Primary considerations for learners as individuals

How do you make pupils feel at home in the classroom and improve their learning at the same time? Using his ground-breaking research Professor Peter Barrett, Emeritus Professor at the University of Salford and Honorary Research Fellow at Oxford University, explains.

Acouple of years ago I led a study, which provided the evidence for the first time that the physical characteristics of the classroom not only affect the learning progress of primary school pupils, but impact very significantly. Taking everything together the measured impact of the classroom design factors explained 16% of the variation in learning of the 3766 pupils in the 153 classrooms assessed.

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      string(334) "... Nowhere are these changes more keenly felt than amongst the leadership teams and governing bodies of the country’s schools. This research offers a fascinating consideration of the schools’ landscape and clearly highlights how it has evolved over the 10 years since the first review of school leadership in England ..."
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      string(347) "emerge. Smithers and Robinson(2007), however, found evidence of a headteacher shortage surprising in secondary schools, given that theaverage teacher:headteacher ratio was 60:1. In primary schools it was 10:1 and hence a shortage was morelikely. Beyond demography, they proposed a range of other significant factors including workload ..."
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      string(544) "The English education system is experiencing an era of unprecedented change, at least as significant as the move to Local Management of Schools after 1988. Nowhere are these changes more keenly felt than amongst the leadership teams and governing bodies of the country’s schools. This research offers a fascinating consideration of the schools’ landscape and clearly highlights how it has evolved over the 10 years since the first review of school leadership in England in 2002. By the National College for School Leadership - 2012"
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      string(5616) "emerge. Smithers and Robinson(2007), however, found evidence of a headteacher shortage surprising in secondary schools, given that theaverage teacher:headteacher ratio was 60:1. In primary schools it was 10:1 and hence a shortage was morelikely. Beyond demography, they proposed a range of other significant factors including workload, too manygovernment initiatives, excessive accountability, vulnerability to dismissal through poor Ofsted reports andinsufficient pay differentials.Difficulties in the recruitment and retention of school leaders, especially headteachers, has led to a numberof initiatives and developments in talent management, accelerated leadership development and insuccession planning – notably the National College’s local solutions approach (Earley & Jones, 2010; Davies& Davies, 2011; Fink, 2010). Research highlights the importance of action in showing how high headteacherturnover has a consistent and profound negative correlation with student outcomes (Macmillan, 2000; Fink& Brayman, 2006). Low turnover of headteachers might also impact on student outcomes and the issue ofwhether or not school leaders have a shelf-life has been discussed by Earley and Weindling (2007).School leadership in actionThe above reviews built on a rapidly growing literature on the work of school leaders. This included analysesof the importance to leadership of context, values, vision, professional learning and management. Day etal (2000), for instance, proposed the concept of ‘values-led contingency leadership’ as they sought to refinerecognition that school leaders respond to context. School leaders, they argued, need to be skilled in readingand responding to context, but that is not sufficient. They also need to be values-led, and in particularstudent- and staff-centred, as this enables them to retain consistency and direction, while still responding tocontext.Considering the importance of turning values into a communicable vision, Bush and Glover (2003) drewon Yukl (2002) to argue that leadership is a process of influence. Rather than commanding from a formalpost, leaders seek the commitment of staff and stakeholders to a vision ‘of a better future’ for the schooland its students. Recognising that this might be regarded as manipulative, they suggested Begley (1994)offered a means towards a participative vision-building process. At a basic level, vision and goals are derivedby leaders from government policy. At an intermediate level, goals are consistent with the leaders’ ownarticulated vision. At an expert level, leaders work with teachers and the wider school community to developgoals that reflect a collaborative vision.Lewis and Murphy (2008) reviewed the actions leaders then take to realise this vision. Building a learningorganisation (Senge, 1990) or a professional learning community (Stoll & Seashore-Louis, 2007) is central sothat professional learning and expansive thinking are encouraged and defensiveness reduced. Sergiovanni(1998) argued that leaders need to extend the intellectual and professional capital of teachers and thisrequires supportive social and academic relations within the school. This in turn may require, as Glatter(2004) argued, a deliberative/reflective dimension to leadership capable of listening to others, drawingout their strengths and pursuing organic change rather than provoking conflict. It will also require skills in23 © National College for School Leadershipimplementation, and hence effective management (as well as leadership) of people, systems and structures(Huczynski & Buchanan, 2001).In seeking to summarise this emerging evidence on the work of school leadership, Leithwood and Riehl(2005) proposed four broad categories of practice. Leaders, they argue:— build vision and set direction: by identifying and articulating a vision, creating shared high expectationsand monitoring organisational performance— understand and develop people: by detailing the knowledge and skills staff need in order to accomplishschool goals, providing individual support, modelling good practice and rewarding personal development— redesign the organisation: by building a collaborative culture, facilitating the work of teachers andbuilding productive relations with parents— manage teaching and learning: by staffing the curriculum appropriately, providing support for teachingand learning, buffering staff and students from distractions and fostering stabilityLeithwood (2001:1) acknowledges that these practices are a ‘necessary but not sufficient’ part of an effectiveschool leader’s repertoire. Leaders need to also respond to context. Further, Hargreaves and Fink (2006)suggest that personal characteristics such as commitment, resilience, passion and understanding can affectthe abilities and capacities of heads to apply these leadership practices successfully.School leadership and student learningBuilding on these analyses of leadership work, several recent studies have sought to refine what we knowabout leadership effects on student learning. Leithwood and Seashore-Louis (2012) argue there is a ‘criticalconnection’ between the headteacher and other formal leaders, radiating outwards across the organisationto classroom teachers, who have the most direct form of instructional leadership in their immediate contactwith student learners. This connection between leadership and student outcomes is thus, they argue, notdirect. It is mediated by home, school and classroom influences. It includes creating the conditions forlearning and supporting"
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Leadership

