Figure 4: NPQSL task: leading an improvement priority across the school

(Please do not write in the grey boxes)

Name of participant…

Name of sponsor… Role of sponsor……

Participant evidence

Background

Scope of the To raise the attainment and achievement of year 11 students so they attain at least above national
school floor target (40%) for the 5EM measure, with a target of 57% (results 2013 were 39%) and also
improvement achieve national average levels for expected progress in both English and maths. The 2014 cohort
priority had a higher than national number of LPA and EAL students.
Reasons for A long history of underachievement and attainment by school leavers. The Academy had not yet
selection of reached national floor target with 39% 5EM in 2013. To ensure that our students are at least
the school achieving expected progress by the time they leave the school in both English and maths.
improvement Ultimately, to improve the life chances of the students leaving the school.
priority This also links into the school ADP and my own personal responsibility linked to this.
Teams you Senior leadership Team, Curriculum Leaders, Raising Achievement Team, Teaching staff,
worked with Attendance Team, Behaviour Team, Site team, Finance Team, HR
across the
school
Part 1 Planning for improvement Participant Sponsor verification,
document additional evidence and
references grade – Very Good / Good
/ Moderate / Poor
Outline of I looked through the 2013 RaiseOnline (unvalidated release) and the school data dashboard to Job
key actions identify past trends in our results. I referred to the Ofsted report 2013 to identify areas of description
in Planning underachievement and those highlighted for improvement. I analysed our past data collections and for Raising
for consulted with SLT about the frequency and basis for the forthcoming collections. I needed to Achievement
improvement establish a new Raising Achievement Team and share the vision and methods for raising student managers
attainment across CL’s (curriculum leaders) and whole school. Plan to use the data collections to (appendix A.
 analyse the impact at each data collection (half-termly) using progress matrices and age related fig 3)
expectations (DFE guidance) to ascertain if students were on track. From evaluating this
information, I could see the impact I was having, or not and could adjust my approach and focus
accordingly.
Competency I started with looking back at trends in our exam results using RaiseOnline, the school data Sponsor grade: Very
: dashboard and those identified by the 2013 Ofsted inspection report. This allowed me to identify good
Information areas of underachievement such as the 5EM measure and the low number of students making
seeking expected progress in English and maths.
I liaised with the CL’s to look at the way we were tracking progress data, the frequency of these
collections and their accuracy. I discussed the issues they were facing which might be contributing
to underachievement in their subjects to try and solve some of the reasons holding our students
back. By digging deeper and asking not only the CL’s but other sources, such as other staff in their
department, the students in their lessons and the behaviour support team, I was able to uncover the RAP plan
issues hidden behind the data. I could then work on addressing these factors such as staffing (appendix A.
issues, attendance concerns and low self-esteem and lack of confidence in students. I set up an fig 7)
RSS feed from the GOVUK@public.govdelivery.com to automatically receive frequent DFE
announcements relating to education and any changes in the Performance Tables. This allowed me
to keep abreast of ongoing and relevant changes to the way the school and students performance
was being measured, particularly in the long term with the implementation of the new Progress 8
measure for 2016 and curriculum and GCSE reforms. I used DFE 2014 Performance Tables and
the Wolf Report for changes to the guidelines regarding GCSE equivalencies so students were not
penalised for too many or early entry to exams. Students completed qualitative questionnaires so I
could identify some of the factors they felt were holding them back from reaching their potential.
These were reasons such as low literacy and numeracy skills or a lack of confidence in these,
coming from households with parents who do not have aspirational beliefs for their children or in the
education system, attendance factors due to being young carers or disliking certain lessons and
generally a lack of vision for their own future. I knew I would have to find a way to address these
factors and looked at the EEF (Educational Endowment Foundation) to find effective interventions
that could improve the attainment for these students. By collecting and using all of this information, I
could plan for both short and long term changes to the way staff were using data to track progress
and plan for their students. This meant initially, I had to put into place a Raising Achievement Team
to tackle skills gaps in literacy and numeracy so that those with poor progress were being
immediately supported. For a more long term approach, I looked at implementing RAP’s (Raising
Achievement Plans (appendix A. fig 7)) across the school so that every teacher could use data to
identify and plan for the students not making progress. These also had regular monitoring and
 evaluation dates attached and entered into the academy monitoring calendar, so that the impact of
this could be measured by the classroom teacher and changes made as a result. I set up a Twitter
account and started to ‘follow’ tweets and blogs from people involved in education, such as Ofsted
inspectors and research organisations (Sutton Trust) to national media providers such as the
Guardian, TES and Teacher Toolkit. By following these, I could learn more about educational
issues and developments and kept me up to date with current thinking and practice based on both
opinion and research. I read the book ‘5 Dysfunctions of a team’ to try to develop my knowledge of
how some of the issues and ideas that exist outside of education can be applied to a school
context. I then applied some of these concepts by establishing a high level of trust between myself
and those that I directly line manage in English in maths. This resulted in conversations that were
open and frank and allowed the opportunity for disagreement in a positive and supportive
environment, which in turn led to better decision making due to ‘buy in’ from the staff and ownership
of the decisions made. I took a whole school approach to improve accountability and asked that
performance management targets had one linked to student attainment so that all staff could be
held to account for their results. This resulted in staff becoming more aware of their role in raising
achievement across the Academy.

