school self-evaluation and improvement toolkit Developing a national school self-evaluation and improvement toolkit An update for inspectors

Developing a national school self-evaluation and improvement toolkit estyn.llyw.cyru estyn.gov.wales Developing a national school self-evaluation and improvement toolkit Outline of this session: Context for this project Structure of this project Key messages Emerging findings, definitions and principles Implications for inspection work Thematic focus summer term Way forward

Structure of the project Steering group Working group Stakeholder group

Provisional timeline & activity to date Summer 2018 Steering group set out strategic course for the project Establish working and stakeholder groups Ongoing consultation Additional thematic focus Purpose, principles and definition Begin to shape the toolkit Autumn/Spring 2018-2019 – trying out and further consultation 2019-2020 – training and roll out

Progress so far

The working group The working group met for the first time on May 17th 2018. The following slides summarise the views in relation to: the strengths and areas for improvement within school improvement processes the roles of external agencies in supporting school improvement

Things to stop doing Working for an external audience Focussing on the quality of paperwork Making self-evaluation an event (rather than an ongoing process) Focussing on a narrow range of data Measuring everything and trying to measure the unmeasurable Analysing all aspects of a school’s work at all times Separating self-evaluation from other school improvement processes Making self-evaluation the domain of senior leaders only Rushing activities and making ‘snap’ judgements Judging everything Making things appear better than they are Feeling inferior as a part of the peer review process

Things to start doing Change the culture around school improvement Evaluate for your school and your learners Be frank, open and honest Allow time for processes Attach importance to wider measures to reflect learners’ progress and the school’s journey over time Improve continuity between schools Develop a robust and constructive regime of peer review

The role of external agencies All external agencies should: Communicate effectively Improve collaboration to support a national culture of improvement Provide consistent messages Have consistent expectations Provide clarity regarding strategic direction and initiatives Provide clarity regarding accountability measures and their use Contribute to re-branding school improvement processes

Produce an overarching purpose for the development of effective school improvement processes: To ensure that pupil opportunities and outcomes - in line with the 4 purposes - are at the heart of all processes To secure consistency and alignment with all other layers of educational reform (e.g. National Mission, SLO, inspection, LA/RC support) and develop a shared understanding and common language To develop processes that are sustainable and manageable To establish a culture of openness, honesty and reflection, where processes are for support and improvement rather than to label or condemn To measure what we value rather than just valuing what we can measure To enable all schools to build capacity and share good practice within and between schools

Create a definition for effective school improvement processes The involvement of the whole school community in gaining a thorough understanding and knowledge of the school in order to maximise the learning journey for all. A series of continuous activities used to reflect fairly and accurately on existing provision and performance in order to identify next steps for improvement and secure the best life chances for learners in Wales. A constructive and inclusive process of listening that ensures a shared understanding of where a school is, in order to prioritise actions that have a positive effect on the progress and wellbeing of each child. Powerful, honest, manageable processes based on the views of all stakeholders that has learner experience at its heart and enables a school to know what needs to be done to improve and what support is available.

Focused on achieving the best for all pupils Create a set of principles to guide our work in creating a national toolkit for effective school improvement processes Focused on achieving the best for all pupils Aligned with the work of all other institutions/initiatives Flexibility and responsiveness to school context Clearly linked to professional learning An ongoing process and not a ‘snapshot’ Sustainability and manageability Transparency and honesty Useful and worthwhile Bilingual approach throughout The process should be created by those who use it.

Implications for inspection NIA mindset and principles Stakeholder engagement Modelling effective evaluation Focus on processes Documentation

Report writing Processes not paper Impact of processes on improving leadership, provision standards and wellbeing

The self-evaluation report, which was prepared before the inspection, provides a clear judgement on standards, wellbeing and attitudes towards learning. The school’s self-evaluation report provides an open and honest evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. The self-evaluation document provides an honest picture of the school’s current situation, although it is too descriptive at times. However, school priorities do not have specific enough timescales and responsibilities for actions and funding arrangements are not clear. This limits their potential impact. Lesson observation records do not give a clear enough indication of the impact that teaching makes on pupils’ progress. Records of work scrutiny focus too much on compliance with the school assessment policy and do not provide enough detail about the standards of pupils’ work.

Self-evaluation processes are developing well Self-evaluation processes are developing well. The analysis of information about pupils’ performance is rigorous. Leaders make good use of this information to identify important whole-school improvement priorities and to keep progress against these priorities under review. Self-evaluation processes draw on a good range of first-hand evidence, such as observations of lessons and the scrutiny of pupils’ books. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. Middle leaders often check whether other staff comply with recent initiatives, but they do not evaluate enough the difference that these strategies make to pupils’ progress. Improvement planning arrangements are effective. Leaders implement improvement initiatives and manage change successfully. For example, effective staff training and the sensible re-organisation of arrangements for grouping pupils have led to improved progress in developing pupils’ reading and writing skills.

The challenge of opportunity