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Improving Outcomes for Learners Through Self-Evaluation

1. INTRODUCTION

This document supplements the advice given in How good is our school? (HGIOS) — third edition and The Child at the Centre — second edition which set out comprehensive quality frameworks and provide helpful advice on the process of improvement through self-evaluation.

In particular, this document provides advice on the application of the three reference QIs — 1.1 Improvements in performance, 2.1 Learners’ experiences² and 5.3 Meeting learning needs. It also provides advice on applying QI 5.9 Improvement through self-evaluation. Its purpose is to help staff in schools and pre-school centres to take a closer look at these four QIs. It has been written for pre-school centres and primary, special and secondary schools.

The focus is upon QIs 1.1, 2.1 and 5.3 as they have been selected as the principal quality indicators for inspections of school and pre-school centres from 2008 in the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework (NPF). The NPF sets out 15 National Outcomes and 45 National Indicators to be used to evaluate the performance of public services in Scotland. One of the indicators relates to the inspection of schools and another relates to pre-school centres. The NPF is annexed to the Government’s Concordat with COSLA, which covers those public services provided by local government.

• NPF Indicator 11 — ‘Schools receiving positive inspection reports’ — is a measure of the proportion of schools receiving positive inspection reports. A positive inspection report is defined as one where the school receives an evaluation of Satisfactory³ or better in all three reference quality indicators. National reporting will incorporate a more aspirational approach by reporting also on the proportion of schools that receive an evaluation of Good or better in all three reference quality indicators and those that receive an evaluation of Very Good or better in all three reference quality indicators.
• NPF Indicator 17 — ‘Pre-school centres receiving positive inspection reports’ — will be used to monitor the number of pre-school centres which receive a positive inspection report. The definition of a pre-school centre includes all local authority nursery schools and classes and all private and voluntary pre-school centres which are in partnership with local authorities to provide pre-school education. A positive inspection report is again defined as one which receives evaluations of Satisfactory or better on each of the three reference quality indicators, with separate reporting also for Good and Very Good as above.

The NPF indicators will be included in new models of inspection which will be introduced from September 2008. However, the NPF reporting period commences in April 2008 and it is necessary to introduce as consistent an approach as possible to evaluating the indicators from that date onwards.

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