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Education Bradford

Self-Evaluation Tools:

Completing The SEF Preparing for the new OFSTED inspection arrangements.

Note two : Self Evaluation Form Guidance

(Version 5.0 August 2005) Acknowledgements.

This guidance was written by School Improvement Officers of the Education Bradford School Improvement Service. It incorporates the key information available through published sources as at 1st August2005. Some key matters have been clarified directly with OFSTED. The introduction of the new inspection arrangements is a complex matter and once the system is in full operation OFSTED may need to adapt their requirements in the light of experience.

The guidance in this booklet was originally circulated to schools in May 2005 (version 4.0) and was based on draft publications made available by Ofsted. This new version has been up-dated to reflect the release of the final version of documents in July 2005. There are very few changes between versions 4 and 5.

In the 2004-2005 academic year OFSTED worked with a number of authorities to pilot new inspection arrangements. In the spring of 2005 Education Bradford worked in partnership with Nottinghamshire County Council, one of the pilot authorities, to provide training to raise awareness of the progress of the pilot and the likely implications of the new arrangements for schools. Materials produced by Nottinghamshire were subsequently made available to schools via the Education Bradford web site. Although the final version of the Self Evaluation Form is substantially different to the one used during the pilot phase this booklet seeks to build on the good work originally undertaken by Nottinghamshire, and other authorities, so that there is consistency of advice for schools.

Contents

Section 1.0 Introduction

1.1 Introduction.

1.2 Purpose of this guidance.

1.3 Links to the self-evaluation process.

1.4 Common grading scale for inspection judgements.

1.5 What makes an effective SEF ?

i. HMI analysis ii. SEF : checks to be made by the lead inspector. iii. SEF : school checklist.

1.6 Other developments likely to impact on the SEF.

Section 2.0 Self- Evaluation Form Part A.

1. Characteristics of your School.

2. Views of learners, parents/carers and other stakeholders.

3. Achievement and standards.

4. Personal development and well-being.

5. The quality of provision.

6. Leadership and management.

7. Overall effectiveness and efficiency.

Appendices

Appendix 1: SIO note 1: Writing the SEF (May 1st Version 2.). Appendix 2: Summary of SEF grades. Appendix 3: Inspection Judgements Form. Appendix 4: Additional prompts for ‘Leadership and management’. Section 1.0 Introduction

1.1 Introduction.

OFSTED released the final version of the Self-Evaluation Form (SEF) on its web-site on February 28th. On 9th March the DfES and OFSTED published a series of draft documents concerned not only with the inspection process but also with the wider context of the new relationship with schools. These documents included:

 The Framework for inspection of schools in England from September 2005.  A New Relationship with Schools: Next Steps.  A New Relationship with Schools: Improving Performance through Self-Evaluation.  Guidance for inspectors of schools: Using the Evaluation Schedule.  Guidance for inspectors of schools: Conducting the Inspection.

The final versions of these documents were released in July.

1.2 Purpose of this guidance.

This document is designed to support schools in writing Part A of the SEF. It does not constitute advice on the self-evaluation process itself, this is subject to separate guidance. It attempts to build on the work of the inspection pilot authorities particularly the materials that appear on the Education Bradford website. (Bradfordschools.net). This publication also seeks to bring together the various instructions, advice and guidance that exist in DfES/Ofsted publications into one place.

This guidance is intended as a reference source for those who are completing sections of the SEF. It is designed to provide reminders, prompts, and suggestions that might help colleagues to reflect on their own circumstances in order that they might more easily identify which information is useful, relevant and appropriate. It is not intended that schools would attempt to complete their SEF by following every prompt and suggestion made in this guidance. The guidance is also likely to be a useful source of assistance for staff who are new to senior management and unfamiliar with the SEF

The text of Section 2 contains some SEF example statements. These are not intended to advise schools on a particular way of writing or presenting information. They are trying to illustrate the fact that SEF answers should generally reflect four rules i.e. what the guidance is asking, contains a clear judgement, indicates the evidence, articulates impact. Some specific questions may not require all four elements but generally these principles apply to each SEF section.

Appendix 1 contains: “Note 1: Writing the Self Evaluation Form”. This is an up-dated version of the document previously circulated to schools in March 2005 and now reflects the latest documents released by the DfES and Ofsted. This briefing note contains some key advice for schools on completing the SEF.

Many sections of the SEF contain a specific question related to the Foundation Stage, and this is obviously quite a departure from the S4. Whilst guidance is provided in this document schools may find the Foundation Stage Audit materials, produced by the teacher training agency, an additional source of helpful guidance. (www.tta.gov.uk tea0312/1p/20k/fmp/mar04 foundation stage curriculum guidance). 1.3 Links to the self-evaluation process.

There is no doubt that the SEF and the self-evaluation process are inextricably linked and that schools will find the questions contained in the SEF useful in evaluating progress, but completing the SEF is not, in itself, self-evaluation. DfES/OFSTED have produced guidance on self-evaluation which is contained in the document, “A New Relationship with Schools: Improving Performance through Self-Evaluation”. This guidance does not promote any particular method of self-evaluation; this is a matter entirely for the school. The document does however show the intended relationship between the SEF and self-evaluation and includes useful examples of SEFs drawn from the 2004 pilot inspections. Schools will want to familiarise themselves with this document both to help them in writing the SEF but also to help them to reflect on how robust their current self-evaluation processes are.

“The SEF, as the summary of a school’s process of self-evaluation, is at the heart of the new inspection arrangements – it serves as the main document when planning the inspection, and provides crucial evidence in evaluating the quality of leadership and management and the school’s capacity to improve. The leadership and management section of the report should include an evaluation of the quality of the school’s self-evaluation process that led it to make its judgements in the SEF” (Guidance for Inspectors of Schools: Conducting the Inspection’)

1.4 Common grading scale for all inspection judgements.

A common inspection scale will be used in making judgements for institutional inspection and for judgements relating to the five outcomes assessed for joint area reviews.

1 Outstanding 2.Good 3.Satisfactory 4.Inadequate

The descriptors for each judgement are printed in full in ‘Guidance for Inspectors of Schools. Using the Evaluation Schedule’ which can be found on the Ofsted web site.

1.5 What makes an effective Self Evaluation Form (SEF)? i. HMI analysis.

HMI analysis of SEFs seen during the pilot inspections concluded:

 Weaker SEFs are descriptive, lack clear judgements, and do not show the impact of the school’s action.  Shorter SEFs are generally the most evaluative.

They particularly commented, “Some schools set out clearly the actions they had taken towards improvement but had not evaluated whether the actions had the desired impact, particularly on outcomes for pupils. This lack of evaluation often made it difficult for the schools to give a clear judgement in the self-evaluation form of the impact of leadership and management”. ii. The check made by the lead inspector in the Pre Inspection Briefing (PIB).

In the PIB the lead inspector is required to analyse the SEF under each of the headings from the evaluation schedule by:

• analysing how well the judgements in the SEF are supported by the available evidence • suggesting provisional hypotheses under each heading • highlighting issues that need to be pursued, which are likely to be: - any major discrepancies between the SEF and the available evidence - important areas that the SEF does not evaluate or explain - particular assertions in the SEF that might be selected to investigate how well it diagnoses the school’s strengths and weaknesses. iii. SEF: School checklist.

Basic  Is it complete?  Is it concise, straightforward and easy to understand?  Is it accurate, clear and honest?  Is there a good range of telling evidence?  Is the text evaluative or is there too much description?  Do the text and the grade match?

General  Are the judgements clear?  Are judgements supported by key evidence?  Is other significant and reliable evidence held by the school sufficiently sign-posted?  Is there a clear link between learner’s progress and the effectiveness of leadership ?  Do the school’s judgements demonstrate that it has attempted to evaluate the best available local and national comparative data on learner’s standards, finance and staffing?  Have relevant parties been involved in the SEF process and has the SEF been ‘signed-off’ by the Governing Body?  If data is used is it reliable?

Significant  Does it identify what matters most?  Does it diagnose precisely where strengths and weaknesses lie?  Is the impact of actions well articulated?

