secondary schools conference. leading change high excellence high equity - raising the bar and...

Secondary Schools Conference


Leading Change

High excellence high equity- Raising the bar and narrowing the gap

Luxembourg

NorwaySweden

US

England

SwitzerlandScotland

WalesSpain

Poland

KoreaFinland

CanadaJapan

Belgium

N Ireland Germany

Turkey

New Zealand

Australia

460

480

500

520

540

560

70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140

200 minus Variance (a)

Mea

n sc

ore

on re

adin

g sc

ale

High excellenceLow equity

Low excellenceLow equity

Low excellenceHigh equity

High excellenceHigh equity

Source: PISA 2009, OECD

OECD average OECD average

(a) Total variance (between and within schools) is expressed as a percentage of the average variance in student performance across OECD countries. The OECD average is 101. For this chart, the variance is displayed as 200-variance, ie a country with a high relative variance of 120 will appear on this chart as 80 to the left of the chart.

OECD average

High Excellence High Equity - Raising the Bar and Narrowing the Gap

Ingredients of successful systemsfrom the PISA studies

Systematic and equitable funding Universal standards – mirrored in the views of

students, parents and school principals School autonomy Mix of accountability systems – internal and

external Continuous monitoring of standards and quick

interventions when failure to achieve them is identified

Ingredients of successful systemsfrom the PISA studies cont…

Creating the appropriate environment to achieve the standards set: get the right people to become teachers develop teachers into effective instructors (PD

internal and external) place incentives and differentiated support

systems to ensure that every child gets the support that it needs

Focus on the curriculum and introduce skills required for the 21st century

Networking and innovationExcellence and equity are achievable!

How the world’s most improvedschool systems keep getting better McKinsey 2010

Four stages of improvement were identified as well as ‘stage-dependent’ intervention clusers: ‘poor to fair’ – ensuring basic standards ‘fair to good’ – consolidating system foundations ‘good to great’ – professionalising teaching and

leadership ‘great to excellent’ – system led innovation

National Prescription

Building Capacity

Every School a Great School

Prescription Professionalism

System Leadership

Awful to Adequate Adequate to Good Good to Great

Towards system wide sustainable reform

Schools Leading Reform

So in summarySystem improvement requires integration andcoordination across every level

Teachers Deliver classroom instruction Collaborate with peers to develop, test and share

pedagogical practices that raise student outcomes

Engage parents as needed to advance student performance

So in summarySystem improvement requires integration andco-ordination across every level cont…

Leaders Define and drive school improvement strategy,

consistent with direction from middle/centre Provide instructional and administrative

leadership for the school Involve school community to achieve school

improvement goals


The ‘middle layer’ Provide targeted support to schools and monitor

compliance Facilitate communication between schools and the

centre Encourage inter-school collaboration Buffer community resistance to change


The centre Set system strategy for improvement Create support and accountability mechanisms to

achieve system goals Establish decision rights across all system entities

and levels Build up skills and leadership capacity at all

system levels

The OECD Improving School Leadership Activity

AustraliaAustriaBelgium (French)Belgium (Flanders)ChileDenmarkFinlandFranceHungaryIrelandIsrael

Korea The NetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPortugalSloveniaSpainSwedenUnited Kingdom (England)United Kingdom (N. Ireland)United Kingdom (Scotland)

Network of experts

An International Perspective

International organisations

The role of leadership has changed dramatically

School autonomy:

“Running a small business”

Administration and management

Human and financial resources

Accountability for outcomes:

A new culture of evaluation

Assessment, (self) evaluation, quality assurance, public reporting

New approaches to teaching and learningMore diverse student populations

More emphasis on raising performance of all

School leadership: a policy priority

Need to invest in the knowledge and skills of leaders on the job

System level

Local level

School

Classroom

• At the school level, leadership can improve teaching and learning by setting objectives and influencing classroom practice

• At the local level, school leadership can improve equal opportunities by collaborating with other schools and local communities

• At the system level, school leadership is essential for successful education reform

School leadership: why does it matter?

