It is time to start using Perspective

More than half of Norfolk Schools have started to use Perspective to help them improve the quality of their SEF. They will be able to take advantage of this work by letting Perspective take on the burden of producing and monitoring their next School Improvement Development Plan. Perspective also supports the Healthy Schools agenda, Every Child Matters reports, IiP and other initiatives the school may wish to undertake. Perspective helps schools share and involve others, such as staff and governors, in the self-evaluation process.

When is a good time to start using Perspective?
The most recent development to Perspective is a tool to support the production and monitoring of School Improvement Development Plans (SIDP). It uses the Bite Size Questions (BSQs) used in building the SEF to generate the SIDP. So the BSQs drive both the SEF and SIDP (and other) processes. The annual timetable suggests that responses to the BSQs will need to be in place in time for the Spring term when development planning is normally done. So when is a good time to start using Perspective? - now.

How can I transfer from my paper SEF to Perspective?
As you review your SEF use the BSQs in Perspective to help you. (If it helps the BSQs can be printed from the 'Report' part of Perspective). Record the outcome of the BSQs in Perspective. As each section of Perspective is completed, use the responses to the BSQs to compose your response to the SEF question. In this way, over time, you will move your SEF into Perspective.

But what happens if I am informed of an inspection before I have completed my SEF in Perspective?
During the transfer process your SEF will be in two places, the original, paper version and the revised elements recorded in Perspective. You should therefore give the Inspector copies of both, ensuring there is no overlap in content that could create confusion i.e. delete the old stuff. The SEF does not need to be a highly polished, bound document. It is a working document in a permanent state of change; it should therefore be to your advantage to be able to explain to an Inspector that you are seeking to improve your SEF by transferring to Perspective.

But I have to post my latest SEF to the Ofsted website.
No you don't. What you have to be able to do is provide your most recent SEF to the Inspector when s/he calls with notice of your inspection. S/he will give you their e-mail address so that you forward the SEF to them electronically. Perspective generates a PDF file of the SEF to facilitate this.

I have tried to use Perspective before and found it to be time consuming
The BSQs have two key qualities; first, they encourage you to provide an evaluative response. Many SEFs have been criticised by Inspectors because they have not been sufficiently evaluative. Secondly, the BSQs ensure you cover all aspects of your school's work. It can be easy to miss an important area which in turn may be a cause to attract the interest of an Inspector. Add to this the need to be rigorous in providing appropriate evidence to support your self-assessment, creates a significant time requirement. The reassuring aspect is that those who have committed the time to work through the BSQs have found the experience to be worthwhile and valuable. Best of all, it only needs doing once; after that it becomes a matter of revision.

An important feature of Perspective is the ease with which it can be shared. Some schools have used this feature to delegate responsibility for aspects of the SEF to secretaries, Leadership Team members, Governors and teachers with specific responsibilities. This can be managed within Perspective without the Headteacher losing overall control of the final content of the SEF.

What is the best way to provide evidence for my SEF?
Get electronically organised. Store your evidence electronically, scanning that which must be paper based, or link to web based information. If the info is not yet available in a suitable format, save a note within the Perspective evidence database to say where it is and who is dealing with it. Use a filename to remind you an update is required.

Advice has been provided on the Norfolk Schools website on how you can capture web based information such as that in IPSS, KeyData and RaiseOnline.

Is it true the LA can see my responses to the BSQs and my SEF?
Yes. In this way you can work and consult with your SDA, SIP and Inspector online, which is to everyone's advantage. NB these people have read only rights; they cannot change what you put into Perspective.

In addition your responses to the BSQs inform the LA's INSET training programme helping to ensure you get a training programme you will value.

I like the BSQs and use those outside of Perspective to inform my school's self-evaluation process, is this OK?
If any aspect of Perspective can help, then it should be used. The BSQs are proving to be popular in a range of scenarios, however if they are used their answers will have to be captured in some way by the school. Recording these answers in Perspective then opens up the opportunity of using the several other features of Perspective. As Perspective can be shared with a range of users, capturing the responses directly into Perspective becomes a viable proposition.

What if I think Perspective could be improved?
Regular users of Perspective will have seen it change over the last year. More is yet to come, but all of this has been driven by the users of Perspective. So feedback is not just useful, it is critical, many of the changes in the last year have come directly from Norfolk schools. If you have feedback, please use the 'Contact Us' button within Perspective.