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Published 22/04/2022 3:29pm

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What are case studies?

Case studies are a handy way to evidence the good practice that settings undertake to identify and safeguard its vulnerable pupils. They can be used to illustrate how schools monitor pupils and ensure timely interventions, how attendance monitoring has identified the need to provide Early Help support as well as occasions where escalation of a case has been required (from Early Help to CSC) or challenges have been made. Case studies demonstrate clearly the impact support provided by settings has had on the child and their family.

Evidencing such cases provides an aide memoire to those in settings involved in external reviews, preparing for inspections or to supplement safeguarding or CP reports.  Case studies can also support new DSL’s (and/or SLT) in their role, evidencing previous school practice and cases when they were not in post, providing a smooth transition of knowledge around historical or ongoing cases.

How many case studies?

It is tempting to create a huge number of case studies but it is advisable to develop only a few that evidence specific areas of your settings practice.  You may decide that you want to illustrate the impact of new processes, staff training, a revised PSHE curriculum or even how you safeguarded your most vulnerable pupils during the recent Covid 19 pandemic.

Having a small number of case studies will enable you to review these, update when necessary or generate new studies as incidents evolve. You may want to review case study topics and content on a regular basis perhaps in half termly safeguarding team meetings or annually as part of a school review.

What should be in a case study?

As well as a timeframe a short pupil profile should start a case study, briefly giving academic status, family and social background, SEN or previous safeguarding concerns, any interventions and impact of these. The area of concern, the possible category of abuse should be highlighted in the case study supported by a bullet point list of issues affecting the pupil and the impact these concerns are having on the wellbeing and development of the child/ren. Those members of staff involved and multi-agency support should be listed along with the strategies used. You may want to include a brief chronology of the case. Finally the impact of the interventions or support provided by the setting and partner agencies needs to be included as well as reflections on practice.

How can case studies be used?

Not only are case studies useful to demonstrate to external visitors the good practice in your setting they can also be used for safeguarding team and staff CPD; to generate discussion and review

• were school processes used effectively?
• were concerns escalated in a timely way?
• would you do anything differently?
• what was the role of staff?
• have the improvements to the pupil’s lived experiences been sustained?

What ‘subjects’ could be used for a case study?

The choice of case study focus is not exhaustive but you may want to consider:

Attendance monitoring

• this could have led to the identification of a previously unknown young carer
• difficult morning routines may have been identified, parents having to drop a child with significant physical disabilities to their school first makes them late to drop off other siblings to their settings
• communication with other settings, health professionals as a result of monitoring may have been established
• neglect is suspected, oldest child is getting younger siblings ready for school, lack of boundaries at home mean all children are up late and oversleeping

Receiving an Operation Encompass call

• were there any signs and indicators prior to the call that may have been a warning flag to staff? How has this fed into CPD?
• what support was put in place for the pupils/parents (victim and perpetrator)
• what was the impact of this support
• was this support extended, e.g. posters to local DV&A organisations added to school website
• review of PSHE and RSE curriculum coverage

Covid 19 engagement monitoring and contact

• home visits may have identified neglect concerns
• how has remote school access for parents improved communication and engagement?
• how have remote meetings improved other agency involvement with families and setting?

Staff safeguarding awareness training

• how recent training or updates improved school response and identification to safeguarding concerns
• how Governors have evaluated effectiveness of training
• demonstrating that all staff recognise their duty to safeguard and their role in plans and support provided

Monitoring of school safeguarding systems and processes

• providing examples of how regular monitoring has enabled a timely response to concerns
• giving examples of how cases have been successfully escalated
• demonstrating the identification of ‘persistent’ cases, working with multi agencies
• providing evidence of effective Early Help plans and support
• where has challenge been required

Template to use for your school case studies

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Preparing for ofsted (send) and case studies.

• Highlighting the key areas that a SENCO should focus upon
• Providing a clear route to making the right preparations ahead of the visit
• guidance on how to write Case Studies effectively to gain maximum impact during your inspection

An Ofsted visit is always a stressful time. Knowing that you are prepared effectively and professionally can remove some of the stress. This session examines the expectations of Ofsted and highlights the key areas that you as a SENCO should focus upon. It will give you a clear route to making the right preparations ahead of the visit and sets out some of the key documentation, evidence, strategies and expectations necessary to ensure that you are confident in your role and Ofsted Ready!

Producing case studies is considered good practice and an important part of Preparing for Ofsted. This course examines the role and function of Case Studies and provides guidance on how to write them effectively to gain maximum impact during your inspection.

