Post Ofsted Action Planning

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Post Ofsted Action Planning Improving Aspects
of Provision
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Context

• Focus
• Improving trainees competence in planning,
  assessment and evaluation
• Tackling subject knowledge
• Addressing inconsistencies in school-based
  training
• Developing improvement

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Approach

• Issue
• Causes
• Good practice

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Improving trainees competence in planning,
assessment and evaluation

• The Issue
• In the case of planning
• Vague, confused, undifferentiated and sometimes
  unrealistic learning objectives
• Lack of attention to outcomes of assessment
• Little match of objectives to teaching methods,
  activities and resources
• Insufficient planning for assessment

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Improving trainees competence in planning,
assessment and evaluation

• In the case of assessment
• Limited knowledge of assessment and expectations
• Missed opportunities to monitor progress
• Rudimentary records

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Improving trainees competence in planning,
assessment and evaluation

• In the case of evaluation
• Too brief, vague or descriptive
• Lack of emphasis on what pupils have learnt and
  the implications of this
• For their practice
• For future planning and teaching

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What are the causes of the issue? Why do the
weaknesses persist?

• In centre-based training
• Insufficient systematic attention
• Inadequate proforma

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What are the causes of the issue? Why do the
weaknesses persist?

• In school-based training
• Poor practice in the placement
• No clearly defined training programme
• Little use of directed tasks
• Insufficient intervention by school-based
  trainers, classsteachers or professional tutors

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What are the causes of the issue? Why do the
weaknesses persist?

• Such weaknesses persist as a result of
• Limited focus on learning
• Ineffectual monitoring of school-based training
• Limited range of reading undertaken by many
  trainees

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Examples of good practice

• Where fewer trainees have fewer difficulties in
  planning, assessment or evaluation
• The content of central training gives systematic
  emphasis to these key areas
• Tasks and assignments are used to develop
  expertise in these areas
• Trainees are given access to models of good
  practice
• Trainees are expected to undertake relevant
  reading, in addition to that required for
  assignments and directed tasks

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Tackling subject knowledge

• The Issue
• Failure to extend subject expertise in three key
  areas
• factual knowledge
• conceptual understanding
• subject pedagogy

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Tackling subject knowledge

• As a result, such trainees
• lack sufficient depth and breadth of knowledge
• lack a clear conceptual framework for the subject
  they are teaching
• are unable to translate their subject knowledge
  into effective subject pedagogy ie to apply their
  knowledge to teaching
• This undermines the effectiveness of teaching and
  learning

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What are the causes of the issue? Why do the
weaknesses persist?

• Trainees over-estimate their own subject
  expertise
• Inadequacies in interview procedures
• Auditing of subject knowledge lacks precision and
  scope
• Enhancement of subject knowledge lacks structure

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What are the causes of the issue? Why do the
weaknesses persist?

• Such weaknesses persist as a result of
• A lack of clarity about the significance of
  rigorous auditing
• A sense that there is insufficient time
• Uncertainty about the contribution of school
  placements and mentors
• The absence of formally structured review
• And, possibly, insufficient monitoring of
  feedback and reports

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Examples of good practice

• Where trainees are effective in making good gaps
  in subject knowledge
• Individualized pre-course tasks are tailored to
  weaknesses identified at interview
• Thorough auditing of subject expertise takes
  place early in the course
• A systematic approach is adopted to improving
  subject knowledge
• Regular and rigorous review of progress keeps a
  close check on the development of subject
  expertise throughout the training
• Placement schools are chosen with an eye to
  subject knowledge

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3. Addressing inconsistencies in school-based
training

• Issue
• Inconsistencies impact adversely on trainee
  progress
• Some trainees get a raw deal
• Characteristics of weaker school-based training
  include
• Limited follow-up to centre-based training
• Significant gaps in coverage
• A superficial or casual approach
• Imprecise analysis of teaching

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• Unfocused targets and inadequate action planning
• Limited use of timetables, files or trainees
  marking as training tools
• Failure to prevent cursory completion of
  school-based tasks
• Overgenerous judgements
• More attention given to teaching the next lesson
  than learning to teach

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What are the causes of the issue? Why do the
weaknesses persist?

• Level one causes
• Some school-based trainers lack clarity about
  their role
• Some school-based trainers lack the necessary
  knowledge and skills

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What are the causes of the issue? Why do the
weaknesses persist?

• Level two causes
• Ineffectual written documentation
• No structured school-based programme
• Imprecise training instruments
• Limited knowledge in schools about
• central provision
• individual trainee backgrounds, training needs,
  and progress

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What are the causes of the issue? Why do the
weaknesses persist?

