NPQSL Cycle 2: Leading Culture and Ethos
Formative Assessment Task Options
Option 1: Supporting the school’s culture through effective modelling and dialogue
Programme framework statements covered
School culture
Learn that…
1.7. A culture of mutual trust and respect between colleagues fosters effective relationships and supportive professional environments.
1.8. Building alignment of staff around the intended school culture can create coherence in a school and give direction and purpose to the staff’s work teaching pupils.
Learn how to…
Contribute to establishing and sustaining an effective culture across the school, including by:
1.e. Articulating, modelling and rehearsing practices that contribute to the intended school culture and supporting every member of the school community, particularly middle leaders, to do the same.
1.f. Prioritising the use of intentional and consistent language that promotes challenge, aspiration and high expectations for pupils; and professional development and high professional standards for all colleagues.
Introduction
In ‘Learning-centred leadership: Towards personalised learning centred leadership’,1 Southworth identifies three activities effective leaders engage in to shape the culture of their schools:
▪ modelling
▪ dialogue
▪ monitoring
In this activity, we focus on how senior leaders can positively influence the performance of staff they line manage, which will often be middle leaders, through the first two behaviours Southworth describes.
Modelling
“Modelling is all about the power of example. Teachers and headteachers are strong believers in setting an example, because they know this influences pupils and colleagues alike. Research shows that teachers watch their leaders closely. Teachers watch what leaders do in order to check whether their actions are consistent over time and to test whether they do as they say, because teachers do not follow leaders who cannot walk the talk
“Successful leaders are aware that they must set an example and use their actions to show how colleagues should behave.” (p. 8, emphases added)
Reflect for a moment on Southworth’s observations. Which leaders in your school are powerful role models? Why do you think this is? What do they say and do?
Dialogue
“Dialogue is all about creating opportunities for teachers to talk with their colleagues about learning and teaching. The kinds of dialogues which influence what happens in classrooms are focused on learning and teaching. Leaders create the circumstances to meet with colleagues and discuss pedagogy and pupil learning. Often these dialogues appear to be informal. They can occur in corridors, offices, at the foot of the stairs or by the photocopier. Typically, though, they take place in classrooms and they often follow a particular pattern ” (p. 10, emphases added)
More recently, attention has focused on the use by leaders of expert-led conversations as one strategy for providing the ‘particular pattern’ that Southworth refers to.
In the extract above, Southworth suggests that ‘leadership dialogue’ should be purposeful, whatever the context in which it occurs. One strategy for ensuring your leadership dialogue is purposeful is through the use of intentional questions
1 Southworth, G. (2006). Learning-centred leadership: Towards personalised learning-centred leadership Nottingham: NCSL.
Intentional questions
Intentional questions are, as their label describes, intentional. They are well thought-out, guided questions. They will often have been prepared for the specific purpose of the conversation.
In the context of expert-led conversations, intentional questions are frequently used as a tool for getting the individual to reflect upon their thinking when they behaved in a particular way or took a particular action. For example, a senior leader might ask a middle leader, ‘Why have you grouped the pupils this way?’ or ‘Why do you assess the children in this way?’ and use this question as a springboard to get the middle leader to explore the thinking behind their decision, and to engage in self-reflection about their strategy, its successes, etc.
“Intentionality is about educators being able to explain what they are doing and why they are doing it”
For an example of intentional questions used in a dialogue with a teacher, see ‘15 questions to help find your intentionality’: https://one-child.com/432/15-questions-help-findintentionality/ | One Child (one-child.com). Accessed 03.11.2021.
Reflect for a moment on the quality of professional dialogue within your school Is there one individual who is particularly good at this? What do they do? Is their dialogue intentional?
Intentionally modelling
Some leaders are role models simply because of who they are, and may not actually see themselves as models. In reminding us that ‘successful leaders are aware that they must set an example’, Southworth focuses our attention on the need for leaders to adopt intentional behaviours when they model; i.e., they model particular ways of behaving not just because these are the right ways to do things, but also because they want to demonstrate to colleagues the school’s values and beliefs in action, as part of a conscious strategy for developing staff.
Task: Supporting the school’s culture through effective modelling and dialogue
Step one:
Download the ‘Modelling self-evaluation’ proforma below and use this to reflect on and evaluate your use of modelling as a way of positively reinforcing your school’s culture to middle leaders and staff in general.
