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National College for School Leadership

Schools and academies

Competencies and attributes of an effective senior leader

Case study: Secondary


© National College for School Leadership Case study I Succeeding in senior leadership I LEVEL 2

Competencies and attributes of an effective senior leader Thornbank High School 1

Background

Thornbank High School is a large 11–18 voluntary-aided school with 1,400 students on roll.

The school has developed a national reputation for excellence; it has teaching school and leading-edge status. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection (2007) judged the school to be outstanding in all areas.

The case study focuses on the competencies and attributes of Paul, who is acting deputy head. It shows how he demonstrates effective attributes and competencies. It also explores how these are perceived by other leaders. It shows how his performance contributes to school improvement, his team, his work–life balance and himself.

Paul has been assistant headteacher for three years and so this case study includes the challenges he faced, how he developed himself to meet these challenges and how continuing professional development (CPD) has been integral to his overall development as a senior leader.

Perspective is also provided from the viewpoint of key members of the school leadership team, including a middle leader, Will, and the headteacher, Judith.

Paul, acting deputy headteacher

Initially Paul is undertaking a one-year appointment as acting deputy headteacher. He has extensive experience in action research, student voice, assessment for learning (AfL) and CPD. Paul believes he was appointed because of his teaching and learning expertise and therefore soon after his appointment he put structures in place to allow him to invest in teaching and learning within the school.

Competencies and attributes demonstrated by an effective senior leader and key strategies to support their development

Developing the attributes for effective senior leadership

Paul is committed to the school ethos where there are incredibly high standards and the highest expectations of everyone. He believes that a key factor in his effectiveness is due to how he truly believes in the school’s mission, which is, to inspire people:

Before undertaking this position I wanted students to get good qualifications or go on to good careers. Now I want that, but equally I want to inspire the students and this comes from a love of learning and a love of people. I hook them in, inspire them. I have learned the craft of delivering messages in different ways.

Judith corroborates this: “Paul shows dedication to our students. He develops excellent relationships with staff and students and will always go the extra mile. I am clear at recruitment about the high expectations we have here and that sharing our vision is fundamental.”

Paul’s humility and sense of humour help him to demonstrate his commitment and forge strong relationships with staff. He acknowledges he is always learning and will readily admit to staff if he’s made a wrong decision or it’s necessary to rethink. He can use humour to diffuse tension and consequently his team respect these attributes and will openly communicate and share ideas. They trust his judgement and feel safe in making mistakes, knowing he will support them in identifying solutions:



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I had 10 years in industry before training to be a teacher and Paul was quick to identify the skills and experience I had and how they would be transferable to my role as head of department. Paul isn’t afraid to admit he doesn’t always have the answers and he will go to his team to see what they can bring to the table. This has enabled me to progress quickly in my career.

Will

Paul has developed creativity, and the ability to quickly process and identify realistic and sustainable responses, following years of internalising all of his experiences. He has also used the wealth of experience of others, who have developed highly effective strategies. Paul has acquired the skills to use his initiative with conviction and will contribute well-worked ideas based upon evidence:

Teaching is the best job in world. You have to be creative and reinvent yourself; you are a magician, actor, problem-solver, spiritual leader, an interrogator, motivator, a carer, coach and mentor, a sports manager, a fund raiser, a musician, a rapper, an animator, a screen writer and a film maker and that’s just half of what you might do in one day. It’s an amazing job to be in and allows you to be as creative as you want. You get instant feedback, know what you have achieved and you can just feed off this tremendous energy.

Paul Developing the competencies for effective senior leadership

Applying his knowledge and leadership insight by developing clear and coherent frameworks and approaches is important to Paul. He is keen to apply his own experience and that of others to departmental planning and will develop frameworks that facilitate the identification of priorities, setting challenging objectives and success criteria and then monitoring and evaluating their effectiveness. It is then important that staff are able to contribute to frameworks and are supported to use them. Will corroborates this:

As a newly appointed assistant head I am supported to see the goals of the school, and the success indicators along the way. Paul clearly and coherently sets a sense of direction, underpinned by the relevant frameworks. This benefits the school in that middle leaders are able to communicate the vision to staff and everybody is moving towards the same objectives and knows what is expected of them and how they can contribute.

See appendix 1 An Outstanding History department Framework and A Departmental Learning Walk.

