EES for Schools launch free ‘school effectiveness and formative assessment’ roadshows

25 April 2016: EES for Schools has announced that it will be running a series of 76 free roadshows across the UK, focusing on school effectiveness and formative assessment. The sessions, for headteachers and senior leadership team members, will consider the most important issues affecting schools today and how they can be addressed. Topics will include the reduction in funding, the challenges of the curriculum and policies around school progress, amongst other things.

The roadshows follow a two-year research project in partnership with Professor David Hawker from the University of Durham and the Institute of Education. EES for Schools reviewed over 500 pieces of global research on school effectiveness from the last 12 years, which revealed a set of 25 characteristics associated with high performing schools.

These characteristics, including learner-centred environments, staff recruitment and retention and leadership models, became the basis for School Effectiveness+ (SE+), a comprehensive school improvement system. SE+ goes beyond traditional continuing professional development (CPD), by combining self-assessment, training courses and school-to-school collaboration, all tied together with an online monitoring portal.

Chris Smith, head of Target Tracker and School Effectiveness+ at EES for Schools, said: “SE+ links the 25 characteristics of school effectiveness to the relevant points of the Ofsted framework and draws up a ‘maturity profile’, listing the strengths and areas needing improvement in the school. Headteachers can also make use of data benchmarks to see how they compare with schools across the UK, with around one million pupils’ worth of assessment data.”

A dedicated adviser supports the school through its objectives, and schools are encouraged to collaborate with other leaders and teachers to share best practice. The portal can also make recommendations for development programmes based on the school’s priorities for improvement.

SE+ aims to help schools roadmap their journey to effectiveness and support headteachers dealing with various pressures, to create a clear, whole-school plan for development.

To find a roadshow near you, visit: EESforschools.org/SEplus/roadshows