Primary Principals Conference September 2009

Aims of the day To raise awareness of current developments in education in Northern Ireland To consider the implications of the policy document Every School A Good School To provide an overview of the key messages for the Northern Ireland curriculum Professional Development programme 2009

Programme 9.30 Welcome and introduction 9.45 Information update Coffee Every School A Good School workshops Lunch 1.30 Overview of Year.3/4 & Year 7 training 3.00 Plenary

DE Vision ‘To ensure that every learner fulfils his or her potential at every stage of their development.’

Policy Framework Northern Ireland Curriculum. ESaGS. Literacy and Numeracy. SEN and Inclusion. Early Years.

Challenge underperformance wherever it exists. Every School a Good School A Policy for School Improvement

Why Improve Outcomes? We have many examples of excellent performance in our schools, however…… Significant differences in performance: -Differences across and within sectors. -Often in similar areas/circumstances; and International comparisons: -PISA studies show a downward trend. -NI has among the widest variations in performance in pupils in maths, reading and science.

Until January 2010 …… each Board, working with CCMS, CnaG or NICIE where appropriate, will be expected to monitor the performance of schools in its area and provide support to schools to ensure a sustained focus on improvement. Boards will also be expected to challenge and intervene where deemed necessary to ensure that pupils receive a high quality education. Every School a Good School A Policy for School Improvement

The publication of Every School a Good School represents a sharpening of our collective focus on raising standards and, particularly, on closing the achievement gap that has existed too long and it will therefore require, from all of us, a strengthened and consistent approach. Letter Issued by DE to Chief Executives of ELBs 1st June 2009

It also makes clear the Minister’s expectation that Education and Library Boards will take on the role outlined in the policy and ensure that arrangements are in place to monitor the performance of schools in their area and provide support to ensure a sustained focus on improvement

What Works: research findings at pupil, school and system Level Pupil: Monitor performance; early identification of underachievement; targeted interventions. School Level: Track progress; identify gaps; monitor and evaluate. System Level: Empirical evidence of system performance; compare performance between schools; evaluate strategy effectiveness.

Robust self-evaluation development planning, target setting and benchmarking, leading to sustained self-improvement. Every School a Good School A Policy for School Improvement

A tried and tested process Identify the underachieving children. Set the targets for these children. Find out about the barriers to their learning. Agree on the interventions. Agree on what progress will look like.

A tried and tested process: cont’d Agree on how evidence of progress will be collected. Give time for professional dialogue. Articulate the learning for: -the individual -the team -the organisation

The most effective schools diagnose early and accurately the children’s difficulties in learning and put in place appropriate remediation measures, tracking their progress effectively against their ability. The Chief Inspector’s Report

In the most effective practice, the performance data helps to inform key decisions regarding whole-school and individual target-setting, and the monitoring of individual pupil and whole- school progress over time. In the majority of cases, it is not used effectively to inform the work of the school. The Chief Inspector’s Report

The Issues: Pre-School In almost one-quarter of nursery units and voluntary/private centres, the promotion of language and communication and the quality of the mathematical experiences have been identified as areas for improvement. In the less effective settings, there is insufficient emphasis on the use of books, the reading of stories or on the children’s early marking.

There remains too significant a variation in the standards of literacy and numeracy attained by children across primary schools. The issue is one of progression in learning across the key stages; while the children often attain standards in keeping with expectations at the end of KS1, they do not make adequate progress through KS2 to maintain those standards. Improvements are needed in the evaluation of what the children have learnt by the end of a lesson or a sequence of lessons. The Issues: Primary

Workshop Consider the implications for your school

COFFEE BREAK

Every School A Good School Child-centred provision High quality teaching and learning Effective leadership A school connected to its local community

Workshop In your group consider the following: -The Current practice -Areas for improvement -Implications for your school

Benchmarking Since 1998 DENI has provided schools with data to assist them in the process of benchmarking their own performance, allowing schools to set targets based on this information. primary_benchmarking_data_2006_07_annexes_to_circular_2008_13_english.pdf Microsoft Word - KSA 0001 to 0506 NI and Boards.pdf Microsoft Word - KSA NI and Boards by gender.pdf

Benchmarking The purpose of benchmarking is to allow schools to review their recent performance in context of similar schools: Who have similar proportions of pupils entitled to Free School Meals Who have similar enrolment sizes

Bottom 50% of schools Top 50% of schools Bottom 25% of schools Top 25% of schools Mid-Point Lower Quartile Median Upper Quartile 95 th Percentile Top 5% of schools The diagram illustrates the benchmarks for schools of similar groups (FMS and enrolment). LQ – the actual results of the school that was quarter of the way up. 75% of schools achieved or bettered schools in the group. The following 25% are below median, the next 25% are above median and the top 25% of schools are in the upper quartile. The top 5% of schools fall into the 95th percentile for that particular group of schools.

Target Setting Process To be completed and returned to WELB by 31 October 2009 Name of school: Principal: Chair of Board of Governors In accordance with the current legislation schools are required to set targets under the following headings: Targets set Outcomes Achieved Targets Set Outcomes Achieved Targets Set Outcomes Achieved Targets set 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 % of pupils achieving Level 2 (or above) of the Northern Ireland Curriculum in English and Mathematics (in the case of an Irish speaking school, in Irish and Mathematics) and the end of Key Stage 1 % of pupils achieving Level 3 (or above) of the Northern Ireland Curriculum, in English and Mathematics (in the case of an Irish speaking school, in Irish and Mathematics) at the end of Key Stage 1 % of pupils achieving Level 4 (or above) of the Northern Ireland Curriculum, in English and Mathematics (in the case of an Irish speaking school. In Irish, English and Mathematics) at the end of Key Stage 2 % of pupils achieving Level 5 (or above) of the Northern Ireland Curriculum, in English and mathematics (in the case of an Irish speaking school, in Irish, English and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 2

Policy Priorities Supporting Effective Leadership and an ethos of aspiration Supporting and facilitating high quality teaching and learning Maintaining a particular focus on tackling the barriers to learning that many young people face

Policy Priorities (Cont) Embedding a culture of self-evaluation and self- assessment and using performance and other information to effect improvement Focusing clearly on support to help schools improve and on the place of more formal interventions Increasing engagement between schools and the parents, families and communities they serve

Workshop 2 In your group consider one of the policy priorities as set out on pages 18 to 33 identify the key messages

LUNCH

P.3/4 Overview Principals Day P.3 4 Overview.ppt

P.7 Overview