Subtitles
Associated Teachers TV programme
Primary Assessment for Learning: A Whole School Approach
0001 10:00:10:01 10:00:12:20
We're early today, aren't we? Yeah.
0002 10:00:12:20 10:00:14:23
That's good.
0003 10:00:14:23 10:00:19:10
(woman) I'm a parent governor.
I have three children at the school.
0004 10:00:19:10 10:00:22:11
I am an accountant,
and I thought, as a parent governor,
0005 10:00:22:11 10:00:25:09
I wanted to be able
to get behind the scenes.
0006 10:00:25:09 10:00:27:17
I volunteered to be part of the, um,
0007 10:00:27:17 10:00:30:15
headteacher's
performance review committee.
0008 10:00:30:15 10:00:34:17
We need to make sure, as governors,
that we've done our homework,
0009 10:00:34:17 10:00:38:21
we understand what kind of projects
the school has been involved in.
0010 10:00:38:21 10:00:41:12
Obviously,
this is about the headteacher
0011 10:00:41:12 10:00:46:00
and, as with any organisation,
I think we're nervous when it comes,
0012 10:00:46:00 10:00:49:16
as individuals,
to a performance management review.
0013 10:00:55:12 10:00:58:12
(narrator) Bob Drew has been
head at GeariesInfant School
0014 10:00:58:12 10:00:59:22
for ten years.
0015 10:00:59:22 10:01:04:00
It doesn't make performance review
by the governors any easier.
0016 10:01:04:00 10:01:05:16
(Bob) Going into a review,
0017 10:01:05:16 10:01:08:23
it's never guaranteed you're
going to have a nice easy ride.
0018 10:01:08:23 10:01:12:05
You know,
I'm apprehensive before them.
0019 10:01:12:05 10:01:16:19
I go into a review not knowing
how people are going to take it,
0020 10:01:16:19 10:01:20:19
whether they are going to accept
the evidence that's being presented.
0021 10:01:20:19 10:01:23:20
However, they do focus your mind
and, ultimately,
0022 10:01:23:20 10:01:26:09
my pay is determined
by the performance review.
0023 10:01:26:09 10:01:30:02
And if I'm not successfully meeting
my targets, I don't get a pay rise.
0024 10:01:32:05 10:01:34:24
(narrator) Hotfooting it
to school is Peter Brooks,
0025 10:01:34:24 10:01:38:21
a school improvement partner,
and a head himself.
0026 10:01:38:21 10:01:41:06
He'll assist the governors
with their review,
0027 10:01:41:06 10:01:44:20
a job previously done
by a one-off external adviser.
0028 10:01:44:20 10:01:47:13
The government,
quite sensibly, thought that
0029 10:01:47:13 10:01:51:12
that role where an occasional
visitor came into the school
0030 10:01:51:12 10:01:55:07
would be better done by somebody who
was getting to know the school well.
0031 10:01:55:07 10:01:59:04
So, I've already had
some visits with Bob
0032 10:01:59:04 10:02:02:17
in terms of attainment and progress,
0033 10:02:02:17 10:02:06:01
so I have a fair understanding
of where the school is
0034 10:02:06:01 10:02:08:09
and its levels of achievement.
0035 10:02:09:21 10:02:13:23
Often, governors have been involved
in schools for a very long time,
0036 10:02:13:23 10:02:15:23
and it's a bit woods-from-trees.
0037 10:02:15:23 10:02:20:02
They see the school. The school
is happy, the children are happy,
0038 10:02:20:02 10:02:23:06
but they might not be
in a professional position
0039 10:02:23:06 10:02:28:16
to challenge the head on targets
related to pupil improvement.
0040 10:02:28:16 10:02:31:10
So I'm there for advice, guidance
0041 10:02:31:10 10:02:35:10
and making sure that their role
is effectively carried out.
0042 10:02:37:02 10:02:41:10
(Naseem) Governors expect the SIP
to be there, to be able to guide us.
0043 10:02:41:10 10:02:45:23
An external adviser will come along,
and maybe a one-off visit.
0044 10:02:45:23 10:02:49:23
A SIP tends to visit the school
more often and is more involved,
0045 10:02:49:23 10:02:52:07
so has a better understanding
of the school.
0046 10:02:52:07 10:02:56:14
And I think SIPs act as
critical friends, rather like we do.
