WELB Leadership Conference

By the end of the day participants will have a greater understanding of: –the coherence of the current educational policy context, with particular reference to ESAGS –the Coherent Plan for delivery of current policy –the model of support for schools to meet policy requirements –the DE requirements and guidance relating to Target Setting Participants will have an opportunity to participate in the DE/C2K Effective Use of Data workshop

Current Educational Policy There are 5 DE Priorities: Raising Standards for all Closing the attainment gap Developing the education workforce Improving the learning environment Transforming education administration The embedding of the NI Curriculum and assessment arrangements are central to the achievement of these priorities

DE Policy & Guidance The 5 priorities translate into the following inter-connected policies and guidance: ESAGS: A Policy for School Improvement ESAGS: Revised Literacy/Numeracy Strategy ESAGS SEN Review (consultation) Early Years 0-6 Strategy (consultation) School Development Planning (Revised guidance awaiting publication) Delivering the Entitlement Framework by 2013

What does this mean for schools? Quality Indicators of effective schools: ESAGS Child-centred provision High quality teaching and learning Effective leadership School connected to its local community

NI Programme for Government DEPSA ELBs Resource Allocation Plans Schools Targets in SDP

LONGER TERM TARGETS FOR IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES LEVEL Actual Performance Milestone Target Longer Term Targets KS2 Literacy (% pupils at expected levels) 80.6%80%85% KS2 Maths (% pupils at expected levels) 80.5%82%86% KS3 Literacy (% pupils at expected levels) 77.9%80%85% KS3 Maths (% pupils at expected levels) 75.9%76%85% % pupils achieving 5 good GCSEs A*-C incl English & Maths 46.8%55%70% % FSME pupils achieving 5 good GCSEs A*-C including English & Maths 33.4%30%65%

WELB TARGETS Indicator2009/ / /2012 % Pupils achieving Key Stage 2 Level 4+ English % Pupils achieving Key Stage 2 Level 4+ Maths % Pupils achieving Key Stage 3 Level 5+ English % Pupils achieving Key Stage 3 Level 5+ Maths % Pupils achieving 5+ GCSE A*-C % Pupils achieving 5+ GCSE A*-C including English and Maths % Pupils achieving no GCSEs % Pupils achieving 2+ GCE A-E

The Coherent Plan The Coherent Plan has been drawn up to address the need to: Act on key recommendations from ETI Unify support structures Monitor progress and raise standards Embed the NI Curriculum.

THE COHERENT PLAN The coherent plan will coordinate the delivery of support to all sectors in the following key areas: Implementation of ESAGS: School Improvement Policy Implementation of effective SDP Embedding NI Curriculum and assessment arrangements Implementation of the ESAGS Literacy and Numeracy Strategy Promotion of STEM

Key Elements Differentiated support to schools Monitoring and challenge to schools Showcasing practice between schools and across the system

Effective Practice is described in Every School a Good School Chief Inspector’s Report Together Towards Improvement (August 2010) NI Curriculum Evaluations of Implementation Evaluation of School Development Planning ETI Inspection Reports Survey of the use of School Development Days

New Model of CASS Support Support will be differentiated by sector*, performance outcomes and ETI Reports: All schools Post inspection schools Closing the gap schools Formal Intervention schools *Support will be provided in a sectorally sensitive manner eg IME

All Schools A process of system capacity building based on the identified priorities in ESAGS: Leading for school improvement Support for School Development Planning Teacher Tutor support (induction/EPD) Linking assessment information to school improvement Early Years school improvement capacity building Raising achievement in and the uptake of STEM related subjects Sharing practice identified by ETI

Post Inspection Schools Designated lead officer to consult with the school re the follow-up action plan Support for the development of action plans to address key improvement areas Provision of appropriate CPD Monitoring and evaluation at school level Access to effective practice identified by ETI

Closing the Gap Schools Designated lead officer to coordinate improvement support plan including governance Appropriate support team identified Monitoring and evaluation at WELB level Monitoring and evaluation at school level Access to targeted leadership and management programmes (RTU) Access to effective practice identified by ETI Schools identified as underperforming against benchmarks

Formal Intervention Schools Designated lead officer to coordinate improvement support plan including governance Appropriate support team identified Monitoring and evaluation at WELB level Monitoring and evaluation at school level Access to targeted leadership and management programmes (RTU) Access to effective practice identified by ETI

What does this mean for schools? A process of school improvement planning including: rigorous self evaluation quantitative targets based on individual pupil, class and whole school outcomes baseline information and tracking systems to monitor and measure progress the use of available data and support structures (eSchools Data Warehouse, Assessment Manager, C2K) Resulting in a School Development Plan which meets the statutory requirements and supports the raising of standards.