School Leadership

Estimated 5+A*-C % from pupil KS3 data

1009080706050403020100

Act

ual 5

+A

*-C

% 2

003

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

N = 3313

Low Achieving

N = 483

Underperforming

N = 539

Progressing

N = 1495

High Performing

N = 696

Leading the System

N = 100

Segmentation of the Secondary School System in England

Below 30% 5+A-C

5+A*-C >=30%, lower quartile value added

5+A*-C >=30%, 25-75th percentile value added

5+A*-C >=30%, upper quartile value added

Networking and Segmentation:Highly Differentiated Improvement Strategies

Type of School

Leading schools

Succeeding schools with

internal variation

Underperforming schools

Failing schools

Key strategies – responsive to context and need

- Become curriculum and pedagogical innovators- Formal federation with lower-performing schools

- Regular local networking- Subject specialist support to particular depts.

- Linked school support - Consistency interventions

- Formal support in a Federation structure - New provider

System Leadership Role

- Leading Edge- Consultant Leaders and National Support Schools

- Education Improvement Partnerships - 14-19 partnerships

- Raising Achievement Transforming Learning - School Improvement Partners

- Consultant Leaders and National Support Schools- School Sponsored Academy

909

781

631

439

237

0

200

400

600

800

1000

2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09

Seco

ndar

y Sc

hool

s

• 30% Floor target for 5 A*-C GCSE including English and maths• The 909 floor target schools in 2004/05 = 29% of all secondary schools and the 237 in 2008/09 now =

just 8%• A 74% reduction in the number below floor over 5 years

• Half of all floor targets schools are in a third of regions – this is based on the 237 in 2008/09• In this third of regions floor target schools make up at least 10% of all secondary schools• Some regions have less than 5% schools below floor

4844

34 33

2519 16 15 13

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Seco

ndar

y Sc

hool

s

These Twelve Secondary Schools …Are in the highest category of deprivation (35% or more FSM), yet, they all:– Achieve over 80% good GCSE passes at 16, with a

consistent trajectory of improvement– Have at least two recent inspection reports

judged as ‘outstanding’– Received outstanding grades for teaching and

learning, leadership and the school overall– Record a pattern of high contextual value added

scores from Key Stage 2 (age 11) to Key Stage 4 (age 16)

They defy the association of poverty with outcomes

Yet the scale of challenge faced by these schools is considerable:– Higher than average proportion come form poor or

disturbed family backgrounds where support for learning and expectation of achievement are low

– Many students are subject to emotional and psychological tension and regular attendance is a problem

– They are open to a range of ‘urban ills’ that often characterise poorer communities – drugs and alcohol, peer pressure of gangs and fashion and overt racism which tend to attract behaviour which ranges from anti-social to violent.

– Getting these students ready and willing to learn is a constant challenge, which the schools strive to meet by providing a better daytime alternative to being at home or on the streets.

21st Century Schools succeed for the following reasons:

• They excel at what they do not just occasionally but for a high proportion of the time

• They prove constantly that disadvantage need not be a barrier to achievement

• They put their students first, invest in their staff and nurture their communities

• They have strong values and high expectations that are applied consistently and are never relaxed

• They fulfil individual potential through providing outstanding teaching, rich opportunities for learning and encouragement and support for each student

• They are highly inclusive, having complete regard for the educational progress, personal development and well being of every student

• Their achievements do not happen by chance, but by highly reflective, carefully planned and implemented strategies

• They operate with a very high degree of internal consistency

• They are constantly looking for ways to improve further

• They have outstanding and well distributed leadership

At the heart of this is outstanding leadership practice

The Heads of these schools are not by and large iconic – they have taken on challenging schools out of a deep commitment to improving the lot of their students and communities. Moral purpose may be at the heart of it but successful Heads need a range of attributes and skills if they are to succeed in dealing with the challenges presented by turbulent and complex communities.

• Clear and unshakeable principles and sense of purpose

• Vigilance and visibility

• Courage and conviction

• Predisposition to immediate action, letting nothing slip

• Insistence on Consistency of approach, individually and across the organisation

• Drive and determination

• Belief in people

• Ability to communicate

• leadership by example

• Emotional intelligence

• Tireless energy

A change for the better …

Before the change of head teacher, the school:

• Was comfortable and happy• Had a strong pastoral system

although this was reliant on personalities rather than systems

• Had little culture of change and improvement

• Had a questionable work ethic• Set expectations around happy,

well-adjusted students with little discussion of whether they should also achieve higher academic levels

• Had a well liked head who was easygoing, genial and supportive but not challenging, often absent and who allowed poor staff to remain in post.

