Recently Appointed Heads of English & Mathematics Literacy and Numeracy Coordinators February/March 2012

Aim of the day To consider the role of the Head of Department/Coordinator in raising standards in English/Literacy and Mathematics/Numeracy.

Objectives Participants will have opportunities to consider: the evolving role of the Head of Department/Coordinator; and effective strategies for planning, monitoring and evaluation. 3

Programme 09:30Introduction Setting the Scene Roles & Responsibilities 10:30 Coffee 11:00 School Improvement Cycle »Policy »Effective Use of Data »Auditing »Action planning 13:00 Lunch 13:45Monitoring and Evaluating Plenary and Evaluation

Key Documents Every School a Good School (ESaGS) Count Read: Succeed (CRS) Chief Inspector’s Report Together Towards Improvement (TTI) Better English Better Mathematics Series

ESaGS – Key Priorities Raising the educational standards for all Closing the attainment gap between the highest and lowest achievers school-a-good-school-a-policy-for-school-improvement.htmhttp:// school-a-good-school-a-policy-for-school-improvement.htm

Count, Read: Succeed A Strategy to Improve Outcomes in Literacy and Numeracy (Department of Education, 2011) schools_impvt_prog_pg/schools_- _school_improvement_programme-03-count- read-succeed-a-strategy-for-improving- outcomes-in-literacy-and-numeracy.htm

Overview of Count, Read: Succeed High level strategy Sets targets and milestones Contains an Action Plan Includes the Levels of progression Sets expectation every child progresses a Level over the course of a Key Stage. Sets out roles for: –school leaders –teachers –education bodies Defines literacy, numeracy and underachievement

Overview of Count, Read: Succeed Aligns 6 strands: 1.Curriculum 2.Assessment 3.Role of teachers 4.Early intervention 5.Schools’ links with parents & communities 6.Sharing best practice

Targets for 2020 Key Stage 2 – 90%+ Key Stage 3 – 85%+ 5+ GCSE A*-C inc English and maths – 70%+ overall; 65% for FSME 5+ GCSE A*-C inc Gaeilge, English and maths (pupils in IM) – 70%+

Chief Inspector’s Report In almost one half of the schools inspected the use of self-evaluation to effect improvement was identified as an area for improvement… These schools need to develop further the use of quantitative assessment evidence to enable principals, teachers and coordinators to monitor progress, to evaluate their own effectiveness and to raise standards in learning. documents-non-phase-related/the-chief-inspectors-report/chief- inspectors-report htm

Together Towards Improvement The purpose of self-evaluation is to: promote school effectiveness; improve the quality of learning and teaching; improve the experiences of the pupils; and raise the standards which the pupils attain.

Better English/Mathematics evaluations-post-primary/surveys-evaluations-post-primary- 2011/better-english.htm evaluations-post-primary/surveys-evaluations-post-primary- 2010/follow-up-to-better-mathematics.htm

Role of the Curriculum Leader What do you think the role of the Curriculum Leader entails? –Think: What do you think are the key priorities for you as a new Head of Department/Coordinator –Pair: Discuss priorities with your partner –Share with the whole group

Roles and Responsibilities Workshop Discuss the given statements and place them in the appropriate column of the recording sheet: –Responsibility of the Head of Department –Responsibility of the Coordinator –Not sure –Not our responsibility

CRS: School Leaders Other school staff with leadership roles must ensure a focus on literacy and numeracy in their area of responsibility, in line with the whole-school approach. They must hold their staff to account, and be accountable, for their contribution to developing and promoting literacy and numeracy. They must ensure that all staff have high expectations for pupils. School leaders should also embed a culture where monitoring and analysing pupil progress data is an integral part of their accountability processes. School leaders should ensure that there is an integration of special needs provision, with a particular focus on literacy and numeracy, at individual pupil level, class level and whole-school level.

CRS: Teachers At the centre of the strategy Address underachievement as soon as it emerges Continue to address underachievement with support from other staff in the school Continue to address underachievement with support from outside the school Meet the needs of pupils after a non-statutory assessment through the SEN framework

CRS: Teachers ‘To identify underachievement teachers will draw on their professional judgement and the data they consider relevant………It is expected that teachers will mainly use existing assessment information already routinely collected or generated by the teacher or school.’