Review of the school leadership landscape

6 Jul 2017

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      string(400) "... leadership succession, the teamleader’s role remains pivotal. Delegation of this responsibility to the HRfunction is simply not seen as a viable option.Nevertheless, team leaders are frequently provided with support in thisregard. Whilst HR does not typically have primary accountability forleadership succession processes, most organisations would closely involvetheir HR ..."
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      string(5682) "survive. In leadership successionterms, this means a number of things:The strategic planning cycle is shorter now than it has ever been. Asorganisations review the changing external climate and identify theirresponses to it, they are also taking leadership attributes into consideration.It is common now for organisations to review their leadership frameworksregularly, not necessarily with a view to rebuilding these from scratch, butcertainly to ensure continued alignment with developing strategicaspirations.Whereas traditional leadership succession planning processes havetypically been top-down, there is increasing emphasis now on the need toplay to differing individual motives and priorities. In other words, in anenvironment in which competition for leadership talent is fierce, retentionof those individuals who show the greatest potential is a key priority.Effective retention can however only be achieved by recognising thediverse factors that can serve to motivate and engage those in the talentpool. These range from work/life balance issues, to mechanisms forrecognition: some organisations invest significant efforts to identify theparticular factors that make the greatest difference to individual retentionefforts.Growing Tomorrow’s School Leaders © Hay Group 2006 page 13 of 78Linked to the above point about responding to individual preferences is thetrend towards recognising and defining different career path options.Whereas the traditional model for leadership progression has been via asingle route, it is becoming increasingly common for organisations toencourage and to be explicit about a broader range of routes to the top ofthe organisation. This not only responds to the need for a portfolio ofleadership attributes (which may well extend beyond what can be offeredby a single individual), but also takes account of the fact that differentindividuals have different interests, talents, and preferences.4.3.4 Leadership succession pools are fluidWhilst the way in which organisations manage their leadership talent poolsvaries, some core principles and practices are nevertheless widespread. Thesingle most important principle is that the leadership talent pool should not beset in stone. Instead, it needs to be regularly re-evaluated not only becauseleadership requirements will continue to evolve with changing organisationalpriorities, but also because individual performance is often situational, i.e.success in one job doesn’t guarantee success in a different role, particularly ifthe context is changing rapidly. Individual competencies develop over timeand, by the same token, individuals who are outstanding in some situationsmay be much less effective in others and vice versa. Processes for keepingtalent pools refreshed typically have the following features:Team leader involvement: Identification of leadership talent is driven byteam leaders. The role that they should play in managing leadership talentcannot be underemphasised. Even in those organisations that haveimplemented tightly defined processes for leadership succession, the teamleader’s role remains pivotal. Delegation of this responsibility to the HRfunction is simply not seen as a viable option.Nevertheless, team leaders are frequently provided with support in thisregard. Whilst HR does not typically have primary accountability forleadership succession processes, most organisations would closely involvetheir HR professionals in decisions regarding the talent pool. In addition,HR frequently provides guidance and toolkits, often plays a significant rolein gathering the data that underpin decisions taken, and facilitates thediscussions that generate talent pool decisions.Data driven: As noted in sections 4.3.1 and 4.3.2, there are a number ofelements to a leadership framework. A range of organisational data aretypically used to determine the extent to which such elements exist in thetalent pool. Data from performance management processes are oftenimportant, particularly when these are forward-looking as well asretrospective (i.e. measure future potential as well as past performance).Another common source of data is 360-degree feedback. Someorganisations augment this with other diagnostics, such as psychometricGrowing Tomorrow’s School Leaders © Hay Group 2006 page 14 of 78instruments. Robust, tailor-made assessment procedures (often in the formof assessment centres, the output from which also feeds developmentplanning) are relatively common as a means to gathering comprehensive,unbiased data on individual potential, strengths and development priorities.Transparency for individuals: Whilst it was previously commonly thecase that individuals were unaware of the organisation’s assessment of theirleadership potential, the current trend is to be much more open about this.Even in those organisations that do not single out a specific group of ‘highpotentials’ for focused development input, it is reasonably common now forindividuals to have regular opportunities for both formal and informalcareer development discussions. These will typically be informed by somedegree of clarity about others’ views of their likely potential andprogression.4.3.5 Effective leadership succession starts with personal developmentThe long-term perspective that many organisations are taking towardsleadership succession means that focused individual development is a realpriority. Development is no longer seen as programmatic, or characterised byclassroom training. Instead, in line with the assumption that the most effectivedevelopment takes place on the"
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Leadership

