Raising standards, improving lives
Seminar for AIM Awards
Conference
Raising attainment through improving
learning and teaching
Peter Humphries
HMI
West Midlands
Objectives
 Explore how school leaders improve learning and
teaching
 Share evidence from Ofsted documents about how
schools promote excellent learning through excellent
teaching
 Dispel some myths – there is no preferred
methodology
 Emphasise that all roads lead to LEARNING
2
Leadership is the key
It is well established through inspection evidence and research that it is good
leadership – and particularly good leadership of teaching and learning – that
makes the biggest difference to school standards.
The schools where progress has been rapid, consistent and sustainable
demonstrate exceptional leadership of learning alongside strong organisational
management. Features of exceptional leadership include:
 an ambitious vision that inspires a shared commitment to excellence
 evaluation and accountability
 empowerment.

Schools with outstanding leadership of teaching and learning often have
innovative approaches as well as doing the basics very well.
HMCI’s Annual Report 2012
Looking at Ofsted’s evidence. What do
we know about schools that raise
attainment?
Leadership
4
Further reading
Getting to good: how headteachers achieve success, Ofsted,
2012; www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/120167.
(Study of 447 primary and secondary schools, previously judged as satisfactory, that were judged
as good between January and August 2012)
Schools that stay satisfactory, Ofsted, 2011;
www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/110080.
Twelve outstanding secondary schools, Ofsted, 2009;
www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/080240.
Twelve outstanding primary schools, Ofsted, 2009;
www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/090170.
School governance – learning from the best, Ofsted, 2011;
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/good-practice-resource%E2%80%93-school-governance-learning-best
5
Approaches used for raising performance
in schools
 Headteachers in all schools perceived performance management as necessary to
build the capacity for consistent and sustained school improvement.
 Coaching and mentoring procedures were established in all schools visited. In half
the schools part of a mentor’s performance management was to be responsible for the
improvement in performance of their mentees.
 In the majority of schools programmes of peer working were established that were
judged to be highly effective.
 In all schools professional development programmes were tailored to the ability
of staff – and were helping to motivate them.
 In some schools staff meetings/briefings had been remodelled to focus on
learning and teaching.
 In half the schools staff were provided with the opportunity to take external
qualifications.
 In most schools the headteacher had reinforced that it was the teacher who was
responsible for their own performance management.
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Raising expectations of students and
teachers
Our analysis of inspection reports provided a broadly similar picture:
 more consistency across the school in high quality subject leadership including
developing the quality of teaching
 better understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses in learning and
teaching
 high levels of accountability and strong performance management
 stronger commitment to raise standards and team approach to achieve this
 no inadequate teaching tolerated with significant investment in coaching and
developing staff – bespoke continuing professional development
 sustained action to improve learning focussing on reading, writing and
mathematical skills.
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Features of outstanding schools
Features of schools which achieve, sustain and share excellence, drawn from the 12
outstanding schools survey
Achieving excellence





Having
vision,
values
and
high 
Continually
developing
expectations
teaching
Establishing disciplined learning and 
Developing leaders
consistent staff behaviour
Enriching the curriculum

Assuring the quality of learning and 
Improving literacy
teaching
Building
relationships
Providing a relevant and attractive
parents
(as
curriculum
community
Assessment,

progress-tracking
target-setting

Sustaining excellence
and 
learning
with
co-educators)
and
students,
and
the
No student left behind (Pupil Premium
Grant (PPG) / Year 7 catch-up grant)
Inclusion: students as individuals
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Analysis of schools that successfully
improved their teaching
Skilled senior managers ensure that all middle managers are also effective at
leading and monitoring teaching
Frequent and rigorous diagnostic monitoring of learning and teaching
Use evidence and engage staff in developing improvement plans
Make use of identified best practice within the school, for example, coaching

