Leadership

Initial Destinations of Senior Phase School Leavers

This report by the Scottish government presents data on initial destinations of school leavers from local authority and grant aided schools in Scotland.

The results show that in 2016/17, 93.7% of senior phase school leavers were in a positive initial destination, an increase from 93.3% in 2015/16. The percentage of leavers in a positive initial destination has increased year on year for a six-year period from 2011/12 when 90.1% of leavers were in a positive destination.

Create an account to read this article

£7.00+ VAT

One-off purchase

Purchase and Download today

Register for free

No Credit Card required

Register for free
Access to 3 free articles
Free TeachingTimes Report every month

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#44334"
  ["title"]=>
  string(80) "School Cultures And Practices: Supporting The Attainment Of Disadvantaged Pupils"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "Leadership"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(52) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/school-culture_030918/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1534955488)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(12) "post-44334-0"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(219) "This DfE research makes a series of recommendations for the Department for Education after identifying the characteristics of schools that do well with children from disadvantaged backgrounds both in and outside London."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(410) "... schools to prioritise the development of middle leaders in order to improve teaching in the classroom and support the development of the next generation of senior school leaders. Recommendations: The Department for Education could consider commissioning research on causal pathways linking shared staff purpose and school performance. Future research should ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(89) "School Cultures And Practices: Supporting The Attainment Of Disadvantaged Pupils"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(6) "school"
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(3) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(219) "This DfE research makes a series of recommendations for the Department for Education after identifying the characteristics of schools that do well with children from disadvantaged backgrounds both in and outside London."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(0) {
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(4751) "It says the government must take action to ensure that the success of high-performing schools with deprived pupils can be repeated across the country. The report says the government’s efforts to support teacher recruitment and retention need to be focused on the needs of lower-performing schools in poorer areas outside of London. The DfE needs to ensure that factors affecting teacher supply, such as the availability of affordable housing, good transport links and quality of life, are being addressed across the government. The research suggests this will help to attract teachers into areas with low-performing schools. The most successful schools have teachers who believe in their school’s ethos and are confident that their work can make a difference. The report suggests that the DfE explore this further to research the link between “shared staff purpose and school performance”. It says that this further research could assess what strategies are successful in supporting disadvantaged pupils and ask, “How does a shared sense of purpose impact on the performance of teachers and pupils’ results?” As successful schools were found to be more likely to make effective use of data, the report calls for more to be done to support this. It calls on teacher training providers, especially in the primary phase, to ensure that initial teacher training (ITT) programmes show new teachers how they can use data to lesson-plan and monitor pupils’ progress. The report also says schools should ensure that new and recently qualified teachers have access to training that builds their data literacy. And it calls for the DfE to ensure that school governors have training on data literacy to allow them to better hold schools to account. The report says that high-performing London schools went further than other schools to work with parents to develop their expectations for their children. In some cases, high-performing primary schools employed a dedicated member of staff to provide outreach and support for parents and families, rather than assigning this responsibility to existing teaching staff. The report recommends that the DfE should collate examples of effective practice in engaging parents so that they can be shared with schools. The research identifies a clear link between school effectiveness and “strong and visionary leadership”. It calls on the DfE to share examples of great leadership with schools across the country. It also calls on schools to prioritise the development of middle leaders in order to improve teaching in the classroom and support the development of the next generation of senior school leaders. Recommendations: The Department for Education could consider commissioning research on causal pathways linking shared staff purpose and school performance. Future research should collate and disseminate approaches to building a shared sense of purpose in schools. Teacher training providers, especially in the primary phase, should ensure that initial teacher training (ITT) programmes introduce new teachers to how they can use a combination of data sources to inform classroom practice, for example by informing planning and monitoring pupils’ individual support needs. Schools should ensure that NQTs and recently-qualified-teachers (RQTs) have access to training that builds their data literacy. The Department for Education should consider how to improve governors’ data literacy, ensuring that its governance training and development providers provide sufficient data literacy training as part of their programmes. Schools and local authorities should encourage their governors to attend training and development programmes linked to data literacy. The Department for Education should collate examples of effective practice in engaging parents to share with schools. Any moves to support recruitment and retention across the country should pay particular attention to the needs of lower-performing schools in disadvantaged areas outside London. The Department should ensure that factors affecting teacher supply and retention, such as the availability of affordable housing, good transport links and quality of life are addressed across government. Schools should prioritise development of middle leaders, in order to enhance the quality of teaching in classrooms, as well as to nuture the next generation of senior. WEB LINK School Cultures And Practices: Supporting The Attainment Of Disadvantaged Pupils  KeywordsSchool cultures, practices, attainment, disadvantaged pupils, support, London, teacher recruitment, low-performing schools"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(5) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "initial"
        [1]=>
        string(6) "senior"
        [2]=>
        string(5) "phase"
        [3]=>
        string(6) "school"
        [4]=>
        string(7) "leavers"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(10) "Leadership"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Leadership

