How the world’s most

improved school

systems keep getting

better

Tricia Okoruwa

Education Director

The 3 Dimensions to crafting and

implementing and improvement journey

1. Assess current performance level

• Measure pupil outcomes – decide if current level

is poor, fair, good, great or excellent

2. Select interventions:

• Decide what the system needs to do in order to

raise student outcomes – guided by its

performance level and specific challenges

3. Adapt to context:

• Tailor leadership style and tactics to the history,

culture, politics, structure of the school system

Sustaining the system’s improvement

journey over the long term

3 ways have been identified:

• By establishing collaborative practices

• By developing the mediating layer

between the schools and the centre

• By architecting tomorrow’s leadership

Each aspect is interconnected and an

integral part of the system pedagogy

Fair to good Good to great

Getting the foundations in place Shaping the professional

Data and accountability foundation

•Transparency to schools/public on

school performance

•School inspections

Raising calibre of entering teachers

and principals

•Recruiting programmes

•Pre-service training

Financial and organisational

foundation

•Optimization of schools/teachers

•Decentralisation

•Funding allocation model

•Organizational redesign

Raising calibre of existing teachers

and principals

•In-service training programs

•Coaching

•Career tracks

•Teachers and community forums

Pedagogical foundation

•School model/streaming

•Language of instruction

School-based decision-making

•Self-evaluation

•Independent/specialized schools

Journeys of school improvement: it’s a

system thing not a single thing

Getting to fair: improving literacy and numeracy

Fair to good improvement journeys emphasise getting the system foundations in place

Good to great improvement journeys emphasise shaping the professional

Great to excellent improvement journeys emphasise learning through peers and innovation

[McKinsey and Company]

Building Leadership capacity [International review of school leadership Alberta, England, Netherlands, New Zealand, Ontario, Singapore, Victoria]

For every 100 schools with good leadership and management 93 will have high pupil achievement

For every 100 schools who do not only 1 will have good pupil achievement

60% of pupil achievement is attributable to leadership

How important is leadership?

Sustained articulation, communication and application of core values Focused on pupil achievement –

above personal/political interests Resilient and persistent Willing to develop a deep

understanding of people/context Risk taker and challenger Optimistic and enthusiastic

How do high performing leaders spend their time?

Primary % Secondary %

Encouraging use of data/research 28 Encouraging use of data/research 34

Improved assessment procedures 28 Teaching policies and practices 28

Teaching policies and practices 26 Change in school culture 21

Changes to pupil target setting 20 Providing/allocating resources 20

Strategic allocation of resources 20 Improved assessment procedures 19

Providing and allocating resources 19 Monitoring departments/teachers 16

Promoting leadership/CPD 16 Promoting leadership /CPD 15

Most frequently cited actions: primary and secondary schools [Ten Strong Claims, NCSL]

Broad phases of leadership success: the journey of one Primary School [Ten Strong Claims, NCSL]

System foundations

Ownership and responsibility

Vision and values Non-negotiables Defining teaching and learning: leading by example Infrastructure improvement/re-configuration

Data and accountability Relentless focus on monitoring and evaluation Distributing leadership Persisting with teaching and learning

Developing creativity

Everyone a leader

Shaping the professional Raising the calibre of existing teachers/leaders Involving the community

Peer-led learning Self-evaluation Self-challenge Internal collaboration

Ofsted 2007

SM

Ofsted 2011

Outstanding

Ofsted 2008

Good

Strong claims: eight dimensions which build on the core practices

Headteachers are the main source of leadership in their schools. Their values, strategies and practices are key components in their success.

Differences in experience and context affect the nature, direction and pace of leadership actions

Successful heads use the same basic leadership practices, but there is no single model for achieving success

Three broad phases of leadership success: early/middle/late

Governors Headteacher Senior leadership

Middle leadership

Getting a handle on the accountability chain

Poor to Fair Fair to Good Good to Great Great to Unstoppable

Directional/Central control Inclusion Creativity Innovation

Top led and well-controlled Top led, middle implement Middle led, top quality assures Internally driven and quality assured

Detailed calendar of monitoring

activities focused on teaching and

learning – aligned to an

instructional vision

Detailed calendar of monitoring

activities focused on teaching and

learning – now embedded

Detailed calendar of monitoring

activities focused on teaching and

learning – embedded and customised

Detailed calendar of monitoring

activities focused on teaching and

learning – more engagement with

other schools or external partners

Audit and identify position:

teaching and learning profile,

outcomes, book looks, planning,

environments

Evidence base broadens to include

Pupil voice/school council

Parent surveys

Staff surveys

Evidence base broadens to include

Pupil voice/school council

Parent surveys

Staff surveys

Pupils are part of evaluating their

learning

Establish and impose a monitoring

framework which reflects the core

requirements of acceptable

performance for teaching and

learning, planning, books, pupil

progress meetings

Literacy

Numeracy

Regular and sharp monitoring of all

aspects of teaching and learning

Strengths and areas for development

identified and then used to promote

improvement in other subjects …..

Wide range of monitoring activities

which are differentiated, carried out

by middle leaders and quality assured

by senior managers, within the

school’s agreed framework

Strengths and areas for development

identified and then used to promote

improvement in other subjects …..

Teachers accurately evaluate their

own performance, quality assured by

senior line managers

Learning communities

Use of other models ….

All individuals demonstrate

responsibility for improving teaching –

led at all levels

Intervention led/recovery based

teaching

Most children make below average

progress and require intervention

QFT widespread and established:

more focused/targeted individual work

New teaching approaches; new

pedagogies; new curricular

Impact: there is compliance in

practice across the school and

from this consistency is grown

Impact: standards rise, progress rates

improve,

Impact: gaps narrow, progress rates

improve, personalised learning

experiences are developing

Impact: gaps narrow, progress rates

improve, personalised learning

experiences for all; staff have

ownership

Monitoring – McKinsey journeys

Continuous Improvement Plan Focus