Ten Years of Impact. - Teach First

Ten Years of Impact.

Author: Robert Hill

Introduction This report, commissioned by Teach First and written by Robert Hill, summarises our impact over the last decade since our launch in 2002. Working in partnership with schools, universities, businesses and a range of other organisations, we are working to change education in the UK. The report explores the progress we have made in raising the status of the teaching profession and supporting greater achievement, aspirations and access to opportunities for pupils from low income communities. The report concludes by outlining the futures challenges that lie ahead for us. To reach our vision – that no child’s educational success is limited by their socio-economic background – we will need to address these challenges and build on a model of collective impact. The next ten years are full of potential. We look forward to working with everyone who shares our vision.

Chapter 1 The education system at the turn of the century › Encouraging headlines › Deep-seated problems › Knock-on effects › Challenges in London › An inadequate supply of good teachers › Declining social mobility

All photos used in this publication are of real Teach First participants, ambassadors and pupils in our partner schools.

2 Teach First. Ten years of impact.

Chapter 2 The birth of Teach First › How did it come about?

10 11

Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Teach First takes off

26

Teach First’s leadership development model › Minimum requirements › The selection process › Allocating participants to schools › The summer institute › The first year › The second year › The ambassador network › Teach First’s funding model

14 15 16 18 19 21 22 23 25

Chapter 5 The education system at the turn of the century › Impact on recruitment › Impact on completion and retention › Impact on teacher supply in London › Impact on the wider system

Robert Hill is a former Ministerial adviser on education. Robert has researched and written extensively on school leadership and education policy issues and works regularly with school leaders. He is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Education and Professional Studies at Kings College London.

04 04 05 06 06 08 09

32 33 36 37 38

Chapter 6 The impact of Teach First on teaching, schools, attainment and progression › The impact on teaching and learning › Impact on schools and school leadership › Impact on attainment › Impact on progression to higher education › Impact on the system

40 41 43 46 48 49

Chapter 7 Conclusion 52 › New challenges 55

Appendices Apendix A › Current and founding supporters Apendix B › Teach First’s higher education partners Apendix C › References Apendix D › Get in touch

56 58 60 62

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Chapter 1

Deep-seated problems Chapter 1:

The education system at the turn of the century Encouraging headlines › Wind back the clock ten years or so to the turn of the century. › School performance was improving. › The national literacy and numeracy strategies introduced by New Labour had brought about significant gains in levels of literacy and numeracy in primary schools1. › GCSE results were also on an upward trend. Fewer secondary schools were failing and those that were deemed to be inadequate were being turned round more quickly. › The level of capital investment in schools had increased threefold and was providing the platform for tackling the huge backlog of school building repairs. › Thousands more teachers and teaching assistants were working in schools and the salary levels of both newly qualified and experienced teachers were rising. New leadership roles such as Advanced Skills Teachers were being introduced into the classroom.

But beneath the encouraging headlines lurked a number of deep-seated problems – particularly in relation to secondary schools: › There was a large tail of chronically underperforming secondary schools. In 480 schools (around 15 per cent of the total) only a quarter or fewer of pupils were achieving five good GCSEs. There were 41 schools where fewer than ten per cent of pupils were reaching this benchmark; › The headline figure of five good GCSEs that was used to measure progress at age 16 did not even include English and mathematics; › Girls were outperforming boys by a significant margin – particularly boys from working class families; › Pupils on free school meals (FSM), widely used as an indicator of deprivation, were far less likely to obtain five good GCSE passes – as Figure 1.1 below shows:

Figure 1.1: Performance of pupils at Key Stage 4 in 2002 according to whether they were receiving free school meals 60 50 40 30 20 10

Pupils ON free school meals

Pupils NOT on free school meals

Pupils ON free school meals

Pupils NOT on free school meals

0 Percentage of pupils gaining five A* to C grades at GCSE and equivalents

Percentage of pupils gaining five A* to C grades at GCSE and equivalents, including English and mathematics

Source: Department for Education and Skills (DfES), 2006

For the evidence to support the analysis in ‘Encouraging headlines’, ‘Deep-seated problems’ and ‘Knock-on effects’, unless otherwise stated, see DfES, 2001,

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Chapter 1: The education system at the turn of the century

Chapter 1

Knock-on effects These weaknesses in the school system were feeding through into both further and higher education. Achievement, or lack of it, at GCSE is closely linked with how likely it is that young people will stay in education and training post-16. It is no surprise, therefore, to find that in 2001 the UK was well down the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) international league table for the proportion of young people staying on in education beyond the age of 16. Just 73 per cent of UK 17 year olds were enrolled in education, compared with an OECD average of 82 per cent, and participation rates of 90 per cent or higher in France, Germany and Japan. Similarly, given the low proportion of FSM students gaining five good GCSEs, it was alarming but not surprising to find that in 2002 only 19 per cent of 18 year olds from lower socio-economic backgrounds were gaining two or more A-levels, compared with 43 per cent of those from higher socio-economic backgrounds (DfES, 2003a). Even those pupils from state schools that did well at A-level were far less likely to go to the top universities. Around, 3,000 young people attending state schools and sixth forms were not among the 30,000 or so entering the country’s leading universities even though they had obtained entry requirements that were as good or better than those who did gain admission (HEFCE, 2004). That in turn was affecting their life chances in terms of the jobs and salaries they would go on to secure after graduating.

Challenges in London In addition to these system-wide problems, there were was a specific geographical challenge: London schools were lagging behind the rest of the country. The pass rate for five good GCSEs, which for inner London schools in 2002 was eight percentage points lower than the national average, was one reflection of this (DfES, 2003b). But London schools had other problems, particularly in relation to the supply of teachers. London with all its challenges was not seen as an attractive place in which to work and teach (Johnson, 2003): › The percentage of unqualified teachers (3.3 per cent) was over double that of England as a whole (1.3 per cent); › The vacancy rate was also over double the national average and treble the rate in inner London; and › The turnover rate of teachers was 15 per cent compared with a national average of 11 per cent. The pressure of working in the capital’s challenging schools was not seen as worth the candle for many teachers.


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Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The education system at the turn of the century

An inadequate supply of good teachers The challenge of attracting teachers to come to and stay in London was part of a wider problem. Teaching itself was not esteemed and valued as a profession, particularly amongst the most able graduates. Those with the best degrees from the best universities did not see teaching as the natural place to go and make a contribution to building great schools and improving life chances for tomorrow’s young people. This problem had not arisen overnight: it had been twenty years in the making. The 1980s and 1990s had seen a decline in the proportion of graduates enrolling on postgraduate certificate of education (PGCE) courses. In 1980/81 teacher training was the first destination of 7.9 per cent of graduates; by 1999/2000 that figure was down to 3.7 per cent (Haines and Hallgarten, 2002). The reasons were not hard to discern: low starting salaries, little kudos or recognition by the public and stressful working conditions. The profession had a negative image:

“A lot of my teachers were saying, ‘Teaching? You’re too good to be a teacher and you’ve got more potential’, and they were saying that teaching … hasn’t got enough kudos, hasn’t got enough possibilities as a career… I was being told that teaching wasn’t fulfilling your potential.” Teach First cohort 1 participant (Hutchings et al., 2006)

“Teaching is not very prestigious. They [my family] think it’s something you are doing because you can’t do anything else.” Teach First cohort 2 participant (Hutchings et al., 2006) The government had started to address the problem and by November 2001 the numbers going into teacher training had risen for two years in a row. However, the problem was not just one of quantity; there was also a quality issue. As Figure 2 shows, proportionately fewer graduates with the best degrees were going into teacher training in 1999/2000 compared with a higher proportion of those with a lower class of degrees.

Figure 1.2: Proportion of graduates entering PGCE courses by class of degree in 1999/2000, compared with class of degree of all graduates Class of degree

PGCE students

All graduates

First

5.8%

9.1%

Upper second

47.7%

48.7%

Lower second

39.2%

35.6%

Third

7.2%

6.6%

Source: Haines and Hallgarten, 2002

Note: The degree grade for a number of PGCE students was unknown and the remaining percentage for all graduates was listed as unclassified. The percentages listed apply to all known and classified degree results. It was not just the class of degree that revealed a disparity in the pattern of applications: there was also was a marked difference in terms of the standing of the institutions from which PGCEs students had graduated. Only 2.7 per cent of students from Russell Group universities (recognised as the elite higher education institutions) were, as their first destination after graduating, going on to a PGCE course. The corresponding figure for other universities was one percentage point higher at 3.7 per cent (Haines and Hallgarten, 2002). To put it starkly: the teaching profession was failing to attract its fair share of the brightest and best into its ranks. Alongside this development it was increasingly being understood that the quality of classroom teaching was a major factor affecting student attainment. While the social, economic and cultural background of students may be the single most significant factor in explaining variations in student performance, school-related policies and practices, unsurprisingly, also play a key part. And in terms of what schools can do to make a difference to student outcomes it is teacher quality and classroom practice that have the strongest impact on student achievement (OECD, 2005). In short, if disadvantaged pupils are to overcome rather than be held back by their background, they need to attend good schools and be taught by excellent skilled teachers. In London in the first years of the new millennium this was too often the exception rather than the rule.

Declining social mobility The weakness of the education system was all the more serious because social mobility had stalled in the period between 1970 and 2000 (Blanden and Machin, 2007). The evidence in 2000, and since, has consistently confirmed that from a very early age children from disadvantaged backgrounds develop poorer cognitive skills than their more advantaged peers (Jerrim and Vignoles, 2011). A child’s life chances are too often determined by their parents’ socio-economic status, behaviours and attitudes (Goodman and Gregg, 2010). Of course, this is not all the fault of schools – all sorts of factors contribute to this situation arising. But at the turn of the century it was clear that an education system that should have been part of the answer by providing pathways to success and opening up opportunities, was instead reinforcing failure. The sad truth was that if a child fell behind at one Key Stage it was less likely to achieve at the next. It was against this backdrop that Teach First was conceived and born.


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Chapter 2

How did it come about? Chapter 2:

The birth of Teach First Teach First stands in a grand and proud British tradition. Previous generations of young people have become involved with the struggling, the left behind and other groups who simply never had the chances they had. For example, a century ago at a time of great economic suffering and hardship Toynbee Hall and the Cambridge University Mission attracted and trained young graduates and used their skills to help alleviate poverty and address the causes of injustice in London’s East End and dockland areas. National leaders such as Clement Attlee and William Beveridge came to Toynbee Hall as young men before going on to become outstanding shapers of a fairer society. Fifty years later Voluntary Service Overseas started inspiring school leavers to contribute a year before going to university to support projects in the developing world. Teach First continues that spirit and reinvents the tradition for a new age.