Other  Are the outcomes of the SEF reflected in the school plan?  Has the text been checked by a third party against the framework?  Is it updated in-line with the school’s timetable? 1.6 Other developments likely to impact on the SEF.

i. The new PANDA.

In ‘The New Relationship with Schools: Next Steps’ the DfES have indicated that they will produce a new reduced version of the PANDA. These new PANDAs will be available in the autumn term, and they will be provided for lead inspectors inspecting schools.

There is a further step to this process as the DfES is currently seeking to combine the PANDA with the Pupil Assessment Tracker (PAT) so that there is one source of data which OFSTED and schools use, with ‘both parties clear about what the data is telling them. There will be an Ofsted managed web-site, with each schools own data already loaded, making it much easier to use, and more effective at providing pupil level data, giving schools a really rich source of information about their own pupils’. Precise details of these developments are not year clear but obviously schools will need to consider what implications they may have for existing self-evaluation procedures.

ii. Exceptions Reports.

The DfES have worked with the Fischer Family trust to produce an ‘Exceptions Report’. This is a value-added report, similar in style to previous FFT reports, and shows how pupils fared compared to their statistical peers, and highlighting ‘exceptions in performance’. We anticipate that this will be available annually for primary schools and will be a significant source of evidence for inspection.

iii. The DfES School Profile.

The DfES announced some time ago the creation of an on-line profile for all schools. Arrangements for this are not yet finalised but latest DfES guidance suggests schools will need to complete these in the autumn term 2005 so that they become available on-line to parents from January 2006. Section 2.0 Self-Evaluation Form Part A.

2.1 The structure of the guidance. In this section, for each of the SEF questions, there is a description of: i. Common Inspection Schedule for schools (CIS) references. This matches the content of the section of the SEF to the key criteria that inspectors are required to evaluate as indicated in the Common Inspection Schedule (Part C of The Framework for inspecting schools in England from September 2005). ii. Key points. This highlights the significant matters that need to be considered when writing a particular section. For example this might indicate differences between the SEF and the S4 or explain some particular reference to Every Child Matters outcomes. iii Sub-questions content. Each SEF section has a set of sub-questions. Most of these sub-questions have a series of prompts some of which are examples and some of which are requirements. These prompts appear as headings in the guidance in bold and in italics and they are numbered in the order they appear in the SEF.

The content in this section consists of prompts, descriptions, guidance, potential sources of evidence and examples of the content to be covered. Example statements appear in italics and are mostly found towards the end of any sub-question. iv. Links and checks. Indicates significant links with other SEF questions or other checks that could be made to ensure cohesiveness of the complete SEF.

2.2 References to Ever Child Matters. (ECM). The new framework links evaluation requirements to the five outcomes of Every Child Matters:

 being healthy (1)  being safe (2)  enjoying and achieving (3)  making a positive contribution (4)  achieving economic well being (5)

The links are indicated in the Common Inspection Schedule and appear in the CIS references section at the start of each part of this guidance. Numbers in brackets correspond to the ECM outcomes listed above. Further references are made in other parts of the text, often as examples or reminders to illustrate the ECM correction.

2.3 Leadership and Management. Given the significance of leadership and management a set of questions specifically related to the SEF prompts is contained in Appendix 4. 1. Characteristics of your School

1.0 Common Inspection Schedule (CIS) references.

Evidence provided in this section of the SEF provides the background against which all other sections of the SEF are evaluated and consequently there is no one particular CIS element that is relevant to this information.

1.1 Key messages.

 This is an opportunity to describe the context of the school including major factors that aid or restrict attempts to raise performance. The questions it asks are more precise than those that appeared in the S4.  Particular care needs to be taken to make the link between the main priorities for improvement and the context which is set out in questions 1a, 1b and 1c.  The priorities set out in 1.e. need to reflect the major issues indicated at the end of SEF sections 3 to 7. These priorities would normally be matters included in the School Improvement Plan.

1.2 SEF content.

1a. Please outline the main characteristics of the learners.

The description in this section may include any number of general characteristics but must include at least clear indicators of the content specified in prompts 1.a.1 and 1.a.2.

General  NOR, age range, organisation, and type of school.  Pupil mobility.  Rising/falling trends in admission numbers.  The locality served by the school.  “Inner city, one form entry with nursery. Currently 210 pupils on roll, 26 full time equivalent in nursery. Serves an area of relatively low cost housing but is bordered by two council estates. Most of our pupils live on one of these two estates”.

1.a.1. Their attainment on entry and how you know this  Standards on entry. An indication of how you know this such as home visits, baseline testing.  Any significant rise/fall/change in the quality of intake, and how you know this.  Differences between cohorts currently in the school.

1.a.2. Their social and economic backgrounds, indicating the level of prosperity or deprivation.  EAL, FSM, travellers, asylum seekers, cultural diversity, multiple deprivation index.  Is the pattern of the social or economic background stable or it changing year or year?  If it is changing how does this impact on the school? 1b. Please summarise briefly your distinctive aims and describe any special features of your school.

 School aims, values and ethos, relationships and expectations.  Commitment to inclusion with examples where possible that reflect Every Child Matters.  Whether you are or intend to become a school with any special status.  Whether you are a school with a religious character.  Any special units, additional community services or extended provision.  Significant partnerships with other providers or agencies.  Involvement in and impact of any extended schools, out of school hours learning, links to secondary provision, learning networks.

1c. Please outline specific contextual or other issues that act as aids or barriers to raising performance.

 Restrict this to specific significant matters, of which the following might be examples.  Staffing changes over the year that may have had a positive/ negative impact. e.g. changes in leadership, recruitment and retention, reorganization, pupil turbulence.  Impact of involvement in initiatives or projects e.g. Education Action Zone; Intensifying Support Programme; Healthy Schools; Investors in People/Pupils, Arts Mark, Active Mark  Impact of work of learning mentors, teaching assistants; home school liaison officers; parental involvement officers.

1d. Please note any additional characteristics you would particularly like to draw to the attention of an inspection team.

 Are there any particular issues you would wish to see evaluated?  “We would like the team to evaluate how we take the views of pupils into account given that we have focused on this aspect of our self evaluation process for the past twelve months”

1e. Please outline briefly the main objectives in your improvement/development plan, and how they reflect the context in which you work.

 Schools should list the key priorities within its development plan and relate these concisely and briefly to the vision and ethos expressed above. Include any relevant quotes from HMI, EB reports etc.

1.3 Links and checks.

 Information provided in 1e should reflect the themes for improvement identified elsewhere in the SEF particularly 3c, 4g, 5e, 6c, and 7e. 2. Views of learners, parents/carers and other stakeholders

2.0 Common Inspection Schedule (CIS) references.

The outcomes of the evidence provided in this section of the SEF particularly relate to evaluation criteria contained in the CIS sections 3-standards, 5-quality of provision and 4-personal development and well-being. However the questions in this section demonstrate the robustness of the school’s self-evaluation process and consequently consideration should be given to CIS section 5. How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement and supporting all learners?

 How effectively performance is monitored and improved through quality assurance and self- assessment

2.1 Key messages

 In the new framework much more emphasis is placed on how schools gather and use the views of learners and parents/carers. Consequently schools need to provide much more evidence of work in these areas in the SEF than they did in S4, and this increased importance obviously needs to be reflected in the self-evaluation systems that schools adopt.  Schools should reflect on informal as well as formal systems for collecting the views of stakeholders and report on what processes are currently in operation ensuring, that the full range of evidence is represented.  The questions in this section cover very precise steps in a process (consultation, analysis, feedback, action) and the answers need to reflect these steps. The nature of the questions may present a difficulty for schools because there will no doubt be a temptation, within any one question, to describe how one issue was identified and dealt with in total.

2.2 SEF content.

2a. How do you gather the views of learners, parents/carers and other stakeholders, such as those accessing additional services, how often do you do this, and how do you ensure the impartiality of the information?

