Schools across Bath & North East Somerset are working with a Consultant to “close the gap” and boost outcomes for disadvantaged young people.

Despite 85 per cent of schools being ranked ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’, the Council is at the bottom of the national rankings – it sits at 146th out of 150 local authorities for its attainment gap.

At Key Stage Two, the gap between disadvantaged and ‘other’ students in Bath & North East Somerset is 31 per cent. The national level is twenty per cent, and neither are closing.

The area’s attainment gap compares with other local authorities below:

• Reception – 147th out of 150

• Phonics – 146th out of 150

• Key Stage One Reading – joint 147th out of 150

• KS1 Maths – joint 139th out of 150

• KS2 Reading, Writing, Maths – 149th out of 152

Margaret Simmons-Bird, the Council’s Director of Education Transformation, told a meeting on Monday: “The gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children is significant, and among the highest in the country. It’s in a majority of our schools.

“Outcomes are good for non-disadvantaged children, but for disadvantaged children, the gap is significant. We know from research that parental engagement can have a huge impact on outcomes.

“We need health, social care and education to work together to narrow the gap. We have looked at the schools with the biggest gap, and the highest proportion of free school meals. We have been focusing on KS2, where we have the biggest gap.”

Educators often use qualifying for free school meals – for example, if their parent receives a benefit – as shorthand for a child being at a disadvantage.

Yet some schools may only have a handful of children on free school meals. At others, like Twerton Infant School, rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted, 62.9 per cent of the children qualify for free school meals. At St Michael’s Junior School, the figure is sixty per cent.

From this, seven schools have been identified as having the biggest disadvantage gaps in B&NES: Castle, Peasedown St John, St Keyna, Newbridge, Roundhill, St Martin’s Garden and Whitchurch.

They will benefit from an “intensive” project, while a second scheme will help seven schools with a “significant” disadvantage gap: Moorlands Federation, Oldfield Park Junior, St Michael’s Junior, Twerton Infant, St Andrew’s, St Saviour’s Infant and St Mary’s, Writhlington.

The recommendations from the project will promote strong leadership, an inclusive curriculum, parental engagement and the effective use of the pupil premium.

Ms Simmons-Bird said: “Project one is much more intensive. It involves the consultant looking at what the barriers are, and closing the gap.

“He will look at what strategies there are that are not that costly, that will benefit disadvantaged children and also pupils with Special Educational Needs. It will give schools practical strategies known to work.”

One example she gave was giving an activity to a child with attention deficit disorder, who might have high levels of anxiety at the start of a class. If a pupil is a carer and might come in late as a result, the school could use the pupil premium funding to buy them a bike.

The second project is less intensive and involves identifying the barriers disadvantaged students face.

Senior School Improvement Officer, Tom Morrison, said if the performance of disadvantaged children could be improved, it will be “great for them and for the authority.”

Stephen Sumner, LDR