This toolkit is designed to support schools in the process of self-evaluation and the development of personalised learning programmes for their pupils. It has been developed by the Pupils First Project and is an outcome of collaboration between the project team, the project schools and the School Improvement Service.
Over the course of the project (2003-5) the 7 schools involved experimented with a range of strategies and specific interventions designed to address identified ‘barriers to learning’ commonly experienced by their underachieving pupils. Strategies for monitoring and evaluation implemented through the project have highlighted a process and a range of effective interventions which other schools might adopt or adapt to the needs of their own pupils.
Through an audit of their own practice schools can identify areas for development and choose from a range of strategies devised to enhance the school’s capacity to meet the personalised learning needs of individuals and groups of pupils. The audit asks key questions about how well the school:
- identifies underachievement
- knows its pupils, their needs and the barriers to learning they experience
- responds to individual and group needs (learning, social/emotional and economic well-being)
- monitors progress
- critically and accurately self-evaluates the effectiveness of programmes
- responds to identified weaknesses
- involves pupils, parents and other stakeholders in target setting, devising programmes and supporting children’s learning
As such the toolkit could be a useful supplement to the Self-Evaluation process recommended by Ofsted and promoted through the Local Authority’s ‘Strategy for Self-Evaluation and Categorisation’, 2005)