 Include the ways these groups are involved and how information is collected and stored, the frequency and the format. Part of this question requires evidence of how you ensure the impartiality of information for example, parent questionnaires which are analysed by parent governors rather than the teaching staff.

Examples of consulting learners:  Schools council work can be summarised in this section and may indicate how all pupils are involved.  Pupils’ questionnaires - why, when, and how these are used could be detailed in this section.  Pupils involvement in and consultation in their own learning – consider and report on how this takes place.  Pupils interviews – why, when and who carries these out and what happens? Examples of consulting parents:  Feedback to and from parents on the progress of their pupils.  Analysis of complaints and letters of congratulations.  Records of discussions with individual parents on particular issues.  Questionnaires annually or on specific issues e.g. homework, school travel plan.  Ways in which parents are involved in the life and learning of the school e.g. information evenings, induction arrangements, community events etc.  “ We have successfully implemented a programme which takes place at the start of each term whereby all parents of new starters are given the home visitor feedback sheet. We have adapted our process for next year in the light of comments made”.

Examples of consulting other stakeholders:  Feeder schools, the local and broader community, extended services, church, voluntary groups and organisation and charities, LEA, EB, involvement in other training, links with industry including individual mentorship.

2b. What do the views of learners, parents/carers and other stakeholders tell you about the learners’ standards, personal development and well-being, and the quality of your provision?

 Give clear evaluations of the views of the stakeholders for each of: standards, personal development and quality of provision. This can be completed for each group individually but it might be more concisely described if the key views (and the relevant group) were listed in order of their significance for the school.  Ensure location of summaries of questionnaires and consultations undertaken are indicated.  Limit any illustrations of these views with the outcomes of actions taken by the school as this is a separate question (see 2.d)  “Verbal feedbacks from parent’s questionnaires indicate that they are very satisfied with our provision for sports activities, and that children are developing effective co-operative and team building skills.”

2c. How do you share with parents/carers and other stakeholders the collated findings about their views?

 Feedback is a critically important part of the process and is vital in terms of valuing the stakeholder’s contributions to the consultation. Identify how feedback has been provided.

Feedback to learners might include  School Councils – minutes, notes, assemblies  Annotations in books, diaries, pupils self assessment and involvement in learning.  Interaction through ICT, such as email, marking and response to/from pupils’ work/homework. Feedback to parents might include:  Newsletters, minutes of meetings (PTA, governor meetings), open days.  Response to analysis of views of parents involved in supporting the school regarding how effectively they feel their work is organized and valued.  Feedback on reports.  Responses to questionnaires.

Feedback to other stakeholders might include:  Reports and feedback to governors.  Local publications e.g. Parish newsletter.  Feedback to feeder schools and reports of development work e.g. agreement trials.  LEA reports.

2d. Can you give examples of action you have taken based on the views of learners, parents/carers or other stakeholders, with an evaluation of the effectiveness of what you did?

 Evaluation of the effectiveness is the critical part of any response to this question.  Refer briefly to one or two examples that have had a significant effect on standards, personal development or well being of pupils and changes made to the quality of provision. e.g. changes made to the timetable in response to pupil’s requests.  Are any of these examples significant enough to be reflected in the school priorities – 1.e. ?  Consider including an example where actions have not been taken including the reasons why and the explanations given.  ‘ Following the most recent analysis of the views of learners and their parents further development of the positive behaviour strategies has been undertaken, to improve impact and effectiveness’.

2.3 Links and checks

 Do the views of learners, parents/carers and other stakeholders on learners’ standards, recorded in 2b, reconcile with the evaluations in 3a. Achievement and standards? If not, any significant differences must be explained and subsequent actions recorded in 2d.

 Do the views of learners, parents/carers and other stakeholders on learners’ personal development and well-being, recorded in 2b, reconcile with the evaluations in section 4 Personal development and well-being which reflects the outcomes of Every Child Matters. If not, any significant differences must be explained and subsequent actions might need to be recorded in 2d.

 Are any of the actions listed in 2d sufficiently significant to be identified as ‘key priorities for development’ in Leadership and Management 6c? 3. Achievement and standards

3.0 Common Inspection Schedule (CIS) references.

Evidence provided in this section of the SEF will particularly contribute to inspector’s evaluation of CIS section 1. How well do learners achieve?

 learners success in achieving challenging targets, including qualifications and learning goals, with trends over time and any significant variations between groups of learners (3)  the standards of learners’ work in relation to their learning goals (3)  learners progress relative to their prior attainment and potential, with any significant variations between groups of learners (3)  the extent to which learners enjoy their work (3)

3.1 Key messages

 Statements should be brief and evaluative and well supported by evidence but should not include large amounts of unexplained data.  Achievement is a measure of learners’ knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to their capabilities. It reflects how much learners are challenged and the progress they have made relative to their starting points. Are they working to their capacity? The key here is the value-added by the school.  Overall standards should be based on the comparisons of results against all schools nationally and the starting point should be based on the most recent PANDA report. If schools have strong supporting evidence that the PANDA does not provide a fair account of standards this must be made clear in its evaluation.  Comparisons with similar schools should be included.  In the Foundation Stage standards are relative to the Early Learning Goals.  A judgement must be included on the standards and progress of different groups of learners present within each school.  For each of these questions note any significant variations between different groups of learners within your school; any significant variations between key stages or subjects.

3.1 SEF Content

3a. What are learners’ achievement and standards in their work?

3.a.1. Standards  Give an overall evaluative judgement.  For each key stage indicate how results compare nationally and to similar schools, use average point’s scores where appropriate.  Standards in each subject and in each key stage, using the various threshold levels i.e. KS1 L2+,L2B+, L3; KS2 L4+ and L5+, compared to nationally and to similar schools  Trends over time (over the last 3 years)  The school’s performance against it’s targets  Pupils attainment on entry to the school (prior attainment)  Value added measures and conversion rates  Learners’ success in achieving challenging targets ( briefly refer to all targets set, how set and demonstrate that they are challenging)  “ Standards of attainment on entry to school are below nationally expected levels, evidenced by our rigorous teacher assessment system within the first half term of a child entering Reception. Learners in the Foundation Stage make very good progress and the majority are on track to meet the ELGs by the end of the Foundation Stage. About 20% of children are likely to exceed the ELGs and make excellent progress. The remainder of the children are not on track to meet the ELGs but nevertheless make good progress. Girls make slightly better progress than boys in communication, language and literacy but there are no significant variations between groups of learners. Our tracking systems indicate that pupils with SEN and EAL make good progress.”  “Standards in English and mathematics in Key Stage 1 are in-line with schools nationally and above those for similar schools. Given their attainment on entry and evidence gathered from our tracking systems, pupils make good progress. In Key Stage 2 standards in English and mathematics are above schools nationally and well above similar schools. However, standards in science in KS1 and KS2 are below those nationally and there is variability in the performance and progress of groups of pupils. Ethnic minority pupils are not making the same progress as other groups particularly in scientific enquiry and our evaluations reveal that this is an issue about the development of the language of science.”

3.a.2. Standards of learners’ current work in relation to their learning goals’

 How the current standards of learners’ work compares with recent test results. What is the projection of the performance of each year group as they move through the school based on current information?  Note any significant differences between any groups of learners both high and underperformance.  The extent to which you are on track to meet statutory and non–statutory targets.  Key sources of evidence are: work scrutiny; teacher assessment information, tracking and monitoring systems.

3.a.3 Learners’ progress relative to their starting points and capabilities, with any significant variations between groups of learners

 Evaluate what pupils starting points are e.g. pupils’ attainment on entry to school, and how far they have progressed by key points in their career, say the end of key stage 1 and 2.  The schools conversion rates e.g. the % of pupils at say L2c that achieve L4, % of pupils at L2a that achieve L5 etc.  Drawing on information from the school’s tracking systems what progress pupils make year on year or within different subjects (reading, writing, mathematics) and the extent to which pupils are in-line with age-related expectations.  Identify any groups that are underachieving and could be doing better. 3b. Where relevant: how well do learners achieve in the foundation stage?

