1. Aim of presentation: to examine the nature of WSV to provide a perspective on how measures of WSV contribute to a view of a school’s performance to consider how a school can create a climate in which variation can be investigated, diagnosed and managed Within School Variation and School Evaluation

2. “In schools where overall progress is broadly similar, there are significant variations in pupil progress between subjects and between different pupil groups.” - Fischer Family Trust Within School Variation "We have always known that there is a difference in performance between schools. But what can make a bigger difference is the experience that children have within one school. So a child can do really well in one subject and not do well in another subject. And that can make an even bigger difference to children's life chances than differences between schools." - Jane Creasy, Assistant Director of Research, NCSL

3. ‘Within School Variation is the variation in provision as experienced by different groups of learners.’ Within School Variation

4. -Source : DCSF Within School Variation is over 4 times greater than ‘between school variation’ at key stage 4. WSV is over 14 times greater when allowance is made for free school meals and prior attainment. How big is the problem? WSV is greatest at key stage 4

5. Prof. John West-Burnham, Senior Research Adviser at the NCSL speaking about Within School Variation “WSV is now understood to be one of the biggest barriers to school effectiveness and improvement. In many schools there is not consistency in terms of learning and teaching across the whole school. WSV is one of the biggest challenges to school leaders. “How do we guarantee that every student receives an appropriate and effective access to learning across their whole curriculum experience? “It is not about blanket uniformity. It is not about blind consistency. It is about eliminating inappropriate variation. “In our own private lives we do not accept inconsistencies in services; in restaurants, in shops, from the doctor, the dentist, the garage; and there is no reason either why a school should tolerate inconsistency”.

6. WSV is: An enduring school performance issue for many schools, particularly at Key Stage 4 Significantly attributable to variation in teacher competence Not specifically being addressed by schools in their school improvement work Requires well-developed data systems to provide measures and show improvement Hard for schools to tackle, even with funding and support The findings of the NCSL project on WSV

7. Why is WSV difficult to tackle? Question

8. Investigating the impact of teaching “Projects which look at differences in the impact of teaching require a climate of openness, trust and collegiality.” - NCSL WSV project report

9. Learning It is teaching quality, learner disposition and context which influence the effectiveness of learning, i.e. it is complex Context What are the systemic influences of WSV? Teaching

10. Two sides to the same coin Find out how good every teacher is at teaching Enable teachers to investigate the impact of their teaching (Top Down) (Bottom Up)

11. Data analysis is not just something done by the few and passed down to the many – but should involve all teachers finding out about the impact of their teaching on different groups of learners. Top Down or Bottom Up?

12. http://www.tda.gov.uk/~/media/resources/isv/isv_guide.pdf

13. “The exploration of ISV and learning from within can potentially foster an environment where analysis, innovation and sharing result in higher levels of professional satisfaction and student achievement.” ‘Learning from Within’

14. “A key aim of learning from within is to reduce the level of internal, or in-school, variation (ISV) across areas of organisation, teaching and learning that have a direct impact on student achievement.” “Reducing ISV is not an end in itself and shouldn’t result in inflexible uniform practice regardless of a school’s culture, traditions and existing improvement plans. Rather, it is intended to ensure that practices the school has identified as effective for improving learning and raising student achievement are adopted as widely as possible across all subjects. In short, to help ensure that effective practice becomes everyday practice for all.” ‘Learning from Within’

15. A structural framework for reducing ISV – NC/TDA Variation in levels of achievement Internal best practice identified Action to reduce ISV Analysis of data Action to reduce ISV Variation in policies and procedures, e.g. setting, marking, homework, progress monitoring Variation in the quality and effectiveness of approaches to teaching and learning Variation in human and material resources

16. ‘There are five key areas where action taken to reduce ISV is likely to be most effective: The collection and use of data The role and effectiveness of middle leadership The quality of teaching and learning Listening and responding to student voice Standardising procedures.’ ‘Learning from Within’

17. Is the ability to tackle WSV a characteristic of Outstanding leadership? Another question

18. Collect data from the beginning to show the impact of ISV work Make ISV a focus of the school development plan Use champions to build a coalition of support for ISV work Recognise that your goals will take time Review and publicise progress made on ISV ‘Learning from Within’

19. 1. How suitable is WSV as a focus for raising school standards? 2. Is there a member of your SLT with a specific role for standards? How developed is this role? 3. To what extent do subject leaders exercise a QA role for their subject? Should they? More questions

20. “Schools that are proactive in showing inspectors the evidence of their own pupil-level analysis and research tend to do better in their inspection.” - Dr. Mike Treadaway, Fischer Family Trust, Naace ‘Making Information Work’ Conference 27.04.07

21. “Having lots of data is not what self-evaluation is about. What counts is having the right tools to make top-level judgements on that data.” - Barbi Goulding, Principal, Paddington Academy

22. 1. How well-developed are the diagnostic data tools that teachers should be using? 2. What are the common obstacles to making smarter use of performance data? More questions

23. What are the professional tools of the teacher’s trade? Where are the equivalent tools to a doctor’s stethoscope and blood pressure monitor?

24. 1. How can we use data to compare the impact of learning between a top and a bottom maths set? 2. How can we use data to compare the teaching in a selective school with that of a streamed, inner-city comprehensive school? 3. Are we using data to prove we have high standards - or to ensure that every pupil achieves their potential? Question

25. What is the better basis on which a school should be judged? High Standards High Achievement and Low Negative Variation 5 A*-CsHow well every pupil achieves Some Children MatterEvery Child Matters Headline figures can hide significant pockets of underachievement Headline figures should show how well every child achieves Good Leadership = high attainment Good Leadership = evidence of doing the best for every pupil League table positionMeasures of Within School Variation School Improvement = more 5A-Cs School Improvement = less negative variation Which column is most in tune with the stated aims of your school? Is there tension between achieving success for the school and providing value for its pupils?

26. Without teacher-level research into pupil performance With teacher-level research into pupil performance Performance analysis is done by the few and passed to the many All teachers are involved with analysing their pupils’ performance Key evidence = RAISEonline scores Key evidence = teacher research into current Y11 performance Leadership equates to CVA Leadership equates to successful intervention across subjects Judged by official data Secure school-level evidence of effectiveness National aggregate group normsLocal contextual circumstances A tendency for data to be seen as an outcome in itself Aware that dots on graphs equate to individual pupils and their aspirations The responsibility for school standards resides solely with Ofsted The school takes the lead on QA What advantage does the data-confident, self-evaluating school have?

27. Where do we find evidence in the schooling process? Intake Consequences Response Provision 1. pupils 2. school 3.teachers Outcomes Where should we look for the best evidence What measures should we use? to find: 1. How well pupils in this school are doing? 2. How well the school is doing? 3. How well the teachers are doing?

28. Attainment - the number of formal qualifications Achievement - indicator of the breadth, quality and impact of learning Progress - shows the distance travelled Variation - the consistency of provision What measure shows the degree of challenge that the school faced?

29. Where will you find the very best schools? Are they the ones that are top of the league tables? Final questions What are the key characteristics of the successful, data-confident, self-evaluating school?