Agenda Item No

 

The Vale of Glamorgan Council

 

Scrutiny Committee (Lifelong Learning) : 26th July 2010

 

Report of the Director of Learning and Development

 

SEF Briefing Paper

 

Purpose of the Report

1.             To update Members on the progress of the implementation of the National School Effectiveness Framework (SEF).

Recommendations

1.             That Members approve progress to date.

2.             That Members request a further up-date in December 2010.

Reasons for the Recommendations

1.             To ensure that Members are provided with opportunity to scrutinize implementation arrangements.

2.             To ensure Members are kept up to date with developments.

Background

2.             Work on implementing the various SEF work streams has been progressing well, namely:

·               Implementation of the National Model for School Improvement (NMSI) ~ and use of the School  Effectiveness Profile (SEP)

·               Consortium Capacity Building for SEF ~ System Leadership (SL)

·               Local Authority Capacity Building for SEF ~ Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

·               Rationalisation of the BSF grant to better support SEF ~ CPD activities to reflect SEF and National Model criteria (Training Directory).

3.             This work is set within the changes proposed to the Education System in Wales from September 2010 onwards, as outlined below.  The overarching strategic approach being implemented in the Vale is attached in Appendix 1.

The Education System - September 2010 onwards

 

4.             Over the past two years the Welsh Assembly Government together with its partners has been working to transform and shape the education system.  However, the variation in outcomes within and between schools and local authorities suggests that a differentiated approach is needed to bring about improvement.  The Welsh Assembly Government intends to work with its partners to develop differentiated approaches to support improvement, including schools supporting one another, which will offer a coherent approach to challenging underperformance and pushing the boundaries of leading edge performance.

5.             Wales has made progress across the board in children and young people's achievement.  However, there continues to be differences in outcomes, within schools (where the greatest variation lies), between schools, between local authorities and between the primary and secondary phases of education.  Together, these contribute to Wales' overall position within the PISA results and provide a benchmark for the improvement that we seek from our education system.

6.             All partners within the education system recognise that all parties need to seek greater improvements for children and young people.  Local authorities have invested considerable energy and resources over many years in challenging and supporting schools to improve children and young people's achievement and attainment delivering their statutory duties effectively, thus realising efficiencies.  However, more needs to be done and currently there is energy and drive from all local authority chief executives and leaders to achieving efficiencies and improvements across and between the four consortia.

Relevant Issues and Options

7.             Our focus for improvement and effectiveness is founded on the following fundamental principles and expected activities ('non-negotiables'):

·               the National Purpose for Schools in Wales (as set out in School Effectiveness Framework: Building Effective Learning Communities Together, 2008);

·               embedding of the SEF through the implementation of policy aligned strategically at all three levels;

·               a focus on challenge, support and collaboration, to reduce variations in performance within and between schools and local authorities, based upon an agreed model for school improvement and closely linked with the New Understanding between WAG and local authorities;

·               annual self-evaluation updates using Estyn's Common Inspection Framework and development tools related to the School Effectiveness Profile to enable them to identify areas for improvement   The self-evaluation local authorities undertake will form the basis of Estyn's inspections.  Estyn will support the development of a self-evaluation toolkit for local authorities, working closely with ADEW, DCELLS and the WAO;

·               a focus on developing high quality leadership and training at all levels within the system;

·               the promotion of networking, collaboration and clustering within, between and across schools, including Professional Learning Communities  (PLC’s) and other means to improve learning outcomes, by focusing on the reduction of variation within and between schools.  The focus of such collaboration should be on teaching and learning;

·               the effective analysis of data;

·               a focus on inclusion and equity so as to reduce the link between various forms of disadvantage and educational achievement;

·               linking local authority performance to outcome agreements; and

·               rationalising and re-focusing grants to meet the objectives of the SEF.

 

Implementation of the National Model for School Improvement (NMSI) (Appendix 2)

 

8.             Under the auspices of the SEF, WAG, local authorities and schools have been advised to jointly and in concert develop a National Model for School Improvement to implement the SEF.  The National Model will be adopted by each school, local authority and the Welsh Assembly Government.  We anticipate that this will involve:

·               local authorities exercising their community leadership role to ensure that improving outcomes for children and young people and school improvement is a key priority for partners and organisations in and across each local authority;

·               robust use of data (including Estyn inspection) to benchmark performance and to signal areas for development and implementation;

·               a focus on reducing within - school and between school variation;

·               sharing leading-edge practice through collaboration, clustering, networking and the development of Professional Learning Communities;

·               well planned and designed schools serving their communities which harness the use of technology to secure improvement;

·               the development of a curriculum that can engage children and young people;

·               strengthening the teaching and learning through a menu of opportunities for continuing professional development (CPD);

·               strengthening distributed leadership within the schools and local authorities through bespoke leadership development;

·               strengthening children and young people's participation in decisions that affect them;

·               improvement of links with a range of partners including parents/carers, the community, third sector organisations, health service, other local authority services and other local authorities; and

·               the development of research capacity.

