SEF - Overall Guidance

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SEF
OVERALL GUIDANCE

September 2005
GUIDANCE IN
WRITING THE SEF

2
INTRODUCTION
There is no perfect SEF and inspectors know this. There are however, several
factors to take into account to make sure your SEF does its job well. Your
SEF should:
 Convey a clear picture of how well the school is doing.
 Provide proof of how you know what you know.
 Show what you are doing to build on successes and remedy
weaknesses.
You need to:
 Be evaluative rather than descriptive.
 Make a summative judgement supported by other evaluative
statements which underpin this judgement.
 Include references to where the evidence of your self-evaluation can
be found e.g. work scrutiny Sept ‘05, lesson observations July ‘05 –
see SEF Evidence Base.
 Take account of the grade descriptors in the OFSTED Evaluation
Schedule.
BEFORE YOU WRITE ANYTHING
THINK - What are the key messages you want to convey? How you would
summarise the findings for a new governor or interested parent?
BROWSE - the interactive SEF website, it has lots of useful information.
READ - our guidance and look at the way schools in the pilot inspection
programme have tackled the SEF (illustrative extracts) in Appendix A of:
A New Relationship with Schools: Improving Performance through School Self-
evaluation at:
www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm?fuseaction=pubs.summary&id=3862
Work your way through the tutorial before you start.

WHEN YOU START TO WRITE
Think about the outcomes for pupils.
If you are clear about the progress pupils make in their learning and personal
development you’ll find it easy to make links with the other sections. For
example, inspectors will expect to see a link between the progress pupils
make, the quality of teaching and the effectiveness of leadership and
management. Leave the overall effectiveness section until the end.
Inspectors will analyse and draw hypotheses from data before the inspection.
They will expect you to have used the data well. There is no need to repeat it,
but you should show what you make of it and what action you have taken as a
result of your analysis. You will have data that is not in the public domain;
there is no need to repeat the data, but explain what it tells you and what use
you make of it.

3
EVALUATE

The SEF is meant to be evaluative; it is not meant to provide a descriptive
commentary on the school’s history. If you cannot say what you need to in
about 25 pages, you are probably describing what you do rather than
analysing the impact of what you do. Remember you are trying to convey
what parents, pupils and other stakeholders think of the school and give a
succinct evaluation.

Make sure you understand the key questions you have been asked to address
in the SEF. These are drawn from the evaluation schedule in the Framework
for Inspecting Schools. Your answers will guide inspectors. Jot down the few
most important points you want to include in answer to each question. Use the
bullet point prompts in the SEF to help you to flesh out your response.

When you are judging your provision and leadership and management, it is
important to link them to impact. If the pupils are doing well, what role are you
playing in facilitating their achievement?

Be as exact and as honest as you can. Base your judgements on evidence;
not on what might be or what you intend to happen.

Be clear. The summary you record and the few key priorities you identify
should be easily read and recognisable to staff, governors and other
stakeholders.

The Every Child Matters agenda is new. You need to be conscious of it
throughout your evaluation. Think about what difference your provision has
made and how do you know? Some parts of the agenda, such as physical
well being are easier to evaluate than those aspects that deal with personal
development. Even though it may be more difficult, you should make sharp
judgements and find factual evidence to support them.

Please think carefully about the information you put into the annex as this is
needed to help inspectors to set up your inspection. If you provide day care
please note the name of the Registered Person and be specific about who
manages the provision. For example, is it managed by the governing body or
a private company? If you do not provide this information it makes it difficult
for OFSTED to co-ordinate an inspection of your day care at the same time as
the school inspection.

Read through each section before you complete the overall effectiveness.
What messages are coming through about the impact of leadership and
management and provision on the outcomes for pupils? What have you done
to bring about improvement in the past and what are you doing now?

Be specific. Have you conveyed what makes your school tick, what makes it
special, what makes it as it is?

4
BEFORE YOU SUBMIT

 Read it through.
 Is it short and to the point?
 Have you answered all of the questions?
 Are your judgements clear?
 Have you reflected stakeholders’ views?
 Does it give a fair and honest picture of what the school is like?
 Have you been clear about actions being taken to improve?
 If you were an inspector what questions would your SEF lead you to
ask?

You will need to refer to the following document to support making
judgements:

Using the Evaluation Schedule.
Guidance for Inspection of Schools (Final edition; the draft judgements
guidance will supplement this)

We highly recommend that you refer to the OFSTED web-site for additional
guidance. www.ofsted.gov.uk

5
SEF Part A

SECTION 1 – CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR SCHOOL

1.a Please outline the main characteristics of the learners, including:

 Their attainment on entry and how you know this.
 Their social and economic backgrounds, indicating the level of
prosperity or deprivation.

You do not need to repeat all the information included in the factual
information sections of the SEF, but use this section to draw the attention of
the inspection team to any particular features of your school that have an
impact on pupils’ achievement and the quality of education the school
provides.

Ensure you include details of the following:

 The make-up of your pupil population including:
 Attainment on entry using Transfer Document and October
Profile Assessment.
 Profile of ethnic backgrounds of pupils
 The nature and extent of pupils’ special educational needs
 The proportion of pupils with English as an additional language
 The mobility of pupils
 Any specialist status; awards.
 Distinctive features of the services the school provides.
 The school’s socio-economic context.

It is most important that you provide an accurate evaluation (based on
evidence) of the pupils’ attainment on entry to your school.

