Practices from Flanders (Belgium) Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Immanuel Synaeve  Mother tongue: Dutch  Since 2002: employee in the educational network GO! onderwijs van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap  : teacher of French, German and Italian in secondary education and in adult education  Training certificates of headmaster and pedagogic adviser Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Very diversified work: Pedagogical issues Financial matters Infrastructural topics Personnel management Communication policy Education legislation Trainee policy … Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Belgium: a federal country with different regions: Flanders (Dutch), Brussels (Dutch and French), Wallonia (French) and the German Community Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 The regions are responsible for the organisation of the education: Flanders (actually the Flemish Community), Wallonia (actually the French Community) and the German Community.  Furthermore: Different educational networks: networks depending on the state and depending on private (in particular catholic) initiatives Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Our educational network = GO! onderwijs van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap (= “GO! education of the Flemish Community”)  Our educational network = depending on the Flemish authorities  Our website:  Brochure: Education in Flanders looking over the Border Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 The assets of our educational network: Everybody is a VIP Solid School Leadership Each talent matters Quality Open Schools Personality development Tailor-made care and personal well-being Active pluralism Motivated teachers Transparent structure Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 GO! onderwijs van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap is responsible for about 15% of the education in Flanders (compulsory and not- compulsory).  There are central services in Brussels: responsible for infrastructure, finances, security, internationalisation, administrative and pedagogic services. Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Furthermore: Our school network consists of 28 scholengroepen (= schoolgroups). The real administrative power belongs to these groups.  Such a schoolgroup is managed by a General Director, a Board of Governors and a Board of Principals. Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Scholengroep 3 Agora is situated North and North-East of Antwerp.  Our website:  Survey of our “schoolgroup”: education for pupils (age: 2,5-18 years)  Our schools dispose of high local autonomy. Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 18 institutions  About 5400 pupils  About 1200 employees Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Every schoolgroup concretes the assets of the educational network GO! onderwijs van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap.  Main goal of management and quality systems: optimising the learning gains and the well-being of our pupils (knowledge, skills and attitudes) taking into account the whole personality. Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Moreover: The Flemish Community imposes the development of quality systems in every school in Flanders for having financial support (for instance the salaries of manpower).  It is strongly stimulating self-assessment in schools.  It is supervising the quality of schools by a Board of Inspectors (accountability).  The Flemish Community has by law issued goals to be attained by every pupil in primary and secondary education (attainment targets).  These attainment targets are minimum goals that schools should foster and achieve for most pupils of a particular educational level and a particular course of study. Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 The inspectors are visiting schools in small teams. They are making an analysis of the institution as a global organisation by the CIPO- reference (Context, Input, Processes and Output).  The inspectors examine whether the attainment targets are being achieved and whether the other legislative obligations are being properly observed.  The CIPO-reference is largely based on the EFQM-model (European Foundation for Quality Management). Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 They do this in 3 phases: a.a preliminary enquiry (data analysis and local visit) b.the actual audit c.the written report (discussed with the school board and published on a website in Dutch)  By means of the preliminary enquiry the team of inspectors determines the focus of the audit: every school will have a differentiated inspection (taking into account strenghts and weaknesses).  One of the key questions of the inspectorate is whether a school has a system to monitor its own quality. This influences the final decision of the inspectors considerably. Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 The written report will formulate an important advice: advice 1, advice 2 or advice 3.  Advice 1: favourable. The inspectors have full confidence that there is sufficient professionalism and readiness present in the school to continue her development with quality, and she will not carry out any succession controls.  Advice 2: limited favourable. There will be succession controls. The school has to solve the formulated shortcomings within a definite term. Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Advice 3: unfavourable and shutdown of financial support. After an unfavourable advice a school can submit an improvement plan which, when approved, can suspend the withdrawal of the continuation for at least one and at the most three years. Anyway, after an unfavourable advice a new audit by a joint board will follow within 3 months, or within the last three months of the suspension period, aimed at previously formulated shortcomings. Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 There is no ranking of schools (conscious choice of the authorities): every school is functioning in its own context (environment, pupils, …).  The written inspection report contains one chapter for a larger public, namely the Quality Profile. This is a brief and concise text with:  the results of the audit;  the motivation;  the strengths of the school;  possible challenges for the school.  Furthermore: t.htm t.htm Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Selection and assistance of our headmasters: Interviews and assessment for measuring the necessary skills and attitudes Duty of obtaining a training certificate (organized by the central services of our educational network) Offering different kinds of assistance (collecting and disseminating information, regular meetings, reflexion teams for specific matters, personal training)  The headmaster is the pivot of the school organization and is the main guard of its quality. Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Our schoolgroup have different “bodies” for developing a central vision and policy respecting the autonomy of the schools at the same time. The “main bodies” are the Board of Governors (Raad van Bestuur) and the Board of Principals (College van Directeurs).  This central vision and policy embraces the development of management and quality systems.  This central vision and policy is not imposed! On the contrary, it is developed in collaboration with the headmasters of the different schools. Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Our schoolgroup is also getting support of the central services of the educational network for developing management and quality systems, for example after a screening of the Board of Inspectors.  Our schoolgroup has developed a “master policy plan” for the next 10 years. Every year, some items will be selected for further concretisation. Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 A selection of actions we (will) undertake: Every school has a training plan for its manpower: an inventory of the needs and the actions to undertake. We organise special training sessions for our manpower on special days (the individual schools and the schoolgroup). A growing tradition of self-assessment (looking for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) Questioning pupils and parents about different facets of the school organisation. Job evaluation interviews with concrete issues Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 A selection of actions we (will) undertake: Exchange of experiences and good practices on a regular basis between schools and schoolgroups (through meetings, information channels, …) Analysis of exams, study results and deliberations Management of collaboration between secondary education and labor market and higher Education (real challenge!) Internationalisation (for example Comenius and e- Twinning) Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 A selection of actions we (will) undertake: Collaboration with local organisations (sport, hobbies, municipality) Optimising the education offer in our schoolgroup (avoiding competition between our own schools and improving the quality of our education) Improving the selection capabilities of our pupils about studies and learning “Tuning” primary and secondary education by exchanging methods and pupils Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 A selection of actions we (will) undertake: Taking into account the results of a psycho-social risk analysis of our manpower Collecting and analysing different data (for example by inquiries and this on a scientific basis) Stimulating self-assessment in schools (especially by teachers on individual basis and in groups about the specific branches and about the school as organisation) Analysis of relevant (screening) reports of the Board of Inspectors of the Flemish Community Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

MAIN GOAL optimising the learning gains and the well-being of our pupils (knowledge, skills and attitudes) taking into account the whole personality Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)

 Time management: a vast quantity of tasks to fulfill  Mastering the “information torrent”  Correct analysis of the gathered data  Working out the concrete actions  Finding the right person for the right job (especially headmasters) Tallinn, September 2011 (CEDEFOP, European Study Visits)