Sarah Ginns is Research, Policy and Compliance Lead at Forum Strategy
Review of ‘Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools’ by Sean Harris and Katrina Morley OBE
‘Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools’ is a brilliant tool for any educationalist with a determination to reverse the negative impact that poverty and disadvantage have on the educational and wider life chances of children.
Katrina Morley OBE is the CEO of Tees Valley Education multi academy trust and Sean Harris is Director of People, Learning and Community at Tees Valley Education. This seminal book brings together inputs from expert authors who are each working alongside communities facing disadvantage in different areas of the country.
What sets this book apart is the way it looks at poverty and disadvantage through different lenses and clearly sets out the research evidence base for the reader, as well as providing illustrative case studies for each topic covered.
The book is split into three main parts, each with a number of chapters which discuss a particular element within the wider theme. Part 1 is focused on ‘Understanding and tackling poverty across the whole school’, Part 2 looks at ‘Understanding and tackling poverty in the classroom’ and Part 3 considers ‘Tackling poverty in other ways’.
Each chapter provides a brief summary of the issue covered in the chapter, an overview of the key research evidence on the topic (each with a ‘key points’ section) and a case study of a real school example including ‘ideas to try’. The chapters also include a brief set of ‘chapter takeaways’, a recap task, suggested reflective tasks tailored to those with different roles in the school, and ‘further reading’ for those who wish to explore the topic in more depth.
Another excellent feature is the signposting guide at the start of the book, which highlights the chapters that the authors think would be most relevant to specific roles in school.
Whilst all the topics covered in the book combine to provide a comprehensive analysis of how to address the scourge of poverty and disadvantage impacting pupils in our schools; there are three topics covered in the book which stand out as being particularly pertinent in the current context.
Part 1, Chapter 1 considers ‘Unpacking poverty in schools’ and emphasises that whilst free school meals (FSM) and pupil premium are regularly used as proxies, they are in no way sufficient to understand the scale and complexity of poverty in schools. Indeed, all adults in school should have a clear understanding of what poverty and disadvantage mean in their community. This includes moving beyond common and misplaced assumptions, such as equating disadvantage with low aspiration.
Part 2, Chapter 6 looks at the impact of ‘Poverty on the brain’ and suggests ensuring that teachers and support staff accurately identify and understand the specific barriers to learning faced by each pupil, rather than making assumptions based on their family circumstances. It also recommends avoiding overcrowded displays and suggests keeping presentations simple and uncluttered, to avoid cognitive strain and support learning effectiveness.
Part 3, Chapter 13 looks at ‘Engagement with business and industry’ which urges school leaders and teachers to collaborate with local industry and businesses to create careers-related learning (CRL) curriculum opportunities. These aim to tackle poverty-related barriers and raise awareness and access for all pupils and families. Engaging with local businesses can help pupils to understand what exists locally and helps facilitate accessible routes into these sectors.
Given the authors’ passion about and expertise in this area, we were delighted when Katrina and Sean agreed to speak to colleagues at this year’s National #TrustLeaders CEO Conference on 17 September at Trent Vineyard in Nottingham.
In the context of ‘leadership well-lived’. Katrina and Sean spoke about ‘Our leadership mission; a moral endeavour’ and emphasised that leadership well-lived to them is about “how best to serve our bairns”. They commented that educational inequality cannot be addressed by education alone and at Tees Valley Education they have a commitment to all pupils in their schools and in other schools in the area to help them reach their potential. The trust works with a lot of partners, including Forum Strategy, to make life even better for all the children it serves.
In the context of poverty and disadvantage, Katrina and Sean challenged colleagues at the Conference to consider to what extent they have tested their assumptions of local problems or barriers to learning with others working beyond education.
Colleagues attending the Conference also had the opportunity to take home a copy of ‘Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools’ signed by Katrina and Sean.
If you are a member of the National #TrustLeaders Network (as a CEO or part of an executive team membership), and don’t yet have a copy of the book, we have a limited number of copies available at no cost. Please do get in touch with us at admin@forumstrategy.org