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Jackie Lloyd, External Consultant, SENse

Jackie Lloyd is a leading educational professional in the field of Special Educational Needs and Disability with over thirty years of experience in mainstream state schools across the North West of England. Her role within the School Improvement Service of a local NW authority, as SEN Advisor and Inclusion Development manager, enabled her to share her SEND expertise with hundreds of inner city primary and secondary schools. For the past three years Jackie has been an independent advisor offering bespoke consultancy, advice and training as well as parental advocacy.

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School behaviour management case studies report

Examples of behaviour management practices used in schools rated as 'outstanding' by Ofsted.

Applies to England

Case studies of behaviour management practices in schools rated outstanding.

Ref: ISBN 978-1-78105-701-8, DFE-RR642

PDF , 1.29 MB , 80 pages

Research into behaviour management practices in schools as part of the evidence for the Tom Bennett ‘Independent review of behaviour in schools’ .

The report includes schools rated ‘outstanding by Ofsted in the period 2014 to 2015 after improving from their previous rating.

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Safeguarding & the quality of education: a case study of ofsted inspection.

While we have a common framework for inspection, the context is always unique.

In our case we are a small school in an urban area. The timing was particularly challenging in that the inspection came very early in the new school year. Not only were we embedding new pupils but approximately half of the school’s staff were new following a far higher than typical turnover during the summer term.

Finally, while we were within the timeframe for inspection, we were very much at the early end and therefore we (and the local authority) were not expecting the call.

In our case we had one inspector for two days and it was an ungraded inspection under the adjusted framework.

You can be prepared

There is a great deal you can get done before the call. Paragraph 96 of the Education Inspection Framework (EIF) lists what the inspector will want, so have a digital folder ready with copies of all the documents.

If you have not had a Data Protection Officer visit recently book one. Equally, audit your website (new this year is uniform policy and school opening hours showing at least 32.5 hours a week).

Even though it is early days, your safeguarding policies must reflect the changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) statutory guidance .

Equally, identify your subject leaders who will meet the inspector. With an ungraded inspection the inspector does not have much time so can only meet a small number.

Finally, Angel Solutions has a free app called Watchsted which will give you details of any inspector and immediate access to their past inspections. While your inspection will be unique, using this did give us an idea of what our inspector typically looked for.

As an executive headteacher, I have led many inspections in schools with more than my fair share of top grades and yet my stomach still lurches when the call comes.

There are two key phone calls – the Ofsted administration call followed by the arranged inspector call. Both are critical. You will have planned for the latter but pay attention to the former too as there will be letters and surveys that must be shared in a timely way.

Deep Dives – a core aspect of the quality of education judgement

The deep dives are now an established and core part of inspection. They were agreed over the phone and there were common themes:

• Professional development (both received and given).
• Why the curriculum is created in the way it is (and if you use a published scheme then explain why you are doing so).
• Sequencing of learning across year groups. How is this assessed in the classroom?
• What strategies does the school use to help pupils retain learning? Do teachers discretely reference prior learning?

The inspector is trying to get a feel of the school. How we sequenced learning and then, in the classroom, how teachers assessed became core themes of the two days. Another key aspect was prior learning – do children remember what they did when they last came across a skill or a topic and how is it different now?

Over the two days the inspector met with various groups of children as well as dropping into classes. One note here – ECTs were inspected several times and are no longer exempt as NQTs used to be with prior learning once again being a constant theme.

Safeguarding

Our inspector was looking to see that we were a safe school. Safeguarding was cross-referenced in several ways:

• Discrete meetings with the designated safeguarding lead.
• A discrete meeting reviewing the single central record.
• As part of surveys.
• Ad-hoc questions around the school.
• As part of questions with groups (staff and pupils).

It is important in these meetings to be clear and succinct. As part of our preparation we had examples showing cases when staff had brought a child protection issue to our attention, how we had pursued it with the local authority, and in one case we were able to show how we had pushed the case further and its outcome.

We also discussed our staff’s use of the TED model (tell, explain, describe) as part of professional conversations/professional curiosity. And don’t forget, all staff must be able to say what they would do if there was a safeguarding issue.

Other advice I would give you based on our inspection experience includes the following points:

• Know exactly what the changes to KCSIE are for 2022/23 (have a list).
• Be clear that if a member of staff's conduct towards a child poses a risk it will lead to LADO (local authority designated officer) involvement.
• Numbers of looked after children, children in need and Early Help.
• How safeguarding concerns have led to changes in the curriculum (e.g. increased awareness of online risks have led to lessons on online bullying in PSHE lessons).
• Does the school conduct social network searches on new recruits as part of the recruitment process? This is not statutory, so we were careful how we responded. We said we were aware but were waiting for local guidance which the inspector understood.