Paul recognises effective team working as a key competency of senior leaders. His commitment to his team, which he demonstrates in many ways, ensures shared responsibility, accountability and shared reward:

I make sure everyone gets credit. It might be praise in public, writing a summary document of what’s been achieved, walking around corridors reinforcing messages informally, or celebrating successes at the teaching and learning briefing. Nevertheless, if necessary, I will hold colleagues to account and I always expect their very best.

Moving from a middle leader role to senior leader role has required Paul to develop new competencies. As a senior leader working in a teaching school, Paul’s sphere of influence has continued to grow. The agenda has changed from monitoring to leading the way and he is now more able to apply his ideas and creativity. As the necessity to see the bigger picture has increased, so too have opportunities for networking, bringing with them new challenges. Paul is aware that, as the sphere moves outwards, it is harder to maintain any control, set the agenda or influence a much larger group of people. Consequently, he has worked hard to develop and communicate a shared vision where everyone will benefit. Paul has achieved this through establishing more efficient methods of communication. His strategies involve meeting regularly, visiting schools, using virtual learning environments (VLEs) and websites, facilitating shared CPD and joint professional development (JPD) and by ensuring that support is adapted to the needs of each individual school and provided at the right time.



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Challenge of moving into senior leadership and processes that support effective senior leaders in their professional development

Paul acknowledges two of the challenges he faced upon moving into a senior leadership role. First, a significant challenge was a necessary shift in thinking. Paul recognised that he didn’t need to be a champion. It was not just about doing his job well; it was about inspiring and empowering others to do theirs. Paul carried out learning walks, spoke to students and colleagues and moved away from having all of the answers. He has strengthened networks by providing staff with the time and space to meet and giving them higher degrees of autonomy. This has enabled him to build capacity that is sustainable as all staff work collaboratively to share and develop skills.

Second, an equitable work–life balance initially presented a challenge. Previously Paul had rarely had a problem balancing his workload. However, upon appointment to the senior leadership team, an increase in responsibilities led to an increased need to plan and reflect. Paul was able to meet his responsibilities, but felt that time for reflection and planning was being squeezed. He recognised the importance of reflection and how this contributed to his ongoing professional development and he considered how to structure his working day to allow time. Paul now uses his 40-minute journey to and from work. At the start of the day, he plans for the day ahead and at the end of the day, this time allows him to process and rationalise the day’s events. Paul believes taking time out for reflection and processing is crucial to effective senior leadership: “Make time. It’s pivotal, because you have to process and reflect. It’s part of your learning experience. Don’t feel guilty for reading or having a coffee and a chat with a colleague. This can provide the time you need.”

Ensuring professional development in senior leadership

The school is keenly aware that the complexity and demands of the senior leadership role demand ongoing professional development. Paul identifies a range of approaches that are implemented to ensure senior leaders in his school manage their development and continue to grow professionally. These approaches include:

− providing regular opportunities for senior leaders to take full responsibility for seeing through every aspect of leadership through a culture of distributed leadership; for example Paul has responsibility for teaching and learning. Paul believes that this culture of delegation and distributing responsibility is empowering and has helped him to develop as an effective senior leader

− providing a thorough induction process that ensures expectations are clear and areas of responsibility are identified early

− providing regular weekly meetings with the headteacher to discuss plans and reflect on events – and give the headteacher the opportunity to provide guidance and advice and make suggestions

− providing regular meetings with an open agenda, with a named senior team coach to provide flexibility in meeting specific needs that arise

− giving everyone experience of all aspects of the school senior leadership through its matrix of responsibilities and annual opportunities to rotate roles, which builds a wide range of experience – staff have the opportunity to pitch for responsibilities during the annual leadership residential event

− providing feedback from the close-knit senior team, which believes honesty is fundamental

− supporting leaders to represent the school at events and attend meetings at the next level up

− giving staff the time to develop as leaders

− providing access to high-quality regional and national professional development training programmes, for example the National Professional Qualification for Headship and Diocesan Leadership Training



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Paul also recognises that it is important to look outside yourself for the answers. He believes that the breadth and responsibilities of a senior leadership role demand that you maximise the use of resources that you have. This involves getting to know your team really well, finding out where their interests lie and what their strengths are: “We have teachers with additional responsibilities, who are experts on data, CPD, etc. Whatever we are doing we link up and utilise their areas of expertise. We need each other and between us we often have the solutions within the school.”

