Leadership and community engagement

Nigel Fancourt

Daily Mail, 2012 English

Martyrs’ Catholic School, Birmingham.

31 languages in one classroom

Contested issues

Children from immigrant families

'face significant challenges' in UK

schools. OECD report finds British

schools are among the most socially

segregated in the developed world.

Guardian - Sept 2014Immigrant Children Are A Positive Influence In The Classroom, Study Finds. 2013

Don't 'teach' Britis

h

values – demand

them. Telegraph

2014

Immigrants 'putting strain on UK

school places‘ BBC - Oct 2010

...not new - 1971 Eysenck: Race,

Intelligence and Education/The IQ Argument

Coard How the West Indian Child is made

Educationally Subnormal in the

British School System.

Outline Introduction

9 – 10.30: What communities?

10.45 – 12.00: What engagement?

12 - 12.30: Leadership for community engagement

What communities? Discussion: what different communities do you

engage with?

Draw a diagram to show your school’s engagement

What communities? The wider context 1 Increasing numbers of pupils from diverse

backgrounds:

In 2012, in state-funded primary schools 27.6 per cent of pupils were of minority ethnic origin, an increase from 26.5 per cent in 2011.

In state-funded secondary schools 23.2 per cent of pupils were of minority ethnic origin, an increase from 22.2 per cent in 2011.

What communities? The wider context 2 Attainment:

the national average, and the percentage of White British pupils achieving 5 A*-C grades is 58%. Compared to 45% in 2006/07.

The consistent high attainers:

Chinese students are the highest attaining group, with 78.5% achieving 5 A*-C grades including Maths and English. Compared to 70% in 2006/07.

Indian students are second, with 74.4% achieving 5 A*-C grades (incl. Maths & English). Compared to 62% in 2006/07.

What communities? The wider context 3 Making more progress:

Bangladeshi pupils now have a slightly higher attainment rate than average with 59.7% (Av. = 58%). This is a massive improvement given that only around 40% achieved this 2006/07 (Av. 45%)

Black African pupils, now on 57.9%, compared to just over 40% in 2006/07. Similar for Mixed White and Black African pupils.

What communities? The wider context 4 Low attaining:

Pakistani origin pupils still have lower attainment levels, with 52.6%, but from around 35% for Pakistani pupils in 2006/7

Black Caribbean young people also, on 48.6%. But an improvement from 34% in 2006/07.

Travellers, Gypsies and Roma remain the lowest attainers: 17.5% of Irish Travellers (5% before) 10.8% of those from Gypsy or Roma backgrounds (5%

before).

What communities? The wider context 4 Gender, ethnicity, attainment and social class

Black Caribbean boys are twice as likely to be characterised as having behavioural, emotional or social difficulty compared to White British boys...

...and are 37 times more likely to be excluded than girls of Indian origin.

A Black Caribbean boy with special needs and eligible for free school meals was 168 times more likely to be permanently excluded from a state-funded school than a White girl without special needs from a middle class family.

What communities? The wider context 4

Comparison of results in Southwark, 2008. Raw results and adjusted for pupil progress (7-11) [Strand 2014]

Your communities and attainment: Jigsaw What do you know

about the attainment of different ethnic groups? School data Professional experience

20 mins (ish)

Each person to focus on one ethnic group, e.g. Black Caribbean, Pakistani etc. 10 mins (ish)

Move into focus groups on each ethnicity, to discuss their particularities across Oxford schools. 20 mins (ish)

Feedback to your school from focus group. 20 mins (ish)

Schools to summarise current strengths & challenges. 20 mins (ish)

What engagement? Two fields of

engagement:

Formal – the national curriculum

Extra-formal -

Three levels of engagement: 1st – school ethos: what

kind of school admission? What school culture?

2nd – spaces for dialogue

3rd – individual exchanges: what gets said, by whom and to whom?

A matrix of engagement1st level: Recognition of diversity of communities.

Faith/non-faith school.? Range of ethnicities and religions in pupils and staff? School’s values?

