1. Primary Principals Conference
September 2009
Welcome and Martin information

2. 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

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

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

5. Policy Framework Northern Ireland Curriculum. ESaGS.
Literacy and Numeracy.
SEN and Inclusion.
Early Years.
What is being put in place to support the vision:
RNIC: IMPROVED METHODOLY TO DEVELOP BETTER LEARNERS.
ESaGS: RAISE THE BAR; CLOSE THE GAP….IMPROVEMENT FOR ALL
LITERACY & Numeracy: PSA TARGETS AS MEASUREMENT OF PUPIL, SCHOOL AND SYSTEM EFFECTIVENESS
SEN & INCLUSION: equity and access
EARLY YEARS: EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND INTERVENTION

6. Challenge underperformance wherever it exists.
Every School a Good School
A Policy for School Improvement
I n order to ensure enhanced outcomes all elements of the system are expected to raise their expectations and challenge underperformance.

7. 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.

8. 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
ELB role has changed and this year we will be expected to exercise that challenge with our schools.

9. Letter Issued by DE to Chief Executives of ELBs 1st June 2009
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.

10. 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
Reference from document

11. 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.
Track progress: they need to put in procedures at whole school level to monitor individual pupil performance. In many cases they are doing it but do not document it. They do not need every document they need to document significant It involves all teachers. In the Co-ordinator training for Literacy it will be incorporated there. Guidance is being produced which will be available in the near future.

12. Robust self-evaluation development planning, target setting and benchmarking, leading to sustained self-improvement.
Every School a Good School
A Policy for School Improvement
This is what schools will be expected to do and ELBs will e expected to support these processes.

13. 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.
Although this process is now expected of everyone, CASS has , for many years, been supporting this process with schools in a number of initiatives eg DSP; SSP etc. And we now know what works best.

14. 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
Thr final point is crucial because the learning should be reflected on and the lessons learned used to inform future action.

15. 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
ETI has already recognised this process in some schools they have visited.

16. 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

17. 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.
So in addition to the picture data is giving us what else do we have with regard to the barriers affecting children’s performance?

18. The Issues: Primary
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.

19. Workshop
Consider the implications for your school

20. COFFEE
BREAK

21. Every School A Good School
Child-centred provision
High quality teaching and learning
Effective leadership
A school connected to its local community
The characteristics of a successful school

22. Workshop In your group consider the following: The Current practice
Areas for improvement
Implications for your school
Need to appoint a reporter, a recorder, a time keeper

23. 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.
Microsoft Word - KSA 0001 to 0506 NI and Boards.pdf
Microsoft Word - KSA NI and Boards by gender.pdf

24. 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
DE is not interested in school intake any more it is now using FSM or Neighbourhood renewal figures

25. 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.
Bottom 50%
of schools
Top 50%
of schools
Bottom 25%
of schools
Top 25%
of schools
Mid-Point
Lower Quartile
Median
Upper Quartile
95th Percentile
Top 5% of schools

26. This is up on the CASS website and can be downloaded from here
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
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
This is up on the CASS website and can be downloaded from here
Distribute to the Principals and take them through the Target Setting Process as outlined on sheet and included in the flow graph

27. 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

28. 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

29. Workshop 2
In your group consider one of the policy priorities as set out on pages 18 to 33 identify the key messages
Read discuss come up with a general consensus of what it is about and then envoy

30. LUNCH

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

32. P.7 Overview