See appendix 2 CPD Matrix. Key strategies employed by effective senior leaders to share their experiences, practice, skills and promote best practice

Modelling best practice

Paul believes the most effective conduit for sharing his competencies and experience is by modelling good professional practices. He is a keen advocate of experiential learning. For example, early into his appointment (while overseeing teaching and learning) there was a departmental Ofsted thematic inspection for the subject he line managed. He asked at the senior team meeting if he could lead on this and explained to staff that he would reflect on how to approach the inspection. Paul revisited the teaching and learning framework with the whole team and applied some principles. He looked at what makes an outstanding lesson and completed a quality assurance checklist, including book reviews and learning walks. Paul’s structured approach was communicated to the team at all stages and they were actively involved in the process.

Will upholds this:

Paul’s enquiry-based and logical approach to departmental tasks has impacted significantly upon me. I find myself approaching tasks in a similar way, I take a pragmatic approach to improving teaching and learning and will work to rigorous frameworks to ensure I don’t miss something.

The modelling of positive behaviours is embedded in the school’s culture. Middle leaders are assigned a senior team link, who works closely with them from the start, inducting them into the school ethos, meeting regularly to coach and guide them, attending some of their meetings, monitoring their effectiveness and conducting their performance management.

Adopting different leadership approaches

Paul appreciates that a flexible approach to leadership is essential to allow for different agendas and objectives and the diverse range of people you are working with. By adopting a range of leadership approaches Paul is able to communicate effectively with his team, acknowledging that different approaches give different results.

Getting people on board can be a challenge and Paul says it may be necessary to achieve a shift in thinking to do this. Before departmental planning he revisits values and ethics, if possible taking staff away from school and the classroom. They look at the school ethos, why they went into teaching and focus on the big picture. He uses open, enquiry-based questioning and builds trust to enable staff to share honestly. This supports him in identifying the barriers, agreeing a framework and sharing the workload. This helps to provide a coherent response as they have managed it from the start: “To squeeze out the best from the team, we all need to feel we are all in it together. If I have five people in a department then to me that is five heads of department. This helps to foster a sense of ownership.”



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This nurturing and coaching leadership approach also facilitates distributed leadership as staff are trusted, given early responsibilities and have the confidence to undertake them. For example; a newly qualified teacher (NQT) was given responsibility for leading and challenging an established team with new teaching and learning approaches and ideas. Paul believes getting staff involved is a key feature of his leadership approach:

We build capacity and readily give staff new responsibilities and new opportunities for development. We have a growth mind-set where the school and staff are constantly looking for best practice and the next big thing. We are constantly moving and all staff play a part in this.

Identifying effective CPD and its impact and contribution to developing effective senior leaders

Senior leadership is a complex role and Paul acknowledges CPD has been integral to his ongoing progression and his effectiveness as a senior leader. Paul has experienced many different CPD approaches and has facilitated and participated in a wide range of formal and informal CPD. He believes his willingness to learn and his commitment to professional and personal development mean he has gained and learned from all of the opportunities he has had:

The best CPD for me, without question, is informal. I respond well to coaching. Many of my line managers have coached me, through asking questions, not providing answers and building in time to reflect. It has helped me to develop a resilience as I have had to find solutions for myself.

In a previous position, during the early stage of middle leadership, Paul states the emphasis was on delivering CPD and not on actually receiving it. He says that now as an acting deputy headteacher it is unimportant how good you are, how much experience you have, you also get ongoing CPD. This is confirmed by Judith: “This is a multi-faceted and complex role and we are always learning. We look to colleagues in the most effective schools. This is highly valuable and provides fast and telling development.”

Paul advocates a wide range of approaches to CPD:

− picking up a book, reading something interesting for 15 minutes, then going away and applying it – this will help to embed it in your practice

− giving staff something new and useful at every opportunity – it’s important to add value

− not always giving staff the finished article – letting them have a starter for 10 and then working with it and adapting it, for example frameworks for teaching and learning

− working together in middle and senior leaders’ meetings on key developmental issues and engaging staff in posing solutions

− giving annual opportunities to staff to engage in action research and develop research-based study

− holding fortnightly face-to-face teaching and learning briefings, which encourage staff to share ideas

− sending out a fortnightly newsletter sharing good practice

− encouraging and giving time for staff to participate in learning from others and jointly develop practice with colleagues from other schools, for example as a teaching school and member of city and diocesan groups

Paul also maintains that he learns effectively from trying something out (he calls this experiential CPD), whereby he can take something away, try it, tailor it and apply it. He recognises that he has to feel safe and able to make mistakes and learn from them for this to be effective.