 Start with a clear overall judgement: overall most pupils’ attainment on
entry is well below/below in line with/above/well above the average
expected development of children based on professional knowledge (or
local average if available).
 Write any qualifiers (e.g. attainment in particular areas of learning that
is different from the overall judgement)
 If attainment on entry of each cohorts varies significantly, say so. You
should keep a log of the attainment on entry of each cohort in your
school. The e-profile is a good way to do this. This should include all
cohorts up to those that did National Curriculum tests 3 years ago (the
year groups that appear in your PANDA.) This enables you to have a
clear view of the progress of each cohort as they moved through the
school: attainment on entry, attainment at end Foundation Stage,
attainment at end Key Stage 1 and attainment at end of Key Stage 2.
This will inform the big picture of the progress pupils make during their
life in your school. This clear view is important in the Achievement and
Standards section of the SEF. You do not need to include all this
information in the SEF, but refer to it and say where it can be found.
 In the case of separate junior schools ensure your judgements draw on
the feeder school’s/national average PANDA grades.

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 Make sure that you give a clear indication of the evidence base for
your attainment on entry judgement which could include:
 Assessments on entry (e.g. early application of Foundation
Stage Profile) and transfer document.
 Records of observation of pupils especially in comparison
with the stepping stones of the foundation stage curriculum
 Previous ofsted inspection report
 Social factors information
 School tracking information
 LEA performance handbook information

1b. Briefly summarise your distinctive aims and describe any special
features of your school.

 Whether you intend to become a specialist school, or school
with special status, and if it is one already, the main changes
that have occurred because of this
 Whether you are a school with a religious character
 Any special units, additional community services or extended
provision
 Significant partnerships with other providers or agencies
(such as shared arrangements for the curriculum or
partnerships with employers)
 Highlight any aspects of your school’s work or life of which
you are particularly proud or are distinctive. Mention here
any features of the school’s aims that have a strong
influence on the school and your extended school agenda

1c. Outline specific contextual or other issues that act as aids or
barriers to raising performance, for example:

 Emphasise issues in relation to learning and achievement
and indicate what you are doing to reduce these barriers
 Any difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff, or governors
 Recent or impending reorganisation
 Mobility of learners
 Particularly important facts in your recent history, such as
change of leadership

1d. Note any additional characteristics of your school that you would
particularly like to draw to the attention of an inspection team.

 Self evident.

1e. Outline briefly the main priorities in your improvement/development
plan, and how they reflect the context in which you work

 List your current priorities in your school improvement plan.

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SEF Part A

SECTION 2 – VIEWS OF LEARNERS, PARENTS/CARERS AND OTHER
STAKEHOLDERS

What are the views of learners, parents/carers and other stakeholders and
how do you know?

2a. How do you gather the views of learners, parents/carers and other
stakeholders, such as those accessing additional services, how
often do you do this, and how do you ensure the impartiality of
the information?

 The way that you involve stakeholders, ascertain their views, determine
action and provide feedback to them should be summarised.
 The way that you involve these groups and how you collect the information
in terms of frequency and format should be the focus of this section.
 In this section you can list the ways in which you gather views.

2b. What do the views of learners, parents/carers and other
stakeholders tell you about the learners’ standards, personal
development and well-being and the quality of your provision?

 Summarise here the views of learners, parents and stakeholders in
relation to the work of the school.

2c. How do you share with parents/carers and other stakeholders the
collated findings about their views?

 Show here how you provide feedback to those you have consulted.
Provision of feedback following consultation is a critically important part of
the process and vital in terms of valuing the stakeholders you have
consulted. Even if you cannot take requested action, feedback shows you
are prepared to listen and explain why actions and developments can and
cannot be undertaken following consultation.

2d. Can you give examples of action you have taken based on the
views of learners, parents/carers or other stakeholders, with an
evaluation of the effectiveness of what you did?

 Detail briefly here one or two examples of actions taken in response to
consultation with stakeholders that have had a significant effect on
standards, personal development or well being of pupils. If possible
include an example where you have decided not to take requested action
including reasons why and the explanation given.

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SEF Part A

SECTION 3 – ACHIEVEMENT AND STANDARDS

3a. What are learners’ achievements and standards in their work?

 The standards learners reach as indicated by their test and examination
results, taking account of: any significant variations between groups of
learners, subjects, courses and key stages; trends over time; comparisons
with other schools; whether learners reach challenging targets.

 The standards of learners’ current work in relation to their learning goals
(noting any significant differences between current work and recent
results).

 Learners’ progress relative to their starting points and capabilities, with
any significant variations between groups of learners (making clear
whether there are any groups that are underachieving and could be
doing better).

Standards (attainment) is a measure of learners’ knowledge, skills and
understanding in comparison with pupils of the same age in other schools
nationally. These are normally expressed as levels or, in the Foundation
stage, to children’s learning in relation to the early learning goals.
Progress is a measure of knowledge skills and understanding in relation
to their capabilities.
Trends are a change in standards attained over time.

 You need to express a clear view at the top of this section of the
SEF whether you schools performance data accurately reflects
standards attained and progress. If you think the performance
data is wrong or gives an unfair picture you need to say so,
explain why and present what you judge is the correct picture with
supporting evidence.
 You need to give a brief judgement on standards in all subjects.
List all subjects and judge standards against national norms at the
end of each Key Stage. These could be listed in a table.
 Start with the overall judgement about standards in each Key
Stage, then go on to identify particular strengths and weaknesses,
including aspects within subjects e.g. reading standards as
opposed to writing.
 List the key strengths in standards and progress and explain why
the strengths are as they are.
 List the key areas that require improvement and say what action
has already been taken or will be taken to bring about
improvements.
 Refer to all targets set, how these were set and how you
demonstrate these as being sufficiently challenging. Begin with
statutory targets (for end of Key Stage 2). Next indicate any
targets for end of Key Stage 1 and end of foundation stage, and
next indicate any targets for each year cohort.

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 Indicate the methods by which the progress towards targets is
monitored. In which year groups and subjects is the school on
line to underachieve/exceed targets?
 Are trends for each subject in each key stage and for each key
stage as a whole in line with, above or below the national picture?

