1. Monitoring and Evaluating your School Development Plan Hollie King
November 2013 1 1

2. In this session we will discuss:
How to set up a monitoring framework;
Ideas for a monitoring pack for governors;
How to share monitoring outcomes with governors and build an evidence trail. 2 2

3. What is monitoring and evaluation?
Monitoring: finding out what the school is implementing/ providing
Seeking Evidence
Evaluating: finding out what difference this makes to the pupils
Assessing Impact
Monitoring & Evaluation is a ‘blended’ activity.
Some will happen by governors going into school/talking with staff/talking with pupils.
Some will happen as a result of information being presented by the HT and members of the SLT to governors at meetings.
Either way, informed discussions and appropriate questions are the order of the day! 3 3

4. Who monitors and evaluates?
Head and senior staff monitor, evaluate and report to governors.
Governors ensure monitoring and evaluation is happening AND review outcomes of monitoring and evaluation.
We do this because we are required to hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils. 4 4

5. Step One: Understand your School Development Plan
Know what your priorities are – and why they are in the SDP.
Understand how (and when) the HT and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) will monitor progress.
Be clear about the success criteria.
Opportunity to test governors’ knowledge of their own priorities.
How well do they make the connection between the school’s own SEF and/or an OFSTED inspection report?
Have discussions taken place (or are they planned) for the HT to explain to governors how and when monitoring will take place and how that will be reported back to governors. 5 5

6. Step Two: Develop a SDP monitoring calendar for the GB:
To complement the school’s programme;
To develop capacity within the GB;
To provide governors with structure and focus to the monitoring role.
Monitoring the SIP is the key priority for the GB.
A monitoring calendar ensures nothing is forgotten.
Dividing governors into teams and assigning each team to a specific priority has several advantages:
Builds relationships within each ‘team’ of governors
Builds capacity within the GB
Focusses on internal accountability within the GB
Staff responsible for a specific priority have opportunity to build relationship with small group of governors. 6 6

7. Some examples to discuss
SDP Monitoring Calendar in October (Handout 1)
In July (Handout 2)
In October 2013 (Handout 3)
Handouts 1 and 2 will need detailed discussion to explain how they were produced and maintained.
HT prepared draft calendar, inserting specific monitoring activities by named individuals within the school on each priority (in Italic) – and identifying when feedback will be provided to the GB.
CoG when divided GB into groups. Considerations were governor interests, balance of more and less experienced governors and balance between governors more/less able to make visits into school. The firs time we did this, the FGB paused for 15 minutes for the groups to work together and decide which of them would commit to specific monitoring across the year. This was noted in the minutes of the meeting.
We decided to use a traffic light system to identify monitoring that had taken place (in green); monitoring agreed for the next series of meetings (in orange); and monitoring for later in the year (in red). Over the course of the year (Handout 2) almost everything changed to green. Items in red were transferred over to this year’s plan.
Items for next agenda always discussed at end of FGB or Committee. Opportunity to review items in orange and remind/confirm that a monitoring report will be presented at next meeting, 7 7

8. SDP Monitoring in School
Governors’ Visits Policy
Governor SDP Monitoring Pack (Handout 4)
Building the evidence trail
Governors’ visits policy is ESSENTIAL. Needs to be fully discussed and understood not only by staff by also by ALL staff at the school, and reviewed regularly.
SIP Monitoring Pack will merit lengthy discussion as it contains:
Visit form
Things to look for and include
Possible questions for pupils
Possible questions for staff
Possible questions for a work scrutiny event.
The pack contains detailed guidance on the issue of how questions to staff/pupils needs to be managed.
Planning in advance and good communication.
Completed visit forms held by HT and member of staff. 8 8

9. SDP Monitoring at Meetings
SDP updates – either as part of the HT’s report or as a separate agenda item – perhaps presented by a member of the SLT or subject leader.
Questions, questions, questions!!
Governors and HT to agree the frequency for the school to provide the GB with progress against the SIP.
Separate agenda item or within the HT’s report – both are fine.
Papers come out a week before the meeting. Suggest that governors their questions to the HT in advance of the meeting so that he/she has an opportunity to prepare a response. 9 9

10. Some ideas for questions
Include, as standard, these questions when discussing new initiatives:
What will be different for pupils?
What will be different for staff?
Maintain a clear focus on “how are we going to know how much difference it is making?”. 10 10

11. SDP monitoring linked to Pupil Progress
RAISEonline (Reporting and Analysis for Improvement through School Self-Evaluation)
OFSTED School Governance Report: Learning from the Best said that ‘outstanding GBs seek information from external experts on issues such as the analysis of data relating to school improvement’.
All School Improvement Plans contain at least one priority relating to pupil progress and attainment.
Does the FGB allocate enough time to develop its understanding of its RAISEonline document?
Do governors attend training?
Have their considered a FGB session lead by a governor trainer experienced in data or buying in the services of their SIP?
Consider running a joint staff/governor session?
NOTE OF CAUTION FOR GOVERNORS: The school leadership are the people with the skills to undertake a professional analysis of the data. 11 11

12. SDP monitoring linked to the school’s budget
Is there a clear and demonstrable link between the school’s budgeting and its plan for raising standards and attainment? (SFVS Question 8)
Does the budget plan identify specific expenditure against the SDP, including use of Pupil Premium?
Both the SIP and the budget support the school's priorities for raising standards and attainment. Therefore they are closely aligned. The current year is costed, and these costs are referenced back to the SIP. Approval of SIP is contained in the full governing body minutes.
This is then assessed throughout the year against the budget at month 3,6,9 and 12 by the Business Committee.
Evidence: Budget Plan for 2013/2014 approved by the Business Committee on identifies specific expenditure against the SIP including use of Pupil Premium. 12 12

13. Governors’ Library Books
Monitoring and Evaluation by David Marriott (Adamson 2004)
Support and Challenge by NGA (2009)
School Self Evaluation, Improvement and Inspection by Martin Pounce (Adamson Publishing 2012)
From Governors’ Library at SCIL Tel 13 13

14. Websites Somerset: www.somersetgovernorservices.somerset.gov.u k
National:
nance 14 14

15. Reflection and Evaluation
Review against original points
Reflect on learning and identify key actions to take back to school
Evaluate the course by completing the evaluation sheet 15 15