Competency From analysing the information, I could determine that urgent action was needed to improve the
: level of progress and attainment made by year 11 students in English and maths. By improving
Analytical outcomes for students in these subjects, it would secure the 5EM measure as the majority who
thinking were meant to be securing a C grade in English and maths were already securing the further 3
GCSE’s or equivalencies needed for 5EM. The main factor holding these students back was both
the GCSE course they were on for English (which did not suit the cohort, having a high proportion
of LPA) and their lack of numeracy skills for maths. The issues in English were addressed by Job
changing to a different English GCSE syllabus which suited our cohort better. Maths needed more description
time both identifying skills gaps and spending time plugging these gaps in their knowledge. This for Raising
however, led to the problem of more time being needed which could not be taken from other subject Achievement
hours. As a result a new Saturday school was introduced. This had a financial impact so in order to managers
control the amount spent on staffing, the maths department were allocated a strict budget from (appendix A.
which they were able to plan their extra support on offer on a Saturday. A new Raising fig 3)
Achievement Team was created, with posts advertised (appendix A. fig 3) and interviews
undertaken. This new team needed direction and would need their impact measured so I developed
a new tracking system and each RAM was assigned a number of students to work with and their
impact with these could then be recorded. This allowed me to weigh up the success this
intervention approach was having throughout the year and make the on-going changes necessary,
 to both the identified students and the approaches the RAM’s were using to ensure success. The
questionnaires revealed that students had low aspirations which meant they lacked self confidence
and the motivation to reach their potential. With the RAM’s in place and students assigned, they
were soon able to work with the students, their teachers and their parents to support these students
and the questionnaire results show the positive impact they have had. There were times when I had
to analyse several aspects of a problem, for example, I liaised with the attendance, pastoral and
behaviour teams to address the attendance and attainment concerns for a year 11 traveller student.
As a result, I was able to allocate PPI funding to provide sessions at a livery yard on a Sunday
which resulted in improved attendance (from <30% to 80%) and she secured the 5EM measure
(and has continued with her studies post-16).
Competency At the start of the year, the target was to achieve 57% 5EM which is a huge increase of 18% from Performance
: Delivering the previous year’s results. In order to achieve this target, there needed to be both confidence and management
continuous belief in the process of using intervention to improve results by the staff and students in addition to example
improvement whole school strategies being in place in order to do so. From the first data collection, I identified (appendix A.
students who were underachieving and in which subjects. I became line manager for both English fig 2).
and maths CL’s and through line management meetings and setting performance management
targets (appendix A. fig 2) I had direction in both their professional development and access to the
progress and attainment of students in their subjects. Using analysis from the data collections, the
strategy to address the needs for English and maths were established and very different. For
maths, the approach was to apply an intervention heavy model whilst English would use a change
of exam board and syllabus. I established clear priorities with both CL’s and we discussed the best
ways in achieving the desired outcomes. At each data collection, progress of the students was
reviewed and the strategic approach evaluated and adapted. This meant for maths, we had to
change key groups of students, implement different approaches such as new tutor groups,
additional revision sessions during exam season and revision pizza nights. For English, frequently
identifying students not making expected progress and their individual needs, support with
coursework and exam preparation was required. The attendance team was utilised and students
with poor attendance were visited and individual plans established to support them either off-site or
after school. In order to share and articulate this vision of improving student attainment across the
whole school, I started a new weekly Raising Achievement briefing, where I could present data and
constantly promote the strategic direction I was taking. This was in the form of implementing RAP
plans, which gave me the provision for whole school monitoring and measuring impact. By
establishing this approach whole school, I could improve student progress long term; for example,
students not making expected progress were identified at KS3 (particularly for English) and year 10
for maths. Key-stage co-ordinators for both subjects were then asked to lead intervention for these
 in order to avoid an intervention heavy model at KS4. For English, this was in the form of a catch-up
literacy programme Read, Write Inc Fresh Start which had measurable impact on progress. For
maths, students who had not made any progress were receiving additional maths during tutor time
and again, their progress measured. I then further adapted the RAP plans so they fed into
departmental intervention logs which I could monitor. These were also a tool to measure impact
and hold the staff to account over the progress they were making with their students, feeding back
into performance management targets and increasing the profile of raising attainment whole school.
Competency Initially, I felt the 5EM target of 57% was unrealistic considering the history of the academy and the ADP Sponsor grade: very
: Personal nature of the cohort based on prior attainment. However, under new leadership of the Academy, I (appendix A. good
drive was given more responsibility and the autonomy to make decisions, take action and implement new fig 1)
strategies. I was able to develop my skills and use the CL’s directly. This allowed me to rise to the
challenge of achieving this ambitious target and I believe that I tried everything possible to do so. I
managed the CL’s so they had both the responsibility and confidence to reach these targets and
this helped develop their performance too. I did this by setting them ambitious targets (linked to the Performance
ADP (appendix A fig.1)) for their Performance management (appendix A. fig 2) and monitored their management
progress towards meeting these, with both a supportive and strategic approach. I met deadlines set example
by both the academy and myself and recorded the impact of all interventions and strategies (appendix A.
applied. For every obstacle that rose, such as students missing pieces of coursework or staff not fig 2).
completing the RAP plans, I thought of ways round them and remained calm and focussed. I
accepted a ‘no excuses’ approach to both my own work and that of staff and students. For the
documents presented, I made sure they were current, based on data, evaluated and actions taken.
For the RAM team, we held an evaluation session so we could make changes for the next year. At
all times, when I have encountered a problem, I like to bring to the table a range of possible
solutions focusing on desired outcomes, not dwelling on the issue. I had the new challenge of
appointing and implementing a RA team to work with identified key students. Initially, the team
seemed a little despondent as they could not see the ‘fruits of their labour’. To address this, I
constructed a tracking sheet to record their impact with the students they were working with and
once they could see the improvements their students were making, the team went from strength to
strength. When I heard a colleague from another Trust school having the same issues, I shared the
document and also invited their RA team over for the day to share good practice. I introduced the
Saturday school sessions having to secure engagement from staff and students in these and
attended these voluntarily out of my own time to make sure they were staffed by a member of SLT
should an emergency arise. I have since developed this further and now all members of SLT
volunteer to cover the sessions. These approaches to driving up achievement in the school resulted
in the 2014 5EM measure increasing by 10% to 49%, which demonstrates a significant
 improvement in the measure.
Part 2 Leading the implementation of the priority across the school Participant Sponsor verification,
document additional evidence and
references grade – Very Good / Good
/ Moderate / Poor
Outline of At the beginning of the year, we did not have a Raising Achievement team in place to implement