Step two:
Share your self-evaluation with a colleague who knows you well, and ask them for their comments on your modelling practice.
Step three:
Download the ‘Intentional questions practise’ proforma below and use this to consider how you might use intentional questions when working with middle leaders.
When you have completed these activities, reflect upon your analyses and produce a report titled ‘Intentional strategies for promoting the school’s culture and ethos’. The audience for your report is your leadership performance coach. The report should not exceed 600 words. In compiling your report, consider the following questions:
▪ modelling – what are your strengths?
▪ modelling opportunities – where, when, why might you model more frequently in the future? Outline your rationale for your response.
▪ intentional questions – how effectively do you use them to provide structure to your professional dialogues?
▪ intentional questions – in what situations/scenarios would you like to develop your practice? What challenges might arise in implementing your strategy? How might you deal with these challenges?
When you have completed your report, upload it in Canvas to your leadership performance coach within the timeframe identified.
Proforma: Modelling self-evaluation
You may complete this self-evaluation from one of two perspectives:
a) You can reflect on your own behaviours and provide actual examples of your modelling behaviours; or
b) If you feel this is an area you would like to develop, you can look forwards and provide examples of what you might do in each of the scenarios, and what you would hope to achieve through modelling.
Behaviour column: You might record (a) a significant action you took, e.g., a decision not to remove a child from a classroom in order to reinforce the school’s approach to behaviour management, and/or (b) significant things you said, and how you said them, e.g., supporting an unpopular policy at a meeting whilst using a conciliatory tone.
Purpose column: You might record why you felt it was important to model on this occasion. Was it to demonstrate effective practice, e.g., in dealing with a challenging parent? Was it to have an impact on the behaviours of a particular individual or a group of staff?
Impact column: Has your modelling made a difference? How do you know? Has the behaviour of a colleague changed as a result?
Scenario Behaviour – what did you do or say? Purpose – who were you modelling for? Impact – what changed?
In a team meeting
Interacting with pupils
In corridors/the playground
Interacting with parents
Disciplining a child
1. For this task, choose a scenario in which you might wish to hold an expert-led conversation with someone you line manage that reviews their leadership of their subject or responsibility area. This activity will be more powerful if you think about a specific individual, but please do not identify them.
2. List ten intentional questions you might ask in the first column; in the second column, outline the purpose of the question. Reminder: an intentional question is a focused question which requires the responder to explain the rationale for actions they took, e.g., when managing a member of staff in a particular way; when interpreting the school’s assessment policy in a particular way; when managing a challenging parent, and so on.
Option 2: Targeted support for pupils with complex behaviour needs
Programme framework statements covered
Behaviour
Learn that…
4.5. Despite consistent systems being beneficial for all pupils, universal behaviour systems are unlikely to meet the needs of all pupils all of the time. If pupils need more intensive support with their behaviour, the approach may need to be adapted to individual needs.
4.6. SENCOs, pastoral leaders and other specialist colleagues also have valuable expertise and can ensure that appropriate support is in place for pupils.
4.15. Building effective relationships with parents, carers and families can improve pupils’ motivation, behaviour and academic success.
Learn how to…
Contribute to a whole school approach in assisting pupils who need more intensive support with their behaviour, including by:
4.j. Liaising with parents, carers and colleagues to better understand pupils’ individual circumstances, and how they can be supported to meet high academic and behavioural expectations.
4.k. Identifying and applying specialist knowledge to policies and regulations relating to SEND (including reasonable adjustments), looked after children, children who have a social worker, safeguarding and exclusions.
4.l. Supporting colleagues to select, adapt and consistently use targeted, age/developmentally appropriate interventions without lowering expectations of any pupil’s behaviour (e.g. functional behavioural assessment interventions and daily report cards).
Introduction
This formative assessment task will be of particular interest and value to senior leaders wishing to broaden their knowledge and understanding of some of the strategies and support available for managing the behaviour of pupils with complex behaviour needs in order to (a) better fulfil any responsibilities they may have and/or (b) guide staff with responsibilities in these areas whom they line manage.
