Primary Principals Conference

1. Primary Principals Conference September 2009

2. Aims of the day • To raise awareness of current developments in education in Northern Ireland • To consider the implications of the policy document Every School A Good School • To provide an overview of the key messages for the Northern Ireland curriculum Professional Development programme 2009

3. Programme • 9.30 Welcome and introduction • 9.45 Information update • Coffee • 11.00 Every School A Good School workshops • 12.30 Lunch • 1.30 Overview of Year.3/4 & Year 7 training • 3.00 Plenary

4. DE Vision ‘To ensure that every learner fulfils his or her potential at every stage of their development.’

5. Policy Framework • Northern Ireland Curriculum. • ESaGS. • Literacy and Numeracy. • SEN and Inclusion. • Early Years.

6. Challenge underperformance wherever it exists. Every School a Good School A Policy for School Improvement

7. Why Improve Outcomes? We have many examples of excellent performance in our schools, however…… • Significant differences in performance: - Differences across and within sectors. - Often in similar areas/circumstances; and • International comparisons: - PISA studies show a downward trend. - NI has among the widest variations in performance in pupils in maths, reading and science.

8. Until January 2010 …… each Board, working with CCMS, CnaG or NICIE where appropriate, will be expected to monitor the performance of schools in its area and provide support to schools to ensure a sustained focus on improvement. Boards will also be expected to challenge and intervene where deemed necessary to ensure that pupils receive a high quality education. Every School a Good School A Policy for School Improvement

9. Letter Issued by DE to Chief Executives of ELBs 1st June 2009 • The publication of Every School a Good School represents a sharpening of our collective focus on raising standards and, particularly, on closing the achievement gap that has existed too long and it will therefore require, from all of us, a strengthened and consistent approach.

10. It also makes clear the Minister’s expectation that Education and Library Boards will take on the role outlined in the policy and ensure that arrangements are in place to monitor the performance of schools in their area and provide support to ensure a sustained focus on improvement

11. What Works: research findings at pupil, school and system Level • Pupil: Monitor performance; early identification of underachievement; targeted interventions. • School Level: Track progress; identify gaps; monitor and evaluate. • System Level: Empirical evidence of system performance; compare performance between schools; evaluate strategy effectiveness.

12. Robust self-evaluation development planning, target setting and benchmarking, leading to sustained self-improvement. Every School a Good School A Policy for School Improvement

13. A tried and tested process • Identify the underachieving children. • Set the targets for these children. • Find out about the barriers to their learning. • Agree on the interventions. • Agree on what progress will look like.

14. A tried and tested process: cont’d • Agree on how evidence of progress will be collected. • Give time for professional dialogue. • Articulate the learning for: - the individual - the team - the organisation

15. The most effective schools diagnose early and accurately the children’s difficulties in learning and put in place appropriate remediation measures, tracking their progress effectively against their ability. The Chief Inspector’s Report 2006-2008

16. In the most effective practice, the performance data helps to inform key decisions regarding whole-school and individual target-setting, and the monitoring of individual pupil and whole-school progress over time. In the majority of cases, it is not used effectively to inform the work of the school. The Chief Inspector’s Report 2006-2008

17. The Issues: Pre-School • In almost one-quarter of nursery units and voluntary/private centres, the promotion of language and communication and the quality of the mathematical experiences have been identified as areas for improvement. • In the less effective settings, there is insufficient emphasis on the use of books, the reading of stories or on the children’s early marking.

18. The Issues: Primary • There remains too significant a variation in the standards of literacy and numeracy attained by children across primary schools. • The issue is one of progression in learning across the key stages; while the children often attain standards in keeping with expectations at the end of KS1, they do not make adequate progress through KS2 to maintain those standards. • Improvements are needed in the evaluation of what the children have learnt by the end of a lesson or a sequence of lessons.

19. Workshop • Consider the implications for your school

20. COFFEE BREAK

21. Every School A Good School • Child-centred provision • High quality teaching and learning • Effective leadership • A school connected to its local community

22. Workshop In your group consider the following: • The Current practice • Areas for improvement • Implications for your school

23. Benchmarking • Since 1998 DENI has provided schools with data to assist them in the process of benchmarking their own performance, allowing schools to set targets based on this information. http://www.deni.gov.uk/de1_08_72812__primary_and_post-primary_benchmarking_data_2006_07_annexes_to_circular_2008_13_english.pdf Microsoft Word - KSA 0001 to 0506 NI and Boards.pdf Microsoft Word - KSA 2006-2007 NI and Boards by gender.pdf

24. Benchmarking • The purpose of benchmarking is to allow schools to review their recent performance in context of similar schools: • Who have similar proportions of pupils entitled to Free School Meals • Who have similar enrolment sizes

25. The diagram illustrates the benchmarks for schools of similar groups (FMS and enrolment). LQ – the actual results of the school that was quarter of the way up. 75% of schools achieved or bettered schools in the group. The following 25% are below median, the next 25% are above median and the top 25% of schools are in the upper quartile. The top 5% of schools fall into the 95th percentile for that particular group of schools. Bottom 50% of schools Top 50% of schools Bottom 25% of schools Top 25% of schools Mid-Point Lower Quartile Median Upper Quartile 95th Percentile Top 5% of schools

26. Target Setting Process 2009-2010 To be completed and returned to WELB by 31 October 2009 Name of school: Principal: Chair of Board of Governors In accordance with the current legislation schools are required to set targets under the following headings:

27. Policy Priorities • Supporting Effective Leadership and an ethos of aspiration • Supporting and facilitating high quality teaching and learning • Maintaining a particular focus on tackling the barriers to learning that many young people face

28. Policy Priorities (Cont) • Embedding a culture of self-evaluation and self-assessment and using performance and other information to effect improvement • Focusing clearly on support to help schools improve and on the place of more formal interventions • Increasing engagement between schools and the parents, families and communities they serve

29. Workshop 2 In your group consider one of the policy priorities as set out on pages 18 to 33 identify the key messages

30. LUNCH

31. P.3/4 Overview • Principals Day P.3 4 Overview.ppt

32. P.7 Overview