Differences in performance between different groups of learners

 Are there any significant differences in the progress of pupils with
different capabilities; boys and girls; different identified groups? Is
each of these groups making the progress of which they are
capable?
 You should indicate how the performance of each key group in
your school is assessed, recorded and analysed. How does each
of the groups perform?
 How do current standards compare with test results? Work
scrutiny and teacher assessments and the school’s internal
tracking system are the key source of evidence here.
 How are you projecting the performance of each year group as it
moves through the school based on current performance?
 What are the reasons for any underperformance?
 What is the school doing to address areas of underperformance?
 Include a brief analysis of the extent to which you are on track to
reach the school’s various statutory and non statutory targets (e.g.
school development plan success criteria or PM targets).

3b. Where relevant: how well do learners achieve in the foundation
stage?

Provide a clear view of standards, achievement and progress in each
area of learning in the Foundation Stage. Make judgement on
progress in Foundation Stage in context of judgement on attainment on
entry. If significant variation between cohorts indicate that these
differences are recorded and where these can be accessed in school.

3c. On the basis of your evaluation, what are you key priorities for
development?

Summarise your key priorities based on your evaluation.

10
SEF Part A

SECTION 4 – PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND WELL-BEING

4a To what extent do learners adopt healthy lifestyles?

 Whether learners take adequate physical exercise, and eat and drink
healthily.
 Learners’ growing understanding of how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Comment on the impact of school’s work to promote learner’s understanding
of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. Consider the following:

 The way the curriculum supports healthy options, sport, extra-
curricular, tuck shops, canteen, water on desks etc.
 Indicate the percentage of all pupils who attend extra-curricular
activities and sporting events.
 Substance misuse and abuse education.
 Sex education – policy and practice.
 Anti-smoking work.
 Special events e.g. Health and Fitness Weeks, Wide Awake Clubs
etc.
 Actions by the school to minimise the environmental aspects to
health education, pollution, litter control and care for animals and
the environment.
 Consider the support provided for ‘looked after children’ and other
vulnerable groups.

4b To what extent do learners feel safe and adopt safe practices?

 Whether learners feel safe from bullying and racist incidents.
 The extent to which learners have confidence to talk to staff and others
when they feel at risk.

 Comment on the impact of the school’s anti-bullying and
discrimination work – policy, systems and practice.
 Quote from record and statistics the number of reported incidents of
bullying, racist incidents etc and the impact of systems available for
dealing with these i.e. Bully Busters, Playground friends, Bully Box
etc.
 How has the school monitored and evaluated the impact of these
policies and practices on standards and attitudes? (include
evidence of the pupil voice).
 How effectively are parents and learners encouraged to discuss
concerns with the school? (evidence views)
 Explain how Child Protection procedures and policy help to
‘safeguard’ learners.
 Comment on how the school monitors and evaluates these policies
for vulnerable or looked after learners.

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 Explain the impact of the relationship with other multi-agency
services such as health, social services, EWO and the Police
Service.

4c How much do learners enjoy their education?

 Take account of learners’ attitudes behaviour and attendance.
 Learners’ spiritual, moral, social, emotional and cultural development.

 Assess how attitudes, behaviour and attendance have
contributed to the standards of achievement of all learners.
 Are there areas that need improvement?
 What plans has the school put in place to address these areas
of need?
 How has the school monitored and evaluated the impact of
these policies and practices on standards and attitudes?
 Outline the impact of the school’s works to prepare learners to
join the school at age 3 and 4, liaison with the pre-school,
nursery or early years group.
 How successful is the school in providing support for parents
and carers in curriculum and pastoral aspects of learning?
 How effectively have staff been trained to understand the
learning needs of vulnerable or looked after learners and under-
achieving groups?

Behaviour

 What does evidence show about standards of behaviour within
and out of the school? (include parent and pupil voice).
 What does monitoring and evaluation of the behaviour policy
show?
 Numbers of exclusions both fixed term and permanent?
 Evidence of levels of courtesy to adults and visitors and how you
know this?
 In what ways has the school worked with other schools in the
LEA to provide a fresh start for learners excluded from other
schools?

Attendance and attitudes

 Make a judgement about attendance and attitudes e.g.
Attendance is marginally above the national average and so is
at least satisfactory. Attitudes are satisfactory.
 Levels and trends of attendance from the PANDA and action
taken to improve this if necessary?
 Punctuality of learners and action taken to improve this if
necessary?
 Pupil responses to questionnaires on attitudes to school.
 Impact of work with parents/carers and outside agencies on
attendance.

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SMSC Development

 Make a judgement on spiritual development.
 Give some examples of provision and judgements on the
outcomes e.g. As a result of monitoring our specialist provision
in art evidence shows that our pupils learn to look carefully, to
appreciate beauty and some of the wonders of the natural world.
 Make a judgement on moral development.
 Give some examples of provision and judgements on the
outcomes e.g. our discussions with pupils and other evidence of
the behaviour, attitudes and work show that, a large majority
have a strong moral framework.
 Make a judgement on social development.
 Give some examples of provision and judgements on the
outcomes e.g. our older pupils are trained in the development of
playground games to work and play with younger pupils which
enables them to lead cooperative play.
 Make a judgement on cultural development.
 Give some examples of provision and judgements on the
outcomes e.g. our annual exchange visits to xxxxxxx school
helps pupils to understand life in a multicultural environment.

4d How well do learners make a positive contribution to the
community?

 Learners’ growing understanding of their rights and responsibilities, and
those of others.
 How well learners express their views and contribute to communal
activities.

 Make a judgement on their contributions to the community and
evidence this with an outline of the school’s annual involvement
within the local community: senior citizens, local festivals etc.
 Explain how you know that this develops the learners’
understanding.
 What impact has the learners involvement in the school decision
making process had? Evidence this from:

 Pupils’ questionnaires
 School councils or parliaments
 Debates and discussions
 Learning scenarios on topical/local issues

 How does the PSHE programme contribute to their developing
understanding?
 How do the systems of responsibilities for learners within the
school: prefects, monitors, playground friends etc. contribute?

