HOW GOOD IS OUR SCHOOL? - THE JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE: page 2

HOW GOOD IS OUR SCHOOL? - THE JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE

Part 1: Aiming for Excellence

Introduction

‘It’s an excellent school!’. What do people mean when they say that? Is there such a thing as an excellent school? Can schools be ‘excellent’ across the board? What sorts of things are people thinking of when they talk about excellence? Would children and young people have the same idea of an excellent school as their teachers, or their parents, or members of the local community?

‘Excellence’ is a term we use to describe the farthest end of the quality spectrum. When we think of excellence, we think of an aspect which is outstanding, a model of its kind — the very best there is.

This resource attempts to look at some of the things we think of when we talk about ‘excellence’ in schools or early education centres. We have called them ‘dimensions’ and have identified ten of them and some of the key features of each.

diagram

Where do these ten dimensions come from?

We have selected the dimensions from those which appear repeatedly in international research in schools and in HMIE inspections of schools and early education. We have tested them out by talking to a range of people who are actively involved in school communities which demonstrate some of the features of excellence. In this respect, excellence is attainable by all in schools.

There is no single formula for excellence, because there are many different ways in which schools can pursue the achievement of excellence in the various aspects of their work. Excellence is seen as a journey rather than as something fixed and pre-determined. How to get there will depend on the road chosen, the conditions at the starting point and along the way, and the interactions of the group of travellers who make up the party.

Who is this guide for?

This guide is for everyone who works to teach, support and improve the learning experiences of children and young people in our schools.

It is for all staff:

who lead and direct the learning process within the classroom and playroom
who lead and contribute to developments in learning within their school communities
who lead teams within the school.

It is for all leaders — within the school itself and the education authority — who direct and support the work of others.

It is for all staff who contribute to learning within and beyond the classroom or playroom, and provide support for individual pupils.

It is for people who work in partnership with the school: parents³, residential care staff, agencies, community groups, other educational establishments and local businesses.

What does this guide do?

This guide describes some of the things which school leaders, teachers and support staff do, and which we know are successful in helping children and young people to learn and achieve.

It is based on real examples of some of the best practice from Scottish schools, drawn from observations by HM Inspectorate of Education.

It summarises and builds on the conclusions of international research on learning and teaching and on school effectiveness and improvement.

It takes forward the approach which has been at the heart of the quality culture and improvement framework in Scotland for almost two decades.

It reports some of the things which young people, teachers, headteachers, parents, support staff and other members of the school community have told us they are doing to achieve excellence.

Throughout this guide the terms:

‘school’ should be taken to include early education centres, residential and day special schools (including secure provision), and primary and secondary schools, wherever it is used
‘teachers’ and ‘staff’ should be taken to include all adults who contribute to children’s learning, including support staff, staff working in early education centres and care staff in residential special schools (including secure provision), wherever they are used
‘parents’ should be taken to refer to parents, foster carers, carers who are relatives or friends and care staff in residential settings (including secure provision), wherever it is used. In the absence of parents, local authorities have a statutory duty to take on this role for looked after and looked after and accommodated children
‘young people’ should be taken to refer to children aged three to eighteen. The terms ‘learners’, ‘children’ and ‘pupils’ are also used, to provide variety. In all cases, the terms cover those within the 3-18 age group, who are learning in early education centres, residential and day special schools (including secure provision), and primary and secondary schools.

What does the guide contain?

The guide is in five parts, to be published at intervals over the next year. This publication contains Parts 1 and 2.

Part 1: Aiming for Excellence

describes the concept of excellence
discusses the nature of the learning process and what we mean by successful learning
outlines ten dimensions of excellent schools and early education centres.

Part 2: Exploring Excellence

describes the key features of each of the ten dimensions of excellence in more detail
provides examples and illustrations in a variety of forms
indicates some of the ways in which excellent practice differs from practice which is good
suggests the direction schools need to travel to transform their practice from good to excellent.

Part 3: How good are we now?

provides the next version of How good is our school?, a quality framework made up of quality indicators and performance measures to help you work out where you are now and think through your next steps in continuous improvement.

Part 4: Planning for Excellence

provides advice about how you and your partners can go about selecting the most appropriate dimensions for improvement
recommends ways of planning for your journey to excellence
suggests how you can check your progress.

Part 5: Journeys to Excellence

provides real examples of excellent practice in schools and early education centres, in audio-visual format
presents the voices of children, young people, staff, parents and partners describing the stage their school has reached on the journey to excellence, the route it has taken and where they are going next.

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