9.             In the Vale, all School Improvement Advisers and Head teachers have been briefed on the details contained within the National Model and how this affects them as school leaders.

10.        Aspects of the NMSI will be systematically targeted for development through the work of the Link Advisers in all our schools in the Vale, including Special Schools and PRUs.

11.        Within the Central South Consortium work is being undertaken to audit current School Improvement activities, against the NMSI criteria, with a view to seeking opportunities for further collaboration in the forthcoming academic year.

The School Effectiveness Profile (SEP)

 

12.        The SEP is a tool for evaluating overall school effectiveness and is aligned with both the NMSI and the new Estyn Common Inspection Framework (CIF).  Each area of the SEP exemplifies each area of the SEF which effectively maps out the journey of school effectiveness from 'emerging' through to 'transforming'.  The SEP is able, through professional dialogue with Head teachers, to help identify key areas for further development, which in turn are aligned with the SEF.

13.        Link Adviser school visits and professional dialogue with school leaders will focus on identified aspects of the National Model and also on key areas for development illustrated in the School Effectiveness Profile (SEP).  See Appendix 3.  In this way, key criteria of the NMSI will be targeted for development with schools, on a systematic basis.

Consortium Capacity Building for SEF ~ System Leadership (see Appendix 4a and 4b)

 

14.        To support schools in achieving this model, local authorities will need to have in place school improvement and effectiveness practitioners, commonly known as 'system leaders', to include both local authority advisors and practicing school leaders.  Using the National Standards for School Improvement Professionals, the teams will:

·               support schools so that they can achieve the national model;

·               challenge schools and governing bodies through continuous monitoring of performance;

·               create and support networks of effective practice within, between and across schools focusing on teaching and learning, with a drive to improve outcomes for all;

·               bring together effective head teachers as part of the team focussed on school improvement and head teacher performance management;

·               training to ensure that schools make the best use of data to improve performance; and

·               work with governing bodies and other local authorities to achieve the above.

15.        To support local authorities, WAG will:

·               align thinking across WAG so that there is a coherent and consistent direction for children and young peoples plans and programmes.

16.        To support local authorities, DCELLS will:

·               align its school-focused priorities, policies and programmes to the SEF.  In particular this will mean that developments in the curriculum, in assessment arrangements, in learning and teaching, in CPD and leadership development are strongly aligned with SEF;

·               rationalise the grants currently available to local authorities/schools and to move rapidly towards a funding structure which uses fewer, larger grants with a lighter administrative touch;

·               align school grants strategically to the delivery of the SEF's fundamental principles and model for school improvement.  This will require monitoring and evaluation by reference, wherever appropriate, to outcomes rather than inputs and activities;

·               align the SEF with the Child Poverty Strategy for Wales to address issues associated with equity and improve educational performance by and for our most disadvantaged children and young people; and

·               work collaboratively with other policy leads across WAG (e.g. local government, child poverty unit, health and social care) to influence policy development and ensure alignment.

Implementation

 

17.        The key milestones and actions are:

·               to develop and agree the SEF narrative with ADEW, WLGA and school representatives by 31 January 2010 or as soon as possible thereafter;

·               to develop on a tri-level basis, an outline National Model for School Improvement by 31 January 2010 or as soon as possible thereafter;

·               for local authorities to identify a framework within which each can operate to deliver the National Model for School Improvement by the end of April 2010;

·               for local authorities to include the implementation and delivery of the National Model for School Improvement into their planning from April 2010 or as soon thereafter as the model is agreed depending upon the CYP Plan review cycles;

·               for local authorities to develop plans to increase the pace and breadth of collaborative working across the consortia areas to achieve the agreed outcomes for embedding the SEF by the end of April 2010;

·               DCELLS and ADEW to work together on a range of outcome measures to inform and support the wider work on outcome agreements, based on the 'New Understanding between the Welsh Assembly Government and Local Government in Wales' by 31 March 2010;

·               for DCELLS to ensure that the recommendations of the CPD/Leadership review currently underway are aligned strongly to the principles of SEF and the model for school improvement, so that the critical role of high quality teaching and leadership can be supported;

·               for DCELLS to ensure that curriculum developments in the Foundation Phase, at     8-14 (particularly in the area of literacy) and at 14 - 19, are aligned appropriately to SEF including the National Model for School Improvement;

·               for DCELLS to ensure that assessment practices across all phases reflect the principles of the SEF and support the National Model for School Improvement;

·               to create a School Effectiveness Grant to support local authorities and schools by April 2010 or as soon as possible.

