Education Matters: Teach First Annual Review 2011-12

Education Matters Annual Review September 2011 – August 2012

www.teachfirst.org.uk

How much you achieve in life should not be determined by how much your parents earn.

Yet in the UK, it too often is.

We are an education charity. We work with like-minded people and organisations towards a day where every child has the excellent education they are entitled to.

We train people with high leadership potential to be inspirational teachers in schools in low-income communities across the country.

These leaders go on to work in schools and other sectors of society towards our vision: a future where no child’s educational success is limited by their socio-economic background.

Our Mission We are working to end inequality in education by building a community of exceptional leaders who create change within classrooms, schools and across society.

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Foreword

by Cyan

Hello. I’m Cyan and I went to a Teach First partner school. For me, education really matters. It’s the difference between dreaming of an exciting future, and actually going out and getting it. It’s learning that no matter what your background is, what school you go to, or how much your parents earn, you can achieve as much as anyone else.

We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, but I had a happy childhood with my brother and my dad. I remember how scared I was about starting high school; my brother was already there and would tell me about fights in the playground.

There were a lot of distractions – like behaviour problems and people letting off fireworks – but to me it was just normal school.

Looking back, my biggest barrier in terms of education was not thinking I was good enough. I had no confidence. But things started to change in year 8 when there was an opportunity to learn an instrument for free at school. With support from my music teacher, Miss Hay, I signed up to learn the flute and started learning with an amazing flute teacher, Marta Goncalves. Pretty quickly I knew I had found a passion. The first major performance I did was at the Barbican, London. I’d only been learning the flute for three months and I gave a solo. It was an amazing moment in my life.

“There are thousands of young people who don’t realise their potential, and I find that a little upsetting.”

Contents

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I was reluctant to apply to study music at Oxford – I didn’t think I’d stand a chance. But Miss Hay believed in me. She gave me so much support and advice, from getting my grades up to scratch, to listening to repertoires, expanding my reading and doing practice interviews. She even kept meeting me once she had left the school. The encouragement from her and my other music teachers, school teachers and mentors really helped me come out of my shell. I even ended up being head girl. And… I got into Oxford!

At first my dad wasn’t very supportive of me taking up music as a degree – he didn’t see many opportunities for me in doing that. But once he saw me perform, and saw my grades were going up, he really got behind me and now he’s telling everyone about how I made it to Oxford. So I was lucky. I had an amazing teacher and a supportive family. Some people are not that lucky, maybe their parents didn’t go to university or they didn’t have the same range of options, so they need to be made aware so that every pupil is supported at home. There are thousands of young people who don’t realise their potential, and I find that a little upsetting. I wish they all had a teacher like Miss Hay to look up to.

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Foreword by Cyan Welcome from Dame Julia and Brett Aspiring beyond the classroom Our teachers: • It just takes one Policy in action: • A national conversation Policy in action: • Breaking down barriers Our school partnerships: • Driving high standards in Hull Support in action

3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

• In the classroom: • A journey into primary • A snapshot of our community • In ten years • Our performance: • September 2011 – August 2012 • Governance and Acknowledgements • Finance • Looking ahead: • Five steps to ending inequality in education • Thank you from all of us

18 20 22 24 26 28 30

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Welcome from Dame Julia and Brett Annual Review 2011/12 – Education Matters

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Thank you to every individual and organisation who has worked with us over the past year, and indeed the past decade, towards a future where every child has the chance to succeed.

From those who have joined to become teachers and continue to tackle education inequality as ambassadors, to the training providers, schools, and other organisations committed to the vision, you have all played a vital role. As we celebrate our tenth anniversary year we thank the far sighted individuals and members of the business world, as well as the many charitable trusts and foundations, that enabled us to get off the ground. Special thanks must go to our 10th Anniversary Lead Supporter Credit Suisse, and to our national and regional founding supporters, including the Citi Foundation, HSBC and the Garfield Weston Foundation.

Together we have made significant progress. Ten years ago few people thought that a large group of graduates from top universities would want to teach in lowincome communities. It is now the 4th most prestigious career choice for new graduates. This year, almost 1,000 trainees began their journey to become Teach First teachers across seven regions of the country. Their combined efforts have the potential to transform the futures of thousands of primary and secondary pupils.

While most of our ambassadors remain in teaching, creating positive change in schools and classrooms, many others are working in a variety of different sectors to find different ways of contributing to ending inequality in education. More than 22 social enterprises have been set up by our ambassadors to support young people to reach their aspirations, through initiatives ranging from university guidance to music and even therapy through farm work.

For us, what really drives home the importance of what we are all doing is hearing from young people, like Sharif (page 9) who credits his Teach First teacher, Mr Fairbairn, for his passion for maths, and subsequently his dream job; or Cyan whose teacher Miss Hay (on the previous page) worked tirelessly with her to increase her confidence and grades.

Over ten years we have seen so many examples of pupils’ lives and opportunities transformed as a direct result of inspirational teaching and leadership. These examples give us hope and drive us forward. But despite the progress we have made together, the sad fact remains that children in England who come from lower socio-economic backgrounds do not have access to the same opportunities for educational success as their wealthier peers.

We have an ambitious plan over the next decade to increase our impact, outlined on pages 30-33. Please continue to support us so that one day all children in lowincome communities in the UK will have an excellent education. The harder we strive towards this goal and the closer we work together, the sooner that day will come.

Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO CBE Chair of the Teach First Board of Trustees Brett Wigdortz Teach First Founder and CEO www.teachfirst.org.uk

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Aspiring beyond the classroom Annual Review 2011/12 – Education Matters

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Our teachers support their pupils to reach their aspirations every day in the classroom. To build on this we look for other ways that young people can share ideas and build their confidence, such as mentoring and giving them opportunities to have their voices heard.

Mentor support for pupils

“The best advice Miss Humphreys has given me is to not be scared to ask for help. I’m shy and I just don’t ask for help sometimes, so she’s helped me be more confident in myself.”

Anniek Anderson, pupil of Clare Humphreys, ‘08 Ambassador, Manning School for Girls, Nottingham

A quarter of English universities failed to meet their targets to admit substantially more disadvantaged students last year

Our Higher Education Access Programme for Schools (HEAPS) has grown by approximately 30% over the past year, and our employees and ambassadors currently mentor 633 pupils in London, the West Midlands, and Yorkshire. The programme, funded by a number of organisations, including lead corporate supporter BlackRock, matches talented sixth form pupils from underrepresented backgrounds with mentors who support them so that they are able to access universities and careers that match their potential. All the pupils come from families where there is no history of higher education and/or they are eligible for free school meals. Alongside the mentoring is a calendar of events to give pupils a real insight into university life, including a Cambridge University Easter School, supported by the Citi Foundation.

Our evidence shows that HEAPS increases the chances of its pupils progressing to a top university by 50%. Keshvi Gandesha, a HEAPS mentee in 2011, said: “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 developed confidence and independence.”

In 2011/12 we opened up the programme to pupils in the West Midlands and this year we expanded to Yorkshire thanks to a grant from WM Morrisons Plc. We want to continue to expand HEAPS so that all pupils, regardless of their socio-economic background, have the support to make informed decisions about their future. To find out how you or your organisation can get involved in helping HEAPS expand, contact Martyn Caddick, mcaddick@teachfirst.org.uk

What would you change?

If you could make a difference to education, what would you change? This is the question we asked young people in March through our ‘What Would You Change’ competition. 140 impressive entries were judged by a high profile panel which included BBC education correspondent, Reeta Chakrabarti and Director of the Pearson Centre for Policy and Learning, Professor Becky Francis. The winners were Adina Khan, from Notre Dame Catholic College in Liverpool and Joshua Alexander-Ejinkonye, who is studying at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

The Guardian, September 2011

Adina believes that all UK pupils should study Mandarin, Hindi, Portuguese or Russian, to give them a head start in securing jobs, as many countries increase their presence in the global market. Joshua’s winning idea was for tutorials from Teach First teachers to be available to all students to access online at ‘Teach First TV’. Both pupils won an ipad and an internship at Teach First where they worked with our Ambassador and External Relations departments. Adina said: “I enjoyed working in an office based environment. It was a big change but one that has allowed me to develop my confidence and ability in myself.”

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Our teachers: It just takes one It can take just one teacher to transform a child’s life. They can help young people believe in themselves, supporting them to build a future they never thought possible before. Take the relationship between Mohammed Sharif (known as Sharif), who was a pupil last year at Burlington Danes Academy in London, and his maths teacher Mr Fairbairn.

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Mr Fairbairn

Sharif arrived in my class as an A-level student in 2010. He had some behavioural issues and the worst GCSE result in the whole class. The odds were not in his favour to make it through A level maths. I feared he would not last long.

Sharif

On my first day in Mr Fairbairn’s class I was barely able to add fractions. I figured I would drop maths in a week max, but little did I know at the time, I had nothing to worry about.

Mr Fairbairn

Then, one day Sharif told me that he did not have a space to work at home as the kitchen table was always crowded and there was no desk in his room. As a solution, we agreed that he would use a desk in my office every Friday after school. For TWO YEARS, without fail, he came to my classroom. Every. Single. Friday.

Sharif

Mr Fairbairn’s teaching made the work look so easy that even a child could do it. I remember this one time I was stuck on this complex trigonometry proof, so I took it to Mr Fairbairn for help after school one day. He sat me down, observed the problem and answered with one line: “It’s always wise to factorise.” Suddenly it felt like a fog had been lifted, an hour of struggle resolved with one simple rhyme that I still remember today.

Mr Fairbairn

Sharif’s relentless attitude, work ethic and subsequent progress amazed me. I have never witnessed anything like it. By the end of Year 13, Sharif was top of the class and able to help other students because his understanding was so secure.

I once told another student to check the mark scheme for a practice paper and Sharif replied ‘Don’t worry, I’ll show you. I AM the mark scheme!’

Sharif

Mr Fairbairn

Sharif

Mr Fairbairn made me realise that even someone like me, who was not particularly gifted or talented in anything, could do well and achieve if I just tried hard enough. ‘Hard work pays off’ he would continuously say, it was like his motto; but in the end he was 100% spot-on.

Sharif went on to achieve an A grade in A-level Maths, something deemed impossible just two years before.

Now I’m doing an accounting apprenticeship at an advertising agency. I love my job and can’t believe I’m getting closer to my dream of becoming a chartered accountant. Three years ago if someone told me I would achieve an A in A-level maths and land this fantastic job I would think it impossible. But Mr Fairbairn has transformed my life and for that I owe him absolutely everything.

The only way I can repay him is to use the knowledge he has given me to do something special with my life. One day when I’m successful he can proudly say, ‘I taught him when he was younger’ and I can reply with a grin like a Cheshire cat, ‘You sure did buddy, you sure did.’

