Management Information Sheet
Improvement Professional Visits
Please note the Improvement Professional Primary and Secondary Report Forms have been updated - please see MI Sheet 205/12.
For the academic year 2012-13, Schools Forum has again commissioned the local authority to provide an Improvement Professional programme for all schools that are not deemed to be causing concern. (While all schools will benefit from Improvement Professional support, schools causing concern will also be eligible for Intervention Adviser support and will be contacted separately about these arrangements. This programme is fully funded from the Strategic Achievement and Intervention budget).
Our shared aim is that every Norfolk school will be at least good; that good schools are supported to become outstanding and that these good and outstanding schools become an additional resource in driving up the achievement of children and young people across the County.
The Improvement Professional visit is undertaken in partnership with headteachers and, where possible, governor representatives. The purpose of the day visit will be to:
Experience demonstrates that the Improvement Professional visits are far more effective when appropriate preparation has taken place. In view of this, the Visit Record is now divided into two sections: one for the school to complete in advance of the visit and the second for the IP to complete during the visit. Examples of the Visit Record can be found in MI Sheet 205/12.
It cannot be over-emphasised that Improvement Professional visits are intended to be supportive, by providing external verification of effectiveness and progress and thereby validating the school’s self evaluation. These visits also enable the local authority to meet its statutory responsibilities in relation to monitoring school performance and intervening where necessary. It will also enable the Local Authority to fulfil its new responsibilities within the inspection process of each LA school as defined in the September 2012 Ofsted Subsidiary Guidance.
Management Information Sheets 170/11, 245/11 and 100/12 provide further guidance to schools on what might usefully be explored during the visit. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but a range of possibilities that might inform negotiations between the school and the Improvement Professional.
If you have any queries about the information contained within this MI Sheet, please contact Richard Potts on the number above.