Ethnic Minority Achievement Services

Under the 2009 Ofsted evaluation framework, inspectors are giving priority to a range of factors, including:

Ofsted’s emphasis on achievement means inspectors judge teaching through their understanding of the current progress of pupils and any significant variations between groups of pupils. Inspectors will take account of any analysis of progress carried out by the school, including the progress made by different groups, particularly pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities; looked after children; particular minority ethnic groups, including Gypsy, Roma and Travellers of Irish heritage; those who join the school other than at the normal date of admission (our emphasis); and those who are socially or economically disadvantaged.

School evaluation and review of its management of pupil mobility should include examination of:

The school’s mobility profile
Information and tracking systems
Rates of pupils’ progress
Pupils’ personal development and well-being
The quality and impact of the school’s interventions to support teaching and learning
The inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency of provision, including extended services
The effectiveness of parental and multi-agency involvement

Both administrative and pupil support systems need to be monitored, together with the practice of both pastoral and teaching staff, and the work of other key support staff and outside agencies. Ideally both mobile and stable groups of pupils should be consulted.

Causes of mobility

Islington schools with significant numbers of mobile pupils have identified the following causes of mobility:

Living in temporary accommodation
Seeking asylum
Family reunion, including children arriving from overseas
Family break-up, including fleeing domestic violence
Moving to the catchment areas of desired schools
New schools opening
Changed arrangements for looked after children

Measuring pupil mobility in Islington schools

The following percentage number measurement has been proposed by Ofsted (Managing Pupil Mobility, 2002):

Pupil mobility at school level using this measurement is the aggregate of individual pupil movements in any one academic year.

Using this calculation, Islington primary schools with more than the average pupil mobility (for primary schools in the borough) are considered by Cambridge Education @ Islington EMAS to have high pupil mobility. Those with more than 25% are considered to have very high pupil mobility.

Islington secondary schools with more than the average pupil mobility (for secondary schools in the borough) are considered by Cambridge Education @ Islington EMAS to have high pupil mobility; those with more than 15% are considered to have very high pupil mobility.

Analysing and using data on mobility

Collecting and analysing data on joiners and leavers can help schools to identify trends and ensure that interventions are targeted effectively. This, together with local data that provides detail of social context, local mobility factors and pupils’ achievements, can also provide useful information about the school’s attainment profile and any changes to the context in which the school works.

Ofsted inspectors are encouraged to be alert to the effects of mobility on schools and to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies that support pupils’ well-being and progress. A central aspect of school self-evaluation is an examination of the characteristics of its learners. Ofsted inspectors need to know the level of pupil mobility, the profile of pupils, particularly the identity and proportion of minority ethnic groups represented in the school including pupils from refugee and asylum seeker families, the number of pupils for whom English is an additional language (EAL) and who are at an early stage of learning English, and the three most common first languages spoken by the learners who are at an early stage of English language acquisition.

Ofsted inspectors are encouraged to be alert to the effects of mobility on schools and to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies that support pupils’ well-being and progress. Clear evidence and tracking of differences in performance between mobile and stable groups of pupils can help inspectors’ awareness of the current challenges the school faces.

Target setting and attainment

When considering the performance of the school’s mobile pupils sitting key stage assessments as compared to that of the stable population it is important to remember that although evidence across LEAs suggests a negative attainment gap between additional admissions and the stable population, the relationship between pupil mobility and attainment is complex. According to Ofsted:

‘It is difficult to isolate the effect of pupil mobility on attainment because it often occurs alongside other factors, such as disrupted family life. Differences in the relationship between mobility and attainment also reflect differences between schools in their ability to manage mobility effectively.’ (Managing Pupil Mobility, Ofsted, 2002)

The process of setting targets is complex when there is a high rate of pupil mobility in a school. This adds to the importance of good quality induction procedures and accurate assessments of pupils’ educational experience and attainment. The use of short-term targets can also help drive learning.

New arrivals with EAL and school performance tables

The performance of new arrivals in the national end of key stage tests and GCSE, who have arrived in the country in the previous two years and who speak English as an additional language, can in certain circumstances not be included in the school’s results when calculated for the national school performance tables.

Managing support

Reviewing the impact of support strategies, including multi-agency involvement, relies on the collection of monitoring information from key support staff involved. Interventions to support the wider needs of pupils and their families need to be regularly supervised and properly documented, with outcomes recorded. This includes outside agency workers placed at the school. Attendance, behaviour and other pupil referral data needs careful monitoring to identify how well mobile pupils are settling in.

Support materials for schools

This audit form enables schools to establish a baseline which analyses mobility patterns, its impact on attainment, attendance and exclusions, good practice and areas for development. The DCSF form can be located in appendix 1 of the DCSF guidance document.

Review questions linked to download

This downloadable document, drawn from a similar document produced by the London Borough of Lewisham’s Ethnic Minority Achievement Service, provides schools with a list of questions and prompts that can support school self-evaluation of their management of pupil mobility and support for all new arrivals.

Ethnic Minority Achievement Service

Mobility - School Self-Evaluation