Whatever it takes: raising aspirations for inner city pupils
How do you inspire pupils when poverty is rife, and opportunities are few?
Jackie Bowen is a Teach First Change Maker and headteacher at The East Manchester Academy. She tells us how her school is improving outcomes for pupils in one of the poorest areas of the country.
When I joined The East Manchester Academy (TEMA) as headteacher five years ago, the school was in special measures. We’ve been working steadily to improve things ever since, amongst incredibly challenging circumstances.
Filling the gaps
Our young people are facing widespread poverty. 76% of our Year 11s rely on pupil premium funding, while 68% of all current pupils are on free school meals (FSM). In our local community, healthy life expectancy (years of life in good health) is only 48 years.
Around 40% of adults don’t have any GCSEs.
Like many schools serving deprived communities, we fill local social care and mental health services gaps. With local authority and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) waiting lists ever-growing, our community often has nowhere else to turn, so we pick up the pieces.
Schools have always been and will always remain an accessible hub of the community.
Meeting basic needs
With COVID-19 and the cost-of-living crisis impacting many of our families’ earnings, we noticed more pupils having to decide between paying for lunch or the bus to school. So, after the pandemic, we provided free school meals to all pupils, whether they met the eligibility requirements or not.
Budgets remain tight for our families, so we’ll do as much as possible to ensure our pupils have what they need to succeed in their education.
Addressing mental health and wellbeing challenges
We’re also seeing a much greater need for mental health and social care services in school.
A third of our pupils have been known to social services at some point in their lives, so we know how much wellbeing and mental health can impact their learning.
Alongside an in-house councillor, we also have a CAMHS professional, and we will soon welcome a dedicated person from Children’s Services to support the school.
Providing wrap-around support
We do whatever it takes to tackle the barriers our pupils face, whether that’s helping them understand higher education options, sharing careers opportunities, offering extra learning support, providing school uniforms, or gifting books at the start of term so pupils have access to reading materials at home.
It’s clear how this wrap-around support impacts our pupils’ attainment.
We’ve gone from placing well below the bottom 10% of England’s GCSE grades, to now being average, despite our school being in the top 2% facing the most significant deprivation in the country.
Our NEET (young people not in education, employment or training) statistics have also improved significantly, although we still have a way to go.
Finding opportunities after GCSEs
Like many inner-city secondary schools, The East Manchester Academy doesn’t have a sixth form provision. Local colleges are being squeezed more than ever, leaving our pupils potentially without opportunities to continue their education after their GCSEs.
Around 40% of our pupils go onto mixed courses of A-Level and vocational learning, some go onto apprenticeships and some onto vocational courses.
This year, nine of our last GCSE cohort returned to school for work experience, and we have a few former pupils who are in salaried apprenticeships at the school.
Looking to local expertise
Our annual Manchester Week at the end of the school year encourages community pride and helps pupils realise and exercise their strengths. We invite local professionals and business leaders to share their experiences and expertise. Pupils have access to inspirational professionals from across Manchester, highlighting the different careers available on their doorstep.
This access to local professionals is vital in showing pupils who face a variety of challenges that they don’t have to limit themselves and their futures.
Our pupils have a massive sense of resilience and adaptability, and they’ve developed fantastic confidence and self-assurance, which are invaluable for their next steps.
Rewriting the future for our pupils
There is no silver bullet to school improvement and pupil outcomes.
To achieve an equal playing field for all young people, we must build a strong yet diverse education system that works for every child.
As we fight against the growing destinations gap, school leaders like me can see how hard their teams work to tackle the challenges our young people face.
If we’re ever going to see a national rise in pupils leaving school with the qualifications they need, those challenges and those overarching disadvantages must be recognised and addressed.
Only then can we ensure that all our pupils have every chance of reaching their goals in life.
Inspired by Jackie’s story?
Join us in transforming futures in schools like The East Manchester Academy.