key actions intervention and support for both our students and our staff. It was a priority to establish this team.
in Leading The information sharing with staff in highlighting key students was also needed so I implemented a
the weekly Raising Achievement meeting with CL’s, where on-going data tracking and identification of
implementat key students was shared in order to promote a shared vision to raising student attainment.
ion of the Performance Management became more attainment focussed so accountability amongst middle
priority leaders also improved. This combination of accountability, information sharing and support allowed
across the the school to drive improvement forwards by all staff working together.
school
Competency The Academy Development Plan (appendix A. fig 1) was the first document to outline the target ADP Sponsor grade: Very
: Delivering figure for 5EM which is what I became responsible for. I was able to strategically apply this figure to (appendix A. good
continuous other staff through target setting in their own performance management documents and therefore, fig 1)
improvement the improvement in student outcomes became a shared vision and priority across all staff. This
allowed me to be able to hold others to account and to all work towards a common goal. To support RAM impact
the staff in achieving my high expectations, I became the driving force behind highlighting student (appendix A
progress and outcomes. To do this, I ran a weekly Raising Achievement meeting with the CL’s fig.6)
where information sharing was vital and the tool needed to continuously push improvements
forwards. After half termly data collections, subjects were provided with names of key students who RAP plan
were not making expected progress and RAP’s (appendix A. fig 7) were introduced. The (appendix A.
introduction, monitoring and impact of these were led by me, through the middle leadership team, fig 7)
who took the idea back to the subject staff and the classroom. Every half term, when the data
collection had been shared with CL’s through weekly RA meetings, the RAP plans (appendix A. fig
7) would also be updated and evaluated by teaching staff. I adopted a range of leadership styles to Performance
drive this change forwards and carefully applied these approaches according to the staff member I management
was dealing with. For some, I had to use a directive approach in order to drive the change; however example
for most I was able to use a combination of visionary and participative leadership styles which I (appendix A.
discovered through workshop 2 of the course, are more suited to my own style. For some however, fig 2).
I knew it was best to involve a third party and I would ask another member of staff or SLT to
manage this person, particularly if they had a good relationship with them and would be able to
secure the results I was looking for. I drew on reasons as to why we needed the change long term
 and built this into their performance management targets (appendix A. fig 2) to secure continuous
improvements for the future. The RAM team was established and allocated specific students
identified from data analysis and the impact of their work was closely monitored. Each member had
a specific focus to address the ‘closing the gap’ issues between EAL, PPI and gender specifically. I
led this team and set out one clear goal, to raise the attainment of our students in English and
maths with a priority on those who would get one at a C grade but not the other. I asked the CL’s to
work closely with the RAM’s in identifying individual student support and this liaison became vital in
ensuring individual success and progress of students. Every half term, I would undertake an
analysis of the impact their work was having on these groups and found that overall, they improved
the grades of their students an average increase of 2.5 grades (appendix A fig.6). I was the
motivational force when things took a slow start and they could not see the initial impact of their
work but by remaining positive, driven and maintaining a positive outlook, the RAM team too
became incredibly driven and refused to give up on any student, going to great lengths to build
relationships with parents, collect students and work above and beyond their remit. By sharing their
impact with them on a regular basis, they thrived on the successes they could see and refused to
give up on any individual. I undertook a qualitative analysis on the impact they were having on our
students and they too were motivated and most importantly, inspired by their improving
achievements. They too, started to believe they could achieve their goals. I established a Saturday
school to support both staff and students in meeting our target. For this I had to work with the staff
to get them to give up their time on a weekend to work with our students and this approach was
very successful. It was well attended by both staff and students (average of 50 students each week)
and I became responsible for managing the budget overseeing the implementation of this and also
liaised with payroll to ensure the correct staff were paid. I ensured value for money was at the
forefront of the decisions made regarding interventions and the RAM’s were working with 165
students at the start which was £385 per student. This compared to the Sutton Trust EEF
interventions which show 1-2-1 costs £1200 per student, formative feedback £170 per student and
small groups work £720 per student. Therefore, we had very good value for money in combining all
of these effective approaches and I could present a valid reason, based on impact data and value
for money, to maintain the use of the RAM’s compared to other interventions.
Competency From gathering information from a range of sources, both first and second hand such as Ofsted Sponsor grade: Very
: Modelling frameworks, NSCL documents and my own Executive Principal, I could identify both what is good
excellence expected of an excellent leader and what one looks like. From this, I took it upon myself to remain
in professional at all times when in both a formal and informal setting. As a member of SLT, in
leadership corridors, meetings and out and around the school, I maintain a calm and professional approach. I
of teaching have always promoted a sense of approachability, openness and readiness to listen to any member
and learning of the school staff, regardless of the issue, priority or time. I have learnt staff names and show an
interest in both their professional and personal lives. I have high expectations of staff, students and
myself and endeavour to make sure the school achieves the best outcomes for students. When
setting out my expectations at the start of the year, I presented a clear message centred on both
student attainment but also student outcomes. Most importantly I wanted staff to realise that as
teachers, we are the ones who can provide students with the best chance to succeed in life and
that it is our moral purpose to ensure they have this opportunity. Whilst I have a focus on the data,
essentially it is to ensure we increase the opportunities our students will have in life by ensuring
they achieve well and that starts by being as effective as possible in the classroom. My own lesson
observations demonstrate an approach to learning that is student centred and where they are
independent learners. I model a positive and constructive relationship with students both in and out SOLO
of the classroom and am both enthusiastic and knowledgeable in my subject teaching. I focus on Progress
tasks that set challenge for students and provoke them into trying to work it out for themselves, grids
engaging them with a variety of differentiated tasks. With the SOLO progress grids (appendix A fig (appendix A
4), students are able to identify where their current level of understanding is and what they need to fig 4)
do to progress, taking responsibility for their own grading/levelling. I demonstrated my commitment
to high quality teaching and learning by attending staff CPD sessions and supporting the group
focussing on differentiation to ensure rapid progress is made by all students. Through these
sessions, I participated as a learner myself (I was not leading the sessions) and was an active
participant in the learning discussions that took place. This approach of being both participant and
leader allowed me to be viewed by the staff as getting actively involved too and I was able to model
the behaviour I would expect from any member of staff in the meetings. I was able to ensure that
dialogue about teaching and learning was had and as a result, teaching and learning in the
classroom was improved, having a direct impact on improving the attainment and outcomes for all
students. I then handed over the management of this to another member of main scale staff who
was inspired to take on the further implementation across the whole school. The implementation of
RAP plans (appendix A. fig 7) shifted the focus from staff receiving data to finding and using it
themselves. This shift allowed staff to use data more effectively and they could identify and