The new head teacher:

• Faced initial staff resentment with data; there was a belief that the school was happy and did not need to change

• Gradually changed the culture over a few years

• Retained what was good• Maintained a relentlessly positive

attitude showed high energy• Was a lateral thinker, prepared to

take a gamble• Had a very ‘can do’ attitude and said

‘yes’ wherever possible• Was prepared to tackle difficult

issues such as weeding out poor staff

• Trusted and motivated staff • Was approachable and relaxed• Made good use of promotion to

bring alienated staff onside• Used the wider senior team to

involve more staff as leaders

It is not surprising …• … that a number of themes emerged which were

common to most or all of the schools. These included, for example, attention to the quality of teaching and learning; the assessment and tracking of student’s progress; target-setting, support and intervention; attracting teachers and growing leaders.

• It is important to stress that the success of these schools is due not simply to what they do but the fact that it is rigorously distilled and applied good practice, cleverly selected and modified to fit the needs of the school. The schools do not value innovation for its own sake, but only when it adds something extra. The practices described here are not ‘off the peg’ tricks; they mesh together and work synchronously.

Leadership as Adaptive Work

Technical Solutions

Adaptive Work

Technical problems can be solved through applying existing know how - adaptive challenges create a gap between a desired state and reality that cannot be closed using existing approaches alone

System Leadership

The Nature of Adaptive WorkAn adaptive challenge is a problem situation for which solutions lie

outside current ways of operating.

• Adaptive challenges demand learning, because ‘people are the problem’ [as well as the solution] and progress requires new ways of thinking & operating.

• Mobilising people to meet adaptive challenges, then, is at the heart of leadership practice.

• Ultimately, adaptive work requires us to reflect on the moral purpose by which we seek to thrive and demands diagnostic enquiry into the realities we face that threaten the realisation of those purposes.

From Ron Heifetz – ‘Adaptive Work’ (in Bentley and Wilsdon 2003)

The Ring of Confidence

Circles of Competence

Motion Leadership andPowerful Learning

Motion LeadershipConnect peers with purpose

Capacity building triumphs judgmentalism

Learning is the work

Transparency rules

Love, trust and resistance

Leadership for all

Powerful LearningRing 1 – Moral purposeLiteracy, Numeracy and Curiosity

Ring 2 – Pre-conditionsLeadership, Expectations and Teaching

Ring 3 – Classroom practiceInstructional core and precise teaching strategies

Ring 4 – Organizational capacityData, Planning and SIGs

Ring 4 – Organizational capacityPLCs, Organizational designWorkforce reform

Outer RingSystem leadership, Differential intervention, Networks and innovation, Families and community

Powerful Learning - 1

Powerful Learning – 2

From Outside In to Inside Out

Centre

Policy

School

Planning/Organisation

Teacher

Student Learning

Change learning

Teaching Strategies

Planning/Organisation

Policy choices

Centre

Outside In Inside Out

Inside - Out

REGION

NETWORK

SCHOOL

CLASSROOM

STUDENT

The School Improvement Planning Framework


Getting into the Classroom

Moral Purpose of Schooling

All these …. whatever my background, whatever my abilities, wherever I start from All these …. whatever my background, whatever my abilities, wherever I start from

I know how I am being assessed and what I need to do to improve my work

I know what my learning objectives are and feel in control of my learning

My parents are involved with the school and I feel I belong here

I enjoy using ICT and know how it can help my learning

I can get the job that I want

I know if I need extra help or to be challenged to do better I will get the right support

I know what good work looks like and can help myself to learn

I can work well with and learn from many others as well as my teacher

I can get a level 4 in English and Maths before I go to secondary school

I get to learn lots of interesting and different subjects

How the demand for skills has changedEconomy-wide measures of routine and non-routine task input in the USA

1960 1970 1980 1990 200240

45

50

55

60

65

Routine manual

Nonroutine manual

Routine cognitive

Nonroutine analytic

Nonroutine inter-active

Mean t

ask

inp

ut

as

perc

en

tile

s of

the 1

960

task

dis

trib

uti

on

The dilemma of schools:The skills that are easiest to teach and test are also the ones that are easiest to digitise, automate and outsource

“What does it mean to be educated?” at any particular phase of

education

Being educated at any particular age has four central elements:• a breadth of knowledge gained from a curricula entitlement;• a range of skills on a developmental continuum that reflects increasing depth at ages 7,

11, 14,16, and in many cases, 18;• a range of learning experiences; • a set of key products, projects or artifacts.

It also means that students are sufficiently articulate to:• sustain employability through basic skills;• apply their knowledge and skills in different contexts;• choose from and learn in a range of post-14 study (assuming an entitlement curriculum

up until then);• draw on wider experiences to inform further learning and choice.

