Aims of presentation: To explore the nature of school variation To examine the 5 key drivers for reducing ISV To consider how the use of knowledge tools can increase school effectiveness In-School Variation and how to reduce it

‘In-School Variation is the variation in provision as experienced by different groups of learners.’ What is In-School Variation? ISV is the elephant in the room at every CPD meeting. We all know that there is unequal provision within every school but we are not sure how to approach the subject

An enduring school performance issue for many schools, particularly at Key Stage 4 Significantly attributable to variation in teacher competence Not specifically being addressed by schools in their school improvement work Requires well-developed data systems to provide measures and show improvement Hard for schools to tackle, even with funding and support The findings of the National College project on ISV ISV is: The National College project on ISV confirmed the scale of the problem

Why is WSV difficult to tackle? Question As teachers, we are not comfortable talking about the work of a fellow professional

Investigating the impact of teaching “Projects which look at differences in the impact of teaching require a climate of openness, trust and collegiality.” - NCSL WSV project report Schools could set a climate for looking at differences in teaching impact as an opportunity to learn from the best

Learning It is teaching quality, learner disposition and context which influence the effectiveness of learning Context What are the systemic influences of ISV? Teaching School senior leaders don’t improve achievement. They set the climate where teachers can be successful. The most important influence is the teacher - but the context in which they teach is often of equal importance

Two sides to the same coin Find out how good every teacher is at teaching Enable teachers to investigate the impact of their teaching (Top Down) (Bottom Up) Schools which encourage an action research approach to school improvement are more likely to succeed

Data analysis is not just something done by the few and passed down to the many – but should involve all teachers finding out about the impact of their teaching on different groups of learners. Top Down or Bottom Up? Having one person ‘doing the data’ is about as sensible as a hospital registrar hoarding all the X rays

“The exploration of ISV and learning from within can potentially foster an environment where analysis, innovation and sharing result in higher levels of professional satisfaction and student achievement.” ‘Learning from Within’ Tackling ISV means supporting effective teaching. Everyone benefits.

‘There are five key areas where action taken to reduce ISV is likely to be most effective: The collection and use of data Listening and responding to student voice The quality of teaching and learning Standardised systems and procedures The role and effectiveness of middle leadership ‘Learning from Within’ There is a great Teachers TV video on this subject at:

1. How suitable is ISV as a focus for raising school standards? 2. Is there a member of your SLT with a specific role for standards? How developed is this role? 3. To what extent do subject leaders exercise a QA role for their subject? Should they? Questions For schools to demonstrate outstanding leadership there must be evidence of how leaders at all levels are improving the consistency of teaching

“Schools that are proactive in showing inspectors the evidence of their own pupil-level analysis and research tend to do better in their inspection.” - Dr. Mike Treadaway, Fischer Family Trust, Naace ‘Making Information Work’ Conference Don’t lie back and be inspected. Schools are sitting on the best evidence of their performance. Use it.

1. How well-developed are the diagnostic data tools that teachers should be using? 2. What are the common obstacles to making smarter use of performance data? Some questions Schools have a fair bit of catching up to do if they are to use data as well as they do in other walks of life.

What are the professional tools of the teacher’s trade? Where are the equivalent tools to a doctor’s stethoscope and blood pressure monitor? In the future, teaching is likely to become a more diagnostic profession - because knowledge tools are becoming available

Tomorrow, schools will be Knowledge-Driven rather than Data-Driven

Schools will establish systems that will: Provide measures for the relative impact of teaching Analyse the relative performance of all student sub-groups Research the relationship between teaching and learning Track the effectiveness of interventions in relation to student outcomes Generate impact data to inform performance management Allow the school to take control of the process of inspection Demonstrate school effectiveness where success is harder to achieve How will we use data in the future? e.g. tomorrow It is time to exchange our stone-age tracking systems with professional approaches to quality assurance

Questions 1. What evidence can schools use to show that their investment in using data is making an impact on the work of the school? 2. The new focus for inspections is ‘The Importance of Teaching’ How will schools demonstrate that teaching is consistently good? 3. Is the ability to tackle ISV an indicator of Outstanding Leadership?