intervene with, students not making expected progress. I provided staff with a template for a RAP
plan and shared an example plan modelled on what I was using with my own classes. This was
then further developed by other staff and through feedback and on-going evaluations, the plans RAP plan
continue to ensure key students are identified, planned for and differentiated for in the classroom. (appendix A.
Furthermore, I looked at how progress was being measured across the curriculum and established fig 7)
a working group to look at how this could be developed further. This led to the formation of a new
progress tracking system (appendix A fig 4) which uses the SOLO approach based on research.
 This new and innovative approach is developing at a fast pace and is encouraging staff to take risks
and from this, they too are adding to the development of this approach further. A recent example is
where a member of staff, without being asked, has designed and shared resources to help whole
school planning and delivery of this approach, knowing that his time and effort working on this will
be appreciated and recognised in the development of a new system created for and used by staff to
help the progress of students.
Competency Through the Teaching and learning module studied on my NPQSL I was able to identify some of Sponsor grade: Very
: the learning theories that would have the greatest impact on both the development of the staff and good
Learning the outcomes for the students. I had 2 areas in which to focus these; Firstly with the work of the RAP plan
focus RAM team and secondly the work of the classroom teacher seen through performance (appendix A.
management lesson observations and feedback (and my monitoring and evaluation of their RAP fig 6)
plans). The model I encouraged the RAM team to use was based on the work undertaken by ¹John
Hattie (2003) and the effect sizes of different strategies. By directing the RAM’s to apply those with
an effect size about 0.5 such as worked examples, direct instruction and problem-solving teaching, Performance
they were able to adopt an approach known to be effective. My own analysis of their impact backs management
this theory up too. For other staff, it was the work on effective feedback by both ²Timperley and example
Hattie (2007) that saw the Academy develop a new marking sticker which directed the students to (appendix A.
action their feedback, with the sticker designed to cover ‘how am I going?’, ‘where am I going?’ and fig 2).
‘Where to next?’. For the key students working with the RAM’s, this effective feedback was vital in
identifying the skill gaps that needed addressing and the RAM’s were then able to use this
feedback effectively to implement their work. The dialogue that opened up as a result of effective
feedback between students, teacher and RAM was instrumental in improving the outcomes for
each individual. It can also be seen on Hattie’s rank that formative feedback has the 3rd most
effective size in influencing a students achievement. As part of the SLT and during performance
management lesson observations, I applied the work by ³Bambrick-Santoyo (2012) in providing
effective feedback to teaching staff. I would often ask open ended questions to the teacher about
their lesson and probe into their answers during the feedback session. If there was a problem, I
would work with them to work out a measurable way to address the issue and at the end would set
date to come and observe them again to see if this area had improved. I was also aware that
effective feedback from learning walks and other forms of direct involvement with teachers through
lesson observation, classroom visits and provision of formative feedback, has a moderately large
effect size (0.42) on improving student outcomes. I was asked to undertake joint learning walks
when visited by HMI and Ofsted and my feedback was agreed with and viewed as both supportive
and practical in terms of suggesting further improvements. The Academy also developed their
Teaching and Learning approach with a focus on SOLO Taxonomy (Pam Hook 2011) and I was SOLO
 asked to lead the challenging task of developing of a new ‘assessment without levels’ approach progress
following the removal of the legal requirement to use National Curriculum levels. I have used the grids
SOLO approach as the foundation of this innovative approach (appendix A fig 4) and led a working (appendix A
group to design and trial this assessment approach across a number of subjects. Once the trial was fig 4)
proved to be successful, I was then tasked with the leading a whole school collaborative approach
to assessing without levels, encouraging teachers and leaders to explore the benefits of such a
system and how it can lead to effective lesson planning. The staff are now exploring this approach
too and have already developed their own subject specific grids. My main aim in leading this
initiative is to support the work already being undertaken in raising attainment, as with this new
assessment approach, we are able to identify exactly what skills each individual child needs in
order to progress and both the student and teacher can see what the next step is for each
individual. The progress grids also encourage the top 2 effect sizes on John Hattie’s rank – Self-
report grades (because the student can select for themselves what their target should be where
they currently are, constantly pushing themselves towards the high end). Secondly – Piagetian
Programmes, because the grids encourage students to work move from the Concrete Operational
stage (such as problem solving) to the Formal Operational stage (developing abstract thinking such
as hypothesising and reasoning) which are all key words used on the progress grids. Being
involved in the innovation, development and delivery of these approaches across the academy, has
led me to model these practices in my own classroom and in my presentations to staff. I continue to
apply forward thinking and fun ways to share information such as the use of QR codes in my
presentations and encourage the sharing new ideas across staff, particularly when it comes to what
has been an effective intervention for a specific child or group of children that can then be applied
to other subjects.
Competency From the start of the year, with the ADP targets set (appendix A. fig 1), I line managed the maths ADP Sponsor grade: Very
: and English departments directly, sharing my high expectations with them. I backed this up by (appendix A. good
Holding setting PM targets that were challenging, aspirational but also achievable (appendix A. fig 2). fig 1)
others to Through weekly line management meetings and half termly data analysis, I could regularly check
account their performance against these targets and hold them to account over what was being achieved by
their department and the students. From this, we would decide on the next-steps to take in order to Performance
improve the attainment of students in their subjects, which in a small number of cases, meant management
support plans being implemented for specific staff who were not delivering in the classroom. Whilst example
this was challenging and unpopular for one member of staff, it was the right thing to do for the (appendix A.
interests of the students and the department. I would regularly check that both the line manager fig 2).
and member of staff understood the processes being implemented and clarified the desirable
outcomes. Any underperformance identified through my regular analysis was challenged from a
 supportive angle and collaboratively, we worked out a way to address the issue and improve the
outcomes for our students. When it came to the termly PM review, the CL’s were held to account
over the progress and attainment of students in their subjects and areas of support were identified
and areas of improvement were praised. New ideas and approaches were encouraged and
supported. For those subjects that I did not line manage directly, I had to adopt a different
leadership approach and would liaise through the other Assistant Principals. Through the
delegation of tasks to them, I would share information with SLT and ask them to deliver my
expectations to the CL’s they were responsible for. I used weekly SLT meetings to drive this
forwards and regular data checks would be on the agenda for them to feedback with their progress.
In addition, I led the RA meetings where I could also reinforce the common goal set out by myself
and the Academy, and support the SLT in sharing information with the CL’s about the performance
of students in their subjects. They would then feedback to their AP who would feedback to me in
SLT. It was at these meetings that any issues could be addressed and the AP’s held to account for
the performance of subjects they line managed. At all times, I would work with both a direct but also
collaborative approach to ensure we achieved a common goal. This helped change an ‘excuse
centred’ approach to an ‘action based’ approach which we still continue to drive forwards and add
