Little fish, big streams: how do early in-class maths ‘ability’-groups and early teacher judgements relate to primary school children’s later maths self-concept?

This paper summarises research examining predictors of primary school children’s maths self-concept at age 11. It finds that the in-class ‘ability’ group children were placed in four years earlier, at age seven, strongly relates to whether they later think they are good at maths. Teachers’ beliefs about the children at age seven are also strongly associated with later children’s maths self-concept. These patterns hold even when accounting for a range of factors, including children’s maths skills as measured at seven. Associations are more pervasive and complex for girls

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities within the English primary school system: what can disproportionalities by season of birth contribute to understanding processes behind attributions and (lack of) provisions?

This working paper uses de-identified National Pupil Database records spanning 2008 – 2018 (N children=6 million+) to map disproportionalities by birth season and gender in attributions of levels of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SENDs) and ascriptions of SEND types. It also maps disparities in attribution to Reception children of an Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) ‘Good Level of Development’ and to Year 1 children the status of ‘meeting expectations’ in the Phonics Screening Check. It lays the foundation for more detailed work towards understanding the processes behind birth month disproportionalities in attributions of SENDs, and implications of these for the function of the school and SEND systems. Summer-born children, particularly boys, are much more likely to be attributed both ‘higher’ and ‘lower’-level SEND by the end of their primary school career, and there are also stark inequalities in the types of SEND ascribed to boys and girls born across the year. Alongside this, there are extremely pronounced disparities by birth season and gender in EYFSP and Phonics screening assessments at the beginning of primary school. In the context of findings here, previous research and theory, and indications of a widening over time in gaps between autumn-born girls and summer-born boys, this paper hypothesises that rigid, prescriptive ‘expectations’ and ‘standards’ within the primary education system result in summer-born children disproportionately being denoted with SEND: and that therefore to some extent the system produces – and then fails to meet – the needs of children with SEND. The current SEND system is characterised as riddled with ‘nightmares’ and ‘dashed hopes’ (House of Commons Education Committee, 2019); this paper begins to contribute to scrutinising the workings of the system overall and factors that produce inequalities, inefficiencies, insufficiencies

The Effect of Subliminal Learning: Using a Direct Manipulation Computer Interface

Research to determine what subliminal presentation accomplishes and its effects upon the learning process is very limited. The possibility of presenting subliminal information in a passive manner to reinforce the learning process and the possibility that this presentation can aid in the absorption of the information needed to learn is examined. A previous study examined this possibility using a text editor as the test instrument. In this thesis, a direct manipulation interface using a spreadsheet which visually presents tasks is examined to determine if this environment might be more effective with a learning medium using subliminal perception, then was the case of a text editor. This approach is based on the idea that, in contrast to a text editor, with direct manipulation the user would be completely focused on the computer screen where the subliminal message is presented increasing the chances for feedback. The results of this study show no significant difference between subjects who were getting subliminal help screen presentations and those who were getting either subliminal garbage screen presentations or blank screen presentations. This is in conflict with previous research

Pre-pregnancy body mass index and breastfeeding initiation, early cessation and longevity: evidence from the first wave of the UK Millennium Cohort Study

Background International evidence indicates relationships between pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and breastfeeding behaviours. This study aims to assess associations between key points in the breastfeeding trajectory (initiation, early cessation and longevity) and pre-pregnancy BMI in a recent, nationally representative British cohort. It also aims to explore in the British context potential moderation by mothers’ ethnic group. Methods The sample comprises 17 113 mothers from the UK Millennium Cohort Study who have information on pre-pregnancy BMI. Associations between pre-pregnancy BMI categories and breastfeeding initiation, early cessation and longevity are tested using logistic regression. Directed acyclic graphics identify appropriate minimal adjustment to block biasing pathways and classify total and direct effects. Results After adjusting for confounders, there are large differences in breastfeeding early cessation and longevity by pre-pregnancy BMI group. Differences in propensity to initiation are negligible. Having begun breastfeeding, overweight and obese mothers are more likely to cease in the first week and less likely to continue past 4 months. Observed potential mediators within pregnancy and delivery provide little explanation for relationships. Evidence for moderation by ethnicity is scant. Conclusions The causal mechanisms underlying relationships between pre-pregnancy overweight, obesity, and breastfeeding behaviours require further research. However, this study suggests pre-pregnancy BMI as one predictive measure for targeting support to women less likely to establish breastfeeding in the early days, and to continue beyond 4 months. The nature of support should carefully be considered and developed, with mind to both intended and potential unintended consequences of intervention given the need for additional investigation into the causes of associations

