PAPER C

 

POLICY COMMISSION FOR CHILDREN AND SCHOOL RESULTS - 7 JUNE 2006

 

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

 

REPORT OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR FOR CHILDREN’S SERVICES

 

 

SUMMARY / PURPOSE

 

1.         This report presents a draft School Improvement Strategy and the associated draft Procedures and Protocols for Monitoring, Support, Challenge and Intervention for consultation. 

 

BACKGROUND

 

2.         The Commission has undertaken extensive investigation of the views of different stakeholder groups into how schools on the Island might be improved so that educational standards can be raised.   The outcome of these enquiries have informed the formulation of the attached strategy and protocols.  Following consultation, they will be presented for approval with the associated Blue Paper. 

 

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

 

3.         Raising educational standards is the first priority of the Island’s Children and Young People’s Plan.   Each priority of the Plan is underpinned by key strategies of which the School Improvement Strategy is one. 

 

4.         The Joint Area Review report is likely to identify the ‘Enjoy and Achieve’ outcome as the one, out of the 5 outcomes for children and young people, which needs the most urgent and substantial attention.

 

REPORT

 

Draft School Improvement Strategy

 

5.         The issues surrounding school improvement are partly cultural and partly technical. 

The cultural issues can be identified very clearly by a close reading of the Principles in the draft strategy.  It would be fair to say that many of those working in, with and for our schools have been focused on the success of the school as an institution, rather than focusing more directly on the short, medium and longer term progress of each and every pupil.  This lack of accountability for progress has been too often accompanied by a lack of follow-through in performance, from start to finish, and from strategy to assessed delivery.   This has been further compounded by a culture of relationships which have emphasised support over challenge, with the result that underperformance has not been noticed and rectified quickly enough. 

 

6.         The technical issues follow on.  There is a need to sharpen skills and understanding

around how school improvement works, from those working external to the school, such as inspectors and advisers, to those working inside the school, such as headteachers, teachers, and governors.  The particular issues which have been identified form the main strands of the strategy:

 

1.      Monitoring, support, challenge and intervention

2.      School self-evaluation

3.      The use of data

4.      Assessment for learning and the quality of teaching

5.      Leadership and management

6.      The quality of governance

7.      The quality of local authority support and challenge

 

Draft Procedures and Protocols for monitoring, support, challenge and intervention

 

7.         The Draft Procedures and Protocols for monitoring, support, challenge and intervention start from the same core principles as the draft school improvement strategy, as they need to address the same cultural issues.   Beyond this, the draft Procedures and Protocols seek to clarify exactly what each different person involved is responsible for; and to clarify the entitlements of schools when they find themselves in one of the four different categories of need. 

 

8.         Once these draft Procedures and Protocols are agreed, we shall be able to consolidate the recent development towards much more robust challenges of school underperformance and see significant improvements in standards.

 

FINANCIAL AND LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

 

9.         The Children and Young People’s Plan is a statutory plan.  These papers are key elements in this plan.    Local Authorities also have a statutory duty to raise standards in schools.

 

10        The current costs of implementing the School Improvement Plan and the associated

Protocols and Procedures are included in the current budget and include significant contributions from the National Primary and Secondary Strategies.  However, as and when  the new DfES School Improvement Partners begin their work on the Island, there will be a £70K levy to meet their costs.  These costs will need to be factored into future Children’s Services budgets and any other additional costs that might follow the implementation of the Joint Area Review Action Plan. 

 

CONCLUDING COMMENT

 

11.       There can be no disputing the importance of school improvement to raise educational standards on the Island.   The strategy must contain the right elements to make the necessary step changes to transform achievement and attainment.   One of these must surely be to clarify the rules of engagement to make sure that underperformance never passes unnoticed and unchallenged and that good performance is always noticed and built upon.

 

Appendix 1:               draft School Improvement Strategy

 

Appendix 2:               draft Protocols and Procedures for monitoring, support, challenge and

Intervention