Seizing the agenda Taking ownership of curriculum, assessment, pedagogy, accountability and much more National Middle Schools’ Forum Conference October 2016 John Dunford Chair, Whole Education Formerly secondary head, ASCL general secretary and National Pupil Premium Champion 1

The jigsaw of experience 2

Seizing the agenda 1.Values 2.Creativity and innovation 3.Teaching, learning and assessment 4.Accountability 5.Professional development 6.Pupil premium 7.Partnership 3

School leaders Volume, range and speed of change Instability caused by politicisation of education Conflicting pressures Policies not based on evidence

V I P Values Innovation Partnership 5

Hold to your values A values-led school is almost always a good school Values-led leadership The school’s statement of values Application of values to every part of school … … every lesson, every student Values-led curriculum, assessment, opportunities, priorities, … First impressions matter: the 90:90 rule Community values From poor to good … from good to great What values underpin the work of your school? 6

Be creative Dream your dreams … and next morning go into school and put them into action Being creative isn’t just for arts subjects Space for innovation in curriculum, assessment, combatting disadvantage, accountability, professional development Adapting good ideas from elsewhere Creating an innovative climate Giving permission to fail Tell your colleagues about two innovations of which you are particularly proud 7

Look outwards, not upwards A generation of central prescription A profession lacking in self-confidence Stop looking up and start looking out … Set an example from the top Evidence from research and from successful schools Important for all staff … especially the head  Combatting isolation  Inward-looking schools stand still and then fall behind  Co-leadership of schools in the area 8

Be creative Dream your dreams … and next morning go into school and put them into action Space for innovation in curriculum, assessment, combatting disadvantage, accountability, professional development Adapting good ideas from elsewhere Creating an innovative climate Giving permission to fail Using intelligent accountability Identifying a curriculum entitlement Entitlement to a ‘whole education’ 9

Using curriculum freedoms The school curriculum is much bigger than the National Curriculum or exam specifications 10 SCHOOL CURRICULUM NATIONAL CURRICULUM

An international perspective “Today schooling needs to be much more about ways of thinking, involving creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making.” Andreas Schleicher – OECD TES November

Work ready Life ready Ready for further study 12

Using curriculum freedoms  What curriculum does a C21 young person need?  What curriculum does most for disadvantaged?  Give all young people a ‘whole education’  Develop knowledge, skills and personal qualities  What skills and personal qualities to develop?  How can you give all the students a more fully rounded education? 13

The warp and the weft of the curriculum Skills Personal qualities Knowledge

Focus on learning Teaching and learning Teaching, learning and assessment What is the key in your school to integrating teaching, learning and assessment? 15

Focus on learning Teaching and learning Teaching, learning and assessment Listening and talking about learning Collaboration and teamwork Evidence-informed Support for some staff, space for others Teaching quality is especially important for disadvantaged students 16

Use accountability positively  Use accountability to support successful implementation  Accountability to central government, to inspectors and to local authorities and governing bodies  But what are your school’s aims?  How can you hold yourself to account for progress towards these?  Build your own data sets?  A good audit trail on the website  Accountability direct to parents 18 How well is the school achieving its aims?

Professional development: watering the plants Getting the best out of the staff The importance of professional development 19

While there are no hard and fast rules about how to interpret this statistic in educational research, an

Professional development: watering the plants An outward-looking staff From CPD to JPD Evidence-informed practice and engagement with research Retention first, recruitment second Talent management but … Some staff need some strong stuff in the water! Tell your colleagues how you are ‘watering the plants’ 21

Schools working in partnership: work with other schools, not against them You are part of a great movement to improve the life chances of young people You have been appointed as a co-leader of education in your area and across the country A new landscape of school leadership Teaching school alliances and multi-academy trusts 22

Building successful partnerships of schools 1.Know the partnership schools quantitatively 2.Know the schools qualitatively 3.Adapt strategies to each school’s context 4.Deploy expertise strategically 5.Coach improvement in teaching and learning 6.Use inquiry-based learning as the flywheel to accelerate improvement 7.Empower the middle leaders 8.Evolve and apply some non-negotiables 9.Work with and learn from other schools 10.Know the impact of each school improvement intervention See and leaders.org.uk/insights-blog/school-improvement-multi-academy-trustshttps://roberthilleducationblog.com/academy-chains/205/ leaders.org.uk/insights-blog/school-improvement-multi-academy-trusts 24

Pupil premium: use the opportunity  Don’t wait for politicians to tell you what to do  The government isn’t telling schools how to close the gap  It’s for schools to decide how to use PP 25

The priorities Excellence and Equity Raising achievement and Closing the gap 26

Attainment Time PP pupils Other pupils

Which strategies are helping most to raise attainment of PP-eligible students? 28

Focus for the pupil premium  Prioritise your school’s gaps  Decide on comparators for PP students  PP / Non-PP in your school  PP in your school / Non-PP pupils nationally  What is your ambition?  In 17% of schools, FSM attainment is above the national average for ALL pupils  Use evidence of what works  Use curriculum to raise FSM attainment  Improve transition, especially for disadvantaged  Focus relentlessly on the quality of teaching and learning 29

Overcoming the barriers 30 Identify barriers to learning for PP pupilsDecide your desired outcomesIdentify success criteria for each outcomeChoose your PP strategiesImplement strategies with in-depth trainingEvaluate strategies regularlyTell the story: create an audit trail

Identifying the barriers to learning for PP pupils 31 What are the barriers to learning for your PP pupils?