6 From CPD to JPD

Paul worked with a colleague in the senior leadership team to review CPD processes and felt that for development opportunities to be truly effective they needed to be dialogic and meet the individual needs of staff. CPD programmes have evolved into JPD programmes. This ensures that when focusing on an aspect of school improvement it brings together the key people.

Paul believes:

Just as a personalised approach works best in the classroom, it also does with teacher learning and development. We appreciate [teachers] are not all at the same starting point and will not all reach the same end point and therefore will require different support at their different stages of development. We carried out an audit and then put on individual training.

The audit identified 31 strands that each member of staff was asked about, with the support of a critical friend, for example head of department. A training framework was developed and staff were provided with opportunities and training that met their individual needs. A particular asset of JPD is the use of the school’s existing skill-base, recognising that the resources are often available within the school. A member of staff with a particular aptitude or strength is matched up with someone who needs support in that area. This also helps to build capacity. Furthermore, when the senior leadership team arranges training it ensures it is appropriately differentiated as would be exemplified in the best teaching and learning, for example practical starters, card-sort activities, and so on. Paul says: “We just want to be creative and make JPD engaging. It is underpinned by an intellectual framework.”

See appendix 3 CPD session outline framework

JPD also provides middle leaders with whole-school leadership experience:

One of the ways we support middle leaders to aspire to and achieve senior leadership positions is by providing them with whole-school leadership experience through leading on JPD. They are asked to lead weekly morning ethos or teaching and learning briefings, mentor another middle leader, lead on a whole-school initiative, for example review of homework and implementation of new policies, attend senior team meetings and represent the school with outside organisations.

Judith How coaching can contribute to effective leadership and support middle leaders to aspire to and achieve senior leadership positions

As a senior leader, Paul acknowledges that the challenges for him are the variables in his role. He has met these challenges by moving away from managing his team to supporting it. A coaching model of leadership underpins this.

Paul explains there has been little formalised use of coaching models in his career until now. The model developed at Thornbank High School is an amalgam of a number of approaches brought together by the school, in partnership with the local university. There are two different structures operating in the school:

− Triad coaching: Three people are chosen randomly to work together. This is a considered approach and ensures coaching triads are cross departmental and cross phase, promoting the ethos that ‘anyone can talk to anyone when seeking support’. The triads evolve differently; in some an expert is identified, who then provides specialist coaching. In other cases one person might identify an area to work on that is linked to school improvement; one person with more experience in this area may provide support and guidance, another may observe and provide feedback and another may take a particular issue, which all three will look at together, for example setting homework and seeing how students can get the most out of it.



7 − Specialist coaching: Six trained coaches work on a one-to-one basis with staff. Coaches are encouraged to

identify a model that works for them with the intention that they will ultimately be qualified to the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) award at Level 3. The programme has been well received by staff and Paul thinks this is in part because staff request the coaching support and the model responds flexibly, with meetings on a weekly or fortnightly basis, depending on needs. Success criteria are identified and more than one strategy is identified to provide a deeper understanding. Coaches may model to exemplify best practice or observe practice and provide feedback, which could focus on a critical incident. The school foresees that over a period of two years all staff will have had a coaching experience.

There is a rich heritage of using coaching for developmental purposes with those aspiring to leadership. For example, one member of staff had been at the school for three years with limited opportunity for career progression, as the head of department was doing a great job and not planning to move on. By providing coaching support the staff member identified an opportunity for an action research project that allowed her to further develop her skills and experience for the future.

The coaching models are to be reviewed shortly to identify what has worked well for different groups of students and how staff have benefited. A strength of the coaching is that it does not link to performance management and it centres on professional development and improving teaching and learning.

Reflection question

Do you agree with the final statement above? Impact of JPD on developing effective senior leaders within a culture of high performance

Impact of JPD on staff development

JPD has facilitated a deeper dialogue about teaching and learning strategies. Paul says:

On occasions staff may not have looked outside of their department when talking about teaching and learning. Now they have knowledge of which staff to go to. There is not a dependency culture as we don’t have champions. We foster collaborative working with shared responses.

