Targeting and inclusion
Study support can offer something for everyone. Because study support activities are about informal learning they offer ideal opportunities to engage young people in activities that interest them, often in new and exciting ways. So while participation can benefit every pupil, it can have even greater benefit for some pupils than others.
Recent research evidence has shown that:
- Taking part in study support/out of school hours learning activities can provide disaffected pupils or those at risk of exclusion with an opportunity to reconnect with learning and provide a way back into succeeding at school.
- Participation in study support raises academic attainment among pupils. It also leads to increased attendance at school, and to pupils having a more positive attitude to their school, lessons and their learning.
For more information about how study support can help your school become more inclusive, try the Open University's online learning unit: Study Support and Inclusion (published here for free).
Targeting
You may have in mind groups of pupils who you think could benefit most from an extended programme of study support activities. Depending on current school priorities you might decide you want to give priority to pupils:
- at risk of exclusion
- with low self esteem, motivation or a history of under-achievement
- who haven’t settled well into the school
- with special educational needs
- from less-advantaged backgrounds
- from particular ethnic backgrounds
- about to transfer from primary to secondary school
- who would benefit from opportunities to develop skills not covered in the curriculum
- who go home to an empty house
- children in public care. For further details of the benefits of study support for children in public care, visit the Taking Part programme page.
Targeting particular categories of pupils doesn’t mean that you are preventing other pupils from taking part. You just need to reserve a proportion of places for targeted pupils, while offering the rest on an open-access basis.
Inclusion - encouraging participation
Having decided who you want to attract to your activities, you need to think about how you will get those pupils to come and keep them wanting to come back for more.
The reasons why some young people do not attend, or find it difficult to attend study support activities are not always obvious. This checklist will help you to avoid some of them:
- Involve pupils – ask them what they want, and where possible get them involved in designing activities. Get feedback from pupils on what they do or do not enjoy about the activities. This will help pupils to feel the club belongs to them and will encourage participation.
- Offer a menu of activities – offer a good mixture so that there is something for everyone. Keep what you offer under review.
- Be relevant – try to design activities that young people will find relevant to their interests or culture.
- Ensure activities are accessible for all – can pupils with special needs participate in planned activities or can you adapt ideas to meet their needs?
- Get the place right – where you hold your clubs, and getting the atmosphere right, can make a difference to how many pupils attend.
- Think about group dynamics – will mixed age or mixed gender groups put off some pupils from participating in certain activities?
- Think about transport – this can be a big issue, especially in rural areas. If pupils travel home by bus, can you negotiate some later buses with the transport team or bus company?
- Recognise pupils achievements – don’t forget to praise what pupils do in their clubs and where appropriate to share their achievements within the wider school community.
- Encourage parents to support the clubs – keeping parents well informed can have a major influence on pupil numbers.
For further information download the research report Non-participation in study support (PDF file, 300 KB).