School Cultures And Practices: Supporting The Attainment Of Disadvantaged Pupils

22 Aug 2018

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#55585"
  ["title"]=>
  string(34) "Getting Careers Advice Up to Speed"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(5) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "Leadership"
    [1]=>
    string(16) "Leading Learning"
    [2]=>
    string(6) "OFSTED"
    [3]=>
    string(18) "School Improvement"
    [4]=>
    string(10) "Vocational"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(65) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/pushing-careers-advice-up-to-speed/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1557746676)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(12) "post-55585-1"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(256) "New guidance from the government is requiring school leadership and governors to be more active in supporting students with career advice and preparation. Glenys Hart’s analysis examines what needs to be covered in order to meet the new targets."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(369) "... school. Leaders should also be familiar with the destinations statistics published by the Department for Education and use this to review the effect of the school’s careers provision.iii) Clarity – Careers Leaders and the senior leadership need to be agreed about what is expected of the role. All staff ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(6) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(3) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(34) "Getting Careers Advice Up to Speed"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(0) {
      }
    }
    ["author"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(11) "Glenys Hart"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(256) "New guidance from the government is requiring school leadership and governors to be more active in supporting students with career advice and preparation. Glenys Hart’s analysis examines what needs to be covered in order to meet the new targets."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(6) "school"
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(5861) "appointedThe Careers Leader role is complex and requires an amalgamation of expertise in leadership, management, coordination and networking, as well as understanding the school or college environment and local context. The requirement to appoint a careers leader has been in place since September 2018 and the recently published document, The Responsibilities of a Careers Leader, is a useful tool for governors and school leaders. The document indicates six key principles that are needed:i) Quality assurance – Careers Leaders are responsible for quality assuring a careers programme for the school to make certain it continuously improves and that it delivers the positive impacts for young people. Processes should include ensuring provision reflects best practice (e.g. by using the Compass tool to compare with other schools), keeping appropriate records, obtaining feedback, evaluating impact and seeking external review of the school’s provision (e.g. through a Quality Standard).ii) Thinking long term – Careers Leaders should be focused on what happens to pupils after they leave school. It is crucial to have effective systems to monitor intended destinations and to track students after they leave school. Leaders should also be familiar with the destinations statistics published by the Department for Education and use this to review the effect of the school’s careers provision.iii) Clarity – Careers Leaders and the senior leadership need to be agreed about what is expected of the role. All staff members also need to be aware of the role and its implications for their subjects.Schools could appoint a Careers Leader to lead a school’s careers provision and/or a Careers Adviser to provide information, advice and guidance to pupils one-to-one and in groups. Further, a Careers Administrator could support the Careers Leader by undertaking a range of administrative and logistical tasks. iv) Authority – A Careers Leader needs to have the authorisation to control the development of strategy and implement the programme. This works best when the Careers Leader is on the senior leadership team or reports directly to them, in addition to having a link governor and reporting regularly to the governing body. v) Time and resources – Careers Leaders often do the job in addition to other responsibilities. They