0047 10:02:56:14 10:02:58:21
It's his experience
as a professional
0048 10:02:58:21 10:03:03:15
that will help us review
Bob's performance during the year.
0049 10:03:07:03 10:03:09:18
(Bob) The whole process
of the performance review
0050 10:03:09:18 10:03:14:21
will start with myself doing
a reflection on my previous targets,
0051 10:03:14:21 10:03:17:20
and, generally,
how the year has gone.
0052 10:03:17:20 10:03:21:21
That leads you into thinking about
targets for the following year.
0053 10:03:22:19 10:03:27:05
I thought your evaluation was
evaluative instead of descriptive.
0054 10:03:27:05 10:03:29:08
It was useful,
in terms of education,
0055 10:03:29:08 10:03:33:17
that you did look very carefully
at your targets for last year,
0056 10:03:33:17 10:03:36:12
and that the evidence
you have produced
0057 10:03:36:12 10:03:40:00
looks as if it backs up the
kind of judgments I've been making,
0058 10:03:40:00 10:03:44:17
which are, in most cases,
your targets were clearly met.
0059 10:03:45:06 10:03:49:04
I was quite amazed when I looked
at the profile for this school,
0060 10:03:49:04 10:03:55:15
that you do have this really huge
mix of cultures and backgrounds
0061 10:03:55:15 10:03:57:17
and that your standards, though,
0062 10:03:57:17 10:04:01:06
in terms of attainment
in the key stage, are very high.
0063 10:04:01:06 10:04:03:13
There is an indication
that our standards
0064 10:04:03:13 10:04:06:14
are certainly maintained,
if not developed.
0065 10:04:06:14 10:04:08:18
Because of the profile
in the school -
0066 10:04:08:18 10:04:10:16
an increased number of children
0067 10:04:10:16 10:04:13:13
who are bilingual
and non-English speaking -
0068 10:04:13:13 10:04:16:14
we predict that our scores
will steadily drop
0069 10:04:16:14 10:04:19:21
unless we have timely intervention
0070 10:04:19:21 10:04:23:03
and our programme is successful.
0071 10:04:25:16 10:04:29:24
(narrator) Bob's key target has been
improving speaking and listening
0072 10:04:29:24 10:04:33:12
in key stage 1 through role-play.
0073 10:04:33:12 10:04:37:14
- This a year 1 class, so what...
- Good.
0074 10:04:37:14 10:04:41:08
The children actually chose
to do it as a music centre,
0075 10:04:41:08 10:04:44:18
as most of the projects are
self-initiated by the children.
0076 10:04:44:18 10:04:47:15
- Interesting how small it is.
- It is. It's tiny.
0077 10:04:47:15 10:04:50:06
That was the biggest problem
that the teachers said,
0078 10:04:50:06 10:04:52:11
when we were trying to encourage...
0079 10:04:52:11 10:04:55:17
"Why weren't there role-play areas
in year 1 and year 2?"
0080 10:04:55:17 10:04:58:22
The majority of teachers said,
"I haven't got enough space
0081 10:04:58:22 10:05:02:04
and it will interfere
with the learning in the classroom."
0082 10:05:02:04 10:05:04:22
We were saying,
"No. This is enhancing your learning
0083 10:05:04:22 10:05:06:20
and all you need is a corner."
0084 10:05:06:20 10:05:10:01
- Let her try first.
- Give me £5.
0085 10:05:10:01 10:05:12:11
No, sorry. £2.
0086 10:05:13:09 10:05:16:06
- How much is it?
- £2.
0087 10:05:16:06 10:05:19:01
You know it's working well
when you listen
0088 10:05:19:01 10:05:23:09
and you can hear the quality of
the language the children are using,
0089 10:05:23:09 10:05:27:16
and how well they are cooperating,
how interested they are.
0090 10:05:27:16 10:05:31:18
- Look what your baby's done.
- Can we buy...?
0091 10:05:31:18 10:05:35:15
- No.
- Can we buy this little shaker?
0092 10:05:35:15 10:05:37:16
(narrator) Speaking and listening
0093 10:05:37:16 10:05:40:17
is one of the targets
Bob will be quizzed on.
