1. National Categorisation How can governors make the best use of the process and outcomes? Governors’ Conference October 2015

2. Overview An Overview of National Categorisation Applying the Framework at Step 2 – Governance Demonstrating Effective Challenge as a Governing Body Reflecting on current school practice

3. National Categorisation Step 1 Standards Primary and secondary systems Data-driven judgement Based on 3 years’ performance Set against FSM context; Will provide a single figure indicator (1 – 4) Step 2 Improvement Capacity A judgement of A-D is generated in relation to capacity to self-improve. Step 3 Support Category The outcomes of Step 1 and Step 2 will be combined to determine the school’s support category (Step 3). The colour indicates the level of support a school requires – Green, Yellow, Amber or Red. Each Challenge Adviser will determine the nature of the bespoke support package to be provided to each school according to need.

4. National Categorisation - Changes Step 1 – Standards (Secondary) - Changes to eFSM measure The attainment of eFSM pupils at L2+ will move from step 2 to step 1. Where performance of eFSM L2EWM learners is below the agreed eFSM target (30% in 2015, 32% in 2016, 34% in 2017) the schools standards group defaults to at least a 3 on the standards axis. Step 1 – Standards Changes to new and amalgamated schools in 2015-2016 Data will be produced for Step 1 but not published for the first full year of a schools operation. Step 2 and Step 3 will be carried out by the consortia using step 1 to inform the process. Step 2 and Step 3 will be published on My Local School.

5. National Categorisation - Changes Step 2 /Step 3 The ADEW Quality Standards Group has made the following refinements; Clarified and strengthened the approach to regional moderation including the development of nationally agreed documentation to support the process. Strengthened quality assurance procedures at a regional and national level. Developed a nationally agreed process for use where a school logs a disagreement with the categorisation judgement. Developed a regional moderation process and national verification process. The first meeting of the verification board will take place in December.

6. National Categorisation - Changes Step 2 /Step 3 Reviewed the rare exceptions and developed lines of enquiry for challenge advisers to use to ensure that the process for determining whether or not a school should be judged to be a rare exception is robust and applied consistently across Wales. Revised the criteria for leadership, learning and teaching to inform judgements about improvement capacity at Step 2 and to support school self- evaluation. Revisited and simplified the support category definitions which now clearly highlight the level of challenge advisor support a school could receive when placed in each category.

7. National Categorisation - Changes Potential Rare Exceptions Primary / Infant / Junior schools only Schools where 50% or more of pupils over the last 3 years are in receipt of free school meals. Schools with an average cohort of five or less pupils in an individual key stage or both key stages (in the case of a primary school) over the last three years. Primary / Infant /Junior and Secondary schools Schools with a registered learning resource base where a deeper analysis of data over a three-year period indicates performance is in FSM Benchmark group quarter 1 or 2 Schools with 15% of pupils (in Infant / Junior / Primary) and 8% of pupils (Secondary) whose stage of English acquisition is judged to be A, B or C on the agreed National Language Acquisition Model.

8. Final Support Category

9. In coming to a judgement about the school’s capacity to self-improve, school leaders and school improvement professionals will use the refined criteria; Step 2 – Improvement Capacity

10. Step 2 – Governance Governors have an excellent understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and are highly effective in supporting and challenging the school’s performance. Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. Their work to support and challenge the school’s performance is strong Governors support the school. They receive relevant information but require support to be fully effective in how they challenge the school to make improvements. Whilst governors are supportive of the school as a body they do not have sufficient capacity to challenge the school to make improvements with the urgency needed.

11. Governor v Governors? How effective is your governing body as a whole? We’re all in this together… The Effectiveness of the Governing Body

12. Step 2 – Evidence A: Governors have an excellent understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and are highly effective in supporting and challenging the school’s performance. Your Challenge Adviser wants to meet with you to discuss the effectiveness of your Governing Body… How would you evidence this in a school so that the work of the Governing Body could be categorised as an A for Step 2?

13. Step 2 – Capturing Challenge… One way – through the Headteacher’s Report to the Governing Body… You are the Chair of Governors receiving the Headteacher’s termly report 10 days before the meeting. Use the questions provided to support you. Note the questions that you might ask the Headteacher regarding the report to evidence challenge by the governing body. Primary / Secondary Headteacher Report Clerks’ Corner link… Minute taking… Capturing Challenge… How can you as governors challenge the school’s performance?

14. Timeline - Categorisation ActivityTimeline National Categorisation at regional level Early Autumn term 2015 Secondary Step 1 dataProvisional Step 1 data by 9 th October 2015 and final Step 1 data by 18 th December 2015 Regional Moderation process 17 th November 2015 National verification process6 th / 7 th January 2016 Publication of all 3 steps of categorisation on My Local School website 29 th January 2016

15. Governing Body – Categorisation Report 2015-20162016-20172017-2018 Step 2Step 3Step 2Step 3Step 2Step 3