Professional curiosity – a common theme

You may well hear this phrase a lot from inspectors, certainly in terms of safeguarding. The curious professional does more than observe and wait – they will pursue a train of thought. During our inspection process this was addressed in two ways – safeguarding and prior learning.

Core in KCSiE is professional curiosity. It is no longer good enough to observe or wait for a disclosure. By that point we may be too late: “Exercising professional curiosity and knowing what to look for is vital.” (KCSIE, 2022).

Colleagues should act when they see change. The groundwork for this was laid out years ago as part of the Prevent Duty. KCSIE expects professional conversations, and the principles are the same – if you see a change be professionally curious. For me, the TED strategy is a proven model (for more, search online).

Professionals can adopt a similar curiosity with linking learning. How we sequenced and linked prior learning became a thread. In truth we blinked at this point. For a long time, we have launched new projects by referencing prior learning, but we had moved closer towards a culture of “what can you recall?” rather than “this is what you learned”.

A more professionally curious approach would be to combine both – what can you recall, and do you remember that this is what you learned?

If a child is looking at how colour creates atmosphere, the last time they looked at colour may have been year 2. We must provide leads towards that learning and be intentional: “This is when you last learned about colour – what can you remember, what else do you know? This is how we are going to deepen our understanding.”

The professionally curious teacher will also look to assess as they go. How you question, challenge ideas, adapt learning, and ensure learners are where you would expect them to be is central to teaching. This is not new, but it is all too easy to panic. Trust your instincts and slow down. This may not impact on your overall grade for quality of education, but it may be an action point.

An unerring focus on quality of education

In all likelihood, you will know at the end of day one if the inspector has any concerns with quality of education or safeguarding.

The inspector will also ask you if there are any concerns about the inspection so far – our inspector asked directly how we were. This was a common thread, and our experience was – genuinely – positive throughout.

At the end of day one the inspector will likely say that they have not made a judgement but that they have “questions” they are forming. These will be probed in day two.

In truth, day two was dominated with meetings rather than class visits. What was interesting was to analyse the amount of time spent directly looking at the quality of education – this aspect of the inspection dominated the two days with approximately half of the entire timetable spent on this one area. It is very much the main event.

With an ungraded inspection there is not enough time to review all four aspects of the framework in depth. They are not forgotten but, in this case, are referred to as spotlights. In our case we had six spotlights:

• Personal development and wellbeing
• Staff workload
• British values
• Off-rolling and gaming
• Wider provision

Behaviour: It is worth having three to four years’ worth of back-dated information which must be across key demographics. Data should also identify KCSIE core areas: homophobic bullying, online bullying, sexist language, and your commentary around these cases should explain how they have been resolved (this aspect will also be a feature in any pupil meetings, particularly bullying, and part of the school surveys).

Personal development and wellbeing : This will be a strand when meeting with teachers and in the keeping in touch (KIT) meetings to check your wellbeing and that of the staff during the inspection. Governors will be asked how they are supporting the leadership. This is a good opportunity to share examples – supporting a colleague during a bereavement or a change to working hours to address work/life balance.

Staff workload: We talked about smart marking to reduce marking workload and other strategies – particularly how we adapted commercial curriculum programmes to fit our context rather than writing our own. We also shared that, in our context, staff wore many hats and therefore streamlined systems, working alongside leaders to ensure there is consistency.

British values: Have clear examples. Most likely your school values or vision will uphold British values, and, in our case, we reference them in weekly assemblies. We also discussed aspects of the school that upheld these values such as democratically electing our House Captains. Our school is a UNICEF Rights Respecting School and this was very useful. We had a wide range of examples at our fingertips that upheld national and global values

Off-rolling and gaming: Check that you have the new school on your off-roll form as this will be checked. Gaming is less of an issue for primary schools.

Wider provision: This was a wide-ranging conversation, but it included questions about the charities we supported, why, and how they were chosen. What is the strategy behind the wider provision. What was our wraparound care and what clubs did we have and why. How do we support families who are just about managing (supporting food banks)? Finally, how do we enrich the school day (with swimming, extended trips, day trips, use your local area)?

We didn’t discuss…

Your website is critical and because our Sports Premium and Pupil Premium reports were online already, we barely discussed them. Likewise, there was no discussion about finance in wider terms at all. Covid saw a short discussion, but only a few minutes. Finally, there was no discussion about SATs or assessments in any form. Perhaps this was partly down to time limits as well as the information being readily available online.

My reflections

It is less about paperwork and more about what is lived. The inspector will certainly reference your paperwork, but it is the evidence they see before them around the school that really counts. Essentially, are you doing what you say?

