Increased places for disadvantaged pupils

[Doodlemum]

Hi, my dd is sitting 11 plus this September and we are currently trying to prepare. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or news about how the schools were going to try to help disadvantaged pupils as per various news articles and statement from the foundation earlier in the year. I was wondering how this might impact places / scores for children sitting 11 + this year.

[Happy dad]

There are several developments which are supposed to level the playing field:

- Adams Grammar School policy sets a required score and then children on free school meals or looked after children above this score are offered places regardless of rank.

- The CEM type tests are supposed to be tutor-proof

- some schools are running outreach type programmes. kEFW are currently running one on a Saturday and have a liveried bus touring the area advertising the fact it is a fee free school.

However, the reality is that disadvantaged children will remain disadvantaged until poor primary schools up their game and children are not consigned to a poor education because of where they live.

[hermanmunster]

some children have been disadvantaged for decades, not by the school but by their parents who don't accept the opportunities offered.
There are plenty of examples, A friend at primary school in the early 70's passed for GS but her mother said she would go to the secondary modern where her sister went so that was that. In that particular area a lot of kids were able to go from secondary mod to new sixth form college so may have all worked out in the end.

[Happy dad]

Some parents are not aware there are other options than the "designated route" which is why the outreach type programmes KEFW are running are so important.

[hermanmunster]

It is important to let them know but the schools have been there a very long time and the KE foundation schools have been free for quite a long time too. Sometimes people know all about something and still decided not to go for it - who knows why?

[Doodlemum]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I was particularly interested in what Adams are doing. Do you think that is something the KEFoundation might implement this year? I guess this would push the score up for kids in the " non disadvantaged" category as there would be fewer places available??

[hermanmunster]

I think that they may have been doing this is in a couple of other areas last year ? Gloucestershire??

I think it was apparent that this may only be one or two children a year affected and would not make much difference to the scores for others. Looking at Adams figues, there are 0,8% of children in the school eligible for FSM.

[Doodlemum]

Thank you very much Herman Munster , that is very useful.

[JamesDean]

Lawrence Sheriff in Rugby have changed their admissions in favour of FSM children this year. I don't know if anyone knows anything about the impact of this at this early stage, but the thread on the Warks forum is here - http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 37&t=33494" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

JD

[DC17C]

I think that they may have been doing this is in a couple of other areas last year ? Gloucestershire??

I think it was apparent that this may only be one or two children a year affected and would not make much difference to the scores for others. Looking at Adams figues, there are 0,8% of children in the school eligible for FSM.

I believe it is just Pate's of all the Gloucestershire Grammar Schools that have something in their admission criteria giving a degree of priority to children entitled to the Free school meal pupil premium - but they still have to get a pretty high test score too.