Raising standards, improving lives

1. Raising standards, improving lives Seminar for AIM Awards Conference Raising attainment through improving learning and teaching Peter Humphries HMI West Midlands

2. Objectives • Explore how school leaders improve learning and teaching • Share evidence from Ofsted documents about how schools promote excellent learning through excellent teaching • Dispel some myths – there is no preferred methodology • Emphasise that all roads lead to LEARNING 2

3. Leadership is the key It is well established through inspection evidence and research that it is good leadership – and particularly good leadership of teaching and learning – that makes the biggest difference to school standards. The schools where progress has been rapid, consistent and sustainable demonstrate exceptional leadership of learning alongside strong organisational management. Features of exceptional leadership include: • an ambitious vision that inspires a shared commitment to excellence • evaluation and accountability • empowerment. Schools with outstanding leadership of teaching and learning often have innovative approaches as well as doing the basics very well. HMCI’s Annual Report 2012

4. Looking at Ofsted’s evidence. What do we know about schools that raise attainment? Leadership 4

5. Further reading Getting to good: how headteachers achieve success, Ofsted, 2012; www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/120167. (Study of 447 primary and secondary schools, previously judged as satisfactory, that were judged as good between January and August 2012) Schools that stay satisfactory, Ofsted, 2011; www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/110080. Twelve outstanding secondary schools, Ofsted, 2009; www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/080240. Twelve outstanding primary schools, Ofsted, 2009;www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/090170. School governance – learning from the best, Ofsted, 2011; http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/good-practice-resource-%E2%80%93-school-governance-learning-best

6. Approaches used for raising performance in schools • Headteachers in all schools perceived performance management as necessary to build the capacity for consistent and sustained school improvement. • Coaching and mentoring procedures were established in all schools visited. In half the schools part of a mentor’s performance management was to be responsible for the improvement in performance of their mentees. • In the majority of schools programmes of peer working were established that were judged to be highly effective. • In all schools professional development programmes were tailored to the ability of staff – and were helping to motivate them. • In some schools staff meetings/briefings had been remodelled to focus on learning and teaching. • In half the schools staff were provided with the opportunity to take external qualifications. • In most schools the headteacher had reinforced that it was the teacher who was responsible for their own performance management.

7. Raising expectations of students and teachers Our analysis of inspection reports provided a broadly similar picture: • more consistency across the school in high quality subject leadership including developing the quality of teaching • better understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses in learning and teaching • high levels of accountability and strong performance management • stronger commitment to raise standards and team approach to achieve this • no inadequate teaching tolerated with significant investment in coaching and developing staff – bespoke continuing professional development • sustained action to improve learning focussing on reading, writing and mathematical skills.

8. Features of outstanding schools

9. Analysis of schools that successfully improved their teaching Skilled senior managers ensure that all middle managers are also effective at leading and monitoring teaching Frequent and rigorous diagnostic monitoring of learning and teaching Use evidence and engage staff in developing improvement plans Make use of identified best practice within the school, for example, coaching Use other schools to train and provide vision of ‘outstanding practice’ Deliver high quality professional development Monitor the delivery and impact of initiatives – achieve consistency Targeted support and robust performance management where staff do not respond to change

10. Even schools that get to good are still on a journey – the aim is to be outstanding Areas identified for further improvement in the ‘good’ schools often include: greater extent of outstanding teaching greater focus on learning challenge and engagement for all students, including most able better recording of progress and provision of feedback – assessment of and for learning subject leadership, including sharper and more consistent monitoring across all subjects higher standards, including in the sixth form, early years and key stage 3 attendance and punctuality literacy and numeracy across the curriculum greater consistency in marking

11. Teaching and performance Ofsted does not require any particular approach to teaching, we simply believe that all children deserve teaching that is good or better – day in and day out. How are schools improving learning and teaching? 11

12. What does the research tell us? Education Endowment Foundation Feedback/assessment for and of learning Learning to learn / motivated to learn (self-regulation) Peer tutoring John Hattie – ‘visible’ learning Providing formative evaluation Teacher clarity Reciprocal teaching Feedback Bloom’s taxonomy Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation

13. Where learning and teaching is not yet good…. A rapid pace of learning is not sustained Insufficient evidence of pupils learning independently Questioning is not effective enough to promote independent learning Marking is not sufficiently focussed on the next steps in learning Pupils do not respond to the teachers’ marking The learning is not always well matched to the needs of all pupils Attainment and progress in writing is not sufficient

14. Key comments from Ofsted good practice resources – ‘learning always takes priority’ What does outstanding teaching, and therefore outstanding learning, look like? • Four key factors come together to explain the highly successful approach to ensuring outstanding teaching and learning. They are: • a clear vision for developing subject understanding • an enquiry-based curriculum • comprehensive planning and preparation • regular subject-specific CPD • Of these the most important is the planning and preparation but their success depends on the others. Together the rationale, the curriculum and the training underpin an approach to planning and preparation which ensures highly effective teaching and learning.

15. Key comments from Ofsted good practice resources – ‘learning always takes priority’ What does outstanding teaching look like? Winning hearts and minds • We have an innovative group of six subject teachers who are keen to develop different learning strategies and to support students in achieving excellent outcomes - challenge • The effective use of continuing professional development (CPD), sharing good practice at meetings and “thinking outside the box” in terms of ideas for lessons have all helped to make lessons successful

16. Key comments from Ofsted good practice resources - ‘learning always takes priority’ What does outstanding teaching look like? • Thinking in subject has gone further and the department has set high aspirations for teaching and learning. These are to: • stimulate curiosity, interest and enjoyment in subject • fuel and ignite student passion for subject; the challenge, the wonder and the excitement – this includes spiritual, moral social and cultural aspects • encourage open, enquiring minds to challenge their own and others’ opinions bravely • use the rich and exciting subject of subject as a powerful vehicle for transferable skill development • appreciate subject in its wider context; events and themes that do not sit in isolation throughout time • encourage students to develop in-depth understanding through their own enquiries.

17. Key comments from Ofsted good practice resources - ‘learning always takes priority’ What does outstanding teaching look like? Planning • Success is all about planning and preparation of the outline structure of the lesson (Ofsted doesn’t expect lesson plans but does expect to see well planned lessons) • The teaching episodes where the focus is on what the students will actually learn • The questions to be asked and when they are to be posed – this supports the pace of the lesson • Learning activities including opportunities for students to debate, discuss and reflect on what they are learning – teacher talk is kept to a minimum, the students do the work! • How progress will be checked, reviewed and reinforced (assessment of, and for, learning), and the resources to be used.

18. Grade descriptor for outstanding – this is not a checklist • All teachers have consistently high expectations of all students. They plan and teach lessons that enable students to learn exceptionally well across the curriculum. • Teachers systematically and effectively check students’ understanding throughout lessons, anticipating where they may need to intervene and doing so with notable impact on the quality of learning. • The teaching of reading, writing, communication and mathematics is highly effective and cohesively planned and implemented across the curriculum. • Teachers and other adults generate high levels of engagement and commitment to learning across the whole school. • Consistently high quality marking and constructive feedback from teachers ensure that students make rapid gains. • Teachers use well-judged and often inspirational teaching strategies, including setting appropriate homework that, together with sharply focused and timely support and intervention, match individual needs accurately.

19. Conclusion 19

20. Characteristics of outstanding learning and teaching from HMCI’s Annual Report

21. Objectives • Explore how school leaders improve learning and teaching • Share evidence from Ofsted documents about how schools promote excellent learning through excellent teaching • Dispel some myths – there is no preferred methodology • Emphasise that all roads lead to LEARNING 21