Quality of education is central to the entire inspection and so it is critical to consider the language of learning – using the right words in the right way. Are teachers providing discrete links to prior learning in all subjects. Unsurprisingly, inclusion of all and reasonable adjustments to ensure equitable access to the curriculum was a key theme (have case studies ready).

In terms of behaviour, it was largely judged on what is seen and reported in surveys. Be open. This was a key reflection from the inspection – they do not like asking for something twice. The bottom line is that these people visit schools all the time and will know if you are stalling.

Finally, but most importantly, be confident about your school.

• The author of this article is the headteacher of a primary school which was inspected during September.

Further information & resources

• Angel Solutions: Watchsted: www.angelsolutions.co.uk/products/watchsted/
• DfE: Statutory guidance: Keeping children safe in education, last updated September 2022: www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2
• Ofsted: Education Inspection Framework, May 2019: www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-inspection-framework

Related articles

A case study of inspection during covid, a case study of ofsted's eif in action, ofsted – an inspector's advice.

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The template exemplars below have either been created specifically for Lewisham Local Authority, or are readily available examples from other schools/local authorities that are already online.  Each school/setting must take full responsibility for any templates which it uses, ensuring that they are amended to make them relevant and appropriate for its respective context. 

Whole School Training Log Single Central Record

LA Incident Reporting Template

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Headteacher's Report Template

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Checklist for new staff

Transfer of CP Records Cover Sheet and Chronology Template

Visitors Leaflet

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Exemplar Ofsted Questions for staff

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Safer Recruitment Checklist for Schools

Single Central Record SCR Audit Checklist September 2016

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Management Information System (MIS) for schools

How we’re preparing for Ofsted: Case studies from two Senior Leaders

Case Studies | School Operations

Category : Blog

We spoke to two Senior Leaders in a primary and secondary school about the biggest challenges they’re facing this term, and how they’re feeling about potential Ofsted inspections. To find out some of the questions Ofsted have been asking this term and how Arbor MIS can help you prepare, check out our blog. Martyn Essery,

We spoke to two Senior Leaders in a primary and secondary school about the biggest challenges they’re facing this term, and how they’re feeling about potential Ofsted inspections.

To find out some of the questions Ofsted have been asking this term and how Arbor MIS can help you prepare, check out our blog .

Martyn Essery, Chief Operating Officer at The Reach Free School

1. What are some of the biggest challenges your staff are facing this term?

The changes to the “zoning” of students has required a change of perspective for some Teachers who have cultivated their own classrooms over the years, but the biggest challenge now is keeping on top of staff and student absence, and seeking to offer the best remote learning experience for those who are not in school.

2. What are your strategies for getting your students “back on track” after lockdown?

We have deliberately avoided using language around “catching up” and “filling gaps” in order to get students back to school. Instead we reconnected with the physical space and daily social interactions without causing unnecessary mental burdens in relation to the time missed between March and July. We are making use of the excellent guidance from the Education Endowment Foundation – we are in the fortunate position that much of the back-to-school guidance chimes with initiatives we already had in place, such as targeted academic support.

3. Are you concerned at all about Ofsted inspections?

No, but I hope they are being carried out as a means to fact-find and share best practice around how schools are approaching this unique challenge.

4. How will you be preparing for an inspection?

We do not implement processes or add requirements specifically in relation to a planned or unplanned inspection, so we will continue to ensure that our systems are working effectively – supporting our students to learn and enjoy their learning, and giving us the data we require to analyse and intervene where required.

5. How has Arbor helped you prepare for inspections in the past?

The quick access to a wide variety of data in relation to students, staff, attendance and behaviour has meant that drawing up overviews and headlines has been very straightforward. But, as mentioned above, rather than it being useful specifically for an inspection, it is the way in which we have been able to integrate Arbor into all of the day-to-day routines which makes it so useful in relation to feeling prepared and on top of what is going on in school. 

The close tracking of behaviour, with clear workflows and follow-ups in order to ensure nothing slips through the gaps, has contributed to behaviour in our school being both high quality and consistently managed. 

With custom reports and Live Feeds, individuals can create bespoke reports which monitor the data relevant to them – this has been utilised in relation to absence and punctuality in recent weeks. 

Finally, we have been able to manage a changing landscape related to timetables and when students are required to be at school thanks to the way the programmes are set up in Arbor.

Anthony David, Executive Headteacher Monken Hadley & St Paul’s Primaries

At the moment, it feels like we’re dancing on the tightest of tightropes. I’ve never known Teachers to work such long hours, and students are now having to make seven steps rather than five just to meet expectations. 

