in deprived areas and from minority ethnic backgrounds. The National Strategy is also currently being developed to incorporate a new behaviour and attendance strand to ensure that all secondary schools have effective whole school behaviour policies, which promote a learning environment where there is respect for all.

Curriculum

32. The content of the curriculum is key to engaging pupils in learning and overcoming exclusion. This can be particularly important for pupils from minority ethnic and socially disadvantaged groups who may not see their culture, history and values reflected in their school experience.

33. The revised National Curriculum addresses this. It includes an overarching access statement covering the Curriculum as a whole emphasising the specific opportunities to address issues of race and racial equality. Teachers are expected to take specific action to respond to pupils' diverse needs, including, for example, creating effective learning environments in which racial differences are seen positively by pupils, and whereby negative stereotypes and racial harassment are challenged.

34. The introduction of Citizenship as a statutory subject from September 2002 ensures that for the first time all pupils will be taught about the diversity of national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the UK and the need for mutual respect and understanding. It provides distinct opportunities for pupils to develop an understanding of fairness and social justice; the nature of prejudice; anti-social and aggressive behaviours like racism and bullying and develop skills to challenge them assertively.

14-19 Reforms

35. The new reforms being introduced by the Department through the "14-19: opportunity and excellence" document will in time address the disengagement from learning and poor results that characterise the experience of too many minority ethnic and socio-economically disadvantaged students. It provides an opportunity for all young people to choose from a range of courses and qualifications that better meet their interests and aspirations, which will enable them to continue on into further and higher education. The quality of advice young people receive will be key to enabling them to make choices which enable them to fulfill their potential and it will be important for schools and colleges to monitor the take up of courses by ethnicity.

Behaviour and Attendance Strategy

36. The relationship between disaffection and disruptive behaviour and underachievement is well established. The Department is therefore working to ensure all schools have effective, well-led and consistently applied behaviour policies, based on respect, fairness and inclusion. Advice on whole school behaviour policy, behaviour audit instruments and training for school leadership teams will help school leadership teams to assess the effectiveness of their whole school behaviour policies, including the impact of such policies on minority ethnic groups.

37. Over the next three years the Department will be investing £470 million in the new National Behaviour and Attendance Strategy. This will have:

— a universal element, which will be the new behaviour and attendance strand of the Key Stage 3 National Strategy. This will provide audit and training materials for all secondary schools with support from expert advisers; and

— a targeted element providing intensive support for schools and pupils facing the greatest challenges. This will be a new behaviour and attendance strand of the Excellence in Cities initiative. It will involve extending the Behaviour Improvement Projects (BIPs—packages of measures already supporting selected schools in 34 LEAs in high crime and truancy areas) to all remaining Excellence in Cities LEAs and all Excellence Clusters. An important feature of BIPs is supporting teachers by facilitating access to professionals such as social and mental health workers who can help with behavioural problems, as well as Education Welfare Officers and police officers based within schools.

Connexions

38. Connexions is the Government's front line support service for all young people in England aged 13-19. It is a universal service. It provides integrated advice guidance and access to personal development opportunities to help remove barriers to learning and progression to ensure young people make a smooth transition to adulthood and working life. Personal Advisers provide advice on careers and lifestyle issues as well as barriers such as homelessness and drugs. They refer young people to specialist support where needed.

39. Within the context of a universal service, Connexions was set up to reduce the number of 16-18 year olds who are not in education, employment or training. Additionally, Connexions partnerships have a key priority to contribute towards producing better outcomes for young people from black and minority ethnic groups. Forty-six out of the 47 Connexions partnerships are operational now, the 47th due to go live in Spring 2003.

Parents

40. Parents are children's first educators and have a huge influence on their children's educational, social and emotional development. They are also a key factor and have an important impact on the educational attainment of minority ethnic and socio economically disadvantaged pupils. If parents support their child's learning, their child is more likely to do well at school. Parents working in partnership with schools, through parental input and constructive dialogue, can create better ways of working, contributing to higher achievement.

41. Parents already have a right to receive certain information about their children's education, such as a report on their child's progress at least once a year and an annual report from the governing body on the school's progress overall. Schools should ensure that all materials are produced in minority languages where it is appropriate. The Department is currently developing plans to enhance the work that is already going on in many schools with parents and aims to:

— inform parents better about the education system and about how they can help their children learn, both with their school work and at home, through schools, parent organisations, leaflets, a parental website and publicity campaigns;

— support schools in working with parents by providing materials and case studies for schools to use;

— ensure that materials for parents, e.g. guides to the school curriculum, to parents' roles and responsibilities are available in the most widely read minority ethnic languages; and

— investigate the role of LEAs in setting a framework which can respond sensitively to the varied cultural needs of parents.