 What is the length of time learners are based in the Foundation Stage i.e. their point of entry part-time/full-time, number of terms?  How does the school assess pupils on entry – relate to national expectations and the baseline profile data on exit from Foundation Stage.  How does the school use this information to plan further learning?  Do any groups of learners make different progress from other groups of learners? -Reference to any monitoring systems and provide sources of evidence eg Bradford Expressive Language, progress through the stepping stones, information available through observations made of learners.  Is information included in all six areas of learning?  Do learners make better progress in any area of learning or is there a significant difference in an area of learning?  Do any extended services, such as wrap around day care or support for parental learning, have an impact upon learners enjoyment, achievement and progress  ‘Pupils attend the nursery for at least 3 terms on a part time basis and 3 terms full time when they enter reception. On entry to nursery 30% of pupils do not speak English and 50% of learners are well below national expectations in CLL and MD. By the end of the Foundation Stage 80% of all pupils make good progress in CLL including the majority of pupils with EAL.’

3c. On the basis of your evaluation, what are your key priorities for development?

 Ensure that any key priorities for development indicated in this section are consistent with your evaluations in section 3a and 3b particularly if underachieving groups have been identified.  The school improvement plan will reflect the current key priorities of the school which may include some matters raised in 3a and 3b

3.0 Links and checks.

 Content in this section needs to particularly reflect the requirements of Every Child Matters 3 : Enjoying and achieving and consequently needs to be consistent with sub-question 4c. How much do learners enjoy their education? 4. Personal development and well-being

4.0 Common Inspection Schedule (CIS) references.

Evidence provided in this section of the SEF will particularly contribute to inspectors’ evaluation of CIS section 4. How well are learners guided and supported?

Inspectors should evaluate:

 the care, advice, guidance and other support provided to safeguard welfare, promote personal development and achieve high standards (1,2,3)  the quality and accessibility of information, advice and guidance to learners in relation to courses and programmes, and, where applicable, career progression. (3,5)

4.1 Key messages

 Every Child Matters outcomes must be referred to wherever possible throughout this section. An inspection team might focus on effectiveness in this area based on overall observations and through a sample of ‘case studies’ of vulnerable children determined by the context of the school e.g. looked after children, learning and disability groups, traveller children, asylum seeker children etc. Therefore opportunities to make reference to a range of these groups throughout this section would be beneficial.  Statistical, quantifiable information should be used wherever possible e.g. attendance, exclusion, club attendance, with specific examples to express less tangible evidence.  Firm accurate judgements are crucial and should be put at the beginning of each statement for clarity and consistency.  Evidence gathering on the part of OfSTED will include talking to learners to confirm the evaluations presented in this section and to determine the degree to which school seeks and acts upon learners views.

4.2 SEF content.

4a. To what extent do learners adopt healthy lifestyles?

4.a.i. Learner taking adequate physical exercise and eating and drinking healthily.

For example:  PE/Sport hours per week. Indicate if your provision is beyond guidance timings. How many pupils are involved in physical recreational activity, clubs or other additional opportunities ? Range and involvement in ‘extra curricular’ sports programmes including interschool competition involvement or similar.  What other opportunities do pupils have to experience physical activity in performing arts e.g. music, drama and dance?  Any health related initiative involvement and successes? e.g. Healthy Schools Award  Healthy eating policy and practices including breakfast clubs, healthy snacks, healthy school meals and pupils involvement in choice, regular opportunities to drink water, etc. 4.a.ii. Learners’ growing understanding of how to live a healthy lifestyle

 Pupils understanding of the components of, and need for, a healthy lifestyle and physical exercise and the choices they can make.  Demonstrate how the curriculum offers an effective programme to give pupils opportunities and choices to develop these lifestyles?  Sources of evidence for question 4.a. may include: observations in lessons and at other times of the day, discussions with pupils, survey, questionnaire given to pupils,, curriculum policies, schemes and teacher planning, extra curricular activities lists, participation registers, evaluations of activities by pupils, healthy schools documentation, breakfast/lunch time menus.

4b. To what extent do learners feel safe and adopt safe practices?

This section is about whether pupils feel safe and forms only part of the overall evaluation of safety in the school which is covered in section 5, quality of provision.

4.b.i. Learners feel safe from bullying and racists incidents  What evidence exists to indicate that learners say they feel safe from bullying, harassment, racism and other forms of discrimination?  Do learners express feelings of contentment, happiness?  Are staff vigilant and do they provide strong support if pupils do feel threatened?

4.b.ii. Learners have confidence to talk to staff and others when they feel at risk.  Are pupils aware and confident of gaining support and confiding in staff if feeling threatened?  Do all pupils know to whom and how they report any issues?  Sources of evidence may include: discussions with pupils, pupil interviews, surveys, questionnaires given to pupils.  “Children’s opportunities to express their feelings on their safety are satisfactory. We provide a good range of opportunities for children to develop their expressive skills e.g. PHSCE, circle time, role play. The ethos of the school focuses on an atmosphere where it is a right to feel safe and happy and pupils are encouraged to seek support in exercising those rights. The impact of this is that the majority of our pupils feel able to formally and informally express their feelings to adults who work in the school.”

4c. How much do learners enjoy their education?

4.c.i. Take account of learners’ attitudes, behavior and attendance

Attitudes  In lessons are learners attentive and do they sustain concentration? Do they enjoy their work; have favourite subjects, and show interest and enthusiasm in general and for specific work?  Is there a pride in work, good presentation, and positive self esteem? Respect for the values of others?  Are they aware of what they are learning and recognise its relevance to them?  How do pupils relate to each other and adults in the school?  Do learners have opportunities to take responsibility for their learning and are they taken up?  Do pupils show respect and empathise with each other and have opportunities to develop these skills in a wider context?

Behaviour  How well do pupils behave in lessons, moving around school, including arrival and departure from school?  Do pupils learn and demonstrate taking responsibility for their actions? Are their peer groups who support positive behaviour in school, monitors, prefects, buddies, school council?  Number of pupils excluded over the last two years, compared to local and national figures?  Are there groups of pupils that feel bullied or discriminated against? What has been done about it?  How is school monitoring, evaluating and reporting its relevant policies (race equality, bullying and behaviour)? Have the reported incidents reduced over time?

Attendance  How good is the school’s attendance, authorised/unauthorised in comparison with the national data? What has the trend in attendance been like over the last three years?  What are the statutory targets for attendance and how do these compare to similar schools?  Does the school know why children are absent from school? What has been done about it?  Does the governing body have a policy on authorising absence and are parents discouraged from taking their children on holiday in term time?  Do pupils arrive in school and lessons on time and is a sense of importance demonstrated by learners and parents to attending promptly and not leaving early?

4.c.ii. Learners, spiritual, moral social, emotional and cultural development

Spiritual  Principles or beliefs, which may or may not be religious, which inform learners’ perspectives on life and their patterns of behaviour?  Do learners show appreciation of the intangible e.g. beauty, truth, love, goodness, order, as well as for mystery, paradox and ambiguity etc?  Do learners demonstrate the ability to think in terms of the whole e.g. concepts such as harmony, interdependence, scale, perspectives?  Do learners show awareness and understanding of their own and others beliefs? Show respect for themselves and for others? Have a sense of empathy with others, concern and compassion? Demonstrate understanding of feelings and emotions and their likely impact?

Moral  Learners distinguishing right from wrong based on a knowledge of the moral codes of their own and other cultures.  Are learners able to think through the consequences of their own and others’ action?  Do learners show respect for others’ needs interests and feelings, as well as their own?  Do learners show willingness to express their views on ethical issues and personal values?  Are learners confident to act consistently in accordance with their own principles?