0094 10:05:40:17 10:05:43:01
Your governors,
from your report into them,
0095 10:05:43:01 10:05:45:16
are fully aware of this development,
0096 10:05:45:16 10:05:48:24
so when I talk to them later
0097 10:05:48:24 10:05:51:20
they will be able to reflect on it.
0098 10:05:51:20 10:05:55:07
They can actually see this and are
aware. And our parent governors,
0099 10:05:55:07 10:05:58:08
they get feedback all the time.
The children tell them.
0100 10:05:58:08 10:06:01:22
Absolutely. One of the governors
I'm meeting is a parent governor,
0101 10:06:01:22 10:06:03:22
which is extremely useful.
0102 10:06:03:22 10:06:08:10
(Bob) My relationship with the
improvement partner is important.
0103 10:06:08:10 10:06:12:24
I think it's enhanced
by Peter being a headteacher,
0104 10:06:12:24 10:06:16:10
although not all school improvement
partners are headteachers,
0105 10:06:16:10 10:06:20:13
or serving headteachers, but Peter
is, and I particularly like that.
0106 10:06:20:13 10:06:23:02
It's someone
who's doing the same job as me
0107 10:06:23:02 10:06:25:21
and knows all
of the pressure points on that one.
0108 10:06:25:21 10:06:28:17
There could easily be
an objectivity issue
0109 10:06:28:17 10:06:34:19
in terms of... relationships, if you
like, professional relationships.
0110 10:06:34:19 10:06:37:24
After all, we are colleagues
with the same profession
0111 10:06:37:24 10:06:43:19
and therefore it could easily be
that our talk, for instance,
0112 10:06:43:19 10:06:47:24
to the governing body could be one
where I understand Bob,
0113 10:06:47:24 10:06:51:12
Bob understands me,
and we bolt on the governing body.
0114 10:06:51:12 10:06:53:18
There's a barrier against that.
0115 10:06:53:18 10:06:58:12
I could be saying, cos I'm extremely
friendly with this headteacher,
0116 10:06:58:12 10:07:00:07
everything is wonderful.
0117 10:07:00:07 10:07:04:04
Ofsted could arrive, and the
governing body would have a shock.
0118 10:07:04:04 10:07:07:11
So there's an accountability to me.
The other thing about it is,
0119 10:07:07:11 10:07:10:12
I'm only allowed to be attached
to a school for three years.
0120 10:07:10:12 10:07:14:24
It could be you'd get used to each
other if it was longer than that.
0121 10:07:18:04 10:07:20:12
My role in the meeting
is actually just to -
0122 10:07:20:12 10:07:23:13
brackets, buzzword - facilitate.
0123 10:07:23:13 10:07:26:23
It is your discussion
with your headteacher.
0124 10:07:26:23 10:07:28:17
It's not my discussion with him.
0125 10:07:28:17 10:07:31:08
So I will take notes.
I will be here for advice.
0126 10:07:31:08 10:07:35:05
At the end, I will prepare the
performance management statement,
0127 10:07:35:05 10:07:38:22
I will send it to you. You can
then respond and say yes or no
0128 10:07:38:22 10:07:42:00
or add any things
that need changing from it.
0129 10:07:42:00 10:07:45:00
And then that will become
Bob's targets for the next year.
0130 10:07:45:00 10:07:48:23
(woman) A group of us were invited
to undertake the performance review.
0131 10:07:48:23 10:07:51:03
There's training
given by the borough.
0132 10:07:51:03 10:07:54:24
We've been able to have visits
to the school, to talk to staff.
0133 10:07:54:24 10:07:58:15
So we've had
a prior foundation of knowledge
0134 10:07:58:15 10:08:03:02
about Mr Drew as a headteacher, but
in the meeting itself, of course,
0135 10:08:03:02 10:08:06:21
we're trying
to bring those views into play.
0136 10:08:06:21 10:08:10:11
(Naseem)
So, if we look back at our agenda...
0137 10:08:11:15 10:08:17:00
We need to look at
Bob's objectives for 2005/2006.
0138 10:08:17:00 10:08:20:09
Bob, can you just talk us through
your creativity project?
0139 10:08:20:09 10:08:23:02
We've picked on speaking
and listening as a key skill,
0140 10:08:23:02 10:08:25:14
something that will
unlock everything else,
0141 10:08:25:14 10:08:27:24
cos without it you're not
going to be able to make
0142 10:08:27:24 10:08:31:01
an enormous amount of achievement
in the other areas.
