FRONT COVER PROFILE
Don’t just tick the boxes - use performance management to support staff and improve professional learning
By DENISE INWOOD, former senior school leader, now managing director of BlueSky, creators of BlueSky Education, the leading online performance management, CPL and self-evaluation solution for schools explains how schools around the country are using performance management software to drive their improvement
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chool budgets are a hot topic and with staff costs accounting for more than half of all spending, it is vital that performance management is done well and consistently. Standardisation of processes is essential in order to be fair and transparent and therefore gain the confidence and cooperation of staff. As well as removing the reams of paper otherwise involved, an online system is accessible 24/7 and simple to use, thereby improving staff engagement by giving them some control over their progression. It allows them to collect evidence as they go along, rather than rushing to remember and find relevant documents at the end of the year.
When schools are more business-like about reviews, and candid and objective about the way they measure performance, they can then have maximum impact. We know that effective pedagogy is characterised by regular, focused feedback that ensures reflection upon practice and provides a clear pathway to improvement. Applying the same principles to professional dialogues makes perfect sense.
Teachers are far more likely to stay with a
school where they feel they are understood and valued; so a well-structured review serves a useful purpose in helping to retain staff in these days of teacher shortages and recruitment crises.
Aston University Engineering Academy
Denise Inwood, former senior school leader, now managing director of BlueSky
said principal Daniel Locke-Wheaton. “By selecting and measuring the impact of their CPL in this way they can ultimately present their evidence for performance progression. “BlueSky does everything we need and more, such as learning walks, observations, and CPL which we hadn’t even considered managing in this way.
“The software is intuitive because things are where you would expect them to be. Combined with easy navigation, this means that staff with only a small amount of training can quickly pick it up and use it.”
Simplicity
This ability to improve teacher development was key for the Aston University Engineering Academy for 14-19 year old pupils in Birmingham when they chose the performance management solution from BlueSky. “We wanted the opportunity to listen to our staff who would then use their review to self-reflect on their teaching standards, identify their own development needs and drive focus through personal learning plans,”
Ease of use was also a driver in the decision of leading National Teaching Academy, Ringwood School in Hampshire to choose BlueSky to manage the performance of trainee teachers. Deputy head teacher Clare Adams explains; “As the lead school in our alliance, we are responsible for placing trainee teachers in our partnership schools. Keeping track of their progress, including all the evidence of their practice, is essential. “I like to put staff in charge of their own performance management and BlueSky supports that well, providing a great mechanism for inputting and reporting on lesson observations and outcomes.
“Overall it is a great management tool which allows me to monitor the spend and impact of CPD in one central system.
“The support staff appraisal system has also benefited from being driven through BlueSky, especially for a colleague at the top of their pay scale as it flags things such as team working, effectiveness and efficiency and changes in practice.
“The time-saving is incredible, particularly in running reports. I love the security of knowing all the information is there online.”
Primary schools BlueSky’s Emily Jarrett, Darren Bunyan and Bridget Barton at the Academies Show 40
www.education-today.co.uk
Although primary schools are generally smaller in scale, performance management is still vital in this setting. Sythwood Primary School in Woking, Surrey, has used structured performance management to support tailored professional learning for its staff, which deputy head Nicola Wilmshurst says has brought many improvements to the school. “BlueSky supports all our training
May 2017
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