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School Planning In Ireland:Progress, Practice & Prognosis
NSPI Conference, April 2007
School Development Planning Initiative
Brief from NSPIBrief from NSPI
Review progress made in school planning in Ireland over the past 10 years
Comment on present situation
Give a perspective on the challenges and opportunities ahead
Progress
Practice
Prognosis
Abstract Abstract
This presentation will aim to: Outline major developments in school
planning in Ireland over the past 10 years Explore key aspects of current practice with
a view to identifying strengths and areas for improvement
Offer a perspective on the challenges and opportunities that will shape the context for school planning in the future
1997 Baseline 1997 Baseline
1997: Pre-1998!Before the ARCs…
Education Act 1998 Education (Welfare) Act 2000 Teaching Council Act 2001 Equal Status Acts 2000 and 2004 Education for Persons with Special Educational
Needs Act 2004 Various Regulations and Circulars relevant to
school planning Et cetera…
1997 Baseline1997 Baseline
WSE Pilot, 1998-99
Subject Inspection, reintroduced Sept. 2001
WSE Mainstreamed, 2003/04
Publication of School Inspection Reports, 2006
Looking at our School, 2003
Guide to Subject Inspection, 2004
Guide to Whole School Evaluation, 2006
Publication of School Inspection Reports, 2006
1997: Before …
1997 Context1997 Context
The Ireland of 1997 shaped the context for school planning in 1997.
What was Ireland like in 1997? Reflect on the■ Cultural ■ Economic ■ Political ■ Social….
What is Ireland like in 2007?
How have the changes impacted on schools?
What are the implications for school planning?
What changes are on the horizon?
SDP in 1997SDP in 1997
Not a statutory requirement….yet.
But school planning—a ‘hot topic’ since early 1990s and before that:
1971 Primary Curriculum advocated whole-school planning
1992 Green Paper mooted a statutory requirement for a school plan
SDP was being worked on by education consultants, university education departments, Teachers’ Centres, Trustees, VECs, pilot projects, pioneering schools…
A number of publications had appeared
Adopting ChangeAdopting Change
2.5% Innovators
13.5% Early Adopters
34% Early Majority
34% Late Majority
16% Laggards
[Everett M. Rogers (1995) Diffusion of Innovations. The Free Press: New York.]
Development since 1997Development since 1997
SDP is now part of the main stream
The majority of us can now “talk the talk”
How well have we been “walking the walk”?
Key Aspects of SDP ‘Talk’Key Aspects of SDP ‘Talk’
SDP ProcessSDP Process
SDP ProcessSDP Process
Review
Mission Evaluate Vision Design
Aims
Implement
School School ImprovementImprovement
School ImprovementSchool Improvement
Single-loop Improvement: What should be done is well known Goals and purposes are non-problematic;
what counts are results Improvement = increasing efficiency and
reliability Improvement = conformity in achieving
predetermined objectives and standards Focus of improvement—remedial
School ImprovementSchool Improvement
Double-loop Improvement: Ends and means of educating young people
are changing Improvement=responding appropriately to
these changes, changing the nature of the service to meet new needs
Improvement=becoming more adaptable and flexible to meet changing needs
Focus of improvement—developmental
PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENT
of theLEARNER
Resources
The Timetable
Guidance,pastoral care, behaviour & discipline
Decision making
processes
Staffing & their
organisation into groups
& teams
Staff development
Premises & school
environment
Partnerships with the
community
Curriculum & assessment/
organisational policies
Schemes of work
TEACHING
LEARNING
Adapted from Hopkins &
MacGilchrist 1998
By SDPS
The School Plan: Two PartsThe School Plan: Two Parts
Part 1: Relatively Permanent Features School’s mission, vision, aims School profile School policies, curricular & non-curricular School practices re review & evaluation
Part 2: Development Section Factors governing development needs List of school’s development priorities Set of Action Plans to address priorities
Aspects of SDP ‘Walk’Aspects of SDP ‘Walk’
1997-2007
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
1999-2002: Profile of 209 Schools
School Review
Priorities Agreed
Planning Structures
Action Plans
Policies
Mission, Vision, Aims
School Plan completed
Action Plans implemented
Arrangements formonitoring
Arrangements forevaluating outcomes
Arrangements forreporting