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4e How well do the learners prepare for their future economic well-
being?

 How well learners develop skills and personal qualities that will enable
them to achieve future economic well-being.

 Outline the way learners are supported to develop the personal
qualities that enable them to achieve. What are the key values
of the school in this respect and how are they promoted to
learners?
 Provide evidence of the ‘learning to learn’ agenda that supports
the curriculum delivery in lessons?
 What impact has staff training had on this area?
 In what ways have learners developed a wider understanding of
the skills and attributes needed to succeed in the future?
Managing the tuck shop? Manning the office at lunch time?
Raising money for charity or improvements within the school?
Experiences of the world of work? How environmental issues
link with economic well being?

4f Where relevant: how good are the personal social and emotional
development and well-being of learners in the Foundation Stage?

 Make a judgement on PSE development and well being in the
foundation stage.
 Comment on how practitioners give all children the best opportunity for
effective personal, social and emotional development.
 How is this monitored and evaluated within the Foundation Stage?
 What are the areas of strength and weakness?

4g On the basis of your evaluation, what are your key priorities for
development?

 Summarise your key priorities as detailed in your school improvement
plan.

14
SEF Part A

SECTION 5 – WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF PROVISION?

Your evaluation of the quality of provision should take into account the
impact on the standards achieved and the personal development and
well being of learners.

5a How good is the quality of teaching and learning?

 How well teaching meets the needs of the full range of learners and
curriculum requirements.
 The suitability and rigour of assessment in planning learning and
monitoring learners’ progress.
 The diagnosis of, and provision for, individual learning needs.
 The involvement of parents and carers in their children’s learning and
development.

How well teaching meets the needs of the full range of learners and
curriculum requirements

If you use the OFSTED grade descriptions to evaluate teaching start by
indicating the percentage of teaching in the school that fits each of the level
descriptions based on general lesson observations to OFSTED criteria e.g. ‘The
quality of teaching and learning are outstanding/good/satisfactory/inadequate’

14 lessons were observed in the last 12 months using OFSTED criteria. Of
these 14 lessons, using the September 2005 1-4 scale, the following grades
were given:

Outstanding (1) 9%
Good (2) 60%
Satisfactory (3) 24%
Inadequate (4) 7%

Criteria and key questions for evaluating how well teaching meets
individuals’ needs and course requirements.

Teaching should be judged on its impact on learning, attitudes and behaviour.
To ensure an accurate judgement on learning and achievement the observer
should focus on the learning of particular groups of pupils. It is advised that the
word ‘pupils’ only be used with a qualifying adjective, e.g. ‘all pupils’, ‘some
pupils’, ‘a few pupils’, ‘higher achieving pupils’, ’most lower achieving pupils’,
’pupils with SEN’, ‘all girls’, ‘some boys’, etc. Then clarify the reasons for these
groups’ learning and achievements.

Use the headings on the T & L from the OFSTED criteria to help you
evaluate strengths/weaknesses within teaching.

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Suitability and rigour of assessment

i. Make a judgement about the quality of assessment e.g. The quality of
assessment is xxxxxx.
ii. Explain how you know this and relate to pupil progress.
iii. Explain how you monitor and moderate recorded assessments.
iv. Is assessment enabling staff to plan more precisely for the next stage of
learning? Impact of this?
v. Explain how you tailor work to different ability levels. Impact of this?

Individual learning needs

vi. Explain the school’s approach to meeting the needs of all pupils e.g.
differentiation, learning styles.
vii. Explain identification strategies for SEN/G&T/underachievers etc.
viii. How are different groups of pupils supported? How do your strategies
impact on progress?
ix. Describe how pupils are involved e.g. in target setting and assessment,
IEPs. Impact on this?

Involvement of parents and carers

x. Explain how you support parents and give information to enable them to
make relevant contributions to their child’s assessments and targets
(and frequency of this) Impact of this?

5b How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of
needs and interests of learners?
i.
 Is the curriculum matched to the needs and interests of all pupils
including the full range of groups in the school (see section on what is
distinctive about your school)?
 Does the curriculum meet statutory requirements, including provision for
religious education and collective worship?
 Does the curriculum provide effectively for personal, social and health
education, including sex and relationships education and attention to
alcohol and drug misuse?
 In what ways does the school seek to develop the curriculum, taking
particular account of the effect of any innovative practice, the particular
circumstances of the school and the needs of pupils and the community?
Are effective links achieved across subjects?
 Does accommodation allow the curriculum to be taught effectively and
allow pupils access to aspects of the curriculum and to develop their
particular interests? e.g. the library; ICT resources; playing field; hall?
 Is the curriculum inclusive, by ensuring equality of access and
opportunity for all pupils? - refer to each group in the ‘What is distinctive
about the work of your school?’
 Does the curriculum provide for various approaches to teaching and
learning styles?
 How well does the school provide a resource for and draw from the
community?

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 If a large percentage of pupils enter and leave the school during the
year, how effective are mechanisms for the transfer of pupils?

ii.
 How well does the curriculum provide for pupils who have special
educational needs and disabilities, more able pupils and pupils from the
range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds in your school?
 Does the curriculum prepare pupils effectively for subsequent stages of
learning and education?
 How effective are educational links with other schools, early years and
other providers?
 How effectively is the school taking account of national guidance? (e.g.
National Primary Strategy)

Indicate any work you have undertaken in any subject to promote the five
ECM outcomes.

