“Building Capacity for School Transformation in the Northern Metropolitan Region” Presentation at the Achievement Improvement Zones Meeting for School Improvement Groups February 2008 Professor David Hopkins HSBC Chair of International Leadership

Moral Purpose of Schooling All these …. whatever my background, whatever my abilities, wherever I start from I know how I am being assessed and what I need to do to improve my work I know what my learning objectives are and feel in control of my learning My parents are involved with the school and I feel I belong here I enjoy using ICT and know how it can help my learning I can get the job that I want I know if I need extra help or to be challenged to do better I will get the right support I know what good work looks like and can help myself to learn I can work well with and learn from many others as well as my teacher I can get a level 4 in English and Maths before I go to secondary school I get to learn lots of interesting and different subjects

The Logic of System Leadership Learning Potential of all Students Repertoire of Learning Skills Models of Learning - Tools for Teaching Embedded in Curriculum Context and Schemes of Work Whole School Emphasis on High Expectations and Pedagogic Consistency Sharing Schemes of Work and Curriculum Across and Between Schools, Clusters, Districts, Regions, States, Nationally and Globally

The Design of the Programme Improving Achievement Assessment for learning Literacy and numeracy Classroom management Pedagogy - effective teaching practice School change agents School leadership Regular training for all staff Intensive training for 75 teachers from each network Peer training

NMR Achievement Improvement Zone Timetable September 2007 – June 2008: Phase One: Establishing the Process July 2008 – December 2008: Phase Two: Going Whole School January 2009 onwards: Phase Three: Sustaining Momentum

A Three Phase Strategy for School Improvement Phase One: Establishing the Process Phase Two: Going Whole School Phase Three: Sustaining Momentum

Phase One: Establishing the Process Commitment to the School Improvement Approach Selection of Learning Leaders and School Improvement Group Enquiring into the Strengths and Weaknesses of the School Designing the Whole School Programme Seeding the Whole School Approach

Devise your programme around core values Every school can improve Improvement is assessed in terms of enhanced pupil outcomes Every individual in the school has a contribution to make Start from where the school is, but set high goals Model good practice with precision Raise expectations of what is possible.

The School Improvement Group The school improvement group is essentially a temporary membership system focused specifically upon enquiry and development. This temporary membership system brings together teachers (and support staff) from a variety of departments within the school, with a range of ages or experience and from a cross-section of roles to work together in a status-free collaborative learning context. One teacher has described it as the educational equivalent of a research and development group.

Phase 1 - Uncertainty about focus School Improvement Group feeling its way What is School Improvement? What is the role of the SIG group? How can the SIG work best together as a group? Initial reliance on established ways of working Initial reliance on existing structures Initial reliance on key personnel/leaders within the cadre Start to collect data and share it Uncertainty about the theory Where is it all going? It’s hard to make things happen.

Phase 2 - Clearer about focus Using existing structures in new ways, e.g. department meetings with single item research agendas. New ways of working. Greater openness within the cadre group, e.g. voice of main scale teacher Better at making meaning from data. Beginning to shift from staff development mode to school improvement mode. The theory makes sense. Seeing the connections. Learning how to implement.

Phase 3 - Change/renewal of the SIG group R & D establishing its own rhythm – SDP becomes more organic New Structures emerge – R & D. New roles emerge HOD as facilitator of research (* R & D research post). Establishment of research culture within the school Evidence-based Risk taking Involvement of students (pupils) as researchers From data-source to partners in dialogue Collection of data, making meaning, and supporting research outcomes The school generates its own theory The implementation becomes growth

Preparing for School Improvement Pre-conditionsSchool Level Preparations Unifying FocusMeans  Commitment to School Improvement  General consensus on values  Understanding of key principles  Shared values  A mandate from staff  Leadership potential  Identification of change agents  Willingness to make structural changes  Capacity for improvement Improvement Theme - An enquiry into Teaching and Learning School Improvement Strategy

Discussion What progress have you made so far in establishing your school improvement group and the focus for your work? What has gone particularly well? What barriers are you facing? What help do you require?

