The WAT Quality Improvement Toolkit: choosing the most useful quality control and quality assurance activities - and using them well
The WAT Quality Improvement Toolkit:
choosing the most useful QC and QA activities
Key factors in using QC and QA activities effectively include:
• base choices around, ‘What I want to find out,’ rather than a ‘tick list’ of actions
• take account of a wide range of evidence and triangulate the findings
• focus on the means of achieving outcomes, not just the outcomes themselves
• make student views a principal element in diagnosing what needs to change
Below is a summary of the benefits and limitations of each activity. The links provide full guidance on how to get the best information from the activity.
Activity Most useful for
Using documentation as a source of evidence
Providing evidence of compliance with policies, procedures.
Providing insight into clarity of thought and understanding around curriculum, school improvement etc.
Getting information about communication and transparency.
Least useful for when used in isolation
Judging impact
Points to consider to get the most valid and reliable information
Understand the context in which the documents were created.
Identify the purpose of the documentation.
Cross-reference information across multiple documents and sources.
Things to be aware of and possible lethal mutations
Triangulates well with
Limitations of documents as a source of evidence
Compliance does not automatically equate to quality.
Documentation is only as effective as the quality of implementation.
No set of documents can provide a complete picture of quality.
All other activities
The WAT Quality Improvement Toolkit: choosing the most useful quality control and quality assurance activities - and using them well
Getting the best insights from data analysis
Providing a standard measure against which comparisons can be made
Providing insights by showing:
• patterns and trends
• where outcomes are strong and where they show improvement is needed
• the impact of actions designed to lead to improved data.
Data helps you to ask the right questions, identifying the lines of enquiry, that will help you diagnose strengths and weaknesses.
Making the most of analysing students work
Curriculum coverage
Teachers’ expectations: presentation, productivity
Typicality
Students’ attitudes to their work
The standards students are on track to achieve.
Implementation of leaders’ expectations.
Diagnosing what needs to change
Right data, right people, right time:
• What am I trying to find out - what do I need to know?
• What data will help me find this out?
• How should I look at the data?
Analyse data with the expectation that something will happen as a result
Judging progress Clear Objectives and Focus
Establish Criteria and Standards
Representative Sample Selection
Include the right perspectives - involve the right people
Efficiency - make the most of the activity
However, it is important to remember that data does not give the full picture. Data can tell you that a pattern or trend exists but it cannot tell you why it does, All quality assurance activities.
Books and work recorded digitally do not capture all that is going on in lessons - e.g. discussions.
Curriculum plans: LTPs, MTPs, knowledge organisers etc
Talking to students: what do they remember?
Talking to teachers: why this? Why now?
The WAT Quality Improvement Toolkit: choosing the most useful quality control and quality assurance activities - and using them well
Visiting lessons
Getting to the heart of students views
Teachers’ understanding of the Checking compliance with Brilliant Basics and the codified approach to student engagement.
Impact of instructional coaching and ‘spotlight’.
Students’ behaviour in lessons and teachers’ tolerance of lowlevel disruption.
Identifying strengths and issues in curriculum intent and implementation:
• Are students able to apply prior knowledge to current lesson content?
• Is this lesson content creating readiness for subsequent content?
Triangulating with other activities.
Understanding the lived experience as recipients of the curriculum, teaching and pastoral care.
Typicality Be clear about the purpose of the visit.
Avoid extrapolating beyond the evidence in the lesson without triangulation with other sources.
Teachers do not necessarily perform as they usually do when being observed.
Leaders’ presence in a room can have an adverse positive effect on students’ behaviour.
Work analysis
Students’ views Outcomes data
Talking to the teacher.
Choosing the best method to enable students to give their views safely and easily.
Have we asked the right students?
Have we asked the right questions?
Are we sure students feel able to be honest?
Talking with groups of students does not give the view of all. What other approaches to gathering their views do we use?
All other activities.
The WAT Quality Improvement Toolkit: choosing the most useful quality control and quality assurance activities - and using them well
Observing unstructured times
Getting a sense of the ethos and environment:
• Is it calm and orderly?
• Do students behave respectfully to each other?
Ascertaining the degree that students self regulate. Do they behave differently when not directed?
How do they respond when reminded or corrected?
Talking with staff
Teachers’ understanding of codified approaches and pedagogy.
Curriculum content and sequencing
Evaluating attitudes to learning.
Consider who is observing, when and where.
Be clear about the indicators that show respect/lack of respect.
Look for evidence that staff are responding to positive behaviour or addressing misbehaviour.
The seniority of the observer may change the behaviour seen - SLT may not see what supply staff or TAs see for example.
Talking to students about their experience.
Ask how they know what to teach and when. How do they choose the best pedagogy? How do they check essential knowledge has been learned?
Do they feel safe and able to be honest?
Confidentiality.
Gathering parents’ views
Understanding barriers to students’ engagement .
Understanding external perceptions of policies and procedures.
Understanding the impact of decisions, policies, systems, ASPIRE values etc.
Choosing the best method to enable parents to give their views safely and easily.
Students’ views
Curriculum planning
Work analysis Outcomes
All other activities