need an appropriate time allocation, together with additional administrative support (a Careers Administrator) to help with routine tasks, such as maintaining the careers information resources, booking appointments for careers interviews, arranging information evenings and dealing with the paperwork associated with employer encounters and experiences of work.vi) Expertise – The duties of careers leadership demand a level of expertise in career guidance, teaching and learning, and management. Careers Leaders are appointed from a variety of backgrounds and have different areas of expertise. To ensure that they have sufficient expertise to do the job, it is important to give them access to initial training and continuous professional development, as well as the opportunity to meet and interact with other Careers Leaders and to develop networks. Choices in the structure of the Careers Leader roleSchools may choose to structure the Careers Leadership role in a range of ways. Existing best practice indicates that the three most effective ways include having: A Middle Leadership Careers Leader who reports to the senior leadership team (SLT) A member of the SLT who has direct responsibility for the leadership of careers An individual who is the Careers Leader for more than one school, e.g. across a family of schools, including primary These models create one point of responsibility and accountability for careers provision. This has major advantages over other models where responsibility is spread around the school or outsourced to third-party providers. Possible strategiesExamine the skills and experiences of staff in the school. Involve governors in the discussion.  Internally advertise the opportunity. Discuss alternative models with staff, governors and between school leaders. Encourage newly appointed Career Leaders to join a professional body, e.g. the Career Development Institute. Alternatively, The Careers & Enterprise Company will be making 500 training bursaries available to schools to support the development of careers leadership.  Use the new technologies to develop networks and save time by holding virtual meetings between Career Leaders and with local community business leaders.  Encourage relevant staff to join CEGNET, which is an online community for teachers, careers professionals and supporters of career development to share news and resources.The school has used the Compass tool to assess its progress Over 3000 schools and colleges are now using Compass, the self-evaluation tool developed by Gatsby and The Careers & Enterprise Company. Analysis of the Compass data showed that a large majority of schools (79.4%) achieve at least one Benchmark and most (51%) achieve at least two. At present there only a small number of schools that report excellent provision—many schools are only partially meeting the Benchmarks. The analysis suggests that careers leadership, clear strategy and resourcing are all key to achieving the Benchmarks.Possible strategiesEnsure all staff know the results from Compass and its importance, either through circulating the report in a staff meeting or a briefing memo.  Once a whole-school career development plan is developed, it is"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(5) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "initial"
        [1]=>
        string(12) "destinations"
        [2]=>
        string(6) "senior"
        [3]=>
        string(6) "school"
        [4]=>
        string(7) "leavers"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(5) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(10) "Leadership"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [1]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(16) "Leading Learning"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [2]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(6) "OFSTED"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [3]=>
      array(4) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(27) "School Improvement"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(7) "partial"
        ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
        bool(false)
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(1) {
          [0]=>
          string(6) "school"
        }
      }
      [4]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(10) "Vocational"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
    ["tags"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(7) "Careers"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Leadership

