SELF EVALUATION LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

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1 Last update: May 2015 Next update: Summer 2016 SELF EVALUATION LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT School Judgement Overall Judgement x Leadership and Management x Engagement with parents x Curriculum x Partnerships x Managing Safeguarding Arrangements x Key Conclusions: Leadership at all levels is effective with a clear, shared focus on raising standards for all children across a broad, creative curriculum. The headteacher is a very good, strong leader who has fostered distributed leadership and shared ownership of our vision, strategic development priorities, monitoring and evaluation. Governors take their accountability role seriously. They are actively involved in the school and are not afraid to ask questions and make tough decisions. A programme of formal school visits, specific monitoring activities and questions raised at meetings, indicates that governor monitoring is embedded in the life of the school e.g standards analysis, curriculum review, safe recruitment, financial planning, recruitment decisions. Curriculum opportunities are outstanding because of a strong commitment to continuous review and improvement of teaching and learning. A highly skilled staff are reflective and open to new developments. Through distributive leadership, staff have ownership of pupils learning and progress, curriculum provision and their own learning. Outstanding curriculum opportunities enable children to understand their place in the world - now, in the past and their impact on the future. Parents, pupils and visitors recognise the friendly nature of the school. Resources are good and decisions on deployment are made to maximise learning for all. CPD is closely linked to the needs of the school (School Improvement Plan) and the need to develop staff for the future. The school has an eye to the future when considering personal and curriculum resources. The school is well aware of constraints in its physical resources and works hard to ensure these do not become barriers to learning. As a result pupil outcomes are at least good and a significant proportion of teaching is at least good. Langwathby School is a 'listening and responsive school'. Pupils input their ideas into the leadership of the school and see that their opinions and ideas impact on school development, especially thorough the work of the school council. We are very good at canvassing the views of parents and carers, and keeping them informed about what is happening in school, through a variety of formal and informal methods. Parents/carers are very supportive of the school as evidenced by their willingness to help on trips or in the classroom, attendance at events, involvement in the maintenance of the school building, fundraising efforts of FOLS 1

2 (PTA) etc. Pupils recognise that many of their curriculum opportunities are due to the support of FOLS. Pupils, parents and other stakeholders views feed into school review and improvement planning, often confirming the school s view point of strengths, e.g quality of provision, high standards in art and creativity, pupil attitudes to learning and behaviour, caring ethos and caring attitude of staff. Parents also comment positively about their child's progress highlighting confidence, enjoyment, support and care for their children, academic progress, quality of teaching, relationships with teachers. These views are also expressed in private thank you cards/letters/gifts to individuals. A significant number of links support our provision, enhance curriculum opportunities and develop pupils, parents and staff. Active, first hand learning is a key feature of our outstanding curriculum provision and partnerships play a significant role in this. Parents and pupils recognize the added value that partnerships bring to teaching and learning, especially the role of FOLS in providing funding. The school takes its safeguarding responsibilities seriously whilst seeking to maintain a good balance between pupil safety and a welcoming ethos reflecting the needs of a village community. Multi-agency links and collaborative working are very strong. Provision and practice has moved to outstanding by increasing staff, parent and pupil understanding of e- safety issues. The school runs smoothly. Langwathby School has the potential to go from strength to strength. It is a buzzing school and at all levels people want to improve opportunities and learning for the children. We know what we need to do and how we are going to achieve it. Evidence Base Direct observation: Lesson Observations (1); School Environment (2) Testimony: Governor Feedback (3); Parent Feedback (4); Pupil Feedback (23) Data/Evidence: LA Monitoring (5); Performance Management Data & Reports (6) Accreditation Reports (7); Pupil Attainment Data & Analysis (8); SEN Paperwork (9); Audit Reports (10); Governors Monitoring Reports (11); PE Participation Data (24) Documents: Curriculum Documents (12); Curriculum Planning (13); Governing Body Reports & Minutes (14); Staff Meeting Minutes (15), School Improvement Plan (16); Co-ordinator Action Plans & Monitoring (17); Other Action Plans (18); Accreditation Evidence & Action Plans (19); Photographs/Log Book/Newsletters (20) FOLS Minutes (21); Policy Review Timetable (22) To become outstanding we need to: 1. Enhance leadership role of staff through involvement in strategic leadership 2. Enhance middle leaders capacity to improve following recent staff changes 3. Through peer coaching and sharing best practice, move teaching and outcomes towards outstanding 2

