PowerPoint Presentation

Revised SSE Guidelines & ForbairtLorcn OCallarinlorcanocallarain@pdst.ie

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This seminar is for Newly appointed Principals and Deputy Principals appointed since Sept. 2014. It is intended to give newly appointed schools leaders a synopsis of recently delivered national seminars1Presentation Notes

Go towww.menti.comand use the code33 08 17What 3 words best define SSE

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School self-evaluation is a key tool in effective school improvementSSE involves action-planning for improvement that focuses on teaching and learning School self-evaluation is an inclusive, reflective, collaborative whole school process

Key MessagesMonitoring of progress is an essential element of school self-evaluation

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Following on from the previous activity the facilitator details the key messages for this Seminar

The key messages of this seminar are:School self-evaluation is a key tool in effective school improvement.The six steps of the school self-evaluation process are continuous but not strictly linear.School self-evaluation is an inclusive, reflective, collaborative whole school process. Both formal and informal monitoring are essential in the school self-evaluation process.

SSE involves improving learner outcomes for ALL students.If a school is to improve its teaching and learning then there must be ownership of the changes that occur within the SSE process. This also includes the possibility of a change in direction and focus / a realisation that the school might sometimes have to go back and look for further information, in order to progress.SSE promotes a collaborative approach. It is only through collaboration by all members of the school community (including sharing of ideas, best practice and experiences) that improvement in all areas of school life can take place. We all can learn from each other and the experiences of each other.

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SSE Timeline to date

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Introduction of SSE in 2012. Circular 0040/2012. Required all schools to engage in the SSE as a collaborative, reflective process of internal school review, focused on school improvement.Circular 0040/2016 requires schools to continue to apply the SSE process with a continued focus on teaching and learning.

The 2016 version of the Framework: Teaching and Learning section is shorter than the 2012 version (included in the SSE Guidelines 2016) Leadership and management section developed following much consultation (including CSL)Does not use bullets/tick-boxes, uses short descriptive sentences in the statements of practicePresented at two levels to encourage thinking about improvement An important statement of what the Irish education system values and believes a good school should be

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StandardsStatements of Effective PractiseStatements of Highly Effective Practise

Building Blocks of SSE

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We will now take a few minutes to revisit the SSE process. Some of you will be very familiar with this as you may have attended the SSE seminars for the last few years; however, for more of you this may be an opportunity to explore this process in more detail. (For presenter: this slide and the next 2 slides are reminders for schools before you embark on the workshop aspect which is the main purpose of this session). It is important here to relate these building blocks to the key learning as identified in the reflection activity in the morning, specifically, to try to tie in the key learning with these building blocks of SSE, for example, when looking at the data analysis section of the 6 steps: you will remember this morning that you identified that you collected too much data so that is something to bear in mind this time around, when looking at the evaluation criteria: you will remember this morning that some of you reported finding the evaluation criteria very useful and more of you said that you had not used them; they can be very useful in identifying your areas for improvement and we will revisit these later in the workshop, etc., etc. When we consider School Self Evaluation there are a number of elements or building blocks involved in the process. Schools are asked to bear in mind the following key features/building blocks of SSE.This slide is animated. Click and blocks are removed to reveal each of the 3 features belowSix Step Process: SSE is a school improvement process so we use the 6 step approach. It is important to see the 6 steps as being linked to each other as opposed to isolated events.Teaching and Learning Framework: SSE is about teaching and learning so we have a T and L Framework to ensure that we evaluate our practice in the broadest terms. SSE is a process whereby we measure pupil outcomes followed by a measurement of the teaching practices and pupil learning experiences that led to those outcomes. Evaluation Criteria and Quality Statements: SSE is about evaluating our standards in teaching and learning against best practice so we use evaluation criteria/quality statements against which to benchmark our analysed evidence.