17
SEF Part A

SECTION 6 – LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Focus should be on:

 Impact of leadership and management reflected in pupils’ progress and
personal development and in the quality of teaching.
 Effectiveness of leadership and management by selecting and ‘trailing’
two or three major developments the school has undertaken.
 The quality of self-evaluation, as this is deemed to indicate a school’s
capacity to improve. The inspection team are likely to be interested in
examining your processes and how the outcomes of self-evaluation are
followed up with effective actions. Records of the school’s monitoring
and evaluation and the effectiveness of actions taken is likely to be
checked during inspection through joint observations of lessons.
 The quality of the professional development arrangements and the
impact of activities on staff performance, as they are deemed to
indicate how well managers, at all levels, know what is happening in
the school and what they propose to do to improve the situation.
 The contribution of performance management to the success of the
management of the school. The information on performance
management remains confidential and should not be asked for.
(However, it is in their own interests that schools provide a summary of
performance management objectives (made anonymous) and their
impact on the work of the school, particularly when they have
contributed to raising standards, quality of teaching or identifying areas
of weakness).

6a What is the overall effectiveness and efficiency of leadership and
management in raising achievement and supporting all learners?

i. How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear
direction leading to improvement and promote high-quality of
integrated care, and education.

 Are the aims and the vision of the school sufficiently clear and in
what ways do they influence the work of the school? To what
extent do they reflect the five outcomes in the Every Child
Matters document? Have all those who work in the school
signed up to the school aims and vision?
 Does your whole-school planning for improvement focus
sufficiently on realising your aims/vision, raising achievement
and supporting the personal development of all groups of
pupils?
 Does the SIP set clear targets and deadlines for improvement?
Does the plan make explicit the rationale for selecting priorities
for improvement? Does it also make it clear how leadership of
various priorities is to be carried out? Does the school make
clear how it will judge the success of its actions?

18
 How well does teachers’ planning take into account the whole-
school priorities and priorities for individual subjects?
 Are subject leaders and the SLT clear about their roles in
leading their subjects and the overall performance of the
school?
 How well do all leaders and managers ensure that links are
established between priorities and actions in all areas of the
school’s work to ensure an efficient and effective
implementation?

ii. How effectively performance is monitored and improved through
quality assurance and self-assessment.

 Does the school have a clear framework and timetable for self-
evaluation? Does it state clear roles and responsibilities for all
those involved in leading and monitoring?
 How well has the school ensured that all those undertaking self-
evaluation have the necessary skills?
 In making judgements of its actions, how well does the school
use criteria for success established in SIP and various action
plans?
 Do the schools’ arrangements for self-evaluation give it a clear
view of what it is doing well and where its practice is weak?
 How well does the school use the finding of self-evaluation
activities to improve its practice? Can the school demonstrate
this?
 How well does the school prepare teachers and pupils for
undertaking self-evaluation of their own work?

iii. How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination
tackled so that all learners achieve their potential. (i.e. inclusion)

 Does the school have an agreed view of ‘equality of
opportunity’?
 Are all groups of pupils (boys and girls, minority and ethnic
groups, pupils with SEN, gifted and talented pupils, higher
attaining, travellers, refugees, average and below average and
EAL pupils) achieving as much as they are capable of?
 How does the school identify those pupils who might be making
less than expected progress and what does the school do to
rectify the situation? (tracking records)
 How well do staff ensure that different groups of pupils receive
appropriate challenge and support in lessons?
 Do the school’s policies make its position clear on bullying and
discrimination? How does the school monitor such policies and
take action when transgressions occur?
 Are parents made aware of the school’s policy on equal
opportunities and its stand against bullying and discrimination?
 Does teachers’ planning show commitment to equality of
opportunity for all groups of pupils?
 How accurate is the teachers’ assessment of pupils potential?

19
iv. The adequacy and suitability of staff, specialist equipment, learning
resources and accommodation.

 Does the school have sufficient number of staff and are they
productively deployed?
 Is remodelling of the workforce working well and contributing to
efficient staff deployment?
 How well has the school handled any recruitment issues,
particularly when it is not able to recruit the staff it needs, and
the impact of short-term arrangements it has to make?
 Is the available accommodation sufficient and how effectively is
it used to maximise pupils’ learning?
 How does the school ensure that its provision for ICT and library
is being used on a regular basis and supporting pupils’ learning
across the curriculum?
 Are resources for learning across the curriculum sufficient to
teach the National Curriculum programmes of study in all
subjects and are they used effectively to support learning?

v. How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve
value for money.

 How does the school keep a regular overview of its finances and
handle a large surplus or a deficit?
 How are key spending decisions made and justified? How are
they linked to the school’s improvement priorities?
 How well does the school monitor the key spending decisions
and judge whether money was spent well?
 Does the school examine alternative use of money resources?

vi. How effectively are links made with other providers, services,
employers and other organisations to promote the integration of
care, education and any extended services to enhance learning.

 How well does the school use various services provided by the
Education Department and other services of the LEA to improve
their provision for pupils?
 How well does the school make use of any services provided by
non-LEA providers?
 Does the school make use of community resources to improve
its provision?
 Does the school offer the use of its facilities for the use of local
community during school hours and after school hours?
 How are parents/carers involved in the work of the school?
 Is the school involved in networks with other schools in family of
schools, other schools and other workplaces? How have they
helped the school to improve its provision?

vii. The extent to which governors (and if appropriate, other supervisory
boards) discharge their responsibilities.

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 Is the work of governors sufficiently focused on the core purpose
of raising standards?
 How involved are governors in the work of the school?
 How well informed are governors about their responsibilities?
How prepared are they?
 Are governors sufficiently informed about the strengths and
weaknesses of the school?
 Do the governors have a sufficiently rigorous system for
undertaking self-evaluation?
 How good are the governors at being critical friends of the
school?

6b Where relevant: what is the effectiveness of leadership and
management in the Foundation Stage?

