1. 1 Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Knowing your school

2. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Session outcomes Governors will u have an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their school u be able to determine priorities for action in their school u understand the school self evaluation process and the information governors need u begin preparation for an Ofsted inspection

3. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Personal Action Sheet u In your booklet you have a page titled “Personal Action sheet” (pg 11) u This is for you to note down any thoughts, ideas for action that occur to you as we go through the course u You can then take these ideas and decide how you might include them in the work of your governing body.

4. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Information Sheets At the back of this booklet you will find information sheets to help you develop this course at your school u School Self Evaluation Form (SEF) Primary version Parts A & C (pg19) u Ofsted fact sheets (pg38) u School Summary for governors (pg39) u Every Child Matters examples of evidence (pg 40) u Governor data sheet (pg 42) u Extended Schools fact sheet (pg 43) u Headteacher report format (suggestion) (pg 47) u Checklist of governing body effectiveness evidence (pg 52) u List of useful web sites (pg 12)

5. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Governors’ Roles u To set the strategic direction of the school therefore  You need to know what the vision and values of your school are u To be the critical friend to the school therefore  You need to ask for information on the school’s performance and evaluate it u To be accountable for the school’s effectiveness therefore  You need to be able to explain the strengths and weaknesses of the school

6. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Vision and values u The decisions we make today will affect the pupils that come to our schools in five years’ time, not those who come next year. u Any decisions we make need to fit the values of the individual school “Where there is no vision a people perish.” Ralph Waldo Emerson “You see things and say ‘Why?’; but I dream things that never were and I say ‘Why not ?’” George Bernard Shaw

7. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org School Self Evaluation Write down u the three key strengths of your school u three key areas for development. (5 mins) Keep these and we will revisit them at the end of the session.

8. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org The importance of School Self Evaluation “More weight will be placed on a school’s own evaluation of how well it serves its pupils and its community as the starting point for planning, inspection and reviews with the School Improvement Partner….The governing body will have ultimate responsibility for the main judgement in the self evaluation form.” A new relationship with schools: Next Steps DfES/Ofsted March 2005

9. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org School Self Evaluation process u What is the current situation ? (baseline) u What action are we taking ? (School Plan ) u What evidence are we collecting ? (monitoring) u What does this evidence tell us about the impact of the actions ? (evaluation & analysis) u What do we need to do next ? (changes to School Plan) u How does this feed into our School Plan ? (review and setting of new priorities )

10. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org What do we need to know ? 1. What makes our school distinctive? 2. What do all our stakeholders think of our school? 3. What is the level of achievement and standards in our school? 4. How do we contribute to the five outcomes of Every Child Matters? 5. What is the quality of provision? 6. How good is leadership & management? 7. How good is our school overall? 10

11. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Specific aspects of the school to consider u What is the impact of any extended services we provide? u How we take into account the pupil voice? u How do we find out about the needs of the local community? u How good is the care and guidance we give pupils? u How are vulnerable pupils such as looked after children catered for?

12. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Role of the Head u With the staff and governors, to design an SSE timetable u Consult with the governing body and agree timetable u Implement the process and ensure evidence is gathered u Report to the governing body via the HT report and discussions at meetings u Complete and update the SEF.

13. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Role of the Governors u Ask about the process and its implementation u Be involved in the L&M evaluation in particular u Understand the other sections of the self evaluation form u Ask the Head to report on the process and outcomes u Discuss SSE at each meeting together with progress against the School Plan

14. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org The School Self Evaluation Form (SEF) u Good practice anyway ! u Kept up to date in school and uploaded to the Ofsted web site regularly u Reviewed termly, annually at a minimum u An “ever ready” document but never finished ! u This is an integral form of evidence for Ofsted inspections

15. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org The SEF u Three parts:  A The evaluation of seven areas of school performance  B Factual data about the school  C Statutory requirements

16. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Links with Ofsted inspections u SEF needs to be ready in school for short notice inspections (normally a day or so) u See information sheet on Ofsted Inspections in the course booklet u Governors need to know the content of the SEF in order to be ready to talk to the inspection team at short notice

17. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org How can we evaluate an area of the school’s performance ? Activity – 20 minutes In groups of 4, use post-its and poster paper ACHIEVEMENT AND STANDARDS – SEF 3 Current situation u What is the current situation in your school? u Work individually and add your post-its to the first column on the paper, then discuss

18. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Evidence – Write on post-its, add to column 2 u Where might you be able to find evidence of the standards achieved in your own school? u Compare notes. Issues – Write on post-its, add to column 3 u What does the evidence show about any issues arising for you, for example achievement of different groups e.g. boys/girls, LAC, SEN etc on standards of learning u What other factors need to be considered, when assessing any issues for your school – discuss? Activity – Achievement and Standards cont

19. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Activity – Achievement and Standards cont Actions – write on post-its, add to column 4 u What actions are needed to improve standards in your school? Discuss u What evidence of progress will governors want to see – in what timescale? u How will you ensure that the revised actions are incorporated into the School Plan Group feedback – 10 mins

20. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org The process of self evaluation u What is the current situation? u What have we/are we doing? u What evidence do we have of impact? u What do we need to do next?

21. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org What evidence should we ask for and evaluate? u Main sources of evidence  Headteacher’s report  Governor visits  Performance data  School Effectiveness Adviser visits  Parent and pupil views

22. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Group activity u Find Sections 4a-e of the SEF on the Every Child Matters five outcomes u Work in groups to identify the evidence governors might expect and where it will come from u Then assess any issues for you and the actions you might want to take. (20 minutes)

23. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Headteacher’s reports u Main source of information for the governing body u Needs to be evaluative and talk about impact and not just actions u Needs to highlight issues and possible solutions

24. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Activity In pairs, reflect on what we have covered so far and draw up a list of items you would want a Headteacher’s report to cover. Look at the two reports and decide whether these would meet the requirements From these two reports, identify good and poor practice.

25. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org What actions do you now need to take ? u Revisit your key strengths and areas for development – what evidence can you produce to “prove it”? u Are there any implications for the work plan for your governors’ meetings? u What changes might you want to make to any reports you get e.g. the Headteacher’s report ? u Anything else?

26. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Actions you might take u Plan SSE into your agendas for all meetings, including committees u All governors have a copy of the SEF u Have a regular review of governors’ knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the school u Evaluate the pupil performance data u Undertake a review of governing body effectiveness

27. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Specific issues for the governing body u How can you provide evidence of governing body effectiveness ? u Can you show that you have considered issues of Best Value when making resource decisions ? u Can you evidence your evaluation of evidence/information you have asked for ? u Are you all ready to explain the effectiveness of the school to an Ofsted team ?

28. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Governing Body evidence u Minutes – do they show you have asked the critical friend questions? Is there evidence of strategic discussion? u Governor visits – are they linked to the School Plan and SEF ? Do they link back to the work of the committees ?

29. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org Revisit the outcomes of the session Governors will u have an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their school u be able to determine priorities for action in their school u understand the school self evaluation process and the information governors need u be ready for an Ofsted inspection.

30. Hertfordshire County Council www.hertsdirect.org