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Policy in action A national conversation Annual Review 2011/12 – Education Matters

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We wouldn’t be where we are today without cross-party political support that enables us to continue expanding our reach, including our move into Kent and Medway in 2012 and plans for growth in the South West and the South Coast in 2013.

Building on existing good relations with MPs, peers and political advisors, many of our teachers were able to share their ideas for education reforms with policymakers this year, and politicians in turn threw themselves into the work we do by volunteering to take part in ‘Teach First Week’. A national campaign, Teach First Week encourages distinguished professionals from all walks of life to step out of their day job and inspire a classroom of pupils in one of our partner schools. Ten policymakers took part in 2012, including Conservative MP, Nick Boles, and Labour Peer, Lord Jim Knight.

We fed into major education inquiries run by the House of Commons crossparty select committee on education and the Mayor of London’s office.

We were referenced in both – the select committee in particular praised our impact on recruitment into the profession as well as our expansion, commenting: “We support the announced expansion and development of Teach First, which continues to provide a number of excellent teachers, including those who would not otherwise have considered the profession.”

Our Policy First initiative provides opportunities for our teachers and ambassadors to share their views on what needs to change in education, and to influence national education policy.

During 2011/12, a group of ambassadors attended a panel with government advisors every two months to feed into government thinking around education policy issues. Several ambassadors also attended Labour and Conservative party conferences in 2012 to take part in a Teach First roundtable discussion on the role of policy makers.

As part of our 10th Anniversary activities we started a national conversation about addressing educational inequality. We developed Education Matters, a highly popular debate series on the issue which we co-hosted with the RSA. High profile contributors such as Stephen Twigg MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Ofsted Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, ensured the series was hugely popular.

View films of the debates on our website, www.teachfirst.org.uk/tenyears

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Policy in action Breaking Down Barriers Our teachers on the programme and our ambassadors have different perspectives and opinions on education, developed throughout their time teaching in our partner schools and the other work they do to tackle educational disadvantage. What brings them together is their firm belief that all children can succeed – no matter what background they are from.

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BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS: HOW WE CAN ENSURE NO CHILD’S EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS IS LIMITED BY THEIR SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND.

Policy First 2012 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM TEACH FIRST PARTICIPANTS AND AMBASSADORS.

In September we launched Breaking Down Barriers, a publication researched and written by a team of 28 ambassadors and teachers currently on our programme. It brings together 18 months of research into problems in education and recommended reform, and draws on the opinions of around 200 Teach First teachers and young people who have worked or studied in our partner schools.

Breaking Down Barriers identifies seven barriers to pupils living in low-income communities realising their aspirations, such as low confidence and the stereotyping of schools. Within the report, 11 ambassadors outline their recommendations for overcoming these barriers at a classroom, school and system level. They range from drawing on the experience of retired teachers to equipping teachers with coaching skills.

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

Read Breaking Down Barriers at www.teachfirst.org.uk/publications

“There is a growing consensus that it is teachers who make the difference.

The lesson that we’ve learned is that you can make political changes as much as you like, but unless what happens in the classroom when the door is closed is of a better quality than it was before we won’t actually deliver what we all aspire to.”

The Rt. Hon. Baroness Estelle Morris

What gets in the way of realising aspirations?

Confidence “Some people can’t afford their equipment, and some people come to school but they don’t have the right socks on… and that affects their confidence level.”

Year 8 pupil

We held five focus groups with pupils from 13 to 15 years old at “Say if a teacher asks you a Teach First partner schools, and question and you get it wrong, asked them just that… everyone laughs at you. The next Bullying “If you are part of a different culture or you wear stuff that is quite smart, some people bully people and take their stuff and throw it away. When they want to achieve it puts your self-esteem and confidence down.”

Year 8 pupil

Bad Behaviour “The people who disrupt the lessons, like they are taking the education away when they talk.”

Year 8 pupil

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time the teacher asks a question, you’re not going to want to put your hand up, so you will never learn for yourself.”

Year 10 pupil

Stereotyping “My sister went to this school, she went to get a job – they were looking at her GCSEs and the school she went to; they were surprised that she came out with As and Bs … Who cares, it’s not the school, it’s what you leave with.”

Year 10 pupil

Our school partnerships: Driving high standards in Hull 35% of nursery and primary and 28% of secondary pupils in Hull receive free school meals – the highest rates in all of Yorkshire and the Humber DfE: GCSE and Equivalent Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England, 2010/11

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Archbishop Sentamu Academy (ASA) in Hull opened its gates in 2008, and became a Teach First partner school in 2011, one of 59 in the region. Many young people who attend the academy face challenges on a daily basis. Forty seven per cent of pupils receive free school meals and come from low-income communities which provide them with very few opportunities to succeed in life.

Andrew Chubb Headteacher, Archbishop Sentamu Academy, Hull

233 Teach First teachers are teaching in 77 schools across the region, while eight ambassadors are working towards the vision outside of the classroom.

None of these circumstances should mean these young people should fail. Despite the challenges presented to him, Principal Andrew Chubb and his team have made huge strides in improving the life chances of their pupils. Here he shares the secrets of his academy’s success.

I don’t believe there is any magic bullet for creating an excellent learning environment in your school. What we do at ASA is pursue some simple strategies effectively.