 Is there a clear view of what priorities the nursery should be
pursuing and how they relate to the Foundation Stage?
 How is work of nursery and reception classes monitored,
evaluated and followed up?
 Does nursery and reception class staff work with external
agencies to support children’s personal development?
 Are equality of opportunity issues being addressed? Do nursery
and reception staff ensure that children receive sufficient
intervention to improve their learning?
 Are support staff productively deployed?
 Have the nursery and reception classes access to outdoor play
areas, ICT equipments, library and PE facilities?

6c On the basis of your evaluation, what are your key priorities for
development?

 What weaknesses have you identified (in 6a and 6b and other
sections of the SEF) and how you are planning to remedy them?

21
SEF Part A

SECTION 7 – OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY

Think about: how effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of
education, integrated care and any extended services in meetings the needs
of learners and why?

To answer the questions raised in this section of the form you should draw
together your evaluations in the previous sections.

To help you focus your comment and judgements in completing this section,
consult the relevant pages in the Guidance for Inspectors of Schools.

When answering the following questions make clear:
 The main evidence on which your evaluation is based
 Where you identify weaknesses.
 How you are planning to remedy them.

7a What is the overall effectiveness of the provision, including any
extended services, and its main strengths and weaknesses?

 Identify main strengths and weaknesses as indicated in previous
sections.

 The judgement on overall effectiveness is driven first and foremost by
the judgement on standards. The key question in evaluating the
overall effectiveness of the school is focused on the extent to which
all pupils are making the progress of which they are capable, given
their starting points.

 Take account of the key questions in the SEF for the sections on
standards and take account of the summary grading you gave to the
aspects of your school.

 Ensure you emphasise within this section what makes achievement
and personal development as they are (‘What makes it so?’)

7b What is the effectiveness of any steps taken to promote
improvement since the last inspection and as a result of your self-
evaluation?

Consider the following questions:

 Have standards (in terms of national results) improved since the
last inspection? (Why?)
 Where have they improved where they have not? (Why?)
 (In schools with high standards) Has the school maintained its
high standards? (How?)

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 Are pupils’ behaviour and attitudes as good as they were during
the last inspection? (Have they improved? What is the impact of
this improvement?)
 Is the quality of teaching and learning as good as reported in the
last inspection? Where has it improved? (What made it so?) Is
there more (or less) good or better teaching now?

The effectiveness of steps taken to promote improvement, especially on
the issues identified as requiring improvement in the last inspection.

 Has the school implemented all the key issues identified in the
last inspection report?
 Respond to each key issue by identifying actions taken (one or
two and those which made the real difference) and how they
helped the school to achieve the desired improvement.
 You might consider reporting on each key issue in relation to the
success criteria established against each key issue in the post-
OFSTED plan.

7c What is the capacity to make further improvement?

The key question is ‘DO YOU COLLECTIVELY KNOW YOUR SCHOOL
AND ARE YOU WORKING EFFECTIVELY TO IMPROVE IT?’

 The key aspect that influences the school’s capacity to improve is the
quality of monitoring, evaluation and self-review and how findings are
used to direct improvement activities.

 In this section reinforce the quality and extent of your monitoring
procedures and how you use monitoring findings to direct
improvement. A single example here of an important issue that you
have addressed would be helpful.

7d How effective are the links with other organisation to promote the
well-being of learners?

 Indicate the effectiveness of links and partnerships with other
organisations and their impact on learning.

7e What steps need to be taken to improve the provision further?

The key questions to inform your consideration:

 What are the main priorities for improvement? (You do not need to
include maintenance and future priorities in this list).
 Why are these priorities? (Their rationale? Have the findings of self-
evaluation activities informed the school’s improvement planning?)

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7f Where relevant: what are the quality and standards in the
Foundation Stage?

 The benchmark judgements below indicate the key aspects that you
need to highlight in this section.

They are:

 Children’s progress and learning (academic and personal
development).
 Children’s attitudes to school and whether they enjoy it.
 Quality of teaching, assessment, curriculum and care for
children’s academic and personal development.
 Quality of relationships with and involvement of parents.
 Quality of leadership and management of foundation stage and
particularly the drive to improve standards and the quality of
education.

24
ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE
IN WRITING THE
FOUNDATION STAGE
SECTIONS OF THE SEF

25
A sample of possible Foundation Stage sections of the SEF

1a What is attainment on entry and how do you know?

On entry (September or October assessment) our children achieve an average
scale point score of 1.8 using the FSP, except in the scales PSE, K&U and
Number as Labels and for Counting where the average score is higher at 2.4
scale points. The score is lower in the scales for Reading and Writing where the
average score is 1.4.

Comment on 3-year trends if you feel confident in the validly of your data from
2003. Include percentages working towards, within, beyond stepping stones
scale points 1-3 statements. Otherwise, explain how moderation has impacted
on teacher assessments where appropriate.

As there is no national data regarding entry assessment in relation to the FSP,
we can only make a judgement as to whether we consider our children’s
development to be in line with average chronological development, based on
professional knowledge. We therefore evaluate our children as typical for all
scales except PSE, K&U and NLC where we consider our children to be slightly
above typical development.

The children have well developed Personal, Social and Emotional skills. We
believe this is due to informed parenting and 100% attend local pre-schools.

The children come from stable family backgrounds with the majority of parents in
the ‘white collar’ professional employment domain. Parents are very supportive
of their children’s education.

 SEN register
 Any Level of Social Deprivation based on Ward Level indices of
Deprivation 2000
 PANDA information
 Free School Meals
 Ethnicity of pupils
 Looked After Children
 Pupil mobility and patterns
 Any significant changes affecting school intake

3b How well do learners achieve in the Foundation Stage?

Standards:
Children in the Foundation Stage achieve the majority of Early Learning Goals.
In 2005, 73.5% achieved a good level of achievement ie six scale points and
above across all six areas (13 scales). This cohort is the weakest for three years
according to teacher assessment and feedback with the broadest range of
development and achievement.

