1. Advancing teaching: inspiring able learners every day Meeting the Challenge 14 th November 2012

2. Advancing teaching: inspiring able learners every day Aims for the day  To look at the NACE Cymru Quality Standards as a vehicle for developing challenge.  To share the experience of a Challenge Award School  To consider how to move forward in developing the standards

3. The standards help to focus on the following questions:  Are all pupils appropriately challenged?  How do we know?  What do we mean by More Able & Talented?  Who are they in our school?  How do we set targets to improve provision and outcomes?  How ambitious are they?  Are they ambitious enough?

4.  Inspection reports for the schools in Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd contain some very positive comments about provision for MAT pupils: good links with Higher Education; master classes and acceleration; skills development.  However, 18 out of 26 reports make reference to a lack of challenge. In a number of reports, this is an explicit recommendation.  Challenge can relate to planning, expectation and outcome.

5.  “Challenging more able and talented learners to perform better is a national priority.”  “Too few secondary school pupils in Wales achieve above the expected level (KS3 Level 5, KS4 A*/A) in the core subjects.”  “The PISA reports (2007 & 2010) suggest that Wales has few high achievers compared to the top-performing countries in the world.” Supporting More Able & Talented Pupils in Secondary Schools – June 2012

6. “ In the few schools with the best provision, more able and talented pupils are appropriately identified, supported and challenged and achieve high standards. These schools use a combination of teacher assessment, standardised testing, observation and parental and pupil questionnaires to identify pupils’ strengths and particular talents, and this information is shared with all staff. Pupils are well supported through a range of additional provision and their progress tracked and monitored carefully across all key stages. There are consistent, whole school approaches to teaching and learning. A ‘more able and talented’ co-ordinator oversees the implementation of policy and practice and monitors the provision across the school and parents are fully involved. A few schools have established ‘more able and talented’ working parties, leadership groups or focus groups to support more able and talented pupils and to offer whole-school training to staff.” Supporting more able and talented pupils in secondary schools – June 2012

7.  Ten standards covering all aspects of provision  Based on focussed and evidenced self evaluation  Can be used to audit existing practice  Can be used to focus areas for development and improvement  Will help to raise standards  Evidence of impact is a key aspect of the Challenge Award

8. Plan Develop Reflect

9. NACE CymruQuality Standards 1. A whole school strategy & an action plan 6. A commitment to improve the skills of all staff 2. Identification strategies & criteria 7. Support for exceptionally able pupils 3. A target for improvement8. Appropriate resources, including ICT 4. A range of learning styles, teaching approaches & organisation 9. Listening to and taking account of the views of pupils and parents. Working with partners to improve provision 5. Identification of underachievement, and provision of individual support 10. Effective procedures for monitoring the action plan & assessing the effectiveness of the school’s policy

10.  A whole school strategy – create a climate/ethos where the achievements of all are valued and celebrated  Self- evaluation is searching, rigorous and distributed  “Self-evaluation is only fully effective where leaders and managers can identify priorities for improvement because they monitor provision and assess outcomes robustly.” Estyn Annual report 2010-2011

11.  Identification strategies and criteria  Who are the more able?  “ In Wales the term ‘more able & talented’ encompasses approximately 20% of the total school population, and is used to describe pupils who require enriched and extended opportunities across the curriculum in order to develop their abilities in one or more areas”*  * A Curriculum of Opportunity: Developing Potential into Performance 2003

12.  The identification of MAT pupils is linked to context.  In every classroom and every school, there will be groups of pupils who require extended educational opportunities, regardless of how they compare to MAT pupils in other schools  The identification of MAT pupils should not just relate to academic attainment

13. Who might identify?  Peers  Older pupils  Parents  Teachers  Education Psychologists  Classroom assistants What sort of ability?  Sporting  Artistic  Musical  Leadership  Linguistic  Mathematical  Scientific  Research  Empathy

14. No, but MAT pupils need to be identified, and identification needs to be recorded to ensure that:  Pupils make progress in line with potential;  provision is appropriate; and  expectations are aspirational and challenging. In successful schools, pupils are well known and the individual needs of all learners are met because provision is inclusive and challenging.

15.  A target for improvement of the school’s provision and the performance of more able & talented pupils  Schools analyse data rigorously and set ambitious targets for all pupils, including those who are more able & talented

16.  A range of learning styles, teaching approaches and organisation  Curriculum – breadth, depth and flexibility  Pastoral care and learning needs  Less about teaching, more about learning  “ We now focus much less on subject content and more on how teachers adapt their material to meet the needs of all learners and how they improve learners’ literacy and numeracy skills.” Estyn Annual Report 2010 - 2011

17.  Does the climate promote challenge and risk taking?  Are pupils given opportunities to take responsibility for learning and for the direction of learning?  Are they able to reflect and evaluate meaningfully?

18.  The NACE Cymru Lesson Observation Audit Tool, used as part of the Challenge Award assessment, is very useful for this.  Can be downloaded from the NACE Cymru website  Key components of highly effective learning are good questions, and effective feedback

19.  Regular reviews to identify underachievement  Clear tracking of pupil progress, particularly from primary to secondary school  Appropriate support for individual pupils

20.  Training for staff is relevant and has impact  A support pack of training materials, linked to the Standards Framework, will be dispatched to schools shortly.

21.  What programmes are in place to support exceptionally able pupils? (Top 2%)  What opportunities do pupils have to work together?  How rich is the range of opportunities?  What’s the policy about acceleration?

22.  Are the school’s resources appropriate to ensure challenge and provision?  How is ICT used?  Does it contribute effectively to learning?

23.  Listening to and taking account of the views of MAT pupils and parents  Working with partners to enhance provision  How is pupil voice developed?  Does it impact on provision?  How are partners engaged with supporting provision?

24.  What are the procedures for monitoring the action plan and for assessing the effectiveness of the school’s policy for MAT pupils?  Who does this?  How does it link to the school’s SER?  How are governors involved?

25. All users start with an audit. This needs analysis is vital so that schools:  gain better understanding of the Quality Standards;  can identify, objectively, where they have strengths and areas for development; and  have information for the action plan* The process has to have the engagement of the Headteacher/SLT * Appendix 2 Meeting the Challenge

26.  Findings from the audit (including pupil voice) can be used to shape priorities. Need to consider:  Where do we need external support to develop our practices?  Where have we got existing best practice that we can draw upon?  What are the benefits of schools working together?  What are the barriers?

27. “ In the few schools where more able and talented pupils achieve their full potential, the good or excellent teaching and learning strategies adopted for more able and talented pupils impact positively on improving examination results. It is often the case that, in these few schools, all groups of pupils are appropriately challenged across the curriculum.” Estyn: Supporting more able and talented pupils in secondary schools – June 2012

28.  Meeting the Challenge: Quality Standards in Education for More Able & Talented Pupils WG & NACE 2008  A curriculum of opportunity: developing potential into performanceACCAC/WG 2003  Developing higher- order literacy skills across the curriculumWG 2010  Supporting learners’ higher order literacy skillsWG 2009  Guidance on the teaching of writing skillsWG 2010*  Supporting more able and talented pupils in secondary schoolsEstyn 2012  www.nacecymru.co.uk www.nacecymru.co.uk  www.estyn.gov.uk www.estyn.gov.uk  www.wales.gov.uk www.wales.gov.uk  *See Appendix 2 of this document for a full reference list