Our starting point was to ensure that we had a secure and effective pastoral support system. Key to this was dividing our academy into five houses, each of which are led by a Head of House and run almost like mini schools. We gave every pupil a blazer and tie to wear with pride. We also invested heavily in nonteaching staff linked to the houses to support parents and pupils and take some of the load off teachers.

To ensure academic achievement is high, we focus on the progress of our pupils in everything we do. We have pupil progress meetings every week in every subject, we track pupils relentlessly and we have tailored intervention strategies so that we nip problems in the bud before they escalate. The approach appears to be working, with exam results going from a 28% pass rate to 61% in just four years.

But of course none of this is effective without consistently good and outstanding teaching, so we have invested heavily in recruiting, training and retaining the best teachers we can find.

In 2011 we began working with Teach First, taking on three teachers, and we now employ five. Each turned up with the qualities we expect from all our staff – humility, empathy and respect. Their desire for excellence is very clear. And they are not afraid to test new ideas. For example Joe, a history teacher, is currently looking into the psychology of pupil mind set as part of his MA, and is running a small pilot with pupils. We support all our colleagues with a staff career development programme that is individually tailored, and we created a ‘world class teachers award’ to recognise exceptional levels of skill in the classroom.

In 2009 we established a 6th form at the school – two years ahead of schedule.

Since then the number of young school leavers from ASA not in education, employment, or training (NEET) has gone down from 12% to under 3% – less than half the national average. The future really is looking brighter by the day for our pupils, and that’s down to the hard work and enthusiasm of everyone involved with ASA – our teachers, governors, parents, pupils, and the community we work in.

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Support in action If it wasn’t for our supporters, we wouldn’t exist. It’s as simple as that. From individual donations and contributions from organisations, to volunteer mentoring or taking part in a run to show support, we value each and every person who helps us work towards a day where every child has the best education and chances in life. Here are a few ways that our partnerships with the business community help us work towards this vision.

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Addressing the STEM challenge

There is a persistent shortage of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) teachers in England, so over the last year we have really focused on filling this gap. With the support of the Credit Suisse EMEA Foundation, we increased the number of teachers teaching STEM subjects this year to over 50% of our new secondary school teachers. We were also delighted to launch the Bloomberg STEM Excellence Programme, which will help over 500 STEM teachers have a real impact in the classroom this year, thanks to new platinum partner Bloomberg.

Google is also getting involved by supporting 102 science and information and communications technology (ICT) teachers.

“We’re pleased to work with an organisation that has raised the profile of teaching STEM subjects to talented graduates – who in turn make a huge difference to the lives of the young people they inspire.”

“We recognise there’s a severe shortage in the UK of people equipped to teach computer science. So, we’ve joined forces with Teach First to help train and support more than a hundred first rate science and computer science teachers over the next three years.”

Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google

Summer projects

Over the last year 78 supporting businesses and other organisations offered a two or three week internship to 227 of our teachers on the programme and our ambassadors. This gives them the chance to develop their professional skills and work towards the vision in new ways, while the project provider has the opportunity to work with a motivated and dynamic individual.

Coaching

James H. Leigh-Pemberton, UK Chief Executive, Credit Suisse

In their second year on the programme, our trainee teachers are assigned a Teach First Coach who supports them to overcome the challenges they face. Over the last year 316 volunteer coaches have helped our teachers to address the leadership challenges they are facing within their schools, ensuring they have the skills and resilience to best support their pupils.

In-kind support

In the last year Clifford Chance And The Salesforce.com has provided: Foundation has helped us by:

In-kind support is crucial to us, and means we can draw on company expertise in so many different ways, from legal support to mentoring and advice for our teachers.

Over

Providing

of volunteering.

licences for Salesforce.com.

33 hours

Hosting a

100 hours 190 in-kind

of free venue space and catering for our events.

10th anniversary event to thank founding supporters and ambassadors for their work.

“Coaching with Teach First is a win-win situation as both the coach and the teacher learn and grow from the experience. What I find most rewarding is seeing results; getting to know the coachee and to understand them better; and being able to experience ‘aha moments’ with them!”

Sharon Sutherland, a Teach First Coach for three years from Clifford Chance.

Pro-bono 65 hours

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Giving up

legal expertise to help us with important organisational decisions.

to coach our teachers and help them develop leadership skills.

In the classroom: A journey into primary The gap in vocabulary development between 5-year-olds in the richest and poorest families is on average, 15 months.

National Equality Panel, 2010

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Imagine arriving on your first day of secondary school knowing you are already years behind your peers because you haven’t had the same access to opportunities as them. That’s the reality for too many young people, and one reason we expanded to work in primary schools in 2011, following a three year pilot supported by P&G. In September 2011, 84 trainees entered Teach First partner schools across five regions to become primary teachers. They joined their secondary peers to be trained through our two-year Leadership Development Programme, designed to develop their teaching and leadership abilities so that they can help pupils reach their full potential.

Last year we worked with seven regional training providers to deliver the primary programme, which starts with Summer Institute, an intensive six-week residential where trainees learn about educational disadvantage and their role in addressing it, as well as educational theory and practice.

Jack Esplen is a primary teacher who began his journey with us in June 2011.

Here he shares his story of what life is like as a male primary teacher at Colegrave Primary School, which serves a low-income community in East London…

It’s difficult to describe my job as it’s so many things. It’s exhausting, challenging, hilarious, and it can be frustrating. But what makes it worth it is how satisfying it can be – both in terms of making a difference to a child’s attainment and in playing a part in nurturing them as young people. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a child grow in confidence or begin to overcome issues with behaviour or anger as a direct result of the time you have dedicated to them.