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Progress:
The validity of progress in summative data terms is being established
although we feel strongly that the FSP data remains somewhat experimental
until the full moderation cycle is completed in 2006. The Foundation Stage
manager has been developing professional understanding of the expectations
underpinning the FSP scales. We have used the FSP Handbook
exemplification more rigorously for the 2004-2005 cohort than in 2003-2004
and this has been reflected in a downward trend in quantative data terms. We
believe that assessments are becoming more accurate with moderation each
year and that the data trend does not reflect a downward trend in ‘real
standards’ terms in any way.

Our ‘entry’ data for 2004-2005 cohort also skews the rate of progress
negatively because the first assessment was not completed and entered into
eProfile until the start of November. We consider that the ‘baseline’ is
therefore higher than it would have been in September and together with
moderation at the end of the year, the rate of progress is not reflected in real
terms in the data. The 2005 ‘baseline’ is on average 1.3 scales lower than in
2004.

Therefore, the progress our children made in data terms for 2004-2005 was
an average of 3 scale points across all six areas. However, we do consider it
to be more in the range of 4-5 scale points in real terms had the ‘entry’ data
been collated in September/October.

We will re-evaluate our judgements in the light of 2005-2006 data sets.

Outline summative data evidenced in all six areas of 13 scales for your
school. Make use of mid-year assessments. Compare with CSA average
and relate to other schools.
Explain any differences in gender, ethnicity, birth dates etc
The majority of children therefore make good progress in . . . . . . and
satisfactory progress in . . .

Key Priorities for Foundation Stage:
A full analysis of the data for 2004-2005 has highlighted areas of achievement
that require action points in order to raise standards. Our priorities are to
address achievement in

 Linking sounds and letters
 Writing
 Reading
 Mathematical Development – problem solving and application
 Knowledge and Understanding – cultures and beliefs
 Boys rate of progress from the spring term to the summer term in
relation to girls

This analysis has been used to support the FS Action Plan in order to raise
standards. Action points will sometimes relate to provision, direct teaching or
coverage. (See FS Action Plan)

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4f How good are the personal, social and emotional development
and well being of learners in the Foundation Stage?

The children’s PSE and well being are good in the Foundation Stage. The
children enter school with well developed PSE skills and this is built on and
carefully monitored to attain good outcomes for all children. End of
Foundation Stage outcomes in PSE for our children are above the CSA
average.

2003-2004 cohort: 7.8 average score in Dispositions and Attitudes
7.0 average score in Social Development
7.0 average score in Emotional Development

2004-2005 cohort – significant number of young summer born children – 22%.
In D&A, 93% scored 6 FSP scales and above with 43% achieving all the
ELG’s.
In SD, 88% scored 6 FSP scales and above.
In ED, 89% scored 6 scales and above.

The average PSE score for 2004-2005 was 6.7 with 83% achieving the
majority of ELG’s. This lower average is due to the higher number of young
children in this cohort that impacted on their social and emotional
development.

All children have a personalised ‘goal’ related to PSE that is monitored by the
teaching staff as PSE is considered a vital aspect underpinning all learning.
Action is taken if we consider a child is not building on their previous
achievements in PSE.

An area of strength in provision is the range of strategies used to support
children’s well being:

 Conflict resolution techniques
 Circle time
 Child voice proformas
 FS Relationships and Interactions Rationale
 Representation on School Council
 Buddy System for playground/lunchtimes in Term 1 and 2
 Curriculum which takes account of children’s interest and needs
 Two support staff trained in counselling techniques
 Active listening policy
 Close partnership with parents

Key priorities based on evaluation:
Our FS priority for PSE is in Social Development and Emotional Development
to address provision and coverage of the scales pertaining to an
understanding and respect for different cultures and beliefs.

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5d What is the quality of provision in the Foundation Stage?
Governors and the headteacher, who has extensive experience in early years,
including the Foundation Stage, monitor the Foundation Stage.
The last Ofsted inspection reported that the Foundation Stage was ‘very
good’. However, through CPD and self-evaluation, the Foundation Stage
manager and current headteacher believe this judgement is aspirational.
Ongoing adaptations to the organisation of curriculum and pedagogy in the
FS have been made in line with the curriculum guidance for the FS, in
particular ‘to provide a balance during sessions of child initiated and adult led
learning’ and to support children to ‘work in depth, sustain concentration and
become engrossed so that they complete activities’.
We have used the TTA Foundation Stage Audit Materials to support our self-
evaluation before we begin an Investors in Children Quality Assurance
scheme – The Bristol Standard in January 2006.
Feedback from our children and parents indicate that the continuous
refinement of provision is acknowledged and supported. CPD is promoted
and the two LSAs have currently enrolled on NVQ Level 3 courses. All staff
working in the FS maintains professional development records and have
attended relevant FS courses run by the CSA.
Teaching is effective because the staff are all experienced in working within
the FS and have a good understanding of the needs of children. Planning is
flexibly developed in response to observations and ongoing assessment. The
curriculum is planned to meet and extend the interests of children and is
based upon experiential learning and sustained shared thinking. The whole
school is part of North Somerset’s Primary Strategy Learning Network in
Assessment for Learning and the FS are adapting materials for the context of
the FS. Questioning and sharing learning intentions in child speak are having
a positive impact on the children’s Language for Communication and Thinking
(LCT).
Effective relationships between school and parents enable a real partnership
to be established and parents are given information about what their children
are learning in order to make real links to the home context.

Health and Safety arrangements ensure that children stay safe and
understand the difference between risk and hazard. All hazards are therefore
removed. This enables our children to develop the skills to take well-informed
risks where appropriate, which is a lifelong skill.
We evaluate the quality of provision based on monitoring and outcomes, as
satisfactory with significant aspects of good.
Key priorities for development:
Our identified areas for development are:
 Enriching the outside provision to ensure it supports the
development of all six areas of learning
 Securing and maintaining accurate formative and summative
assessments
 Challenging our more able children
 Developing further our subject knowledge in synthetic phonics

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6b What is the effectiveness of Leadership and Management in the
Foundation Stage?

