SSE Support Seminar for New School Leaders: Taking Stock of the SSE Process

Name:_____________________________

School:____________________________

1

Index:

Where are you in the SSE Process? 3

Reflection on school self-evaluation process 4

Video Activity 6

Identifying Your Focus 7

Data Gathering: Suggestions 8

STen Results for Sample School 9

Maths Competency Results for Sample School/The Student Voice 10

Teacher Self Reflection Sheet 11

Sample Parent Questionnaire (Assessment) 12

Statements of Practice 13

Utilising the Statements of Practice 14

Working with Targets Activity 15

Prompt Questions for Monitoring 16

Visioning Exercise 17

Key Reflections 18

2

Where are you in the SSE Process?

3

REFLECTION ON SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION PROCESS

SUCCESSES: What have been your successes so far in your engagement with the SSE process?

CHALLENGES: List what areas/ issues you have found most challenging?

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

4

Prompt QuestionsConsider the six steps......

Who has or might lead the process?Who has or might be involved in the process

of gathering and analysing evidence?What might be the area for improvement?How might this area be identified?How might you monitor the process?

Who might be responsible for the monitoring?

Applying the Six-Step School Self-Evaluation Process

5

Video Activity

Please identify three points from the videos that you have found most interesting and will inform your thinking in relation to SSE.

1.

2.

6

3.

7

Identifying Your Focus

8

Data Gathering: Suggestions

Resources/Tools for Data Gathering

Quantitative:

Standardised Test Analysis (STen & CAT) : http://www.pdst.ie/sse/pp/resources/st/analysis

PDST Exam analysis tool: Junior Cycle http://www.pdst.ie/sse/pp/resources/jcanalysis

Senior Cycle http://www.pdst.ie/sse/pp/resources/scanalysis

Maths Competency Test: http://www.pdst.ie/node/2879

Qualitative:

Student & Parent Questionnaires: http://schoolself-evaluation.ie/post-primary/resources/gathering-evidence/questionnaires/

Teacher & School Leaders Reflection Sheet: http://schoolself-evaluation.ie/post-primary/resources/gathering-evidence/reflection-sheets/

Professional Collaborative Review:

http://schoolself-evaluation.ie/post-primary/resources/gathering-evidence/professional-collaborative-review/

9

Focus Groups: http://schoolself-evaluation.ie/post-primary/resources/gathering-evidence/focus-groups/

Sample Evidence

STen Results for Sample School

Junior Certificate Mathematics Result for Sample School

10

Maths Competency Results for Sample School

Accessing The Student Voice in the SSE Process

11

Question to student: What helps me improve my work?

What element(s) of the video did you find most interesting from a Teaching, Learning & Assessment viewpoint?

12

Teacher Self Reflection Sheet

TEACHING AND LEARNING IN OUR SCHOOL

Strengths Why?

Areas for improvement Why?

13

Priorities for action Why?

Extracted from www.schoolself-evaluation.ie

14

Sample Parent Questionnaire (Assessment)School Name

Dear parents and guardians,

We are undertaking a self-evaluation of how we report about students’ learning in our school. To help us in that evaluation, we would be very grateful for your views and opinions on the matters in the questionnaire below. The questionnaire should take between 10 and 15 minutes to complete. We would be very grateful if you would complete it and return it to the school before xxxx. Please note that you may complete the questionnaire anonymously and that all individual responses will be treated confidentially.

Thank you very much.

Insert name (Principal)

Insert date

Please put an X in the correct box and circle the relevant year group:

My son daughter is in:

1st Yr 2nd Yr 3rd Yr 5th Yr 6th Yr TY

Strongly disagree

Disagree Don’t know Agree Strongly agree

Reports on my child’s learning are written in clear and accessible

language

Reports on my child’s learning give me a clear insight on how he / she is

progressing in their learning

Reports on my child’s learning help me to talk to him / her about their

progress and how I can help him / her

Reports on my child’s learning help him /her to engage with his / her own

learning

The school is open to two-way communication about my child’s

learning

Any additional comments or suggestions about how communication about learning between the school and students’ parents / guardians could be improved.

15

Extracted from www.schoolself-evaluation.ie

Statements of Practice

16

17

Utilising the Statements of Practice

Using this statements of practice example, in respect of learning experiences, can you identify an area that could be prioritised in your school?

Other Statement of Practice

18

Working with Targets ActivityPlease review the following targets.

Part 1. Using your knowledge of S.M.A.R.T targets can you circle each option as either

a. Helpful Targets or b. Unhelpful Targets

i) To develop and improve school wide literacy

* Note: All of these targets have been taken from SSE Updates.

These updates also contain more examples of helpful and unhelpful

targets

ii) Improve standards in effective writing (thoroughness of detail) among fifth year students from 43% to 53% by June 2015

Helpful/Unhelpful Helpful/Unhelpful

iii) To increase the number of students who use higher-order questions in pair work and class work(Communicating)

iv) We will increase the percentage of students who attempt higher level mathematics in the Leaving Certificate from 40% to 45% by June 2016

v) By the end of 2016 all students will have good reading skills

Helpful/Unhelpful Helpful/Unhelpful Helpful/Unhelpful

Part 2. In your opinion how might the unhelpful targets be altered to make them more helpful

Target no. What can be done to make it more helpful?

19

Prompt Questions for Monitoring

What will be monitored?

Who is responsible?

How will progress be determined and reported?

When and to whom will progress will be reported?

How will we know if targets and actions are realistic or need to be changed?

20

Visioning Exercise

Imagine it is October 2020 ………………….

Be as idealistic and creative as you wish. Forget constraints!

What does your school look like in an ideal world under the following learner outcome categories?

Learner Outcomes (SAK) Our students display the following ….

Skills

Attitude

Knowledge

How might the process of SSE impact positively on your school environment? Detail in terms of

Classrooms General School

21

Key Reflections

Possible Actions for my School

What Who When

Additional Notes

22

23

24