London First is a consortium of London’s leading employers whose mission is to make London the best city in the world in which to do business. Business in the Community is a business-led charity focused on promoting responsible business practice. In 2001 the two organisations jointly commissioned the consultancy, McKinsey & Co., to report on what business could do to contribute to the improvement of London schools. That report2 highlighted the problems with the quality of London’s schools, particularly in inner London. It confirmed the link between poverty and educational outcomes and noted that the proportion of pupils receiving free schools meals in inner London was three times the national average. The report also highlighted how the scale of pupil mobility was inhibiting the progress of many young people. Fifteen per cent of students attending inner London schools were entering school, leaving school or changing schools during the school year. This churn was adversely affecting student performance at age 16. In terms of potential solutions McKinsey & Co. reinforced the value of a school being well led by a high quality headteacher, but also highlighted the importance of the quality of classroom teaching. The number of excellent teachers was, they reported, one of the strongest predictors of improved pupil performance, especially in challenging schools. Good teachers made an impact on pupil performance because they: › › › › ›

Increased pupil motivation; Improved knowledge transfer; Provided good role models; Gave more individual support to pupils; and Monitored pupils’ achievements systematically.

However, the high vacancy and turnover rates were making it difficult to build a cadre of skilled practitioners in the capital’s schools. Salary levels were part of the problem – but only part. Poor management, inadequate resources, long hours, taxing duties, poor student behaviour and lack of professional opportunities were also instrumental in teachers’ decisions to leave the profession. Building on the experience of Teach for America (which had been formed in 1990) McKinsey & Co. proposed creating a programme to recruit and train the best and brightest graduates and place them for at least two years in London’s disadvantaged and underperforming schools. The aim was to create a ‘win, win, win’ strategy – a plan that could: › › ›

Help transform London’s schools by bringing bright, able, committed young graduates into the classrooms where they were most needed; Equip some of the nation’s graduates with the experience and skills to be leaders of social change to help transform the education system whether they stayed in teaching or moved on to a new career; and Provide employers with access to a pool of highly motivated and trained employees.

The author has been given access to the report which was undertaken on a pro bono basis and provided to the clients on a confidential basis.

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Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The birth of Teach First

One of the consultants involved in compiling the report was a young man called Brett Wigdortz. Unlike most consultants who analyse and report on one topic before moving on to the next, Brett found himself gripped by the issues he was studying and reporting on. In February 2002 he started a six-month sabbatical from his role as a management consultant at McKinsey and Co. His brief was twofold: to develop a detailed business plan for a charitable enterprise to take on this challenge and recruit a permanent Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to run it. The overarching mission for what was tentatively called Teach for London before it evolved to become Teach First was to:

To address educational disadvantage by transforming exceptional graduates into effective, inspirational teachers and leaders in all fields. The business plan developed by Brett set itself two sets of objectives – more immediate ‘aspirations for impact’ and longer-term ‘aims for the future’ as the project grew (see Figure 2.1). Right from the start the objective was to change the perception of teaching as well as to bring high quality teachers into challenging schools.

Figure 2.1: Objectives identified in Teach First’s original business plan Aspirations for impact

Future horizons and growth opportunities

Increase the prestige for teaching among Britain’s top graduates, the larger pool of potential teachers, and existing teachers

Improve the entire teaching profession through increased status on university campuses

Help headteachers with their recruiting and retention concerns Improve the quality of education for London secondary school pupils by giving them dynamic, creative, and energised teachers rather than supply or non-existent teachers

Improve the quality of London secondary schools, through long-term active participation of Teach for London cohorts and rub-off effects among other school teachers and staff Grow Teach for London to include other deprived areas of the United Kingdom and Europe

Source: Teach for London Business Plan 2002 (Unpublished)

Brett’s business plan and delivery strategy was not received enthusiastically in all quarters.

“When I spoke to people about the idea of Teach First, the importance of leadership in classrooms, schools and society and the idea that no child’s educational success should be limited by their socio-economic background, there were many looks of incomprehension. “They did not believe that most top graduates would ever choose to teach in schools in challenging circumstances. They could not accept that it would ever be possible to successfully train teachers in this radical way. They could not see how teachers would be able to become classroom leaders and make a meaningful impact in their first or second year of teaching to bring about change. And they could not conceive of an alumni movement that stays connected to affect social change.” Brett Wigdortz, Founder and CEO of Teach First However, despite the scepticism and the projected £1.2 million budget required to get the project off the ground, the enterprise continued to gain momentum. Organisations such as the Canary Wharf Group, and Citi Bank came on board as the first founder supporters and helped to bankroll the venture. Along with other early supporters these organisations saw the value in using a leadership model to help improve teaching and learning and to develop the graduates.

‘’Teach First is undertaking vital work in two key areas. First, Teach First teachers are able to provide really valuable and important help in educating and inspiring children in some of the most challenging areas of the country and helping those children develop the possibility of a brighter future. Second, by undertaking this programme, graduates are able to expand and demonstrate the kinds of skills that employers are seeking in recruits – and in doing so stand out from the competition.” HSBC, an early Teach First supporter

The business plan’s delivery strategy revolved around: › › › › ›

Establishing a programme that enabled graduates with the best degrees from the best universities to work for at least two years in challenging schools in London; Convincing 1,000 high quality students, out of the 58,500 graduates from the top 19 (Russell Group) universities to apply for one of 200 places during autumn 2002; Constructing, with help from teacher training colleges and others, a summer intensive training programme for the 200 strong cohort during July to August 2003; Placing and supporting a first cohort of participants from September 2003; Enabling the cohort to achieve qualified teacher status (QTS) by July 2004.


Having secured business support, Teach First was then able to persuade the government to chip in and fund the second half of the start-up funding. The other part of the mission, to find a CEO for the new enterprise, was solved when Brett was persuaded to take on the role himself. And so in July 2002 Teach First was born as a charitable trust, co-chaired by Stephen O’Brien the chair of London First and Sir George Iacobescu, the chief executive of the Canary Wharf Group. Operating from offices in Canary Wharf, Teach First started life with just 11 employees.

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Chapter 3

Minimum requirements Chapter 3:

Teach First’s leadership development model Being bright and attending a top university is of course no guarantee that someone will automatically make a good teacher. So a clear definition of the skills and qualities necessary to succeed as a teacher in a school in challenging circumstances, alongside meeting the statutory requirements for initial teacher training (ITT) and the standards for qualified teacher status (QTS), have been essential parts of Teach First’s approach.

To be eligible to be considered for a place with Teach First applicants have to satisfy the following requirements: › Achieve a 2:1 degree or above3; › Have a degree or A-levels that meet Teach First’s subject teaching requirements; › Pass GCSE mathematics and English (and also science if the applicant wants to teach primary pupils) at Grade C or above; and › Be prepared to work within any of Teach First’s seven regions and be committed to be part of the Leadership Development Programme for two years. But in addition to these basic requirements, Teach First has adopted a set of values and competencies that it expects applicants to be able to demonstrate (see Figure 3.1) – both through the application and selection process but also during the whole of their time with Teach First.

Figure 3.1: Teach First’s values and competencies How we work (Teach First values)

What we look for (Selection competencies)

Collaboration

Interaction

Commitment

Knowledge Resilience

Excellence

Self-evaluation Planning and organising

Integrity

Humility, respect and empathy

Leadership

Leadership Problem solving

Source: Teach First

Each year a small percentage of candidates (fewer than five per cent) are admitted with a 2:2 degree. There will be good reasons as to why these candidates have not met the academic bar, and they will need to excel in all other areas of selection.

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Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Teach First’s leadership development model

The selection process

An independent evaluation of Teach First in 2006 reported that candidates found the assessment centre challenging – but candidates welcomed that challenge:

All application forms from prospective participants are double marked with the second assessor not being aware of the first marker’s score. Those making it through this stage will be invited to take part in an assessment centre held at Teach First’s offices at London Bridge.

“It was really intense. I quite liked it because it was a rigorous assessment and if you weren’t the right person you couldn’t have blagged your way through it. You really had to show your skills, and they had teachers there looking at your lessons as well to assess you, which I thought was really good.”

As Figure 3.2 describes, the day-long assessment process uses three activities to help assess candidates’ interpersonal and social skills as well as their knowledge and commitment to the Teach First mission. Candidates are allocated scores in each activity for each of the competencies being assessed in that activity. Candidates are allocated different assessors for each activity. At the end of the day the assessors meet together to decide which candidates to accept on the basis of the points allocated and a broader discussion of the candidates’ performance.

Teach First, cohort 1 participant (Hutchings et al., 2006)

“It was ever so different from what I’d done with the PGCE interviews and it just seemed to be very, a lot more slick and a lot more up to date. They really seemed to know exactly what they wanted and I think it was quite clear from the interviews and the exercises we did, you know, who they were looking for.” Teach First cohort 2 participant (Hutchings et al., 2006)

Figure 3.2: Teach First assessment centre

Sample lesson and debrief

Candidates have to deliver a pre-prepared seven-minute lesson on the National Curriculum subject identified on their application form. The lesson is aimed at an audience of Key Stage 3 (11-14 years) pupils but is delivered to one assessor and one teacher. The assessors look for the candidates’ ability to communicate their chosen topic to pupils in an appropriate and creative manner. Once the lesson is over candidates are asked to make a written evaluation of their performance.

Case study and debrief

This part of the day is designed to test how well candidates think, solve problems, express solutions and interact with other people. The exercise takes the form of a group problem-solving activity based on a case study of decision making in a school context. It lasts approximately 30 minutes and ends with a one-to-one debrief with an assessor, where candidates are given the opportunity to evaluate both the group and their own performance.

Competency-based interview

Candidates have a one-to-one interview with an assessor that focuses on demonstrating Teach First’s competencies. The interview lasts for approximately 30 minutes.

Teach First has worked hard to maintain the balance between challenge and support offered by the assessment centre, as the experience of more recent candidates bears out: “An expectedly intense and challenging process, but a very enjoyable day – I can’t imagine any other assessment process being so accommodating with regard to the welfare of their candidates.” Teach First 2012 assessment centre candidate

“Encouraging, supportive and informative; I have greatly enjoyed my day at the Teach First Assessment Centre. I have felt very well-treated – every part of the assessment process was clearly explained to me.” Teach First 2012 assessment centre candidate

Source: Teach First


In May 2012 the House of Commons Education Select Committee also commented favourably on Teach First’s competency-based approach and its selection procedures and drew attention to the suggestion from the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) that these practices “could certainly” be used by other providers (Education Select Committee, 2012). Following the assessment centre, successful candidates are offered a place that is conditional on them completing a subject knowledge audit. The audit comprises an online pro forma referring applicants to the relevant parts of the National Curriculum, and asking them to assess their own subject knowledge against the different attainment targets. They are asked to indicate areas of strength and of weakness and to write an action plan showing how they intend to develop the necessary subject knowledge in the period leading up to the start of the Summer Institute. University tutors provide feedback that enables participants to strengthen their subject preparation. Teach First 17

Chapter 3


Allocating participants to schools

The Summer Institute

If selecting the Teach First recruits is the first challenge then matching them to a school in a low-income community is the second. In the past Teach First has placed secondary participants in schools with high levels of local income deprivation (linked to the proportion of pupils entitled to Free Schools Meals); low levels of attainment at GCSE; or a ‘Challenge’ status from one of the government’s three ‘City Challenge’ programmes.

In 2003, 186 graduates made it through the first assessment centre and attended Teach First’s inaugural six-week Summer Institute, hosted by Canterbury Christ Church University – the first of Teach First’s university partners.