Most educational systems use examination results as a proxy measure for this range of quality outcomes

Effect Size of Teaching Student Performance

50th percentile

100th percentile

0 percentile

Age 8 Age 11

Students with high performing

teacher

Students with low performing teacher

90th

percentile

37th percentile

53 percentile points

McKinsey & Company, 2007:11

Focus on the Instructional Core CURRICULUM

POWERFUL

LEARNING

TASKS

TEACHING and LEARNING STRATEGIES

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

What is ‘Professional Practice’?

• By practice we mean something quite specific. We mean a set of protocols andprocesses for observing, analyzing, discussing and understanding instruction that can be used to improve student learning at scale. The practice works because it creates a common discipline and focus among practitioners with a common purpose and set of problems.

• The real insight here is that you can maintain all the values and commitments that make you a person and still give yourself permission to change your practice. Your practice is an instrument for expressing who you are as a professional; it is not who you are.

I wrote (with Bruce Joyce) some time ago that:

Learning experiences are composed of content, process and social climate. As

teachers we create for and with our children opportunities to explore and build

important areas of knowledge, develop powerful tools for learning, and live in

humanizing social conditions.

Powerful Learning …

Is the ability of learners to respond successfully to the tasks they are set, as well as the task they set themselves In particular, to:

– Integrate prior and new knowledge

– Acquire and use a range of learning skills

– Solve problems individually and in groups

– Think carefully about their successes and failures

– Accept that learning involves uncertainty and difficulty

All this has been termed “meta-cognition” – it is the learners’ ability to take control over their own learning processes.

A Secondary Approach for Powerful Learning

Learning Intentions

Tasks

Pace

Questioning & Questions

Reflection

Collaborative Group Work

Academic Vocabulary

Tactical

Strategic

Teaching Skills -Nine Theory of Action Principles

• When teacher directed instruction becomes more enquiry focused the level of student engagement and achievement increases

• When teachers set learning intentions use appropriate pace and have a clear and strong narrative about their teaching then student’s are more secure about their learning and their level engagement and understanding is increased

• By consistently adopting protocols for teaching student behaviour and engagement is enhanced

• By consistently adopting protocols for learning student understanding, skill level and confidence is enhanced

• If teachers use cooperative group structures / techniques to mediate between whole class instruction and students carrying out tasks then the academic performance of the whole class will increase

• When teachers systematically use higher order questioning the level of student understanding is deepened

• When feedback contains reference to practical actions student behaiour becomes more positive and consistent

• When peer assessment (AfL) is consistently utilized student engagement, learning and achievement increases

• When learning tasks are purposeful, clearly defined, differentiated and challenging, (according to the students Zone of Proximal Development), then the more powerful and precise the learning for all students

Achievement of students

Nu

mb

er o

f st

ud

ents

Reaching for the “Double Sigma Effect”

Average Effect Size Using Learning Intentions

Average Effect Size Using Higher-level Questions

Average Effect Size Using Feedback

Grouping the theories of action – 1Planning for Teaching

• When teacher directed instruction becomes more enquiry focused the level of student engagement and achievement increases

• When teachers set learning intentions use appropriate pace and have a clear and strong narrative about their teaching then student’s are more secure about their learning and their level engagement and understanding is increased

• By consistently adopting protocols for teaching student behaviour and engagement is enhanced

Learning IntentionsTheory of Action - When teachers set learning intentions use appropriate pace and have

a clear and strong narrative about their teaching then student’s are more secure about their learning and their level engagement and understanding is increased

Effect Size – 0.56

Group Discussion1. What is the practice related to learning intentions in your school and how

widespread is it?2. How helpful is the exhibit in helping you become more specific and consistent in

the practice of setting learning intentions in your school?3. What will be the impact of the consistent use of setting learning intentions on the

learning of your students?4. How will you achieve it?

Learning Intentions and Direct Instruction - Exhibit

1. Before the lesson is prepared, the teacher should have a clear idea of what the learning intentions are. What, specifically, should the student be able to do, understand, care about as a result of the teaching?

2. The teacher needs to know what success criteria of performance are to be expected and when and what students will be held accountable for from the lesson/activity. The students need to be informed about the standards of performance.

3. There is a need to build commitment and engagement in the learning task. In the terminology of Direct Instruction, this is sometimes called a “hook” to grab the student’s attention. The aim is to put students into a receptive frame of mind; to focus students attention on the lesson; to share the learning intentions.