Use other schools to train and provide vision of ‘outstanding practice’
Deliver high quality professional development
Monitor the delivery and impact of initiatives – achieve consistency
Targeted support and robust performance management where staff do not
respond to change
Even schools that get to good are still on a
journey – the aim is to be outstanding
Areas identified for further improvement in the ‘good’ schools often
include:
 greater extent of outstanding teaching
 greater focus on learning
 challenge and engagement for all students, including most able
 better recording of progress and provision of feedback – assessment of and
for learning
 subject leadership, including sharper and more consistent monitoring across
all subjects
 higher standards, including in the sixth form, early years and key stage 3
 attendance and punctuality
 literacy and numeracy across the curriculum
 greater consistency in marking
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Teaching and performance
Ofsted does not require any particular
approach to teaching, we simply believe
that all children deserve teaching that is
good or better – day in and day out.
How are schools improving learning and
teaching?
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What does the research tell us?
Education Endowment Foundation
1. Feedback/assessment for and of learning
2. Learning to learn / motivated to learn (self-regulation)
3. Peer tutoring
John Hattie – ‘visible’ learning
1. Providing formative evaluation
2. Teacher clarity
3. Reciprocal teaching
4. Feedback
Bloom’s taxonomy
Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation
Where learning and teaching is not yet
good….
A rapid pace of learning is not sustained
Insufficient evidence of pupils learning independently
Questioning is not effective enough to promote independent learning
Marking is not sufficiently focussed on the next steps in learning
Pupils do not respond to the teachers’ marking
The learning is not always well matched to the needs of all pupils
Attainment and progress in writing is not sufficient
Key comments from Ofsted good practice resources
– ‘learning always takes priority’
What does outstanding teaching, and therefore outstanding learning,
look like?
Four key factors come together to explain the highly successful approach to ensuring
outstanding teaching and learning. They are:
 a clear vision for developing subject understanding
 an enquiry-based curriculum
 comprehensive planning and preparation
 regular subject-specific CPD
Of these the most important is the planning and preparation but their success depends on the
others. Together the rationale, the curriculum and the training underpin an approach to
planning and preparation which ensures highly effective teaching and learning.
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Key comments from Ofsted good practice resources
– ‘learning always takes priority’
What does outstanding teaching look like?
Winning hearts and minds
 We have an innovative group of six subject teachers who are keen to
develop different learning strategies and to support students in
achieving excellent outcomes - challenge
 The effective use of continuing professional development (CPD), sharing
good practice at meetings and “thinking outside the box” in terms of
ideas for lessons have all helped to make lessons successful
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Key comments from Ofsted good practice resources
- ‘learning always takes priority’
What does outstanding teaching look like?
Thinking in subject has gone further and the department has set high aspirations for
teaching and learning. These are to:
 stimulate curiosity, interest and enjoyment in subject
 fuel and ignite student passion for subject; the challenge, the wonder and the
excitement – this includes spiritual, moral social and cultural aspects
 encourage open, enquiring minds to challenge their own and others’ opinions bravely
 use the rich and exciting subject of subject as a powerful vehicle for transferable skill
development
 appreciate subject in its wider context; events and themes that do not sit in isolation
throughout time
 encourage students to develop in-depth understanding through their own enquiries.
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Key comments from Ofsted good practice
resources - ‘learning always takes priority’
What does outstanding teaching look like?
Planning
 Success is all about planning and preparation of the outline structure of the lesson
(Ofsted doesn’t expect lesson plans but does expect to see well planned lessons)
 The teaching episodes where the focus is on what the students will actually learn
 The questions to be asked and when they are to be posed – this supports the pace of
the lesson
 Learning activities including opportunities for students to debate, discuss and reflect
on what they are learning – teacher talk is kept to a minimum, the students do the
work!
 How progress will be checked, reviewed and reinforced (assessment of, and for,
learning), and the resources to be used.
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Grade descriptor for outstanding – this is
not a checklist
 All teachers have consistently high expectations of all students. They plan and teach
lessons that enable students to learn exceptionally well across the curriculum.
 Teachers systematically and effectively check students’ understanding throughout
lessons, anticipating where they may need to intervene and doing so with notable
impact on the quality of learning.
 The teaching of reading, writing, communication and mathematics is highly effective
and cohesively planned and implemented across the curriculum.
 Teachers and other adults generate high levels of engagement and commitment to
learning across the whole school.
 Consistently high quality marking and constructive feedback from teachers ensure that
students make rapid gains.
 Teachers use well-judged and often inspirational teaching strategies, including setting
appropriate homework that, together with sharply focused and timely support and
intervention, match individual needs accurately.
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Conclusion
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Characteristics of outstanding learning and
teaching from HMCI’s Annual Report
Learning that challenges every student
Good opportunities for students to learn independently
Excellent use of questioning
Outstanding subject knowledge
Highly effective feedback to students
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Objectives
 Explore how school leaders improve learning and
teaching
 Share evidence from Ofsted documents about how
schools promote excellent learning through excellent
teaching
 Dispel some myths – there is no preferred
methodology
 Emphasise that all roads lead to LEARNING
21