Gifted and Talented Pupils

42. Within each minority ethnic and socio-economically disadvantaged group of pupils there are pupils who are able or exceptional. It is important that the needs of these pupils are met so that they are able to fulfil their potential and act as role models for others. The Gifted and Talented strand of Excellence in Cities ensures that schools introduce teaching and learning programmes and complementary out of school hours study support programmes for their most able 5-10% of pupils allowing them to develop at a pace consistent with their abilities. As focus is explicitly on ability rather than attainment and achievement, underachieving pupils are a priority. EiC schools are encouraged to ensure that their gifted and talented populations are broadly representative of the ethnic composition of the school population as a whole, and EiC partnerships are alive to the danger of stereotyping, even within the ethnic minority population.

43. Nationally, a range of opportunities and resources exists to support gifted and talented pupils and especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. These include an annual programme of 500 summer schools for gifted and talented 10-14 year olds; and the Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth.

DELIVERING CHANGE THROUGH TARGETING

Support for Minority Ethnic Pupils

44. Some £400 million of the general resources provided to schools through Standard Spending Assessments (SSAs) take account of ethnicity. In 2002-03 the Standards Fund will support total expenditure of some £3.6 billion to raise standards. This includes the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG), which is ring-fenced support of £154 million to help schools raise ethnic minority achievement and meet the particular needs of pupils for whom English is an additional language. LEAs and schools also have the flexibility to use money from other Standards Fund streams, and can benefit from resources provided through Key Stage 3, Excellence in Cities, and the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, which also contribute to narrowing attainment gaps.

45. Around 75% of the Standards Fund resources are devolved to schools so that they can determine their own priorities. Head teachers have the freedom and flexibility to meet local priorities. This could include deploying additional teachers or classroom support, training or the purchase of relevant teaching materials.

Excellence in Cities

46. The Excellence in Cities (EiC) initiative, launched in September 1999, is a major ongoing investment by the Government to provide targeted additional support to secondary schools in the most deprived urban local authority areas. It includes those local authorities which cater for 75% of all ethnic minority pupils. The initiative provides Learning Mentors for pupils facing barriers to learning; Learning Support Units to tackle disruption; enhanced opportunities for Gifted and Talented pupils and support for schools through a network of City Learning Centres; the strategic use of Specialist schools; and EiC Action Zones. The initiative is now being developed to benefit from the Leadership Incentive Grant and to deliver the expanded Behaviour Improvement Programme.

47. The EiC initiative now covers about 1,000 secondary schools in 58 of our most disadvantaged local authority areas. Standards are now rising in Excellence in Cities Schools faster than in non-EiC schools. Last year the percentage of pupils gaining 5+ A*-C GCSEs or their equivalent improved on average at nearly twice the rate in EiC schools compared with those outside the initiative. Many minority ethnic pupils have shared in this success but there is still more to be done. In the future PLASC data will allow us to assess in greater depth the real impact that EiC initiatives are having on minority ethnic pupils.

48. Within the EiC initiative the ten LEAs with particularly high concentrations minority ethnic pupils are involved in an innovative pilot with Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG) to raise the attainment of minority ethnic pupils to bridge the achievement gap. The participating LEAs receive an annual grant over a three year period, and are encouraged to focus on key areas including, KS2-3 transition, monitoring and target setting, parental involvement and analysis of performance data. The projects can target specific ethnic minority groups, but may also trial innovative strategies in selected schools.

Excellence Clusters

49. Excellence Clusters have been designed to bring the benefits of the EiC initiative to smaller pockets of deprivation in our urban and rural areas. Like EiC they focus on some of the most disadvantaged areas of the country, using a semi-structured programme to raise standards. Clusters, which are partnerships of schools, benefit from extra resources to provide Learning Mentors, Learning Support Units and extended opportunities for Gifted and Talented pupils. They are also provided with resources to develop programmes to target the particular needs of their pupils, as identified by the schools in each cluster.

50. Clusters were first launched in September 2001 and there are currently 24 in operation. A further 13 have been announced in October 2002 to start operation from September 2003. There is Government commitment to further expand Clusters so that every pupil in our most disadvantaged areas is receiving some additional support to help them fulfil their potential.

