Belfast Education and Library Board

Governors’ Programme

School Development Planning

Northern Ireland Educational Change

• Performance Review Staff Development• Statutory School Development Planning• Self-evaluation• Entitlement Framework• SENDO • NI Curriculum• Teaching and Learning• ICT (Learning NI)• Demographic Trends• Every School a Good School

School Development Planning

Themes for the session

What is it?

Why do it?

What is the role of Governors?

The School Development Plan

Should answer these questions –

Where are we now?

Where do we want to be in 3 years time?

How are we going to get there?

How will we know if and when we get there?

The School Development Plan

Sets out the school`s curricular and other intentions Is a good way to recognise the school`s achievements Provides a context and a framework within which the school

can plan for improvement Helps direct change rather than react to it Assists the school in identifying its strengths and

weaknesses Enables the school to harness the collective expertise of the

staff and promote team working

Why A School Development Plan?

• To make change manageable• To direct change rather than react to it • To give structure to the process• A central mechanism for coordinating planning• To establish where the issue is going• A means of establishing priorities• To focus energies specifically• To ensure progression and continuity• Aids effective teamwork• Procedure for identifying roles and responsibilities • To give all the opportunity for involvement and ownership• A method of recognizing achievements

Purpose

• To outline the process that a school would undertake to produce a School Development Plan

• The process is embedded within DE’s ESaGS Policy and supported by DE School Development Planning Guidance, 2010 and ETI’s Together Towards Improvement

• The School Development Plan should reflect the language of school improvement

An Inclusive Process• “The principal encourages others to undertake

a leadership role and supports a culture of self-evaluation in which there is a sharing of responsibility for monitoring and evaluating, from classroom teacher level to senior management level”

• “There is appropriate consultation and

involvement of others in the SDP process, including governors, pupils and parents”

DE School Development Planning Guidance, 2010 p3

The role of the Board of Governors

Actively involved with the school professionals who will have drawn up the draft plan

Bring an objective view to the discussion of the

plan

Ask the questions which others have not asked

Keep an overview of the process as it rolls out

Contribute to the evaluation stage

Department of Education Regulations

• Publication of plan – a copy of the plan will be provided for each member of the Board of Governors, the principal, teachers and non-teaching staff.

• A copy of the plan will be provided for the Education and Library Boards for the area or in the case of Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS)

Revision of School Development Plan The Board of Governors will revise the plan every 3 years Or no later than 6 months after an inspection

The School Development Planning CycleThe School Development Planning Cycle

Every School a Good School

Stage 5: Take action Stage 5: Take action and review progressand review progress

Stage 4: What must Stage 4: What must we do to make it we do to make it

happen?happen?

Stage 1: What is our Stage 1: What is our vision for our school?vision for our school?

Stage 3: What more do Stage 3: What more do we want to achieve in 1 we want to achieve in 1

to 3 years?to 3 years?

Stage 2: How well, Stage 2: How well, based on evidence, based on evidence,

are we doing?are we doing?Improving Improving outcomes outcomes

for all for all pupilspupils

Requirement 6

Requirement 6

Embedded within a consultative process...• 6. The arrangements made by the Board of

Governors to consult and take account of the views of pupils, parents, staff and other persons or bodies in the preparation of the plan

Every School a Good School

Requirement 6

Self-evaluation should be informed by the effective use of performance and other data, including inspection evidence, and by consultation with pupils, parents and staff, to identify those aspects of school life that are successful, and those where improvement is required. (Ref: DE School Development Planning – Regulation & Guidance Circular 2010/22)

• SDP guidance pg 3 it is extremely important that the individual/group leading the preparation of the SDP involves teaching and other staff and consults with pupils and parents, and any others involved in the life and work of the school.

• Pg 3 pt 3 There is appropriate consultation and involvement of others in the SDP process, including governors, pupils and parents.

• Pg 7 Stage 2 How well are we doing? Qualitative data will include … input from teachers as reflective professionals and feedback obtained from consultation with pupils, parents, staff …

Every School a Good School

Pg 25 … it is a reflective process, involving all the staff (and, in the best practice pupils, parents and the community)…

Are procedures in place to facilitate meaningful dialogue between BOG, staff, parents and pupils?

Are parents and pupils consulted – e.g. surveys/questionnaires.

Is there an effective school/pupil council? Do members of the pupil council report to the BOG and vice versa? Are parents represented on the BOG – are their views and opinions take on board?

ETI Perspective

January 2012

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SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING 2010: Key points:

Key requirements of the Mandatory “Regulations”:

setting a school’s priorities and aligning resources (human and financial) over a 3 year period,

annual review of SDP

raising standards in literacy, numeracy and ICT

emphasising the importance of ethos and context

emphasising the importance of self-evaluation and evidence of and for improvement

outlining an improvement process and cycle - consultation, publication, monitoring, review

emphasising the key role of governors

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“…and evaluation”

• A statement and evaluation of the ethos of the school.• A summary and evaluation, including through the use of

performance and other data, of the school’s approach to—– learning, teaching, assessment, and the raising of standards of attainment

among all pupils; – providing for the special, additional or other individual educational needs of

pupils;– promoting the health and well-being, attendance, good behaviour and

discipline of pupils; – providing for the professional development of staff; – managing the attendance and promoting the health and well-being of staff; – promoting links with the parents of pupils at the school and the local

community, including other schools, the business community and voluntary and statutory bodies; and

– promoting the effective use of ICT, including its use to support learning and teaching, continuing professional development and school leadership and management.

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…school’s self-evaluation”Identification of the areas for development, which

shall be informed by the school’s self-evaluation and include –

1. the school’s key targets for the period of the plan;

2. the planned outcomes, including planned outcomes in learning, teaching and raising standards of attainment,

3. the actions to be taken to achieve the outcomes and final dates for completion;

4. the financial and other resources available to the school; and

5. the arrangements for the Board of Governors, in consultation with the principal, to monitor, review and evaluate progress made against the school development plan.

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Action plans and indicators (of success)• Action plans need to be specific, precise, address the cause

directly

• “The work of improvement is learning” – first hand evidence• linked to a measurable indicator – “how do you know”?

• Consistent flow – not just annual

“Data allows you to check if you were right”

Plans – both slim and SMART

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Evaluate, don’t (just) describe• Much less descriptive language – too long-winded• Much more evaluative language – short executive

commentary• Refer to your evidence sources (rather than including

in the SDP file)• Give the evaluation headline: did it show cause?

“Why”?• Be precise and specific – What did it tell you?• Data raises questions: evaluation should answer

questions raised.• Vague language gives away poor evaluation

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An enabling action isn’t an outcome

• Distinguish between an enabling action and an outcome

• Doing the enabling action is not an outcome– minutes of meetings/photos are not evidence of

an outcome

• What was the purpose of the enabling action • “So what”?

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Strategic planning and evaluation

• Actions and causes group strategically• Many of the enabling actions aim to a

common purpose– But most are reported in isolation– Rather than showing the strategic relationship

• Related actions in Literacy Plan, the SEN plan, the Extended Schools plan, the ICT plan….– But are hardly ever connected

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Summary - FLOW• Slim, SMART plans• Follow the data: ask and answer the question• Evaluate, don’t just describe

– Why?• Refer to the evidence

– How do you know?• Enabling actions aren’t outcomes

– So what?• Group causes/actions strategically• Report historically.• Be open, frank, specific and precise• Why? So what? How do you know?

• Self-evaluation belongs to the individual school