Growing Tomorrows School Leaders: The Challenge

6 Jul 2017

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      string(362) "... primary curriculum in England. Although a core subject, it has had a low status in many primary schools since the end of national testing of primary science, in comparison with English and Mathematics. Ofsted found that ‘In nearly half of the primary schools visited, senior leaders were not setting targets ..."
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      string(5734) "Professional development that has impact – key ingredientsMany education reforms rely on teacher learning and, in turn, for the improved teaching that follows to improve student learning; so understanding what makes professional development programmes effective is critical. However, it is complex: exposure to and participation in professional development activities may or may not bring about change to individuals’ beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours. These changes to individuals may or may not lead either to changes in the classroom or to school practice. And these changes may or may not lead to improvement in pupil outcomes (Bubb and Earley, 2010). Opfer and Pedder (2011) have argued that the problem stems from simplistic conceptualisations of teacher professional development and learning that fail to consider how learning is embedded in professional lives.The key finding of the Developing Great Teaching(Teacher Development Trust, 2015) review was that professional development opportunities do have a significant impact on student achievement when they are carefully designed and have a strong focus on pupil outcomes. The review highlighted these elements as important:the duration and rhythm of effective support;the consideration of participants’ needs;alignment of professional development processes, content and activities;the content of effective professional development including both subject knowledge and subject-specific pedagogy;activities associated with effective professional development – in particular, explicit discussions –  following the initial input, about how to translate teachers’ learning to the classroom;the role of external providers and specialists;collaboration and peer learning;leadership around professional development.These findings are not at variance, but they do suggest the importance of further examining the practical detail of “what works” and refining our conceptual models accordingly. To that end, the research question that this paper addresses is:How can a framework of professional development be used in the design and evaluation of a programme to enhance knowledge and practice?In this article I build on my previous article in PDT:, Developing from within: Towards a new model of staff development (Bubb, 2013), using the example of a project aimed to improve the Science subject and pedagogic knowledge and skills of primary school teachers. This primary science project was based at Coloma Convent School in Croydon and funded by the London Schools Excellence Fund. It draws on the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of researchers such as Guskey (2002), Desimone (2009), Huber (2011), Evans (2011), and that of King (2014) to improve the professional development model that I developed (Bubb, 2013).Joyce and Showers (2002) maintain that for training to be truly effective it needs to include five components:Theory – where the new approach is explained and justified.Demonstration – to give a model of how this can be put into practice.Practice – so that the teacher can try out the new approach.Feedback on how well the new approach is workingCoaching – to help the teacher discuss the teaching in a supportive environment and consider how it might be improved (p. 59).Their research showed that, without the opportunity to receive feedback and coaching, changes are unlikely to be transferred to the classroom to have an impact on children. The staff development model which conceptually underpins this primary science project is a cycle with ten stages organised into three parts, drawing on Clarke and Hollingsworth’s (2002) notion of domains within their interconnected model of professional growth:Preparation: identify needs, baseline picture, set a goal and plan how to achieve it.Learning: the development activity and the new learning (skills, knowledge and attitudes) that result.Improvement: putting learning into practice, with impact on pupil learning and improved staff self-efficacy.Figure 1: Three Domains Professional Development Framework (Bubb, 2017)The model and its theoretical and conceptual frameworks are considered in the design and evaluation of the Primary Science Project.The Primary Science projectThe challenge of the science curriculumTeaching England’s current Science curriculum (DfE, 2013) is a challenge for many primary teachers, because few have studied the subject beyond the age of 16. This project aimed to improve children’s learning as a result of teachers’ enhanced practice and their ability to disseminate their learning to their colleagues. It is sometimes argued that Science has become a Cinderella subject in the primary curriculum in England. Although a core subject, it has had a low status in many primary schools since the end of national testing of primary science, in comparison with English and Mathematics. Ofsted found that ‘In nearly half of the primary schools visited, senior leaders were not setting targets for science and were not tracking pupils’ progress in the subject. This was because they no longer saw science as a priority, despite its place as a core subject in the National Curriculum’ (Ofsted, 2013, p5).All of this has implications for children’s learning and attitudes to Science, their willingness and ability to study the subject to higher levels, for the production of future generations of scientists and teachers of science, and in turn, for the future competitiveness of the national economy (Hobson et al, 2012).The year-long (October 2014-June 2015) primary science project involved"
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Professional Development