The impact of coaching is exemplified by a young coach in her second teaching year. She had been asked by the head of coaching to meet with a teacher in her 50s to support her to refresh her teaching. Paul concedes he had stereotypical concerns about an NQT supporting a teacher with years of experience and entrenched ways of doing things. He was subsequently encouraged by the fantastic spark and dialogue that ensued. The professional relationship between the two continues today; observing one another, widening their repertoire and sharing practice. Paul attributes the success of the professional development intervention to the informality of the coaching relationship and the opportunity it provides for the coachee to set the agenda and identify solutions for themselves, consequently taking ownership of the area for development.

A sustained outcome of the coaching programme is the desire of new teachers to be part of it as they have seen and heard of its successes and have wanted to become involved. A strength of the school is that staff ask for support and self-refer for coaching.



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Headteacher Judith acknowledges that professional dialogue is hugely valuable and uses it in school to develop leaders at all stages of their careers:

We measure its effectiveness as we do everything else, through the quality of learning and outcomes for students. Those are our raison d’être, including systematic performance management and learning from feedback from [students] and from data analysis.

JPD reassures staff that they are on the right track. It provides evidence that senior leaders value them and their contribution. Staff have fed back that they believe senior leaders are genuinely interested in their development. This boosts morale.

See appendix 4 Copy of CPD Impact 2011 Impact of JPD on school improvement

School priorities inform faculty priorities and these are reviewed on an ongoing basis. As part of the review process staff training and development needs are assessed in relation to meeting departmental priorities. Senior leaders ensure that personalised JPD supports middle leaders to be instrumental in developing teams and programmes to facilitate school improvement.

Will states that JPD has had a significant impact on driving up standards in teaching and learning and ensuring all lessons are good or outstanding:

Previously, my department wasn’t retaining students and the results were just not good enough. As a middle leader it was a challenge to address this with longstanding members of the department. JPD provided the vehicle needed to improve teaching and learning and bring successes for my department.

Will acknowledges that coaching and the senior team link role, which inducts staff into the ethos of the school and links departmental planning to school improvement, gave him the confidence and initial approaches he needed.

JPD is subject to continuous evaluation and this facilitates reflection. Paul explains that immediately following JPD the SLT asks questions: What was the session like? What happened as a result? How will you apply it? Six months later the team revisits it and carries out an impact assessment that provides a trigger for the teacher to identify whether they have made the progress they wanted. This then informs future JPD planning. Paul explains: “Really clear monitoring frameworks are in place. When we intervene we put in the time, the effort and the money to ensure intervention is effective and it has to be agreed by all parties.”

Paul knows over time that every member of staff will receive support from their head of department and he says staff know that the investment in them will be repaid, as the school infrastructure supports this by providing them with opportunities to contribute to whole-school initiatives.



9 Impact of JPD on work–life balance

Paul states that delivering JPD as a senior leader does not impact on his work–life balance as it is an integral part of his job. However, for other middle leaders, who generally still have a considerable teaching caseload, it does impact. As a senior leader he is mindful of this and will do all he can to support them, for example freeing them up from meetings, identifying resources and signposting them to existing good practice that they can access quickly and easily.

Paul concedes that finding the time to participate in CPD as a head of department was more difficult as, despite the fact he was devolving responsibilities, he was still having to plan and teach lessons. At that level he felt stress that he now recognises in other middle leaders: “If you wanted to do new and exciting things you had to do it in your own time after all of your departmental management responsibilities. So that was where the pinch point was.”

Reflection question

How do you and your senior leader colleagues manage this in your school?

Paul advocates that the solution is to talk to your line manager and the senior team, he states: “Get them on board and get them excited. Inspire the senior leaders to run with something. They are then more likely to give you the time and resources to do it.”

Paul admits the timing for this is critical. If senior leaders are going to spend their time on this, it needs to be joined up with the school year and teaching commitments, and be part of the school improvement and resource plan. Paul faced a challenge getting people committed in a previous position as a lead learner working on AfL, which was key at the time, as AfL crossed so many boundaries, both teaching and learning and pastoral. He felt that at times he may have been stepping on other people’s toes and there may, for some staff, have been a conflict of interest. He identifies one solution as establishing common ground; to do this, he appreciates, you have to work transparently and find synergy with staff through ongoing open dialogue.



