Quality of Teaching: headlines and priorities 2013-14

1. Quality of Teaching: headlines and priorities 2013-14

2. Quality of Teaching at TCS The second cycle of observation is nearly complete. There may be small adjustments to the headline figures with the remaining lesson observations. These will take place in the first two weeks of this term. This update aims to highlight what we are doing well, and which areas we can work towards developing over the course of the year. The next cycle of observation will take place over the autumn and spring terms.

3. Quality of Teaching: headlines so far

4. 2012-2013 Classroom ObservationOutcomes Mill Lane Exeter Road Overall 97% of lessons are Good or Outstanding. Overall

5. Quality of Teaching since 2008 Exeter Road Mill Lane

6. Overall Quality of Teaching at TCS since 2008 • The aims were… • to move the remaining NI lessons to Good • to increase the number of Outstanding towards 50%.

7. 2011-2012 PM Lesson Observation Analysis • Assessment and the work scrutiny • Assessment formed a clear area for developmentfrom the lesson observations • Often, where lessons were borderline 3s or 2s, Progress linked to Assessment was the identified issue; this concerned the lesson, and elements of work scrutiny. • This became a focus for the year, with particular attention paid to the work scrutiny. • For this year it has formed separate grade to that of the observation so that staff could evaluate strengths and areas for development.

8. The work scrutiny and progress over time 2012-13: making effective use of assessment and feedback Evidence of progress in the lesson Evidence of progress in the tracking data Progress over time To measure progress over time, a triangulation of evidence must take place between the following elements… Evidence of progress in the work scrutiny Evidences prior learning and whether the lesson targets new and challenging learning. Evidences the data tracking. Provides a point of discussion with students to target levels of progress.

9. Work Scrutiny: headlines so far 2012-13 Mill Lane • Key areas for improvement • Regularity of written feedback. Not on every piece, but so that the student is clear on the following: • What their target is; • What their current grade is; • What they have achieved in relation to attainment criteria, and what this means; • What they must do to improve in relation to the attainment criteria, and what this means; • How they have actioned, or will action, any improvement issues raised such literacy aspects of their progress, or subject content/ concepts. • Clear evidence of AFL approaches so that there is a marking dialogue between teacher and student. Exeter Road Overall

10. Ofsted Guidance and Teaching Priorities 2013-14

11. Priority 1: work scrutiny (Ofsted) • Marking and feedback can also run through all judgements • These judgements can form part of a running evaluation. • Learning walks on marking will form an evidence base. • This then feeds into the judgement on Achievement, Teaching, and Leadership and Management. • The work scrutiny and high expectations • Do students take pride in their work? • Are the books covered in graffiti? • Scruffiness suggests a lack of respect for the work and for the teacher. • Tick and flick is NOT acceptable, and can form the beginning of a trail across a department or even the school. • Expectations should be modelled by the teacher in the work scrutiny – so felt tip marking can even raise questions for inspectors about expectations. • The work scrutiny across the curriculum: how it works • The work scrutiny will still form part of the lesson observations . • It is also carried out separately to lessons on the second day of inspection as part of a separate discussion. • If a teacher/ team has a policy of drafting books, they should make a work scrutiny of Controlled Assignments, projects or coursework available. • A work scrutiny is expected in all subjects and a sample of assessments for each of the students should be made available. Inspectors will also ask the teachers themselvesif work is not available in the class. They will also ask students if the teacher is busy. • In some subject cases, such as Drama, where there may not be as much written work, the lesson plan is important in providing information and context about where students have come from, and where they will be going in their learning. The data provided in the planning, and speaking to the students, provides the means of the triangulation of evidence for these lessons. • Work scrutiny and further evidence trails • The work scrutiny is pivotal in helping to form wider trails of enquiry. • It could form evidence trails to follow up in lesson observations for particular subjects, or send observations to a broader spread to establish patterns across a school. • A lack of consistency in the work scrutiny can most often form an evidence trail. The work scrutiny is often proving to be the biggest issue in schools. • If issues concerning quality of marking present in one classroom, and then similarly in the next room in a department, the trail will start to form. • Examples of how the work scrutiny forms a key part of running evaluations are that of assessment, and literacyand communication.