This next six months will be the most complicated stage of the current crisis. In some ways, last term’s lockdown was quite straightforward – we had 10-15% of our students in school and the rest we provided remote support to. But the current period is a sort of “halfway house” – we’re not fully open nor closed. The Government’s covid-related illness codes give the false impression that there is a high attendance nationally, whereas in reality the codes mark students as present. One of our schools is currently struggling to reach 90% attendance when Covid-19 registration codes are taken into consideration. 

However, I’m pleased to say that behaviour so far has been very good – you can sense students feel the joy of being back to school.

Since the beginning of term, we’ve taken the opportunity to reset. Everything we are doing has been adapted to the Covid-19 situation. This has often meant we’ve had to re-evaluate what we do and why we do it. For example, we’ve re-launched our school curriculum which has gone down well. 

It’s uncertain when and what the visits will look like. Under the current framework, core subject leadership is the most challenging area. Until recently, it was only senior leadership who were judged, but for the last five years Subject Leads are being judged more and more. In the 90’s, each Local Authority would have their own Subject Leads, who could upskill staff in schools. But now schools do not have such support. Many MATs and federations are developing dedicated subject leadership strategies. Our approach has been to develop a subject leadership handbook between our two schools. This handbook sets out our vision, expectations and timelines for Subject Leaders. It’s been designed to get new leaders up to speed as quickly as possible, and for experienced leaders it’s a useful touchstone. New leaders have also buddied up with experienced Subject Leaders, often across schools.

The main thing Ofsted will want us to evidence in relation to the Covid-19 learning gap, is “How do you know what students don’t know?” Baseline assessment will support much of this but running alongside this will be an adjustment to our school vision – how does our vision for learning fit in this new climate? What adjustments do we need to make? What financial impacts will this lead to? These are typically long term questions that we are having to make decisions on rapidly in a very uncertain world.

Assessment is better understood. We’re in the process of using Puma and Pira assessments which import neatly into our Arbor MIS. This will show us how student groups are doing across key measures. Equally we’re using our Early Years assessments to gauge how far we have to go in order to meet minimum requirements. Early evidence is suggesting that younger children have a wider learning gap than older children. What we know is that younger children also tend to make more rapid progress than older children. At the moment we have set a challenge to address 18 months of learning in one year. This will have to be adjusted if we are called to close again, as the suspicion is that a second round of school closures could create an even greater learning gap than the first.

Ofsted are also likely to ask whether you’re just doing the “minimum” to get students back on track with their learning, or if you’re being adaptive and creative in order to enrich their learning. The fact that we can’t get out on trips (Transport for London has closed school trips) makes this difficult for us to do, especially for foundation subjects. So we’re working with what we can do locally and internally, for example our Head of School recently dressed up as the Queen (which managed to convince our Year 1’s!)

Arbor is where we can evidence core learning and the effectiveness of our policies around attendance, behaviour etc. We can get the data we need rapidly to show where we are, how things have changed over time, and which students are behind the trends, which is vital in Ofsted conversations.

Want to find out more about how Arbor MIS could transform the way your school works for the better? Book a free demo here or get in touch on [email protected] or 0208 050 1028.

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Journey to become an 'outstanding' school: case studies, get advice and inspiration from other schools about how they turned the dial to push school improvement, and to go on to be rated ‘outstanding’ by ofsted., consider your school’s practice in these 3 areas.

• Case study school: Lea Forest Primary Academy in Birmingham
• Secure a knock-out curriculum that focuses on reading
• Create a positive school culture
• Gain access to external, professional support

There’s no blueprint to becoming an ‘outstanding’ school – each school will have its own unique journey, context and practices that made it happen for them.

So don’t be disheartened if the school featured in this article has a different set-up or context to your school. Instead, use our case study:

• As inspiration for developing your school’s approach to improving its practice
• To identify individual ideas, concepts or practices that you can adapt to your school’s context and needs

Please note that the mention of commercial products in this article does not constitute an endorsement by The Key.

Although there’s no exact recipe to an ‘outstanding’ judgement, the school we spoke to identified 3 factors that it says were important for its school’s development:

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Part Two: Attendance in Schools - Case Studies

The 12 primary and 12 post-primary school case studies illustrate some of the most effective practices in transforming approaches to better attendance.

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Lesson planning: a case study

February 6, 2013 //  by  Admin

A whole-school approach to lesson planning gives teachers licence to take risks and be more engaging, encouraging well-paced learning, as Saint Benedict School and Performing Arts College in Derby discovered

Claire Pass, Advanced Skills Teacher, Saint Benedict School and Performing Arts College, Derby  

Schools everywhere are having to re-evaluate their approach to lesson planning as they think about the implications the national agenda of personalised learning has for planning high-quality lessons.