POWERFUL STUDENT LEARNING

Processes of School Improvement The ‘journey of school improvement’ − A clear reform narrative is created, and seen by staff to be consistently applied, with: a vision and urgency that translates into clear principles for action. Organizing the key strategies − Improvement activities are selected and linked together strategically; supported by robust and highly reliable school systems with clear SMT roles in key areas. Professional learning at the heart of the process − Improvement strategy informs CPD; knowledge is gained, verified & refined by staff to underpin improvement; networking is used to manage risk and discipline practice. Cultures are changed and developed − Professional ethos and values that supports capacity building are initiated, implemented and institutionalized, so that a culture of disciplined action replaces excessive control.

I wrote (with Bruce Joyce) some time ago that: Learning experiences are composed of content, process and social climate. As teachers we create for and with our children opportunities to explore and build important areas of knowledge, develop powerful tools for learning, and live in humanizing social conditions.

Three ways of thinking about Teaching Teaching Relationships Teaching Models Reflection TeachingSkills

Teaching Skills Content coverage Time allocated to instruction Engaged time – ‘time on task’ Consistent success Active teaching Structuring information Effective questioning

Teaching Relationships Expectation effects on student achievement are likely to occur both directly through opportunity to learn (differences in the amount and nature of exposure to content and opportunities to engage in various types of academic activities) and indirectly through differential treatment that is likely to affect students' self-concepts, attributional inferences, or motivation. (Good and Brophy, 1994)

Teaching Models Our toolbox is the models of teaching, actually models for learning, that simultaneously define the nature of the content, the learning strategies, and the arrangements for social interaction that create the learning contexts of our students. For example, in powerful classrooms students learn models for: Extracting information and ideas from lectures and presentations Memorising information Building hypotheses and theories Attaining concepts and how to invent them Using metaphors to think creatively Working effectively with other to initiate and carry out co- operative tasks

The Key Question What teaching strategies do I and my colleagues have in our repertoires to respond to the student diversity that walks through our classroom doors?

POWERFUL STUDENT LEARNING

Building Capacity for School Improvement – The Handbook for Northern Region Schools Module 1 – The Big Picture of School Improvement Module 2 – A School Improvement Model Module 3 – Building Capacity for School Improvement Module 4 – Generic Teaching and Learning Strategies Module 5 – System Leadership and System Transformation

Building Capacity for School Improvement School improvement group and leadership Prioritisation, planning and phasing Use of data and enquiry Whole school staff development Knowledge utilisation Networking and innovation

The School Improvement Group Programme David Hopkins Feb - Establishing the SIG & Staff Development Groups - Monitoring Progress Team March - Planning and Prioritization - Monitoring Progress David Hopkins May - Model of Teaching & Learning - Monitoring Progress Team July - Enquiry & Data use - Monitoring Progress David Hopkins Sept - Knowledge utilization & Networking - Monitoring Progress SEO’s & Project - Planning for 2009 Co-ordinator

Discussion Is this the type of support that you require? What additional help do you require?

SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis

Planning Proforma AreaAchievement and Standards Aim – to raise achievement Deadline Tasks Resources Monitoring Intended measurable outcome How will targets contribute to raising achievement? Links with school aims An example of a School Development Plan

David Hopkins is the inaugural HSBC Chair in International Leadership, where he supports the work of iNet, the International arm of the Specialist Schools Trust and the Leadership Centre at the Institute of Education, University of London. He is also a Professorial Fellow at the Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne. Between 2002 and 2005 he served three Secretary of States as the Chief Adviser on School Standards at the Department for Education and Skills. Previously, he was Chair of the Leicester City Partnership Board and Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Nottingham. Before that again he was a Tutor at the University of Cambridge Institute of Education, a Secondary School teacher and Outward Bound Instructor. David is also an International Mountain Guide who still climbs regularly in the Alps and Himalayas. Before becoming a civil servant he outlined his views on teaching quality, school improvement and large scale reform in Hopkins D. (2001) School Improvement for Real, London: Routledge / Falmer. His new book Every School a Great School has just been published by The Open University Press. Website: Professor David Hopkins HSBC Chair in International Leadership