Following a review that identified Teach First’s primary beneficiaries as children from low income communities, Teach First now partners with primary and secondary schools on the basis of one criterion: › More than half of a school’s pupils should come from the 30 per cent of postcodes in England with the lowest household income, according to the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI). Partner schools indicate the subject areas where they would like to have a Teach First participant and Teach First, in consultation with university partners, then seeks to meet the schools’ needs based on the pool of candidates it has accepted. This allocation process of participants to schools generally seems to work smoothly, although some headteachers have been nervous about taking teachers whom they have not themselves interviewed in the normal way. Such reservations have been overcome as the scheme has grown:

“We feel quite confident about the recruitment strategies of Teach First so that if they say to us, ‘We’ve got someone to teach English for you’, we’d be really confident that that person had been well recruited and was going to be well briefed and trained over the summer and orientated and would be just as viable as somebody we’d recruited who’d just completed the PGCE.” Headteacher (Hutchings et al., 2006)


This initial partnership enabled Teach First to accredit the programme and provide its participants with pedagogical support towards QTS. But participants were not just being equipped to start teaching when the new school year began in September; they were at the start of a much bolder journey. Teach First has always seen its recruits as leaders. So its training model, which has evolved over the last decade, is based round leadership development. The current model has three strands: › Leading learning is the core strand of the programme and equips participants to be leaders of learning in the school and classroom. University trainers provide the essential bedrock of knowledge about effective teaching during the Summer Institute and through additional ‘training days’ held throughout the school year. The knowledge base has a particular focus on raising the three ‘As’: achievement, access to opportunity and the aspirations of pupils in challenging schools. Those participants preparing to take up teaching in the primary sector follow a training module that focuses on literacy (including phonics); numeracy; child development and inclusion; classroom management and organisation; and creating a positive culture. › Leading people develops participants’ abilities to manage themselves, teams and stakeholders; and › Leading organisations develops participants’ understanding of how effective organisations are structured and function. This strand also provides insights into the challenges faced by organisations and their leaders. From 2012 the ‘Leading organisations’ strand will be replaced by ‘Leading self’, where participants will develop the knowledge, skills and attributes to maximise their strengths, take ownership of their development and maintain a sense of possibility. The Leadership Development Programme, delivered in partnership between Teach First, initial teacher training providers and leadership development facilitators, comprises both mandatory and elective elements. Mandatory elements cover those aspects deemed to be an essential part of a participant’s development as a teacher and leader. Elective components enable participants to personalise their development, as Figure 3.3 explains.

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Chapter 3


Figure 3.3: Example of Teach First participants being able to personalise the Leadership Development Programme

The first year in school and becoming a teacher

“The written assignments in my first year on the Leadership Development Programme helped me become a more experienced and confident teacher. When I was struggling with a class that included students with autism, Teach First put me in touch with experienced professionals in this field who could share handy tips, such as using sensual stimuli to aid learning and creativity. In the written assignment on special educational needs, I synthesised these tips with theory, which I then applied to my own classroom. After just a few weeks, I noticed the students were far more engaged with the activities and that their understanding had progressed significantly. I was so pleased to have found strategies that worked with this group of students!”

After the Summer Institute has provided the initial training, participants spend their first year working in the school in which they have been placed as unqualified teachers. They teach a slightly reduced timetable (equivalent to that typically taught by a newly qualified teacher) and have further formal training days. These are supplemented with visits from university tutors and, support from school-based mentors. The university tutors use their visits to help participants evaluate and reflect on their professional and classroom practice.

Henrietta Forsyth, 2010 Teach First cohort

Three weeks of the Summer Institute are spent nationally and three weeks are based in the region in which the participant will be working. Getting the right balance in these six weeks between building theoretical knowledge, being an effective teacher, using subject knowledge, understanding and practising classroom skills and developing leadership potential is a tough challenge. Teach First constantly reviews and evaluates feedback from participants. The feedback from the 2011 cohort is overall very positive (see Figure 3.4) and shows that Teach First is getting the balance right in most areas – though the responses indicate that there may still be further work needed on tailoring programmes to fully meet individuals’ needs and potential. But in relation to the core purpose of the Summer Institute, all participants agree that they emerge with an understanding of Teach First’s values, nearly all feel part of a national movement to address educational disadvantage and four out of five agree or agree strongly that Teach First is developing their leadership abilities and are satisfied with the Teach First experience and the support they received. Around two-thirds of participants say they are as well prepared as possible for entering the classroom – a judgement confirmed by Ofsted which reported that as a result of the Summer Institute “participants are extremely well prepared for teaching” (Ofsted, 2011).

Figure 3.4: Responses from Teach First 2011 cohort to the training and support received via the Summer Institute

I feel part of a national movement to address educational disadvantage My experience with Teach first is significantly developing my leadership abilities

Strongly Agree

I am satisfied with the support I received during Summer Institute

Agree

I feel the Summer Institute training has prepared me as well as possible to begin

The way that the three roles of mentor, tutor and LDO complement one another over the course of the programme can be seen from the example of one participant:

“In school, my subject mentor was also my head of department. She was immensely helpful on a day-to-day basis, pointing me in the right direction in terms of what to teach the kids and little tricks to deal with each of the classes. Every week our catch-up looked at overall progress, and was a chance to step back from the immediate but we were constantly in touch. “My university tutor visited regularly and focused on pedagogy. She was able to provide a perspective from outside the school, and support academic development.

I understand the Teach First mission and values

I am satisfied with my Teach First experience

In their first year participants also meet their Teach First leadership development officer (LDO) who, in the second year, supports and challenges participants, helping them to reflect on and refine their teaching methods and develop new approaches. LDOs are all qualified teachers (and often Teach First ambassadors).

Neutral

The rigour of the Summer Institute pushed me to meet my fullest potential

Disagree

The schedule and pace of the Summer Institute meets my needs

Strongly Disagree

“I found that my LDO had a much more significant role to play in my development during my second year. In particular, I found it helpful to be absolutely honest in my conversations with her – sometimes uncovering uncomfortable responses to the carefully guided questions she was asking. In this way my LDO played a similar role to a counsellor, holding up a mirror to challenge, stretch and support my development.” James Townsend, 2009 Teach First cohort Participants are also offered access to a coach from outside the education and school environment. Many of the coaches are provided by Teach First’s corporate supporters who agree to free up their middle managers to undertake this role. The coaches support participants as they seek to define their career goals, reflect on problems, identify the causes and develop solutions. By the end of their first full year in teaching the aim is for Teach First participants to have achieved both QTS and a PGCE from one of the participating universities.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Source: Teach First

Note: Number of responses = 420, equating to a 54 per cent response rate 20 Teach First. Ten years of impact.

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Chapter 3


The second year

The ambassador network

During the second year of their commitment to Teach First, participants have the opportunity to work towards a Masters qualification in the subject of educational leadership, awarded by the Institute of Education, the University of Manchester or the University of Warwick.

Since 2005 when the first Teach First cohort graduated, participants continue to make a difference at pupil, school and system level as Teach First ambassadors, whether they stay in teaching; become entrepreneurs, civil servants or school governors; or develop a career within the business or third sector.

The PGCE gives participants 60 Masters credits, and a further 30 are gained through completion of a reflective essay based on their work while part of the Teach First programme. The remaining 90 credits are achieved through university- delivered sessions and a dissertation.

Teach First supports ambassadors and enables them to connect with one another and the wider Teach First community so that they are able to develop new solutions to complex problems and increase their influence as leaders. Historically this has been achieved through a series of Teach First initiatives:

“Completing the Masters allowed me to step back from the day-to-day classroom- based work during my second year and to focus on a more leadership-based issue, looking at whole school policy and its effects on pupils and staff.” Mark Gibson, 2008 Teach First cohort

“The Masters forced me to really examine my own practice through evaluation: meaning that I was more aware of my own strengths and weaknesses as a teacher.” Rachel Connell, 2008 Teach First cohort

“It’s an opportunity to research education, in particular urban education, in more detail. Not only is it great for your professional development but it also gives you insight in to the issues facing the pupils we teach and the schools we teach in.”

› Teach On – providing continuing professional and leadership development for ambassadors who remain in education. › Social Entrepreneurship – offering support, guidance and resources for ambassadors committed to building successful social ventures that have a profound impact on educational disadvantage. › Governance for Change – recognising that schools need effective and talented governors who will provide leadership, support and challenge for headteachers and their staff, ambassadors are playing an increasing role as school governors. › Policy First – supporting ambassadors to bring their experience to bear as they contribute to public policy with their influence spreading as the ambassador community grows. › Higher Education Access Programme for Schools (HEAPS) – enabling ambassadors to draw on their own experience and work with students to help them make ambitious and informed decisions about their futures (see Figure 3.5). › Supporting Teach First – encouraging ambassadors to contribute their skills, funds and resources directly to Teach First to help the charity maximise its impact on disadvantaged students across England. 2012 marks a new stage in Teach First’s partnership with the ambassador community. The aim is to generate greater progress towards implementing the vision shared by Teach First and the ambassadors, by increasing ambassadors’ influence and the scope and impact of their innovation.

Emily Martin, 2009, Teach First cohort At the end of the two years Teach First participants join together in a ceremony where they graduate! But graduation is not just the celebration of the completion of the two-year programme – significantly it is the launch of a new phase of engagement in support of Teach First’s mission. On successful completion of the two-year Leadership Development Programme, participants draw on their unique insight into the challenges schools face, their experience of what works and the expertise they have gained to become part of an ambassador network dedicated to tackling education disadvantage.


Teach First 23

Chapter 3


Figure 3.5: The HEAPS programme

Teach First’s funding model

HEAPS targets pupils who have proven academic ability and come from groups currently under-represented in universities, including those with no parental experience of university and/or having claimed free school meals. The programme provides 17 months of mentoring from Teach First ambassadors or employees and includes:

Teach First raises its funding from three main sources: the government; contributions from corporate supporters and other private voluntary donors; and fees from schools which, as well funding the salaries of the participants, pay a recruitment fee to Teach First. Figure 3.6 shows the proportion of funding coming each of these three main sources.

› A visit from a Teach First mentor at least every half term. Mentors receive guidance on working with mentees to set goals, develop learning and revision skills and applying for university; › A challenging four-day residential university experience at the University of Cambridge during which mentees pursue an academic subject stream led by Cambridge lecturers and build social capital and confidence through skills development workshops and social activities; › University insight days at top universities; › Subject and career enrichment experiences; and › University application and interview support.

Figure 3.6: Teach First funding sources in 2010-11

Government

30% 47%* 23%

Alex Spiers is one example of a HEAPS mentor. He joined the 2008 Teach First cohort, after graduating from Cambridge University with a BA in Natural Sciences. He spent two years teaching sciences at St Saviours and St Olave’s school in Southwark and then in 2010 joined the Teach First Graduate Recruitment team as Oxbridge Talent Officer. Alex also signed up to become a HEAPS mentor. As well as supporting two mentees to pursue their own interests in engineering and mathematics he has tutored one pupil now studying engineering at Oxford, given mock interviews to several others and set up a summer enrichment scheme for HEAPS pupils, ‘The Sci Factor’, to inspire them to engage with science.

