Narrow the Gap
Monday 22nd November
2010
The much anticipated ‘Narrow the Gap’
conference took place on Thursday 18th November, at the
Robinson Executive Centre, Wyboston Lakes. Head teachers from
across the borough were invited to consider strategies that are
proving effective in narrowing attainment gaps for children
eligible for free school meals.
The ‘gap’ is measured as the attainment
between children entitled to free schools meals and those who are
not.
The conference served to share knowledge and
understanding between partners to fully understand which groups of
people are most affected by poverty locally and what they need to
help them improve their lives in the future.
The council has a duty, under the Child
Poverty Act, to narrow the gap in outcomes for children from low
income families compared with their peers. The Department of
Education holds considerable evidence of the nature and
significance of differences in outcomes for young people and the
reasons for these differences. Similarly much is already known
about how much impact variations in school/service provision has on
these differences.
Cllr David Sawyer, portfolio holder for
Children’s Services, at Bedford Borough Council, said: “Children
deserve the same chances in life and narrowing the attainment gap
is a key priority. Outcomes from the event will serve to develop
strategies that can be taken back into schools.”
Speakers on the day include Estelle Morris,
University of York and Member of House of Lords and, John Bangs,
Visiting Professor at Institute of Education, University of London
and Fellow of Wolfson College.
Bedford Borough’s commitment to this subject
is clearly stated in a number of our strategies, including its
Sustainable Community Strategy and its Children and Young People’s
Plan.