4. There are guides to how the teacher should present the lesson – including notions such as input, modelling, and checking for understanding. Input refers to providing information needed for students to gain the knowledge or skill through lecture, film, tape, video, pictures, and so on. Modelling is where the teacher shows students examples of what is expected as an end product of their work. Checking for understanding involves monitoring whether students have “got it” before proceeding.

5. There is notion of guided practice. This involves an opportunity for each student to demonstrate his or her grasp of new learning by working through an activity or exercise under the teacher’s direct supervision.

6. There is the closure part of the lesson. Closure involves those actions or statements by a teacher that are designed to bring a lesson presentation to an appropriate conclusion: the part wherein students are helped to bring things together in their own minds, to make sense out of what has been just taught. “Any questions? No. OK, let’s move on” is not closure.

7. There is independent practice. Once students have mastered the content or skill, it is time to provide for reinforcement practice. It is provided on a repeating schedule so that the learning is not forgotten. It may be homework or group or individual work in class. The advocates of Direct Instruction argue that the failure to do this seventh step is responsible for most student failure to be able to apply something learned.

In a nutshell: The teacher decides the learning intentions and success criteria, makes them transparent to the students, demonstrates them

by modelling, evaluates if they understand what they have been told by checking for understanding, and re-telling them what they have told by tying it all together with closure. Adapted from Hattie

Grouping the theories of action – 2Planning for Learning

• By consistently adopting protocols for learning student understanding, skill level and confidence is enhanced

• If teachers use cooperative group structures / techniques to mediate between whole class instruction and students carrying out tasks then the academic performance of the whole class will increase

• When teachers systematically use higher order questioning the level of student understanding is deepened

Higher Order Questions

Theory of Action - When teachers systematically use higher order questioning the level of student understanding is deepened


Group Discussion1. What is the practice related to higher order questioning in your school

and how widespread is it?2. How helpful is the exhibit in helping you become more specific and

consistent in the practice of higher order questioning in your school?3. What will be the impact of the consistent use of higher order

questioning on the learning of your students?4. How will you achieve it?

Higher Order Questions - ExhibitFormulating Questions for Higher-Order

ThinkingBuilding on Bloom’s Taxonomy, teachers can easily move students to recall more than simple knowledge-level facts. By asking higher-order questions, teachers can require students to think about what they’ve learned and find ways to apply it to their lives and other disciplines. Below are some examples of questions that go with each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Key Words Sample Questions

Knowledge List List characteristics of each of the main characters.

Label Match names with appropriate picture

Identify Identify the important details from the story

Tabulate Arrange story events in sequential order

Name Recall details about the setting of the story


Comprehension Interpret Interpret pictures or scenes from the story

Explain Explain parts of the story in your own words

Compare How are two characters in the story alike or different?

Summarise Write a paragraph summarising what happened in the story

Predict Predict what could happen next before reading the rest of the book

Application Classify Classify selected objects as living or nonliving

Change Move a main character to a new setting and explain what will happen

Illustrate Make puppets and dramatise parts of the story

Relate How are you like the main character in the story?

Solve Think of a situation in the story and explain how you would have handled it differently

Analysis Analyze Distinguish fantasy from reality in the story

Select Select parts of the story that were funniest or happiest

Compare Compare the two main characters in the story

Infer Identify a character who is similar to you in personality

Debate Discuss the pros and cons of a character’s decision


Synthesis Design Advertise the story on a poster so will want to read it

Modify Rewrite the role of the main character to create a new outcome

Create Create an original character and add him/her to the story

Invent Write lyrics to a popular tune that explains how the character felt in the story

Combine Combine characters and events from two stories to create one new story

Evaluation Judge Write about why a character should or should not have acted the way he did

Convince Prepare a book talk that persuades other students to read the book

Rank Compare this story to another one and explain which one you like the best

Support Decide which character you would like to spend the day with and tell why

Conclude Change the main character’s decision and write a new ending for the story

Grouping the theories of action – 3Planning for Teaching and Learning

• When feedback contains reference to practical actions student learning behaviour becomes more positive and consistent

• When peer assessment (AfL) is consistently utilized student engagement, learning and achievement increases

• When learning tasks are purposeful, clearly defined, differentiated and challenging, (according to the students Zone of Proximal Development), then the more powerful and precise the learning for all students

Student Feedback

Theory of Action -When feedback contains reference to practical actions student learning behaviour becomes more positive and consistent


Group Discussion1. What is the practice related to student feedback in your school and how

widespread is it?2. How helpful is the exhibit in helping you become more specific and

consistent in the practice of student feedback in your school?3. What will be the impact of the consistent use of student feedback on the

learning of your students?4. How will you achieve it?