The five compo­nents of personalised learning are:

• assessment for learning (AfL)
• teaching and learning and ICT strategies
• enabling curriculum choice
• organising the school for personalised learning
• engaging with the community and beyond to develop the whole student

This agenda brings back to the fore the central point of education: we are not here to simply help pupils pass exams, but to equip them to become independent, lifelong learners. How do we plan for that?

Standard approach

A key barrier to improving UK education, according to the National College of School Leadership ( NCSL ), is ‘within-school variation’ – the different levels of achieve­ment by pupils in different subjects within the same school. A research project involving several second­ary schools explored different methods of reducing this varia­tion between depart­ments – see Narrowing the gap: reducing within-school variation in pupil outcomes ( NCSL , 2006). Standardisation processes such as a ‘widely-owned model of learning for lesson planning’ were identified as a contributing factor in reducing ‘within-school variation’ ( ldr online magazine ).

Building a ‘widely-owned model’

At Saint Benedict, this move towards a ‘widely-owned model’ began in 2005 with a template for lesson planning, introduced to the whole staff by the deputy head.

It sprang from a need identified by the leadership team to provide consistency in pupils’ learning experiences. The rationale was to promote objective-led lessons, with a regularity of structure that would effect­ively signpost for pupils the key stages of the lesson and their learning. It seemed sensible to make lesson planning the starting point, as planning is the founda­­tion of innovative practice; a proforma that asks the right questions enables teachers to take risks and try out new ideas. Curricu­­­­lum directors were asked to provide generic lesson plans used by their depart­ments. The leadership team then reviewed these and, using Ofsted criteria as guid­ance, synthesised the most effective parts of each into the whole-school proforma – see the box below.

The lesson template produced indicated the need to plan for a clear lesson structure and include clearly defined lesson objectives and learning outcomes. It was designed to be a practical, usable document, intended to provide structure without restricting creativ­ity and provide prompts to help give lessons pace and focus without being so dense with requirements that it became a paper exercise rather than a working document.

Each department was encouraged to take the template and adapt it further to suit the specific needs of their subject area, but a conscious decision was made to keep the whole-school plan simple so that it could be used with ease and in a practical way.

The school’s 2006 Ofsted report said that:

Teaching is most effective where well-planned lessons have pace and challenge and require students to be active learners. Clear time deadlines together with incisive questioning keep students engaged.

Monitoring implementation

The next step forward as a school was to develop a culture of sharing this good practice, ensuring that the ‘well-planned lessons’ became the standard experience of all students.

Department monitoring weeks were implemented by an assistant headteacher. Initially, these were informal observations involving staff from all subject areas observing one another across departments. English, for example, was paired with the maths department and staff used this as an opportunity to share different teaching methods and good practice. Although there are undoubted benefits to sharing experience in this way, the focus of the observations was vague, making giving feedback difficult.

So now observations are carried out within departments by curriculum leaders.  A standard form provides a focus for the observation and the subsequent discussion of the lesson. The form, which can be accessed by all staff, consists of a checklist that clarifies the principles that should underpin effective lesson planning – see the box below.

The types of activities staff include in their lesson plans are not prescribed by leadership. Instead, people are encouraged to be innovative and training is provided for staff by their peers. For example, I ran an after-school Inset workshop on how interactive whiteboards could be used to appeal to different learning styles; another colleague arranged for whole-staff training in the use of Edward De Bono’s Six thinking hats (Penguin, 2000). Regular Inset and training is provided on teaching methodologies both by the school, and by the local authority.

Staff are expected to plan for inclusion, and this is an area prescribed on the lesson plan. It is up to curriculum managers to check that their departmental staff are using strategies to promote inclusion in their lessons (such as ‘no-hands up’ time during questioning) and interactive activities (such as coming up to the board during whole-class teaching, groupwork and discussion).

Problem with objectives

One of the key aims of the standard lesson-planning template was to encourage a sharper focus on the learning taking place, not just in the overarching scheme of work, but in each lesson.

Local authority advisors were invited into school to provide whole staff Inset on the difference between a learning objective and a learning outcome. An objective is the pur­pose of the lesson – what the pupils should learn; an outcome is the means by which the objective can be assessed – what have they done or produced to show that the objective has been met? What can pupils now do that they couldn’t before? Trainers also addressed the issue of how to set mean­ingful learning objectives based on continu­ous assessment of learners’ needs. This served as a refresher for staff and was followed by a whole-staff briefing where the deputy head provided laminated slips to be used in each classroom. They consisted of key phrases such as ‘Learning outcome:’ ‘Today’s learning objective is…’; ‘WALT’ (‘We are learning to…’); ‘WILF’ (‘What I’m looking for…’). In-house training was also given on the use of key data such as cognitive ability test (CAT) scores and Fischer Family Trust (FFT) targets to inform planning. Knowledge of where the pupils are and what they are capable of achieving is essential in setting meaningful objectives that serve to bridge that gap.