Education Action Zones

51. Education Action Zones (EAZ) were proposed in the white paper "Excellence in schools" and introduced in "The School Standards and Framework Act 1998". EAZs have generally been set up in urban and rural areas where there is a mixture of socio-economic disadvantage and under-performance in schools. Zones enable local partnerships, which include the private sector, to target action urgently on areas of need and to develop innovative and radical solutions for raising educational standards. There are currently 72 EAZs operating across England, which were launched between September 1998 and April 2000 with a maximum lifespan of five years.

52. EAZs are making some useful contributions to raising standards and their pupils are closing the gap with national achievements. The most significant impact is at primary level where pupil achievement continues to rise faster than the national rate. It was announced in November 2001 that when zones reach the end of their five year lifespan ex-EAZ schools will be merged into the EiC initiative to ensure that wherever possible schools serving our most disadvantaged communities continue to receive additional support in their drive to raise standards. The lessons learnt and good practice from the EAZ programme are being considered and taken into account when developing future policy, especially with the expansion of Excellence Clusters and Primary EiC.

Leadership Incentive Grant

53. From April 2003, the Leadership Incentive Grant (LIG) will be made available to about 1,400 secondary schools in some of the most socio-economically disadvantaged and most challenging areas across the country. The grant is intended to:

— accelerate the improvement in standards so that every school enables every pupil to excel by strengthening teaching and learning throughout the school;

— strengthen leadership at all levels, by building the school's leadership capacity for sustained improvement with a particular focus on creating effective teamwork underpinned by shared values; and

— stimulate collaboration within and between schools—School improvement research and practice demonstrate that coaching and collaboration lead to higher standards in schools.

54. LIG will have a major role to play in transforming our secondary schools. It will provide an exciting opportunity for head teachers and governors to take radical action to support their workforce, and develop strategies that will bring about real and sustainable change. It will allow schools to raise the achievement of some of our less advantaged pupils, including African Caribbean pupils and those for whom English is an additional language, while raising the achievement of all.

London Challenge

55. 48% of the total UK minority ethnic population live in the London region. The overall standard of London's education has been a concern for some time. London faces a concentration of too many poor performing schools in parts of the capital; high levels of parental dissatisfaction; a significant number of EAL pupils; extremes of wealth and poverty; high pupil mobility, difficulty retaining teachers etc. The uniqueness and scale of many of these challenges makes education difficult to deliver across London.

56. The launch in 2002 of the London Challenge with its appointment of a London Schools Commissioner shows the concerted effort by Government to raise the standards of education across the capital. The Challenge aims to build on the work the Department is already doing (eg EiC, KS3 National Strategy) by ensuring it fully takes into consideration London issues. It also aims to develop a London Strategy to accelerate standards by bringing about a structural change within schools, a stronger schools workforce and improved strategic leadership and support for education across London.

Towards a National Strategy for Minority Ethnic Pupils

57. To build on the successes already achieved, and to ensure continuous improvement for the future, the Department will shortly be launching a consultation document seeking views on proposals for a new national strategy to raise the achievement of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. The consultation will also seek views on the future use of and arrangements for distributing resources through the Ethnic Minority Achievement (EMAG) element of the Standards Fund.

58. For the Department, the national strategy will be a means of providing a better consistency and coherence between all the policies and programmes impacting on minority ethnic pupil achievement. For schools and LEAs it will make a case for a new approach whereby the needs of minority ethnic pupils are considered not as an add-on, but as an integral part of all mainstream policies and programmes.

1 Raising the Attainment of Minority Ethnic Pupils, Ofsted, 1999. Back

2 Ethnic and Gender Differences in Educational Achievement and Implications for School Improvement, Educational Research, F Demie, 2001. Back

3 Minority Ethnic Issues in Social Exclusion and Neighbourhood Renewal, 2000, Cabinet Office. Back

4 Minority Ethnic Issues in Social Exclusion and Neighbourhood Renewal, 2000, Cabinet Office. Back

5 Quoted in Minority Ethnic Issues in Social Exclusion and Neighbourhood Renewal, 2000, Cabinet Office. Back

6 Feinstein & Symons (1997). Attainment in Secondary School. CEP Discussion Paper 341. Back

7 DfES Statistics of Education: Permanent exclusions from maintained schools in England, November 2002. Back

8 Misspent Youth, Young People and Crime, Audit Commission, 1996. Back

9 Youth Survey for the Youth Justice Board, MORI, 2002. Back

10 Managing Pupil Mobility, 2002, Ofsted. Back

11 Achievement of Black Caribbean Pupils: Good Practice in Secondary Schools, Ofsted, April 2002. Back

12 Making the Difference: Teaching and Learning Strategies in Successful Multi-Ethnic Schools, M Blair and J Bourne, The Open University, July 1998. Back