1. Wendy Sheehan GL Performance May 2012
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT AND SELF-EVALUATION IN THE NEW OFSTED FRAMEWORK – WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR GOVERNORS?
Wendy Sheehan
GL Performance
May 2012
. .

2. Ofsted Annual Report, 2010/11
“Most commonly, the governing body knew too little about the school because monitoring was not rigorous or because over-generous self review judgements were accepted without sufficient challenge: at times of change and in an inherently challenging sector, they accepted too much on trust.” .

3. Ofsted Key Issues
School 1:
Increase the role of the governing body in school improvement by:
involving governors more closely in monitoring the work of the school
ensuring their involvement in detailed planning that clearly identifies priorities for the school's long-term strategic development
School 2:
Increase the effectiveness of leadership and management by:
ensuring that the governing body receives additional training and support so that it can robustly hold the school to account .

4. New Ofsted Inspection Framework 2012
“Self-evaluation is now well established in schools, providing the basis for planning for development and improvement. Inspection takes account of and contributes to a school’s self-evaluation.”
“The quality of its self-evaluation is a good indicator of the calibre of the school’s leaders and managers and of the school’s capability to improve.”
When schools are first informed that they are to be inspected, they will be asked to “provide Ofsted with a summary of their self-evaluation. This should include evidence from school stakeholders”. .

5. New Ofsted Framework
Leadership and Management Grade Descriptor – Outstanding
“All leaders and managers, including the governing body, are highly ambitious for the school and lead by example. They base their actions on a deep and accurate understanding of the school’s performance and of staff and pupils’ skills and attributes”.

6. New Ofsted Framework
Leadership and Management Grade Descriptor – Satisfactory (from Sept 2012 requires improvement)
“The headteacher and most other key leaders, including the governing body, provide a concerted approach to school improvement”.

7. The school self-evaluation cycle
Gather evidence
Make judgements about strengths and areas for improvements
Implement and monitor improvement plan
Write self-evaluation report
This is a self evident flow chart of School self evaluation- the only point I really want to make is that it is a circle for a reason – it should be continuous – evidence is coming into Senior leaders in schools all the time which will help schools make judgements – write their self evaluation – plan and then as governors monitor.
Question – is your sdp written in stone at the beginning of the year – reviewed at termly GB meetings then put back in the drawer til next time? What happens if in December your year 2 teacher decided to complete a reading test that shows her pupils are struggling with understanding the meaning of words…when would that go into the plan? SO finally if this is the process I come back onto the agenda of todays talk….
Devise school improvement plan

8. The Process How well are we doing? How do we as Governors know?
What evidence do we have?
How can we find out more?
What are your schools’ strengths?
What are the schools’ areas for improvement?
How do we monitor? .

9. 1. How well are we doing? How are you going to self evaluate?
What questions are you going to ask?
What are you going to measure yourself against?
Ofsted Framework / ASCL Framework / Your own?
What questions are the ones which will help you move forward?
Do you need to add more?

10. Ofsted Framework
Quality of education provided in the school, its overall effectiveness, taking account of the four key judgements.
The four judgements cover:
the achievement of pupils at the school
the quality of teaching in the school
the behaviour and safety of pupils at the school
the quality of leadership and management of the school. .

11. Ofsted Framework
Quality of education provided in the school, its overall effectiveness, taking account of the four key judgements and:
how well the school is promoting the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
the extent to which the education provided by the school meets the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

12. A Good education for all – consultation paper for Sept 2012 changes
To require “outstanding” schools to have “outstanding” teacher
Only “good” and “outstanding” schools will be deemed providing an acceptable standard of education
“Requires improvement” will replace “satisfactory” and “notice to improve”
“Requires improvement” schools will be subject to re-inspection earlier than currently

13. A Good education for all – consultation paper for Sept 2012 changes
Schools judged “requires improvement” on two consecutive inspections will be deemed as “special measures”
Inspections will be undertaken without notice
Inspectors will analyse anonymised information of the recent performance management outcomes as part of the Leadership and management judgement.

15. How do we as Governors know? What evidence do we have?
How well are we doing?
How do we as Governors know?
What evidence do we have?
How can we find out more?
What are your schools’ strengths?
What are the schools’ areas for improvement?
How do we monitor? .

16. How do we as Governors know?
Results
Last Ofsted
Headteachers report

17. How do we as Governors know? What evidence do we have?
How well are we doing?
How do we as Governors know?
What evidence do we have?
How can we find out more?
What are your schools’ strengths?
What are the schools’ areas for improvement?
How do we monitor? .

18. Your Headteacher says you are OUTSTANDING in all 4 areas
Your turn:
Your Headteacher says you are OUTSTANDING in all 4 areas
What evidence would you look for to support this?
The achievement of pupils at the school
The quality of teaching in the school
The behaviour and safety of pupils at the school
The quality of leadership and management of the school
5 minutes….. .

19. What did you come up with?
RAISE online
Academic Results internal / external
Attendance data, late books, exclusions
Internal testing
Entry to school tests
School plan and policies, subject department plans, teachers’ plans,
The code of behaviour
School inspection reports, previous school self-evaluation reports, school improvement plans, progress reports, agendas and minutes of meetings
Audits - for example, health and safety, finance

20. What did you come up with?
Interviews with students, staff, parents.
Walking round the school at different times of the day.
Displays .

21. How well are we doing?
How do we as Governors know?
What evidence do we have?
How can we find out more?
What are your schools’ strengths?
What are the schools’ areas for improvement?
How do we monitor?