Feedback - Exhibit

LiterateNumerate

Curious

Tactics

Techniques

Tools

Models

Engage

Explore

Expl

ain

Elaborate

Neuroscience

Cognitive PrinciplesBr

ain

Rule

s

E5

Proc

edur

esEvaluate

Three ways of thinking about Teaching

Teaching Relationships

Teaching Models

Reflection

Teaching Skills

Teaching ModelsOur toolbox is the models of teaching, actually models for learning, that simultaneously define the nature of the content, the learning strategies, and the arrangements for social interaction that create the learning contexts of our students. For example, in powerful classrooms students learn models for:

• Extracting information and ideas from lectures and presentations

• Memorising information

• Building hypotheses and theories

• Attaining concepts and how to invent them

• Using metaphors to think creatively

• Working effectively with other to initiate and carry out co-operative tasks

Effect Size of Teaching Strategies

• Information Processing – a mean effect size over 1.0 for higher order outcomes

• Cooperative Learning – a mean effect between 0.3 to 0.7

• Personal Models – a mean effect of 0.3 or more for cognitive, affective and behavioural outcomes

• Behavioural Models – a mean effect between 0.5 to 1.0. Best representatives are for short term treatments looking at behavioural or knowledge of content outcomes

The whole point of schools is that children come first…

…and everything we do must reflect this single goal

“Students First”


Leadership, Implementation and Staff Development

Powerful Learning – Theory of ActionIf all the distinct but interrelated parts of the NMR {Powerful learning Strategy – the rings and each component

of each ring – are aligned and working together, then all schools will improve

‘Seven Strong Claims about School Leadership’• School leadership is second only to classroom instruction as an influence on

student learning.• Almost all successful (school) leaders draw on the same repertoire of basic

leadership practices.• It is the enactment of the same basic leadership practices – not the practices

themselves – that is responsive to the context.• School leaders improve pupil learning indirectly through their influence on

staff motivation and working conditions.• School leadership has a greater influence on schools and pupils when it is

widely distributed.• Some patterns of leadership distribution are much more effective than

others.• A small handful of personal “traits” explain a high proportion of the variation

(such as being open minded, flexible, persistent and optimistic) in leader effectiveness.

Leadership

- Time in post

- Internal states

- Provision of leadership

- Age

- Values

School

- Improvement Group

- FSM

- Sector

- Ethnic Diversity

- School size

- Urban/rural

- Level ofdeprivationin area

Building Vision, Setting Directions

Understanding & Developing People-Succession planning-Monitoring and accountability

Organisational Redesign-Distributive leadership practices-Correspondence with teaching & learning purposes

Managing Teaching and Learning- Innovative practices- Use of data

Culture & Climate

Altered Practices

Pedagogic Focus

Student & Staff Engagement & Motivation

Academic

Personal and Social

Behaviour

Affective

Structural Equation Modelling –

Connecting Headteacher Effectiveness and Pupil Outcomes

Pace / Timing

Pace / Timing

Pace / Timing

Personal Development

Strategic Acumen

Managing Teaching and Learning

Developing People

Developing Organisations

Work as a Change Agent

Lead a Successful Educational Improvement Partnership

Moral Purpose

Partner another School Facing Difficulties and Improve it

Lead and Improve a School in Challenging Circumstances

Act as a Community Leader

A Secondary School’s Line of Success

1996 2000 2002 2004

All Phases: Benchmarking

the school against national awards – Strategic mechanism to raise expectations

1: Urgent Attention – Back to Basics 1996-9

Autocratic Leadership Restructuring process New Staff structure Staff Training on OFSTED 9 redundancies, which

enabled restructuring Involving and empowering

governors Aiming to push standards

up Built new SLT – Focus on

building different teams and interlocking teams

Getting floating voters on board

2: Rebuilding and Making School more Student-Centred 2000-2 Development of new school

ethos with focus on teaching and learning

Introduced Hay perceptions – Transforming learning; pupils asked to comment on 9 aspects of classroom environment and teaching – their views taken into account