Social  Do learners demonstrate respect for people, living things, property and the environment?  Do learners work successfully as members of a group or team?  Do learners relate well to other people and have the necessary social skills and personal qualities?  Can learners share views and opinions with others and work towards consensus?  Can learners adjust to a range of social contexts using appropriate and sensitive behaviour? Cultural  Are learners willing to participate in, and respond to, artistic and cultural enterprises?  Can learners recognise and understand their own cultural assumptions and values?  Do they have an understanding of the influences which have shaped their own cultural heritage?  Do learners have the ability to use language and understanding images/icons, for example in music, art, literature which have significance and meaning in a culture?  Do they have the ability to appreciate cultural diversity and accord dignity to other people’s values and beliefs, thereby challenging racism and valuing race equality?

 Sources of evidence for question 4.c.ii. may include: PANDA; attendance and exclusion/behaviour records and documentation; letters and information to parents; attendance targets; observations in lessons; assemblies and at other times of the day; discussions with pupils; survey; questionnaires given to pupils; school council records; behaviour policy and demonstration of its clear expectations throughout school; display; curriculum policies; schemes and teacher planning; learners attitude to learning; visitors; peers etc.

4d. How well do learners make a positive contribution to the community?

4.d.i. Learners’ growing understanding of their rights and responsibilities, and those of others.  Do learners show reasonable understanding of rights and responsibilities?  Does the school promote sensitivity to others and reach sensible solutions to problems?  Are there opportunities for learners to be involved in decision making e.g. school council, survey, questionnaires?

4.d.ii.How well learners express their views and contribute to communal activities  Do learners confidently answer questions?  Are learners encouraged to express appropriately their views in lessons and in general in school?  How well do learners participate and support the school council and other democratic organisations?  How well are learners involved in school, community events and in charities and community groups?  Sources of evidence may include: feedback from liaison with parents, charities, visitors, community groups, events and projects documentation, school council records, policy and schemes of work related to citizenship, PSHCE.

4e. How well do learners prepare for their future economic well-being

4.e.i. How well learners develop skills and personal qualities that will enable them to achieve future economic well being.

 Do learners develop their basic skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT? Financial literacy?  Do learners develop their self confidence and team building skills?  Do learners begin to become enterprising, able to handle change, begin to take initiative, and consider risk when making decisions? Do they have the opportunity to handle money, save and appreciate its value?  Are there opportunities for learners to relate the relevance of their school based experiences to a wider ‘life’ context?  Sources of evidence may include: observations in lessons and at other times of the day, discussions with pupils, display, curriculum policy, teachers planning etc.

4f. Where relevant: how good are the personal development and well-being of learners in the Foundation Stage?

 Are learners satisfied with their achievements? (recognise what they have achieved and are pleased with it)  How well do learners enjoy their learning experiences?  How well are learners engaged with their learning, levels of concentration and persistence?  How are learners encouraged to make choices and decisions?  How do learners relate to others?  How are learners helped to recognise and deal with their feelings?  Sources of evidence could include: observations of learners by a range of key professionals; notes of visit/ discussions with parents about learner’s induction and settling into school life; organizational structures related to the learning experience and learning space; allocation of key workers and their role; PSE Profile data.  “Parents feel their children settle well into the setting, are happy and secure. Many parents report learners are keen to discuss their daily routines and experiences at home. (see parental evaluation file)”

4g. On the basis of your evaluation, what are your key priorities for development?

 Look through evaluations throughout section 4, picking out where there are indications that improvement or developments are needed.  List them in priority order  Identify the key weaknesses as a priority in the next SIP. It could be that any issues might not find their way to the SIP but be directed to subject leaders who had been given responsibility for producing an action plan to address the weakness; the staff meeting schedule or CPD time; a review to identify funding e.g. to purchase resources, provide time for key staff.

4.0 Links and checks.

 Of all of the SEF sections the questions in this section most closely reflect the themes in Every Child Matters and consequently many of the answers in other parts of the SEF form need to be checked against what is written here.  The DfES booklet ‘Every Child Matters, Change for Children in Schools’ is a short and very useful source of information which will support any checking that needs to be made of SEF content. It can be downloaded from www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications. 5. The quality of provision.

5.0 Common Inspection Schedule (CIS) references.

Evidence provided in this section of the SEF will particularly contribute to inspector’s evaluation of CIS section 2: How effective are teaching, training and learning? Section 3: How well do programmes and activities meet the needs and interests of learners?

Section 2 references

 how well teaching and/or training and resources promote learning, address the full range of learners. needs and meet course or programme requirements (3,4)  the suitability and rigor of assessment in planning and monitoring learners progress (3)  the identification of, and provision for, additional learning needs (3)

and, where appropriate,

 the involvement of parents and carers in their children’s learning and development.(3)

Section 3 references

 the extent to which programmes or activities match learners aspirations and potential, building on prior attainment and experience (3,5)  how far programmes or the curriculum meet external requirements and are responsive to local circumstances (3,5)

and where appropriate,

 extent to which enrichment activities and/or extended services contribute to learner’s enjoyment and achievement (3,4,5)  extent to which the provision contributes to the learners’ capacity to stay safe & healthy (1,2)

5.1 Key messages

 In all sections (5a, 5b and 5c) teaching should be judged on the impact on learning, achievement, behaviour and attitudes.  Given the significance of evaluating the quality of teaching both in terms of the SEF but also in terms of the day to day self evaluation which schools undertake, the schedule for judging teaching which appears in “Guidance for Inspectors of Schools. Using the evaluation schedule” has to be considered carefully because it is substantially different from the current 1 to 7 scale currently being used by many schools.  Contents for this section need to reflect information in section 4 particularly 4c. How much do learners enjoy their education ?” 5a. How good is the quality of teaching and learning?

5.a.i. How well teaching meets the needs of the full range of learners and course requirements

 In order to be as accurate as possible on learning and achievement, the writer should focus on particular groups of pupils using a qualifying adjective eg ‘all pupils’, ‘most pupils’, ‘pupils with SEN’, ‘a few pupils’ .  Indications of judgements arising out of the schools own lesson observations; scrutiny of work and analysis of data can contribute to the judgements being stated.  The strengths and areas for improvement should be identified e.g. “the quality of teaching is good in key stage one and pupils of all abilities make good progress., In key stage 2 teaching is variable in the range of satisfactory to outstanding, but a lack of consistency in the delivery of numeracy is affecting the progress of more able pupils”.  Teachers expectations of standards and behaviour e.g. “pace and challenge are strong features of our good quality teaching and a major factor in the good progress that learners make, often from a low starting point.”  Opportunities are provided for co-operative or collaborative work.  Effective use of time and range of teaching styles.  Effectiveness of teaching and learning approaches e.g. Primary Strategy Frameworks, intervention programmes.  Use of support staff.  Sources of evidence for the above could include: performance management objectives, monitoring by subject managers/team leaders, lesson observations, work scrutiny, criteria used to form judgements on teaching, planning, supportive learning environment and classroom organisation, governor monitoring, summary reports to governors on progress made, relevant aspects of School Improvement Plans, reports from external visitors eg HMI, LA inspectors/consultants, external reports eg Quality Marks, IIP, differentiation/inclusion and identified groups of pupils, deployment of staff, use of homework to complement work in class, views of any stakeholders and the systems used to gather and analyse this data.  “ The quality of teaching and learning is good. We know this because the results of monitoring, including observations by managers and peers and recording of pupil achievements, show that all learners make good progress. Full records are kept. We also work closely with our link adviser and have had joint monitoring to moderate judgements. (See Monitoring records and pupil-tracking file).”

5.a.ii. The suitability and rigor of assessment in planning and learning and monitoring learners’ progress.

 Effective use of diagnostic marking  Pupil assessment profiles  Pupil tracking systems  School assessment policy  Moderation of pupil work or agreement trialling  Use of school performance data by management, coordinators and class teachers (this is one of the most significant assessment weaknesses reported in Ofsted inspection reports during the last 18 months)  Teacher use of data and targeting pupils’ learning  Continual assessment and impact on planning  Foundation Stage Profile or other baseline assessments  Monitoring of pupil work and teacher planning  Involvement of pupils in their own target setting and regular review of targets  Information on how targets are agreed and basis for change (IEPs, IBPs, PSPs and PEPs)  Sources of evidence for the above : data analysis, pupil tracking systems, all target setting records with progress monitored and clear feedback provided, focused marking, teacher assessments consistent with test results, lesson observations, work scrutiny, planning, pupil interviews, feedback from external consultants/inspectors/HMI, other external evaluations, inclusion information, relevant aspects of school improvement planning, governor monitoring, subject manager/coordinator monitoring, data from SEN planning meetings/case conferences and multi-agency meetings, information for parents about their child’s standards and progress.  “ Learners performance against targets is generally good with exceptions that we monitor closely and then provide intervention programmes”.