It gives me a feeling that must be hard to find in other professions.

I really enjoyed Summer Institute, despite the long hours, and I was excited to enter the classroom. My new school colleagues welcomed me with open arms, and have been amazing ever since. They didn’t expect me to know everything on day one, and have guided me as I gain confidence. My mentor at Colegrave was Jon Gritten. We met every Tuesday to go over any problems or questions.

Then there was my university tutor, from the Institute of Education (IoE), who was a huge help. We would set specific goals to bring about improvements, for example, around behaviour. Having someone to help prioritise your targets is an invaluable source of support. I also attended training days at the IoE, which gave me a chance to share my experiences with other new teachers, so there was a lot of support available to us.

On day one you come in thinking “OK, planning, teaching, marking – got it”. And then you realise all the other traits that are crucial to being a good teacher, and the academic work that comes with working towards a PGCE. It’s very tiring and can feel quite overwhelming so you need to quickly learn to manage your workload.

Every week my confidence grows a little more, and I want to continue to improve so that I know that I’m doing the absolute best job possible. There is no way I’m going to let down my class of 30 seven year olds. Teach First is working out really well for me, and that is thanks in part to the amazing support I’ve had from my school, training university and Teach First.

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A snapshot of our community Raising awareness of inequality in education in England is fundamental to achieving the change we want to see. Here’s a snapshot of some community highlights during the year, including media coverage.

The last year in numbers…

40%

of ambassadors teaching in the UK were in leadership positions

227

teachers did 302 summer projects with 78 organisations

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316

volunteers became professional coaches, helping teachers tackle leadership challenges

498

students were mentored through our HEAPS programme

SEPTEMBER 2011 Trader takes huge pay cut to swap city for classroom The Evening Standard reported on Naresh Sonpar, a hedge fund manager who gave up a six figure salary to become a Teach First teacher in a London comprehensive school.

NOVEMBER 2011 How mentors are opening the door to university The BBC looked into the success of our HEAPS mentoring programme

JANUARY 2012 Bethnal Green Academy is top of the class

MARCH 2012 Adrian Chiles and Dame Ellen MacArthur head back to the classroom Nearly 40 newspapers across the UK covered our biggest ever ‘Teach First Week’, where 50 leaders from the worlds of business, politics, media and entertainment stepped out of their comfort zones by teaching a school lesson.

Their challenge was to inspire a classroom of pupils in one of our partner schools. Guest teachers included yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur, Broadcaster Adrian Chiles, and humanitarian and author, Terry Waite CBE. Our teachers helped to plan each lesson and gave tips and advice to ensure they would make as positive an impact as possible on the pupils.

A double page spread in the London Evening Standard followed GCSE results which confirmed the technology college and Teach First partner school was the most improved school in London and the APRIL 2012 second most improved in the country.

Reading half marathon

FEBRUARY 2012 Education is not exactly a matter of life or death – is it?

In the past year we worked hard to increase understanding of the issue we are all here to overcome and inspire people to join our movement for change. We launched ‘Telling the Story’, a campaign to show people what inequality in the UK really looks like. Each video in the series focused on the story of young people and their teachers. This attracted more visitors to our website in one day than ever before. View the videos at www.teachfirst.org.uk/tellingthestory

Sixty dedicated Teach First colleagues, teachers, ambassadors and supporters took part in the Reading Half Marathon raising over £15,000 in support of Teach First.

JUNE 2012 Teach First aims to be top of the class The Medway Messenger ran an article on our expansion into Kent and Medway where we placed 40 trainees in 19 primary and secondary schools across the region from September this year.

50 enthusiastic and passionate individuals from our community took part in our inaugural Innovation Weekend in Manchester, discussing the complex issue of educational disadvantage and thinking of new ways to solve the problem.

JULY 2012 Record number of trainees join the Teach First programme 997 trainees started their journey on our Leadership Development Programme, our largest cohort to date.

They are teaching in 519 primary and secondary schools in seven regions across the country.

AUGUST 2012 Against the odds The Sunday Times reviewed our Founder and CEO Brett’s first book Against the Odds. This book is the story of how Teach First – having met nothing but resistance in its early years – has turned itself into one of Britain’s largest recruiters of graduates and ‘a movement for positive change in education.’

By August 2012 we had

8,865 twitter followers – up 120% from last year

FEBRUARY 2012 A royal visit for turnaround school

4,113

And,

Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales, Patron of Teach First and The Duchess of Cornwall marked our 10th Anniversary by visiting Teach First partner school, Uxbridge High School.

www.teachfirst.org.uk

JUNE 2012 Social innovation weekend

Facebook followers, an increase of 60%

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In ten years….

As we hit our ten year mark, we thank the committed individuals and organisations who have worked with us towards a future where no child’s educational success is limited by their socio-economic background.

There’s still so much work to do, but we can all take pride in our success so far.

