Measuring Impact in Walsall

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Bob Marsh
Measuring Impact in Walsalls New Deal Area
(Turning Evidence into Strategy)
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Schools in the New Deal Area

• Blakenall Heath Junior
• Bloxwich CE JMI
• Christ Church Primary
• Elmore Green Primary
• Green Rock Primary
• Harden JMI
• Leamore Primary
• Little Bloxwich CE
• St. Peters RC Primary
• Sunshine Infant Nursery
• The Walsall Academy (11-18)
• 4 other High Schools

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Basic Information Needs in 2004

• Data available for schools, not New Deal pupils
• Information always late for PMR
• Information on trends for whole Borough need
  for more explicit data
• Need to confirm New Deal pupils position relative
  to that of schools do schools know their New
  Deal pupils? (yes and no)

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What we have done?

• Engage with Education Walsall
• Produced Performance and Attainment Booklet
  for New Deal primary schools .
• Comparative data about schools.
• Performance data at KS1 and KS2.
• Attainment plotted against particular features
  (SEN or FSM).
• Value Added Scores.

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New Deal Interventions

• Issues of number of schools and appropriateness
  of interventions led to School Improvement funds
  for Primary and Secondary
• Homework and Holiday Clubs to add support
  issues of links with SIPs (aim to be a solution,
  not a further problem)
• Pre-NEETs project with Education Business
  Partnership
• Adult and Community Learning projects X 3
• Research and Data projects.

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Primary School Initiatives
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Key Issues

• Fit with School and LA targets
• Schools knowledge of New Deal pupils
• Associative links / Causal Links
• Data swings with small samples
• Un-provenanced Administrative Data
• Academy chooses not to engage
• Lack of Data for ACL
• Reductions in Adult Funding challenges
  sustainability.

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Points to Ponder...

• Are New Deal initiatives, other than those
  delivered in schools, having an effect on pupil
  performance?
• Can gains in pupil attainment at school be put
  down to New Deal intervention, or are they a
  result of National Strategies, Intensive Support
  Programmes or other initiatives, generally
  available to schools?

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Taking things further...

• Pooling resources for the appointment of an
  additional data officer.
• Use virtual grouping on Pupil Achievement
  Tracker, to drill down to pupil level conversion
  rates.
• Following up New Deal children in non New Deal
  schools.
• Track post 11 and post 16 destinations. Linking
  with another New Deal to compare results and
  share methodology
• Apply initiatives more effectively as a result
  of learning.
• Help the New Deal Board to consider Education
  gains alongside effectiveness of all New Deal
  strands.

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Celebration of Achievement for Adult Learners
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Bob Marsh
Measuring Impact in Walsalls New Deal Area
(Turning Evidence into Strategy)