3 How well do leaders and managers demonstrate ambition for pupils? How well are they bringing about improvements in their achievement? How effective are school improvement plans for promoting pupils progress and achievement? 1. Leadership of the head is very good, being clear and purposeful, with a focus on improving standards for all. Target setting is ambitious, robust and seeks to improve outcomes for all children. Overall attainment and progress at the end of key stage 2, attainment at level 5 in maths and attainment at level 4 in year 4 are improving. School improvement strategies are focused on raising attainment, progress in phonics and writing and developing more able learners by providing more opportunities to access the demands of the curriculum at level 6. (Evidence: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16) 2. Whole school improvement initiatives focusing on pupil reflection and self assessment have raised pupil aspirations and ambition. Children describe themselves as being made to think and learning about themselves as learners. (Evidence: 17, 23) 3. Internal and external evaluations judge school to be effective. Attainment and progress is at least good throughout the school. Standards in reading are very high. (Evidence: 5, 7, 8) 4. LA monitoring recognises the clear vision, shared ethos and team approach impacting on curriculum quality and creativity; a strong belief that everyone, pupils and adults, are in school to learn (see: context) and the steady rise in standards in core subjects. It is reflected in our outstanding curriculum that equally values high standards in core subjects and less measureable areas art, creativity, attitudes to learning. Our vision and ethos also encourages everyone to be involved in continual development that is underpinned by CPD. (Evidence: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,13, 14, 16, 20, 21) 5. School Improvement Planning is seen as ambitious, comprehensive, linked to self evaluation and well focused with clear intentions and goals. Distributive leadership is promoting an ethos of continuous improvement as the school continues to build its capacity to improve. As a result standards are improving e.g phonics, attainment of more able, promoting Reading for Pleasure. (Evidence: 5, 14, 16, 17) How well does governance contribute school improvement? 1. Governors are proactive in their support of the school; as a result they are well informed, have a good strategic view enabling them to act as critical friends (e.g involvement in Building Project Management Aut 09, promoting our school as a church school Aut12/Spr 13, staffing reductions Spr 13, staffing issues Spr 14) (Evidence: 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 14, 16, 17) 2. Positive relationships between staff and governors foster a team approach and distributed leadership (Evidence: 3, 11, 14) 3. Governors take financial decisions based on clear information about alternatives and future impact. Budget surpluses are at an acceptable level and accounted for. Decisions are currently being taken to ensure the school does not go into deficit due to falling rolls. School Improvement and CPD planning is clearly linked to financial planning (Evidence: 14, 16, 17) 3

4 4. Operational procedures are well established and effective ensuring that Governing Body time and skills are efficiently used to fulfill accountability role (Evidence: 10, 14, 18, 19) 5. Governors are proactive about their own professional development (Evidence: 6) 6. Rural isolation is an issue that the school is constantly aware of and seeking to minimalise; the spread of governors throughout the catchment area, helps ensure stakeholder views are representative (Evidence: 14) How well are leaders and managers improving teaching and learning? How well do leaders and managers support and develop staff? How robust is performance management in improving teaching and learning? 1. Leadership of subject leaders is good with leadership distributed, and at all levels focusing on evaluation, raising attainment and promoting outstanding curriculum opportunities. For example: 2014 Monitoring visit recognizes the role of subject leaders and senior leaders in monitoring activities 2015 Early Years Award, 2013 Global Award applications were led by subject leaders; (Evidence: 1, 5, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20) 2. Following a local authority review, during 2012/13 subject leaders took the lead in moving the quality of teaching from good to consistently good and outstanding through observations, peer support and coaching. This work continues to be developed. (Evidence: 1, 16) 3. Processes to monitor and improve pupil performance are embedded in the school, are closely linked to School Improvement Targets and CPD and impact on overall standards, e.g raising standards in phonics, promoting reading for pleasure, raising standards in writing, developments in ICT, developments in Assessment (Evidence: 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19) 4. Evaluation of teaching and learning is pro-active and focused on improving classroom practice. Teaching and Learning is kept under constant review to ensure our outstanding curriculum is maintained, opportunities continue to meet the needs of our children and the quality of provision/teaching is high. (Evidence: 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22) 5. CPD is linked to school improvement, performance management, raising attainment and developing staff as individuals. Recent evidence of CPD impacting on provision and practice was seen in School Councils, Assessing Pupils Progress/Assessment for Learning, Increasing Opportunities for Learning in ICT, Raising Attainment in Writing, and Global Awareness where the focus was on staff sharing practice both internally and in partnership with other local schools. In autumn 2014 staff said their teaching practice had improved as a result of CPD (3/7 literacy, 2/7 numeracy, 2/7 science, 1/7 PE, 1/7 RE, 1/7 MfL, 1/7 EYFS). Staff are highly confident when teaching most curriculum areas. (Evidence: 5, 6, 7, 16, 17) 4

