Breakthrough Programme

Raising Boys' Achievement in Secondary Schools

Background

The National Education Breakthrough Programme (Breakthrough) is the result of a partnership between The Innovation Unit and the National Primary Care Development Team (NPDT)*.

For a number of years, NPDT has used its improvement methodology very successfully in primary health care to improve patient and community services. The Innovation Unit is now working with the Improvement Foundation to evaluate the effectiveness of this methodology in transforming standards in the education sector.

66 schools across the country have been working on applying this change management methodology in a range of contexts. Further information about the Programme, which is delivered for The Innovation Unit by NPDT, is available on the Improvement Foundation website.

Breakthrough's goal is to raise the level of boys' achievement within the participating secondary schools, without reducing that of girls, by changing the organisational systems of learning and teaching in order to maximize the potential of all pupils, staff and schools.

At the same time, it aims to help people develop a set of practical, transferable skills in quality improvement that they can use in any area of their work.

The schools' improvement work is centred on a set of 5 key change principles:

Use strong leadership and create the environment for change

Committed leadership and a school environment that empowers people to drive forward improvement are crucial for developing and sustaining change. Getting the basics right (eg how people speak to each other, how communal areas look and feel) is as important as developing a culture of attainment.

Focus on teaching and learning methods

Achievement depends on good teaching and learning. Schools trial approaches to curriculum delivery, with time for reflection on what works, so they can systematically apply their knowledge across the whole school.

Use mentoring and targeted intervention

Mentoring of pupils has significant benefits in terms of raising achievement, especially when associated with more targeted intervention for particular groups.

Create capacity

Making the most effective use of available capacity in terms of skills and time of both staff and students is crucial in managing schools effectively. The development of the roles of support staff and other adults and alternative approaches to teaching and learning offer opportunities to focus capacity on raising achievement.

Use data to drive improvement

The use of high quality data at all levels of the school, from whole school information through to data on individuals, is vital for understanding what makes a difference to pupil attainment and how changes can drive forward improvements throughout the school. This data is crucial to support planning and targeted intervention.

Handbook for Raising Boys' Achievement

As part of the output from the Programme, a handbook of practical ideas which form a menu of suggestions for improvement strategies was developed.  It was produced in July 2004 and can be downloaded here. 

Stakeholder Bulletin

Bulletin issued in May 2004

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Find out more by taking a look at the Frequently Asked Questions below:

What is the Breakthrough Programme?

• One of a range of programmes aimed at raising standards in schools.
• A one year change management programme.
• A network of schools working together to raise boys' achievement.

The National Education Breakthrough Programme for Raising Boys' Achievement in Secondary Schools developed out of a partnership between the National Primary Care Development Team (NPDT) and The Innovation Unit.

What is the goal?

To raise the level of boys' achievement within participating secondary schools, without reducing that of girls, by changing the organisational systems of learning and teaching in order to maximise the potential of all pupils, staff and schools.

How does it work?

This Programme aims to help schools implement sustainable change to their systems for delivering teaching and supporting learning, so that all pupils, regardless of gender, achieve their potential.

It uses change principles to focus on activity to raise boys' achievement:

• strong leadership creating the environment for change
• creating capacity
• focus on teaching and learning
• use of targeted intervention (including mentoring)
• use of data to drive improvement.

Using all five change principles will enable a school to move from its existing system to a new and more successful system.

• It provides staff with access to knowledge about raising boys' achievement (Learning Workshops).
• Measures improvements in English, maths and science but also looks at attendance, behaviour and motivation.
• The opportunity for staff to work together to trial changes in their own schools (action periods, Plan Do Study Act cycles and data collection).
• The opportunity to develop capacity and capability for improvement beyond the chosen topic and thus transform the way that they work.

Who took part?

27 schools from across England took part in the first wave of the Programme. A further 39 schools were engaged in the second wave.

In each school a cohort of up to 20 Year 9 boys and a cohort of up to 20 Year 11 boys.

What did schools do?

For example, changed reward systems, mentoring, working with older pupils, helping boys' develop organisational skills, all of which helped to raise academic achievement and improved self-esteem and engagement.

Who delivered it?

The Programme was delivered by the National Primary Care Development Team working in partnership with The Innovation Unit

Why is it different?

Breakthrough is a partnership, sharing learning between health and education and making change more rapid and sustainable at a local level; with a sharp focus on pupil outcomes. This is combined with an external delivery team to train and support the school, a toolkit that is easy for staff to use and inspiration that comes from hearing from and working with other schools. Schools develop their strategies autonomously and are able to try out whatever they feels works best for their particular situation.

What has it achieved?

NPDT has reported that on average the Programme has helped schools double their GCSE results by focusing on underperforming boys, with some schools' results improving by up to 17%.

• NB - The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has yet to validate GCSE and Key Stage 3 results for individual students.
• The Programme also improved attendance and motivation.
• Staff have reported the professional development provided as some of the best of their careers.
• Schools have reported improved quality of teaching, the use of data and planning processes. Many have started changes that will have a lasting effect on the ethos and culture of the school.

How was it taken forward?

• 30 schools took part in a third wave, working directly with the National Primary Care Team Wave 3.

Headline Results from NPDT

From the NPDT report:

'39 schools reported for their Year 9 and 11 cohorts (each of up to 20 boys) on core measures (attainment in English, Maths and Science, motivation and attendance) at half-termly intervals throughout the academic year. The results (at GCSE and Key Stage 3) below are the actual achievements of these boys.

• Overall, 50% of the boys in the cohorts at Key Stage 3 achieved levels higher than baseline.
• For each core subject in Year 9, 41% of the boys have achieved at least 1 whole National Curriculum level higher. In English 45% of the boys achieved 1 NC level higher.
• Overall, 9% of the boys at Key Stage 3 achieved at least 2 National Curriculum levels higher and in maths, 16% of the boys achieved at least 2 whole National Curriculum levels higher than baseline.
• Overall 40% of the boys in the cohorts at GCSE achieved grades higher than baseline and in maths this figure rose to 45%.
• For each core subject in Year 11, 29% of the boys achieved 1 GCSE grade higher. In English 32% of the boys achieved 1 grade higher.
• Overall, more than 10% of the boys achieved 2 grades higher than expected. In maths 15% of the boys achieved 2 GCSE grades higher than baseline.
• Over half (52%) of the boys improved their attendance this year.'

'Baseline' means teacher assessment of current KS3 or GCSE level at start of programme.

Download a list of the schools involved in the Breakthrough Programme here.

To find out what some of the schools involved in the Breakthrough Programme have been doing visit:

• Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, Worcester
• Sandhill View School, Sunderland
• Halton High School, Runcorn

An article on Halton High and Breakthrough was featured in the Summer 2005 edition of Nexus magazine. Find out more on the Breaking Through the Gender Gap page.

* The National Primary Care Development Team relaunched itself from 1st April 2006 as the Improvement Foundation, to reflect the development of its work on rapid cycle change management across public services, here and internationally. Information is available on the Improvement Foundation website.

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