Including

4,000+

teachers have taught in

across

7

70

Assistant Headteachers

regions

500 14 Teach First

schools Annual Review 2011/12 – Education Matters

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supported by

UNIVERSITY PARTNERS

4

And Headteachers

2,000+ 400+ 70+ 33

Rated

‘OUTSTANDING’

Teach First ambassadors

by OFSTED in all 44 areas inspected (2011)

5,000

in leadership positions

school mentors have supported our teachers, as have

School Governors

Social Entrepreneurs

More than

400,000 young people have been taught by Teach First teachers

Schools with Teach First teachers attain higher

GCSE Results

946 sixth form pupils were

mentored through

HEAPS

1,382 volunteer coaches

Supported by

3 main political parties, 66+ businesses, individuals, charitable trusts and foundations

4th

most prestigious graduate employer according to the Times Top 100

We have made significant progress over the last ten years but the fact remains that the link between low family income and poor educational attainment is greater in the UK than in almost any other developed country. It doesn’t have to be this way. www.teachfirst.org.uk

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Our performance: September 2011 – August 2012

What we aimed for

How we did

Teach First achieves sustainable growth in its intake and Leadership Development Programme while improving consistency and quality

We recruited 997 graduates to teach in schools in low-income communities across London, Kent & Medway, the North West, East and West Midlands, the North East and in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Teach First is a highly effective graduate Leadership Development Programme which enables its teachers to maximise their impact on their pupils’ educational achievement, access and aspiration

Satisfaction with our programme remains high amongst school stakeholders: 88% of respondents to our annual headteacher survey said they would recommend partnering with Teach First to other school leaders, and 82% of our existing partner schools took trainee teachers from our 2012 cohort.

Annual Review 2011/12 – Education Matters

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89% of our teachers who started Summer Institute in 2010 completed the two-year programme, with 80% graduating as Teach First ambassadors, having demonstrated their commitment to our mission.

The programme is highly regarded by the new teachers who take part in it: in our end-of-year survey, 87% of second-year respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their Teach First experience had significantly developed their leadership abilities. 88% of respondents also rated the overall quality of training at Summer Institute as good or very good.

The proportion of participants setting and achieving ambitious goals for improving their pupils’ outcomes has increased steadily. In June, 60% of our second-year teachers reported that they were on track to reach their pupil impact goals, and 79% who submitted data following the release of GCSE and A-level results had met their goals, which in most cases were to accelerate pupil progress significantly beyond national expectations.

What we aimed for

How we did

Teach First ambassadors are mobilised, equipped and inspired to address the Teach First mission as leaders in all fields

Our ambassador network is now more than 2,000 strong, with many working in key positions of influence that address educational inequality, helping towards the achievement of our mission.

Ambassador-led ventures continued to go from strength to strength, and we supported 33 social entrepreneurs to run 22 social enterprises over the year.

This year, many ambassadors took part in government policy panels and attended the Education Matters debates series that we co-hosted with the RSA. Ambassadors mentored 214 young people through our Higher Education Access Programme for Schools (HEAPS). Our research suggests that HEAPS pupils are 50% more likely to get into Russell Group universities compared to a benchmark group of students.

Teach First is a continuously improving, professional, efficient, stable and sustainable organisation

It was a very positive year for fundraising at Teach First. Despite falling slightly short of our intended target for the year, the voluntary income we raised increased by 27%; from ÂŁ3.2 million to ÂŁ4.1 million. This increase was delivered within a challenging fundraising landscape where major corporate giving, our primary source of voluntary income, experienced a steep decline nationally against the backdrop of the economic downturn. We work continuously to monitor our costs to deliver value for money and to achieve economies of scale.

Our employee team has grown significantly over the year. Key initiatives in recruitment, talent management and wellbeing have helped increase retention levels and build organisational capability. Results of external surveys have shown that we are one of the top employers in the third sector.

Over the year we generated 376 pieces of national and regional media coverage, 97% of which was positive or neutral. We increased our presence online, with unique visitors to the Teach First website up 34% on the previous year.

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Governance and Acknowledgements Thank you to all our Trustees for their contribution, dedicating both financial support and their time to lead our work. We would also like to acknowledge our Founding Ambassadors for their continued support: Lord Andrew Adonis, Dr. John Dunford OBE, Sir George Iacobescu CBE, Rona Kiley, Stephen O’Brien CBE, Jo Owen, Dame Mary Richardson, Ralph Tabberer, John May and Professor Sonia Blandford.

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Governance Year end 31 August 2012 Patron

National Advisory Council

› Baroness Estelle Morris › Stephen Nelson › Jacquie Nunn › Ndidi Okezie, ‘03 Ambassador › Tony Perry › David Rendel › Jim Richardson › Karen Robinson › Peter Smitham › Sonja Stockton › Andrea Sullivan › John Tate › David Thomlinson › James E Townsend, ‘09 Ambassador › James M Townsend, ‘03 Ambassador › Baroness Jo Valentine › David Wasp