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How effective leaders develop and demonstrate resilience when faced with challenge

In an earlier position as a middle leader, Paul faced a challenge as head of department, where two members of the team were not producing results that were up to standard. This was unacceptable. Paul adopted a logical approach and looked at systems and frameworks to monitor progress. Initially this caused tensions and led to some challenging conversations and meetings. Paul recognised that his evidence-base for using frameworks effectively had been built upon his experience working with teams and not individuals who needed support. Paul identified the need to employ a range of different approaches with staff, such as:

− communicate that this has to be dealt with and together they have to identify a solution, reassuring them that they have his full support

− clarify expectations and provide exemplars

− ensure they take ownership and are accountable to the students, parents, the governing body and the school

− ensure they meet regularly to provide impetus for change

− make clear there is a no-blame culture by externalising the issues and being honest when progress is not being made

− actively model professional behaviours by making the time, writing a framework, revisiting values and facilitating a shift in thinking

The staff were very experienced and it transpired they were good classroom practitioners. What they needed was a framework with which to move forward and that they could use to implement any departmental improvement. Paul believes that his flexibility and tenacity ensured that he was able to identify the most appropriate approaches and assist the change in thinking that was necessary.

Reflection question

How does this approach resonate with your experiences as a senior leader?

Furthermore, Paul’s resilience has developed through the challenge of working on the same team as a leader who used an opposing leadership approach. Paul had to spend time repairing damage as a result of this person’s more coercive and authoritative styles, which had been based largely upon power relationships. Consequently, Paul appreciates it is sometimes necessary to adapt styles to meet the needs of different staff.

Reflection question

How many leadership styles do you think you adopt each day/each week?



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Leadership approaches that bring successes

As a senior leader, Paul knows how important it is to recognise individual and team performance. He is aware that this is effective in motivating staff and bringing success. He implements a range of approaches:

− identifying competencies, contributions and achievements and letting staff know and thanking them publicly

− respecting strengths by giving staff appropriate autonomy to lead school-level initiatives and being the front person with parents and visitors

− helping staff to develop further professionally, working with them to identify opportunities, for example action research, coaching, and so on

− acknowledging that senior leaders can learn from others and demonstrate humility

Senior leaders maximise opportunities for middle leaders in terms of self-development and staff development. A mechanism for this is the performance management process. Paul acknowledges that using performance management systems effectively sets staff new challenges and gives them new horizons. Judith says:

We use performance management to create a personal career and training development profile for each member of staff, to focus everyone on whole-school and department objectives as well as personal ones so they see the ‘big picture’ and respond with vision.

In embedding collaborative working Paul believes it is vital to foster open, honest and continuous communication with staff. Will upholds this:

I respond well to leaders who have a clear vision and communicate it. Leaders who involve me in the process. Paul introduced ethos briefings and teaching and learning briefings on alternate weeks. The focus currently is faith. Not just Christian faith but the faith we have in each other and in the students. It allows time for the staff to reflect and it’s linked to teaching and learning. It’s linked to academic achievement and it’s linked to getting the best outcomes for students.

Key message from Paul

Paul advocates that at the heart of what he does is nurture ‘togetherness’. He fosters effective team working. He believes joint responsibility brings joint rewards. He ensures that when good things happen it’s shared and everyone gets credit.

When you come to a school and introduce new teaching and learning ideas you are often ahead of the game; not here! This school is so open to new ideas because of the culture. I knew we could fly. Senior leaders didn’t impose their ways of doing things. Here you can go into any classroom and see outstanding teaching and it’s all very different, with teachers imposing their character on their lessons and seeing outstanding progress made, no mono-culture, I just need to guide and steer.



Appendix 1: Outstanding leadership in an outstanding department A checklist for subject leaders 12

1 Documentation 3

History departmental handbook (including all minutes & key policies)

Contents page

School statement of aims

School prayer

Introduction: What is this handbook for, how can I use it?