5 6. Involvement of a member of staff in the Leading From the Middle Programme enhanced teaching and learning in Science as well as leadership skills. The staff member is now actively applying for senior management positions and has supported the induction of an NQT. Opportunities for staff to act up has enhanced leadership skills and improved outcomes for children (e.g EYFS). 7. Senior staff have been appointed as Local Authority moderators for KS1 and KS2 SATs in 2014 and It is expected that this will impact on individuals skills that can be fed back to the staff as a whole. 8. Although there have been recent staff changes, the focus on professional development, coordinator monitoring and performance management has ensured that the quality of teaching remains good and is becoming consistently good or better. Performance management in autumn 2014 and autumn 2013 demonstrated that staff are highly skilled in most areas of the teachers standards and able to mentor others in many areas. Teaching assistants are highly skilled. How well are resources deployed to promote improvement in teaching and learning and support and develop staff? Accommodation and Resources 1. Physical resources are sufficient for all areas of the curriculum with the exception of PE, where issues raised by Ofsted (2001) have yet to be addressed. Building constraints are not seen as barriers to high quality provision, but as opportunities for more children to participate and contribute. (Evidence: 2, 10, 18) 2. High quality, interactive display is a feature of all classrooms and the school as a whole; promoting children s self esteem, understanding of the learning process and supporting the school s view that creativity is important. This ethos is reflected in our entrance area. 3. Physical space is effectively organised to support the school s philosophy of developing independent learning. This is particularly evident in Early Years and Key Stage 1. Enhancing the library as an area for independent study by increasing availability of books, ICT resources and lunchtime staffing is raising the status of the area as an effective learning resource. (Evidence: 2, 7, 19) 4. Curriculum resources are good, well used and enhance pupil learning. (Evidence: 1, 2, 6, 8, 14, 23) a. Through excellent support from FOLS (PTA), we are able to fund artists in residence and other opportunities that enthuse children, provide a high quality curriculum and support our philosophy of active, hands on learning and ensure classroom equipment is up-to-date. b. Co-ordinator monitoring and professional development informs resource purchases to further raise attainment/achievement (e.g phonics, handwriting, reading) 5. Management audit (Feb 08, Sept 11) considers deployment of resources as achieving satisfactory value for money (Evidence: 10) 5

6 Staffing 1. Teaching staff expertise/interests cover all curriculum areas and age groups. Our recruitment policy ensures that this is maintained when staff change. Staff expertise and enthusiasm is a key factor behind the school s strength in Art. (Evidence: 6, 7, 14, 16) 2. Teaching Assistants are trained/experienced in a range of special educational needs and deployed accordingly ensuring children with SEND make at least good progress. (Evidence: 6, 8, 9) 3. Effective links with SEN support services in the LA enable staff to develop their skills, thus enabling pupils to make effective progress. (Evidence: 9, Case Studies) How appropriate is the curriculum in helping all pupils to achieve well? How well does the school ensure equality of opportunity? 1. Providing outstanding broad, rich relevant curriculum opportunities that engage and excite all learners is a key priority. We encourage the children to be active learners with a thirst for learning and knowledge. Children speak enthusiastically about curriculum experiences. In 2014 parents noted the positive impact of the reading challenges on their children s attitudes. They were also positive about the creative aspects of the curriculum. (Evidence: 1, 17, 19, 23) 2. We endeavour to provide similar life opportunities for all pupils, regardless of their background, and FOLS actively supports us in achieving this aim. Curriculum opportunities are inclusive and provide for a variety of learning styles and approaches. Children enjoy learning because having fun and creativity is considered to be a high priority. As a result they demonstrate positive attitudes to school and learning. This is evident in performance indicators (e.g attendance) and formal evaluations of practice, including lesson observations. (Evidence: 1, 4, 5, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 24) Pupil comments 2014: I have enjoyed having so many opportunities throughout my time her. I enjoy the work because my teachers make it fun. 3. All children are encouraged to reach their full potential and have access to equality of opportunity (Evidence: 1, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 24) a. Expectations for all pupils are high; academically, socially and emotionally. All success is valued and celebrated; personal and academic. External monitoring recognises how both these aspects are equally valued. All children have an opportunity to flourish at Langwathby regardless of their academic ability (Leading Aspect Award) b. Effective processes ensure children with special needs, including those with disabilities, are well integrated into school and make at least good progress. We continue to look for ways to remove barriers to learning (e.g AfL, increased use of ICT, CPD) c. Opportunities to represent the school in sport are made available to as many children as possible. Since Autumn 2012, more children in the school have had the opportunity to take 6