other successful interventions to. Through rigorous monitoring of the half-termly data, I was able to
discuss staff and student residuals with CL’s and also provide them with key lists of students they Students
needed to focus on. It was these students and the impact their subject staff were having, which results
became the focus of the LM meetings with their AP’s. Through leading this process of identification (appendix A.
of key students, focus on data backed up through effective and monitored line management, the fig 5)
performance of both staff and students was pushed further forwards. From the very start, greater
demand was placed on the CL’s and with a supportive, collaborative and performance managed
approach, we were able to secure the best results seen by the school and for our students
(appendix A fig. 5).
Part 3 Evaluating the impact Participant Sponsor verification,
document additional evidence and
references grade – Very Good / Good
/ Moderate / Poor
Outline of The main evaluation of impact was through the ongoing data tracking every half term and 2014 Students
key actions exam results (appendix A fig 5). Throughout the year, I measured the impact both quantitatively and results
in qualitatively that the RAM’s had on the students. This impact was reported every term to the (appendix A.
Evaluating Executive Principal, the Governors of the school and to SLT every half term (appendix B). I fig 5)
the impact completed the SEF to reflect the results and the impact the intervention work had made and
of your updated the ADP for 2015 with new targets. My leadership style has further developed and I am Report to
leadership better at working collaboratively to get new approaches and initiatives off the ground and Governors
embedded into the school as a whole. I have been able to identify my areas of weakness and
(information seeking) and have improved this and have go on to use this to drive forwards further Executive
forthcoming changes regarding 9 to 1 GCSE reforms and the curriculum model for 2015-16 Principal
onwards. (Appendix B)
Competency Initially, the tracking data for year 11 had to be exported at each data collection and manipulated in RAM impact Sponsor grade: Very
: order to identify key trends and gaps in the year group. It also had to be analysed to identify who (appendix A good
Analytical were ‘key students’ in terms of securing the crossover for maths and English and then those who fig.6)
thinking would still not secure 5 GCSE’s. Further analysis identified those students in the ‘vulnerable groups’
who needed support to make better progress and close the gap between their peers not in a
‘group’. From identifying the names of the students, I then had to link together the issues behind
these students and unpick what was happening, and what was needed to address this, some being
very complex and involving a number of departments across the school such as pastoral, finance,
behaviour and curriculum. Individual plans had to be implemented to support individuals such as
bus fares, taxies, after school sessions and home visits. Each case also needed careful planning
with the time the student was in school, what lessons were a priority and liaising with staff all eager
to work with them. At each data collection, the groups of key students would change slightly which
meant established plans would be reviewed and impact analysed. New plans would also be created
for any new key student. Evaluating the impact of the work undertaken between data collections
was imperative to ensure progress was being made. In particular, the work of the RAM team with
PPI and EAL students and improving their attainment for the headline measure. By weighing up the
impact of the work taking place between data collections (appendix A fig.6), the RAM team became
more confident, focussed and effective in the type, delivery and further impact of intervention. The
exam season posed a particularly complex timetabling issue when trying to make the most effective
use of gained time for the students when other subjects had finished their exams or those subjects
who wanted a revision session before their exam. This required a lot of forethought and planning,
with the consideration of the implications extra revision sessions would have on other subjects and
on the motivation and support for our students. However, with good communication, delegation and
some looking at the ‘bigger picture’, I was able to implement a 5 week schedule of rooming, staffing
and revision sessions that best supported the students whilst having the least impact on the rest of
the students in lower years.
Competency At each data collection, there was always the desire to want to do better, to find out how I could do Students Sponsor grade: Very
: things better and the willing to try to something in order to get better results for our students. results good
Personal Regardless of the target set by the Academy, it was always my personal desire and drive to want to (appendix A.
drive achieve the best outcomes for our students simply because it is mine and the Academy’s belief that fig 5)
 they deserve it. I used my LM meetings to support the CL’s into meeting the Academy targets and
took the time to listen to their concerns, work with them to elicit solutions and support them in
driving their departments forwards. If and when there was an element of doubt or lack of
confidence, I would buoy them up by reinforcing the amount we had already improved; re-focussing
them on our sole goal and the fact we could achieve it. I accepted no excuses from staff and if they
did provide an excuse as to why a student was underachieving, we turned this into an action which
they could then use to change this which was very effective. I sacrificed many hours after school
and at the weekend to support colleagues running extra revision sessions and Saturday school and
to lead by example amongst the staff and the students. This dogged approach resulted in the best
results for the Academy (appendix A. fig 5) and any school in Thetford ever. Most pleasing was how
we compared to national results with a significantly below attainment on entry cohort. The impact of
this work significantly improved the performance measures for the school and placed us in the top
18% of schools for student progress (compared to the bottom 9% in 2013). This was only achieved
with a whole school effort and the drive and determination that we could succeed. I maintained a
relentless focus on student progress and as the outcomes prove, it paid off.
Competency In order to get the staff on board with allowing students out of their subjects to attend extra lessons Sponsor grade: Very
: in English and Maths (possibly having a detrimental effect on their subjects), I had to use both a good
Impact and visionary and participative leadership approach. Using a visionary approach, I made sure the staff
influence were able to see the long term effects of raising student attainment for the students, the school and
the community. I used evidence from student data to show staff examples of where students
needed to focus to ensure the outcome was best for the student and not for the staff member’s
figures. I reminded them of the evidence from national studies showing statistics about students
who leave school with little or no qualification and their likelihood of ending up committing crime or
being sent to prison. In applying a participative approach, I ensured I listened to others and
encouraged a collaborative approach. I encouraged the Foundation subjects to allocate time for
extra core revision sessions and they agreed because I listened to what they could offer instead
and made sure this was part of the plan. I applied direct persuasion to get staff and students on
board with the extra work and commitment that it would take in students attending and staff
delivering extra revision sessions. In some individual cases, I had to persuade students to attend
exams and complete coursework even when they were really reluctant, all the time, listening,
cajoling, understanding and directing my time and comments towards the overall goal, to improve
attainment and outcomes. In order to get parents to support the additional after school and
Saturday sessions and encourage commitment from their children, I had to consider how I would
address a different audience. For this, I considered the various types of parents in our community,
some of whom had different or indifferent views on the ways in which their child could improve their
grades and the level of commitment they were willing to offer. I decided on 2 main ways, firstly
through written communication via letters (which was quite formal and impersonal but ensured all
parents would at least receive the information). Secondly, via a Raising Achievement evening
where I was personable, warm and open with parents and as a parent myself, I was able to
empathise with them about how important it was to ensure we did the best for their child. During the
