Improvement Through Self Evaluation in a 3 -18 school. Jenny Des
Fountain
Italic = will explain an example from Tob High at this point
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Dialogue
Accountability: improving outcomes for learners
Involving all
(Return to these summary points at the end)
1. school in dialogue
1.1. barriers: is a different language spoken by primary and secondary
teachers? Or are there linguistic / metaphorical problems “going
down to primary to visit” or “sending them up to secondary”?
1.2.
solutions: establish notion of 3-18 as a continuum, rather than a
series of bunny hops: CfE should help: all need to know how
learning works in stages before and after own involvement. Working
together on the introduction of “new methodologies” e.g. aifl (each
sec faculty+ including primary, took one aspect, trialled it and
presented to all colleagues), cooperative learning helped.
1.3.
i.e. establish sense of staff as a community of learners: 3-18
working groups e.g. autonomous learning policy; e.g. all staff on
developing emotional resilience .. teaching, classroom support,
clerical, janitors
1.4.
structures: opportunities to share e.g. aspects of learning and
teaching at SD days (carousel programme): make sure everyone is
contributing ideas, over time
1.5.
peer visits arising from the need to know.. e.g. personal planning or
information retrieval and research skills or from the need to
understand better as working together e.g. TLC
2. school in dialogue with pupils
2.1 involving pupils in planning .. primary leading the way + S2 Soc Ed
2.2 involving pupils in feedback / evaluation/ suggestions for improvement
many teachers find this hard: leaders need to help untangle not about
“handing over responsibility”, but about dialogue
2.3 Student Councils with real input to improvement + “focus groups”:
stage specific but also work together and with Parent Council e.g.
fundraising
2.4 formal consultation with all e.g. questionnaires and other exercises
3. school in dialogue with parents and its community
3.1 consult in different ways; need to vary to keep fresh: 6 year cycle +
responses to individuals when issues raised: all about being receptive and
giving feedback so people know that you have taken action on a
suggestion: School Board / S2 options
3.2 Parent Council / Open Days .. keeping parents + others informed and
constant invitations for specific ways to be involved. THS
geographically spread community: home/school notebooks?
newsletter? website? blogs? Skills for work programme. Parent
meetings1:1 in S1-3: replicating primary practice and success.
3.3 Home learning tasks +study packs which inform parents’ ability to
support their youngsters: reader and scribe role (from 3.2): feedback +
evaluations e.g. Soc Ed / primary research tasks
4. accountability: helpful pressure to achieve improved outcomes
for pupils? All about creating an evidence base for meaningful
dialogue, with a firm eye on the goal: Frank Crawford’s statement along
the lines of .. I will do whatever it takes for success for all learners. If
at first I don’t succeed, I will try something else.
4.1 SLT learning visits (I love this term, because as well as describing
what you’re looking at, it also reminds you that you always learn
something when you have the privilege of watching another colleague tech
/ watch learners at work) related to improvement plan or to specific pupils
(pupil pursuit) with generic feedback to all staff for discussion at a staff
meeting
4.2 SLT and PT and peer learning visits : focus / records
4.3 Working with partners e.g. effective use of classroom based support
4.4 Evidence folder in each faculty on each aspect: what we did and how it
made a difference: not always that simple a link, but searching for it is a
good discipline.
i.e.
Faculty calendar: how plan to work together on ITSE
Learning visits records + outcomes
Minutes of meetings discussing meeting pupils’ needs
Pupil + parent evaluations
Involving pupils in planning
Faculty + school improvement plans + actions
.. as a basis for dialogue again; with faculty colleagues and those in other
faculties, 3-18; with fellow PTs (bring to meeting example of how you ask
pupils to evaluate their courses); with line managers; with HT (3 meetings
per year); with HMIe.