Social and Parental
Introduction
Data included in this topic cover very wide ranging issues including free school meals and general pupil and parental welfare issues. Many of the information items will be of particular interest to parents, for example there are Parliamentary Questions and Reports relating to extended schools and press releases about healthy schools and the launch of anti bullying strategies.
Extended schools
There are initiatives to extend schools to offer different services. The services available are designed around what local people want for their communities. Examples of services available are affordable childcare, holiday clubs, homework clubs, and activities surrounding art, music, drama and sports.
A DCSF publication explains more about the different services available within the extended schools programme.
Extended Services – extra support for you and your children
A Parliamentary Answer shows that the percentage of secondary schools offering access to the full range of services rose from 21% in 2006 to 62% in May 2008.
There are DCSF research reviews that have looked at extended schools to investigate and to understand the provision, usage and implementation of extended services within English schools.
Testing the Delivery of the Core Offer In and Around Extended Schools
Survey of Pupils, Schools and Parents
Funding for the extended school programme is over £1 billion in the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. Funding is allocated to local authorities. DCSF guidance states that local authorities should work closely with their schools and other children’s service partners through the children’s trust to develop and agree strategic plans for using the extended services funding.
Free school meal provision
A statistical first release in May 2009 showed that provisional figures indicate an increase in the proportion of pupils in state funded schools known to be eligible for free school meals. In primary schools in 2009, 15.9% of children were eligible for schools meals – an increase from 15.5% in 2008. In secondary schools in 2009, 13.4% of children were eligible for school meals compared to 13.1% in 2008 and in special schools there was an increase to 32.1% from 31.6% in 2008.
Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2009 (PDF file)
We can compare this to the figures released in the statistical first release in September 2007 that showed that there had been a slight decrease in the proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals from 16.0% in nursery and primary in 2006 to 15.9% in 2007; figures for secondary were 13.6% and 13.1% respectively.
Schools and Pupils in England, January 2007 (PDF file)
A table showing the increases in eligibility for free school meals:
|
|
Nursery |
Secondary |
|
2006 |
16% |
13.6% |
|
2007 |
15.9% |
13.1% |
|
2008 |
15.5% |
13.1% |
|
2009 |
15.9% |
13.4% |
A Parliamentary Answer shows that almost 25% of children eligible for free school meals have special educational needs.
Eligibility for Free School Meals by SEN Provision
Another Answer found that 12.6% of pupils with free school meals took fewer than 5 GCSEs.
Useful research publications about free school meals are available from these links:
Improving the Take Up of Free School Meals (PDF file)
Another research publication explores whether free school meals are a valid proxy for socio-economic status in social research:
Is Free School Meal Status a Valid Proxy for Socio-Economic Status?
There is also a new free school meals research study underway to look at the health and educational benefits of extending free school meals.
The above link also gives details of the current eligibility criteria for free school meals.
Parental involvement
There has been a focus in recent years on parental attitude and involvement in their children’s’ schools. There is a Parents Centre on the DSCF website:
The DCSF regularly monitors parental attitudes. A parental survey in a research report investigated the extent and variety of parents’ involvement in their children’s schooling. It is known that parents’ involvement in their child’s education can have a significant positive impact on their educational outcomes.
Parental Involvement in Children's Education 2007
Another research report looked at parental attitudes to education provision:
Another survey looked at the effect of parental support advisers:
Parent Support Advisor Pilot Evaluation
There is a literature review available on DCSF’s website ‘The Impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support and Family Education on Pupil Achievements and Adjustment. A Literature Review’. The study seeks to explore why and how parents become involved in supporting their children, the impact such support has and the particular characteristics of parental support that have the greatest effects.
The Impact of Parental Involvement
There are various case studies of the different ways schools engage with parents. Some different examples can be found on Teachernet:
Healthy schools
There is information about The National Healthy Schools Programme on Teachernet:
National Healthy School Programme
There is also a report on the DCSF website showing the progress of the healthy weight, healthy lives programme.
Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: One Year On
The Food in Schools programme is a joint venture between the Department of Health and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The programme aims to provide a range of nutrition-related activities and projects to compliment and add value to existing healthier food initiatives in schools. There is more information on the Department of Health’s website:
Looked after children
The Government has in recent years focused on children in care. A White Paper, Care Matters, was published in June 2007.
Data that shows the urgent need to raise attainment for children looked after by local authorities is in a Statistical First Release from April 2009.
Outcome Indicators for Children Looked After
Information, including about the numbers of children in care, can be found at:
Children Looked After in England, year ending 31 March 2009
Ethnic minorities
In the Statistical First Release Paper (May 2009) it states that in primary schools the percentage of pupils classified as of minority ethnic origin increased from 23.3% to 24.5% in 2009. In secondary schools 19.5% in 2008 rose to 20.6% in 2009. It is mentioned that this is in part due to an improvement in the completeness of the data collected.
Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2009 (PDF file)
The DCSF aims to improve the achievement gap that exists between children from different ethnic groups. Further information can be found at:
Teachernet: Ethnic Minority Pupils
The Ethnic Minority Achievement site on the DCSF website also provides useful information:
Ethnic Minority Achievement site
There are some interesting research publications available to download such as:
Evaluation of Aiming High: African Caribbean Achievement Project
Ethnicity and Education: The Evidence on Minority Ethnic Pupils January 2005
Research: Understanding the needs of mixed heritage pupils
Ethnic Minority Achievement: Publications
The DCSF monitors the achievement of young people from ethnic minorities. For example, a topic paper available online looks at level 2 and 3 attainment. It notes Chinese and Indian students have the highest attainment and Traveller children the lowest.
Level 2 and 3 Attainment by Ethnicity (PDF file)
Bullying and behaviour
A major report on behaviour was published in March 2008:
A Youth cohort study and a longitudinal study of 16 year olds published in June 2008 has some interesting findings, for example:
There is a strong relationship between being bullied and poor outcomes at age 16. There are few obvious risk factors for being bullied and fewer young people from ethnic minorities are bullied than their White counterparts. The two largest risk factors for being bullied are SEN and disability.
The Government has invested greatly in support for parents in parenting.
A research report published in June 2008 looked at the outcome of media based information on parenting to see if it changed parental reported behaviour of children.
DCSF: Second Great Parenting Experiment
There was a publication by the DCSF that outlines the possible bullying that may occur in the community and the steps to prevent it and how local authorities should respond to it effectively.
Also useful is this guidance from the DCSF:
Safe to Learn: Embedding Anti-Bullying Work in Schools
An anti-bullying week in November is supported by the DCSF and organised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance.
www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk
The week in November 2009 is focused on cyberbullying and a report is due out in January 2010.
DCSF Anti-Bullying Week Press Release
November 2009