Every School a Good School: A Policy for school Improvement Governors Programme April 2012

Where has the need for ESaGS come from? Every School a Good School Launched April 2009 Where has the need for ESaGS come from?

The challenges we face High performance at the top end – but huge tail of underachievement, particularly affecting those from disadvantaged backgrounds Position slipping in international context Significant variations between schools that appear to share similar characteristics Increasing evidence of differential outcomes between boys and girls and some evidence of worrying differentials between young people in controlled v maintained schools.

The challenges...continued A fifth of children moving from primary to post-primary without achieving the expected levels of literacy and numeracy Just over a quarter of young people in non-selective post-primaries achieving 5 good GCSEs inc English and Maths Quality of provision not good enough in a third of primary schools Room for improvement in a third of lessons in post-primary schools Leadership and management unsatisfactory in 10% of post-primary schools

The Context for Belfast Huge variations in performance across similar schools Pockets of high social disadvantage Population continuing to shrink The grammar factor in post-primary 40% of non-selective post-primary schools in city have fewer than 500 pupils BELB schools have higher than average performance against core GCSE measure but BELB residents have lower than average performance

Performance in Mathematical Literacy (top 30 OECD countries) Iceland 506 Scotland 506 Austria 505 Slovenia 504 Germany 504 Sweden 502 Republic of Ireland 501 OECD AVERAGE 498 France 496 Poland 495 England 495 Northern Ireland 494 Slovak Republic 492 Hungary 491 Luxembourg 490 Chinese Taipei 549 Finland 548 Hong Kong-China 547 Korea 547 Netherlands 531 Switzerland 530 Canada 527 Macao-China 525 Liechtenstein 525 Japan 523 New Zealand 522 Belgium 520 Australia 520 Estonia 515 Denmark 513 Czech-Republic 510

Performance in Reading (top 30 OECD countries) Korea 556 Finland 547 Hong Kong-China 536 Canada 527 New Zealand 521 Republic of Ireland 517 Australia 513 Liechtenstein 510 Poland 508 Sweden 507 Netherlands 507 Belgium 501 Estonia 501 Scotland 499 Switzerland 499 Japan 498 England 496 Chinese Taipei 496 Northern Ireland 495 Germany 495 Denmark 494 Slovenia 494 Macao-China 492 OECD AVERAGE 492 Austria 490 France 488 Iceland 484 Norway 484 Czech-Republic 483 Hungary 482 Wales 481

Characteristics of a successful School (ESAGS) Child- centred provision High quality Teaching and Learning Effective leadership A school connected to its local community

Child-centred provision A school culture of achievement, improvement and ambition exists – with clear expectations that all pupils can and will achieve to the very best of their ability There is a commitment to involve young people in discussions and decisions on school life that directly affect them and to their views

High quality teaching and learning A broad and relevant curriculum is provided for the pupils An emphasis on literacy and numeracy exists across the curriculum Assessment and other data is used to effectively inform teaching and learning Rigorous self-evaluation is carried out by teachers and the whole school Teacher reflect on their own work and the outcomes of individual pupils Education outcomes compare well when benchmarked with other schools

Effective leadership An effective SDP in place, providing clear and realistic targets for improvement School leaders demonstrate a commitment to providing professional development opportunities for staff Teachers are given the opportunity to share in leadership of the school School leaders monitor and evaluate effectively school outcomes, policies, practice and procedures and the SDP itself

Community Links Good relationships between the school, parents and the wider community that it serves The school and its teachers are held in respect by parents and the local community The school uses its involvement in particular programmes (eg Extended Schools) effectively in meeting the needs of the community and nearby schools The school works closely with other relevant statutory and voluntary agencies whose work impacts on education

Quality of teaching and learning In the most effective lessons, the main enabling factors are: Teaching which is challenging, interesting and engaging and focuses on making the learning real and relevant for the pupils Effective linkages across the curriculum which build on the learners’ experiences, The effective and skilful use of questioning and discussion between teacher and learners

What underpins ESAGS? Improvement driven from within the school - leadership Centrality of high quality teaching and need to support this (McKinsey report) Focus on schools as part of their communities Intervene where provision is unsatisfactory (provide support) More direct interventions if there is no evidence of improvement (hope this will be rare)