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Revised 6 step process

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Brief walkthrough of the process, that the content of the day will step through the process in greater detail. Refer participants diagram in the booklet/guidelines indicating that the application of the 6 step process in greater detail on the Rachel/PDST handout.6Presentation Notes

Forbairt ProcessSSE vs ForbairtIdentify FocusGather evidenceDecide on actionImplement action(s) Evaluate actionsWrite and share reportPresent FindingsSSE ProcessIdentify Focus Gather EvidenceAnalyse and make JudgementsWrite and share report and planPut SIP into action(3 years)Monitor

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Language of SSE: What does it look like?Dimension 1: Teaching and LearningDimension 2: Leadership and Management4 Domains in Teaching and Learning;4 Domains in Leadership and Management4 Standards per DomainEffective and highly effective practice identified for each standard

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DimensionsDomainsTeaching & Learning Management & LeadershipLearner outcomesLearner experiencesTeachers individual practiceTeachers Collaborative/Collective practice Leading learning and teachingManaging the organisationLeading school developmentDeveloping leadership capacity

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Example of Statements of Practice

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Combined documentReport & Plan

http://schoolself-evaluation.ie/post-primary/resources/

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Give copy of new blank document. Guide participants through the steps13Presentation Notes

Be realistic Ensure targets are SMARTTargets should be evidence-basedAvoid confusing actions with targetsTargets usually relate to learner outcomesActions relate to learning experiences and teachers practice

Target Setting

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This slide outlines some advice on target setting this advice has been adapted from advice in the SSE Guidelines.

Prioritise two or three targets that you can really work on rather than ten that it will be impossible to implement and monitor.A target is achievable and realistic only when you can say how its going to be achieved (action) in your school, for your studentsEnsure targets have a learning focus as distinct from actions which need to be implemented in classrooms and at whole-school level

The problem of confusing actions or processes with targets. This is the other side of the coin from the last point. There, the problem is targets without actions; here, its identifying an action without identifying in SMART terms what you hope to achieve by the action. Because this happens so often, its worth giving some examples that might be recognisable. A school might set as a target to develop a school library or to display posters illustrating applications of numeracy. These are actions with a purpose; they are not targets. In these cases the school needs to ask: Why are we doing this? What do we want to achieve? If the school can answer these questions in measurable terms, they will then have relevant targets and will be able to state appropriate success criteria.

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Possible Actions

Subject Plans Revised

Co-ordinated Approaches (Structured)

Language (Questioning, Higher Order) Explicit Vocabulary Instruction

Problem Solving Strategies

Developing Positive Attitudes

Print Rich Environment

Other

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Here is a menu of possible actions that schools should in cases and could in other cases adopt in their schools.

Subject Plans Revised- In order for literacy or numeracy actions to permeate into the classroomCo-ordinated Approaches: Whilst the mathematics teachers will explain many mathematical concepts using concrete, pictorial and abstract materials ultimately an agreed approach to consistency with algorithms, calculations and procedures is essential for consistency when it comes to student learning. These common approaches should be agreed upon by the mathematics department firstly before being shared with the whole staff. The mathematics department should keep the horizon in mind when agreeing on these approaches. For instances how does the skill of adding fractions transfer to the addition of algebraic fractions? One method will be more transferable and applicable than another method. We will look now at some common approaches to the addition of fractions, the conversion of fractions to percentages and the analysis of graphs on page 13-20 in the participant booklet. Mathematical Language is equally as important to consistency as common approaches. All subjects have words and terms in them that have a mathematical meaning. For instance, in an English lesson you could come across the word volume. Can you come up with various meanings for the word volume? What might this word mean in a mathematical context? What symbols represent this word in a mathematical context? It is essential that teachers share an agreed approach when dealing with new mathematical language. Whatever is agreed could possible be added to student journals. Are there any specific strategies ongoing in your school with regard to school improvement in literacy? If so, could you explain to us how they work?Explicit Voaculary instruction: Once a definition has been established it is not directly entered into memory. Students need multiple opportunities over an extended period of time to encounter the new term in a variety of normal contexts. They need to read, hear, write, and speak it, so that the word is internalized and becomes part of their usable vocabularies.Problem-Solving strategies: What problem-solving initiatives are you aware of in your school? How do you incorporate problem solving into the teaching and learning in your subject? It is essential that critical thinking learning environments are set up for students and that teachers actively engage with students responses. Use of effective teacher questioning is key here open ended questions that demand a variety of answers/solutions to foster divergent higher order thinking. Questioning is not solely a teacher activity. Students should be strongly encouraged to ask each other these questions. An example of such an activity is the conjugated verbs in a particular language all mixed up. Students in such an instance would be asked to see if there is a pattern, and if so, explain the pattern. We will look at an example from Blooms Taxonomy of Critical Thinking in a few moments.Positive attitudes: The learning of mathematics is both experiential and emotive. Research by Zevenbergan(2005) challenges the notion that success in mathematics is down to an innate ability rather than hard work or endeavour. In cases where students experience of learning mathematics is lowered, they have less interest in valuing mathematics and seeing the value in it. In Jo Boalers book The Elephant in the Classroom students in a school had positive attitudes towards mathematics because they experienced success in it and their teachers were encouraging and a culture of positivity was wholesale. It is essential that if teachers have a negative attitude towards mathematics that they do not share this negativity with their students. All teachers across subject areas are essential for this.Print Rich Environment: Give examples of how your school supports a numeracy/literacy rich environment. Students work and creations should be displayed around the school. Examples of this include a clock in each classroom, common approaches displayed, have you got maths eyes competitions, a numeracy notice board, a problem notice board etc. Other.. What other actions are ongoing in your school?