Section 1: Introduction – Aims/objectives of your department

Section 2: Policies

2.1 Equality

2.2 Approach to teaching & learning

2.3 Assessment, target setting & reporting to parents

2.4 Homework

2.5 Display

2.6 School visits

2.7 Health & safety

2.8 ICT

2.9 Managing cover for absent teachers

2.10 Special educational needs (including register)

2.11 Staff development (including summary of training & priorities – copy to MDY)

2.12 Curriculum enrichment

2.13 Promoting good behaviour & recognising achievement

2.14 Gifted & talented students (including register)

2.15 Developing functional skills (English, Maths, ICT)

2.16 Ensuring community cohesion

2.17 Primary liaison

2.18 Policies specific to your department (use of technical support staff, library, ICT safety etc)



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1 Documentation 3

Section 3: Schemes of work & assessment tasks

PLTS (Key Stage 3 NC)

Contribution to cross-curricular dimensions

Functional skills (Y9–11) literacy/numeracy/ICT

Contribution to SEAL

Section 4: Improvement planning

School development plan

Departmental SEF for last 3 years

Departmental action plan for last 3 years

Section 5: Appendices

Duties, job descriptions & minutes

Quality assurance mechanisms (An additional folder)

Departmental SEF

Departmental development plan (action plan)

Results analysis documentation

Lesson observations for last 2/3 years (including a summary table)

Learning walk log

Book review sheet/grid

Homework audit findings

Student assessment & tracking data

Whole-school Impact (if not in departmental SEF)

Quality assurance mechanisms (An additional folder)



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2 Learning environment 3

Safe, excellent condition, clean

Seating plans with thought given to high quality learning

Displays for learning – referred to in lessons (Could include level ladders, annotated work, wonder walls, frameworks for thinking, key vocabulary, for example)

3 Lesson observations

Thorough lesson planning including

Strategies for specific cohorts

Assess lesson plans against our lesson observation form

Full use of curriculum/learning support staff (Briefed)

Homework set

Pace/purpose/challenge/progress proven

Clear starter/plenary

Girls can state:

What their target grade/level is

What their predicted grade/level is

What they need to do to improve in the subject

Teacher can state (With reference to markbook if needed):

Target grade/level

Predicted grade/level

What each student needs to do to improve

If entrance/exit mid lesson – mini plenary/summary – revisit objectives

Students show progress – proven in plenary/review

Books all marked up-to-date with actionable comments



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4 Student work review/discussion 3

Books contain

Target, current & predicted level/grade

Star & wish approach

Constructive comments with action to improve

Work refers to levels/grades

Marking up-to-date

Excellent presentation

5 Proving outstanding

Have all relevant documentation/evidence (see section 1) to hand

Have a structure/agenda of what you want to share to prove outstanding

Be clear about what quality & effectiveness means

Departmental SEF referred to

Be ready for challenging questions

Produced: 12/3/10



Appendix 2: Setting CPD that will meet your needs 16

Please look at the following lists with your head of department or a critical friend. Grade yourself A – D

A Eh? No real understanding

B Basic – The standard I got from my teacher training, little experience in post

C Confident & contributing to department

D Delivering – Providing training within and beyond my department, or writing whole school policies in this area

Professional Grade

1. Safeguarding

2. Pastoral care and home school liaison

3. Action research and reflective practitioners

4. Techniques for observing teaching and learning

5. Use of data (mark book; tracking; intervention strategies)

6. Coaching, professional development and dialogue

7. Creating and maintaining professional networks

8. Assessing risk

Meeting individual needs Grade

1. Learning support and in class support

2. G&T

3. Sixth form

4. Student voice

5. Developing literacy

6. Promoting numeracy



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Outstanding teaching Grade

1. ICT to support teaching

2. Creative use of homework

3. Inclusivity and active listening

4. Explaining and questioning

5. Marking and feedback

6. Classroom management and environment

7. Starters and plenaries

8. Objective-led lessons

Awareness of learning Grade

1. Resilience and independence

2. Reviewing and revising

3. Mindsets and disposition

4. Assessment for/to support learning (self, peer and teacher)

5. ICT to support learning

6. Time management

7. Creativity

8. Frameworks for thinking

9. Building learning power



Appendix 3: CPD session outline framework 18

Welcome Sign in, orientation and coffee.

As a result of… Selected sharing of what happened after the last session. Post sessional task feedback or actions undertaken.

Starter Warm up those creative and flexible minds! Set the scene.

Structured activities Carry out activities to open up thinking about the focus topic. Consider the big picture and the finer details that make outstanding.

Exemplars & observations Examine and try out new approaches, watch exemplars of best practice either live, remote or pre-captured footage.

Feedback, reflection & enriched discussion Reflect on the exemplars, ward rounds, lesson visit or video bank using key concepts, terms and frameworks discussed.

