SEF Describing good or better achievement and standards

1. SEFDescribing good or better achievement and standards What is laid down, ordered, factual is never enough to embrace the whole truth: life spills over the rim of every cup. Boris Pasternak 1890-1960 Mike McLachlan

3. SEF • A process not just a product for an inspection • A summary of the outcomes of your annual review cycle in preparation for your school development plan • Apart from Sections 1 and 2 it should be evaluative and judgemental rather than overly descriptive. • Should reflect your specific contexts as outlined in Section 1 and 2

4. Evaluating standards(Guidance to inspectors) • A broad range of evidence should be considered when evaluating standards. This includes: • 􀂄 the school’s results as set out in the RAISE report • 􀂄 the SEF and what it says about the latest standards in the school • 􀂄 the school’s data, the work the pupils have done in the past and the knowledge, skills and understanding that they are currently able to demonstrate

5. Evaluating Progress • As with analysing standards, it is important to consider a range of pre-inspection and first-hand evidence; for instance: • the latest CVA measures • the SEF and what it says about the progress made by pupils • the local authority’s (LA’s)/school’s own data analysis and progress records • discussion with staff and pupils • scrutiny of their work in lessons and what they have done in the past • the knowledge, skills and understanding that they are currently able to demonstrate • the demands made upon pupils by the teaching.

6. Tracking achievement and standards • 1a Please outline the main characteristics of the learners, including: • - their attainment on entry and how you know this • - their social and economic backgrounds, indicating the level of prosperity or deprivation

7. Attainment on entry • -Records of assessments on entry to the nursery / Foundation stage ( Stepping Stones and FSP data) • e.g.‘it is likely that most three-year-old children in the Foundation Stage will be better described by the earlier stepping stones shown in the yellow band’. • This may be referred to as the national expectation at the beginning o f Nursery. • Raise on Line, SATs and school data on entry into KS1, KS2 and KS3. • Breakdown for different groups FSM, SEN, LAC, EAL etc • Check coverage in RoL particularly if there is high mobility into or out of a year group.

8. Attainment on Entry profile • RoL only gives Average Point Score and profile for each year group for the FS and KS1-4. • As appropriate, • Identify variations in the 6 areas of learning of the Foundation Stage profile • Identify differences in English (reading and writing), Maths and Science, as the APS in individual subjects may be very different from school average. • If possible give an ability profile i.e number of students in each of the bands- well below average, below average, average, above and well above for each year group – if they are very different. • Reflect this analysis by tracking these groups in your evaluations and judgements in the Achievement and Standards section of the SEF

9. Section 3 Achievement and Standards,Prompts in the SEF (1) • 3a How well do learners achieve, and how high are their standards; e.g. • Test and examination results; whether learners reach challenging targets (Historical information) ) • The standardsof learners' current work(noting any significant differences between past results and current work)

10. Achievement and Standards Prompts in the SEF (2) • The learners' progress including comparisons with the progress of similar pupils in other schools. ( Historical and current evaluation) • Note any significant differences in the progress of groups of learners, • including any groups that are achieving particularly well or are underachieving (for example, pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, looked after children, • particular minority ethnic groups, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller learners, • those who join the school other than at the normal date of admission, and • those who are socially or economically disadvantaged) and • the extent of the school's success in closing any gaps in attainment

11. Achievement and Standards Prompts in the SEF (3) • The extent to which information and communication technology (ICT) capability and other key skills enable learners to improve the quality of their work and make progress • The extent to which specialist subject attainment targets have been met • The impact of specialist status in raising standards in the specialism, standards more generally across the school and in partner schools • The extent to which any extended services contribute to better achievement and higher standards.

12. Summary • Consider the big picture but also focus on groups and individuals. • Evaluate the ‘history’ but also have details and analyses of the present cohorts to demonstrate improvement / sustained progress • It is helpful to try and replicate the RoL style evaluations for each of the current year groups. • Individual pupil lists can be exported into Excel and then sorted from lowest to highest CVA . This makes it easier to identify and explain strong and weak performances. “life spills over the rim of every cup.”