“I’m really passionate about two things: getting more students interested in and studying sciences and making sure those students who deserve to go to the top universities actually get there. As a teacher it was where I often felt that I could add the most value and it’s great to continue that. These pupils need someone giving them that push. I think that you need to have high expectations.” Alex Spiers, Teach First HEAPS mentor

Source: Teach First

In January 2012 there were 1,575 Teach First ambassadors, with 85 per cent actively involved in promoting their ambassadorial commitment in 2010/11. For example, currently 327 ambassadors are supporting Teach First, 204 HEAPS mentors4 are supporting nearly 500 students in Years 12 and 13, 42 ambassadors are involved with Policy First, over 30 are contributing as social entrepreneurs and 66 ambassadors are serving as school governors.

Source: Teach First accounts 2011

Voluntary contributions School fees (and other income)

* including one-off government expansion investment

The contributions provided by Teach First’s corporate supporters and other donors is essential to sustaining the charity’s work. Appendix A lists those organisations and foundations supporting Teach First – they represent some of the most influential charitable funders across the landscape of educational philanthropy. Moreover, as the engagement in the coaching programme described above illustrates, contributions often come in the form of varied pro bono support such as valued skills and time, as well as money. Since it was launched in 2002, Teach First has been supported by the government of the day. In the 2010 general election campaign Teach First was identified by all three political parties in their election manifestoes as an initiative they wished to support and expand. On July 5th 2010 Teach First announced that it had been allocated a £4 million grant by the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove. The funding was to facilitate Teach First’s expansion into every region of the country and to support its growth in primary schools. Evidence submitted to the House of Commons Select Committee for Education (Teach First, 2011) in December 2011 shows that in terms of public funding (allocated via the Department for Education (DfE) and the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA5)) Teach First’s costs are highly competitive when compared with other post-graduate teacher training routes. Total funding per participant, including funding to schools and universities, is £23,277 for Teach First, £23,750 for the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) and £16,470 for comparable PGCE students. However, those figures only tell part of the story. Teach First’s six-week Summer Institute takes place after students graduate and before the start of a school year. This enables Teach First participants to commence work as unqualified teachers from the September following their graduation. In this way they are being more productive by effectively providing up to an additional year’s worth of teaching compared with those entering teaching via, for example, the PGCE route. When this is factored into the equation a Teach First teacher could cost a school up to £4,282 less than a trainee employed through the GTP and £1,389 less than employing a teacher trained through a standard PGCE. The public funding provided for Teach First is supplemented by the funding coming in from the corporate sector. However, Teach First is not just training teachers but is also providing a broader Leadership Development Programme for young graduates and the funding and other forms of support being contributed by corporate donors is helping to deliver this objective.

There are a further 37 Teach First employees mentoring as part of HEAPS.

4


Since 01 April 2012, the Teaching Agency (TA)

5

Teach First 25

Chapter 4

The timeline (Figure 4.1) charts the dynamic way in which Teach First has developed.

Chapter 4:

Teach First takes off Teach First has grown from small beginnings to be a major source of high quality teachers – expanding from being a programme targeted on challenging secondary schools in London to being a nationwide programme.

Figure 4.1: The development and growth of Teach First

2002

› Teach First officially launched in Canary Wharf with a team of 11 employees led by CEO, Brett Wigdortz

2003

› Teach First recruits its first cohort of 186 participants › Teach First partners with 45 secondary schools in London

› Canterbury Christ Church College (now University) becomes Teach First’s first training partner and hosts the inaugural Summer Institute › Teach First enters The Times Top 100 graduate employers index6 at No. 63

2004

› Teach First recruits its second cohort of 197 participants › Teach First partners with 65 secondary schools in London

› Teach First ranked 41st in The Times Top 100 graduate employers index › The first Teach First week, aimed at bringing leaders from across society into the classroom, persuades Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy to participate

2005

› Teach First recruits its third cohort of 183 participants › Teach First partners with 73 secondary schools in London › Teach First ranked 19th in The Times Top 100 graduate employers index

› The inaugural cohort of Teach First recruits graduate to become Teach First ambassadors › Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, uses his budget speech to announce funding for the regional expansion of Teach First

2006

› Teach First recruits its fourth cohort of 265 participants › Teach First partners with 90 secondary schools in London › Teach First expands into Greater Manchester

› Teach First ranked 16th in The Times Top 100 graduate employers index › Number of Teach First ambassadors increases to 300 › Dame Julia Cleverdon takes over as chair of Teach First’s board of trustees

2007

› Teach First recruits its fifth cohort of 272 participants › Teach First partners with 118 secondary schools › Teach First expands into its third region: the Midlands

› Teach First ranked 14th in The Times Top 100 graduate employers index › Number of Teach First ambassadors increases to 430 › Teach First CEO, Brett Wigdortz, awarded the UK Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year award

The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers index is based on an employee reputation survey in the UK of over 17,000 final year undergraduates.

6


Teach First 27

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Teach First takes off

2008

2009

› Teach First recruits its sixth cohort of 373 participants › Teach First partners with 151 schools › Teach First launches a primary pilot, placing modern foreign languages teachers into London primary schools in challenging circumstances

› Teach First expands its Greater Manchester programme into Merseyside creating a North West region › Teach First ranked 9th in The Times Top 100 graduate employers index › Number of Teach First ambassadors increases to 635 › Ofsted reports that some of Teach First’s participants are ‘amongst the most exceptional trainees produced by any teacher training route’

› Teach First recruits its seventh cohort of 485 participants › Teach First partners with 220 primary and secondary schools › Teach First expands into its fifth region: Yorkshire and splits the Midlands programme into two: East and West Midlands › Teach First ranked 8th in The Times Top 100 graduate employers index

› Number of Teach First ambassadors increases to 855 › Credit Suisse EMEA Foundation provides a £1 million grant enabling Teach First to move into permanent accommodation with a dedicated assessment centre › Teach First commissioned by the TDA to lead the National Initial Teacher Training Partnership (NITTP) to deliver Teach First training › Teach First wins 2009 Charity Awards Education and Training charity of the year › Creation of the Teach First Masters programme.

Looking over the 10 years five clear trends are evident: First, a year-on-year rise in the number of Teach First recruits since the first cohort of 186 was taken on in 2003 to the total of 772 recruited in 2011 (see Figure 4.2 below). As they have completed their initial two-year commitment so the growing number of Teach First participants has translated into a swelling throng of Teach First ambassadors;

Figure 4.2: The growth in Teach First ambassadors and participants over time 1800 1600 1400 1200

Total ambassadors

1000 800 600

2010

2011

2012

› Teach First recruits its eighth cohort of 560 graduates › Teach First partners with 273 primary and secondary schools › Teach First ranked 7th in The Times Top 100 graduate employers index

› Number of Teach First ambassadors increases to 1,173 › Teach First receives a grant from the government to place more exceptional graduates into schools in the most challenging circumstances, including primary schools with the greatest need

› Teach First recruits its ninth cohort of 772 graduates › Teach First partners with 374 primary and secondary schools › Teach First places 81 primary participants in five of its six regions for the first time

› Teach First expands into its sixth region: the North East and also expands its Yorkshire region to include the Humber › Teach First ranked 7th again in The Times Top 100 graduate employers index › Number of Teach First ambassadors increases to 1,575 › Teach First’s Initial Teacher Training provision judged to be ‘outstanding’ in all areas assessed by Ofsted

› Teach First recruits its tenth cohort of 996 graduates – which makes it the third largest graduate recruiter › Teach First plans to place about a fifth of this cohort in primary and four- fifths in secondary schools in low income communities

› Teach First expands into its seventh region: Kent and Medway. › Teach First ranked 4th in The Times Top 100 graduate employers index › By September Teach First expects to have over 2,000 ambassadors

Source: Teach First


Participants recruited

400 200 0

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Source: Teach First

Second, a lengthening list of partner schools. The number of schools partnering with Teach First and appointing Teach First teachers to their staff has increased from 45 in 2003/04 to 374 in 2011/12, including 67 primary and all-through schools. This rate of expansion would not have been possible without Teach First ensuring that it was responding to and meeting the needs of its partner schools when placing participants. As one headteacher confirmed:

“It’s a big investment for a primary school so you want to get something back. In a climate where it’s tricky to get real quality people in the classroom, your [Teach First’s] investment helps to minimise the risk. You have got a better chance of getting someone who is really going to drive a school forward … The recruitment process is very impressive; Teach First does all the hard work for us. The criteria are specific to what we want – they show that Teach First is listening to what schools want.” Richard Yates, Headteacher, West Drayton Primary School Third, a growing regional impact. Teach First started life as a programme for schools in challenging circumstances in London. However, such has been the enthusiasm and support for it that, starting in the North West, it is now operating in six other regions of England – as the map below illustrates. Indeed, following the government’s announcement in autumn 2010 (DfE, 2010) that it was making funding available to double the number of participants from 560 teachers a year to 1,140, Teach First can truly be seen as a national programme. Teach First 29

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Teach First takes off

Fourth, an expanding and deepening partnership with university education departments. From the initial partnership with Canterbury Christ Church University in 2003, Teach First now works with no fewer than 14 universities to deliver the Summer Institute, support and train participants during their first year in school and provide access to a Master’s qualification in the second year of the Teach First programme. A full list of university partners is shown in Appendix B.

Figure 4.3: Expansion of Teach First by region by year

2011

“The high quality of the six-week Summer Institute, when participants spend three weeks in their region and three ‘national weeks’, means that participants are extremely well prepared for teaching. A rigorous analysis of individual strengths and areas of development, including subject knowledge, and sharply targeted support enables participants to begin their full teaching commitments from the beginning of the school year.” The quality of training delivered by Teach First and its university training partners was commended:

North East

“The expertise and research undertaken in all of the universities involved in the programme, as well as Teach First staff, are used to ensure that the programme is completely up to date and full account is taken of all current educational developments. The success of this is seen in the quality of the participants and their depth of understanding of key issues and current priorities.”

2009

Yorkshire*

2008

The Summer Institute was picked out as a key strength:

Merseyside

2006

Greater Manchester

2007

Midlands

And the in-school development and support of Teach First participants was also considered to work well:

2009

“The extremely thorough and rigorous process of self-evaluation and improvement planning leads to continuous improvement in all of the outcomes for participants.”

East Midlands

“The level and quality of support for participants’ well-being and professional development result in exceptionally high retention and attainment.”

2003

London

2012

Kent and Medway

Source: Teach First

Teach First has come a long way in its first decade. Its progress and achievements far outstrip what was envisaged when the first steps were taken to create the charity. But, as Chapter 7 describes, Teach First’s journey is far from finished; its mission is far from complete. First, however, we look at the impact that Teach First has achieved in its ten- year life.