12. Priority 1: work scrutiny (Ofsted) • The work scrutiny and assessment • Are students given clear steps for improvement? • What is the quality of marking and feedback across a subject, and across the school? • Is there a dialogue/ actioning of marking by the teacher and the student? • Are comments written for the student or for the benefit of adults? • Can the students understand what their next steps should be to improve? • If the work scrutiny shows that a teacher is repeatedly making comments to the same students about an aspect of their work (presentation, spg for example), inspectors will pursue this. They will be asking whether the teachers are following up recurring themes themselves and actioning their points/ comments with the involvement of the student. This all connects to where expectations are set within the culture of the school. • Inspectors will speak to students to see if they can understand marking comments in the work scrutiny. • Most effective practice and minimum expectations • Is there a clear and consistent application of minimum expectations in all lessons concerning marking and feedback? A coverall, tokenistic and bolt on policy is not effective. An approach of minimum expectations, which are implemented on a subject by subject basis is often what is looked for. A whole school marking policy is not a concern if there is effective feedback and consistency within subjects. It is most effective if subjects/teams take the minimum requirements and embed them in appropriate ways to their subject practice, which can then be built on meaningfully and in a subject specific way. • Minimum requirements guide • Regular feedback • Target and progress data tracking systems/ pro forma in a clear and obvious place in the student’s work. • Clear comments on what has been achieved which are linked to attainment criteria. • Clear comments which outline how to improve, and next steps which are linked to attainment criteria. • Literacy issues being identified and clear actioning and follow up by the teacher. • Evidence of AFL approaches so that there is a clear marking dialogue between teacher and student. • Actioning by the student in response to the teacher’s comments – as well as skills and content . This can also apply to aspects of literacy.

13. Priority 2: Literacy, Numeracy, and Communication (Ofsted) We should be looking to create themed messages of transferability across subjects. Much of the following, we do routinely, but this is about making guidance as clear as it can be. • Modelling by teaching staff • Teaching staff should aim to model good literacy and numeracy themselves – for written and spoken expression. • We should look out for ‘grunting’ responses and whether they are accepted teachers. • Are teachers consistent and persistent in their modelling of correct articulation with the correct target vocabulary embedded? • LNC run through all judgements • These judgements can form part of a running evaluation. • Learning walks on Literacy will form an evidence base. • This then feeds into the judgement on Achievement. • Literacy/ nurture groups will be looked at with reference to the pupil premium. • Target vocabulary and spoken communication • Key words and terms displays are of no impact if they are not embedded in the language of learning seen in lessons. Not redundant on the wall. • Teachers should model - ‘I want to hear you use that word in your discussion, or see you use it in your extended writing’. • So key words (wherever they are) must impact on the learning by students applying them to their written and verbal expression. • Most effective practice and minimum expectations • Is there a clear and consistent application of minimum expectations in all lessons concerning literacy and numeracy? A coverall, tokenistic and bolt on policy is not effective. An approach of minimum expectations, which are implemented on a subject by subject basis is often what is looked for. It is most effective if subjects/teams take the minimum requirements and embed them in appropriate ways to their subject practice, which can then be built on meaningfully and in a subject specific way. • Minimum requirements guide • Literacy and numeracy issues are being identified by the teacher where appropriate concerning spg, punctuation, appropriate use of key words and terms. • Teachers are encouraging students to action identified issues themselves, once they are given guidance. • Teachers will target and model the use of key words and terms in their own written and verbal expression. • There is joined up thinking and approaches to numeracy across a department and the school. So similar methods/ approaches are used across subjects to promote transferability. • Students will apply the newly acquired and target vocabulary in discussion. They use this vocabulary when talking to the teacher, and to each other. • Full sentences are used and insisted on by teachers in discussion exercises. • There is evidence of extended pieces of written work routinely being undertaken as appropriate to subjects.

