Focus on a Few Things

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Focus on a Few Things

• Primary National Strategy
• The Intensifying Support Programme

Monica Forty, Primary Strategy Support
Manager Tower Hamlets, London
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Learning Aims

• Sharing experience related to whole school
  change
• Explore how to focus a school on a targeted area
  of change and instruction
• How a whole school target or focus can lead to
  change in the classroom
• Explanation of the ISP programme with emphasis on
  the leadership to make this happen.

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What are the barriers to improvement in schools?

• Activity

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What are the aids to improvement in schools?

• Activity

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What is ISP?

• Tool to support accelerated school improvement
• 2 year programme that is supported by a local
  authority teaching and learning consultant
• Focus of the programme is on literacy and
  numeracy.
• The systematic and highly structured programme
  based on a cycle of audit and setting targets,
  action and review.

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Background to ISP

• National Literacy Strategy and National Numeracy
  Strategy have improved standards
• Improvements not sustained in some schools
• 437 schools in England with attainment at
  national average below 50
• 2002 Pilot in 13 Local Authorities
• Tower Hamlets implementation of ISP in 2002.

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Aims of ISP

• Raise standards and improve the quality of
  teaching and learning in English and mathematics
• Narrow the attainment range at the end of Key
  Stage 2 across all schools in participating Local
  Authorities
• Improve the leadership and management of English
  and mathematics
• Develop the role of the ISP consultant to work
  across both literacy and mathematics in primary
  schools.

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Expected Outcomes of ISP

• Improved performance in English and mathematics
  in the end-of-key-stage assessments and National
  Curriculum tests
• That a similar proportion of children achieve at
  expected levels in National Curriculum tests as
  in other schools from similar statistical groups
• Improvement in the quality of teaching in English
  and mathematics
• Headteachers and subject leaders are able to lead
  more effectively and to sustain improvements
• Increased and effective use of additional adults
  in supporting the literacy hour, the daily
  mathematics lesson and intervention programmes.

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Four Key Themes of ISP

• Raising standards and accelerating progress
• Improving the quality of teaching and learning
• Improving the conditions for learning
• Developing the school as a professional learning
  community.

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Core Instruments of ISP

• Non-negotiables
• Raising Attainment Plan (RAP)
• Professional Development Meeting (PDM)
• Individual Development Plan (IDP)
• Pupil Progress Meetings (PPM)

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ISP cycle of implementation
Preliminary Audit against Non-negotiables
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Audit of non-negotiables

• The analysis of current school situation
• Knowing about standards
• Target setting
• Pupil tracking
• Additional support and intervention programmes
• Planning
• The quality of the teaching
• Subject knowledge
• Learning environment / resources
• Behaviour management
• Developing a learning culture
• CPD focus

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Raising Attainment Plan(RAP)

• Targeted actions in RAP will include
• Attainment of specific improvements
• Developments in the use of teaching and learning
  strategies
• Improvements in the implementation of literacy
  and numeracy frameworks
• Development of leadership and management
• Success criteria for evaluating impact of
  actions.

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Raising Attainment Plan(RAP)

• The RAP will include
• Specific, unambiguous, quantitative and
  qualitative targets related to childrens
  learning, progress and attainment
• A limited number of goals and actions linked to
  the target that are judged to be achievable
• Success criteria that are linked to and clarify
  the targets, setting out exactly what the school
  is trying to achieve
• The monitoring arrangements, the timescale and
  who is to be involved.

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Raising Attainment Plan(RAP)

• Key messages for a successful RAP
• The initial process of the audit to inform the
  RAP is rigorous and accurate
• Ongoing reviews are regular, rigorous and based
  on accurate evaluation of impact
• Success criteria and actions are short term and
  manageable
• Clear time lines ad expectations are set to
  ensure that the pace of improvement is
  relentless
• Impact on outcomes for children is at the heart
  of the review process.

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Curricular Targets

• Whole school focus
• Choosing the smallest focus that will make the
  greatest difference
• Setting half termly goals
• Targets set for each year group and layered
  within year group to meet the needs of all
  pupils
• Linking targets to the teaching of literacy and
  mathematics
• Monitoring and assessing progress against the
  targets.

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Professional Development Meetings (PDMs)

• Key features
• Regular meetings attended by all
• Priorities of the meetings focus on priorities in
  the RAP
• Subsequent support and monitoring focusing on
  outcomes from PDMs
• They follow the same agenda each time
• Emphasis on professional discussion and support.

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Individual Development Plans(IDPs)

• Key Features
• The IDP is the mechanism staff use to record
  curricular and learning targets for half term
• IDP covers the four themes against which staff
  identify own priorities
• Teachers reflect on completed IDP at subsequent
  meeting to identify achievements
• IDPs contribute to school monitoring of RAP
  actions.

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Tracking and measuring progress

• Toolbox for tracking and measuring progress
• Attainment profiles
• Assessments
• Work surveys
• Learning walks
• Lesson observations
• Pupil Progress Meetings
• Pupil Interviews
• IDPs
• Formal review of RAP.

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Role of consultant

• Carry out audit of non-negotiables with school
• Work on whole-school systems and procedures
• In-class support with teachers
• Regular meetings with teachers and support staff
  to monitor progress of children
• Delivering training for teachers and teaching
  assistants
• Meeting with staff to discuss IDPs
• Monitoring activities with leadership team
• Monitoring impact of intervention strategies
• Developing leadership capacity with subject
  leaders and leadership team to ensure
  improvements are sustained
• Liaise with the Local Authority link adviser for
  the school.

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Role of leadership team

• Activity
• What do you think that the role of the leadership
  team is?

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Key Messages from the evaluation of ISP
The ISP pulled the strings together into a
coherent, self-sustaining cycle that empowers the
whole learning community.
The first term has been intensive and rigorous
but the hard work and commitment has paid off and
we can see improvement throughout the school
There is clear evidence of impact not always
measurable but observable.
Considering the state the school was in, the ISP
was a rigorous and demanding programme. Weve
come a long way!
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Key Messages from the evaluation of ISP
At the beginning of the year some schools said it
wasnt the right time for them to be taking on
the programme. At the end of the year the same
schools said they couldnt do without it.
ISP has been challenging, rewarding and
transformative. The schools have made tremendous
progress in their approach to school improvement.
We are delighted with the progress that the
majority of schools have made through ISP in the
two terms that we have been running the
programme. The results demonstrate only part of
the impact of the programme the positive
changes to staff attitudes, accountability,
classroom environments, increased confidence and
the pro-active attitudes of school leadership
teams have been overwhelming.
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Time for reflection
What are the key messages that you will take
from the ISP programme?
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ISP Website
www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/publications/ Go
to subject/issue, scroll down to Intensifying
Support Programme, select and then press go