*Teach First expanded into the Humber in 2011

Fifth, a commitment to quality. Teach First’s rapid expansion has not sacrificed quality in the pursuit of growth. All teaching training provision in England is inspected by Ofsted. In 2011 Ofsted awarded the Teach First National Initial Teacher Training Partnership (NITTP) between Teach First and its university partners the highest possible grade of ‘Outstanding’ in all 44 areas evaluated across all regions in which Teach First operated. Significantly – and not surprisingly given the inspection outcomes – Ofsted found that the leadership development model and process used by Teach First was robust and effective at every stage. For example, commenting on the quality of candidates selected, the Ofsted report (Ofsted, 2011) concluded that:

“In all regions, the quality of the participants is exceptional, particularly their personal characteristics, personal attributes, selfmotivation, critical reflection and their commitment to raising the aspirations and achievements of the students in their schools and addressing educational disadvantage.” 30 Teach First. Ten years of impact.

Teach First 31

Chapter 5

Impact on recruitment Chapter 5:

The impact of Teach First on initial teacher training The impact of Teach First can be judged at a number of levels. This chapter focuses on the impact Teach First has had on initial teacher training in terms of recruitment, retention and the broader reshaping of how initial teacher education is delivered.

Teach First has had a major impact on the perception of teaching as a potential career for graduates. The fact that Teach First has, as charted in Chapter 4, come from nowhere to being the fourth most popular and soughtafter graduate employer in the prestigious Times Top 100 Graduate Employers index and has been the graduate employer of choice in the public sector for the last two years running, is indicative of the change in perceptions that has been achieved. This has not just been achieved through clever marketing and an appeal to graduates’ sense of moral purpose – though both of these factors have played their part. Teach First has changed the offer and model of training. In particular, it has enabled graduates to participate in a fast-track programme that supports schools in challenging areas and provides good experience of what it means to be a teacher. Crucially, however, it also provides participants with a development programme that will be respected and valued by employers should they decide to move on to work in another area or profession. In other words, participants can keep their options open. Although many participants are in the event switched on to teaching as a career by their Teach First experience, they have had the security of being part of a programme that equips them with leadership skills that are transferable to other professions and areas of employment: they are not at the start of their careers having to commit themselves to teaching for life. An evaluation of Teach First in 2006 asked the second cohort of Teach First participants to identify and rank the factors that influenced them in applying for the programme. The three most highly rated factors were ‘keeping your career options open’, ‘the chance to make a contribution in areas of disadvantage’, and ‘the ethos of the programme’. The researchers commented:

“A key aspect of the Teach First message has been to offer graduates a route which allows them to gain qualifications and useful experience while keeping their career options open … An important aspect of the message about keeping career options open is the notion that those participating in the programme will gain transferable skills that will be valued in other employment sectors.” Hutchings et al. (2006) Through offering this new more flexible model and by engaging with the best universities, Teach First has been successful in recruiting an increasing number of top graduates (see Figure 5.1). Even though the overall number of recruits joining Teach First each year has more than quadrupled since 2003, the proportion coming from Russell Group universities has remained broadly constant at just under 75 per cent. In 2003 a third of the cohort recruited (61 participants) came from Oxbridge and these numbers remained pretty flat until 2008. But since then the number of Oxbridge participants has steadily risen and in 2011 reached 150. A further indication of the changed perception of teaching as a career is that in 2011, Teach First received over 300 applications from Oxford graduates – around ten per cent of the whole graduating class. Further, in 2012 six per cent of all Russell Group finalists applied to the programme.


Teach First 33

Chapter 5

Chapter 5: of Teach First on initial teacher training

Figure 5.1: Numbers of Russell Group and Oxbridge graduates recruited to Teach First, by year

As Figure 5.2 shows, Teach First has managed to ensure that three-quarters of Teach First participants teach these priority shortage subjects and has been able to maintain this proportion throughout the expansion of the programme.

800

Figure 5.2: Number of Teach First participants achieving QTS in priority subjects, by year

700 600

600

Russell Group participants

500 400 300 200

Total participants

100 0

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

500 Number of Teach First participants achieving QTS

Oxbridge participants

400 Other subject participants achieving QTS

300 200

Priority subject participants achieving QTS

100 Source: Teach First

0

As Ofsted observed: “Participants with strong personal characteristics and who display the required Teach First competencies, including the intellectual capacity and resilience to cope well with the high expectations and demands of the Teach First programme, are recruited. As a result, highly qualified and exceptional participants, many of whom might not otherwise have considered teaching, are given the encouragement and opportunity to enter the profession.” Ofsted, 2011 However, the focus on the most prestigious universities has not been at the expense of neglecting talent emerging from other institutions. One of Teach First’s key aims is for more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to go into and succeed in higher education and a significant number are now doing that by gaining good degrees at more local universities. It would have been perverse for Teach First to have ignored the potential represented by these ‘first-in-a-family’ graduates – especially given the organisation’s commitment to inclusion and diversity. This is one of the reasons Teach First has widened the number of universities it targets: up from 16 in 2003 to 66 in 2012.

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Source: Teach First

Teach First has also made good progress in attracting Black and Asian and minority ethnic participants (BAME). Nearly a quarter of pupils in England’s schools are classified as BAME, compared with only 11 per cent of classroom teachers, seven per cent of deputy and assistant heads and six per cent of headteachers (DfE, 2011a). This disparity is even more acute in areas of disadvantage. Against this backdrop it is important that recruits to teaching are more representative of the pupils and communities they will serve. In both 2010/11 and 2011/12 the Teach First cohort has included 16 per cent of BAME participants. This compares favourably with the national average for all ITT recruits where the figure for the 20011/12 cohort was 13 per cent7. The source for this figure is correspondence between TDA and Teach First.

7

Another significant dimension of Teach First’s success is that teachers are being recruited for those areas of the curriculum where there is the greatest need. The TDA agree and define with Teach First those priority subjects where schools in challenging circumstances are particularly in need of teachers. These subjects are design and technology, English, information and communications technology (ICT), mathematics, modern foreign languages, music, religious education and science.


Teach First 35

Chapter 5


Impact on completion and retention Attracting an increasing number of high calibre graduates into teaching is a significant achievement. But seeing them through to gain QTS is also important. Across all the cohorts from 2003 to 2010 inclusive, an average of 93 per cent of all Teach First participants who started teaching in school in the September following the Summer Institute gained QTS. And the vast majority of them stayed on to complete their second induction year – as Figure 5.3 shows. Figure 5.3: Numbers of Teach First participants achieving qualified teacher status and staying in teaching, by cohort Number starting school in September

Number of Teach First participants

600 500

Number achieving QTS at end of Year 1

400 300

Number completing induction (Year 2)

200 100 0

Number in teaching after 4 years 2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Source: Teach First and TDA

However, some critics argue that although Teach First has been successful in attracting and training qualified teachers, its overall impact is limited because participants do not stay in education. They say that the two-year commitment on which the programme is based undermines the benefit Teach First provides through its recruitment. However, that criticism fails to understand that Teach First is a Leadership Development Programme and not just a teacher training route. It is deliberately constructed to enable participants to pursue careers in other fields – while maintaining their link with and commitment to the educational and social justice goals of Teach First. Even allowing for this fundamental difference, 54 per cent of all Teach First ambassadors (from cohorts 2003 to 2009 combined) are still in teaching in the UK, and a further three per cent are teaching overseas. Figure 5.3 above shows the numbers and proportion of Teach First participants that were still in teaching after four years. Significantly, the proportion is rising by cohort over time. In addition, although this is not apparent from Figure 5.3, the proportion of the 2003, 2005 and 2006 cohorts that are in teaching has started to rise rather than decline year on year – which is the trend that might be expected. It appears that some Teach First participants, having gained their QTS and completed their initial Teach First commitment, find work and develop their skills in another part of the economy. However, they are then returning to teaching after a gap of a few years. It is too early to be sure about whether this is a significant trend, but it may be a further indication of the value of the ambassador network which keeps Teach First participants connected to schools and teaching.

Impact on teacher supply in London Information on teacher vacancy and turnover is not published in a form that makes it possible to make comparisons between now and the turn of the century. However, the vacancy rate for teachers in London secondary schools and academies in November 2010 was significantly below (0.09 per cent) rather than well above the national average (0.4 per cent) (DfE, 2011b). That represents a complete turnaround from ten years ago. Real-term increases in teacher salaries have of course helped bring about an improvement in teacher retention in the capital but the seven out of ten Teach First ambassador teachers that have remained working in schools in challenging circumstances are also making a significant contribution to the improved position.

Figure 5.4 shows that Teach First’s completion and induction rates compare very favourably with those postgraduates who train as teachers via other routes.

Figure 5.4: Proportion of 2009 Teach First participants achieving qualified teacher status and completing their NQT induction year, compared with other 2009/10 postgraduate entrants into teaching 100%

90%

80%

At QTS

70%

1 year after QTS (induction)

60%

Graduate Teacher Programme

Postgraduate Certificate in Education

Professional Graduate Certificate in Education

Flexible – PGCE

Teach First 2009 Cohort

Source: General Teaching Council for England and Teach First


Teach First 37

Chapter 5


Impact on the wider system Teach First’s success has been part of a wider change. Teaching has become a more attractive destination for graduates more generally. For example, the proportion of teacher trainees with a 2:1 degree or better has risen from 53.5 per cent in 1999/2000 to 62 per cent for secondary school trainees and 66 per cent for primary school trainees (TDA, 2011). Teach First has not been the only contributing factor in these improvements – government bursaries and effective recruitment campaigns by the TDA have also played a significant role. But Teach First has been an important part of the story that has helped to change the perception of teaching. In May 2012 the House of Commons Select Committee for Education commended Teach First for helping to raise awareness of teaching amongst students, (“particularly those with high academic credentials who might not have considered teaching otherwise”) and for its impact with regard to improving the status of the teaching profession (Education Select Committee, 2012). In a similar vein Professor Chris Husbands, director of the highly regarded Institute of Education, one of Teach First’s national partners and a leading provider of initial teacher education, has described what has happened over the last decade in these terms:

“Over the last decade, Teach First has had a real impact on teacher recruitment and teacher training. One of its biggest contributions has been to detoxify teaching for Britain’s most talented graduates. Ten years ago relatively few high achieving graduates sought out careers in teaching. Now they are fighting to get on to Teach First and other routes into the profession. This perception shift will have a long-lasting impact on teacher quality. It is a real achievement and while there have been other factors too, Teach First has played a very significant part in changing the perception of teaching.” Professor Chris Husbands, Director of the Institute of Education In October 2010 the education white paper, The importance of teaching (DfE, 2010) provided wider recognition of the quality and outcomes being achieved by Teach First. The white paper enabled Teach First to double in size from 560 participants a year to 1,140 each year by the end of the parliament. Teach First was also commissioned to develop a new employment-based route into teaching aimed at attracting more high-fliers and career changers from other professions. In 2010 eight per cent of the Teach First’s participants were career changers. In 2011 that moved up to nine per cent and in 2012 it is expected to be 11 per cent. Teach First’s broader influence in reshaping the teacher training system can also be seen in a number of other policy decisions the coalition government has announced since taking office. For example, the DfE has taken steps to: › Introduce a systematic assessment of aptitude, personality and resilience as part of the teacher training candidate selection process, in line with Teach First’s practice (DfE, 2010 and DfE, 2011c); › Raise the bar in terms of the class of degree recent graduates would be expected to achieve if they wanted to receive a bursary to help cover their teacher training costs (DfE, 2010 and DfE, 2011c). In future graduates will be required to obtain a 2:2 rather than a third class degree; › Change the teacher training model so that, as with Teach First’s model, participants spend proportionately more time in their training ‘learning on the job’ in the classroom (TDA, 2011).