• Frequent turnover of schools and school-based
  trainers
• Inadequate training, briefing and support for
  school-based trainers
• it is too limited in scale and scope
• it fails to focus on developing and re-enforcing
  relevant skills and knowledge
• it is hard for some trainers to attend
• Ineffectual placements

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What are the causes of the issue? Why do the
weaknesses persist?

• Such weaknesses persist as a result of
• Limited written evidence about school-based
  provision
• Ineffectual monitoring
• Weak evaluation arrangements
• Failure to use the outcomes of both monitoring
  and evaluation
• to identify weaknesses
• as a basis for immediate intervention
• to focus improvement planning over the longer
  term

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Examples of good practice

• Mechanisms give clarity about the school-based
  trainer role
• A detailed, jointly agreed and well publicized
  partnership
• Clear and detailed course and mentor handbooks
• Informative web-sites
• Regular meetings with other trainers

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Examples of good practice

• Involvement in course development and review at
  component or whole course level
• Formal structures
• A school-based programme for mentors
• Timetabled formal mentor/trainee meetings
• Trainee entitlements are listed
• Other teachers working with trainees are also
  clear about the training

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Examples of good practice

• School-based trainers have the competences
  necessary to undertake the task
• They are selected with care
• They receive effective training and support
• very soon after appointment
• further regular training
• They work in good schools and/or secondary
  departments
• Stringent criteria for the selection and
  de-selection are in place
• And applied along with
• support for improvement
• ultimate de-selection
• They are supported by thorough and timely
  moderation

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4. Developing improvement planning

• Issue
• Weaknesses include
• The lack of clear action points and focused
  action planning
• At whole course level
• At sub course level
• Omission of essential ingredients eg measurable
  success criteria

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• Confusion between monitoring, evaluation and
  review
• A failure to communicate actions clearly to those
  responsible for them including, for instance
  school-based trainers
• The lack of a strategic/long term approach to
  improvement planning

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What are the causes of the issue? Why do the
weaknesses persist?

• In several cases, action/improvement planning is
  at an early stage of development
• Action planning merely as a response to
  inspection
• Limited benchmarking data

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What are the causes of the issue? Why do the
weaknesses persist?

• But where action planning is in place, weaknesses
  exist and persist as a result of
• Lack of sufficient reliable data due to
• ineffectual monitoring
• insufficient focused evaluation
• Failure to analyse and respond to existing data

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What are the causes of the issue? Why do the
weaknesses persist?

• Limitations in course reviews
• Inadequate analyses of strengths and weaknesses
• Or even the absence of annual reviews at sub or
  even whole course level
• Failure to integrate monitoring, evaluation and
  review into improvement planning

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Examples of good practice

• Firstly the use of a comprehensive range of
  evidence
• From careful monitoring of school-based provision
  
• From thorough evaluation of all elements of
  provision
• Supplemented by a wide range of other data such
  as
• reports from inspection, external examination or
  outside consultancy and evaluation
• cohort progression data
• peer observation of training
• benchmarking data
• feedback from NQTs or employers

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Examples of good practice

• Secondly the production of analytical and
  comprehensive annual reviews
• Based on an analysis of all the evidence
• Including identification of strengths,
  improvements and areas to be developed
• For different components of provision
• For the whole course

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Examples of good practice

• Thirdly the quality of the improvement or action
  plan
• The reports suggest that the most productive
  action plans
• Are compiled in collaboration with schools
• Take a strategic approach over a three year cycle
• List specific outcomes, and, for each outcome,
  set out
• clear actions
• responsibilities for implementing actions
• specific time scales
• resource implications
• measurable success criteria.

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Examples of good practice

• Define arrangements for monitoring the
  implementation of actions and for evaluating and
  reviewing their effectiveness
• For significant actions, introduce small scale
  trials before full implementation

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Examples of good practice

• Finally monitoring, evaluation and review
• How well these discrete processes work is not
  always clear. Inspection reports concentrate on
  their effectiveness
• For instance, they note that the annual review
• begins with a detailed account of how the action
  plan from the previous year has been implemented
• reviews progress on the actions set in the
  previous year
• identifies specific actions which have been
  tracked
• highlights any outstanding issues for reference
  to the academic board
• This suggests that each of these processes is in
  place and effective

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A final comment

• A climate of improvement is often noted and
  commended in reports of high quality provision
• Outside the strategic improvement planning cycle
• Demonstrated in
• immediate responses to weaknesses identified
  through monitoring or evaluation
• rapid responses after the analysis of particular
  types of evidence eg
• evaluations
• or external examiners reports
• the identification of good practice and its
  integration into provision