Role of AfL

A key component in the move towards personalised learning is assess­ment for learning. The Assessment Reform Group (2002), in the publication Assess­ment for learning: 10 principles, defined AfL as:

The process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there.

The current DCSF Assessment for Learning Strategy (available via: http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk ) states that AfL is a powerful way of raising pupils’ achievement. ‘It is not an add-on or a project; it is central to effective teaching and learning.’ As such, it needs to be a key part of effective planning.

During their 2006 visit, Ofsted commented of Saint Benedict:

When students are given the opportunity in lessons to take the lead, cooperate with one another and to identify what they need to do to improve, they respond well and make good progress.

Making AfL a standard feature of lessons and enabling all of our students to become independent learners was the next step on the school’s planning journey.

To introduce peer- and self-assessment to staff, voluntary after-school workshops were run by staff for their peers, to give examples of peer- and self-assessment and model how it might be taught. It was impor­tant to show staff that while success criteria might be linked to exam syllabus or national curriculum requirements, this need not automatically be the case – they could be linked quite simply to the lesson objective or learning outcome (the WILF) – for example, ‘I am looking for you to write in paragraphs/use a subordinate clause/use three different types of punctuation/use a simile’.

As WALT and WILF became commonplace terms among staff and students, staff needed to be able to assess WILF meaningfully, by planning time during the lesson and during the plenary to review progress towards WALT/WILF.

Role of starter and plenary A plenary can be one of the most crucial parts of the lesson in terms of consolidating learning, but also in providing information to aid the planning of the next lesson. Targets and goals are all well and good for a long-term, umbrella view of the class’s learning and potential, but for effective day-to-day planning, a teacher must know where their class is now – today – and what they need to target next lesson.

The original lesson-plan template (see the box above) had provided an overall structure for the lesson – providing a standard approach to planning for learning and encouraging lessons with pace and varied activities. There was space to plan for a starter and a plenary – but what is the point of a starter? What is the point of a plenary if not to assess learning and move it forward? There is a danger that terms like ‘starter’ and ‘plenary’ are used to describe ‘quietening-down’ activities at the start of a lesson or ‘summing-up’ activities at the end. Thinking of starters and plenaries as key points of learning in a lesson means that planning for them becomes as important as planning the central activities in the lesson – this was a culture shift to over­come. The school’s distributed leadership model helped in this respect, as the change in culture came from the ‘bottom up’ and the ‘middle out’, not just from the ‘top down’.

Sharing good practice The ‘eight schools project’ focused on how schools approached establishing AfL on a whole school level. The study revealed that ‘fundamental to developing the leadership and management of whole-school change is developing distributed leadership’ (Assessment for learning eight schools project report, DfES, 2007; see: www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/secondary/keystage3/all/respub/afl8). It also noted that AfL is most successful when teachers share their practice and learn from ‘what they and their peers do well within and across departments’ ( ldr online magazine ).

At Saint Benedict, a conscious decision was made to focus on a ‘bottom up’ and ‘middle out’ approach to establishing AfL at the heart of lesson planning. The school’s leadership team organised a whole-school Inset where staff could share good practice.

I asked other members of staff to share ideas for plenaries that they had used and that had worked well. Afterwards, many staff remarked that this was one of the most practical and useful Inset sessions they had attended. This ‘ripple effect’ from the middle out had a real impact on staff and served as an effective vehicle for change.

Importance of pauses for breath As a middle leader in school, I was encour­aged to work together with other staff to share good practice, jointly plan with indiv­iduals and teach demo lessons where AfL could be observed in practice. In working with individual staff and departments, one thing I found particularly useful was to help staff plan in time for assessment during the lesson. In addition to starters and plenaries, it is important to have periodic ‘pauses for breath’ in the lesson (see the box top right on page 8 for examples) – so that teacher and students can take stock and review their learning in light of the learning objec­tive. Having such periods of time on a lesson plan proforma is perhaps too rigid and prescriptive – the point of a proforma is ease of use – to ensure that it is used! However, pencilling these times in on a plan and considering when they will happen before a lesson is important if active learning is to take priority over lesson activities.

Effective questioning Questioning during the lesson is the most immediate and accessible way for a teacher to assess learning – see the box here for examples of useful stems.

Questions not only assess learning, but if carefully planned can move learning forward. They can be differentiated to support and challenge pupils as required. They should be closely linked to learning objectives and staged so that the level of challenge increases as the lesson proceeds.

