Queen Elizabeth School

Self Evaluation

Principles of our Self Evaluation Process:

The process:

  • keeps children as our focus
  • is honest, robust, challenging, supportive and developmental
  • generates actions that are transparent, shared, attainable
  • is ambitious and aspirational  
  • is underpinned by our Core Values  
  • shows regard for the wellbeing of staff and considers sensitively teachers’ workload

NB – The schedule is always a draft outline as we recognise the need to be flexible enough to adapt to findings, review standards and respond to staff, parent and pupil feedback.

Questions that underpin the process:

What do we do?
How would we rate ourselves?
What’s our evidence for our findings?
What actions are needed to develop these areas of school?

Key areas

  1. Quality of Education, including teaching and learning, outcomes, curriculum
  2. Behaviour and attitudes
  3. Personal development
  4. Leadership and Management
  5. Sixth Form

Joint Development Plan Priorities 2022-23

1:  Behaviour & Attitudes

  • We want to embed the new Behaviour for Learning Policy building on findings from the summer term 2022 and establish an holistic Trust wide Behaviour Policy.  This will include: 

    1. further clarification and articulation of our Common Standards and expectations
    2. clarity of the role of all stakeholders in supporting the Behaviour Policy – pupils, parents and staff
    3. identifying any training needs
    4. further evolution of the systems and practices
    5. review of the efficacy of sanctions
    6. developing the use of pupil specific Behaviour Plans

2:  Teaching & Learning

We will focus on embedding and developing our knowledge rich Schemes of Learning to ensure we are delivering a well sequenced, knowledge-based curriculum supported by the 8 skills of learner literacy and adapted to the needs of all.

This will include a self-evaluation with a particular focus on a different lens every term including:

  1. SEND and disadvantaged
  2. Literacy and Reading
  3. Feedback (Including checking for understanding and progress)

3:  Quality of Education – Outcomes

We will review the efficacy of our Assessment Calendar and our use of DATA and assessment with particular focus on:

  1. clarity of definitions (eg Effort grades, working at grades, predicted grades etc)
  2. communications with parents, pupils and teaching colleagues
  3. quality of interventions and support in identifying under-performance and ensuring all pupils are achieving
  4. SEND provision
  5. destinations
  6. internal DATA as a self-evaluative tool
  7. final outcomes across both schools are exceptional

4:  Staff Workload & Well-being

We want to consult, launch and embed a comprehensive Well-Being Policy across the Trust including:

  1. consultation through working group discussions and Staff Surveys
  2. establishing the Well-Being Charter
  3. embedding within it clear effective policies on related issues – eg – communication, menopause, mental health, flexible working
  4. reviewing the calendar in light of work-load
  5. establishing clear lines of communication for any concerns and suggestions
  6. ensuring effective professional development and training
  7. clarifying job descriptions and roles across the Trust with effective Appraisal/Performance Management
  8. support the development of a staff group creating opportunities for social events

5:  Personal Development

We want to build on the Renaissance of 2021-2 to establish a celebratory and inclusive culture across the Trust including:

  1. Form time, PD, PD plus and assemblies
  2. extra-curricular activities
  3. calendared events (eg anti bullying, Pride week)
  4. Student Voice
  5. SOCs development
  6. the return of overseas and local/national trips and visits
  7. ways of communicating activities to a broad audience, achievement, developments and events – eg – e-newsletters, websites, Twitter developments

6: Governance Development & Strategic Planning

We want to build on the strengths of the extended Governance Structure preparing for the next phase in the development of the Trust including:

  1. Succession planning at all levels
  2. Recruitment and re-consideration of the associate governor process
  3. Immersion morning
  4. Linked governors
  5. Training and self-evaluation and review
  6. Peer support between schools in the SLF
  7. Development of communication approaches between different committees and clarification of roles
  8. Risk Register approach
  9. Reviewing schemes of delegation

7: Outward Looking Developments

We want to continue to play a significant part in the local, regional and national agenda including (but not exclusively):

  1. Multi-Academy Trust development – The DfE ‘growth agenda’ – to establish a 3-year strategic approach for the Trust
  2. Contributions and support for and from the South Lakes Federation
  3. Work with One Cumbria and key colleagues’ contributions to its developments
  4. Cumbria Association of Secondary Headteachers (CASH)

Examples of Evidence Sources:

  • Performance Management paperwork
  • Staff files/records of conversations
  • Staff, parent and Pupil surveys
  • Materials for Academic Reviews, Subject reviews, data for attendance at these
  • Consultation/working party minutes
  • Development plans and reviews of departments, years, post 16, pastoral,
  • Pupil Premium review/statements
  • Leadership Team agendas and materials, MAT Exec Minutes, Admin exec and Site exec minutes
  • Staffing data – recruitment, retention, career development
  • Policies
  • Minutes of:   Local Governing Body meeting, Trustboard meetings, records of immersion days/mornings Evaluations, training records, Hods, Hoys, Departments, year groups
  • CPOMS and pupil files
  • Teaching and learning group minutes
  • Exercise books/work scrutiny
  • Findings from learning walks
  • Performance management observations
  • Curriculum design – statements, schemes of work, resources
  • GCSE/A Level numbers
  • CPD/professional learning calendar and development plan
  • Post 16 applications
  • Department plans and reviews
  • Careers programme/overview
  • PD Programme and observations
  • Attendance, behaviour, bullying, exclusion data
  • Safeguarding record of level 1,2 and 3 training,
  • Single Central Record
  • Assembly rota
  • Leadership project groups minutes: Staff wellbeing,
  • British Values, SMSC, materials and audit
  • List of events/visitors
  • Trips summary
  • Website/twitter feeds
  • Accident reports
  • Site Security and fire action plans
  • Leavers’ Surveys
  • Destinations – post 16, post 18
  • Exam data
  • ISDR/ASP/ALPS
  • Internal tracking/effort grade data
  • Intervention processes
  • Assessment calendar
  • Trio minutes
  • Action plans
  • Sixth Form Programme
  • Sixth form contract
  • Student voice – Student Leadership Team
  • Curriculum
  • Post 18 destinations
  • Student surveys
  • Outcomes
  • Post 16 development plan and review
  • Minutes of Year team meetings
  • UCAS and PD overview
  • Assembly rota
  • Minutes of weekly data scrutiny meetings
  • Sixth Form Counsellor data
  • Engagement with community/employers/university
  • Record of work experience
  • Website and publications