CRS: Central Role of Teachers ‘5 Things’ High quality teaching of all pupils Emerging underachievement Continuing underachievement (within school) Continuing underachievement (with external help) After non-statutory assessment

Heads of English, Irish & maths Given time and authority to: –Lead on identifying most effective pedagogy –Lead planning for literacy and numeracy involving teachers across the school –Promote sharing of best practice –Set targets and assess outcomes in literacy and numeracy –Supported by feedback from other departments as appropriate

Heads of English, Irish & maths Expect pupils to normally get A* - C in GCSE English and maths, and for Irish-medium, Gaeilge

Literacy & Numeracy Policy Context Definitions What does a policy do? Child Centred Provision High Quality Teaching & Learning Effective Leadership Connected to Local Community Monitoring & Evaluation of Policy

Policy Workshop Read the Guidance Document on the Development of a Literacy and Numeracy Policy Compare your current policy with the handout Use the worksheet to record strengths, areas for improvement, next steps and any additional comments.

DE Targets DE Milestone Targets and PSA Targets Annual School targets for DE - based on a range of evidence - based on current cohorts of pupils - current levels of progression Action Plans support achievement of school’s DE targets

EVIDENCE BASE AUDIT UNDERSTANDING IN DETAIL WHAT IS GOING ON SET TARGETS QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE EVALUATE OUTCOMES AND IMPACT MONITOR PROGRESS MAKE CHANGES ACTION PLAN School Improvement Planning Cycle

Audit: Effective Use of Data

What can data be used for ? Data can provide information to help evaluate performance at: Whole School Level Class/Year Group Level Individual Pupil Level

Whole School Level Use End of Key Stage English/Communication and Mathematics/Using Maths outcomes to review progress annually (KS3 and 4) Identify trends Use benchmarking data to compare outcomes with other similar schools (%FSM) Identify areas for improvement as result of initial analysis of whole school data.

Year Group/Class Level Track progress of each cohort (annually) as they move through school Levels of Progression Standardised scores Identify areas for improvement –Analyse data from standardised tests Use this information to set targets for each cohort on a yearly basis

Individual Pupil Level Track progress of individual pupils (annually) as they move through the school –Standardised scores –Levels of Progression Identify pupils at risk of underachievement Identify areas for improvement –Use information from standardised tests Use information from formative assessment Use this information to set appropriate targets for individual pupils

Under Achievement Underachievement is used to describe a situation where performance is below what is expected based on ability. It can apply at the level of an individual pupil or describe a class or school, or indeed a system. Low Achievement Low achievement is different from underachievement. Low achievement is where a pupil is achieving to the full extent of her or his ability, but is well below average compared to her or his peers.

AUDIT

Audit Process Why? Who? What? How? When?

WELB English – Literacy Audits UNDERSTANDING IN DETAIL WHAT IS GOING ON Auditing English at KS 3/4/5 Auditing Literacy Across the Curriculum Better English Audit

WELB Mathematics-Numeracy Audit UNDERSTANDING IN DETAIL WHAT IS GOING ON Planning Teaching and learning Assessment Leadership and Management

Exemplar Numeracy Audits 1.Better Maths - Self-Evaluation Audit 2.Better Maths – The Quality of Monitoring and Evaluation 3.Audit based on Characteristics that Determine Effective Provision for Literacy & Numeracy 4.WELB Audit of Mathematics-Numeracy 5.Audit to Determine Areas for Improvement in Year 8 Mathematics

Audit Based on ETI Survey

Action Planning

Identify the focus for the plan Establish the baseline Set the targets Identify the success criteria Agree the approaches Identify specific strategies for monitoring and evaluating Agree the timescale Cost the plan

Action Planning Workshop A.50% of pupils will achieve Grade A* - C in GCSE English/Mathematics (an increase of 3.6% on the previous year) B.All teachers of English/Mathematics will use effective questioning to enhance pupil learning. C.By June 2012 a whole school Literacy/Numeracy policy will be agreed and implemented. D.In September 2012, an English/Mathematics support programme will be offered to parents of pupils in Year 11.

Action Planning Workshop In your group discuss the given ‘targets’. Amend the target if you think it is necessary to do so; and Agree on success criteria and approaches to support these targets

Planning in Action Review your own school action plan and consider the following: –Are all of the targets SMART? –Are there too many/few targets on the plan? –Have you identified appropriate success criteria? –Do your approaches support the development of your target?

Monitoring and Evaluation

MONITORING is the activity that is undertaken routinely to keep a check on progress and to check that what is supposed to be happening is happening in the way that was planned. EVALUATING Is the process of looking at the data gathered through the process of monitoring and making judgements about that data.

Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop In groups discuss the monitoring and evaluation strategies and place the cards in a Diamond 9 arrangement. Note: you need to take into consideration issues such as: The effectiveness of the strategy The readiness of staff to implement/participate in the strategy The targets in your action plan.

Contact Details Yvonne Mathers Mary Quinn Maggi Clifford