Getting Careers Advice Up to Speed

13 May 2019

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#43701"
  ["title"]=>
  string(41) "Review of the school leadership landscape"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "Leadership"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(58) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/review-leadership-landscape/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1499349887)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(13) "post-43701-33"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(341) "... 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"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(411) "... to focus on the leadership on teaching and learning (83 per cent).Following this definition of each latent class, the relationship between each class and school backgroundcharacteristics was analysed. The school characteristics included school phase, school type, FSM eligibilityand Ofsted grading. Overall, there was a relatively even spread of headteachers ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(50) "Review of the school leadership landscape"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(6) "school"
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(553) "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"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(6) "school"
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(5787) "greaterautonomy would impact negatively on their school (30 per cent felt strongly negative). The vast majority (92per cent) did not plan for their schools to become an academy. They were also concerned about the changingrole of the local authority (83 per cent). The majority (82 per cent) did believe working in partnership couldsupport improvement and 49 per cent saw incentives in policy that encouraged partnerships. Nearly one-third (31 per cent) planned to work with a teaching school, although 75 per cent did not plan to join ateaching school alliance and 90 per cent did not plan for their schools to become a teaching school. Morewidely, two-thirds (67 per cent) saw ‘very little’ incentive (rather than none at all) in policy for schoolimprovement.Class 4: Sceptical about policy and demotivated by its potential impactsHeadteachers in this fourth class had similar perspectives to those in class 3, but they were stronglynegative about the potential of policy developments to provide an incentive for improvement. They wererelatively balanced in their perspectives on school autonomy, with 43 per cent feeling autonomy wouldhave a negative impact on their institution but 37 per cent feeling it would have a positive impact. The vastmajority (92 per cent) did not plan for their schools to become an academy. The majority were concernedabout the changing role of the local authority, with 86 per cent feeling this would impact negatively (48 percent negative; 38 per cent moderately negative) on their school. Indeed, 71 per cent did not plan to stopusing local authority services. The headteachers here disagreed that current policy provided an incentive forschool improvement. The majority said policy did not (‘not at all’) provide an incentive to improve studentachievement (84 per cent) or to focus on the leadership on teaching and learning (83 per cent).Following this definition of each latent class, the relationship between each class and school backgroundcharacteristics was analysed. The school characteristics included school phase, school type, FSM eligibilityand Ofsted grading. Overall, there was a relatively even spread of headteachers by these schoolcharacteristics across the four classes. There was also however a statistical likelihood of:— academy principals (both primary and secondary) as well as headteachers of ‘outstanding’ schools beinglocated in class 1— schools rated ‘good’ in both primary and secondary phases belonging to class 2 and class 3— primary, community and voluntary-controlled schools, as compared to foundation schools and academies,belonging to class 4No relationship was identified between the four classes and FSM eligibility bands.65 © National College for School LeadershipSummaryIn summary, most participants perceived current policy as potentially opening up opportunities for partnershipand collaboration and this was viewed extremely positively. However, tensions such as mistrust, timepressures and the privileging of ‘outstanding’ status were seen to undermine opportunities. The vast majorityof participants reported a decline in the local authority’s role in areas such as school improvement servicesand in expertise such as SEN advisory support. Headteachers of small schools reported experiencing evenfurther pressure as a result of local authority contraction.Overall, headteachers tended to be more favourable towards autonomy than other senior/middle leaders,and chairs of governors. Secondary headteachers were also more receptive to the notion of autonomythan primary headteachers. The vast majority of academy headteachers were positive about autonomy ascompared to half of headteachers of community schools. Those schools with, or considering, academy statuswere motivated by a desire to determine specific ambitions such as developing school improvement servicesand products, an alternative to imposed configurations such as executive headship, and financial incentives.Accountability was seen to be an important part of a good-quality education system and the renewed focuson teaching and learning in the revised Ofsted framework was welcomed. The initial questionnaire also drewoverall positive and neutral responses on the issue of curriculum change. However, subsequent qualitativedata in the wake of more intense policy discussion, for example on curriculum and examination reform,indicated a less favourable response.An overview of headteacher views suggests that primary and secondary academy principals tend to be themost positive about policy and are most likely to be engaged in pursuing new opportunities. Heads of primary,community and voluntary-controlled schools appear most likely to feel demotivated by current policy changesand their potential impacts.4 f40 is the name given to the Campaign for fairer Funding in Education and represents local authorities where funding is relatively lower than elsewhere in thecountry. See www.f40.org.ukCase study 1: Local change and the national policy landscapeThe secondary school was inspected under the January 2012 inspection framework and was judged‘good with satisfactory features’. This represents a change from its previous grade of ‘outstanding’. Keyto the new judgement is the school’s attainment data that shows stalling of progress from entry toKey Stage 4. The school has subsequently developed a concerted focus on progression monitoring anddevelopment to elicit improvement for pupils progressing through the school and as they reach the endof Key Stage 4.The headteacher expressed a commitment to leadership"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(5) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "initial"
        [1]=>
        string(6) "senior"
        [2]=>
        string(5) "phase"
        [3]=>
        string(6) "school"
        [4]=>
        string(7) "leavers"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(10) "Leadership"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Leadership

