Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance About Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance

Brooke Weston Teaching School was established in 2011 after being one of the first hundred schools in the country to be granted Teaching School status. We have forged partnerships with professionals across the East Midlands, ranging from primary through to higher education providers. The Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance works collaboratively through a number of Alliance Teams consisting of outstanding professionals from across the Alliance working on developments in the following areas: Initial Teacher Training, Continuing Professional Development, Leadership Development, Research and Development and School to School Support. The following are our partner organisations, as of 2015. For up-to-date information see: http://bwtsa.brookeweston.com/AU_AboutUs.aspx

Primary Schools Beanfield Primary Academy Corby Gretton Primary Academy Gretton Kettering Science Academy Kettering Little Stanion Primary School Corby Oakley Vale Primary Corby Studfall Junior School Corby The Grange School Daventry

Secondary Schools Bishop Stopford School Kettering Casterton Business and Enterprise College Stamford Corby Business Academy Corby Corby Technical School Corby Fairfield Special School Northampton Kettering Science Academy Kettering Landau Forte College Derby Northampton School for Boys Northampton

Universities University of Derby University of Leicester University of Northampton

For further information: Contact Us

© Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance and the University of Leicester, 2015. This document is covered by the following licence: CC-BY-NC-SA (share alike with attribution for non-commercial use) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.

Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance About ethical appraisal of inquiry in the Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance

In the shaping of the work of our research and development committee, we drew up a policy and protocols to support staff involved in school-based inquiry. This has three parts summarized in Figure 1. Part 1 is the overarching policy document explaining our vision and commitment to enquiry. Part 2 is an ethical checklist for use by those planning to undertake an enquiry. Part 3 is a project overview sheet to be shared with the research and development committee for staff to gain support in ensuring their enquiries are ethically sound. We have discussed the process of the development of these documents both at the UCET annual conference 13 November 2013 and through professional publication:

Brown, A. and Fox, A. (2013) Thinking ethically to support practitioner research, Professional Development Today, 16(1): 52-58.

Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance Part 1: Policy document for school-based inquiry undertaken by teachers

This policy document is intended for teachers who intend to undertake any form of school-based inquiry where students and other members of staff might be involved. School-based inquiry could involve the teacher undertaking a small-scale study of one or more of his/her classes, involve joint practice development with other teachers or broader inquiry in the school context to inform school improvement. Its philosophy is to investigate an issue to contribute to the improvement of learning and teaching in our school(s).

1. The undertaking of Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance

1.1 The Alliance is committed to providing a high quality of delivery of service to all of its clients and to the students who attend the schools involved in the partnership. 1.2 The Alliance will ensure that:  It promotes an ethos where the student is placed at the centre of its operations;  It encourages teachers to enquire and develop a vision of this partnership as a learning organisation for all involved, not just students;  It maintains commitment to staff education, training and continuing professional development;  It provides support for teachers undertaking professional inquiry through the school’s Research and Development co-ordinator. 1.3 The Alliance is committed to regular reviewing and quality assurance of inquiry, conducted through the medium of the Research and Development (R and D) committee. 1.4 The Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance policy supports the promotion of a culture and ethos of professional inquiry. It will serve to protect the rights, dignity, safety and privacy of all staff and students participating in professional operations which fall within the normal professional standards and conduct of teaching staff.

2. Who is responsible for carrying out this policy?

This will be monitored by the R and D committee and by the R and D representative in each school in the partnership.

3. What are the guiding principles behind this policy?

3.1 All staff involved in R and D should be given the opportunity to reflect upon their own performance and be self-critical, identifying ways for improvements. 3.2 The guiding principles behind this policy are rooted in seeking and identifying improvement, leading to enhanced progress and sustainable impact. It is the principle of doing no harm in its widest sense. It, therefore, serves to support the interest and well-being of others, including respect for their rights. 3.3 Young persons over the age of 16 are generally thought to be able to give informed consent but it might be appropriate to seek advice depending on the type of inquiry being conducted and the context in which it is being carried out. Inquiry involving children under 16 may be carried out under the aegis of normal professional duties, but may require parental, carer or guardian informed consent as appropriate to the nature of the inquiry. © Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance and the University of Leicester, 2015. This document is covered by the following licence: CC-BY-NC-SA (share alike with attribution for non-commercial use) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.

Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance

3.4 Teachers undertaking inquiry should be made aware and should be sensitive to the concept of ‘voluntary’ consent, where students may have been asked to conduct a survey in class, for example. Students, in this context, may feel obliged to consent where there is pressure applied by someone in a higher position of power. Consent that lacks ‘voluntariness’ cannot be relied upon to protect the participant’s welfare. 3.5 The collection, storage, disclosure and use of any data arising from professional inquiry must comply with the Data Protection Act 1998. Practitioners should be aware of the risks of identification and breach of privacy and confidentiality posed by information storage and processing, including computer and paper files, email, photographs, audio and videotapes and any other material where an individual is named, or from which an individual can be identified. Inquirers should make every effort to maintain confidentiality of all participants in their study. 3.6 There should be an agreed use of confidential material between the user and participants including how the outcomes of the inquiry are disseminated. 3.7 All findings of professional inquiry endeavour should be disseminated in an appropriate manner pertaining to the nature of the inquiry. 3.8 Any questions relating to the above should be directed to the R and D committee or representative in the school.

4. Procedures

4.1 Practitioners will be issued with several documents at the planning stages of their inquiry:  This policy document;  The ethical guidelines checklist;  The inquiry ethical overview sheet;  A flow chart detailing the stages of inquiry. These documents should be read and understood and the overview document should be signed and returned to the R and D committee for validation. 4.2 The R and D committee will review and monitor projects as they progress and will advise on any ethical considerations. R and D representatives in schools will be the first point of contact for advice. 4.3 The Alliance will advocate the use of the ‘plan + do + reflect’ model, where issues of ethics and avoidance of harm will be interwoven into the structure. 4.4 Results and findings will seek to improve practice and the R and D committee will strive to provide outlets for dissemination that are appropriate to the inquiry. Results will take the form of both qualitative and quantitative outcomes. 4.5 The Alliance partnership with Higher Education Institutions will allow opportunities for further advice as necessary. Opportunities for further accreditation via professional studies will be made available to appropriate participants.