14. Priority 3: stretch and challenge • Where lessons were not Outstanding the issues most often hinged on the stretch and challenge built into the lesson. • Exmouth Ofsted report July 2013 • Not enough teaching is outstanding. Consequently, not all students make better than expected progress. Not all lesson activities challenge students to think deeply or work independently. • Occasionally, pupils do not progress as well as they should because teachers set work that does not enable all students to move forward at a fast enough pace. This is because the highest target grades or levels are not set as the minimum expectation or because teachers’ questioning does not sufficiently challenge students to think deeply about their ideas and responses. • In the Sixth Form • Making better use of assessment information in order to set the correct level of challengefor all students by drawing on existing excellent practice. • What does this mean? • Students need to be given opportunities to: • show initiative • develop their thinking • work independently in lessons • extend their learning to make better than expected progress.

15. Supporting Development 2013-14

16. Priorities 1 & 2: work scrutiny and LNC summarised • Evidence of feedback that is … • regular • consistency across a team • appropriate and meaningful within the subject context • written and verbal • Involves the student in actioning their improvement/ progress • ACHIEVABLE • As seen from the Ofsted guidance, the most impact is seen where departments are given the autonomy and flexibility to apply meaningful and consistent policies and approaches to these issues; meaningful in terms of the nature of the subject, consistent insofar as all team members apply what has been agreed. There was a clear steer from the lead inspector that a whole school policy of marking and LNC risks a lack of consistent implementation, since it may not bear meaning for all subjects and so becomes tokenistic. A set of minimum requirements guidance has often been seen to be effective; hence, the minimum requirements guidance give above. • To support the development of these priorities we will be asking subject teams if they would be willing to contribute to a tool kit approach of best practice so that all staff can see how other subjects are tackling these issues. • This will involve providing one KS3, KS4, or KS5 assessment pro forma, or a student book or folder to be scanned or copied. This would then help to feed into our programme of shared effective practice. The Directory of Effective Practice would also be updated to show strengths concerning feedback and marking.

17. Could subject teams provide anything that they would be willing to share by October half term and this would be made available to all staff to discuss what might work for them. It would be really helpful if teams could provide one or more of the following: • A sample of effective marking feedback (this, of course, might be for the half term, but if teams have anything from 2012-13 that would work too) • A grade tracking pro-forma • Student responses/ actioning to marking feedback • AFL examples. • Approaches to Literacy in the marking feedback as appropriate.

18. Summary of T&L priorities and support for 2013-14 • Priority 1: Work Scrutiny • A toolkit of possible approaches to minimum requirements to be published by October half term to support the continuing development of achievable approaches. • Areas of strength for marking and feedback will be highlighted in the Directory of Shared practice so that staff can collaborate on this issue. • The CTL training programme will offer opportunities for CTLs to discuss their approaches with one another . • Priority 2: Literacy, Numeracy and Communication • Sammy Atkinson will be continuing the focus on verbal communication. • The work scrutiny will bear continuing focus on the written elements of learning and progress. • Please remember that you have a maths link if you are in Science, Geography, ICT, and Technology. • Tess Masterman will be working with Sammy to deliver a training session about reading initiatives and the promotion of the reading culture at our school. This will involve discussion about… • How technology and traditional books can now support each other • Use of book trailers for starters • Staff bookmarks (CAL are working on this) • Having a book with you at times other than DEAR Day to promote discussion • Priority 3: Stretch and challenge for all students • This will bear focus on Pupil Premium (FSM), which Gill will talk about today. • This will be picked up in more detail in the Good to Outstanding training in October which will offer clear guidance. • Sammy Atkinson and Alex White will be giving clear guidance as the year develops as part of our Able and Talented team (within the Cognitive/ T&L Team). Alex bears special responsibility as a Teaching Mentor for Able and Talented. So if this was raised in your observation or work scrutiny, please let RHM, SEA and AW know if you would like to collaborate on this issue.

19. For each priority, the focus is squarely on gauging what is typicalin terms of what happens across the school, and in your classroom. An example of priorities 1, 2, and 3 brought together …teamwork and controlled discussion between students reinforced communication and helped to develop students’ social skills. This was reinforced by the teacher setting individual targets for students which related to the use of punctuation and grammar. Exmouth Ofsted report July 2013