Addressing the Attainment Gap through Early Intervention: Assessment of the First of a Multi-Year Project

This paper follows on from a previous paper where we identified issues with the way the attainment gap is calculated. We identified that to address this gap solely using academic research is unlikely to be effective and that schools also needed to conduct their own research to develop approaches that best meet the needs of their students. Furthermore, based on research from the Education Endowment Foundation and the Department for Education, we identified that the most effective approaches are ones that begin early, continue over the long term and meet the specific needs of students. Finally, based on research conducted within our school, we identified that our students' challenges centred primarily on issues relating to beliefs, self-study, health and support. As a result, we developed a multi-year mentoring project aimed at addressing these challenges. This paper discusses the initial findings after the first year of this multi-year project.