A common thread in the literature on effective behaviour management is the importance of consistency, and there can be little doubt that behaviour is often better in schools with consistently applied policies and practices than in those without them. However, as the EEF (2019) report
‘Improving Behaviour in Schools’ observes:
▪ universal behaviour systems are unlikely to meet the needs of all your students
▪ for pupils with more challenging behaviour, the approach should be adapted to individual needs
▪ teachers should be trained in specific strategies if supporting pupils with high behaviour needs
This EEF report points out that one approach when managing children with high behaviour needs is to continue to apply the school’s general strategies, but to do so more intensively. These general strategies are grouped under four headings:
▪ know and understand your pupils and their influences
▪ teach learning behaviours alongside managing misbehaviour
▪ use classroom management strategies to support good classroom behaviour
▪ use simple approaches as part of your regular routine
You are advised to familiarise yourself with the detail of these strategies, as they will be valuable to you in a range of contexts.
For the purpose of this task, we focus our attention on how your school might provide more intensive support for pupils, in addition to the four strategies above, through:
▪ the use of expert advice, both from outside of the school and within from its SENDCo
▪ the use of different strategies from the general strategies described above
▪ more intensive application of two of the general strategies described above: self-regulation and ‘Engage Maintain Restore’
“A flexible but consistent approach is not a soft option and requires considerable resilience in the adults who are trying to support and teach young people immersed in their own difficulties.”2
2 Cornwall, J. (2015). The human element in education: Nurture, self-efficacy and the psychology of academic inclusion. In E. Kourkoutas and A. Hart (Eds.), Innovative practice and interventions for children and adolescents with psychosocial difficulties and disorders, pp. 60–82. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Resources
Listed below are some key resources. Before accessing them, familiarise yourself with the requirements of the task, and then decide which may be most helpful.
▪ DfE (2023). Promoting the education of children with a social worker: Virtual School Head role extension Available at: Promoting the education of children with a social worker (publishing.service.gov.uk) (Accessed 15.07.2024)
“Using their knowledge and expertise from promoting the educational outcomes of looked after and previously looked-after children, Virtual School Heads will become the strategic leader who champion the educational attendance, attainment and progress of children with a social worker” (p. 6).
▪ EEF (2019). Improving behaviour in schools: Guidance report Available at: Improving behaviour in schools (d2tic4wvo1iusb.cloudfront.net) (Accessed 06.11.2021)
Topics covered:
• Establish, Maintain, Restore model (p 8)
• targeted interventions (Section 5, pp 28–31)
▪ EEF (2019). Improving social and emotional learning in primary schools. Available at: Improving social and emotional learning in primary schools | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) (Accessed 06.11.2021)
▪ EEF (2018) Working with parents to support children’s learning Available at: Working with Parents to Support Children's Learning | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) (Accessed 06.11.2021)
▪ EEF (2018). Metacognition and Self-regulated Learning. Available at: Metacognition and Self-regulated Learning | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) (Accessed 06.11.2021)
▪ AFIRM (2016). Functional Behaviour Assessment Available at: ED595335.pdf (Accessed 06 11 2021)
Outline of principles underpinning Functional Behavioural Assessment (FBA), together with practical guidance for implementation of FBA approach.
▪ DfE (2015). Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years: Statutory guidance for organisations which work with and support children and young people who have special educational needs or disabilities Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachme nt_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf (Accessed 06.11.2021)
▪ Carroll, J., Bradley, L., Crawford, H., Hannant, P., Johnson, H., & Thompson, A. (2017). SEN support: A rapid evidence assessment. Available at: SEN support: A rapid evidence assessment (publishing.service.gov.uk) (Accessed 06 11 2021)
For guidance on interventions to reduce challenging behaviour, see pages 54 to 57
Task: Meeting complex behavioural needs – self assessment and action plan
For this task you will initially carry out a self-evaluation of your current knowledge and understanding of the support available for pupils who need more intensive support for their behaviour needs. Following this analysis, you will identify:
▪ a source(s) of support
▪ behaviour support strategy(ies)
that your school might use more effectively to enable children to better manage their behaviours.
You will also reflect on your current level of understanding/experience of the sources of support and strategies referred to in the proforma below.
Stage one: Review
Download and complete the ‘Meeting the needs of pupils who require more intensive support’ proforma.
When you have completed the proforma, meet with a trusted colleague to discuss your responses. Following your conversation, make any necessary amendments to the proforma.
Reflect on the proforma and:
▪ select two areas to focus on in stage two
▪ identify one area in which you would benefit from further professional development
Stage two: Research areas of focus
You should now explore what effective practice looks like in your two areas of focus. You should do this through:
▪ analysis of relevant research. The research cited above may be helpful, but you may need to search more widely.
