Evaluating the Harpur Trust Accelerator Programme: Supporting Bedford schools to narrow the attainment gap

Evaluating the Harpur Trust Accelerator Programme: Supporting Bedford schools to narrow the attainment gap

The Harpur Trust works closely with primary schools across Bedford to help improve outcomes for children most at risk at falling behind. Their Accelerator Programme provides targeted, evidence-informed support designed to help schools accelerate progress and narrow the attainment gap between disadvantaged and their other peers.

In 2022/23, 51% of Key Stage 2 pupils in Bedford reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, compared with 59% nationally. The Accelerator Programme aims to change this picture by enabling schools to give disadvantaged pupils the support they need to thrive.

Now in its third year, the programme has grown both in reach and ambition, with this year’s evaluation taking learnings from the previous two cycles. Schools are engaging across five key strands: Writing, Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT), Learning Behaviours, Family Support, and specialist Intervention Teachers.

A practical and meaningful evaluation approach

In 2022, the Harpur Trust partnered with ImpactEd Evaluation to carry out an independent evaluation of the Accelerator Programme. By 2024/25, the evaluation approach had been refined to focus on the most valuable information, recognising that each school’s context and needs are different. This refinement built on lessons from the 22/23 and 23/24 cycles, particularly the shift towards progress-based measures and streamlined data collection.

The evaluation was guided by a shared Theory of Change and explored both academic outcomes and wider factors such as wellbeing, engagement and relationships. Data was gathered through a combination of standardised attainment measures, school-held attendance and exclusion data (collected automatically to minimise workload), teacher and pupil surveys, and qualitative insights from staff through interviews and case studies.

Building a clearer picture of what works

Rather than looking only at final attainment, the evaluation focused on pupil progress and on the lived experiences of pupils and staff. Across the programme, several areas of meaningful impact emerged:

Narrowing the disadvantage gap.
In 24/25, eight of the fifteen participating schools now have smaller attainment gaps between their disadvantaged pupils compare to the national average. Of those schools, five have seen consistent improvement for two years or more. Earlier evaluations showed especially strong gains for disadvantaged pupils in areas like phonics and communication, demonstrating a sustained pattern of impact.

Strong attainment gains.
Pupils supported through writing interventions made attainment gains of up to 40 percentage points. Those receiving Speech and Language Therapy showed statistically significant improvements of up to 44.4 percentage points for Pupil Premium pupils. Previous cohorts also saw substantial progress in core skills, for example, improvements in reading and writing among pupils engaged in Sounds Write in 2023/24.

Improved attendance and engagement.
Family Support interventions contributed to noticeable improvements in attendance, including a 1.45 percentage point rise for disadvantaged pupils. Pupils participating in Learning Behaviours strands reported higher levels of school engagement than national benchmarks, with disadvantaged pupils scoring 12% above comparison groups. A similar pattern was seen across earlier cycles and strands, such as Speech and Language Therapy, where SEND pupils’ attendance strengthened year-on-year

Stronger confidence and motivation.
Teachers reported widespread improvements in pupils’ motivation, independence and resilience. Many described pupils as gaining greater clarity in their learning and increased confidence in the classroom.This aligns with previous years’ findings, where pupils supported by targeted interventions showed strong gains in confidence, particularly in Year 6 transition support.

Impact beyond the classroom

The evaluation also revealed wider, less easily measured benefits, with certain interventions leading to a ‘ripple effect’ of positive change even outside of the classroom. Teachers noted stronger relationships with families, better communication, and increased parental involvement in their children’s learning.

‘ We are encouraged by the improvement in outcomes but are determined to use the evaluation evidence and further research to inform our approach to support schools to improve the outcomes of disadvantaged children in Bedford.’

These insights offer the Harpur Trust and its participating schools a clear, evidence-informed view of what is working well and where further support is needed. Having increased their evaluation capacity in-house, the Harpur Trust will continue to evaluate their programme independently, with peer review support from ImpactEd Evaluation.

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