Teach First has also pioneered changes in the way in which teacher training is organised. The Teach First National Initial Teacher Training Partnership represents the first time that teacher training departments across universities have collaborated to develop and deliver curriculum, assessment and training. This has included cross-university delivery of subject and professional studies, a joint national self-evaluation in preparation for Ofsted inspections, a shared inspection schedule and a shared outcome. The impact of these developments has been observed by those with leading positions in initial teacher training. Sonia Blandford, former Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of Education at Canterbury Christ Church University, and previous Director of Research and Development at Teach First, sees the collaboration as an important facet of Teach First’s influence on Initial Teacher Training:

“The collaboration between universities has led to innovative practice which is now shared across teacher education in each of the participating universities. So, Teach First really has had a far-reaching impact beyond its own programme.” Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor of Educational Leadership and Innovation, University of Warwick The Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) brings together universities and university colleges to act as a national forum for matters relating to the education of teachers. Its executive director, James Noble Rogers, has a background of being involved in teacher education for many years and has been well placed to observe the development and growth of Teach First. James has commented:

“The contribution that Teach First has made to the supply of excellent teachers is well documented. But its work extends beyond that. Through its partnership with universities and schools, Teach First has developed innovative ways of designing and delivering high quality initial teacher training that can be used to inform practice across the ITT sector.” James Noble Rogers, Executive Director, UCET Those comments are echoed by another representative of one of Teach First’s most long-standing partners. Dr John Moss is Dean of Education at Canterbury Christ Church University. He has been intimately involved as the university has moved from being Teach First’s sole higher education partner to being a leading player within the consortium of universities providing academic teaching and support for Teach First participants. John’s assessment is that:

“The Teach First programme has created a unique opportunity for ITT providers to work collaboratively at national level, to plan, teach and assess trainees, making use of the best practice and expertise of each contributing university. The Teach First programme benefits from the dynamic culture of continuous improvement this creates, and so do the other programmes the providers offer independently.” Dr John Moss, Dean of Education, Canterbury Christ Church University

Teach First 39

Chapter 6

The impact on teaching and learning Chapter 6:

The impact of Teach First on teaching, schools, attainment and progression Teach First was set up to make a difference to the quality of teaching and learning and the life chances of pupils in schools located in areas of disadvantage. It is a hard mission to deliver and it is a hard area in which to measure Teach First’s impact, because Teach First has often been one of a number of interventions available to and used by schools. Nonetheless, the cumulative evidence points to Teach First having achieved a clear and identifiable effect.

The first piece of evidence relates to the views of Teach First participants. If they do not feel they are effective and making a difference to pupils then it is unlikely that they are having an impact! Research for Teach First by the University of Manchester (Muijs et al., 2010), however, indicates that after allowing for a first term of adapting to life in the classroom, four out of five Teach First participants do feel they are making a positive contribution to teaching in their schools:

“In particular, they felt they are a dynamic presence in lessons, have good subject knowledge and can motivate pupils” Muijs et al., 2010 Part of the reason for this, the researchers report, lies in the high expectations Teach First participants have of pupils. Although these expectations have sometimes “needed to be adapted to the reality in which they found themselves” they have provided an incentive for students to “step up” their performance. The report noted that “pitching expectations within the context of the highest possible goals” remained a challenge for Teach First teachers – a challenge which Teach First is continuing to address. The Manchester research team also found that using an internationally accepted ‘self-efficacy’ scale8, Teach First participants scored more highly than newly qualified teachers in a range of other countries, including Belgium, Canada, Holland, Korea, Norway and the United States. Teach First participants felt themselves to be particularly effective in motivating students, classroom management, controlling behaviour and crafting questions. The only area where they scored themselves lower than their international counterparts was assisting families to help their children do well at school. Participants’ own assessments were confirmed by external independent observation of their teaching practice. In 16 case-study schools the researchers observed, videoed and scored the performance of second year Teach First participants using the ISTOF framework10. They found high levels of teacher effectiveness that were on a par with an international sample that included experienced as well as novice teachers. Teach First teachers were rated particularly highly on creating a positive classroom climate, classroom management (in particular on correcting misbehaviour and minimising disruption) and on instructional skills (with lessons that run smoothly and follow a logical progression). Teach First teachers were relative less strong in promoting active learning and metacognitive skills but overall the researchers concluded that:

“Lessons were well prepared, and a high pace was maintained throughout … [and] the standard of teaching by Teach First teachers observed was good to excellent.” Muijs et al., 2010 Ofsted reported that even in their first year Teach First participants were having an impact on the professional development of other staff as well as on their students, commenting:

“They are well on their way to becoming inspirational teachers and some already are.” Ofsted, 2011 The ratings on the self-efficacy scale were based on two surveys of second year Teach First participants: one in December 2008 that achieved 123 responses (a 50 per cent response rate) and one in December 2009 that achieved 245 responses (an 81 per cent response rate).

8

The International Systematic Teacher Observation Framework (ISTOF) was designed by an international team of experts in the area of teacher effectiveness to measure observable teacher behaviours consistent with effective classroom teaching (Teddlie et al., 2006). It has 21 indicators spread across seven components of effective teaching. Each indicator is represented by two or three items, resulting in a total number of 45 items. The items are rated on a five-point scale, with values ranging from ‘strongly agree’ (5) to ‘strongly disagree’ (1).

10


Teach First 41

Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The impact of Teach First on teaching, schools, attainment and progression

Ofsted also picked out as key strengths “participants’ understanding of how to teach a diverse range of students and how to promote good behaviour and attitudes to learning [and their] relentless focus on the learning and progress of the students they teach” (Ofsted, 2011). This quality is also evident from the fact that a high proportion of Teach First participants – over two-thirds in 2010-11 – are graded as ‘outstanding’ when they are recommended for QTS. A further confirmation of the quality of teaching provided by Teach First participants comes from the schools in which they are placed. All headteachers interviewed as part of the Manchester study indicated that they found the teaching practice of Teach First participants to be “effective”. In particular, they appreciated that participants were able to adjust to the school they were in:

“They very quickly adapt to the styles that are successful in the establishment they’re in, and that’s been quite clear to me.” Headteacher quoted in Muijs et al., 2010 They also liked the way that participants brought innovation and sense of dynamism to their teaching:

“Teach First teachers have a lot of creativity and energy, which you might not find with teachers who have gone through the traditional route and who, maybe, stick to tried and tested methods instead of trying new things.” Headteacher quoted in Muijs et al., 2010

“Teach First teachers bring energy, they bring enthusiasm and ideas. In school the one thing we need is people with ideas, people that can come to us and say, ‘I want to do this, can I do it?’ And the answer is, ‘yes please, come and do it’. We need those people.” Lesley Lyons, Headteacher, Manning School for Girls, Nottingham As a result, many schools that commit to an initial partnership with Teach First come back for more participants year on year, as this example illustrates:

“One school, for example, was so impressed by their first cohort of Teach First teachers that they recruited for three more posts from Teach First the following year, and have taken on a further two for the year after that. The interviewees were impressed by the Teach First teachers, describing them as hardworking, motivated, bright, committed and professional.”

Impact on schools and school leadership Teach First teachers are also making an impact beyond the classroom, contributing significantly to leadership – both formally and informally. At a formal level nearly a half of the headteachers surveyed by the Manchester researchers10 reported that at least one of the Teach First participants had taken on the role of subject leadership, pastoral leadership or departmental headship. They also reported that they engaged in a range of high-profile leadership roles and activities, such as being gifted and talented or literacy coordinators, and leading assemblies. The emphasis on leadership development inherent in the Teach First model was having an impact:

“Teach First teachers come into the school with the idea that they will be leaders, and that sets the ethos.” Headteacher quoted in Muijs et al., 2010

“What we’re seeing with our Teach First teachers is not just what they’re contributing through the classroom which is high standards of teaching and learning but what they also seem to be doing is taking an accelerated promotion through the school or career route where they’re using their skills and talents to develop other people.” Christina Moon, Executive Principal, Bexley Business Academy Headteacher findings are reinforced by Teach First’s own analysis of how many ambassadors have moved into positions of leadership within schools. Figure 6.1 below shows how many of the Teach First ambassadors who have remained in teaching have progressed to positions of leadership within schools. Inevitably, it takes time for teachers to progress to more senior leadership positions but two-thirds of the original Teach First cohort still working in schools are in middle or senior leadership positions. Three ambassadors have, as at February 2012, been appointed as headteachers or principals. One of those principals is Max Haimendorf who has seen the value of the approach Teach First takes towards developing leadership potential:

“Teach First is not just a case of putting some people into a classroom and filling some gaps, Teach First is about creating leaders who are going to have a much wider impact on the communities they serve.” Max Haimendorf, Headteacher, King Solomon Academy

(Muijs et al., 2010) In short, Teach First participants are performing well in the classroom. They are proving to be confident effective teachers who bring energy and commitment to their role.

Muijs et al., 2010 conducted two surveys of headteachers of Teach First partner schools: one in December 2008 that achieved 36 responses (a 72 per cent response rate) and one in December 2009 that achieved 45 responses (a 67 per cent response rate).

10


Teach First 43

Chapter 6


Figure 6.1: Numbers and proportions of Teach First ambassadors in middle and senior leadership positions in school, by Teach First cohort, still teaching in the UK and overseas 2009

30

2008

49

2007

140 47

2006

Ambassadors teaching in senior leadership positions (UK & Overseas)

247

68 54

55 35

2005

37 36

2004

24 21

2003

Ambassadors teaching in middle leadership positions (UK & Overseas)

23

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Other ambassadors in teaching (UK & Overseas)

“Teach First teachers are often very aspirational people who have been successful educationally and so they bring that sense of academic success into the school and they want the same things for the children in their care here. They often do extra clubs and societies and they’ll go the extra mile to actually raise aspirations within an inner city school.” Sally Coates, Headteacher, Burlington Danes The latest data (see Figure 6.2) confirms the value that headteachers see Teach First teachers bringing to their schools. In all but one of the areas surveyed, at least seven out of ten heads ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ that Teach First participants are making a positive contribution and adding value. The impact is greatest in a participant’s own department:

“As a failing school, our main task was raising morale and expectations, and having the highest quality graduates in crucial departments really helped.” Headteacher quoted in Muijs et al., 2010

Figure 6.2: Views of headteachers of partner schools on the extent to which Teach First participants add value in selected areas of activity

Source: Teach First

Note: Senior leadership positions comprise head, deputy head and assistant head posts; middle leadership positions comprise heads of faculty, heads of department and heads of year. Participant’s department

Teach First participants are not just taking on formal leadership responsibilities. As importantly they are making a strong contribution to informal leadership. In the case study schools visited by Muijs et al. (2010), Teach First participants were seen as hardworking and eager to take the initiative. They described how they organised out-of-school activities such as trips to businesses, school competitions and enrichment activities. The positive impact of Teach First teachers on the culture and life of a school is widely recognised by senior staff in Teach First Partner schools.