Delivering the goods – professional development that has impact

18 Apr 2018

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Leadership Briefings 10.08(116)"
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      string(5439) "Leadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.THE NEXT STAGE OF IMPROVEMENT FORPRIMARY SCHOOLS IN ENGLANDKeywordsImprovement,Primary Schools,Academy chains,local authorityschools,minimumstandards,continuousimprovementSummaryThe Department for Education is expected to publish draft legislation to force all schools inEngland to become academies. The proposals under consideration owe much to this report byPolicy Exchange, which proposes mass-converting the remaining local authority schools intoacademies.The publication claims that over 3,000 primary schools (20%) could fall below the government’s toughnew minimum standards in reading and writing and maths in 2016, and suggests the most effectiveway to ensure teachers and schools have the capability and capacity to cope with these challenges isto convert all primary schools into Academies, and then ask each school to join an Academy ‘chain’ by2020.Options open for government: ■ Keep (most) primary schools under LA operation as a support mechanism (and even potentiallybring other primary schools back under the LA oversight3). Such an approach is in this report’sview unfeasible, given the continuing squeeze on LA budgets driven in part by secondaryacademisation. Despite some examples of good practice by LAs, it is unrealistic to expect themas a whole to be able to support sufficient numbers of primaries to meet these standards ■ Continue to encourage primaries to become standalone or grouped Academies on a demandled basis, as currently happens. Whilst there is some evidence that good practice is emerging,most standalone primary Academies are significantly bigger than average, and there are risksof smaller Academies being left with insufficient support. Academy groups that are formingorganically are on the whole showing potential but for reasons of both history and also particularcircumstances, the demand for primaries to convert to Academies is very slow, and absent anypolicy change there is little reason to be confident that sufficient primaries would benefit fromgreater support needed to meet the higher standards ■ Make an active policy decision to proactively group all primary schools into Academy chains, inorder to ensure 100 per cent coverage and build capacity in the sector.This report concludes that the reorganisation of all primary schools into academy chains by 2020 – asdetermined by each primary school themselves – presents the only viable opportunity for the sectorto mitigate against the risk of mass failure. Academy status is not a panacea in itself, but it representsthe best way in which to drive greater strategic capacity and capability in the primary sector.It achieves this by establishing collaborative practices around teaching and learning, by supportingWeek Commencing 21th March 2016http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/images/publications/primary%20focus.pdfhttp://www.policyexchange.org.uk/images/publications/primary%20focus.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/359483/DFE-RR286_-_Are_free_schools_using_innovative_approaches.pdfLeadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.teachers and individual school leaders to focus on what happens in classrooms, and by supporting aculture of continuous improvement and development. In turn, these actions improve outcomes.Recommendations: ■ All remaining local authority secondary schools should also become Academies over the sametime period, as should special schools. While these schools would not be obliged to join chains,they should be encouraged to partner with others as part of a wider move towards a school led,self improving system. ■ Individual schools should, for the first time, be able to switch between chains providing they arerated Good or Outstanding and given a year’s notice. This will allow for greater competition andfluidity in the market, and prevent any academy chain building a local monopoly of offering a poorservice for a long period of time. ■ The role of Regional School Commissioners or Directors of School Standards should be beefedup. They should have responsibility for overseeing and approving the emergence of these newchains as well as existing ones. They should also be able to split chains up and move schools inthe case of underperformance as the DfE currently does now. ■ Primary chains should think about how they can work closely with early years providers to supportcontinued improvements in quality in the early years sector. Greater co-operation offers thechance of more effective working between early years settings and graduate teachers in theprimary phase, as well as co-ordination on curriculum, and the opportunity for more location ofearly years settings within schools.WEB LINKThe Next Stage Of Improvement For Primary Schools In Englandhttp://www.policyexchange.org.uk/images/publications/primary%20focus.pdf"
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Leadership

The Next Stage Of Improvement For Primary Schools In England

16 Mar 2016