Numeracy in context: It is important to mention that some subjects have more numeracy moments than other subjects. That said, all subjects have them. Where they arise it is desirable that they are documented in subject plans and that teachers then discuss methodologies on how best to integrate these into the topic that is being taught at the time. Where there is a particular mathematical concept, skill or procedure it is imperative that the subject teachers are firstly aware of how this concept, skill or procedure is dealt with in the mathematics department and secondly that the subject teacher in question reinforces the same methodology as that of the mathematics department. Collaboration is essential for consistency where these arise.

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Why Monitor?

What do we monitor?

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This is a general discussion on monitoring with the intention of highlighting that schools already engage in all sorts of monitoring for various reasons.

Possible think pair share activity.

Why do we monitor anything?Advisor Note:This slide relates to general monitoring in schools and is used here as an introductory discussion about monitoring (the next slide focuses on monitoring of SSE). This short activity could be done on a flipchart-with advisor taking feedback. The following examples are provided in the script as background information for the advisor in the event that few examples come from the floor. Therefore, it is intended that participants come up with these themselves. Tracking progressProvides evidence that something works or doesnt workMonitoring can potentially have a motivational factor- we are achieving our aims, making progress, recognising successesRecording and reporting (accountability)AfLTo facilitate inclusive learning and teachingFor system/professional requirements (because we have to!!)

What do we monitor?On a second flipchart take feedback on what we monitor e.g. attendance, behaviour, interventions, student progress in general, uptake in subjects, mood, social and emotional wellbeing of students, etc. The point to note here is that we as teachers and principals are constantly monitoring whether it is formal or informal.

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3 Important DocumentsRevised Guidelines 2016-202Looking at our schoolCircular 0040/2016The focus remains on T&LGreater Flexibility for schools to identify 2/3/4 areas of their work as area of focusPlan and Report = 1 DocumentImportance of Student, Teacher and Parents voice.Literacy and Numeracy practices embeddedEvidence in the classroomShare with communityTeacher collaborationHighlights

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This slide outlines some advice on target setting this advice has been adapted from advice in the SSE Guidelines.

Prioritise two or three targets that you can really work on rather than ten that it will be impossible to implement and monitor.A target is achievable and realistic only when you can say how its going to be achieved (action) in your school, for your studentsEnsure targets have a learning focus as distinct from actions which need to be implemented in classrooms and at whole-school level

The problem of confusing actions or processes with targets. This is the other side of the coin from the last point. There, the problem is targets without actions; here, its identifying an action without identifying in SMART terms what you hope to achieve by the action. Because this happens so often, its worth giving some examples that might be recognisable. A school might set as a target to develop a school library or to display posters illustrating applications of numeracy. These are actions with a purpose; they are not targets. In these cases the school needs to ask: Why are we doing this? What do we want to achieve? If the school can answer these questions in measurable terms, they will then have relevant targets and will be able to state appropriate success criteria.

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Forbairt and SSEChoose and area that correlates with SSEGather data that compliments both processesEvaluate area that may contribute to actions going forward.Compare strategies, Develop Capacity/Skills, Stimulate discussion around T&L Prepare for future SSE

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What are the 2 main points coming across from the video?Video Prompt Question

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SSE Video

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Activity:Based on their viewing of the video get participants to identify to answer the questions in the booklet

Deirdre Matthews key points:Inspec have worked with schools and listened to feedbackFocus remains on T&LFlexibility to schoolsSimplified the Framework on adviceSSE can be used to steer new Initiatives

Harold Hislop key points:Schools getting used to collecting data {exams plus staff, student and parent voice}Listened to schools that the process needs to be manageableBetter do fewer things well than too many done poorly 2-3 or 4 over the next 4 yearsSchools have the flexibility to focus on area of T&L that best suits them#20Presentation Notes