Identifying the barriers to learning for PP pupils through ….  Learning walks  PP student shadowing  PP student voice  Achievement and attendance analysis  Parent views  SLT, staff and governor views 32

Deciding your desired outcomes 33 Desired outcomesSuccess criteria Improving FSM attainment Reducing gaps Improving attendance Accelerating progress Reducing exclusions Improving behaviour Improving engagement of families Developing skills and personal qualities Extending opportunities Improving transition Good destination data

Choosing your school strategies  Ask your team: What strategies will produce these desired outcomes and help you to achieve your success criteria?  “Individual need, classroom rigour”  Use evidence of what works  Train staff in depth on chosen strategies 34

Evaluating your school strategies  External review and school self-review are both important  Evaluate impact of strategies   Find a pupil premium reviewer   Compare your school’s PP performance with like schools schools/ schools/ 35

Audit trail on the school website Plus case studies of impact on (anon) individual pupils 36 How good is the audit trail in your school? Person responsible CostEvaluationImpact Improve feedback 1:1 tuition Attendance officer Peer tutoring etc

The evidence  Seek out excellent practice in other school: PP Awards and school websites  Use the Education Endowment Foundation toolkit  Use the NFER report on success and good practice  Use conclusions from Ofsted surveys schools-are-spending-funding-successfully-maximise- achievement schools-are-spending-funding-successfully-maximise- achievement 37

EEF Toolkit Strategies 1.Arts participation 2.Aspiration interventions 3.Behaviour interventions 4.Block scheduling 5.Collaborative learning 6.Digital technology 7.Early years intervention 8.Extending school time 9.Feedback 10.Homework (Primary) 11.Homework (Secondary) 12.Individualised instruction 13.Learning styles 14.Mastery learning 15.Mentoring 16.Meta-cognition and self-regulation 17.One to one tuition 18.Oral language interventions 19.Outdoor adventure learning 20.Parental involvement 21.Peer tutoring 22.Performance pay 23.Phonics 24.Physical environment 25.Reading comprehension strategies 26.Reducing class size 27.Repeating a year 28.School uniform 29.Setting or streaming 30.Small group tuition 31.Social and emotional learning 32.Sports participation 33.Summer schools 34.Teaching assistants

EEF Toolkit Strategies LOW IMPACT HIGH COST HIGH IMPACT HIGH COST LOW IMPACT LOW COST HIGH IMPACT LOW COST 39

Small group tuition Intensive tuition in small groups is very effective, particularly when pupils are grouped according to current level of attainment or specific need. Have you considered how you will organise the groups? How will you assess pupils’ needs accurately and provide work at a challenging level with effective feedback and support? One to one tuition and small group tuition are effective interventions. However, the cost effectiveness of one-to-two and one-to-three indicates that greater use of these approaches would be productive in schools. Have you considered how you will provide training and support for those leading the small group tuition, and how you will evaluate the impact of it? These are likely to increase the effectiveness of small group tuition. Approach Average impact Cost Evidence estimate Summary Small group tuition 4 months£££ High impact for moderate cost

Using teaching assistants effectively  The DISS project: Deployment and Impact of Support Staff  ching_assistants_report_web.pdf?region=uk ching_assistants_report_web.pdf?region=uk  EEF report on Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants dance_Report_Interactive.pdf (March 2015) dance_Report_Interactive.pdf  Key questions in your school:  How well are your teaching assistants doing?  How do you know how effective they are? 41

Building blocks of success with PP School culture An ethos of attainment for all pupils An unerring focus on high quality teaching High aspirations and expectations 100 per cent buy-in from all staff Evidence (especially the EEF Toolkit) is used to decide on which strategies are likely to be most effective in overcoming the barriers to learning of disadvantaged pupils. Particular consideration is given to high-impact, low-cost strategies. Able to demonstrate positive impact of all strategies In-depth training for all staff on chosen strategies Every effort is made to engage parents/ carers in the education and progress of their child 42

Building blocks of success with PP Individual support Identification of the main barriers to learning for disadvantaged pupils Individualised approach to addressing barriers to learning and emotional support Focus on outcomes for all individual pupils Frequent monitoring of the progress of every disadvantaged pupil When a pupil’s progress slows, interventions are put in place rapidly Teachers know which pupils are eligible for pupil premium The needs are recognised of disadvantaged children in specific groups, e.g. high ability pupils, looked-after children 43

Building blocks of success with PP School organisation Deployment of the best staff to support disadvantaged pupils Excellent collection, analysis and use of data relating to individual pupils and groups Performance management is used to reinforce the importance of this agenda Effectiveness of teaching assistants is improved through training and better deployment Governors are trained on pupil premium Pupil premium funding is ring-fenced to spend on the target group Effectiveness of interventions is evaluated frequently and adjustments made as necessary A senior leader has oversight of PP 44

The moral purpose “ Our data shows that it doesn’t matter if you go to a school in Britain, Finland or Japan, students from a privileged background tend to do well everywhere. What really distinguishes education systems is their capacity to deploy resources where they can make the biggest difference. “Your effect as a teacher is a lot bigger for a student who doesn’t have a privileged background than for a student who has lots of educational resources” Andreas Schleicher, Times Educational Supplement,

The 4Hs of school leadership Humility Humanity Hope Humour 46

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