0143 10:08:31:01 10:08:35:04
We wanted to introduce more formal,
0144 10:08:35:04 10:08:38:08
formally planned, activities
in class that address that.
0145 10:08:38:08 10:08:40:18
And we have appointed
a project leader,
0146 10:08:40:18 10:08:43:19
that's a teacher within the school
who volunteered...
0147 10:08:43:19 10:08:47:12
She did - honest - volunteer.
I didn't tell her to do it.
0148 10:08:47:12 10:08:50:00
..who had an interest
in developing that.
0149 10:08:50:00 10:08:53:01
And we looked at best practice,
we've done research.
0150 10:08:53:01 10:08:55:14
Some teachers ran with it very well,
0151 10:08:55:14 10:08:58:02
and the project leader
gave feedback to me saying:
0152 10:08:58:02 10:09:02:04
"This is going so far, and we're
not actually getting it all."
0153 10:09:02:04 10:09:06:16
And we then changed our
inset programme collaboratively
0154 10:09:06:16 10:09:09:21
and we created a resource bank.
0155 10:09:09:21 10:09:13:01
(Naseem) It was good being able
to speak to Bob at some length.
0156 10:09:13:01 10:09:18:20
We can see Bob introducing
intervention strategies
0157 10:09:18:20 10:09:22:24
to ensure that the attainment level
of the pupils is maintained
0158 10:09:22:24 10:09:24:13
and these targets are met.
0159 10:09:24:13 10:09:28:21
We have joined a network
of other schools also interested
0160 10:09:28:21 10:09:32:18
in developing creative
teaching and learning methods
0161 10:09:32:18 10:09:36:09
and connected up with several
other schools doing the same thing.
0162 10:09:36:09 10:09:39:10
You talk about the project leader,
and you said:
0163 10:09:39:10 10:09:43:08
"..despite relatively little support
from schools within the network."
0164 10:09:43:08 10:09:45:14
Does that mean
that your role in the project
0165 10:09:45:14 10:09:47:21
was far greater
than you anticipated?
0166 10:09:47:21 10:09:50:24
It was. We were hoping the
project leaders in the other schools
0167 10:09:50:24 10:09:54:08
would contribute
a lot more to actual research.
0168 10:09:54:08 10:09:57:19
We know that it was going on,
but the sharing wasn't anywhere near
0169 10:09:57:19 10:09:59:14
as rich as we'd hoped it to be.
0170 10:09:59:14 10:10:02:12
So we were not exactly
working on our own,
0171 10:10:02:12 10:10:05:19
but we had to rely on
our own wit and ingenuity
0172 10:10:05:19 10:10:09:11
a lot more than we've experienced
in other networking activities.
0173 10:10:09:11 10:10:13:05
This is a risk.
This is not guaranteed to work.
0174 10:10:13:05 10:10:17:04
We took a big gamble on this, and we
could have fallen flat on our face.
0175 10:10:17:04 10:10:21:24
In fact, in December there was
no evidence this was working.
0176 10:10:21:24 10:10:26:05
Only reception and nursery
were doing this systematically
0177 10:10:26:05 10:10:28:19
and we were thinking,
"Oh, dear. What have I done?"
0178 10:10:28:19 10:10:32:13
The networking wasn't as effective
as we were hoping it would be.
0179 10:10:32:13 10:10:34:15
"Oh." You know?
0180 10:10:34:15 10:10:38:07
"Might've made a mistake here", and,
"What are we going to do about it?"
0181 10:10:38:07 10:10:40:14
I'll just ask you, as a SIP, Peter,
0182 10:10:40:14 10:10:43:11
to give your evaluation of
progress made with the project.
0183 10:10:43:11 10:10:46:10
Looking at the scores
you've got in the evaluation,
0184 10:10:46:10 10:10:50:14
it's clearly been a really positive
step, a positive contribution.
0185 10:10:50:14 10:10:53:01
It's good to be in
a school that takes risks.
0186 10:10:53:01 10:10:55:04
That's a strength. As governors,
0187 10:10:55:04 10:10:59:19
I think you supporting risks is
something that can't be overstated.
0188 10:10:59:19 10:11:04:06
It's a brave thing you are doing
in supporting your headteacher.
