Planning 2005: Focus on Your School Regional Seminar 2005 School Development Planning Initiative.

Planning 2005: Focus on Your School

Regional Seminar 2005

School Development Planning Initiative

Planning 2005Planning 2005

Focus on your School

SDP ProcessSDP Process

Review

Design

Implement

MissionVisionAims

Evaluate

Priorities

Action Plans& PoliciesMonitoring

Improved Practice

Work with Individual Schools 04-05Work with Individual Schools 04-05

Review: 19%

Design: 63.6%

Implement

Evaluate: 17.4%

MissionVisionAims

Progress of SDPI: SDP ProcessProgress of SDPI: SDP Process

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2002/03 2003/04 2004/05

Review

Design

Evaluation

Approx. % of SDPI RC Facilitation Work on each Stage of SDP Process

Schools’ Progress Schools’ Progress in in

School Development Planning School Development Planning

Huge variations….Context factors: Trustee/VEC, WSE/SI, ARCsSDP process: Stage and StagesFocus in SDP: Subject Dept., Guidance, B&D Structures for SDP: Coordinator, ISM reviewPartnership in SDP: Limited….SDP documentation: Proliferating…..

- Plans and policies

- Work in progress

- Process records

SDPI – Regional Seminar Programmes SDPI – Regional Seminar Programmes

2002 - Process Folder – managing the documentation- Review to Design- Continuing the Planning Cycle

2003 - Action Planning – Process and School Supports- Policy Formulation- School Self Evaluation (LAOS)

2004 - Subject Planning- Strategy Statement - Ed. (Welfare) Act- Planning – Implementation and Evaluation- Special Needs

2005 - National Trends / Progress in Planning- Effective Policy Development- Subject Planning – moving on

Emphasis on Learning and Teaching Emphasis on Learning and Teaching

Definite emerging trend:

A planning focus on learning and teaching,

rooted in the day to day reality of the classroom

- Collaborative Subject Planning

Partnership?Partnership?

Staff&

Principal

Parents Students

Support Staff

TrusteesBoard of Management

Staff&

Principal

How do we develop partnership? – a key challengeHow do we develop partnership? – a key challenge

What should we be noticing …?What should we be noticing …? Improved outcomes at the end of a cycle in relation to priorities addressed during the cycle – at least better outcomes than might have been expected if they had not been addressed Positive impact of the learning environment Stronger focus on students’ learning needs and on their implications for curriculum and teaching methodologies A willingness to review classroom practice Communication and collaboration between teachers

Within subject areas Across subject areas At whole-staff level

leading to coherence in the planning, delivery and evaluation of the curriculum and to consistency in the implementation of school policies and procedures

What should we be noticing …?What should we be noticing …? Discernable culture of groupwork Positive teacher morale Effective partnership and consultation processes Collaboration beyond the staff A sensitivity to unintended outcomes (positive and negative) A strategic awareness of how the school is developing and of the interconnectedness of the parts within the whole Ownership A commitment to ongoing improvement based on self-evaluation and planning Outcomes may take many forms—the most crucial relate to school culture.

(Consider separate handout sheet)

What if no collaborative planning …What if no collaborative planning …

Staff are reluctant to discuss school matters in groups One or two people try to dictate the agenda for everyone elseQuiet staff members have no voice (or choose to have no voice)Principal /Deputy ----responsible for everythingSweeping generalisations are made at staff meetings without any evidence to back up statementsPlanning is based on gut reaction from staff meeting issuesCommittees are set up without clear mandate/ brief and focusConsultation and communication are very limited

What if no collaborative planning …What if no collaborative planning …

Teaching and learning are only talked about in emergency situations  or not at allSome staff assume they have no learning to do--they were trained and know it allLong term vision of the school is virtually non existentWhole staff development is a 'circle the wagons' exerciseIt’s always ‘a someone else’s responsibility to change’ attitudeProblem solving is a fire fighting exercise---moves from one solution to another without reflecting on the bigger pictureParents and students are not consulted – ‘not in my life time’Posts of Responsibility are written in stone----review is not part of the processPolicies are the principal's responsibility