▪ discussion with a local professional who works with your school, e.g., the local authority’s Virtual School headteacher or your school’s designated teacher for looked after children; your school’s educational psychologist; someone who works in alternative provision; a link social worker, and so on
Make notes on your research and conversation(s).
Stage three: Personal professional development needs
Meet with a trusted colleague to discuss how you might best meet the personal development needs you identified at stage two.
When you have completed these activities, reflect on your findings and use them to produce a report titled ‘Improving practice in [insert two areas of focus]’. The audience for your report is the school’s senior leadership team, although it is not a requirement of the task that you make the presentation to them. Maximum 600 words.
A possible structure is:
▪ areas of focus – your rationale for choosing these areas
▪ best practice – this might be findings from formal research and/or advice gained from your conversations with local experts
▪ proposals for improving provision in your two areas of focus
▪ how you would implement your proposals
When you have completed your report, upload it in Canvas to your leadership performance coach within the timeframe identified.
Proforma: Meeting the needs of pupils who require more intensive support
Reflect upon:
a) your current level of understanding/experience of the agency/approach in column one. Rate this in the ‘self’ column using these descriptors:
4 - Substantial Substantial experience
3 - Secure Developing direct experience and responsibility for this agency/approach
2 - Developing Developing indirect experience of this agency/approach
1 - Emerging Little or no experience of this agency/approach
b) the impact of your school’s current level of engagement with this agency/targeted approach. Rate this in the ‘school’ column using these descriptors:
4 - Substantial Substantial. This agency/approach is used consistently with a positive impact on pupil behaviour/outcomes.
3 - Secure Developing. This agency/approach is used consistently, although the impact on pupil behaviour/outcomes is variable.
2 - Developing Developing. This agency/approach is used inconsistently, significant scope for improving impact on pupil behaviour/outcomes.
1 - Emerging Little or no engagement with this agency/approach.
Virtual School Grade Comments:
Grade Comments:
SENDCo (the role they play in advising on behaviour management strategies for pupils) Grade Comments: Grade Comments:
Targeted approach
Social and emotional learning Grade Comments:
Grade Comments:
Self-regulation Grade Comments: Grade Comments:
Engaging parental support
Grade Comments:
Functional behavioural assessment interventions
Grade Comments:
Establish Maintain Restore (pupil/teacher relationships)
Grade Comments:
Grade Comments:
Grade Comments:
Grade Comments:
Option 3: Leading continuous professional development and learning (CPDL)
Programme framework statements covered
Professional development
Learn that…
6.1. Helping teachers improve through evidence-based professional development that is explicitly focused on improving classroom teaching can be a cost-effective way to improve pupils’ academic outcomes when compared with other interventions and can narrow the disadvantage attainment gap.
6.2. Effective professional development is likely to involve a lasting change in teachers' capabilities or understanding so that their teaching changes.
6.3. Professional development should be developed using a clear theory of change, where facilitators understand what the intended educational outcomes for teachers are and how these will subsequently impact pupil outcomes. Ideally, they should check whether teachers learn what was intended.
6.6. The content of professional development programmes should be based on the best available evidence on effective pedagogies and classroom interventions and aim to enhance capabilities and understanding in order to improve pupil outcomes.
6.7. Teachers are more likely to improve if they feel that they are working within a supportive professional environment, where both trust and high professional standards are maintained.
6.8. Supportive environments include having the time and resource to undertake relevant professional development and collaborate with peers, and the provision of feedback to enable teachers to improve. They also include receiving support from school leadership, both in addressing concerns and in maintaining standards for pupil behaviour.
Learn how to…
Ensure colleagues take part in effective professional development, including by:
6.c. Supporting teachers across the school to plan, test and implement new, evidence-informed ideas.
6.d. Working with school leaders and colleagues to identify opportunities for staff within the school colleagues to facilitate professional development approaches.
6.e. Supporting teachers to continually develop specialist subject, phase and domain expertise.
6.f. Supporting school leaders to identify teachers needs and make reasonable adjustments to professional development (e.g. to content, resources and venue).
6.g Ensuring that any professional development time is used productively and that all colleagues perceive the relevance to their work
6.j. Ensuring that the professional environment for staff is supportive with sufficient time for highquality dialogue and collaboration.