2nd level: Formal – spaces of dialogue

Diversity in the curriculum. Polish characters, in books,

Caribbean poetry, Asian history, Arabic, African art

2nd level: Extra-formal– spaces for dialogue

Opportunities in other aspects of school life – assemblies, parents

evenings, as providers of facilities, agents of local

regeneration

3rd level: formal exchanges

Dialogue in the classroom. Noticing & responding to pupils’

backgrounds. EAL. [‘You wouldn’t understand...’]

3rd level: extra-formal exchanges

Dialogue at events - exchange of ideas or information giving?

[Pakoras at Eid]

1st level: School’s recognition of diversity of communities Institutional racism: A tiny example - on a snowy day, a tiny

handful of teachers did not get the message not to come into school. I was one of them, having a chat, and another person approaching the building is a part-time teacher of Urdu, not particularly known among the staff, of Asian origin. And other members of staff immediately assumed that she must be a parent of an EAL student coming in to visit. And you can see what this is what people mean by institutional discrimination. It was not deliberate, by those staff, they are not racist. But “my” first instinct is to imagine that you are someone’s parent, not to imagine that you are “my” professional colleague.

Faith schools and community cohesion Admissions Ethnic diversity within a religion/denomination Links into communities

2nd level: spaces for dialogue A few years ago, a

[Year 13] Sikh pupil came up to me and thanked me, saying “You are the only person who has ever talked about Sikhism in the school. It has only been mentioned once in my whole career, and that was in your lessons”.

Bangladeshi men are the group of fathers least likely to attend parents’ evenings

Only 40% of minority ethnic parents and carers say they are always confident helping children with homework.

Parents and carers of children from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds are less likely to be always confident in helping with homework, as are those for whom English is not the first language.

3rd level – exchanges Looking at a picture

of a pelican with a fish in its mouth:

Faheem (Pakistani): Bengalis eat fish

Amir (Bangladeshi): So? Everyone eats fish

Teacher: I eat fish Faheem: I don’t. I

don’t like them

A teacher’s insecurity in saying Pakistan was the ‘home’ of many pupils:

Am I being racist what I say that? I feel as though I am saying the wrong thing when some of the children have never been to Pakistan.

Across the grid: EAL Case study Crisfield & Spiro. Beyond EAL: a whole-school

approach to supporting language learners

Whole school training: Bilingualism in Education, EAL in the Classroom, Collaborative Curriculum, Supporting Literacy for Language Learners, Assessment with Empathy Key Strategies for EAL.

Parents as Language Partners program Research program

Leadership & communities Model of wider community – different local

communities working together Developing knowledge and skills for local

bridge-building - between different communities

Hub – bringing groups together Educating to aspire beyond local communities –

qualifications as key to success Transforming local communities – working for

local regeneration

Jackson et al 2010; Dyson et al. 2012

Leadership for community engagement In schools, draw up a version of the gird to:

either, map out your current provision, for different linguistic/ethnic groups

And/or, identify where and how you might develop your provision further

Leadership for community engagement

1st level: Recognition of diversity of communities.

2nd level: Formal – spaces of dialogue

2nd level: Extra-formal – spaces for dialogue

3rd level: formal exchanges 3rd level: extra-formal exchanges

References Department of Education. 2012. Schools, pupils and their characteristics.

www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics

Dyson, A., F. Gallannaugh and K. Kerr 2012. Conceptualizing school-community relations in disadvantaged areas. London: AHRC.

http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/Funding-Opportunities/Research-funding/Connected-Communities/Scoping-studies-and-reviews/Documents/Conceptualising%20school-community%20relations%20in%20disadvantaged%20areas.pdf

Jackson, R.,J. Ipgrave., M. Hayward, P. Hopkins, N. Fancourt, M. Robbins L. Francis and U. McKenna. 2010. Materials used to teach about World religions in Schools in England. London: DCSF

Pearce, S. 2005. “You wouldn’t understand”. White teachers in multi-ethnic classrooms. Stoke on Trent: Trentham

Runnymede Trust 2012. Briefing on ethnicity and educational attainment, June 2012 http://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/Parliamentary%20briefings/EducationWHdebateJune2012.pdf

Strand, S. (2014) School effects and ethnic, gender and socio-economic gaps in educational achievement at age 11, Oxford Review of Education, 40:2, 223-245