TEACHER FOCUS: BEST PRACTICE AND COLLECTIVE IMPROVEMENT
providing evidence for their own progression. We decided to use SchooliP as it brought everything together in one place. It allows us to record conversations between staff and their line managers, monitor continuing professional development (CPD) and document teachers’ evidence and lesson observations. With the click of a button, we can pull together reports for governor meetings and inspections whenever they’re required.
Ongoing dialogues At the beginning of the year, we dedicate an INSET day to performance management, where our teachers conduct a self-evaluation to establish their goals. This is then backed up by an in-depth review meeting with their line managers halfway through the year. However, as all of our staff members are at different stages in their careers and development, we wanted to supplement this support further. In order to do this and boost communication, we’re using the technology at our disposal to maintain an open line of dialogue between our staff members, meaning that concerns can be raised and addressed at any point in time, even if the teacher and line manager can’t be in the same room at the same time. All of our staff members are really well informed: teachers understand what’s required of them and what their goals are, and line managers are always aware of the progress that’s being made. There is always some initial scepticism when it
comes to implementing new systems like this, especially when staff may feel they’re being judged, but this way of doing things has become quite popular. There is more focus on self- evaluation, and there are greater levels of support with the additional benefit of quick feedback from line managers being delivered digitally. We can assess the progress of individuals and the school as a whole, and subsequently allocate tailored support to all of our staff members as and when required. We were keen to investigate the impact of the
training allocated to staff in order to find out what is most effective in driving real improvement. Logging the CPD sessions that our staff members complete has been really powerful, as we’ve been able to see exactly what has been done and what the school needs both in the short and long term. Line managers and teachers can review the comments of colleagues about the training they’ve received, and make informed decisions as to whether it would address their own areas for improvement and provide value.
Training and CPD are usually seen as very independent exercises, but this allows us to benefit from collaboration, even when teachers aren’t attending courses at the same time.
Something to shout about When it comes to performance management, it can often feel like teachers are being made to jump through hoops; this is not what appraisals should be about. At John Port School, we have devised a system called JPS10, which underpins how we believe students make progress in the classroom: inspiring relationships; engagement; innovation; differentiation; challenge; assessment and intervention; constructive dialogue; literacy and numeracy; questioning; and the big picture. We encourage our staff to consider all of these elements throughout the year, not just to identify their areas for improvement, but also to promote their successes. In the same breath, it can be hard for teachers
to stand up and say “look at how amazing I am!”, so we wanted to give them the opportunity to celebrate their achievements, while motivating them to fulfil their part in the school's development goals. By uploading evidence of their good practice to a personal profile, it can be shared with their line manager quite privately, but through this, you can still see what a great job they’re doing. However, we’ve found that teachers are now using this more, and it’s become a bit of a bragging platform, which is great for our line managers, as they’re not having
to chase people for evidence or updates. Giving teachers that freedom and responsibility has been an incredible motivator and we are able to share best practice ideas with one another to help improve and maximise the teaching across the school. We’re currently working with SchooliP to develop a system that integrates these profiles with the JPS10 framework, so that we can all feed into the whole-school development plan individually and collectively. As a school, we pride ourselves on our
collaboration and innovation in everything we do, including performance management and CPD. We believe that working together to find new and effective ways to develop practice will drive school-wide improvement far more than just working individually, and having a digital platform helps to facilitate and simplify this process. Every student and every teacher at our school
has the opportunity to grow, and to discover their strengths, talents and potential; as leaders, it is our job to encourage this across the board. While our results are consistently excellent, we are always working to improve the overall learning journey for our students by improving teaching and provision across the school. We believe that John Port is a school that people should, and are, proud to be a part of.
uFor more information on the school visit:
www.johnport.derbyshire.sch.uk or to learn more about performance management and CPD software, visit
www.schoolip.co.uk
22
www.education-today.co.uk
October 2016
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