22. New Ofsted Inspection Framework
“Inspections will give greater consideration to the views of parents, pupils and staff as important evidence.”
Ofsted will draw on pupils’ and parents’ views to inform inspection judgements and they will strive to inform inspection activities by gathering the views of pupils and parents who have a significant interest in the school.

23. Parent Power
The Government is transforming the relationship schools have with parents.
The thoughts and views of parents have never been more important in shaping the way schools are run.
The SEN Green Paper emphasised the need for more parental choice in where and how their children are educated.
The Bew Review for KS2 assessment called for a wider range of data to be made available to parents.
The results of the new mandatory phonics screener at the end of Year 1 will be shared with parents.
As part of the new Ofsted framework, parents have been given the power to trigger a school inspection.

24. ParentView Ofsted launched the ParentView website in October 2011:
The website enables parents to share their views on their child’s school and it covers a range of topics, including quality of teaching, bullying, behaviour and levels of homework.
The responses to the 12 closed questions that make up the questionnaire will help Ofsted decide which schools to inspect, and when.

25. Schools say….. “Evaluating parental opinions is not easy”
“Response rates are usually poor and I have to question the quality of our data”
“Recording and analysing the data can take days – normally during the school holidays”
“What do my results really mean?”

26. An effective parental survey Start with the end in mind
What evidence do you need for your self evaluation?
What evidence do you need to challenge assumptions from ParentView?
What changes are you planning to implement?
Are they the right ones?
What changes have you implemented?
Were they successful? .

27. An effective Parental survey
Importance v satisfaction
Qualitative v quantitative
Reliability
Feedback
Focus groups
Repeat annually .

28. Improving response rates
Advertise
Paper v’s Online
Pupil power
Get teachers on board
Incentivise
Get the timing right
Feedback
Take action

29. Analysis Allow time and resource to enter the data
Use the expertise at your disposal
Understand and have confidence in your data
1 to 5 scale – standard error of the mean
Read the qualitative results!

30. Be aware of parental bias
Results
Be aware of parental bias
Kirkland Rowell Surveys 2011

31. An effective Parental survey
Importance verses satisfaction
Identify any disconnect

32. Gender Analysis Year Group Analysis Historical data
Results
Gender Analysis
Year Group Analysis
Historical data

33. The customer is always right?
Don’t be alarmed by the results – you are measuring perception
.….

34. How well are we doing?
How do we as Governors know?
What evidence do we have?
How can we find out more?
What are your schools’ strengths?
What are the schools’ areas for improvement?
How do we monitor?

35. What are your schools’ strengths?
List 5 of your school’s strengths
Avoid – “it’s a lovely school every one is so nice syndrome” be specific
Do you have the evidence to prove each of those strengths? .

37. How do we as Governors know? What evidence do we have?
How well are we doing?
How do we as Governors know?
What evidence do we have?
How can we find out more?
What are your schools’ strengths?
What are the schools’ areas for improvement?
How do we monitor? .…

38. School Improvement Actions
What are they at your school?
How often are they set?
Who decided what they should be?
If you agreed, why?

39. Press this week: Sir Michael Wilshaw,Chief Inspector Ofsted
National pressures on schools?
Press this week: Sir Michael Wilshaw,Chief Inspector Ofsted
Almost a third of pupils who reached the national targets at the age of 11 failed to gain good GCSEs in the subject at 16
Giving parents regular updates on their children’s reading age, showing whether they are reaching the basic standard expected for their peer group .?

40. Narrow the gap! In the new inspection:
“There is greater focus on attainment of different groups as part of the understanding how well the school is helping to “narrow the gap” between the attainment of groups underperforming nationally and the attainment of all pupils”.
Are different groups of students at your school doing as well as nationally or are their any groups falling behind?

42. .

43. How do we as Governors know? What evidence do we have?
How well are we doing?
How do we as Governors know?
What evidence do we have?
How can we find out more?
What are your schools’ strengths?
What are the schools’ areas for improvement?
How do we monitor? .

44. The school self-evaluation cycle
Gather evidence
Make judgements about strengths and areas for improvements
Implement and monitor improvement plan
Write self-evaluation report .
Devise school improvement plan

45. School Development / Improvement Plan
If Ofsted walked in tomorrow……
could you say where you are up to on each action in the plan
which are completed …in progress…and or… overdue……
and why? .

46. .

47. New Ofsted Framework
Leadership and Management Grade Descriptor – Outstanding
All leaders and managers, including the governing body, are highly ambitious for the school and lead by example. They base their actions on a deep and accurate understanding of the school’s performance and of staff and pupils’ skills and attributes. .

48. New Ofsted Framework
Leadership and Management Grade Descriptor – Satisfactory (from Sept 2012 requires improvement)
The headteacher and most other key leaders, including the governing body, provide a concerted approach to school improvement.
Which one are you????? .

49. What key questions could you ask at your next Governors meeting?
Remember
“Most commonly, the governing body knew too little about the school because monitoring was not rigorous or because over-generous self review judgements were accepted without sufficient challenge: at times of change and in an inherently challenging sector, they accepted too much on trust.”

50. How do we as Governors know? What evidence do we have?
To summarise:
How well are we doing?
How do we as Governors know?
What evidence do we have?
How can we find out more?
What are your schools’ strengths?
What are the schools’ areas for improvement?
How do we monitor? .

51. Thank you Wendy Sheehan E: wendy.sheehan@gl-performance.co.uk
www:gl-performance.co.uk