18.        In the Vale, work on developing a cadre of System Leaders is underway.  As part of the Consortium arrangements, a regional plan has been devised to train one hundred System Leaders (SLs) consisting of Head teachers and School Improvement Advisers.  Training will commence in September 2010, and in the Vale, SLs will initially be involved in facilitating PLCs, in the first instance.  See Appendix 5 ~ Letter to Head teachers inviting expressions of interest.

Local Authority Capacity Building for SEF ~ Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

 

19.        The promotion of networking, collaboration and clustering within, between and across schools, including Professional Learning Communities and other means, is a key methodology used to improve outcomes and wellbeing.

20.        The NMSI advises that such activities need to focus on such collaboration on teaching and learning.

21.        The Vale's overarching strategic approach to this aspect of the SEF is set out in Appendix 4b.

22.        PLCs will be established within each Strategy Team and be facilitated by either a School Improvement Adviser or Head teacher who has been trained as a system Leader.

23.        It is envisaged that the PLC Project will commence in September 2010.

Rationalisation of the BSF grant to better support SEF ~ CPD activities to reflect SEF and National Model criteria (Training Directory)

 

24.        This year the Better Schools Fund (BSF) has been rationalised to reflect only three categories, as follows: i) SEF, ii) Inclusion, and iii) Welsh language development.

25.        This affords schools greater flexibility in terms of targeting areas for development through more focused CPD.

26.        The Better Schools Fund (BSF) uses the criteria contained within the National Model as areas of eligible spend; this means that professional development activity aimed at school improvement, in both schools and local Authorities School Improvement Services are now fully aligned and focused in improving outcomes for all learners.

27.        To support school's CPD requirements, school Improvement Advisers produce a Training Directory which illustrates a range of Continual Professional Development (CPD) opportunities.  These CPD opportunities are now fully aligned and supportive of the NMSI/SEF criteria.

In Summary

 

28.        In the Vale of Glamorgan and with the benefits of the findings of a recent Estyn inspection  there is a need to engage in the following to support the SEF implementation process:

·               To engage school leaders in further discussions about the statutory role of the local Authority as set out in the Partnership Agreement and in the context of the National Model.

·               To continue with the work involved in 'mapping and gapping' our current systems and processes for School Improvement against the National Model.

·               Engage Head teachers in discussions about how we can work better within the current systems based on a improved shared understanding.

·               Use the existing, newly formed Strategy Teams to facilitate the above enhances by the use of the Statement of Strategic Intent.

·               Continue to engage HT in the work of Professor Alma Harris on PLCs and distributed leadership to further develop work commenced on 11th May PLC event.

·               Facilitate Strategy team feedback to HT and to the R and D and TSP Programmes.

·               Ensure that robust data analysis informs all work.

·               Ensure that the rationale for challenge is based on data, PIAP, the NM and Education 2015.

·               Utilise CS Consortium to enhance implementation of emerging futures.

·               Ensure that all findings inform the work of the R and D and TSP programme to focus on the establishment of a joint SI support programme.

·               To use the SEP with individual schools via the R and D programme and to collate an Authority wide picture of need.

29.        The plans set out in the Appendices, outline proposals for translating the National Model into local implementation and aims to serve as a discussion platform for further work with Head teachers, Advisers and practitioners.

Resource Implications (Financial and Employment)

30.        The Vale LA has received 45K funding from DCELLs to support the implementation of aspects of the SEF.

31.        The Consortium has received 225K WAG funding to deliver SEF on a Consortium basis see Appendix 4a.

Legal Implications (to Include Human Rights Implications)

32.        None.

Crime and Disorder Implications

33.        None.

Equal Opportunities Implications (to include Welsh Language issues)

34.        The School Effectiveness Framework is designed to raise standards on the provision of Welsh and English Medium education..

Corporate/Service Objectives

35.        This is consistent with the Council’s strategic priorities for Education and Lifelong Learning and Education 2015.

Policy Framework and Budget

36.        This is a matter which falls within the existing policy framework and budget.

Consultation (including Ward Member Consultation)

37.        The SEF model has been developed through extensive consultation within the Education community in Wales.

Relevant Scrutiny Committee

38.        Lifelong Learning.

Background Papers

SEF Guidance 2008

ADEW SEF Papers 2009 – 2010.

Contact Officer

Lynette Jones, Head of School Improvement

Officers Consulted

Jendy Hillier, Strategy Team Leader for Curriculum Development

John Comissiong, Development Adviser

Andrea Davies, ALN Adviser

Jane McCarthy, Development Adviser

Meryl Plummer, Strategy Team Leader for the Foundation Phase

Diane Kurbalija, Strategy Team Leader 14 - 19

Responsible Officer:

Bryan Jeffreys, Director of Learning and Development