Transforming lives through learning

Curriculum for Excellence Primary School Leadership Conference Keynote presentation Graeme Logan September / October 2014

Transforming lives through learning evidence of impact of Curriculum for Excellence Between September 2013 and June 2014, in almost all schools inspected (91%), one or more aspect of children’s/young people’s positive attributes (e.g. confidence, ambition, motivation) and/or learning experiences are reported as a key strength.

Transforming lives through learning primary school inspection findings key strengths  126 schools: positive attributes of children  81 schools: the impact of the leadership of the headteacher  60 schools: teamwork and commitment of staff to ensure positive experiences/improvements for children  44 schools: aspects of support and care  42 schools: impact of partnerships with parents  41 schools: impact of partnerships with the community, including local businesses  27 schools: children’s learning experiences  18 schools: children’s attainment in literacy and English  15 schools: outdoor learning

Transforming lives through learning primary school inspection findings areas for improvement  93 schools: continue to develop the curriculum  65 schools: need more effective systems for improvement through self-evaluation  51 schools: improve approaches to meeting the learning needs of all children  49 schools: improve approaches to tracking and monitoring children’s progress to ensure they attain as highly as possible  38 schools: improve children’s learning experiences, including opportunities for responsibility and leadership  31 schools: raise attainment (numeracy/mathematics with the most specific mentions)  8 schools: improve partnerships with parents

Transforming lives through learning primary school inspection findings Sept 2013-June 2014 unsatis. weak satis.good vg exc inspections carried out

Transforming lives through learning Inspection Advice Note  year of ‘consolidation’ in terms of expectations  reducing bureaucracy  clear strategy for assessment  planning progression  skills for learning, life and work

Transforming lives through learning

continuing to implement Curriculum for Excellence  pathways not tramlines  informed personalisation and choice  a broad general education for all  reduction in assessment  building on the success of this year’s national qualification results

Transforming lives through learning

In Curriculum for Excellence, learners make progress by:  continually building on their prior learning;  accessing enriching, stimulating, relevant and appropriately challenging learning experiences and;  having opportunities for applying, consolidating and reinforcing learning. Learning is usually not linear and learners may progress along different routes and pathways through the Experiences and Outcomes. Expectations and milestones are important.

Transforming lives through learning ‘Mountains of bumph are no substitute for clarity.’

Transforming lives through learning tracking and monitoring Your analysis and intervention to help every child make the best possible progress, based on a range of assessment evidence.

Transforming lives through learning your school assessment strategy  purpose and principles of assessment  links between learning, teaching and assessment  place of formative assessment  range of assessment methods  place of summative or standardised methods  arrangements for moderation  arrangements for tracking and improving children’s progress  reporting, recognising achievement, profiling

Transforming lives through learning The leader of the school is also the narrator of the school.

Transforming lives through learning ‘Many organisations are over-communicating and under-conversing.’ Richard Reeve

Transforming lives through learning professional dialogue  criticality  challenging, questioning, debating  identify, conceptualise and define  best practice or best problems?  apply your skills in enquiry to professional dialogue in your school and cluster

Transforming lives through learning classroom interventions which seem to have most impact… accessing prior knowledge and utilising prediction authentic engagement reinforcing and modelling high expectations differentiated challenge enquiry and high quality questioning finding excellent solutions or products metacognition land-marking progress against agreed outcomes purposeful assessment and feedback rehearsal, consolidation and transfer Alistair Smith 2014

Transforming lives through learning  follows instructions  must get it right  wants the answer  follows the teacher’s logic and tries to get it right  follows teacher’s pace  answers teacher’s questions  grouped by the teacher  rewarded upon completion  is given a mark, level or grade  assessed by the teacher  focus is on becoming a better performer  concerned with status and pecking order  makes decisions  must have a go  wants the method  learns incrementally and by trial and error  controls own pace  answers own questions  elects who to learn with  rewarded by effort  interprets own mark, level or grade  assessed by teacher/self/peers  focus is on becoming a better learner  concerned with progress and capacity to improve independentdependent

Transforming lives through learning Local Shop Learning ‘If you were running a supermarket instead of a school and saw that 30 out of 100 customers each day left your shop without buying anything, you would think about changing your inventory. But that does not happen easily in schools because of deeply rooted, even if scientifically unsupported, beliefs that learning can only occur in a particular way.’ Lord Knight of Weymouth, quoted Education Britain: The Journey to Education Reform, Education Foundation 2011

Transforming lives through learning strong self-evaluation is often…  precise and focused  forensic in the analysis of children’s progress  practice-based rather than just paper-based  able to generate specific strengths and areas for improvement, for example in relation to active learning Prioritises time and energy on learners’ experiences and outcomes. Ensures low internal variability in core areas.

Transforming lives through learning Additional in-service day (primary)  Film clips of headteachers describing their journeys in developing the curriculum relative to their own context available on the Education Scotland website.  The assessing progress and achievement professional learning resource assessment, including tracking and monitoring.  Evaluating and Improving the Primary Curriculum toolkit.  Resources to support the implementation of 1+2 languages model: resources for P1-P7  SSLN Professional Learning Resource on numeracy published recently and the national numeracy framework will to be published in the autumn.  Annotated exemplars of assessing progress through the various levels for each curriculum area have now been published on Glow.

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Transforming lives through learning major deliverables 14/15  HGIOS 4  Opening Up Great Learning series  refresh of Glow  more examples of planning progression  new range of e-bulletins, including monthly digest for headteachers

Transforming lives through learning your primary curriculum  rationale: clear, compelling story of how you have designed the curriculum; vision; purpose  programmes and courses: best possible progression for all children across all curriculum areas  transitions: designed to ensure continuity in learning  four contexts for learning/totality of the curriculum helps all children to achieve as well as they can

Transforming lives through learning The vision Learners in Scotland will progress in one of the most effective education systems in the world, renowned for the ability of national and local partners to work flexibly together to achieve high quality and equitable outcomes for all

Transforming lives through learning

 educational outcomes for all learners are improving  inequity in educational outcomes is eradicated  public confidence in education is high Keep the focus on outcomes for learners!

Transforming lives through learning Never forget the important of what you say and do as headteacher! Control (is s/he in charge?) Clarity (is s/he sure of her ground?) Coherence (can I align my aspirations with his/hers?) Concern (does s/he understand the challenges I face?) Consistency (will s/he adopt the behaviours she espouses?)