Introduction
Leading professional development
In their review, ‘Effective professional development’,3 the EEF make three recommendations for schools wishing to maximise the effectiveness and impact of their continuous professional development (CPD) provision:
▪ “Recommendation 1: When designing and selecting professional development, focus on the mechanisms.”
▪ “Recommendation 2: Ensure that professional development effectively builds knowledge, motivates staff, develops teaching techniques, and embeds practice.”
▪ “Recommendation 3: Implement professional development programmes with care, taking into consideration the context and needs of the school.”
This task considers the first recommendation only, which is focused on the design and/or commissioning of professional development (PD). You are strongly encouraged to read the whole document at some stage, as this will provide you with some practical strategies for addressing recommendations two and three also.
Focus on the mechanisms
Critical to this task is your understanding of what is intended by the term ‘mechanisms’ in the context of CPD design:
“Mechanisms are the core building blocks of professional development. They are observable, can be replicated, and could not be removed without making PD less effective. Crucially, they are supported by evidence from research on human behaviour they have been found, in contexts beyond teaching, to change practice.
“Examples of mechanisms include revisiting prior learning, goal setting, providing feedback, and action planning.” (p. 8)
Take a few moments to confirm your understanding of the strong claims made for the power of these mechanisms, in particular “their power to change practice” (p 8). Next, download the report from the link below, and study each of the 14 mechanisms to check your understanding (pp 14–28).
3 EEF. (2021). Effective professional development. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/effectiveprofessional-development Accessed 26.11.2021.
Task: Leading continuous professional development and learning (CPDL)
Step one: Confirm your understanding of mechanisms
If you haven’t already done so, download the EEF report ‘Effective professional development’ and confirm your understanding of what is meant by a mechanism. You may find it helpful to download and print out the poster ‘Effective professional development: Mechanisms’ and use this as a visual reminder of the complete model.
Step two: Evaluation of a professional development programme
Choose a recent PD programme that you have participated in or designed, or commissioned from an external provider, as the focus of this task. Download the proforma ‘Evaluation of a recent PD programme’ and use this to evaluate the contribution of each of the 14 mechanisms and to identify any that were missing.
If possible, choose a PD programme that was attended by a colleague with whom you can share thoughts and opinions about the effective use of the 14 mechanisms.
Step three: Compare observations with a colleague
If possible, share the observations you have made on your proforma with a colleague who attended the PD also.
When you have completed these activities, reflect on your findings and use them to produce a PowerPoint presentation titled ‘Mechanisms in PD’. The audience for your presentation is a group of middle leaders who have responsibility for designing subject-specific PD within their subject areas. The purpose of your presentation is to provide them with guidance on designing PD for their subject teams.
A possible structure is:
▪ research into effective PD design
▪ the role of mechanisms
▪ case study: mechanisms in practice (an outline of your findings/lessons learned from your analysis of the implementation of a previous PD programme)
▪ expectations of middle leaders when designing PD for their teams, including a rationale for your expectations
Your PowerPoint presentation should be a maximum of 10 slides. You should use the Notes function to expand, as appropriate, on the points that you make on each slide. When you have completed your presentation, upload it in Canvas to your leadership performance coach within the timeframe identified.
Proforma: Evaluation of a CPD programme
Reflect on the PD programme you have chosen to evaluate, and for each mechanism, decide:
a) Was it present? Put either Y or N in the present column.
b) If it was present, how effectively was the mechanism used to support/promote/consolidate participant learning? Select from:
▪ Very. This mechanism made a significant, positive contribution to the programme’s outcomes.
▪ Variable. This mechanism was present, often used to good effect, although it might have been used more frequently.
▪ Limited. This mechanism was used infrequently. Greater use of the mechanism may have significantly increased the impact of the PD.
Record your judgments in the Effectiveness column and support it with a brief example, e.g., to illustrate its positive impact or when an opportunity was missed.
c) If it was not present, indicate in the Effectiveness column where, when and how its inclusion might have enhanced the PD.
Mechanism Present Effectiveness (very, variable, limited)
Managing cognitive load
Revisiting prior learning
Setting and agreeing on goals
Presenting information from a credible source
Providing affirmation and reinforcement after progress
Instructing teachers on how to perform a technique
Arranging practical social support
Modelling the technique
Providing feedback
Rehearsing the technique
Providing prompts and cues
Prompting action planning
Encouraging self-monitoring
Prompting context-specific repetition