5.a.iii. the diagnosis of, and provision for, individual learning needs.

 How the school identifies pupils for support either individually or in groups, for instance the routines that the school uses to determine booster groups, ELS, ALS or other intervention strategies. This might include screening assessments, systems for identifying gifted and talented pupils, specific diagnostic tests.  How the school is organised to meet individual needs e.g. setting, class sizes, specialist teaching, use of support assistants, SENCO time, intervention strategies.  How well teaching plans and delivers work for differing individuals’ needs. This might be done through, teaching and learning quality, subject knowledge, planning, challenge, resources, methods, use of assessment, use of time, behaviour management, inclusion, use of support and homework.  How the school monitors learning (impact of teaching) acquisition of new subject knowledge or skills, engagement of pupils and capacity to work independently, progress against pupil targets.  Use of ICT, library and other mechanisms to enable independence of pupils.

5.a.iv. the involvement of parents/carers in their children’s learning and development

 What information does the school provide for parents and what opportunities exist to enable them to visit school and gain an understanding of what happens?  Information might include curriculum newsletters indicating topics currently being taught, reports on pupil progress, letters home to indicate good work or achievements, general newsletters, school web-site. The dialogue between the teacher and the parent/carer through a pupil jotter/reading diary/homework book or through daily contact at the start or end of day may also be useful indicators.  Curriculum workshops for parents/carers (including those on behaviour) aimed at improving understanding how teaching is delivered and how parents might help their child.  Induction evening or events for new parents.  Opportunities for parents to work in classrooms.  Parental consultation meetings.  Processes for the parent/carer to approach the school on a formal or informal basis to discuss concerns, make complaints or to congratulate the school on the good work it does e.g. suggestion box, parent forum, PTFA.

5b. How well does the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners?

 Ensure that the content of this section reflects 4c. The extent to which learners feel safe and are able to contribute to the community.  Evaluate the extent to which all your schools’ activities and curriculum match the needs of individual learners, support parents and carers and are responsive to both your circumstances and external requirements.  The progress and standards reached by different groups of learners are a reflection of the judgements made in this section.  Curriculum policies.  Whole school planning readily accessible to all staff.  Curriculum meets statutory requirements with effective timetabling.  Provision for pupils with SEN “Current identification of SEN learners is high (38%). Individual needs are planned for and result in Individual Plans which are delivered to ensure good progress’  Is inclusive, ensuring quality of access and opportunities for all pupils including EAL, SEN, G&T, gender, travelers and refugee and asylum seeker pupils.  Evaluate the most innovative parts of the curriculum and the way in which programmes build on prior attainment and match pupil needs and potential  The extent to which all activities in the school contribute to the pupils’ enjoyment and achievement as learners eg breadth and relevance of the curriculum to pupils in meeting statutory requirements, SEN, PSHCE, drugs and sex , inclusion, transition, extra curricular provision, out of hours provision(eg breakfast clubs), curriculum development and innovation.  Range of opportunities to cater for interests and aptitudes of pupils such as Healthy Schools Award, Sportsmark, Artsmark, NAACE, IIP, Activemark, IIE  Pupils are prepared for transition to next stage of education  Curriculum takes account of innovative practice and developments( intervention programmes ELS/ALS/FLS/springboard, brain gym, thinking skills)  Any special features or innovative practice such as MFL.  Special curriculum events eg book week, arts week, multi-cultural events or exhibitions.  Links with the community, feeder schools, local businesses.  Sources of Evidence for above: curriculum policy statements, SEN policy and IEPs, quality of curriculum in Foundation Stage, any work to take account of ‘Excellence and Enjoyment’, lesson observations, teacher planning, improvements in standards in any/all subjects, impact on attainment and progress of all pupils and particular groups, monitoring outcomes, pupil views and opinion, pupil participation and engagement in activities, improvements in behaviour/ attendance/ attitudes, outcomes of monitoring and evaluation to support school improvement, staff expertise in curriculum areas and contributions to Inset, transition arrangements between key stages, parental views, parental responses to curriculum activities questionnaires, participation in sports, arts or other activities, impact on curriculum of working towards/ achieving external awards, monitoring of all outcomes.

5c. How well are learners guided and supported?

 Evaluate the effectiveness of care, advice guidance and other support provided to safeguard welfare, promote personal development and make good progress in their work.  Evaluate the quality and accessibility of information, advice and guidance to learners.  Evaluate the extent to which both the school and any additional services contribute to the learners’ capacity to be healthy, including vulnerable groups such as looked after pupils.  Health and safety policy known by all staff and used by designated member of staff and governor to check on provision.  Policies in place for curriculum, educational visits, race.  School security, fire safety and evacuation procedures are known and operational with warning and exit signs in place.  Regular health and safety checks and risk assessments completed and recorded  Child protection procedures known and used with designated member of staff and governors.  Appropriate ratio of adult/child lunchtime supervision.  Provision for LAC including PEPs.  Behaviour support programmes and BIPs.  Clear guidance on safety in PE- eg wearing of jewellery and moving of equipment.  Clear guidance on safety with use of ICT equipment and access to the Internet.  Arrangements for First Aid training and provision.  Liaison with outside agencies eg school health service, police, road safety, cycling proficiency.  Procedures for the administration of medicines and training in use of inhalers/epi-pens etc.  Peer tutoring arrangements/ buddies.  Good induction arrangements for new members of staff.  Good induction arrangements for new pupils and at points of entry eg nursery/reception.  Links with community, local churches, and other places of worship.  Involvement in charitable events.  Good parental links and communication.  Sources of evidence for the above include: record system for pupils causing concern, monitoring systems/records for anti racism and anti bullying and reporting procedures, risk assessments in place and updated, accident reporting systems, feedback from external agencies, feedback from school council or other groups such as parents any evidence demonstrating that suggestions have resulted in action, Healthy Schools Award/ healthy eating policy, records of tutoring/academic counselling sessions, Child Protection Policy, ICT Internet policy, LAC policy, accident reports and remedial action taken, SEN pupils’ contribution to their own reviews, pupil role in establishing classroom rules, pupil participation for assessing own work and setting own targets. 5d. Where relevant: what is the quality of provision in the Foundation Stage, including, if appropriate, the quality of childcare?

 Is the curriculum suitably broad, balanced and relevant?  How is the curriculum planned, documented and reflected in practice?  To what extent is learning and teaching built on a learner’s previous knowledge, experience and skills?  To what extent are learners making sense of new experiences and having opportunities to apply and secure their understanding?  How are learner’s different ways of learning and different rates of learning catered for?  How are social contexts provided to allow both learner and adult interaction and intervention?  Where are opportunities for learners to reflect on what they have learnt?  Sources of evidence include : observations of learners particularly focused on learners responses; planning the use of indoor and outdoor environment; learner’s records across all areas of learning; targets set; records of Foundation Stage team meetings; reports of observations from external reports e.g. Effective Early Learning (EEL); courses provided for parents/carers.  “ Our induction process includes home visits which ensure that learners feel safe and settle quickly into the foundation stage routine. Our procedures are well known by staff and parents. They ensure that health and safety, children’s security and child protection have high priority.”  “Through the monitoring of learner’s observations it is noted that learners experience a balance of leaner initiated and practitioner led activities accessing a wealth of resources to motivate learners to engage, persevere and communicate (Observations, planning file).”  “ Curriculum planning is based on a two year cycle and is monitored by a senior teacher to ensure the six areas of learning are balanced over each half termly period.”