Classroom observations for all and coaching

Mechanisms for ineffective staff to be worked out

Raising pupil self-esteem with target setting

Focus on improving behaviour and clamp down on truancy (winning Truancy Award in 2001)

Building new pastoral system Appointed new Heads of Maths

and English

3: Period of Reflection and Curriculum Development 2002-4 Building a culture of education

with shared expectations Student Council consulted with

all new appointments More pupil voice and pupil

centred environment Training with SLT and middle

leaders Delegated leadership and

devolved responsibility – making people accountable

Developing a strong school ethos and raising expectations

Not allowing pupils to fail – introduction of coursework clubs after school to ensure coursework is completed

Pathways developed to meet pupil needs

Focus more towards learning than teaching

Key strategy: Linking SLT members with a Head of Faculty: Made significant contribution to shared school ethos and tackling difficult issues. Also provided confidence and support to middle leaders

4: Distributed Leadership

More delegation Faith in the team Staff inductions for NQTs Establishing common base

lines – appoint best trainees

Partner school with several universities for ITT

Focus on pupil needs Each SLT member

manages an area of the curriculum – support for middle leaders and insight for them into SLT thinking improved ethos and atmosphere

Focus on ECM – more fun and pupils more involved in school life; more pupil centred activities and pupil voice

New pastoral ethos – non-teaching assistants

Emphasis on pupil personal development

Refining curriculum to meet pupil needs with different pathways – to be further developed in the future

Academic outcomes go hand in hand with broader outcomes, as they support each other

HT’s Line of Success

Whole school development and classroom practice

Specific targets and success criteria related to pupils’ learning, progress and achievement that

are clear and unambiguous

An action plan for student achievement will need to include the following:

• Specific targets and success criteria related to pupils’ learning, progress and achievement that are clear and unambiguous;

• Teaching and learning strategies designed to meet the targets;• Evidence to be gathered to judge the success in achieving the targets set;• Modifications to management arrangements to enable targets to be met;• Tasks to be done to achieve the targets set and who is responsible for

doing them;• Time it will take;• How much it will cost in terms of the budget, staff time, staff

development and other resources;• Responsibility for monitoring the implementation of the plan – progress

checks;• Evaluating its impact over time – success check.

Success Criteria

Success criteria are a form of school-generated performance indicator, which:– give clarity about the target: what exactly are you

trying to achieve?;– point to the standard expected by the team;– provide advance warning of the evidence needed

to judge successful implementation;– give an indication of the time-scale involved.

Progress and Success ChecksRegular progress checks involve:• giving somebody in the team responsibility for ensuring that the progress

checks take place;• reviewing progress at team meetings, especially when taking the next step

forward or making decisions about future directions;• deciding what will count as evidence of progress in relation to the success

criteria;• finding quick methods of collecting evidence from different sources;• recording the evidence and conclusions for later use.

Success checks take place at the end of the developmental work on a target. The team now decides how successful the implementation of the target or priority as a whole has been. Checking success need not be complex or time-consuming. It will consist largely in collating, and then drawing a conclusion about, the earlier progress checks.

The relationship between progress and success checks

The Planning Process

The ‘Iceberg Model’ of Educational Change

Values and Beliefs

Behaviours

Content & Structures

Three Phases of Educational Change

Initiation Implementation

Institutionalisation

Time

“The Implementation Dip”

Matt Miles on Change Agent Skills

TRUSTDIAGNOSIS PLAN

WORKING IN GROUPS

KNOWHOW

CONFIDENCE TO CONTINUE

The Experience of Educational Change· change takes place over time;· change initially involves anxiety and uncertainty;· technical and psychological support is crucial;· the learning of new skills is incremental and

developmental;· successful change involves pressure and support

within a collaborative setting;· organisational conditions within and in relation to

the school make it more or less likely that the school improvement will occur.

Joined up Professional Development for the Whole Workforce … in Schools

• Make space and time for ‘deep learning’ and teacher enquiry

• Use the research on learning and teaching to impact on student achievement

• Studying classroom practice increases the focus on student learning

• By working in small groups the whole school staff can become a nurturing unit

• Invest in school-based processes for improving teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge

Six Approaches to Staff Development

• Achieving Consistency• Specific Observation Schedules• Japanese ‘Lesson Study’• Coaching• Instructional Rounds• Peer Coaching

A Three Phase Strategy for School Improvement

• Phase One: Establishing the Process

• Phase Two: Going Whole School

• Phase Three: Sustaining Momentum

Phase One: Establishing the Process

• Commitment to the School Improvement Approach

• Selection of Learning Leaders and School Improvement Team

• Enquiring into the Strengths and Weaknesses of the School

• Designing the Whole School Programme

• Seeding the Whole School Approach

Devise your programme around core values

• Every school can improve

• Improvement is assessed in terms of enhanced pupil outcomes

• Every individual in the school has a contribution to make

• Start from where the school is, but set high goals

• Model good practice with precision

• Raise expectations of what is possible.

