Closing gaps

In Northumberland's Children's and Young People's Plan 2008-2011, Having a Life, the commitment to closing gaps in achievement for particular groups is clearly asserted:

By tackling inequalities and overcoming the barriers to learning experienced by the most vulnerable young people we will ensure all young people are provided with an opportunity to access high quality learning and are inspired to reach their potential.

Trevor Doughty, former Executive Director of People

For those of us involved in the education of Northumberland's children and young people that means we need to be aware of the needs of particular groups of children and develop strategies to target our resources to directly support those needs.  Data tells us that the groups most in need include: Looked After Children (LAC), those with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities (LDD), Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) pupils, pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN), those at risk of becoming Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), Early Years children and hard to reach groups.

This area of the website keeps you up to date with the cultural factors which might impact upon the well-being and achievement of the children and young people in our schools. 

Northumberland's commitment

• Summary information from Having a Life 2008-2011
• Learning for Life: the 2020 vision for learning in Northumberland
• Narrowing the Gap: a review of education and learning in Northumberland

Equalities in schools

• For further guidance and support on promoting equalities and tackling discrimination in schools, including preparation for Ofsted inspection, visit our Equalities in schools page

BME achievement

• The BME achievement pages of this section provide comprehensive information, guidance and resources for schools who have BME pupils on roll
• Race equality in schools - starting points

National research and guidance

• Narrowing the Gaps The National Strategies site linking to resources which have been shown to make a difference and advice on their use through regional teams to narrow the gaps between the attainment of disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils and their peers
• Breaking the Link between disadvantage and low attainment, DCSF 2009 00357-2009BKT-EN
• Month of Birth and Education DfE July 2010 publication from the Schools Analysis and Research Division

• Testing of Disability Identification Tool for Schools Published by DfE July 2010

• The Extra Mile (Secondary) Achieving success with pupils from deprived communities
• The Extra Mile (Primary) Achieving success with pupils from deprived communities
• The Extra Mile How schools succeed in raising aspirations in deprived communities 
• National Association of Traveller Teachers