Ensuring Successful Outcomes
Friday 28th March 2025

Descriptions of the main themes and topics that our speakers intend to cover in their sessions are outlined below to assist you in gaining a strong overview of the conference and to help you choose the workshop sessions that best suit your needs and areas of interest:

9.30-10.30

OPENING KEYNOTE: As easy as ABC? Pupil Premium and disadvantage
Matt Bromley, Education Author and Advisor, BEE, Yorkshire

In this keynote session, Matt Bromley explores his ABC for Pupil Premium impact: A is for attendance. B is for behaviours. C is for community. Matt will argue that efforts to tackle disadvantage must start with attendance because if pupils are not attending school, we cannot help them to engage with their education, learn and make progress, and we cannot identify their additional needs and put in place appropriate support. Behaviours are next because, once pupils are attending, we need to help them comply with our rules and expectations, and develop positive attitudes to learning and a raft of behaviours for learning so that they can access an increasingly challenging curriculum, actively engage with their studies, and make good progress. And then comes community – namely our parents and carers. Once pupils are attending and behaving positively, we must focus on building a community around them by putting family first. Matt will argue that the best schools reflect their local communities; they bring the community into their school and take learners out into that community. The session will offer a range of practical examples of how we can achieve Matt's ABC in our schools.

10.50-11.40

Workshop 1A: SECONDARY: Pupil Premium, SEND and parents
Liz Zoccolan, SENCO and Assistant Headteacher at Harrogate Grammar School; and Lead for SEND, Red Kite Learning Trust.

In this workshop, we will find out about work going on across the Red Kite Learning Trust, and in particular at Harrogate Grammar School – a large comprehensive school in North Yorkshire – focused on the overlaps between our Pupil Premium and SEND cohorts. The trust has done a lot of work around engagement of ‘hard-to-reach’ families and overcoming barriers to effective co-production. We will find out what the school has done to build trust and foster positive and effective relationships with the aim of narrowing gaps for Pupil Premium and SEND students. We will hear about lessons learned, examples of effective practice, interventions and more.

Workshop 1B: CROSS-PHASE: Closing attendance gaps and ensuring pupils are 'classroom ready'
Ben Eason, Deputy Headteacher and DSL, Rainham School for Girls, Kent; Regional TKAT ACE Lead, The Kemnal Academies Trust.

This workshop will dissect the work taking place across the primary and secondary schools of the The Kemnal Academies Trust (TKAT) to drive-up pupil attendance and aspiration among disadvantaged groups and to ensure pupils are ready to engage and thrive in the classroom environment. Based on the work of and lessons learned from ACE (A Champion for Every Child), TKAT's Pupil Premium pastoral programme, the workshop will consider what TKAT schools have found to be effective when tackling pupil absence, including how to engage effectively with families, address school avoidance, and remove barriers to attendance.

Workshop 1C: PRIMARY: Cultural Capital with The Grove 100
Hilary Priest, Headteacher, The Grove Primary School, Totnes A core aspect of Pupil Premium work at The Grove Primary School in Devon is giving the children experiences and opportunities that they might not otherwise receive – known in some circles as building cultural capital. At The Grove, this is achieved via The Grove 100 project, which is a list of 100 activities and achievements that pupils are supported to realise by the time they leave. Around 18% of the school's 310 pupils are eligible for Pupil Premium funding, but The Grove 100 is aimed at engaging and motivating every child. In this workshop, delegates will find out how the project works in practice, what kind of activities are included on the list, and tips and advice for creating something similar in their settings. The Grove has a particular focus on supporting disadvantaged SEND pupils and the workshop will also describe how The Grove 100 is effective for this cohort. Finally, the school is well-known for the support it offers to adopted children, who attract Pupil Premium Plus funding. As such, we have asked headteacher Hilary Priest to dedicate some time in her session to discussing this work and offering her guidance and ‘lessons learned’.

11.45-12.30

Workshop 2A: SECONDARY: Inspection of the Pupil Premium: Experiences and lessons learned from the frontline Helen Everitt, Deputy Headteacher, Oriel High School, Crawley

Ryan Sallows, School Business Manager, Oriel High School, Crawley

In this workshop, delegates will get a warts and all overview of one school's experience during a very recent Ofsted inspection. Oriel High School (15% Pupil Premium) is expecting the call anytime now and, all being well, will be in a position to discuss their experience of Ofsted in the context of the Pupil Premium at our conference. The workshop will discuss what Ofsted looked for when it comes to the achievement of disadvantaged groups, lessons learned from the inspection, and any key areas that have been identified for improvement as a result. The workshop will discuss specific themes and lines of enquiry pursued by inspectors, including areas such as attendance, literacy, and raising aspiration. We will find out how the school presented its Pupil Premium strategy and any lessons learned in this regard. Note: Should the inspection not take place within the timeframe required to present at this event then this workshop will instead consider other aspects of Oriel High School's Pupil Premium work and this summary will be updated accordingly.

