Ask to take part

Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.

Contact Information:

Dr Garry Squires
+44 161 275 3546
garry.squires@manchester.ac.uk


Study Location:

Find another location


Questions to ask
Skip to Main Content
English | Cymraeg
Be Part of Research - Trial Details - Achievement for all (AfA) effectiveness trial
Back

Achievement for all (AfA) effectiveness trial

Not Recruiting

Open to: All Genders

Age: Child

Manchester

Medical Conditions

Poor academic attainment in literacy as defined by teachers, low attendance rates, low levels of resiliency and low levels of academic attainment in maths

This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.


Achievement for All (AfA) programme is a national school-based programme aiming to address the gap in attainment between children with learning difficulties and their classmates. Following an initial test funded by the Department for Education, AfA has been rolled out nationally to schools by a charitable organisation that was set up for this purpose. The AfA model has been shown to be very promising, particularly in relation to vulnerable learners in the education system (including those from disadvantaged backgrounds). However, there is genuine uncertainty about the strength of the claims made around the ability of the programme to produce socially significant change in attainment and other outcomes for children. This study aims to explore whether tailored whole school approaches delivered by AfA can lead to improvements in children’s academic performance in literacy in children in Year Four and Five. The study will also look at whether the programme can also lead to improvements in maths, attendance and resiliency.

Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.  

The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:

01 Jun 2016 30 Sep 2016

Publications

Funder report results in https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/achievement-for-all/ results (added 03/11/2020)

Schools are randomly allocated to one of two groups. Those in the first group take part in the AfA programme, in which a specially trained AfA coach works with the Senior Management of the school to assess the school’s needs, create an action plan and implement it. The action plan typically will involve coaching visits alongside training/professional development opportunities. Coaching visits include tailor-made activities that are pertinent at a given point in time (e.g. an introduction to the programme with all staff in the first term of implementation), training in specific aspects of the intervention (e.g. structured conversation training) and termly review meetings. AfA is designed to be flexible and is expected to be tailored to the specific needs and priorities of each participating school, which are agreed in the initial need analysis. Those in the second group continue as normal for the two years of the study.


All year four and five pupils (aged 8-10) attending participating primary schools in England

You can take part if:



You may not be able to take part if:


1. Children not in Year 4 or 5 at the start of the trial2. Those who do not meet the inclusion criteria


Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.

  • University of Manchester
    Manchester Institute of Education Oxford Road
    Manchester
    M13 9PL

Schools in the usual practice group receive a financial incentive of £1000 to stay in the trial (paid out as: £200 following random allocation, £200 at the end of the first year of the trial, £200 at the midpoint of year 2 of the trial, and £400 at the conclusion of the trial and on completion of required data/surveys). Schools in the AfA group benefit from receiving 70% of the cost of the AfA provision from the project funder. There are no risks involved with taking part in this study.

Dr Garry Squires
+44 161 275 3546
garry.squires@manchester.ac.uk



The study is sponsored by University of Manchester and funded by Educational Endowment Foundation.



We'd like your feedback

Your feedback is important to us. It will help us improve the quality of the study information on this site. Please answer both questions.


Is this study information helpful?

What will you do next?
Read full details for Trial ID: ISRCTN67347514
Last updated 12 August 2022

This page is to help you find out about a research study and if you may be able to take part

You can print or share the study information with your GP/healthcare provider or contact the research team directly.   

Back to the top