1. The Standards and Excellence team
The team works with school leaders reflecting the understanding that school leaders are the drivers of their own school’s improvement.

2. The Standards and Excellence team
Context
The LA’s statutory role 13 A of the1996 Education Act
The roles and responsibilities of the DCS and LMCS ( April 2013)
DfE School’s Causing Concern Guidance
Raising the Bar
Supporting school leaders with their improvement work

3. How we have refined our work based on learning
LASSI
RAG rating
Inspection frameworks
Role of the SEO

4. The Standards and Excellence team
Our goal that is modelled in what we do and how we do it, is that all schools will have strong leadership teams who know the school’s strengths; where it is in its improvement journey; and how to move it on to the next stage, taking effective action at the appropriate pace so that all pupils receive an education that is at least good and improving.
We facilitate collaboration between school leaders to share what’s working well, adopt an evidence based approach to sharing successes and a solution focussed approach so that challenges are overcome.

5. The work of the team The team:
gather and interpret the evidence so the LA knows its schools
work with school leaders to support them in their school improvement work , interpreting evidence to know what’s working well and what are the areas to improve; what needs to happen and what impact is it having
gather information and interpret evidence to identify strengths to share wider and concerns where intervention is needed
facilitate schools working together on locality priorities

7. The role of the SEO Evidence based Uses criteria and benchmarks
Records the LA view of the school
Records the school’s view of itself
Records the school’s leadership of improvement.
Reflects the school’s improvement journey
Shows the value added from the support and challenge e.g. clarifies next steps for the school; validates the school’s view;
Highlights strengths to share wider
Shows the evidence to inform if / where the LA should use its statutory powers of intervention in LA maintained schools

8. The continuous conversation What is your ambition for the pupils at your school? How well is your ambition realised? What is your view of your school? Where are you in your school improvement journey? How do you know? What evidence have you used and what has it told you? What are your strengths? What makes these successful? What learning can you transfer? How are these being shared? In school and wider? Where are you working towards being? By when? What are your priorities? What actions are you taking to address them? On each visit – what have you done? What’s been the impact? What’s the evidence? Where are you now? Are you where you wanted to be? What needs to happen next?
Range of evidence
SEF
SDP

9. Sources of evidence that informs the SEOs / LA view
Which are at certain points of the year?
Which are throughout the year?
Website
Parent view
Published performance information
Benchmark tables
Pupil outcomes – non published / internal data
SEF - school’s view of itself
SDP – school’s improvement actions
Discussions with senior leaders including governors/ middle leaders / staff / pupils
School’s monitoring records
Governor minutes & HT reports
Learning walks and lesson drop ins
Pupils’ work
What else? Not all discussed in one visit at one time - continuous

10. Criteria, benchmarks and national guidance
The Education Inspection Framework (Ofsted)
Published pupil outcomes
School’s causing concern guidance (DfE)
Headteacher Standards
DfE benchmarking tables
EEF – what works

11. How does the SEO role fit with SLIN?
Supports leaders with their whole school improvement work
Contributes to a holistic view for school leaders; MATs and the LA.
Adds to a whole picture
Complements and does not duplicate
Consistent approach for schools in SLIN and those not in SLIN where the school is eligible for early help and additional support