Raising Aspiration and Achievement is ideal for senior leaders struggling to achieve school improvement and G&T leaders working with disadvantaged groups of pupils.

It contains six sections, each with adaptable training powerpoints, and uses illustrations and strategies from schools in the National Challenge G&T Project (2009-11) and the Realising Equality and Achievements for Learners (REAL) Project (2006-8) to show how to take G&T from additional provision for a marginal group to good provision for the mainstream classroom.

Each of the six sections includes:

• An introduction, principles, explanations and arguments for why this is an important focus area
• Some of the challenges as well as the benefits of taking this focus
• Examples from school contributors
• A framework to evaluate your current position
• Practical tools that will support work in that area
• Suggestions for CPD with colleagues in school
• Links to G&T quality standards*
• A framework for planning next steps with a checklist of possible actions
• PowerPoint slides and accompanying training notes for each section that can be adapted for use with individuals or groups
• Further reading or references 

*The content draws on and develops national G&T strategy developed until Mar 31st 2011

This publication includes contributions from the following eight schools who wrote about their practice because they have already made the journey:

• The Bishop Bell and Causeway Partnership, East Sussex
• Kenton School, Newcastle
• Kingsbury School and Sports College, Birmingham 
• Kirkby Sports College, Knowsley
• Phoenix School, Telford & Wrekin
• The Robert Napier School, Medway       
• Sittingbourne Community College, Kent
• St James School, Devon

Chapter Breakdown

Section 1:  Leadership to establish the momentum for change  

• What do we mean by G&T education?     
• Where are you now?        
• Reassess what G&T means in your school     
• Develop a high-aspiration, high-challenge ethos in your school  
• G&T as a whole-school issue       
• Develop the momentum for change      
• From vision to action – aligning G&T with whole-school improvement priorities
• From vision and plan to managing change and implementation  
• Plan for change: embed G&T into a strategic school improvement plan and
• school self-evaluation        
• Roles and responsibilities – action and accountability   
• A word about curriculum pathways      

Section 2: Identify target pupils      

• Unlock potential – why is identification an important issue?  
• Where are you now?        
• Who are we missing? Inclusive identification of G&T?   
• Identify a target group        
• Challenge perceptions of pupils, staff and parents    
• Target success: increase expectations and aspirations through ambitious targets
• Personalist support: targeted intervention     
• Empower pupils        
• Mentoring         

Section 3: Improve learning for all – developing teacher skills  

• Where are you now?        
• How to use this section       
• Why is CPD an important issue for G&T and disadvantaged pupils? 
• Collaborative CPD in action:      

              A) develop an evidence base – mini action-research projects

              B) Six-weekly cycles of change and improvement  

              C) The role of coaching to develop practice    

              D) Learning walks       

              E) Dissemination strategies the rondeval     

• What do we mean by ‘stretch and challenge’?     
• A whole-school model of good learning     
• What pedagogies will most effectively support the achievement of your pupils?

              A) The questioning classroom      

              B) Developing academic language     

              C) Independent learning      

              D) Differentiation for challenge    

• Differentiation in practice       

Section 4: Improve learning for all – developing pupil skills  

• Where are you now?        
• Why is this important for potential G&T and disadvantaged pupils? 
• From passive to active learner      
• Improve pupils’ academic language      
• Academic language development in practice     
• Further classroom strategies, resources and learning opportunities  
• The reflective, self-assessing learner      
• Independent study and extended projects     
• Take if further – supporting challenge for all     
• Raising aspirations through the extended and enriched curriculum  

Section 5: Engage parents       

• Why is this important?       
• A word about roles: what is good parenting for academic attainment and how can the school support the parents of your target pupils?  
• So what are the barriers?       
• Get the process right: Develop an effective strategy for communicating with parents of target pupils:

              Step 1: Develop an effective initial communication strategy

              Step 2: Plan an engaging launch programme    

              Step 3: Offer parents some strategies and resources to use at home with their   son/daughter

              Step 4: Who will keep in touch?      

              Step 5: Review current progress information and reporting for fitness for purpose

              Step 6: Offer parents a timeline for future meetings throughout the programme

• Take it further – reach out to the wider parent body in your community  

Section 6: Build capacity for change      

• Why is this an important issue for potential G&T and disadvantage pupils? 
• Partnership within schools       
• Make it work – the challenge of effective partnership beyond school 
• Build motivation for effective partnerships     
• Develop a common language and shared understanding   
• Share CPD across two partner schools     
• Learn from others – line management processes across two schools  
• Build capacity for shared enrichment opportunities