Review of the school leadership landscape

6 Jul 2017

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#43352"
  ["title"]=>
  string(15) "Cultural Change"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(5) {
    [0]=>
    string(15) "Differentiation"
    [1]=>
    string(8) "Dyslexia"
    [2]=>
    string(38) "Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties"
    [3]=>
    string(9) "Inclusion"
    [4]=>
    string(13) "Special Needs"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(53) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/ecj-54-cultural-change/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1477670251)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(12) "post-43352-0"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(184) "Headteacher Derek Peaple and SENCo Steve Oxley describe the efforts at Park House School to move special educational needs out of the ghetto and onto every teacher’s agenda."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(355) "... level of the role. The newly-termed ‘Monitoring and Evaluation schedule’ provided a core structure and reference for the SENCo’s work at this crucial phase of the school’s planning for improved provision. This heightened strategic focus for SEND and pupil premium meant that these students’ progress and attainment ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(5) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(3) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(15) "Cultural Change"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(0) {
      }
    }
    ["author"]=>
    array(2) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(12) "Derek Peaple"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [1]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(11) "Steve Oxley"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(184) "Headteacher Derek Peaple and SENCo Steve Oxley describe the efforts at Park House School to move special educational needs out of the ghetto and onto every teacher’s agenda."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(6) "school"
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(5763) "Matthew Syed’s Black Box Thinking provides an interesting holiday read for leaders, educational or otherwise.1  Its argument, in summary, is that high performing organisations are culturally responsive, constantly review their existing practice, and actively seek positive change based on learning about themselves and from others. It’s a message which resonates powerfully with the development of special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision at Park House school since 2013—a journey influenced by the school’s partnership with education improvement charity, Achievement for All, and leading to three inter-linking dimensions of change in relation to school culture, structure and practice.Where did we begin?In 2013, with the impending introduction of the new Code of Practice and major changes on the horizon, the school’s leadership identified the review and development of SEND provision as a key priority for whole school improvement. The central focus: every teacher is a teacher of SEND.A critical analysis of the ‘musts’ and ‘shoulds’ of the new Code of Practice was completed in the early stages of this review, ensuring that child-centred approaches, the graduated approach (assess-plan-do-review cycle), and pupil-centred planning were at the heart of the development work undertaken by the school. A need to understand recent research into deploying support staff more effectively was also critical. Blunt and uncritical reliance on generically deployed assistants was, in some cases, preventing teachers from recognising their responsibility for students with SEND. As the Education Endowment Foundation have reported, ‘Students in a class with a teaching assistant present do not, on average, outperform those in one where only a teacher is present’.2Dissonant research data of this sort, challenging accepted and entrenched practice, only served to emphasise that change was an imperative at all levels—within the senior leadership team, among teaching staff and with the support assistants. The headteacher was inevitably at the heart of this process regarding the development of SEND provision, both in terms of the communication of a powerful and compelling vision for change and also more practically. The process would inevitably involve staffing and contractual issues, and decisions could not be made without understanding and approval at this strategic level.The SEND review ran alongside a parallel process of equally critical reflection on the school’s approach to provision for pupil premium students. This proved to be a vital congruence, shaping the further direction of our approach to the former.  It was also in 2013 that the school began to work in partnership with Achievement for All to significantly improve provision for disadvantaged students and address what had developed into a widening progress and attainment gap. Implementing the charity’s successful and structured approach to this key issue, initial work alongside the consultant enabled staff to target change for certain students in year groups. This was through a process of structured conversations about progress at termly intervals, and involved parents, the child and a teacher. Rapid gains with the pupil premium cohort redefined our thinking, and was the catalyst for the further changes to structure and practice in relation to SEND.  The approach was adapted for all students identified with SEND at Park House and sat at the heart of the child-centred approach that the 2014 Code of Practice recommends. Seeking expert helpThe influence of Achievement for Allwas central to the cultural, structural and practical dimensions of change for which the school was searching in its approach to effectively redefined SEND provision. For example, the partner consultant worked alongside the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) to break down work that needed to be done into termly areas of priority, so that strategic planning was possible beyond the operational level of the role. The newly-termed ‘Monitoring and Evaluation schedule’ provided a core structure and reference for the SENCo’s work at this crucial phase of the school’s planning for improved provision. This heightened strategic focus for SEND and pupil premium meant that these students’ progress and attainment—and the practice that lay behind it—became a core part of the school’s review weeks, encompassing learning walks, monitoring of interventions and book observations. Findings were presented to all staff after each review to raise the importance of the issue. As the identification of SEND was one key issue that the school needed to address, Local Authority guidelines were also helpful alongside this approach to distinguish between generic underachievement and SEND (see figure 1).CATs data was additionally useful alongside reading and spelling ages for all newcomers to the school, and not just Year 7s joining at the start of the academic year. This meant that all students had a profile, and the data could be used to plan, review and adapt intervention as part of the graduated approach cycle.The local offer, a ‘must’ in the Code of Practice, provided the final document used to re-structure practice. Once prepared, this could be shared at all levels (including governors) and gave a very clear framework for addressing provision across the school.Once the local offer had been compiled, external professionals were brought in at the beginning of the following school term. This enabled key"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(5) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "initial"
        [1]=>
        string(6) "senior"
        [2]=>
        string(5) "phase"
        [3]=>
        string(6) "school"
        [4]=>
        string(7) "leavers"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(5) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(15) "Differentiation"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [1]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(8) "Dyslexia"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [2]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(38) "Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [3]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(9) "Inclusion"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [4]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(13) "Special Needs"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Differentiation

Cultural Change

28 Oct 2016