Workshop 2B: CROSS PHASE: How well do you know your community? Place, poverty and the Pupil Premium
Sean Harris, Doctoral Researcher investigating poverty and educational inequality in schools, Teesside University; Director of PLACE (People, Learning and Community Engagement), Tees Valley Education

The powerful impact that can be achieved when schools reach out into their communities is something that can particularly benefit disadvantaged children and their families. In this workshop, long-standing SecEd and Headteacher Update editorial board member Sean Harris will describe in practical terms how schools can lead place-based change and interventions in their communities that will ultimately raise outcomes and life chances for children living in poverty. From healthcare to careers to financial advice and many more areas, collaboration between schools and community organisations can support families living in poverty, identifying local barriers to education and wellbeing and beginning to break them down. The workshop will aim to offer schools the practical tools they need to develop this work in their place. Ultimately, this agenda will help us to change the narrative from schools as an emergency service (as vital as this reactive work is) to schools leading preventative action in partnership with others to break cycles of poverty and address long-standing consequences of poverty. Sean will also share excerpts from the book Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools written with more than 10 co-authors nationally. The book provides a ready-access guide to research, case studies and tools that can support schools in better understand and tackling poverty.

WORKSHOP 2C: PRIMARY: Racial justice, inclusion and Pupil Premium
Ifrah Khan, English & Reading Lead, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lead, KS2 Teacher, Loughborough Primary School, London

This practical workshop will scrutinise how our work on racial justice, diversity and inclusion in schools overlaps and interlinks with our work to support disadvantaged pupils, including via the Pupil Premium. Delegates will hear about the work and experiences of Loughborough Primary School in inner city London and how it has worked to become a culturally proficient and anti-racist school. The workshop will consider the benefits of moving towards becoming experts in your pupils, not in Pupil Premium. As well as, practical examples of how inclusive practice directly supports Pupil Premium goals, including its wider impact on pupils and their families through the schools early help offer, we will hear about designing inclusive pathways, staff training, and culturally proficient approaches that have had high impact at the school. We will consider the application of anti-racist approaches and how these can benefit all pupils, but especially children from historically disadvantaged groups.

13.30-14.30

AFTERNOON KEYNOTE: The lived experiences of a free school meals headteacher
Kurt Doyle, Headteacher, St Peter's Catholic Primary School, Gloucester
Kurt Doyle, his brother and his best friend grew up in poverty as free schools meals children on inner city and council estates in Birmingham and in the West Midlands. As young boys, Kurt and his brother experienced violence and domestic violence in their lives and were exposed to a number of what we would now call adverse childhood experiences. Kurt went on to become a professional football coach before moving into education as a teacher, senior leader and now as a headteacher. Kurt's best friend now runs social care provision in his community. Kurt's brother, however, has suffered with mental health challenges and is currently in the prison system. In this powerful session, Kurt will discuss in frank terms their experiences and educational journeys as ‘free school meals children’. He will consider what things in his schooling and wider life made the significant difference for him personally in helping to overcome the challenges he faced, building his cultural capital, aspirations and life chances. Likewise he will consider his brother's experiences and those of his best friend. He will bring the threads of these three stories together by reflecting on what lessons they teach us about disadvantage and vulnerability and discussing how his experiences have influenced his work today as a school leader – how these experiences have helped him to shape his approach to supporting disadvantaged children in his school. He will offer practical working examples for school leaders and ask delegates some tough questions about how they go about understanding the lived experiences of their most disadvantaged pupils and meeting their needs.

14.30-15.20

Workshop 3A: SECONDARY: Reading, oracy and vocabulary as part of Pupil Premium practice
Charlotte Bowyer, Assistant Headteacher, King Ecgbert School, Sheffield, part of the Mercia Learning Trust

This workshop will take a practical look at the range of interventions and whole-school approaches in place at King Ecgbert School in Sheffield aimed at boosting the literacy, vocabulary and oracy of all students – but especially disadvantaged learners. Delegates will hear about the school's approaches to improving academic reading (disciplinary literacy) and how students are taught strategic ways of approaching texts. We will describe the school's ethos of ‘every lesson is a literacy intervention’ and describe how this works in practice across different subjects. We will touch upon the school's reading for pleasure approaches (including the Drop Everything And Listen initiative), how crucial Tier 2 vocabulary is embedded in teaching, and we will hear about some of the school's most cost and time-effective reading/literacy interventions. Finally, we will touch upon the crucial role of CPD in supporting staff and approaches that can be adapted for different subject areas.