“Mulberry’s Teach First staff have been so utterly enthusiastic and motivated that it’s changed the quality of the school.” Carol Jones, Deputy Headteacher, Mulberry School for Girls, London

“My students are in the lowest percentiles for almost every socioeconomic indicator there is. I know the impact Teach First applicants can have in raising aspirations. Energetic, innovative, enthusiastic, resilient and wonderfully committed to the students, what parent wouldn’t want their child taught by a teacher like that? What headteacher wouldn’t want their school full of teachers like that? That’s why Teach First is so important to me and my students.”

Pupil aspirations

Strongly Agree

School morale Pupil attainment

Agree

Whole school improvements

Neutral

Pupil access to opportunity

Disagree

Other staff development

Strongly Disagree 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Source: Teach First, 2011 survey of headteachers of Teach First partner schools

Note: Findings based on 57 responses from 235 headteachers surveyed (a response rate of 23 per cent).

Chris Robinson, Headteacher, Carlton Bolling College, Bradford 44 Teach First. Ten years of impact.

Teach First 45

Chapter 6


Impact on attainment Figure 6.2 also shows that more than four out of five headteachers ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that Teach First participants make a positive difference to pupil attainment. That is a very encouraging statistic but how far is this borne out by exam data? Muijs et al. (2010) identified 87 schools that had a long-term relationship with Teach First between 2003 and 2007. These schools were matched with statistically similar schools and their results at GCSE in terms of achieving five A* to C grades were then compared. The analysis showed that overall there was a correlation between participation in Teach First and improved rates of achievement.

However, the researchers attached a number of caveats to their findings. They pointed out that correlation did not equate to a causal link. In other words, having Teach First participants could not be said to be directly responsible for the higher rates of improvement, particularly as the data analysed was for all the pupils in the schools and not just those taught by Teach First teachers. In addition, other factors such as the impact of a new head teacher and other school improvement initiatives such as London Challenge or partnerships with other schools could also be contributing to and explaining the difference. These findings were nonetheless encouraging and significant and the Manchester researchers concluded that:

“Overall, there is converging evidence that Teach First teachers have a positive impact in schools. While none of the elements of this evaluation in and of themselves can demonstrate conclusively that Teach First teachers have a positive impact, taken together the evidence is compelling.”

“Teach First status explains between 20 per cent and 40 per cent of the between-school variance in pupil performance at GCSE.”

Muijs et al., 2010

Muijs et al., 2010

Teach First is now commissioning further research that will pinpoint more precisely the extent of the impact that Teach First teachers are having on the pupils they have taught.

The researchers noted that for schools joining Teach First up to 2005 the positive impact was evident one to two years after becoming a partner school, but appeared more quickly in those schools joining Teach First after 2005 – the areas shaded green in Figure 6.3 below highlight the years during which there was a correlation between schools participating in Teach First and improved rates of attainment. The impact was at a whole school level rather than at classroom or subject level.

Figure 6.3: Relationship between the performance of schools partnering with Teach First and pupil attainment Year

Cohorts of schools by year in which they started partnering with Teach First 2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Indicates a statistically positive relationship between schools partnering with Teach First and pupil attainment

Cohorts not involved with partnering with Teach First in these three years

No statistically positive relationship in these years

Source: Muijs et al., 2010

Note: Cohort means schools that started their relationship with Teach First in that year 46 Teach First. Ten years of impact.

Teach First 47

Chapter 6


Impact on progression to higher education The impact of Teach First is not confined just to what happens in the classroom and in exams. Overcoming disadvantage requires interventions on many fronts, particularly if young people from poor backgrounds and whose parents never went to university are to have the ambition and belief that they can succeed at the very highest level. HEAPS mentors, as chapter 3 described, provide that support so that pupils regardless of their background and school are able to access universities and careers that match their potential. Further monitoring of the impact over time is needed but the signs are that HEAPS mentors are achieving positive results. A survey12 of pupils completing the HEAPS programme in 2011 showed that: › › ›

80 per cent held places at university, including a third having a place at a Russell Group university; 18 per cent were taking a gap year or repeating elements of A-level study, with the intention of applying to university in 2012; and Two per cent were going into employment.

Nearly nine out of ten participants in the HEAPS survey ‘agreed strongly’ or ‘agreed’ with the following statements:

“I made an informed choice about university” “I clearly understand my motivation for going/not going to university” “I was motivated to get good grades” “I feel confident about myself and my future.” But statistics only tell part of the story in terms of the value HEAPS mentors are contributing. These three examples provide a more vivid illustration of how lives can be changed and opportunities realised through the work of the mentors.

“HEAPS gave me that head start into the real world. Not only has it helped me succeed at A-level through offering me mentoring and advice, but I’ve also developed confidence and independence. Through HEAPS I was able to gain invaluable internship opportunities and apply for universities that I would not otherwise have considered. What I am today and what I will become is all thanks to Teach First.” HEAPS mentee 2009-11, London Academy

“He’s a mentor who is really involved with everything and he helps me to learn about all the opportunities that are out there. If I bring something like past exam papers or interview questions to our sessions, he’ll bring his knowledge to just expand on it all and I think he’s really helped me with things like my personal statement. He’s high quality!” Current HEAPS mentee, Pimlico Academy

“Before I was put on the programme, I was going quite downhill (e.g. grades wise, confidence, etc.). However, since I’ve been put on the programme (especially since the Cambridge trip), I’ve had a real confidence boost – and I feel that my potential has finally been unlocked. I honestly do not think I would have achieved the grades I have unless I was on this programme.” Current HEAPS mentee, Wembley High Technology College

Impact on the system Capturing the impact of Teach First’s other ambassadors is more difficult. It is not at this point possible to quantify the totality or measure the quality of what the ambassadors are contributing. What it is possible to do is provide examples of the exciting and innovative initiatives that are being developed. Cumulatively, they show how Teach First is beginning to generate a critical mass of young leaders committed to advancing the cause of social justice in education through word and deed. Their experience of being involved in teaching in schools in challenging circumstances has made an indelible impression on them which is firing them up to start new ventures that raise and support the aspirations of young people from disadvantaged families and communities. Figure 6.4 describes two of the many imaginative examples of social entrepreneurship initiatives that have been initiated by Teach First ambassadors. A further vindication of the growing impact of Teach First’s social entrepreneurs comes from one of the country’s leading funders of programmes aimed at improving educational opportunities for young people from non-privileged backgrounds:

“In the last ten years the Sutton Trust has seen a significant growth in the number and quality of social entrepreneurs seeking funding for projects to address educational disadvantage. A large and increasing proportion of them have been through the Teach First programme and we find the quality of their applications to be very high – for instance the Brilliant Club which we are now supporting. It is clear that Teach First alumni are having an important impact in developing new and innovative programmes in the Third Sector.” James Turner, Director of Projects for The Sutton Trust

Based on online and telephone survey responses from 114 of 193 HEAPS pupils in cohort 3 – a 59 per cent response rate.

12


Teach First 49


Chapter 6

Figure 6.4: Examples of the impact made by Teach First Social Entrepreneurship ambassadors In 2010 Rebecca McKelvey, an ambassador from the 2005 Teach First cohort, set up In2scienceUK as a nonprofit organisation to provide placements for gifted A-level students from underprivileged backgrounds. The scheme draws on the commitment, passion and experience of scientists to ensure the brightest pupils have the opportunity to experience research science first hand, regardless of their wealth. Students work alongside practising scientists for a two-week placement during the summer, giving students an insight into scientific research. During 2011 In2scienceUK placed 30 students at Institute of Child Health, King’s College London and University College London. In 2005 Jamie Feilden, one of the participants on the inaugural Teach First programme, was teaching at a challenging school in South London. Having grown up with a passion for farming, and discovering that the pupils he taught had a real lack of experience of agriculture, he decided to bring two sheep back from his family home in Bath to his school.

The sheep were housed next to the playground and Jamie noted the instant impact on the students who thrived from the responsibility of feeding and caring for the animals. Teachers also noticed a remarkable change in the attitude of these students towards their school life which led to a noticeable drop in the number of playground fights. On the back of this success, visits were hosted at his family’s farm in Bath between 2005 and 2008 where the experience of living and working in the countryside was giving de-motivated and disengaged students a new purpose and direction in their lives. In 2009, the charity Jamie’s Farm was established, with a view to positively impacting as many young people as possible through this unique offering. Jamie’s chief operating officer is another Teach First ambassador, Ruth Carney. Since its humble beginnings, over 600 children have benefited from this innovative school intervention programme, with hugely positive results. Over 80 per cent of children have fewer behavioural incidents, and 68 per cent are no longer at risk of exclusion a year after their first visit.

Source: Teach First, http://in2scienceuk.org/ and http://www.jamiesfarm.org.uk/

The impact of Policy First ambassadors has also been growing. For example, in November 2010, Policy First launched its third publication. It was edited by a 2007 Ambassador, Daisy Christodoulou, written and researched by twenty four other ambassadors with input from hundreds of other ambassadors and Teach First participants. It argued that ethos and culture, as well as a focus on attainment, are important in helping schools, teachers and pupils to improve – particularly those in challenging circumstances. The report’s message and recommendations were reported in the national media, discussed at the three main party political conferences and have been widely debated. As the Shadow Secretary of State for Education at the time acknowledged:

“[Teach First] ambassadors are now well placed to influence the debate on education reform via publications like this … The collective experience ambassadors have gathered in recent years is invaluable … I have no doubt that ethos and culture play a hugely important role in unlocking aspiration and improving standards for all.” Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP As the ambassador community continues to expand, there is every likelihood that its impact and reach will extend to become a powerful national voice and beacon of excellent practice: both challenging society but also demonstrating to policy makers and practitioners alike how to address educational disadvantage.


Teach First 51

Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Conclusion There are many learning points to be drawn from the history of Teach First’s first decade.

The origins of Teach First demonstrate the value of engaging business leaders in surveying and understanding the skills an economy will need in the years ahead. The birth of Teach First is also an example of corporate social responsibility at its best: successful corporations not just identifying need but willing to invest to make long-term change happen. Teach First confirms the pivotal role that outstanding personal and corporate leadership plays in starting and running highly successful organisations. Teach First provides living proof of the power of aligning social entrepreneurship, corporate action and government funding. Teach First shows that change is possible: that set attitudes can be altered, perceptions changed and new models of recruiting and training can be introduced. Teach First shows that in a world that is all too often characterised by apathy or cynicism, a successful enterprise can be built on moral purpose. Teach First shows that it is possible with the right leadership and the right systems both to expand an enterprise and sustain the highest standards. An increase in quantity need not be at the expense of quality. Teach First demonstrates how it is possible to inspire able individuals and brigade alumni to stay committed to pursuing social change. Teach First has demonstrated how policy can be shaped by action and initiative on the ground rather than just being developed top-down. Teach First has shown how to change perceptions and has succeeded both in attracting and retaining growing numbers of high calibre graduates into teaching, and in energising them to work in and help transform some of the most challenging schools in England. Above all, Teach First shows that you can make a difference to the life chances of young people from the most deprived backgrounds. Good schools with excellent teachers can provide the ladders and pathways to social mobility for children even from the most disadvantaged homes.