7 part in a competitive event. Between September 13 and July 14 70% of pupils attended at least 1 competition and 50% attended a lunchtime or after school sporting activity. In June 2014 parents commented positively about the increase in sporting opportunities in their feedback. d. Our annual Art Mart celebrates the work of all children from Nursery to year 6. e. Enrichment opportunities take place during the school day to ensure rural transport issues are not a barrier to participation 4. Secure strategies, including access to quality specialist advice, are in place to support vulnerable children and as a result: a. The majority of children with special needs make good progress b. Mobile and Pupil Premium pupils are supported to enable them to make expected progress and/or catch up with their peers c. Attainment of boys and girls by the end of year 6 is better than the national average, despite the gender gap on entry to nursery and reception. How well does the curriculum help the pupils prepare for life in modern democratic Britain and a global society? See SEF: SMSC Cultural Development 1. Although pupils interact with visitors of a variety of backgrounds, we are currently looking at ways for our pupils to interact with others of their own age from different ethnic backgrounds and challenge the single story stereotyping of different areas of the world. Children involved in global week activities reported that they enjoyed the activities and liked the chance to think about different issues (e.g basic needs, needs v wants). These developments have been supported by staff CPD. (Case Study: Global Week) 2. Pupils have been enabled to learn about the cultures of others and challenge the single story stereotyping of different areas of the world through curriculum developments and growing school links with Germany. Curriculum developments have been supported by staff CPD. The impact of these developments has been recognized by an International Schools Award, Foundation Level and we are working to progress towards the next level. (Evidence: 15, 19, 20; Case Study Global Week) 3. Skills based teaching developing independence, resilience, collaborative and team-working skills alongside good literacy and numeracy skills ensure pupils are well prepared for their future lives. 4. Both Class and School Councils have a strong voice and facilitate change. Children are developing the skills of participation and responsible action, their impact has been seen in fundraising efforts and playground developments "The self esteem and confidence of pupils is high because they have an opportunity to express themselves without criticism." (Leading Aspect Award, Art) How well does the school promote the confidence and engagement of parents and carers? 7

8 1. Parents/carers informal communication systems are well established and promote a shared understanding of children s learning and open communication. 2. Formal parent/carers communication systems effectively promote well being and progress 3. Curriculum workshops help parents understand what their children are learning and how they can support. This is being extended by providing parents with useful curriculum links on the website. 4. Formal whole school consultation processes support school improvement e.g open meeting with governors and parents annually, specific questionnaires, feedback opportunities. Overall these strategies generate a limited response (10-15%) so consideration needs to be given as to how to make this method more effective 5. We are a school that listens. Over the last 3 years parents/stakeholder views have impacted on: a. Enhancing formal parent feedback including the timing of parents evenings and style of written reports. In June 2014 parents commented positively about these changes especially the way in which reports helped them understand strengths and areas for development. b. Developing e-communication and a website c. Increased sporting opportunities d. The provision of a nursery lunch club 6. Areas for Development: We are aware that the nature of the catchment area and the busing of children to school can make some parents/carers feel isolated. We are constantly looking at ways of resolving this issue especially as a way of promoting community cohesion amongst the parent body. How well does the school work in partnership with other schools and external agencies to improve further? 1. Links with local artists and other professionals enhance curriculum opportunities and raise standards of attainment and enhance children s cultural awareness (Evidence: 13, 14, 19, 20, 24) a. The quality of art in the school is phenomenal and the role of visiting artists was recognized through a Leading Aspect Award. Our annual Art Mart is a huge community celebration of the children s and local talent. (See: Leading Aspect Award Case Study) b. Visiting health professionals, mountain rescue, firefighters etc enhance curriculum provision especially for PSHE 2. The Friends of Langwathby School (FOLS) is actively supported by staff and governors and ensures that funds are available to enhance curriculum opportunities. Approximately is raised annually for the benefit of the children. Parental support enhances learning for children (e.g classroom support, accompanying visits) and ensures the school environment is well maintained. (Evidence: 13, 14, 20, 21) 8