0189 10:11:04:06 10:11:07:12
I'll just ask a question of Peter
about your report,
0190 10:11:07:12 10:11:10:16
because you say at the end
that the target that was set
0191 10:11:10:16 10:11:14:15
was a particular figure,
and then the actual is given.
0192 10:11:14:15 10:11:17:03
But there is a 4% discrepancy.
0193 10:11:17:03 10:11:21:02
To my mind, it looks as though
the target has not been achieved,
0194 10:11:21:02 10:11:23:18
but you say it has been achieved.
Could you explain?
0195 10:11:23:18 10:11:27:19
I think it's my error.
When I discussed this with Bob,
0196 10:11:27:19 10:11:31:24
he works on a plus-or-minus 4%,
so, in fact, it is met.
0197 10:11:31:24 10:11:36:07
I should have added it in there, and
I will add it in the final report.
0198 10:11:36:07 10:11:41:13
When Jackie asked if the attainment
was in line with the actual results,
0199 10:11:41:13 10:11:43:11
had we actually
met the target or not,
0200 10:11:43:11 10:11:45:18
and she pointed out
that it was 4% lower,
0201 10:11:45:18 10:11:49:13
that was the moment I thought,
"That's my pay rise gone."
0202 10:11:49:13 10:11:53:16
Because, no, it hadn't
met the target, but it was in line.
0203 10:11:53:16 10:11:56:22
That's the very important part
Peter played in that meeting,
0204 10:11:56:22 10:12:00:05
because he understands the context
in which data is interpreted.
0205 10:12:00:24 10:12:04:08
(Jackie) I think the fact
that the SIP is an outsider...
0206 10:12:04:08 10:12:07:21
We know that he's not coming
with any particular agenda
0207 10:12:07:21 10:12:10:11
and can be truly objective.
0208 10:12:10:11 10:12:14:20
One would hope that because they're
appointed by the local authority,
0209 10:12:14:20 10:12:17:16
they're fair,
professional, and so on.
0210 10:12:17:16 10:12:21:24
So I think...
I had great confidence in him.
0211 10:12:21:24 10:12:24:10
So, if we set this as an objective,
0212 10:12:24:10 10:12:26:12
what will be our success criteria?
0213 10:12:26:12 10:12:31:02
It will be in line with the school
target we're going to be setting.
0214 10:12:31:02 10:12:33:20
You know,
a percentage point for children.
0215 10:12:33:20 10:12:38:08
To be higher in number,
that would be 85% in year 2.
0216 10:12:38:08 10:12:42:17
So, it's another issue where Bob's
targets and the targets you agree
0217 10:12:42:17 10:12:45:15
are impacting on the
specific needs of this school.
0218 10:12:45:15 10:12:49:05
- Very positive.
- So we've set the objectives.
0219 10:12:49:05 10:12:52:14
From my experience, my experience
going into a number of schools,
0220 10:12:52:14 10:12:55:11
heads are very different,
they're very unique.
0221 10:12:55:11 10:12:58:04
They do things
in a very different way.
0222 10:12:58:04 10:13:00:19
What we're after is...
Whatever they're doing...
0223 10:13:00:19 10:13:04:08
It's a bit like Bob
talking about his creativity here.
0224 10:13:04:08 10:13:07:20
Performance management
is linked to unpicking, if you like,
0225 10:13:07:20 10:13:10:04
elements of his vision.
0226 10:13:10:04 10:13:13:01
so that the performance,
the attainment of pupils,
0227 10:13:13:01 10:13:16:04
is maintained at a very high level.
0228 10:13:16:04 10:13:19:01
If it isn't,
then we're selling children short.
0229 10:13:19:01 10:13:21:20
Bob, I just want to say
on behalf of the governing body,
0230 10:13:21:20 10:13:24:20
thank you for the hard work
that you've done in the school
0231 10:13:24:20 10:13:27:08
and well done
for achieving your objectives.
0232 10:13:27:08 10:13:30:15
- (all) Thank you.
- Thank you.
0233 10:13:31:15 10:13:33:19
(Rosalyn)
That sounds a bit silly.
0234 10:13:33:19 10:13:36:18
Visiontext Subtitles:
Stephen Fahy
0235 10:13:36:18 10:13:38:21