The effectiveness of Leadership and Management in the Foundation Stage is
satisfactory with aspects of good. The FS manager has a clear understanding
of the principles in the curriculum guidance for the FS and is developing a
focussed plan for implementing them all fully with the FS team. The FS
manager and headteacher have used observational monitoring, auditing and
data to inform priorities and establish a clear direction for improvement for the
coming year (See FS Action Plan).

There is now a dedicated FS governor and the FS manager has become a
member of the Senior Management team. This has supported a whole school
understanding of the Foundation Stage pedagogy and curriculum. The FS
manager also participates in the Primary Leadership Programme with a focus
on tracking children’s progress to raise achievement. The FS governor has
been included in the monitoring of quality cycle and has been briefed
regarding the TTA audit. This is impacting positively on the governor’s role in
challenging and supporting in the FS.

There is a FS budget of . . . . . . which the FS manager controls effectively in
consultation with the headteacher and FS governor.

The FS manager either attends relevant CPD or sends a representative. She
attends the Children Services Authority’s Foundation Stage Leadership
Cluster.

Morale within the FS team is very high and the ongoing reflection and
development of good practice reflects the commitment to quality and raising
achievement.

Staff are all qualified and have early years specialisms.

The FS manager makes effective links with all the significant pre-schools prior
to the children starting school. Parents and children are welcomed to social
events throughout the summer term and parental consultations are organised
flexibly to meet the needs of families. Transition to Y1 is managed effectively
with pre observations and meetings between KS1 staff and the FS manager
to discuss pupil needs. There are similar routines and procedures for the first
two terms with the Y1 curriculum being organised now in a cross-curricular
project approach. There has been extremely positive feedback from children
and parents regarding these developments.
7f What are the quality and standards in the Foundation Stage?
Overall we evaluate the quality of provision in the Foundation Stage as
satisfactory with significant aspects of good.
Standards are good overall across the areas of learning using the current
feedback from the National Primary Strategy Foundation Stage team on levels
of achievement. However, the 2004-2005 cohort’s achievement in CLL is
significantly less good than other areas and is more in line with typical
achievement using national feedback. This cohort had a significant proportion

30
(28%) of boys who had poorly developed fine motor skills (see PD), which we
believe impacted on their writing skills (letter formation). We also did not have
in place a systematic synthetic phonics programme that impacted negatively
on the children’s attainment in Linking Sounds and Letters and Reading. (See
FS Action Plan and implementation of Playing with Sounds with Jolly Phonics,
Sept 2005). These particular factors led, we believe, to a progress rate and
level of achievement lower than we aspire to in CLL.

31
SEF COMMENTARY
EXEMPLIFICATION

This brief section is in its early stages
of development. We would appreciate
feedback about its usefulness before
we extend it.

32
SEF Commentary Exemplification

Attainment on entry

 Attainment on entry is well below what is expected

 Evidence has been collected from-
o Transfer documentation from nursery
o Observations of what children say and do
o Conversations with children (language development)
o Parents/carers contributions

 A large majority of our children are not working within the stepping
stones when they enter school

 We consider our children’s development to be well below average
chronological development based on our professional knowledge

 In dispositions and attitudes the average point score for the cohort was
0.7 and this is significantly below all other averages in other scales

 20% of our children are working within the stepping stones

 5% of our children have achieved all the stepping stones

 2% of our children are working within the Early Learning Goals

 This is typical of attainment on entry over the last three years

 Trends in entry data over three years show that our cohorts are broadly
average

Foundation Stage

 Attainment at the end of the Foundation Stage is below the outcomes
of other children when compared to the Excellence Cluster, local
authority and national data. The school is ranked 49th out of the 58
schools in the authority.

 In all 13 scales some children are still working within the stepping
stones at the end of the reception year. Children working consistently
in the stepping stones at the end of reception are achieving below what
is expected .

 Linking sounds and letters, writing and calculating are particular
weaknesses with 39%, 56% and 32% of children respectively achieving
three or less scale points.

 In CLL, linking sounds and letters is a particular weakness

33
 Attainment in writing is especially weak with only 5% of children
achieving six scale points. CLL will be an area for development in the
coming year with the focus on language development.

 Disposition and attitudes, numbers as labels, shape, space and
measures and physical development are comparative strengths, with
58%, 79%, 55% and 63% of children respectively achieving six or more
scale points.

 Within Personal, Social and Emotional Development although the
dispositions and attitudes of the children are a relative strength for the
school only a third of the cohort make good progress in social and
emotional development. We use a range of strategies to support PSE
for example regular circle time, conflict resolution, and a curriculum
which takes account of children's interests and needs. We consider
PSE to be a vital aspect underpinning learning and take action if
children are not building on their previous best. This remains an area to
be constantly monitored and improved upon.

 There are no gender or birth date issues which highlight lower
achievement for particular groups of children.

 Mathematical development overall is a strength and children achieve
well although for a group of summer born children calculating is a
relative weakness

 In PSE social and emotional development of a significant proportion of
children is below that normally expected

 Progress from entry to school has been slow but steady for this cohort
of children. The children enter school developmentally well below what
is expected in our professional judgement. The children’s well-being is
an important consideration for staff and as children settle, understand
the routines and accept boundaries, learning improves. Through
careful organisation of the curriculum and pedagogy in line with the
Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage children begin to
sustain concentration and become engrossed in activities. This allows
progress from a very low starting point to become evident. However,
even with this progress attainment at the end of Foundation Stage is
still below what is expected.

 In physical development the average point score for the whole class
was 7.7 which is significantly higher than in other scales and
represents good progress

 In summary –
15% of our children show achievement well above what is expected;
35% show good progress;
40% show typical progress;
10% achieve below what is nationally expected