Teach First 53

Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Conclusion

New challenges As it enters its second decade Teach First still has lots of challenges to address. Teach First has been given new roles and tasks by government to take its programme nationwide and to recruit high-flyers from other professions into teaching. Teach First’s training model is highly effective and well regarded. However, as the National Curriculum is reviewed, the need for greater in-depth subject knowledge grows, approaches to teaching and learning evolve and brain science develops, then the need to equip Teach First participants to better understand how young people learn will be a vital part of teacher education. In addition, as noted in chapter 5, reforms to initial teacher education are under way. Schools and academies, via teaching schools and academy chains, will play a larger role in commissioning and shaping initial teacher training. Leadership development within schools is increasingly focusing on helping teachers to progress and realise their potential from the very earliest days of their teaching careers. Teach First’s model reflects and fits well with these reforms but the organisation will need to consider how it should develop and adapt as these changes take hold more broadly across the school system. The ambassador network is burgeoning and by 2022 Teach First could have 10,000 ambassadors. Making use of this rich resource in ways that are effective and add measurable value to Teach First’s vision will be a key task for the years ahead. Mining the rich seams of data that the government is now making available on school and pupil performance, along with more specially commissioned evaluation, will enable Teach First to better analyse its impact on pupil groups,

subjects, departments and schools. Developing a more in-depth understanding of the impact of its programmes will better enable Teach First to continually improve its core offer and services. Perhaps the greatest challenge facing Teach First, now that its core role and operation are well established, is how its contribution towards raising attainment and closing gaps in achievement for the most socio-economically deprived pupils, fits with that of other parts of the school system. Overcoming entrenched disadvantage, tackling low selfesteem, realising aspirations, providing quality opportunities for learning certainly requires the presence of high calibre teachers and leaders working in the schools serving those pupils. But the impact of excellent teaching and learning needs to be aligned with other interventions, leaders, resources and agencies intent on tackling the same problem. The challenge for Teach First is to maximise and magnify the impact of its contribution by integrating its efforts with those of teaching schools, academy chains, school federations, specialist charities, local authorities and social agencies focused on promoting opportunity and raising attainment. This is a challenge on which Teach First has been increasingly focused and, in keeping with its culture throughout its history, is wasting no time in planning how to respond to it. As part of its tenth anniversary, Teach First has started a national conversation about why education matters. The charity is looking to understand what collective impact is needed to close the gap between children from low-income communities and their wealthier peers.

Teach First has achieved a huge amount during its first 10 years. It is now poised to achieve much much more in its second decade. 54 Teach First. Ten years of impact.

Teach First 55

Appendix A

Gold

Appendix A:

Current and founding supporters Platinum › Accenture › BlackRock › Bloomberg LP › Canary Wharf Group › Credit Suisse EMEA Foundation › Deloitte › Garfield Weston Foundation › Goldman Sachs › Google › HSBC

› Lone Pine Foundation › Man Charitable Trust › McKinsey & Company › Morrisons › The Nomura Charitable Trust › PwC › Procter & Gamble › Social Action Fund › UBS

› Aon Hewitt › ARCO Limited › Citi Foundation › Clifford Chance › Experian

› Institution of Engineering and Technology › Mr and Mrs K. McDonald › National College for School Leadership › NESTA › salesforce.com

Silver › › › › › ›

AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust BlueBay Asset Management City of London The Dulverton Trust Dr Steve Garnett of salesforce.com The Gatsby Charitable Foundation

› › › › ›

The Haberdashers’ Company KPMG The Mercers’ Company Pace PLC The Venture Partnership Foundation

Bronze › AccessHE and National HE STEM Programme › Aircelle › Allen & Overy › Arup › Capital International › Centrica › City & Law › Ernst & Young › Evans Property Group › Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP › GTI Media › Lighthouse Global

› Maverick Capital Foundation › Neuberger Berman › Rothschild › Sainsbury’s › Tesco › Texas Instruments › The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation › The Trust for Education › United Learning Trust › Uxbridge United Welfare Trusts › Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation

Founding Supporters › Association of School and College Leaders › Business in the Community › Canary Wharf Group › Capital & Provident › Capital One › Citi Foundation › City of London › Department for Education › Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

› Garfield Weston Foundation › London First › McKinsey & Company › National Association for Head Teachers › The Paul Hamlyn Foundation › SHINE › The Sutton Trust › Training and Development Agency

Regional Founding Supporters › › › ›


The Cadbury Foundation Experian Dr Steve Garnett of salesforce.com HSBC Education Trust

› Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs › Manchester City Council › The Mercers’ Company

Teach First 57

Appendix B

2003-05 › Canterbury Christ Church University College (now University)

Appendix B:

2006-07

Teach First’s higher education partners 14

› Canterbury Christ Church University College (now University) › University of Manchester (UoM)

2007-08 › Canterbury Christ Church University College (now University) › University of Manchester › Midlands Training Consortium – Nottingham Trent University, Birmingham City University, Newman University College, University of Wolverhampton, University of Worcester

2008-09 › Canterbury Christ Church University College (now University) › University of Manchester › Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) › Midlands Training Consortium – Nottingham Trent University, Birmingham City University, Newman University College, University of Wolverhampton, University of Worcester

2009-10 National Partnership:

› › › ›

Canterbury Christ Church University Institute of Education, University of London University of Warwick Specialist Schools and Academies Trust

Regional Training Providers: › › › › › › ›

Canterbury Christ Church University College (now University) University of Manchester Liverpool John Moores University Midlands Training Consortium – Nottingham Trent University, Birmingham City University, Newman University College, University of Wolverhampton, University of Worcester Sheffield Hallam University University of Hull University of Huddersfield

2010-11 National Partnership:

› › › ›

Canterbury Christ Church University Institute of Education, University of London University of Warwick Specialist Schools and Academies Trust

Regional Training Providers:

› › › › › › ›

Canterbury Christ Church University University of Manchester Liverpool John Moores University Midlands Training Consortium – Nottingham Trent University, Birmingham City University, Newman University College, University of Wolverhampton, University of Worcester Sheffield Hallam University University of Hull University of Huddersfield

2011-12 National Partnership: › Canterbury Christ Church University › Institute of Education, University of London › University of Warwick

Regional Training Providers:

› › › › › › › › › › › › › ›

Canterbury Christ Church University University of Manchester Liverpool John Moores University Sheffield Hallam University King’s College London Institute of Education, University of London University of Nottingham University of Leicester University of Warwick Birmingham City University University of Wolverhampton Leeds Metropolitan University Northumbria University University of Sunderland

Teach First’s Higher Education partners are selected following a competitive tendering process run by the Teaching Agency (formerly the TDA).

14


Teach First 59

Appendix C

› Blanden, J. and Machin, S., 2007, Recent Changes in Intergenerational Mobility in Britain, Centre for Economic Performance at LSE for the Sutton Trust

Appendix C:

› DfE, 2010, The importance of teaching: the schools’ white paper, 2010

References

› DfE, 2011b, School workforce in England November 2010 (Provisional), Statistical First Release 6/2011, DfE

› DfE, 2011a, A profile of teachers in England from the 2010 school workforce census, Research Report DFE-RR151

› DfE, 2011c, Training our next generation of outstanding teachers: implementation plan › DfES, 2001, Schools achieving success, HMSO › DfES, 2003a, The future of higher education, HMSO › DfES, 2006, Statistics of education bulletin: trends in attainment gaps 2005, A National Statistics Bulletin, HMSO › DfES, 2003b, The London challenge, transforming London secondary schools, DfES publications, Nottingham › Education Select Committee, 2012, Great teachers: attracting, training and retaining the best, House of Commons, Ninth Report 2011-12 › Goodman, A. and Gregg, P., (Editors) 2010, Poorer children’s educational attainment: how important are attitudes and behaviour?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation › Haines, S. and Hallgarten, J., 2002, in From victims of change to agents of change: the future of the teaching profession, ed. Johnson, M. and Hallgarten, J., Institute for Public Policy Research › Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Analytical Services Group, 2004, The missing 3,000: state school students under-represented at leading universities, Sutton Trust › Hutchings, M., Maylor, U., Mendick, H., Menter, I. and Smart, S., 2006, Approaches to teacher training on the Teach First programme: final report to the Training and Development Agency for Schools, Institute for Policy Studies in Education, London Metropolitan University, University of Glasgow › Jerrim, J. and Vignoles, A., 2011, The use (and misuse) of statistics in understanding social mobility: regression to the mean and the cognitive development of high ability children from disadvantaged homes, Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education, University of London › Johnson, M., 2003, Schooling in London: an overview, Institute for Public Policy Research › Muijs, D., Chapman, C., Collins, A. and Armstrong A., 2010, Maximum impact evaluation: the impact of Teach First teachers in schools, final report, University of Manchester › OECD, 2005, Teachers matter: attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers, OECD Publishing › Ofsted, 2011, Teach First initial teacher education inspection report, HMI365969 › TDA, 2011, 2011 census data, http://www.tda.gov.uk/about/latest-announcements/2011-censusdata.aspx, as accessed on12th March 2012 › Teach First, 2011, Additional evidence to the Parliamentary Education Select Committee inquiry on attracting, training and retaining the best teachers › Teddlie, C., Creemers, B., Kyriakides, L., Muijs, D. and Yu, F., 2006, The International System for Teacher Observation and Feedback: evolution of an international study of teacher effectiveness constructs, Educational Research and Evaluation, Vol 12, Issue 6, Taylor & Francis Online


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Appendix D

Appendix D:

Get in touch

To keep up to date with the latest news and events from Teach First, please visit our website www.teachfirst.org.uk National Office and London Regional Office 4 More London Riverside London SE1 2AU

West Midlands Regional Office One Victoria Square Birmingham B1 1BD

East Midlands Regional Office Landmark House Experian Way Nottingham NG2 1EP

Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Office 1 City Square Leeds LS1 2ES

North East Regional Office Cuthbert House All Saints Business Centre Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 2ET

Kent and Medway Regional Office Fort Pitt House New Road Rochester Kent ME1 1DU

North West Regional Office 3 Piccadilly Place, Floor 11 Manchester M1 3BN

Teach First is a registered charity, number 1098294 Telephone: 0844 880 1800 Join us: @TeachFirst

www.facebook.com/teachfirst

Design: www.elbow-creative.co.uk


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“My teacher opened up the world to me. She opened my mind to a world of possibility. That’s why she is the teacher I remember the most.” Pupil of Ndidi Okezie, ’03 Ambassador who taught at The Business Academy Bexley

www.teachfirst.org.uk Teach First is a registered charity, number 1098294