Influences on students' GCSE attainment and progress at age 16 - Effective Pre-School, Primary & Secondary Education Project (EPPSE) Research Report - September 2014

Sep 5, 2026

Research report examining how individual student characteristics, family background and home learning environment relate to GCSE attainment and progress by age 16. Based on findings from the EPPSE 3-16 longitudinal study, it analyses attendance, duration, quality and combined effects, as well as net impacts of child, family and home learning environment factors. It also evaluates how pre-school, primary and secondary school experiences and settings influence academic outcomes, culminating in implications for policy and practice.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages264

Reading Time11 h 5 min

AccessFree to download

The EPPSE Research Team

Principal Investigators

Acknowledgements

List of figures

List of tables

Executive summary

Summary of findings

1 Introduction

Aims

Analyses strategy

Structure of the report and analyses

2 Characteristics of the sample at the end of Year 11

Continuous measures

Dichotomous measures-performance benchmark indicators

Academic assessments

Descriptive statistics of academic outcomes

Differences in attainment for different groups of students

Gender

Ethnicity

Parents’ qualification level

Free school meals (FSM)

Special educational needs (SEN)

Early years home learning environment (HLE)

Pre-school attendance

3 Students’ academic attainment at the end of Year 11 in secondary school

Individual measures

The impact of neighbourhood characteristics and school composition

4 The impact of pre-school, primary school and secondary school on students’ academic attainment at the end of Year 11

The impact of pre-school experience

The impact of primary school academic effectiveness

The impact of secondary school on Year 11 academic attainment

5 Exploring the effects of students’ experiences of secondary schools on KS4 attainment

Experiences of school in Year 9

Emphasis on learning

Behaviour climate

Headteacher qualities

School environment

Influences on students’GCSE attainment and progress at age 16 Effective Pre-School, Primary & Secondary Education Project (EPPSE) Research Report September 2014 Pam Sammons 1 , Kathy Sylva 1 , Edward Melhuish 1, 2 , Iram Siraj3 , Brenda Taggart3 , Katalin Toth3 & Rebecca Smees3 1 University of Oxford; 2 Birkbeck, University of London, 3 Institute of Education, University of London The EPPSE Research Team Principal Investigators Professor Kathy Sylva Department of Education, University of Oxford 00 44 (0) [1865 274 008 / email](1865 274 008 / email kathy.sylva@education.ox.ac.uk)[ ](1865 274 008 / email kathy.sylva@education.ox.ac.uk)[kathy.sylva@education.ox.ac.uk](1865 274 008 / email kathy.sylva@education.ox.ac.uk) Professor Edward Melhuish Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues Birkbeck University of London & Department of Education, University of Oxford 00 44 (0)207 079 [0834 / email](0834 / email e.melhuish@bbk.ac.uk)[ ](0834 / email e.melhuish@bbk.ac.uk)[e.melhuish@bbk.ac.uk](0834 / email e.melhuish@bbk.ac.uk) 00 44 (0) [1865 274 049 / email edward.melhuish@education.ox.ac.uk](1865 274 049 / email edward.melhuish@education.ox.ac.uk) Professor Pam Sammons Department of Education, University of Oxford 00 44 (0)115 951 [4434 / email](4434 / email pamela.sammons@education.ox.ac.uk)[ ](4434 / email pamela.sammons@education.ox.ac.uk)[pamela.sammons@education.ox.ac.uk](4434 / email pamela.sammons@education.ox.ac.uk) Professor Iram Siraj Institute of Education, University of London 00 44 (0)207 [612 6218 / email](612 6218 / email i.siraj@ioe.ac.uk)[ ](612 6218 / email i.siraj@ioe.ac.uk)[i.siraj@ioe.ac.uk](612 6218 / email i.siraj@ioe.ac.uk) *Brenda Taggart Institute of Education, University of London 00 44 (0)207 [612 6219 / email](612 6219 / email b.taggart@ioe.ac.uk)[ ](612 6219 / email b.taggart@ioe.ac.uk)[b.taggart@ioe.ac.uk](612 6219 / email b.taggart@ioe.ac.uk) Research Officers Dr. Katalin Toth Institute of Education, University of London Rebecca Smees Institute of Education, University of London **Wesley Welcomme Institute of Education, University of London Acknowledgements The EPPSE 3-16 project is a major longitudinal study funded by the Department for Education (DfE) . The research would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of the Local Authorities, pre-school centres, primary schools, secondary schools, and the many children and parents participating in the research. Contents The EPPSE Research Team 1 Principal Investigators 2 Acknowledgements 2 List of figures vii List of tables viii Executive summary xv Summary of findings xviii Raw differences in attainment for different student groups xviii The net impact of child, family and HLE characteristics on GCSE attainment in Year 11 xix Attendance xxiii Duration xxiii Quality xxiii Effectiveness xxiv Combined effects xxiv Implications xxxii 1 Introduction 1 Aims 2 Analyses strategy 3 Structure of the report and analyses 4 2 Characteristics of the sample at the end of Year 11 6 Continuous measures 7 Dichotomous measures-performance benchmark indicators 10 Academic assessments 13 Descriptive statistics of academic outcomes 14 Associations between students’ attainment in different outcomes and over time 19 Differences in attainment for different groups of students 20 Gender 20 Ethnicity 22 Parents’ qualification level 22 Free school meals (FSM) 22 Special educational needs (SEN) 22 Early years home learning environment (HLE) 24 Pre-school attendance 24 3 Students’ academic attainment at the end of Year 11 in secondary school 25 The influence of different individual student, family and home learning environment characteristics as predictors of GCSE results 25 Null models 26 Individual measures 29 Age 29 Gender 29 Ethnicity 29 Early developmental, behavioural and health problems 3

FAQs

What factors does the report analyze in relation to GCSE attainment at age 16?

It examines individual student characteristics, family background, early years and home learning environment measures, attendance and related schooling factors, and neighbourhood and school composition variables.

How does the report evaluate the influence of early schooling experiences?

It assesses the continuing impact of pre-school attendance, pre-school type and duration, and pre-school centre quality and effectiveness on later academic attainment up to the end of KS4.

What does the report conclude about secondary school experiences and KS4 attainment?

It studies students’ experiences of secondary schools, including emphasis on learning, behaviour climate, headteacher qualities, school environment, valuing pupils, resources, and teacher discipline and care, to explain KS4 outcomes.

Sep 5, 2026

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