Preparing for School Improvement

Pre-conditions School Level Preparations

Unifying Focus Means

· Commitment to School Improvement

· General consensus on values

· Understanding of key principles

· Shared values· A mandate from

staff· Leadership

potential · Identification of

change agents· Willingness to

make structural changes

· Capacity for improvement

Improvement Theme-An enquiry into Teaching and Learning

School Improvement Strategy

Phase Two: Going Whole School

• The Initial Whole School PD Day(s)

• Establishing the Curriculum and Teaching Focus

• Establishing the Learning Teams:

− Curriculum groupings

− Peer coaching or ‘buddy’ groups

• The Initial Cycle of Enquiry

• Sharing Initial Success on the Curriculum Tour

Curriculum Tour

WHOLE SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PRIORITYAn Enquiry into Teaching and Learning

Dept. A(Inductive Teaching)

Dept. B(Inductive Teaching)

Dept C(Inductive Teaching)

Memory SynecticsGroup Work

WHOLE SCHOOL WORKING TOWARDS REPERTOIRE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES

StageI

StageII

StageIII

‘Curriculum Tour’

In addition, School Improvement Team members are involved in:

• Out of school training sessions on capacity building and teaching and learning;

• The pursuit of their own knowledge in support of their role – about leadership, the management and implementation of change, the design of professional development activities etc.;

• Planning meetings in school;• Consultancy to school working groups;• Observation and in-classroom support;• Study visits to other schools within the network.

Phase Three: Sustaining Momentum

• Establishing Further Cycles of Enquiry

• Building Teacher Learning into the Process

• Sharpening the Focus on Student Learning

• Finding Ways of Sharing Success and Building Networks

• Reflecting on the Culture of the School and Department

Moving to Scale Cohorts of 6 - 8 Schools

6 - 8 Members of School Improvement Group

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

PLAN

Cohort A | | ……………………….

Cohort B | | ………….........

Cohort C | | ………….....

The Logic of System LeadershipLearning Potential of all Students

Repertoire of Learning Skills

Models of Learning - Tools for Teaching

Embedded in Curriculum Context and Schemes of Work

Whole School Emphasis on High Expectations and Pedagogic Consistency

Sharing Schemes of Work and Curriculum Across and Between Schools, Clusters, Regions, States and

Nationally

System Leadership Roles

A range of emerging roles, including heads who:

– develop and lead a successful educational improvement partnership across local communities to support welfare and potential

– choose to lead and improve a school in extremely challenging circumstances

– partner another school facing difficulties and improve it. This category includes Executive Heads and leaders of more informal improvement arrangements

– act as curriculum and pedagogic innovators who develop and then transfer best practice across the system

– Work as change agents or experts leaders as National Leader of Education, School Improvement Partner, Consultant Leader.

Leading change

‘You must be the change you wish to see in the world’

David Hopkins is Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Education, University of London, where until recently, he held the inaugural HSBC iNet Chair in International Leadership. He is a Trustee of Outward Bound and is Executive Director of the new charity ‘Adventure Learning Schools’. David holds visiting professorships at the Catholic University of Santiago, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Universities of Edinburgh, Melbourne and Wales and consults internationally on school reform. Between 2002 and 2005 he served three Secretary of States as the Chief Adviser on School Standards at the Department for Education and Skills. Previously, he was Chair of the Leicester City Partnership Board, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Nottingham where among other things, he was centrally involved in establishing the National College for School Leadership. Before that again he was a Tutor at the University of Cambridge Institute of Education, a Secondary School teacher and Outward Bound Instructor. David is also an International Mountain Guide who still climbs regularly in the Alps and Himalayas. His recent books Every School a Great School and System Leadership in Practice are published by The Open University Press.

Professor David Hopkins

secondary schools conference. leading change high excellence high equity - raising the bar and...

Documents

innovation slide

gap slide

school improvement goals

summary system improvement

high relative variance

school community

improved school systems

student performance