Trends in SDP ProcessTrends in SDP Process
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
2002/03 2003/04 2004/05
Review
Design
Evaluation
0
50
100
150
200
250
2005/06
Action Planning
Board Briefing
School Meeting
Evaluation
Guidance Planning
Mission, Vision, Aims
Parents' Briefing
Policy Formulation
Preplanning
Progress Check
Review
SDP Introduction
Seminar on 1 Priority
Steering Committee
Subject DepartmentPlanningTask Group Meeting
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
2006/07 (to March 07)
Action Planning
Board Briefing
School Meeting
Evaluation
Guidance Planning
Mission, Vision, Aims
Parents' Briefing
Policy Formulation
Preplanning
Progress Check
Review
SDP Introduction
Seminar on 1 Priority
Steering Committee
Subject DepartmentPlanningTask Group Meeting
ProgressProgress SDP under way in most schools Structures in place for planning
SDP Specific - SDP Coordinator, Steering Committee, Task Groups, Policy Formulation/Review Committees…
Pre-existing structures SDP scheduled in School Calendar
Whole Staff Working Groups Subject Departments…
Huge variations in the system
Progress evident in current practiceProgress evident in current practice
Less concentration on the defensive production of policies
Needs of students more central Greater emphasis on improving learning
and teaching—a planning focus rooted in the day-to-day reality of the classroom
Growth in collaborative reflective practice Stronger focus on aligning CPD with the
school’s priorities for development Movement towards more systematic use of
data at relevant stages in the planning process
Points from PracticePoints from Practice
Still a tendency to focus on documentation as an end in itself rather than as a reference point
School Plan often lacks a coherent structure, conveying no sense of where the school is at and where it is going…
Insufficient attention to outcomes as opposed to inputs…
Rigorous school self-review and systematic school self-evaluation not yet well-established
Limited partnership involvement Particular concern re limited BOM involvement Doing the thing right vs doing the right thing
Challenge:Challenge:
Achieving CoherenceAchieving Coherence
Too many piecemeal projects with superficial implementation create overload, fragmentation, incoherence and confusion
To realise the vision, there must be people building capacity and shared commitment, so that the moral imperative becomes a collective endeavour with everyone understanding and aligning with the big picture
(Leading in a Culture of Change, Personal Action Guide and Workbook. Michael Fullan, 2003.)
Challenge:Challenge:
Overcoming FatalismOvercoming Fatalism
“A barrier to school planning is a sense of fatalism among teachers in the face of decisions made outside the schooldecisions made outside the school. They see their involvement in planning as having little effect…… Their view of themselves is that of a technician implementing someone else’s agenda.” (David Tuohy)
Prioritiesselected
Year One
Start of
Cycle End of
Cycle
Year Two Year Three
Evaluationnext cycle
Challenge:Challenge:
Managing TimeframesManaging Timeframes
Ideally, planners should be mindful of 3 timeframes:
Long term
Medium term
Short term
DGL, Unit 2; Davies and Ellison
Prognosis Prognosis
…the future is not what it used to be… New models of CPD Teaching Council School improvement—SSE, WSE, SI & TE Towards 2016 NCCA proposals Inclusion Emerging issues…
…we see in a glass, darkly…
PrognosisPrognosis
Move towards coherence within ‘big picture’
Streamlining Greater focus on school self-evaluation,
using Looking at our School More target-setting More structured post-evaluation follow-
through: Respond to reports in planning mode Take ownership of planning agenda Develop a coherent strategy for addressing
recommendations within SDP context
LAOSLAOS - School Operation - School Operation
Student support
Student support
Learning & Teaching in
subjects
Learning & Teaching in
subjects
CurriculumProvision
CurriculumProvision
SchoolPlanning
SchoolPlanning
SchoolManagement
SchoolManagement
5 AREAS5 AREAS
PrognosisPrognosis
The Learning School
Adopt / adapt –What next?
EVALUATEoutcome impact
Monitor actions
& impact
IMPLEMENT
Research / INSET / Consult
FormulateAction Plan
Document Analyse Prioritise
REVIEWCurrent
experience
Values the school
serves
Vision without action is merely a dream
Action without vision just passes the time
Vision with action can change the world
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