The future under ESAGS is now

What does ESaGS mean for the school

about School Self Evaluation Big Messages about School Self Evaluation HIGHLY important! It’s all about feedback informing action Child-centred Active data Keep it simple Ask the right questions, in the right way Select the best information Without action it’s expensive hot air New NI policy (April 2009) According to the evidence, how are we doing…and what’s next? Securing better outcomes Easy to collect lots of inert data Minimum data with maximum impact It boils down to using critical questions to investigate practice (and outcomes), …selecting the information which will best help you answer these questions, …and planning/implementing actions

School Self-Evaluation leading to Improvement The Process….. and the Critical Issues: Focus on essentials first, and most often… Classroom practice Leadership & Management How are we doing? How do we know? What’s next? Asking the right questions - not dodging the critical ones Selecting and capturing the information needed to answer them! Prioritised, stepped changes in a shared plan Clear focus on learning Checkable outcomes Implementation timeline

School Self-Evaluation leading to Improvement The Process….. and the Critical Issues: Action! Bringing plans to life Keeping priorities uppermost Monitoring, problem solving, adapting Summative review against predicted outcomes

‘School self-evaluation and self-improvement… are at the heart of the policy. We believe that schools themselves, through honest and open engagement in self-evaluation, using effectively the wide range of data and information available to them, are best placed to identify areas for improvement and to implement changes that can bring about better outcomes for pupils.’ (ESaGS 2009)

Expectations of schools Governors understand their role as critical friend, with focus on standards and improvement Principal and management team work effectively with BoG to ensure effective performance against indicators in ESaGS Culture of self-evaluation and self-improvement throughout the school, with focus on using performance and other data to identify areas for improvement Teachers supported in their work to raise standards High expectations set for every pupil Parents and community welcomed into school

The role of ELBs Accountable for effective use of resources by schools they fund Expected to monitor performance of all schools in their area Providing support to ensure sustained focus on improvement Lead role in signing off and supporting action plans in cases where inspection finds provision to be less than satisfactory Can request inspections if they have concerns Partnerships key – must work with CCMS and also involve CnaG, NICIE and DE as appropriate

Expectations of ESA Setting targets for improvements in educational outcomes – but maintaining a focus on other characteristics Clear focus on high quality, responsive support for schools – what they need, when they need it Working with schools to ensure a focus on self-improvement, encouraging self-evaluation and providing access to data and resources to support that process Acting on the basis of inspection evidence to support schools where provision is unsatisfactory and to ensure that action is taken Working with schools, with ETI and with DE to ensure that the actions set out in Every School a Good School are delivered

School Development Planning Evaluation and Next Steps Self Evaluation School Development Planning Learning & Teaching Establishing procedure cycle Track pupil progress through use of data Collect, collate and analyse data Whole school assessment strategy Coordinator’s roles and resps Prioritised 3 year plan BoG role Staff Devt and Deployment Consulting with pupils & parents Outcomes focussed

What sources of data do you have in the school at present? Workshop one People’s views Direct observation Quantitative data

Sources of Rich Data Quantitative Data: Direct Observation: Test results Profiling responses to tests Benchmarking Baselining Pupil Tracking Value Added measures Progress on prior levels Individual pupil progress on meeting targets School progress re the Literacy/Numeracy targets Attendance Exclusions/suspensions Destination records Direct Observation: HOW Pupil Shadowing Lesson Observation Videoing lessons Exchange classes Observe in pairs/threes Team Teaching WHAT Pupils’ work Reports to parents Profiling pupils’ response to challenge Teachers’ plans Evaluations of plans SDP/AP progress report People’s Views: Individual interviews Staff Parents Group discussions Working Parties/Teams Key Stage reviews Full staff reviews Pupil Forum Q’nnaires/Surveys Written responses

What is the school’s current provision? Workshop two Area Evidence Next Steps Establishing a procedure cycle Collect, collate and analyse the data Coordinator's roles and responsibilities BoG role Consulting with parents and pupils Outcomes focused Staff development and deployment SDP Whole school assessment strategy Tracking pupil progress Evaluation and next steps

Implications and next steps