Appointment of Expert Panel to examine educational underachievement and social disadvantage welcomed

CSSC is committed to supporting controlled schools in addressing the barriers to learning and underachievement of all pupils, particularly boys impacted upon by social deprivation.  The correlation between educational attainment and social mobility is well documented. Like all working in education, CSSC is concerned with the additional impact of COVID-19 and welcomes the Minister’s announcement that an Expert Panel will begin work in September.  

Our research has previously shown that while 61% of controlled school pupils achieve five or more GCSEs at A* to C (including English and maths), the findings add to the growing body of evidence that male pupils entitled to free schools meals are underachieving.   When statistics are further analysed, the complexity of factors impacting on pupil attainment become apparent.  In this context it is important to acknowledge that blunt measures such as GCSE results do not reflect the added value that schools provide to enable pupils to achieve their potential.

There are many innovative approaches in the controlled sector that creatively focus on raising attainment. CSSC is also directly involved in the Taking Boys Seriously project, led by Ulster University which seeks to proactively engage with young men, schools and youth groups to increase attainment and levels of higher education participation among young males.  

7 August 2020