By Mrs Mairéad Waugh, Headteacher at St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School, Hatfield, in the Archdiocese of Westminster.
Narrowing the gap isn’t giving disadvantaged pupils extra phonics or maths — that's the easy bit. It’s providing culturally enriching activities, experiences some schools take for granted but are very expensive for others. That's the hardest thing, and the unfairness really gets to everybody at times.
Of our 460 pupils 85% are from ethnic minority backgrounds, 60% have English as an additional language (EAL), 28% receive Pupil Premium and free school meals. Some of our children’s families suddenly become homeless, and with a shortage of local temporary accommodation they can be sent to Nottinghamshire or Cambridgeshire for 6-8 weeks while a longer-term home is arranged back in Hertfordshire. Schools while they’re staying elsewhere don’t always have places, so we keep in frequent contact, provide lessons online and support them to stay in touch with their friends through online visits.
We must also be aware of experiences children haven’t had which hinder ability to access the curriculum. It's not that they can't do the work, but there are many assumptions behind the curriculum. We have a sandpit big enough for a whole class because many haven’t ever seen sand, or the sea, which the curriculum can refer to. A book about a museum assumes everybody’s been to one and knows how it works – and you can’t make these assumptions any more. SATs are provided unseen, with sheep rustling in the reading test a few years ago. Half our children hadn’t seen an actual sheep, let alone heard of sheep rustling. Most have never been to the theatre because it's too expensive. Lots hadn't been to a cinema, so we take them annually and will do the same with theatre before they leave in Year 6. We’re just outside London, with so many experiences on our doorstep, but we don't get free public transport for school trips. A London school fills in a form to go free on the tube, so every class goes on a trip. Museums and galleries may be free, but we have to fundraise to travel.
Some school uniform items and a food bank are kept in the front area of the school to be readily accessible for parents. The school chaplaincy team also runs a monthly pre-loved uniform, clothes and shoes swap, themed on recycling to not stigmatise those in need. There are parents we know struggle at Christmas, so the school has a stock of donated gifts to make sure they can give their child a present on Christmas Day.
A girl showed talent at football in the playground but never tried out for the school football team. It turned out she had no football boots or shin pads, so we bought them and she went on to become our star goalscorer! We now use a charity which supplies these items through partnerships with grassroots teams and larger clubs.
Bikeability-donated bikes are available at school to pupils and parents, booked online and using combination locks. Children are encouraged to cycle, walk and scooter to school, we have a travel plan and participate in School Streets. Local secondaries are non-selective, yet some require children to have an iPad or tablet for schoolwork, and with uniform and transport costs this limits parents’ choice. The bus is £40 a month, and many former pupils now cycle to their secondary school.
The office calculates a ‘school life budget’ of money we ask of parents from Reception through to Year 6, such as for school trips. This enables them to spread small payments across years, rather than large amounts at difficult times. As schools become the fourth emergency service there are ever more demands on Pupil Premium, and since 2020 it’s risen 11% while cumulative inflation has gone up 25%. If you could sum up our philosophy, though, it’s that every child counts, and every child goes — making sure they're not disadvantaged through lack of experience.
Mrs Waugh recently addressed MPs and Members of the House of Lords on this issue at a Parliamentary roundtable hosted by Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick with the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England Wales; the CES; and Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN).
Find out more about Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Westminster