In groups discuss the implications of you have heard 10 minutes Feedback

Assessment Arrangements to Support the Revised NI Curriculum

Current Position DE has now approved the broad principles of the new statutory assessment arrangements to support the revised NI Curriculum. There will be a system-wide training programme led by CCEA to support the implementation of the assessment arrangements for the cross-curricular skills of Communication, Using Mathematics and Using ICT. This will commence with information events for principals and senior managers in November 2010, which will outline key messages in relation to assessment arrangements and the planned training programme. Schools will shortly receive letters of invitation to these events. (Note: Primary principals will have also received invitations to information seminars in September. These have a specific focus on InCAS.)

Key Messages Work on assessment will be set within the wider policy context, incorporating a clear focus on the place of assessment in raising standards in literacy and numeracy and in supporting wider school improvement. Main focus of training will therefore be on the statutory requirements for assessment and reporting of the cross-curricular skills.

Levels of Progression The incoming Levels of Progression and accompanying guidance will shortly be available on the NI Curriculum website for information only. They can be viewed by schools if they wish to familiarise themselves with the materials prior to the roll-out of teacher training and subsequent operational use.

Legacy Arrangements Until the new levels of progression become operational, the existing end-of-key-stage arrangements for assessment and reporting of pupils’ performance will remain and schools will continue to use the current level descriptions for Language and Literacy (English/Irish) and Mathematics and Numeracy (Mathematics).

School Development Days DE Circular 2010/5 paragraph 5 advises schools to set aside two of their closure days each year for the purpose of assessment training/CPD, the dates to be agreed with CCEA to facilitate school- based/clustered INSET. During school year 2010/11 the only schools who have to set aside two designated closure days for INSET will be schools who have already agreed to participate in the Primary Pilot of the INSET training model. All other schools may wish to set aside two closure days in 2010/11 for their own needs concerning assessment; however, these days will not be facilitated by CCEA.

Every School a Good School School leaders demonstrate a commitment to providing professional development opportunities for staff, particularly teachers, and promote a readiness to share and learn from best practice. Effective Leadership (pg. 16)

Assessment Arrangements to Support the Revised NI Curriculum

Current Position DE has now approved the broad principles of the new statutory assessment arrangements to support the revised NI Curriculum. There will be a system-wide training programme led by CCEA to support the implementation of the assessment arrangements for the cross-curricular skills of Communication, Using Mathematics and Using ICT. This will commence with information events for principals and senior managers in November 2010, which will outline key messages in relation to assessment arrangements and the planned training programme. Schools will shortly receive letters of invitation to these events. (Note: Primary principals will have also received invitations to information seminars in September. These have a specific focus on InCAS.)

Key Messages Work on assessment will be set within the wider policy context, incorporating a clear focus on the place of assessment in raising standards in literacy and numeracy and in supporting wider school improvement. Main focus of training will therefore be on the statutory requirements for assessment and reporting of the cross-curricular skills.

Levels of Progression The incoming Levels of Progression and accompanying guidance will shortly be available on the NI Curriculum website for information only. They can be viewed by schools if they wish to familiarise themselves with the materials prior to the roll-out of teacher training and subsequent operational use.

Legacy Arrangements Until the new levels of progression become operational, the existing end-of-key-stage arrangements for assessment and reporting of pupils’ performance will remain and schools will continue to use the current level descriptions for Language and Literacy (English/Irish) and Mathematics and Numeracy (Mathematics).

School Development Days DE Circular 2010/5 paragraph 5 advises schools to set aside two of their closure days each year for the purpose of assessment training/CPD, the dates to be agreed with CCEA to facilitate school- based/clustered INSET. During school year 2010/11 the only schools who have to set aside two designated closure days for INSET will be schools who have already agreed to participate in the Primary Pilot of the INSET training model. All other schools may wish to set aside two closure days in 2010/11 for their own needs concerning assessment; however, these days will not be facilitated by CCEA.

Every School a Good School School leaders demonstrate a commitment to providing professional development opportunities for staff, particularly teachers, and promote a readiness to share and learn from best practice. Effective Leadership (pg. 16)

Revision of BT/EPD Support ‘Supported autonomy’ entails shift from out- centre training days to support for schools through teacher tutors Support available based on monitoring evidence, not universal training Sub-cover days still provided, but now used for internal capacity building 3 out-centre days, 1 per term, for BT/EPD teachers together with Teacher Tutors