No such thing as a free lunch? Exploring the consistency, validity, and uses of the 'Free School Meals' (FSM) measure in the National Pupil Database

This working paper discusses and synthesises existing literature on correspondences between attribution of Free School Meals (FSM) status in the National Pupil Database (NPD) and family income-level and other circumstances. It then presents new descriptive comparisons of FSM status as recorded in the Reception year of primary school, and other recorded child, national, and area-level factors. Compounding known issues with patterns of under-recording in the NPD of FSM-entitled children, changing criteria for entitlement to FSM, and fuzziness in definition and usage – in terms of what recorded FSM status is assumed to represent – findings here indicate that the compositions of the FSM vs non-FSM-ascribed groups have changed over time. They suggest moreover that the relationships between area-level factors and FSM attribution may also have altered over the past decade, and point to increased under-ascription of children from low-income families / families living in poverty. The potential consequences of these findings for mapping of ‘gaps’ in time series comparing FSM and non-FSM-attributed children and for evaluation (and perhaps formulation) of targeted policies and interventions are discussed. Implications of differential attributions of FSM status within a system where ascription is not straightforward nor entirely ‘accurate’ but where it is deterministic of experiences and outcomes begin to be explored, laying the foundations for further research

Telehealth methods to deliver multifactorial dietary interventions in adults with chronic disease: A systematic review protocol

Background: The long-term management of chronic diseases requires adoption of complex dietary recommendations, which can be facilitated by regular coaching to support sustained behaviour change. Telehealth interventions can overcome patient-centred barriers to accessing face-to-face programs and provide feasible delivery methods, ubiquitous and accessible regardless of geographic location. The protocol for this systematic review explains the methods that will be utilised to answer the review question of whether telehealth interventions are effective at promoting change in dietary intake and improving diet quality in people with chronic disease. Methods/design: A structured search of Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsychINFO, from their inception, will be conducted. We will consider randomised controlled trials which evaluate complex dietary interventions in adults with chronic disease. Studies must provide diet education in an intervention longer than 4 weeks in duration, and at least half of the intervention contact must be delivered via telehealth. Comparisons will be made against usual care or a non-telehealth intervention. The primary outcome of interest is dietary change with secondary outcomes relating to clinical markers pre-specified in the methodology. The process for selecting studies, extracting data, and resolving conflicts will follow a set protocol. Two authors will independently appraise the studies and extract the data, using specified methods. Meta-analyses will be conducted where appropriate, with parameters for determining statistical heterogeneity pre-specified. The GRADE tool will be used for determining the quality of evidence for analysed outcomes. Discussion: To date, there has been a considerable variability in the strategies used to deliver dietary education, and the overall effectiveness of telehealth dietary interventions for facilitating dietary change has not been reviewed systematically in adults with chronic disease. A systematic synthesis of telehealth strategies will inform the development of evidence-based telehealth programs that can be tailored to deliver dietary interventions specific to chronic disease conditions. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42015026398

TIDieR-PHP: a reporting guideline for population health and policy interventions

We lack guidance on how to describe population health and policy (PHP) interventions in reports of evaluation studies. PHP interventions are legal, fiscal, structural, organisational, environmental, and policy interventions such as the regulation of unhealthy commodities, health service reorganisation, changes in welfare policy, and neighbourhood improvement schemes. Many PHP interventions have characteristics that are important for their implementation and success but are not adequately captured in the original Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist. This article describes the development of a revised reporting template for PHP interventions (TIDieR-PHP) and presents the checklist with examples for each ite

The peer composition of pre-school settings in England, and early recorded attainment among low-income children

Evidence suggests that early education can promote children’s development and narrow attainment gaps between those from lower-income and higher-income families. However, realisation of these potential benefits depends on many factors, feasibly including peer composition. We use national census data for a year-group cohort of children in England in 2011, to answer two questions: how are low-income children distributed across pre-schools; and what is the relationship between the proportion of low-income peers in a low-income child’s setting and these children’s subsequent recorded educational attainment? In contrast to many European countries and to the United States, we find that the majority of low-income children attend mixed settings. We find little evidence for associations between the proportion of low-income peers and low-income children’s subsequent early attainment. We suggest that this may be due to an arguably optimal distribution across settings, where the funding and provision context of 2011 facilitated a lack of clustering of low-income children