REGIONAL TRAINING UNIT

1. REGIONAL TRAINING UNIT Leading and Managing Achievements and Standards in the Special School and the Learning Community

2. AIMS • To explore Leadership and Management of the Special School in a variety of contexts • To deepen insight into processes leading to School Improvement • To increase knowledge and understanding of new developments in the field of Special Education • To reflect on the current role of the Special School in the Learning Community • To share examples of good leadership practice across the Special Schools

3. Our vision is of schools as vibrant, self-improving, well governed and effectively led communities of good practice, focusing not on institutions but on meeting the needs and aspirations of all pupils through high quality learning, recognising the centrality of the teacher. Every School A Good School 2009

4. To ensure that every learner fulfils his or her full potential at each stage of his or her development. Every School A Good School 2009

5. The Characteristics of a successful school: • Child-centred provision • High quality teaching and learning • Effective leadership • A school connected to its local community Every School a Good School 2009

6. Policy Statement Our school improvement policy is centred on six key areas: • effective leadership and an ethos of aspiration and high achievement • high quality teaching and learning • tackling the barriers to learning that many young people face • embedding a culture of self-evaluation and self-assessment and of using performance and other information to effect improvement • focusing clearly on support to help schools improve – with clarity too about the place of more formal interventions where there is a risk that the quality of education offered in a school is not as high as it should be; and • increasing engagement between schools, parents and families, recognising the powerful influence they and local communities exercise on educational outcomes.

7. Definition What is Capacity Building? Capacity Building concerns competencies, resources and motivation. Individuals and schools are high on capacity if they possess and continue to develop these three components in concert. Fullan 2005a

8. Professional Learning Communities • We accept learning as the fundamental purpose of our school and therefore are willing to examine all practices in light of their impact on learning. • We are committed to working together to achieve our collective purpose. We cultivate a collaborative culture through development of high performing teams. • We assess our effectiveness on the basis of results rather than intentions. Individuals, teams and school seek relevant data and information and use that information to promote continuous learning. Dufour, Dufour & Eaker, 2002

9. Connecting peers with Purpose • Recognise the importance of building the school’s capacity by focusing on both the teachers and the students and understanding that the key is enabling staff to learn continuously. • Purposeful peer interaction within the school is crucial. Student learning and achievement increase substantially when teachers work in learning communities supported by school leaders who focus on improvement. • Purposeful peer interaction works effectively under 3 conditions 1.When the larger values of the organization and those of individuals and groups mesh 2.When information and knowledge about effective practices are widely and openly shared 3. When monitoring mechanisms are in place to detect and address ineffective actions, while also reinforcing and consolidating effective practice Fullan 2008a