evening, I presented the reasons why we were putting on the extra sessions and used persuasion,
backed up with evidence from workplaces and Colleges entry requirements, to influence them into
supporting their child and the school. This worked with on average 60 students every Saturday
attending for extra sessions. For some students whose parents were still not on board, I made
home visits and sat and discussed with them how and why we were supporting their child and this
resulted in 2 students who, without this, would not have secured their 5EM measure or secured
their place at College. However, for those parents who’d had bad experiences of school themselves
or particularly leadership from school, I was able to recognise the need to use others to influence
them into supporting the school. For this to be successful, I delegated the task of building
relationships with these hard to reach parents, to the behaviour support staff within the school. This
relationship seemed less threatening for the parents and parents felt more comfortable
communicating with the support staff on a regular basis in a supportive and non-threatening way.
This was also successful because I was aware that they had already formed relationships with
these staff member and for some, knew each other in the local community. At all times, I applied
the skills of indirect influence, slowly building my team of CL’s and class teachers, so that once they
were on board and working collaboratively, they too were out talking to and encouraging parents,
and students and the community to support extra sessions or try that bit harder to improve their
outcomes. An example of this is when the RAM’s worked collaboratively with the local football team
(who trained Saturday mornings) to fit in with our revisions sessions and allow their players to
secure better grades at school and train after the sessions. I also provided staff with the freedom to
create and deliver their own approaches to improving student attainment, ranging from drop down
days to trips off-site. This gave them greater ownership regarding their approach and in the RaiseOnline
meantime, was supporting our goal to improve student grades. However, I did ensure that I always 2014 results
had the final say on whether an activity was approved, just to ensure I was able to manage the (appendix A
structure of the intervention calendar and avoid clashes between subjects. Overall impact of the fig. 5)
initiative led to the following results (appendix A fig. 5) ; 5A*-C with English and maths – 49% (39%
2013), 5A*-C with English and maths gender gap – 2% (10% 2013), expected progress English –
82% (53% 2013) and 70% national, expected progress maths – 61% (49% 2013) and 65% national.
The impact can therefore be seen that whilst I did not meet the Academy target of 57% 5EM, we
did increase this measure by 10% during a year where overall, results fell. The gender gap was
 closed by 8%. English results were well above national (12%) and maths made a huge 12%
improvement for those making expected progress but just missed meeting national figures. These
results were reported to the Executive Principal and Governors within the Executive Principals Report to
report to the Governors (appendix B) at each quarter throughout the year 2013-14 and the Governors
impact/results for the first part of 2014-15.Further impact seen for PPI and EAL students can also and
be seen from this initiative, although it wasn’t the overall aim, the vulnerable groups were also a Executive
focus throughout the initiative in raising student attainment. From this impact at the end of the Principal
initiative, I was able to influence those above me in providing evidence of the need for a (Appendix B)
replacement RAM when one left. I was able to justify the impact they’d had on student outcomes
and value for money. This justification enabled me to influence my Executive Principal and the
Governors to maintain the RAM team at 4 members of staff. I have used the trials for the tracking of SOLO
student progress using SOLO (appendix A fig 4) to influence the decision making of the Executive progress
Principal by justifying its ongoing development with evidence of support from staff, parents and grids
students. In addition, through identifying the skills amongst the staff and using these to further (appendix A
develop the new approach, I have also been able to demonstrate the capacity to deliver continuous fig 4)
improvement which, combined with stakeholder feedback, has presented a valid reason to continue
with the new assessment system which could be further shared across the Trust.
Competency Undertaking the impact initiative has provided me with many opportunities to consider my own Sponsor grade: Very
: personal qualities and how the decisions that I am leading can impact others. For example, I good
Self disagreed with a particular intervention approach that a member of staff had been using in maths
awareness and this has made me feel frustrated, however, I have accepted these differences and put my
emotions aside in order to fully support the work that was being done and encouraged the students
staff and students to support the approach too. I feel that once a decision has been made by SLT,
despite whether I have fully agreed or not, I have fully promoted and modelled it across the school.
I found for some parts of the initiative, I did not have the answer to certain situations and from this, I
realised where some of my areas of weakness were. One example was with the Performance
Measures and the subjects that are able to count in the ‘tables’. At the start of the initiative, I was
not fully aware of the subjects, combinations of equivalencies, discount codes and QAN codes that
are part of the performance measures and tables, so I actively sought further information on these
to deepen my knowledge and as a result be able to make more informed long term decisions. Until I
was better equipped with this knowledge, I knew I had to delegate the responsibility for checking
this to someone better placed than I was, and so I shared this responsibility with our data manager
who was much more experienced in this field. Working alongside her and learning from this
partnership also made my long term decision making better for the staff and subjects involved,
particularly since then, when I have been responsible for introducing the reformed GCSE’s and
 developing the curriculum model for the next 3 years. The 360 diagnostic allowed me to look at a
baseline of where I was at the start of the course and looking back now, I can see areas where I
have improved and areas that I still need to develop. From the baseline assessment, I knew one of
my limitations was information seeking. However, by acknowledging this, I have actively sought to
improve in this area and now regularly send Gov. updates and other supportive announcements,
research outcomes, Careers information or Teaching and Learning support materials to members
of staff across the school. On reflection, I am aware that I am quite driven and have high
expectations, with the expectation that everything should happen with a fast pace and for staff to be
willing and on-board. I know that sometimes, I can be quite sharp and too honest and this can come
across as being unsympathetic and this is still an area I need to improve on but I know that this is
normally with members of SLT and not the general teaching or support staff where I adapt my
approach accordingly. This is particularly important when making whole school decisions which can
impact the lives of the other staff in the school and I know that despite my desire for change to
happen quickly, I also need to consider the wellbeing and professional development of the staff and
make sure they are coping with new initiatives on top of their usual workload. I am aware that new
approaches need time to embed before we can further look to improve them. Otherwise, the
decisions that I am making will be ill-judged and detrimental to the school and our students if their
impact is not properly monitored, evaluated and acted upon. The initiative has also introduced me
to a world of educational research and the use of new teaching and learning approaches. These
are areas I was never involved in before and I am keen to continue to pursue these when making
further whole school decisions. Until I started the initiative, I never really knew what I didn’t know.
However, after focussing on the areas highlighted by the 360 diagnostic and through spending a
year working on the project, I have been able to identify what a school leader looks like and what
they need to know. I have been privileged to also be guided by a strong Executive Principal who
has fully supported and encouraged my development throughout the year and throughout this
initiative. The direction, advice and target setting provided by him has allowed me to broaden my
knowledge of all of the areas needed for leading and I hope to continue and pass these on to other
members of staff when in a similar position.