› His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales › The Board of Trustees › Prof Mel Ainscow › Jason Arthur, ‘08 Ambassador Board of Trustees › Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO, CBE (Chair) › John Bangs › Ruth Carney, ‘05 Ambassador › John Rink (Deputy Chair) › Caroline Carr › Lord Andrew Adonis › Michael Clark › Clare Darley, ‘03 Ambassador › Paul Cohen › Glenn Earle › Robert Crothers › Lou McCrimlisk › Beccy Earnshaw › Mary Meaney › Rebecca Eastmond › Vanessa Ogden › Lynn Fabes › Jo Owen › Andrew Fisk › Tom Ravenscroft, ‘07 Ambassador › Dr Steve Garnett › Sarah Shillingford › Jania Geoghegan › Peter Lambert OBE, (to 6 › Sir Geoff Hampton December 2011) › Kirstie Hawkes › Carrie Heiss National Development Board Company Secretary › Hilary Hodgson › Natalie Benitez-Castellano › Anesta Broad › Prof Steve Hodkinson › Malcolm Butler › Graham Holley › Neil Cosgrove Finance and Audit Committee › Maggie Hughes › Edward Cowen › Sarah Shillingford (Chair) › Pam Jervis › Paul Crean › Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO, CBE › Neil Makin OBE › Patrick Flaherty › Alison Grieve › Simon Martin › Margo Jensen › Jo Owen › John May › Jeff Kushner › John Rink › Charlotte McCormick, ‘07 Ambassador › Lou McCrimlisk (Chair) › Peter Sullivan › Michelle Mendelsson › Ruth Miskin › Heath Monk Nominations Committee › John Rink (Chair) › Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO, CBE › Lou McCrimlisk Senior Leadership Team › Mary Meaney › Brett Wigdortz, Founder and Chief Executive Officer › John Colenutt, Chief Operating Officer › Sarah Connor, Director – Collective Impact (from March 2012), formerly Impact Committee Director of Ambassadors › Vanessa Ogden (Chair) › James Darley, Director – Graduate Recruitment › Lord Andrew Adonis › Will Davies, Director – Human Resources › Clare Darley, ‘03 Ambassador › Belinda Lester, Director – Ambassadors (to 31 July 2012) › Jen Hall › Polly Weddle, acting Senior Associate Director – Ambassadors (from July 2012) › Prof Chris Husbands › Amanda Timberg, Director – Leadership Development › Jo Owen › Ian West, Director – Finance › Kevan Collins (observer) › James Westhead, Director – External Relations

Participant President

› James E Townsend, ‘09 Ambassador

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Finance The following is an extract from our accounts for the year ending 31 August 2012. To read our full Trustees’ report and financial statements, please visit www.teachfirst.org.uk

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Total income £21,449,788

1. TA expansion grant 2. Other government grants 3. Voluntary contributions^ 4. Fees paid by schools 5. Other income

£6,072,000 £5,637,733 £4,683,423 £4,754,470 £302,162

5.

4.

1.

3.

2.

Total expenditure £18,995,306

1. Graduate recruitment £4,696,755 2. Participant leadership £10,798,207 and development costs+ 3. Ambassadors programme £2,347,067 4. Governance cost £179,479 5. Fundraising £973,798

3.

4.

5.

1.

2. ^Includes donations in kind *Programme costs include allocated central overheads +Includes funding to University partners to deliver Summer Institute

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Looking ahead: Five steps to ending inequality in education

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Reaching the milestone of our 10th anniversary gave us the chance to look at how far we’ve come, but more importantly, consider how best to continue working towards a day where no child’s educational success is limited by their socio-economic background.

The 2011-12 financial year marked the end of our 2007-2012 Mission Impact Strategy, which was approved by our Trustees back in 2007. We hit or exceeded all of the key goals that we set for that period.

After a long period of research and consultation with a range of partners we finalised a set of 2022 Impact Goals in August 2012. These are measurable and evidence-based statements of what we believe needs to be focused on by all who are working towards achieving educational equality in the UK. The goals were launched in September 2012 to 2,500 delegates at Challenge 2012, our flagship 10th anniversary event.

These are not goals that can be achieved by any one organisation alone. But we believe they can be achieved within ten years if we focus our activity on them and work in partnership with others who together can have an even greater impact.

IMPACT GOAL 1 Narrow the gap in literacy and numeracy at primary school between pupils at schools in low income areas and those in the wealthiest areas

Why are we focusing on this?

Reaching the expected level for your age in primary school means you’re more likely to succeed at secondary school. But twice as many young people from schools in wealthier areas reach this expected level than their peers from Teach First eligible* schools.

What will success look like?

The percentage of pupils from Teach First eligible schools who reach or exceed the expected level for their age in English and maths at age eleven (i.e. reaching Level 4 or higher at Key Stage 2) will increase. We believe the gap can be narrowed by 90%.

IMPACT GOAL 2 Narrow the gap in GCSE results between pupils at schools in low income areas and those in the wealthiest areas

Why are we focusing on this?

If a young person gets eight GCSEs, then he or she is more likely to gain a place at university. Our research shows that the pool of students from low-income communities who have even 6 GCSEs at grade B is very small, though the picture is getting better in London.

What will success look like?

The average pupil in the average eligible school will get five GCSEs at Grade B at least including English and maths, along with three other GCSEs at lower grades.

We believe the gap can be narrowed by 44%. *For a school to be eligible to place Teach First teachers at least 50% of pupils must live in the lowest 30% of the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI).

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Looking ahead: Five steps to ending inequality in education IMPACT GOAL 3 Ensure pupils develop key strengths, including resilience and wellbeing, to support high aspirations

Why are we focusing on this?

Wellbeing is particularly important to pupils in schools in challenging circumstances, who may need even more resilience and even more motivation to overcome the barriers they face.

Better wellbeing = more likely to reach aspirations.

What will success look like?

There is currently no way of measuring this goal so we have joined up with New Philanthropy Capital who have a measure of personal strengths (resilience and wellbeing), which we adapted for a pilot in September 2012. Based on the results, we’ll set a stretching goal.

“There isn’t a ‘poverty of aspiration’ but an inability to reach aspirations.”

IMPACT GOAL 4 Narrow the gap in the proportion of pupils in education, employment or training one year after compulsory education

Joseph Rowntree Foundation, October, 2011

Why are we focusing on this?

