School Planning In Ireland: Progress, Practice & Prognosis NSPI Conference, April 2007 School Development Planning Initiative

Brief from NSPI Review progress made in school planning in Ireland over the past 10 years Comment on present situation Give a perspective on the challenges and opportunities ahead Progress Practice Prognosis

Abstract This presentation will aim to: Outline major developments in school planning in Ireland over the past 10 years Explore key aspects of current practice with a view to identifying strengths and areas for improvement Offer a perspective on the challenges and opportunities that will shape the context for school planning in the future

1997 Baseline 1997: Pre-1998! Before the ARCs… Education Act 1998 Education (Welfare) Act 2000 Teaching Council Act 2001 Equal Status Acts 2000 and 2004 Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 Various Regulations and Circulars relevant to school planning Et cetera…

1997 Baseline WSE Pilot, Subject Inspection, reintroduced Sept WSE Mainstreamed, 2003/04 Publication of School Inspection Reports, 2006 Looking at our School, 2003 Guide to Subject Inspection, 2004 Guide to Whole School Evaluation, 2006 Publication of School Inspection Reports, : Before …

1997 Context The Ireland of 1997 shaped the context for school planning in What was Ireland like in 1997? Reflect on the ■ Cultural ■ Economic ■ Political ■ Social…. What is Ireland like in 2007? How have the changes impacted on schools? What are the implications for school planning? What changes are on the horizon?

SDP in 1997 Not a statutory requirement….yet. But school planning—a ‘hot topic’ since early 1990s and before that: 1971 Primary Curriculum advocated whole- school planning 1992 Green Paper mooted a statutory requirement for a school plan SDP was being worked on by education consultants, university education departments, Teachers’ Centres, Trustees, VECs, pilot projects, pioneering schools… A number of publications had appeared

Adopting Change 2.5%Innovators 13.5%Early Adopters 34%Early Majority 34%Late Majority 16%Laggards [Everett M. Rogers (1995) Diffusion of Innovations. The Free Press: New York.]

Development since 1997 SDP is now part of the main stream The majority of us can now “talk the talk” How well have we been “walking the walk”?

Key Aspects of SDP ‘Talk’

SDP Process

Review Mission Evaluate Vision Design Aims Implement School Improvement

Single-loop Improvement: What should be done is well known Goals and purposes are non-problematic; what counts are results Improvement = increasing efficiency and reliability Improvement = conformity in achieving predetermined objectives and standards Focus of improvement—remedial

School Improvement Double-loop Improvement: Ends and means of educating young people are changing Improvement=responding appropriately to these changes, changing the nature of the service to meet new needs Improvement=becoming more adaptable and flexible to meet changing needs Focus of improvement—developmental

PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENT of the LEARNER Resources The Timetable Guidance, pastoral care, behaviour & discipline Decision making processes Staffing & their organisation into groups & teams Staff development Premises & school environment Partnerships with the community Curriculum & assessment/ organisational policies Schemes of work TEACHING LEARNING Adapted from Hopkins & MacGilchrist 1998 By SDPS

The School Plan: Two Parts Part 1: Relatively Permanent Features School’s mission, vision, aims School profile School policies, curricular & non-curricular School practices re review & evaluation Part 2: Development Section Factors governing development needs List of school’s development priorities Set of Action Plans to address priorities

Aspects of SDP ‘Walk’

Trends in SDP Process

Progress SDP under way in most schools Structures in place for planning  SDP Specific - SDP Coordinator, Steering Committee, Task Groups, Policy Formulation/Review Committees…  Pre-existing structures  SDP scheduled in School Calendar  Whole Staff  Working Groups  Subject Departments… Huge variations in the system

Progress evident in current practice Less concentration on the defensive production of policies Needs of students more central Greater emphasis on improving learning and teaching—a planning focus rooted in the day-to-day reality of the classroom Growth in collaborative reflective practice Stronger focus on aligning CPD with the school’s priorities for development Movement towards more systematic use of data at relevant stages in the planning process

Points from Practice  Still a tendency to focus on documentation as an end in itself rather than as a reference point  School Plan often lacks a coherent structure, conveying no sense of where the school is at and where it is going…  Insufficient attention to outcomes as opposed to inputs…  Rigorous school self-review and systematic school self-evaluation not yet well-established  Limited partnership involvement  Particular concern re limited BOM involvement  Doing the thing right vs doing the right thing

Challenge: Achieving Coherence Too many piecemeal projects with superficial implementation create overload, fragmentation, incoherence and confusion To realise the vision, there must be people building capacity and shared commitment, so that the moral imperative becomes a collective endeavour with everyone understanding and aligning with the big picture (Leading in a Culture of Change, Personal Action Guide and Workbook. Michael Fullan, 2003.)

Challenge: Overcoming Fatalism decisions made outside the school “A barrier to school planning is a sense of fatalism among teachers in the face of decisions made outside the school. They see their involvement in planning as having little effect…… Their view of themselves is that of a technician implementing someone else’s agenda.” (David Tuohy)

Priorities selected Year One Start of Cycle End of Cycle Year TwoYear Three Evaluation  next cycle Challenge: Managing Timeframes Ideally, planners should be mindful of 3 timeframes:  Long term  Medium term  Short term DGL, Unit 2; Davies and Ellison

Prognosis …the future is not what it used to be… New models of CPD Teaching Council School improvement—SSE, WSE, SI & TE Towards 2016 NCCA proposals Inclusion Emerging issues… …we see in a glass, darkly…

Prognosis Move towards coherence within ‘big picture’ Streamlining Greater focus on school self-evaluation, using Looking at our School More target-setting More structured post-evaluation follow- through:  Respond to reports in planning mode  Take ownership of planning agenda  Develop a coherent strategy for addressing recommendations within SDP context

LAOS - School Operation 5 AREAS School Management School Planning Curriculum Provision Learning & Teaching in subjects Student support

Prognosis The Learning School

Values the school serves REVIEW Current experience Document Analyse Prioritise Formulate Action Plan Research / INSET / Consult IMPLEMENT Monitor actions & impact EVALUATE outcome impact Adopt / adapt – What next?

Vision without action is merely a dream Action without vision just passes the time Vision with action can change the world