¹Hattie, J. (2003) Teachers Make A Difference: what is the research evidence? Building Teacher Quality. University of Auckland.
²Hattie, J. and Timperley. H (2007) The Power of Feedback. American Educational Research Association.
³Bambrick-Santoyo, P. (2012) Leveridge Leadership. Jossey Bass.
4 Hook, P. and Mills, J. (2011). SOLO Taxonomy: A Guide for Schools. Book 1. A common language of learning. Essential Resources
Educational Publishers Limited. New Zealand.
Participant ’s signature (A typed name is not acceptable) …………………………. Date………………………….

Sponsor ’s signature (A typed name is not acceptable) ……………………………… Date…………………………..

I confirm this submission (form and supporting documents) is accurate and verify all the evidence it contains

Headteacher’s signature (A typed name is not acceptable) ………………………… Date…………………………..

Developing my action plan

Target setting - To raise the achievement of year 11 students in 2014 so they attain at least above national floor target (40%) for the
5EM measure,
with a target of 57% (39% 2013) and also achieve national average levels for expected progress in both English and maths. (The 2014
cohort had a higher than national number of LPA and EAL students). Action Plan
Task How When Target Review
- Raiseonline (unvalidated) Nov To identify trends in Jan 2014
Selecting

- Performance tables 2013 data and implement - Found previous results for 5EM were below floor target at 38%.
data

- Data dashboard effective intervention Next steps- Focuson improving attainment in English and maths
- Sutton Trust research & strategies.
EEF
-SISRA online data Dec To identify key Feb 2014
Analysin

collections from staff 2014 students to work with - Identified 137 students who needed to improve English and/or
g data

- Excel spreadsheets maths.