9 3. Involvement in the School Sports Partnership has provided greater access to in-school and out of school sport for pupils and supported the professional development of staff to raise confidence and the quality of PE teaching (Evidence: 14, 20, 24) 4. Links with the local church enhances the quality of RE teaching through access to 'hands on learning' (e.g Christening Ceremonies, Church Visits, Christmas and Easter Journey), supports the provision of collective worship and provides emotional support for both pupils and staff (Evidence: 12, 14, 20) 5. Links with specialist teachers support staff and pupils in all areas of special needs and enable children to make at least good progress. case studies: Ronan (Literacy), William, Charlie (speech), Matthew M (complex), Jamie (LACES), Family A (Social Care) (Evidence: 9, Case Studies) 6. Links with other local schools, including secondary schools allow staff to share good practice and promote pupil progress, academically, socially and emotionally. (Evidence: 14, 15, 20) a. We are a school which is recognized locally for the quality of provision and attainment in Art and Early Years. We actively share our practice in these areas. b. Through a joint school council (SCONE), children have opportunities to be involved in collaborative projects with other schools. Such experiences build confidence, self esteem, communication and social skills. c. Children in Y5&6 have access to specialist teaching and facilities (e.g Gifted and Talented Maths, Science) which raise attainment d. Current involvement in a local cluster is raising staff skills in moderating pupils work and sharing good practice in assessment 7. ITT students and teaching assistants on placements are welcomed- it allows an experienced staff to engage in professional dialogue and avoid going stale. It also promotes our learning culture to the pupils - they see adults engaged in learning. How effectively are pupils safeguarded? Evidence Base Direct observation: Educational Visit Observations (1); Lesson observations (2); Playtime Environment (3); Testimony: Parent Feedback (4) Data/Evidence: Accident Monitoring (5); Concerns raised by parents, governors, staff, LA etc (6); Lessons learnt (7) Documents: Safeguarding Evidence File (8); Single Central Record (9); Policies and Procedures (10); Risk Assessments (11); Welfare Records (12); Safe Recruitment Procedures/Action Plan (13); Health & Safety Audit Reports & Action Plans (14); Governors Health & Safety Reports/Minutes (15); CPD Records/Reports (16); Long/Medium Term Planning (17) Curriculum Policies/Guidelines (18); Pupil Case Studies (19) Katie F (Bullying) 9

10 Family T, Family S 1. Appropriate checks are in place for all staff and visiting teachers. (Evidence: 9, 13) 2. Policies and procedures promote the school as pro-active about pupil (and adult) welfare. Pupils are safety conscious and will reinforce messages to each other. (Evidence: 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19) a. Educational Visits are a strong feature of curriculum provision. Safety issues are taken seriously. b. Good communication systems ensure all staff are aware of medical needs affecting children. Links with the school nurse ensure staff are trained to deal with emergencies. c. Strong links with key agencies support children who are looked after, those with a child protection plan and those who are experiencing difficulties with school. Good communication systems within school ensure all staff are aware of relevant information. d. Attendance is high. 3. Up to date training is in place for all areas of safety and safeguarding issues (e.g first aid, food hygiene, e-safety, child protection, educational visits, safe recruitment) and is distributed across a range of staff. This ensures that all recommendations from Safeguarding Children, LA audits and governor monitoring are followed. (Evidence: 1, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16) 4. We are a listening school. Opportunities are taken to review practice in response to incidents or parental concerns (e.g climbing frame accident, school closure) and make recommendations for the future. (Evidence: 5, 6, 7, 14) 5. Parents and pupils agree that bullying issues are dealt with sensitively and promptly. (Evidence: 3, 6, 8, 10, 19) a. Our current goal is for children, rather than parents, to raise issues about bullying; we have yet to achieve this as issues are generally raised by parents. b. A minority of parents and children raise concerns about bullying/behaviour, although this is not substantiated by external observations How good is the capacity for sustaining its improvement? How well is the school improving? 1. LA recognises the headteacher, staff and governors have a good capacity to bring about improvement through self evaluation, school improvement planning, challenging targets and the school's desire to identify good practice elsewhere and benefit from it. (Evidence: 5, 6, 11, 16) 2. As a school we are actively involved in School Improvement initiatives both externally through the LA (e.g. Assessing Pupils Progress, Inclusion Mark, School Sports Initiative, International Schools Award) and through in school development. (Evidence: 6, 16) 3. Our ethos is to develop a learning culture and take risks. Subject leaders are willing to lead whole school development and cascade knowledge gained from external courses. We have a 10

11 culture of self evaluation. We believe 'we can make a difference'. (Evidence: 6, 14, 17) 4. Staff and governors are proactive about professional development (Evidence: 2) 5. Teachers are constantly looking at new ways to bring the curriculum to life for the children (Evidence: 13, 20, 21) 6. Issues raised in the previous inspection are being addressed. 11