Where there is childcare  To what extent are learners safe?  To what extent is emotional well being promoted?  To what extent is recreational enjoyment promoted?  Sources of evidence: attendance register; staffing structures; routines for sessions; links to Sure Start/ other professional agencies

5e. On the basis of your evaluation, what are your key priorities for development ?

 Obviously any significant issues identified need to be included in this section and if any action is planned it needs to be specified. Depending on the significance of the issue, and the nature of the content in this section, this may appear in the SIP but may have been tackled in other ways e.g. specific subject leaders may been given responsibility for producing an action plan to address the weakness; the staff meeting schedule or CPD time may have been altered; a review to identify funding e.g. to purchase resources, may have been undertaken.  If the text has identified percentages of teaching (whole school, by key stage, or by subject) which highlight weakness or variability then having a specific target to improve it is helpful e.g. “improve the percentage of good teaching to 80% by 2006”. 5.3 Links and checks.

 Judgements on learning, achievement, behaviour and attitudes should be linked to the aspects of teaching that result in these being as they are. For example Section 3 (standards) asks for judgements and evidence of cause and effect. So ‘standards in science are high because…’. It is inevitable that no matter what the judgement one of the causes will be teaching. The consequence of this is that the details of this section need to be consistent with the arguments cited in section 3 particularly 3.a. 6. Leadership and management

6.0 Common Inspection Schedule (CIS) references.

Evidence provided in this section of the SEF will particularly contribute to inspector’s evaluation of CIS section 5: How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement and supporting all learners?

 how effectively performance is monitored and improved through quality assurance and self- assessment  how effectively leaders and managers at all levels clearly direct improvement and promote the well-being of learners through high quality care, education and training  how well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve their potential  the adequacy and suitability of staff, including the effectiveness of processes for recruitment and selection of staff to ensure that learners are well taught and protected  the adequacy and suitability of specialist equipment, learning resources and accommodation  how effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money

and, where appropriate,

 how effective are the links made with other providers, services, employers and other organisations to promote the integration of care, education and any  extended services to enhance learning and to promote well-being the effectiveness with which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities.

6.1 Key messages.

Key messages  There is a greater emphasis on evaluating the quality of leadership and management by looking at outcomes and judging their impact in terms of raising achievement, supporting all learners and the quality of provision. This is a change of emphasis from the previous framework where there was a greater focus on looking at standards.  A useful starting point in judging leadership and management is to look at outcomes. Judgements about leadership and management need to be consistent with others in the SEF – if everything is very good in a school, then it is likely that leadership and management will be very good. Judgements must be clearly substantiated and need to be based on well-founded evidence.  The quality and the use made of school self-evaluation will be used to inform judgements about the overall effectiveness of leadership and management, as well as the school’s capacity for improvement.  In making judgements about leadership and management inspectors will consider the school’s contribution to the five outcomes outlined in Every Child Matters and the effectiveness of the school’s links with other providers.  The effectiveness and efficiency of the leadership and management of the Foundation Stage needs to be evaluated separately.  The quality of professional development arrangements and the impact of these activities on staff performance will be used to indicate how well managers at all levels know their schools and what they are doing to improve the situation.  As far as possible, the inspection process will be based on a co-operative approach with schools involved in the process of evaluation, for example through joint lesson observations.  The strength of leadership and management will be the major factor in determining a school’s capacity for improvement  In coming to a view about the overall quality of leadership and management, the effectiveness of the headteacher, the Senior Leadership Team, other layers of management and leadership and the governors need to be taken into account.  Given the significance of Leadership and management, Appendix 4 contains an additional set of key questions related to the sub questions and prompts contained in this section.

6.2 SEF content.

6a. What is the overall effectiveness and efficiency of leadership and management?

6.a.i. How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of integrated care and education.

 The SIP process and the involvement of all stakeholders, as well as the resulting plan and subject leaders’ action plans.  The impact of leadership in implementing specific initiatives.  The impact of leadership on improvements in standards, support, care etc.  The quality of leadership of all levels in the school, including the Governing Body.  Through the implementation of policies and practice.  Teachers’ planning – short, medium, long-term.  Evidence might include : job descriptions for SLT and subject leaders; training records, including performance management; governing body minutes and the headteacher’s termly reports; the records of management and staff meetings  “Leaders and managers at all levels are good at setting clear directions that lead to improvement. The school’s aims of “Achieving for All” are clearly set out in the school improvement plan and are reflected in the sharply focused action plans of subject leaders. These outline appropriate actions and have sensible timescales and ambitious success criteria. Subject leaders have worked very well together to implement their plans and the impact can be seen in the improved progress of pupils in all years in reading and maths (SIP file)”.

6.a.ii. How effectively performance is monitored and improved to meet challenging targets through quality assurance and self-assessment.  The school’s self-evaluation schedule is key here.  School improvement monitoring e.g. data analysis and performance information, lesson observations, scrutiny of work, monitoring of planning etc.  Feedback from external evaluations such as IIP, BSQM etc.  Evidence of intervention leading to improvement e.g. support for a teacher.  LEA monitoring information.  The impact of performance management.  “An effective and comprehensive schedule for self-evaluation ensures that all aspects of the school’s work are systematically reviewed each year. The high-quality support provided for all leaders last year has ensured that their evaluations are now more accurate and rigorous. This has meant that the outcomes of monitoring are now used effectively to identify accurately areas for improvement and the impact of this is shown in the marked improvements in English and maths at KS2 this year (SSE file)”

6a.iii. How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination is tackled so that all learners achieve their potential (i.e. inclusion).

 Policies such as equal opportunities and race equality, school aims and vision, behaviour policy, bullying policy will be important elements.  Focused analysis of performance data looking at the progress of all groups of children.  Range of records including SEN; behaviour records; records of incidents of bullying, discrimination or racism.  Records tracking and monitoring the progress of pupils.  Teachers’ planning  Lesson observations  Records of moderated assessments of pupils’ work.  “ The school has had significant success in promoting equality of opportunity. The school has a powerful vision based on a deeply held commitment to the principles of equality for all pupils, high standards and excellence in provision. Rigorous pupil tracking systems enable the needs of all pupils to be identified accurately so that provision is appropriate to the needs of each child. Because of this, pupils who had been achieving below national expectations have made excellent progress this year as reflected in the improved numbers of pupils gaining L2+ at KS1 (Tracking file).”

6.a.iv.a. The adequacy and suitability of staff, including recruitment processes, to ensure that learners are well taught and protected by evaluating:

 The staff profile, staffing structure and deployment of staff  Records of implementation of workforce remodelling  Evidence of career development, induction and professional development strategies, including CPD records  Head’s termly report and minutes of the Governors’ personnel committee.  “Interviews with all staff are held annually to identify any professional development needs. The very effective use of internal and external support and training has improved teachers’ skills in teaching literacy and this is reflected in our improved results in reading across the school.”

6a.iv.b. The adequacy and suitability of specialist equipment, learning resources and accommodation.

 Inventory and annual audit of resources undertaken by subject co-ordinators - range and quality of resources.  Library provision, and suitability for different groups of learners  ICT provision e.g. IWBs, lap-tops, digital cameras.  The development of the school building and the grounds and how they are used to maximise learning opportunities, particularly for creative, practical, physical and aesthetic activities.  Maintenance and security records.  Lesson observations.  “Additional funding has been provided to improve the quantity and quality of library books. However, a wider range of books are still needed to better reflect boys’ reading preferences and to meet the needs of readers of different abilities”.

6a.v. How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money.

 SIP – use of finance to support school priorities, GB finance committee minutes, regular monitoring reports.  Subject leaders’ monitoring reports including spending audits.  Evidence from the most recent audit.  Remodelling – use of staff expertise.  Budget statements, monthly outturn statements, minutes of the finance committee and their monitoring of key spending decisions.  Termly reports to governors.  “Value for money is good. The annual action plan is linked to very careful financial planning. Governors are fully involved in reviewing spending proposals when the draft action plan is considered and they monitor the implementation of the plans each term. Governors work with the SLT to review the impact of the school’s use of its resources at the end of the summer term”.