As with other aspects of assessment for learning, peer observation and sharing good practice has had the largest impact on day-to-day lesson planning. The local authority also gave training on request for individual departments and provided useful strategies for using questions to open up discussion, rather than close it down and to actively include all pupils in the lesson. Examples of questioning strategies that arose from this are given in the box below.

An advanced skills teacher (AST) from another local school suggested that question stems could be colour-coded according to the level of challenge they offered and that these could be displayed in classrooms to act as a visual prompt to the teacher – see the box below. These visual prompts in a classroom can be much more useful than a box on a proforma.

Move toward constructivism

Traditional objective-led lessons focus on outcome. The constructivist approach focuses on learning. Some research suggests that a constructivist approach to learning achieves better results than objectivist teaching and enables pupils to apply their knowledge in different contexts (see, for example, the article by Jo Boaler, 'Open and closed mathematics: student experiences and understandings', in Journal for Research in Mathematics Education , vol 29, no 1, pp41–62, 1998).

At Saint Benedict, a more fluid approach to lesson planning has emerged, reflecting this shift towards constructivism in classrooms. Although the three-part lesson structure, providing clear lesson objectives and learning outcomes, remains the basis of the whole-school plan, there has been a subtle shift in focus. Perhaps as a result of the introduction of assessment for learning, the focus in lessons is becoming increasingly about learning rather than outcomes. Ultimately, it is not completing activities or getting through curriculum content that is important. The move towards more fluid lessons is not a step back – far from it – it is another step towards personalised learning and developing independent learners.

Taking stock

This new approach to lesson planning has enabled a response to questions about the efficacy of the three-part lesson. Staff are now confident enough to explore innovative new ideas and use the three-part lesson, outlined on the school template, as a foundation for good practice rather than a rigid structure.

The impact of the school’s approach to lesson planning on learning is under con­stant review. However, it is what underpins the lesson planning (inclusivity, interactive teaching activities, assessment for learning) that is reviewed, rather than the proforma itself. The use of data to inform planning has also played an increasingly important role in recent years. Staff are now much better at using data than they were two years ago. Having a goal for every learner, in every subject, across every key stage means staff can easily assess how a pupil is progressing in their lesson. This focus on the use of data to inform planning has been sharpened by the requirement to use it as a tool when completing whole-school termly assessments to determine whether pupils are on, below or above subject targets.

In hindsight, it would have been better if we had begun the process sooner and, in the early stages, asked for more rigorous monit­oring and checking of plans by middle leaders. Although it was not difficult to con­vince staff of the benefits of effective planning, there are always some who will be resistant to change. This is one of the core challenges to helping all staff achieve effec­tive lesson plans. But the school’s culture of sharing methodology and ideas, encour­aging enthusiastic, junior staff to share their good practice and the active encouragement from leadership to view other people’s lessons has lead to an infectious desire to improve the quality of planning, teaching and learning across the school.

The solid foundation that has been established for lesson planning has enabled us to become risk-takers and move towards a more creative and innovative curriculum. Armed with the knowledge of what makes lessons effective, last year we introduced a new, alternative, curriculum for Year 7. This involves pupils being taught cross-curricular lessons by a home-base tutor for a large proportion of their timetable, while also attending skills lessons in core and practical subjects. This year, the alternative curriculum has been extended into Year 8, where students will be engaging in cross-curricular thematic lessons with one teaching covering a range of subject skills.

Toby Greany, NSCL’s director of policy and research, stated that:

At its simplest, personalised learning is about what is taught, how it’s taught, how it’s assessed and how learning is organised. ( ldr online magazine )

This is the essence of planning effective and high-quality lessons. The introduction of a standard approach to lesson planning and planning for learning has not been – and is not – just another new initiative, but a change in culture. It has been about leading a sustainable change, which has a real and lasting impact on learning.

Claire Pass, Advanced Skills Teacher, Saint Benedict School, Derby

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Case studies: improving attendance

Links to schools and multi-academy trusts sharing their different techniques for managing and improving attendance rates in their settings

Jamie Stubbs, assistant headteacher with responsibility for inclusion, safeguarding and attendance at St Thomas More Catholic Academy, shares how the school has managed to improve attendance levels to above national averages.

Susan Morris-King, HMI and Ofsted’s national lead for behaviour and attendance, reports the main findings of Ofsted’s Securing good attendance and tackling persistent absence report.

Michelle O’Dell shares an insight into her role as attendance intervention manager for John Taylor multi-academy trust. This includes strategies for monitoring and improving attendance across all of the schools in the trust.

Michael Robson, executive principal of North Shore Academy, shares their approach to managing and improving attendance in schools in the Northern Education Trust – including work they’ve done during the pandemic.

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