SEF Describing good or better achievement and standards What is laid down, ordered, factual is never enough to embrace the whole truth: life spills over the rim of every cup. Boris Pasternak Mike McLachlan

SEF A process not just a product for an inspection A summary of the outcomes of your annual review cycle in preparation for your school development plan Apart from Sections 1 and 2 it should be evaluative and judgemental rather than overly descriptive. Should reflect your specific contexts as outlined in Section 1 and 2

Evaluating standards (Guidance to inspectors) A broad range of evidence should be considered when evaluating standards. This includes: – the school’s results as set out in the RAISE report – the SEF and what it says about the latest standards in the school – the school’s data, the work the pupils have done in the past and the knowledge, skills and understanding that they are currently able to demonstrate

Evaluating Progress As with analysing standards, it is important to consider a range of pre-inspection and first-hand evidence; for instance: the latest CVA measures the SEF and what it says about the progress made by pupils the local authority’s (LA’s)/school’s own data analysis and progress records discussion with staff and pupils scrutiny of their work in lessons and what they have done in the past the knowledge, skills and understanding that they are currently able to demonstrate the demands made upon pupils by the teaching.

Tracking achievement and standards 1a Please outline the main characteristics of the learners, including : - their attainment on entry and how you know this - their social and economic backgrounds, indicating the level of prosperity or deprivation

Attainment on entry -Records of assessments on entry to the nursery / Foundation stage ( Stepping Stones and FSP data) e.g. ‘it is likely that most three-year-old children in the Foundation Stage will be better described by the earlier stepping stones shown in the yellow band’. This may be referred to as the national expectation at the beginning o f Nursery. Raise on Line, SATs and school data on entry into KS1, KS2 and KS3. Breakdown for different groups FSM, SEN, LAC, EAL etc Check coverage in RoL particularly if there is high mobility into or out of a year group.

Attainment on Entry profile RoL only gives Average Point Score and profile for each year group for the FS and KS1-4. As appropriate, Identify variations in the 6 areas of learning of the Foundation Stage profile Identify differences in English (reading and writing), Maths and Science, as the APS in individual subjects may be very different from school average. If possible give an ability profile i.e number of students in each of the bands- well below average, below average, average, above and well above for each year group – if they are very different. Reflect this analysis by tracking these groups in your evaluations and judgements in the Achievement and Standards section of the SEF

Section 3 Achievement and Standards, Prompts in the SEF (1) 3a How well do learners achieve, and how high are their standards; e.g. Test and examination results; whether learners reach challenging targets (Historical information) ) The standards of learners' current work (noting any significant differences between past results and current work)

Achievement and Standards Prompts in the SEF (2) The learners' progress including comparisons with the progress of similar pupils in other schools. ( Historical and current evaluation) Note any significant differences in the progress of groups of learners, including any groups that are achieving particularly well or are underachieving (for example, pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, looked after children, particular minority ethnic groups, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller learners, those who join the school other than at the normal date of admission, and those who are socially or economically disadvantaged) and the extent of the school's success in closing any gaps in attainment

Achievement and Standards Prompts in the SEF (3) The extent to which information and communication technology (ICT) capability and other key skills enable learners to improve the quality of their work and make progress The extent to which specialist subject attainment targets have been met The impact of specialist status in raising standards in the specialism, standards more generally across the school and in partner schools The extent to which any extended services contribute to better achievement and higher standards.

Summary Consider the big picture but also focus on groups and individuals. Evaluate the ‘history’ but also have details and analyses of the present cohorts to demonstrate improvement / sustained progress It is helpful to try and replicate the RoL style evaluations for each of the current year groups. Individual pupil lists can be exported into Excel and then sorted from lowest to highest CVA. This makes it easier to identify and explain strong and weak performances. “life spills over the rim of every cup.”