6a.vi. How effectively links are made with other providers, services, employers and other organisations to promote the integration of care, education, and any extended services to enhance learning.

 Links with Social Services, education welfare officers, health professionals, arts support services and the impact of this work.  Links with non-LEA providers e.g. universities, independent providers.  Range and impact of community resources used.  Extent of parents/carers involvement in the school and its impact.  Involvement in networks and the contribution to the school’s provision.  Out of hours learning and wrap around care.  “Very effective links have been made with other providers this year and we are now able to offer high quality care before and after school. Opportunities for working with ICT, music and drama have enriched the school’s provision within the school community as parents are involved in many of the activities”.

6a.v.ii. The extent to which governors (and, if appropriate, other supervisory boards) carry out their responsibilities.

 Attendance at governing body meetings.  Relationship of chair of governors and head.  Minutes of discussions and decisions made at governing body meetings.  Governors’ roles and responsibilities and termly review of progress in areas of responsibility.  Governors’ visits to the school, meetings, reports etc.  Training for governors, the audit of training needs and training records.  “The chair meets with the Head each week to review key developments. The main focus of the work of all sub-committees this year has been the strategic planning for ECM and then reviewing the effectiveness of this. This involvement had provided good support for the school and has set deadlines for completing activities”.

6b. Evaluate, where relevant, the effectiveness of leadership and management in the Foundation Stage.

 Foundation Stage action plans.  Long, medium and short-term planning.  Use made of support staff.  Records of meetings and the minutes.  Analysis of recorded assessment in the Foundation stage Profile, ongoing assessments, notes made during observations of pupils.  Observations of children at work and allocation of activities reflected in timetables and planning.  The nature and frequency of use of external agencies and their impact on children’s learning.

6c. On the basis of your evaluation, what are your priorities for development?

 Pick up points where your evaluation in 6a and 6b show improvements are needed. List them in this section and indicate what you plan to do or have already begun to do.  The action might include: identifying the weakness as a priority in the next SIP; subject leader has been given responsibility for producing an action plan to address the weakness; staff meeting schedule or CPD time has been amended to include time for professional development of staff; budget has been reviewed to identify funding e.g. to purchase resources, provide time for key staff to carry initiative forward.  “The things we need to do to improve include: Continue to develop the role of the governors in challenging what we do and holding the school properly to account. Further develop the role of subject leaders in raising standards through effective monitoring, evaluation and planning for improvement. Continue to improve the way we work with other agencies in order to improve the way we meet the five outcomes of ECM”

6.3 Links and checks

 If the quality of leadership and management is generally shown by their impact, then the judgement about them must be consistent with judgements on the other areas. It is unlikely that leadership and management will be good if judgements about how well learners achieve in relation to their prior attainment (SEF section 3.a.), the quality of teaching and learning or the appropriateness of the curriculum for learners are satisfactory or inadequate.(SEF section 5) One particular instance where there may be inconsistency of judgements is when a new head has demonstrated good leadership but there has been insufficient time to see the impact of the actions taken.  The effectiveness of the links made with other providers and services must be evaluated in terms of the five outcomes of Every Child Matters as demonstrated in the judgements made about achievement and standards and the quality of provision. (sections 3 and 5)  Responses for each heading should be checked for internal consistency and to ensure that the implications raised in one section e.g. how well performance is monitored and improved through self-evaluation, are consistent with responses to the adequacy and selection of staff. 7. Overall effectiveness and efficiency

7.0 Common Inspection Schedule (CIS) references.

Evidence provided in this section of the SEF will particularly contribute to inspectors evaluation of the CIS introductory section: ‘How effective and efficient are the provision and related services in meeting the full range of learners’ needs and why?’ and ‘What steps need to be taken to improve provision further?’. Inspectors will evaluate:

 the overall effectiveness of the provision, including any extended services in a school, and its main strengths and weaknesses  the capacity to make necessary improvements  the effectiveness of any steps taken to promote improvement since the last inspection,

and where appropriate:

 the effectiveness of links with other organisations to promote the well-being of learners  the quality and standards in the Foundation Stage

7.1 Key messages

 These are the last judgements to be made, since they take account of all other evaluations about the school’s performance.  These judgements should be arrived at by weighing the judgements in all other sections and assessing the balance of significance between them.  The SEF is at the heart of the new inspection arrangements and its quality provides crucial evidence in evaluating the quality of leadership and management and the school’s capacity to improve. This section is critically important in reaching this judgement.

7.2 SEF content

7a. What is the overall effectiveness of the provision, including any extended services, and its main strengths and weaknesses?

 This requires an evaluation based on a synthesis of judgements in all other sections in SEF.  The school’s main strengths and the school’s main weaknesses need to be recorded succinctly, but this question requires a clear judgement, supported by telling argument, that balances the key evidence found in other sections one against another. The key evidence is likely to include at least pupil progress, teaching, provision, the Every Child Matters outcomes, and the quality of leadership and management. Leadership and management will obviously include the effectiveness of the self-evaluation process itself.  “This is an effective school. Pupils enter the school well below the national average and with limited language and socials skills. Good teaching in the foundation stage and Key Stage 1, together with excellent school-home partnership work, means that most pupils are performing at national averages by the time they are seven. For pupils who remain with the school until the end of Key Stage 2 progress is good. We have recognized that pupils who join us in Key Stage 2 do not do as well as they should which is why the support and monitoring of these pupils features as a priority in the current School Improvement Plan…”.

7b. What is the effectiveness of any steps taken to promote improvement since the last inspection and as a result of your self-evaluation?

 Reference to previous ‘key issues’ is obligatory. What progress has been made in each key issue or in other matters raised during the previous inspection?  Review progress in important aspects of the school (the big picture) such as standards, the quality of teaching or other key areas of improvement. These are likely to have appeared in previous School Improvement Plans or be major initiatives currently being undertaken by the school.  This is not an opportunity to re-describe the steps taken to promote improvement but to make clear evaluations about the impact of these initiatives.  “ Our three year school initiative of improving “Key Skills”, which has included clearer processes for allocating intervention support, has resulted in the percentage of learners achieving level 4 and above in English and mathematics rising from 54% and 66% to 70% and 74% respectively. The programme has been less effective at addressing the needs of higher achievers, and this issue is now identified as an area for action in the current school plan”.

7c. What is the capacity to make further improvement?

 The track record of leadership and management is very closely linked to the school’s capacity to improve.  The extent of the school’s improvement, since the last inspection or over time, is a firm indicator of its capacity to continue improving.  The effectiveness of self-evaluation procedures and the capacity of leadership and management to successfully implement action which brings about improvements are key. Consequently examples written in the rest of the SEF must make clear evaluations of the impact of any action that have been taken.

7d. How effective are the links with other organisations to promote the well-being of learners?

 Evaluation based on synthesis of judgements in all other sections in SEF, though 1b and 4d need particularly checking for consistency.  Evaluate efficiency and value for money of these links.  Identify specific sources where possible. 7e. What steps need to be taken to improve the provision further?

 Make reference to areas for improvement identified in previous sections of the SEF i.e.. 1e, 3c, 4g, 5e, 6c.  Cross-reference to intended activities in current SIP.  If any areas for improvement indicated in the SEF are not in current SIP then explain why not.  “We need to improve standards in science across Key Stage 2 (SIP 2a), and increase the proportion of pupils reaching level 3 in writing in Key Stage 1 (SIP 3b)”.

7f. Where relevant: what are the quality and standards in the Foundation Stage?

 Evaluation based on synthesis of judgements found elsewhere in questions. 3b, 4f, 5d, 6b.

7.3 Links and checks.

 Appendix 2 contains a table which enables all the grades recorded in the SEF to be viewed together. This could be a useful reminder of what the “whole school picture” represented in the SEF looks like. Obviously the answers in this section need to be consistent with that whole school picture.  Appendix 3 contains the full grade summary which will appear as part of the inspection report.  The links between standards, the quality of teaching and leadership and management are central to the judgement of overall effectiveness.

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