School RealitySchool Reality

Whole School Evaluation

Subject Inspection

Self-evaluation

Looking at our SchoolLooking at our School

Foreword – Chief Inspector

LAOS was prepared by ESRU of DES Inspectorate To assist schools in process of internal review

and self-evaluation To assist schools in fulfilling quality assurance

obligations under Education Act 1998 To provide a clear framework for external

evaluation by the Inspectorate

Education partners contributed to its development

LAOSLAOS Towards school improvement through internal

review and self-evaluation

School context factors central

School selects focus in the light of context factors

Consistent with SDP approach….

LAOSLAOS - School Operation - School Operation

Student support

Student support

Learning & Teaching in

subjects

Learning & Teaching in

subjects

CurriculumProvision

CurriculumProvision

SchoolPlanning

SchoolPlanning

SchoolManagement

SchoolManagement

5 AREAS5 AREAS

SDP in ActionSDP in ActionSchool Improvement School Improvement

Planning Infrastructure Planning Process Planning Documentation Planning Outcomes

Planning InfrastructurePlanning Infrastructure

Structures SDP Specific - SDP Coordinator, Steering

Committee, Task Groups, Policy Formulation/Review Committees

Pre-existing structures

School Calendar (meetings) SDP Whole Staff SDP Working Groups Subject Departments

Communication

Partnership Engagement

Planning ProcessPlanning Process

A sense of:Where the school is atWhere the school is goingPromotion of effective learning and teachingPro-activeness re change and developmentSelf-evaluationShort/Medium/Long-term dimensions of SDP

Planning DocumentationPlanning Documentation

Clear understanding of the relevance and management of documentation School PlanProcess Folder – drafts of policies and action plans, reports of meetings heldSubject Department Planning Folders

Focus on documentation as a reference point, not as an end in itself

Planning OutcomesPlanning Outcomes

Improved outcomes re identified prioritiesPositive impact of the learning environmentCommunication and collaboration between teachersEffective partnership and consultation processesCommitment to ongoing improvement based on self-evaluation and planning

WorkshopWorkshop

1. Using the worksheet identify where your school is at under the headings:

Planning Infrastructure

Planning Process

Planning Documentation

Planning Outcomes

2. Identify areas for immediate attention

WSE process …WSE process …

Letter plus Looking at Our School

Reporting Inspector

Pre-evaluation meetings

3 / 4 / 5 Subject Inspections

1 week duration approximately

Meeting all committees / groups / support

Inclusion of Board of Management, Parents, Students

Post- Evaluation – oral feedback

Report

Meetings etc.Meetings etc.

BOM / Local VEC

Teaching staff

Parents Council – invitation to all parents

Student Council

Senior management Principal & Deputy Principal

In-school management & other key groups

School plan task groups

Documents collected - DESDocuments collected - DES

Building & Accommodation

Timetables

Examination Info

Programmes

Enrolment

Recent Inspection Reports

Documents collected - SchoolDocuments collected - School

Promotional InformationPolicy DocumentsSchool Planning FolderCurriculum, optionsStaffingBOMParents CouncilStudents CouncilManagement – Schedule of Posts & Post HoldersExtra-curricular Special Needs and other groups

Post evaluation meetingsPost evaluation meetings

Principal & in-school management

Teaching staff

BOM

Record of post evaluation meetings and

meetings with parents included in WSE Report

Factual Validation of Draft Report

Issuing of Final Report to school BOM

Advice from other schoolsAdvice from other schools

Evidence – planning folder, meeting records etc.

Coherent Documentation

Ongoing Progression

Influence of Mission Statement

Evaluation

Discussion / ResponseDiscussion / Response

SDPI Plans for 2005-06SDPI Plans for 2005-06

Continuation of work programme in handSupport Services for Post Primary Education, pp. 34-36

Individual Schools Cluster-based Support Groups Regional Seminars Summer Schools School Planning Diploma (NUIG) Resource materials—developmental work SDPI Website