Schools

Measuring school disadvantage: a better way?

Researchers call for measures to look at how populated an area is rather than current 'crude' measures

Researchers call for measures to look at how populated an area is rather than current 'crude' measures

Exclusive

The government could better support disadvantaged pupils if its intervention criteria included how heavily populated an area is, instead of the “crude” current measure of regions, researchers have said.

Timo Hannay, the managing director of SchoolDash, said the current measure to target support to schools – based on the number of pupil premium children – was a “binary threshold”.

Categorising pupils based on income alone also meant social deprivation was not “fully captured”, as health, crime and the environment also had effects on poverty.

Other support has been based on where schools are located – for instance, the 55 education investment areas.

But Hannay said this did not group together similar schools as it normally applied across a whole council area, missing the “type” of place a school was located. 

SchoolDash analysis applied a clustering algorithm to Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) data – which is relative poverty in small areas – and higher education participation rates. IMD data is also based on crime, employment, environment and health outcomes.

Timo Hannay
Timo Hannay

The analysis, funded by the Gatsby Foundation, found six clusters of schools with similar characteristics.

“The analysis indicates the importance of place, as well as poverty, but not in the sense of the regions that we tend to talk about,” Hannay said.

“Instead, it highlights the differences between towns and cities on one hand, versus suburbs and rural areas on the other, and the relationships these have with poverty.”

For instance, the analysis found some urban areas performing exceptionally well – despite high income deprivation. 

“Affluent urban” areas – richer city areas in London – had large levels of income deprivation, but good outcomes, while “poor urban” areas – particularly in the north and Midlands, but also east London – had adverse socioeconomic indicators and weak education outcomes, but not as bad as would be expected.

But “poor suburban” schools – mostly in the north and Midlands – had mixed IMD indicators, but high deprivation and poor outcomes and had “fallen the furthest behind”.

‘More sophisticated view of disadvantage’

“From this analysis alone we cannot say exactly why, but perhaps we should be considering the educational impact of the cultural and social capital often associated with more densely populated places, not just the single dimension of affluence and poverty that currently gets all the attention,” Hannay said.

“We hope the approach can form the basis of a more sophisticated view of disadvantage that recognises that not all poor communities are the same, and that deprivation has many faces. Understanding this is the first step towards better targeted interventions and policies to address these challenges.”

Schools Week investigation last month, based on SchoolDash data, revealed the uphill battle faced by leaders of disadvantaged schools.

Schools in the poorest areas struggled more to recruit teachers, had higher supply costs and paid more for basic supplies for pupils. 

And many gaps had worsened as schools with the poorest pupils were hit hardest by fall-out from the Covid pandemic.

A new model to group ‘similar’ schools?

•  Suburban This represents “middle England” outside the major cities. Socioeconomic and educational indicators are mostly unexceptional. 

•  Affluent suburban Richer suburban and rural neighbourhoods. The incidence of income deprivation is very low, but educational outcomes are not as good as you might expect 

• Affluent urban Richer city areas, especially in London. Much greater levels of income deprivation, but also higher levels of educational engagement and better outcomes. 

•  Poor urban Especially in the north and the Midlands, but also the east of London and elsewhere. Lots of adverse socioeconomic indicators, coupled with relatively weak educational outcomes – although not as bad as you might think given the levels of poverty. 

•  Poor suburban Again, mainly in the north and Midlands. IMD indicators are mixed, but income deprivation is high and educational outcomes are poor. These are the areas that have fallen furthest behind. 

•  Urban Middling city areas in London, Birmingham and Manchester, among other places. Moderately high levels of income deprivation, but relatively good educational outcomes.

Latest education roles from

IT Technician

IT Technician

Harris Academy Morden

Teacher of Geography

Teacher of Geography

Harris Academy Orpington

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Exams Assistant

Exams Assistant

Richmond and Hillcroft Adult & Community College

Lecturer Electrical Installation

Lecturer Electrical Installation

Solihull College and University Centre

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

It’s Education’s Time to Shine: Celebrate your Education Community in 2025!

The deadline is approaching to nominate a colleague, team, whole school or college for the 2025 Pearson National Teaching...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Navigating NPQ Funding Cuts: An Apprenticeship Success Story

Last year’s NPQ funding cuts meant that half of England’s teachers faced costs of up to £4,000 to complete...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Embedding Formative Assessment: not just a box-ticking exercise but something long-term and meaningful for all

Our EFA programme has been proven to help schools achieve better GCSE results, as evidenced by the EEF. Find...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Building capacity in family support to tackle low school attendance 

Persistent and severe school absence impacts children, families, and communities—especially in disadvantaged areas. School-Home Support’s Attendance Support and Development Programme...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Schools

Free school gets £500k government bailout after wage increase

Private school-turned-academy hit with budget problems after increasing support staff pay to national rates

Jack Dyson
Schools

Coroner concern over school swimming lessons after boy’s death

Coroner warns some primaries are not providing swimming lessons despite it being curriculum requirement

Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Schools

Cease and desist: Trust supports staff to sue online trolls

Provision for staff sickness cover will be broadened to cover defamation

Jack Dyson
Schools

Head scores victory as Google agrees to delete school reviews

Tech giant says all school reviews will now be deleted because of ‘consistent off-topic and harmful’ comments

Rhi Storer

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *