The processes for completing the standards and quality report and the school improvement plan should be underpinned by the following quality indicators:
QI 1.3 – Leadership of Change – Strategic Planning for Continuous Improvement
QI 1.1 – Self Evaluation for Self-Improvement
This section provides guidance to assist schools with self-evaluation and in developing their standards and quality report and improvement plan.
This guidance takes into account Education Scotland’s ‘Delivering Excellence and Equity: Advice on School Improvement Planning 2018/19’, the National Improvement Framework, HGIOS4 and HGIOELC?
It is vital that a culture of self-evaluation exists where staff, pupils, parents and community regularly self-evaluate against national quality indicators, authority and establishment priorities. This should take place formally at planned points throughout the school year and informally on a daily basis.
Schools should use the quality indicators, the challenge questions and the features of highly effective practice in HGIOS4/HGIOELC to guide them in establishing their current position.
School should consider the following key principles:
- ensure that you collaborate with parents and carers, community partners and your local cluster to develop and evaluate the improvement plan;
- take an evidence-based approach, including careful analysis of data on children and young people’s progress to plan targeted interventions;
- focus on a small number of key priorities which can be implemented as part of your collegiate working time agreement and aim to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy; and
- consider both the local context and the NIF priorities when developing a plan that works for your children and young people.
Schools should provide an annual standards and quality report, as a record of progress in taking forward their annual improvement plan and defining the priorities for the forthcoming year. Education Scotland’s guidance states that schools should ensure:
- progress towards NIF drivers is communicated clearly and briefly
- evaluation of the impact of the schools actions to improve excellence and equity and achieve positive outcomes for all children and young people is clear
- strengths which have been successful in engaging children and young people, staff, parents and the wider community are highlighted.
Avoid using jargon or abbreviations as this is a public facing document and should be written in plain English for a wide public audience. This report should be provided in an accessible way which clearly tells the reader what is working well and what needs to improve.
The local authority’s priorities over the last few years have focussed on improving learning and teaching in literacy and numeracy, reducing the impact of poverty on attainment, improving curriculum and developing partnerships. These priorities reflect the national Improvement framework and should also clearly identified in schools improvement plans.
Developing a manageable, measurable annual improvement plan
An effective improvement plan will consist of a small number of well-considered priorities, expressed as measurable and achievable outcomes for learners.
The school improvement plan should include the following:
- observable, measurable outcomes which focus on learning, achievement and wellbeing;
- priorities clearly linked to NIF drivers and HGIOS?4 quality indicators (QIs);
- clearly identified responsibilities for implementation and methods of change, linked to named individuals or teams;
- clear deadlines which ensure priorities are achieved within intended timescales and take account of working time agreements;
- clear planning for how the Pupil Equity Funding (if relevant) will be used to provide targeted interventions in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing to close the poverty related attainment gap; and
- measures of success which include performance data, quality indicators and stakeholders ’views.
This plan should be developed to reflect priorities arising from the needs of pupils, parents, staff and the wider community and should be deliverable within a clearly negotiated working time agreement with your school collegiate group. This plan should be a working document which is regularly reviewed, amended and updated depending on progress made.
There is no expectation to have a separate pupil equity fund (PEF) or Early learning and Childcare plan however areas for improvement within each of these should be clearly marked within your overall plan.
‘Bureaucracy light’ templates are provided to support schools with their school improvement report and plans (see appendix)
The school improvement report and the school improvement plan should be submitted to the improvement team by the end of May each year.
Blank SIR/SIP :
Links and downloads:
Education Scotland Advice for SIR’s 2018
https://education.gov.scot/Documents/NIFschoolimprovementguidance201819.pdf
School Improvement Planning Poster – Education Scotland –