Next steps – Focus on English coursework as a priority and share
analysis with CL’s
- Set up new weekly Jan To share key April 2014
Raising Achievement 2014 information about - Staff are on board with changes and have been supporting the
Sharing data

briefing with curriculum
leaders (CL’s)
- Make RA a standing
agenda item on all CL/AP
line management meetings
- Share regular tracking
updates with SLT
target students and introduction of a Saturday school. Staff are also able to understand
implement actions to why English and maths have been given priority across foundation
address these subjects and have supported the extra time needed to direct
intervention to these subjects.
- Next steps- Focus to classroom based practice and the evaluation
of RAP plans (started in Jan) with particular focus on exam prep.
 - Lesson observations Jan
Assessing and supporting teaching
- Set line management 2014
agenda item about
teaching and learning in
departments between CL’s
and AP’s.
and learning
- Identifying staff whose
classes have low residuals
- RAP plans introduced to
look at differentiation to
support key students
- RAM team in place to
support classroom practice
and develop further
intervention groups
- CPD to focus on areas of
differentiation
- Regular updates about Jan
student progress and 2013
attainment through RA
Moving forwards
briefings. Sept
- All Performance 2014
management targets to
have at least one which is
attainment focussed,
measurable and staff held Sept
to account. 2014
- RAP plan monitoring to
become part of whole
school monitoring cycle
To identify areas April 2014
where teaching and - RAP plans evaluated and impact seen for key students,
learning need particularly in English.
supporting to - Intervention logs demonstrate impact for all subjects but more is
improve the needed to reach all students.
attainment of - RAM impact can be seen for key students with an average
students. increase of 2 grades at this stage.
Next steps – Focus on sharing the interventions that are working
To allow a RAM across the school and all subjects. Utilise the impact data from the
team to intervene to RAM’s work with staff, particularly those that are also supported by
improve student educational research such as Hattie (2003).
attainment. - Further develop the quality of assessment and feedback to allow
students to take actions and improve progress. Consider this as
whole school focus for September as too late for 2014 cohort.
- To ensure that Dec 2014
student attainment - Performance management targets now all have a measurable
and effective target linked to student attainment.
- Regular updates are shared by SLT and CL’s. This has
intervention remains
a focus to allowing all developed so that CL’s now provide the data analysis and is no
students to fulfil their longer purely driven by myself. This shows greater accountability
potential. linked to PM targets.
- To ensure staff - RAP plans continue to be used to allow key students to be
continue to develop identified across all year groups, not just year 11.
their teaching and Next steps – Further develop assessment system for 2015 – 16 so
learning so that all that teaching and learning allows the identification of skills gaps
children are able to every lesson for every child and lessons planned to address these.
learn effectively.
 - Analysis of 2014 exam
Analysing Impact
results
- Analysis of impact of
RAM’s on student
attainment
- Analysis of qualitative
impact of RAM intervention.
- Looking ahead to
measuring student
Continuous development
progress when assessment
without levels is in place.
- Introduction of a
planning
curriculum that takes into
account GCSE reforms and
new 9 to 1 grading.
- To develop teaching and
learning further using
SOLO taxonomy and
teaching practice based on
educational research and
impact.
Undertake 360 diagnostic
to identify competencies
development
that I need to develop.
priorities
Personal
- Consider the nine
competencies and identify
which ones will be a priority
in order to develop my
leadership further.
Sept - To evaluate and Sept 2014
2014 identify effective - Overall impact of the initiative led to the following results;
forms of intervention 5A*-C with English and Maths – 49% (39% 2013)
April to apply for cohort 5A*-C with English and Maths Gender gap – 2% (10% 2013)
2014 2015. Expected progress English – 82% (53% 2013) and 70% national.
and Expected progress maths – 61% (49% 2013) and 65% national.
Sept
2014 Next steps – Develop curriculum model and teaching and learning
so that an intervention heavy model for KS4 is eradicated.
Oct - To develop an May 2015
2014 assessment tool that - New assessment without levels system under trial with working
focuses on group in place.
knowledge and - CPD delivered and i across Trust information sharing and
Jan understanding of planning to accommodate the GCSE reforms and 9 to 1 grading
2015 students rather that system underway.
data driven analysis. July 2015
- To develop
teaching and
learning so that an
intervention heavy
model can be
eradicated.
- From my 360 diagnostic and own self evaluation, I have identified that the following competencies
should be a focus throughout my initiative;
 Information seeking and analytical thinking – using a broad range of sources.
 Delivering continuous improvement’ is also an area to focus on as I have limited experience
of strategic planning and long term decision making.
 Learning focus, with a view to considering how teaching and learning can be improved to
increase student attainment.

Competency
Strategies to Improve Teaching and Learning
Delivering continuous improvement and
Implementing my action plan
Action Evidence
- Looked at targets set by the ADP and share these with staff, setting them as - ADP has targets set and PM documents
Performance Management targets for CL’s and also some teaching staff. also share same overarching targets.
- Introduced a platform for sharing regular updates about student progress and Introduction of weekly Raising Achievement
attainment. briefings (minutes).
- Prepared staff for changes and focus on raising achievement through the - Subject meeting set agenda items used to
delegation of information to CL’s to use at subject meetings with a set agenda discuss RA
item. -RAP plan completed, evaluated and updated.
- Introduced RAP (Raising Achievement Plans) for all classroom teachers to -RAM team interviewed and appointed.
complete across all years groups. This focussed on the identification of students Regular weekly meetings and analysis of
not making expected progress and actions the teacher could take to address impact acted upon and targets reviewed.
these. These had a teaching and learning focus, mainly in the form of - Minutes from SLT meetings and RA
differentiation and small group work. These then had deadlines for review, briefings (with CL’s).
evaluation and further actions following on from this. - Saturday school set up and well attended.
- Set up a RAM team to deliver effective intervention and measurable impact on - Performance management targets and
student attainment with specific targets and holding them to account based on reviews for English and maths and regular
these. line management minutes.
- Shared regular updates with SLT and CL’s on which interventions were having - Presentation to parents for RA evening.
the most impact.
- Introduction of a regular Saturday school.
- Took over the line management of English and maths so performance targets
could be set, monitored and staff held to account.
- Shared the vision and goals with parents at RA evenings.