Go create! Use the experience, ideas, approaches and inspiration from today’s session to modify or design resources, frameworks, policy or exemplify best practice.

Plenary & session feedback Identify what has been achieved and offer feedback for session improvement.

Personal development Use time between sessions to complete a post sessional task. This may be to design an activity, policy or even collect evidence/information.



19

1. Professional people

2. Meeting individual needs

3. Outstanding teaching

4. Awareness of learning

1. Safeguarding

1. Learning support & in- class support

1. ICT to support teaching

1. Resilience & independence

2. Pastoral care & home- school liaison

2. G&T

2. Creative use of homework

2. Reviewing & revising

3. Action research & reflective practitioners

3. Sixth form

3. Inclusivity & active listening

3. Mindsets & dispositions

4. Techniques for observing T&L

4. Student voice

4. Explaining & questioning

4. AfL/AsL (self, peer & teacher)

5. Use of data (mark book; tracking; intervention strategies)

5. Developing literacy

5. Marking & feedback

5. ICT to support learning

6. Coaching, professional development & dialogue

6. Promoting numeracy

6. Classroom management & environment

6. Time management

7. Creating & maintaining professional networks

7. Starters & plenaries

7. Creativity

8. Assessing risk

8. Objective-led lessons

8. Frameworks for thinking

9. Building learning power


Appendix 4: Copy of CPD Impact 2011 20


Professional October 2011

% replying to that statement (75 respondents)

June 2012


Impact

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

Safeguarding 3

3

15

27

43

39

56

44

35

14

11

12

0

4

9

15

35

30

65

47

48

20

14

13

-3

1

-6

-12

-8

-9

9

3

13

6

3

1

Pastoral care and home school liaison

Action research and reflective practitioners

Techniques for observing teaching and learning 15

11

13

17

5

37

32

44

47

47

36

41

35

28

33

12

16

8

8

15

5

3

3

12

1

29

23

34

32

30

55

56

52

49

50

12

18

12

8

18

-10

-8

-10

-5

-4

-8

-9

-10

-15

-17

19

15

17

21

17

0

2

4

0

3

Use of data (mark book; tracking; intervention strategies)

Coaching, professional development and dialogue

Creating and maintaining professional networks

Assessing risk

Meeting individual needs

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

Learning support and in class support 0

5

8

15

7

12

43

39

41

45

54

39

48

46

37

34

27

35

8

10

14

7

12

14

0

3

8

9

4

8

32

36

28

29

32

30

62

55

51

51

55

51

7

7

13

11

9

11

0

-2

0

-6

-3

-4

-11

-3

-13

-16

-22

-9

14

9

14

17

28

16

-1

-3

-1

4

-3

-3

G&T

Sixth form

Student voice and SMyLe

Developing literacy

Promoting numeracy



21

Outstanding teaching October 2011


June 2012


Impact

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

ICT to support teaching 7

1

7

3

30

45

42

27

49

45

42

53

15

10

10

18

3

0

7

0

25

25

36

20

55

66

46

61

18

9

12

20

-4

-1

0

-3

-5

-20

-6

-7

6

21

4

8

3

-1

2

2

Creative use of homework

Inclusivity and active listening

Explaining and questioning

Marking and feedback 3

3

7

1

20

15

19

20

65

55

60

55

12

27

15

23

0

0

1

0

14

15

14

15

70

61

69

66

16

25

16

20

-3

-3

-6

-1

-6

0

-5

-5

5

6

9

11

4

-2

1

-3

Classroom management and environment

Starters and plenaries

Objective-led lessons



22

Awareness of learning October 2011


June 2012


Impact

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

Resilience and independence 7

4

15

4

28

29

53

26

51

51

28

57

14

16

4

14

4

4

9

3

18

20

53

13

61

61

35

68

17

15

3

16

-3

0

-6

-1

-10

-9

0

-13

10

10

7

11

3

-1

-1

2

Reviewing and revising

Mindsets and disposition

Assessment for learning (self, peer and teacher)

ICT to support learning 5 31 46 18 3 26 54 17 -2 -5 8 -1

Time management 7

3

18

26

20

32

47

50

55

48

31

19

18

18

4

5

4

1

9

12

16

23

48

47

58

52

36

35

22

24

7

7

-3

-2

-9

-14

-4

-9

1

-3

3

4

5

16

4

6

3

2

Creativity

Frameworks for thinking

Building learning power

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