Workshop 3B: CROSS-PHASE: Closing attendance gaps for disadvantaged SEND students
Frances Akinde, Local Authority SEND Adviser and Inspector, Neurodiversity Champion, SEND/SLCN Specialist

The overall absence rate for students on SEN Support is around 10%, rising to 12.5% for those with Education, Health and Care Plans. What is more, a third of students with SEND are persistent absentees from school. If you add disadvantage into the mix then the barriers to school attendance become even more significant. This practical workshop will offer a range of ideas and approaches for working with disadvantaged SEND students and their families to remove these barriers to attendance and reduce school absence. Drawing on her experience as a former special school headteacher and now as a local authority SEND advisor, Frances Akinde will offer advice tailored for those working in mainstream schools to help you engage with families of disadvantaged SEND students, identify barriers, and put in place effective measures to remove or reduce them.

Workshop 3C: PRIMARY: Practical ideas for encouraging reading for pleasure across the primary school
Arwenna Davis, Head of Research and Impact, BookTrust

This workshop will offer a range of tried and tested ideas to help boost pupils' reading enjoyment. Research tells us that reading enjoyment decreases as pupils get older and yet reading for pleasure has also been shown to lead to improved academic outcomes among children and young people. So how can primary schools engage, motivate and support their pupils to want to read – especially our most disadvantaged learners. And how can we work with parents and carers, especially those living in poverty, so that pupils are reading – and being read to – more at home? This workshop will be led by national charity BookTrust and a primary school with which it works closely. Our presenters will discuss techniques and initiatives that have been shown to get pupils reading more, ‘lessons learned’ when engaging with families, and offer practical tips and ideas. The session will also touch upon recent research showing the impact that reading for pleasure can have for children who have experienced vulnerability.

15.40-16.30

Workshop 4A: SECONDARY: Teaching strategies for closing the disadvantage gap
Helen Carter, Senior Deputy Headteacher, Burnage Academy for Boys, Greater Manchester

In 2023, Burnage Academy for Boys – an ‘outstanding’ comprehensive school in Greater Manchester with almost 1,000 students aged 11 to 16 – achieved a Progress 8 average of +1.05. This compares to a Progress 8 score of +1.03 across its cohort of Pupil Premium students. What is all the more remarkable is that 48% of the school's intake are eligible for Pupil Premium support, and there are 44 languages spoken across the school. Burnage Academy serves some of the most deprived areas of Manchester and sits in the highest deprivation indices. In 2024 Burnage Academy won the TES Secondary School of the Year award. High-quality teaching is integral to the school's Pupil Premium approach and in this workshop delegates will hear about the most effective teaching strategies that have led to this success, especially in the English and maths classroom. Other themes will include the use of reading interventions, specialist support staff, targeted academic support, and wider strategies such as attendance and behaviour.

Workshop 4B: CROSS-PHASE: Inclusive approaches to extra-curricular and enrichment
Georgina Burt, Senior Education Policy Officer, Child Poverty Action Group

Clubs, trips, community events, sports, and other activities – the school year is filled with a whole host of extra-curricular opportunities, which not only enrich the curriculum but also provide pupils with valuable experiences and life-skills. However, too many children from low-income families miss out on all that their time at school has to offer. In this session, we will explore the barriers pupils can face in accessing extra-curricular and enrichment opportunities and how schools can begin to remove these. Drawing on the Child Poverty Action Group's Cost of the School Day work with pupils, families, and school staff, we will explore how schools can monitor and practically take action to increase participation in enrichment and extra-curricular opportunities for pupils experiencing poverty. The session will provide examples from primary and secondary schools across the UK and give lots of ideas on how to make sure children don’t miss out on enrichment at your school.

Workshop 4C: CROSS-PHASE: Pastoral care strategies for meeting the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged learners
Phil Jones, National Chair, The National Association for Pastoral Care in Education
Emma Jones, Assistant Headteacher, Alderbrook School, Solihull

This workshop will offer tried and tested examples of how pastoral care approaches and interventions in schools can support the wide-ranging needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged children. Drawing on best practice from the National Association for Pastoral Care in Education, Phil Jones will discuss with delegates the common pastoral needs of children living in poverty, the barriers these create to learning and positive outcomes, and how schools can ensure their pastoral systems are set up to meet diverse needs and to support the creation of a positive culture for learning. The session will feature an interview with a school leader from Solihull dissecting pastoral approaches that have proven effective with their Pupil Premium students.