How can we create a culture of excellence in schools?
Pressures on schools to do have
never been higher, with a persistent focus on data, several different league
table measures and exam results. These might not feel so burdensome if they
weren’t also happening against the backdrop of severe real-term budget cuts to
schools, a retention and recruitment crisis that have left schools scrabbling
to keep up.
In this climate, there is a
temptation to simply try to get through the changes unscathed, to focus on the
data and getting the best possible place in league tables. But this short-term
outlook is a barrier to genuine improvement as each action becomes a response
to the latest crisis or government diktat.
What is needed instead is a
culture of excellence that permeates every classroom, department and catholic middle school;
a focus not on simply getting the best grade, but on getting the best education
and creating a lifelong passion for learning. This shift in focus matters.
The following are the steps through
which you can create this culture of excellence.
Raise your standard high
The first step is to agree on
what excellence actually looks like in your subject. What can an excellent year
7 geography student do? What are your expectations of the quality of work for a
year 12 student in chemistry? Then plan a new unit of work by coming up with a
checklist of what you expect students to know and be able to do. You can then
use this to plan the learning and create knowledge organisers for pupils to use
at home. This approach means that you are always thinking about the purpose of
our subject and considering the best it has to offer.
Lead the way
Once high standards have been
set, you can start ensuring that all students know how to meet them. The bank
of excellent work is one way to do this; it can be annotated to explain the
criteria it meets and then displayed and discussed.
One of the most powerful ways to
support a culture of excellence is through live modelling, where the teacher
answers a question themselves and explains their thought process in front of
the class. The technique can be adapted so that a piece of work is produced as
a class and developed through carefully planned questioning.
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