Because our research shows that if someone is not in education, employment, or training after leaving school then it can be devastating for that person and their later progression.

What will success look like?

We want to see an increase in the number of young people from low-income communities who move into further education, employment or training once their compulsory education has ended.

IMPACT GOAL 5 Narrow the gap in university graduation, including from the 25 per cent most selective universities

Why are we focusing on this?

A quarter of English universities failed to meet their targets to admit more students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. We need to ensure that there are good access routes for pupils from eligible schools into university.

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What will success look like?

We believe it is possible to narrow the gap in graduation rates for students from disadvantaged backgrounds so that every year at least 5,000 more graduate, including 1,600 from the most selective universities. That’s around ten more pupils from each Teach First partner school progressing to and graduating from university every year, including three from the most selective institutions.

Our focus – 2012-2015 Over the next three years we will focus on the following areas to most effectively work towards meeting the 2022 Impact Goals.

Increasing the impact and number of our teachers on the programme and ambassadors We will support more teachers to have a greater impact in eligible primary and secondary schools, and more ambassadors to contribute towards achieving the vision.

Building collective impact with more partners who share the vision, both locally and nationally We will work with others to increase understanding of and commitment to addressing educational disadvantage, and we’ll take action together with even more people and organisations who share the vision.

Testing new and innovative approaches to addressing educational disadvantage With our partners, we will develop innovative approaches that have an impact

on achieving the vision.

If you have no GCSEs at grades A*-C, you are Strengthening the charity and using our resources effectively to three times as likely to ensure both long term impact and stability be not in education, We’ll have a stronger, values-driven organisation. We’ll use our resources employment, or training effectively to ensure our long term impact and stability, and we’ll be more (NEET) at age 16 than effective in using evidence as we work towards the 2022 Impact Goals. someone with five GCSEs at grades A*-C. Based on Britton et al, CMPO, 2011 We’ll continue to work alongside individuals and organisations who share the vision that one day no child’s educational success will be limited by their socio-economic background.

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Thank you from all of us…

Supporters We work with supporters to build tailored, mutually beneficial partnerships that support young people across England. Their investment has helped us reach our goal of ensuring thousands of young people gain access to the education they deserve and the future they choose.

Organisational supporters Platinum

› Accenture › BlackRock › Bloomberg LP › Canary Wharf Group › Citi Foundation › Credit Suisse EMEA Foundation › Deloitte › Department for Education › Garfield Weston Foundation › Goldman Sachs › Google › HSBC › Lone Pine Foundation › Man Charitable Trust › McKinsey & Company › Morrisons › Procter & Gamble › PwC › Royal Bank of Scotland › Social Action Fund › The Nomura Charitable Trust › Teaching Agency › UBS

Gold › Aon Hewitt › ARCO Limited › Clifford Chance › Experian › Inspire: the Wolverhampton Education Partnership › Institution of Engineering and Technology › Mr Kevin McDonald OBE › Mrs Donna McDonald › Nesta › Salesforce.com Foundation

Silver

› AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust › BlueBay Asset Management › City of London Corporation › KPMG › Pace › The Dulverton Trust › The Haberdashers’ Company › The Mercers’ Company › The Venture Partnership Foundation

“Bloomberg is delighted to support Teach First. Building on our mutual commitment to innovation in education and employability, this dynamic partnership will enable Teach First and Bloomberg to recruit, train and place the next generation of effective, inspiring teachers and leaders.”

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Bronze

› AccessHE and National HE STEM Programme › Aircelle › ALDI › Allen & Overy › Asda › Bowland Charitable Trust › Capital International Ltd › Centrica › City&Law › Ernst & Young › Evans Property Group › Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP › GTI Media › Maverick Capital Foundation › Meridian West › National Science Learning Centres › Neuberger Berman › Newton Europe › Rothschild › Sainsbury’s › Sir James Knott Trust › Tesco › Texas Instruments › The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation › The Trust for Education › 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 Corporationv › 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

Initial teacher training (ITT) training providers

Regional founding supporters

Thanks also to our Initial Teacher Training Providers who we work with to take our trainees through their Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in year one. › Birmingham City University › Canterbury Christ Church University › Institute of Education, University of London › King’s College London › Liverpool John Moores University › Northumbria University › Sheffield Hallam University › Leeds Metropolitan University › University of Leicester › University of Manchester › University of Nottingham › University of Sunderland › University of Warwick › University of Wolverhampton

› The Cadbury Foundation › Experian › Dr Steve Garnett of salesforce.com › HSBC › Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs › Manchester City Council › The Mercers’ Company

10th Anniversary supporters › Credit Suisse › O2 Learn › ALDI › Accenture › PwC › Comino Foundation

To keep up to date with the latest news and events from the Teach First community, sign up to our newsletter at www.teachfirst.org.uk Teach First is a registered charity, number 1098294 Telephone: 0844

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CHANGE A LIFE.

The data on Sharif’s background, behaviour and performance said he’d never succeed.

But Chris managed to ignite Sharif’s passion for learning – and after two years of pure hard graft, together, Sharif and Chris got their dream result: an A in maths.

Fairbairn “ Mr transformed my life,

train £3 a month could pay to liver a a teacher like Chris to de e Sharif great lesson to pupils lik

and for that I owe him everything. All I can do to repay him is to use the knowledge he gave me to do something special with my life so that one day, when I am a successful accountant, he can say proudly, ‘I taught him when he was younger.’

Sharif on his maths teacher, Mr Chris Fairbairn

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