Self-Evaluation Course: Unit Two

Self-evaluation runs in three successive phases, and the team does not work alone in them: the principal, the teaching and administrative staff, learners and families each have a part. "Farqad" lays the three phases out on the school's journey, so everyone knows their position clearly and moves steadily.

• Preparation and planning: the team is formed and trained, the plan built, the culture spread
• Delivery: the readiness form, then the instruments and data gathering, then the final report and priorities
• Improvement, development and sustainability: the priorities become a plan with goals, programmes, an owner and follow-up

Preparation is shared by four parties, each with a definite list. Whoever knows their list does not wait for others, and whoever knows the others' lists does not ask them for what is not theirs. "Farqad" records the team's roles on its page, so a task is assigned easily and followed precisely.

The team is chosen on seven stated criteria drawn from the evaluator's competences: academic, professional and personal. Choosing on a written criterion protects the team from nomination by impression, and makes every name on it easy to defend.

• Motivation to improve, and a habit of critical, reflective thinking
• A working knowledge of evaluation methods and aims, and experience and distinction in teaching
• Strong communication with others, and confident use of a computer
• A spread of specialisms in proportions that serve an accurate evaluation on time

The team keeps one file of what documents the running of self-evaluation, in eight components. The file is not an archive filled at the end; it is built with each phase. "Farqad" assembles the file from the readiness form and the instruments on its own, so it is complete the moment it is needed and at no extra effort.

• General school data, and learner, teacher and learning-environment data with their numbers and ratios
• Attainment and achievement reports, and reports on the building's condition and the safety of its equipment
• The documents of each domain, and the improvement plan template

Before the team gathers a single datum it needs a skill that comes before every instrument: telling a fact from an opinion. Evidence that holds is a fact that can be proved; an opinion is backed by something else or left aside. "Farqad" ties every piece of evidence to its indicator and its source, so it is read with confidence and never mistaken for an opinion.

• A fact describes a real event that can be proved, and rests on direct observation
• An opinion expresses belief or feeling, and differs from one person to another
• A survey answer is an opinion; a document or an observation is a fact — which is why a survey is read beside other instruments

The three surveys open the delivery phase — for learners, teachers and families — and cover administration, teaching and learning, and learning outcomes. They run first because the later instruments interpret what they surface. "Farqad" distributes the survey and counts its responses in real time, so the result is read easily and with confidence.

• No names, and transparent answers with confidentiality guaranteed
• Every learner and every teacher takes part, not a sample chosen for convenience
• The cheapest instrument and the lightest on the respondent's time and effort
• Its limit: the answer is only as good as the respondent's understanding and experience, and may be incomplete

A document is any written, audio or visual material, on paper or electronic, that carries information about an event. The team gathers and reviews it; it does not store it. The guide lists the documents in four families, and "Farqad" seeds the whole list in the document analysis register, so the team knows precisely what it has and what it lacks.

• Administration: the operational plan, student guidance and discipline, indicator follow-up, activity, professional development, and enrichment programmes
• Safety: the safety plan, the evacuation plan and its assessment, equipment forms, and training forms
• Teaching effectiveness: samples of portfolios, activities, progress records, assessment forms, and teachers' self-evaluation reports
• Learning outcomes: discipline reports, health-promoting programmes, enrichment programmes, and reports of participations and competitions

The classroom visit is for self-evaluation alone, and no other purpose shares it. Six rules govern it, and a quota per subject sets the number of visits. "Farqad" shows the quotas above the register and counts a visit only after two independent forms, so no incomplete visit is counted.

• Two observers at least, each filing their own independent form
• A subject specialist where possible; otherwise the principal assigns whoever is suitable
• The teacher is told the visit does not touch their job appraisal
• The whole lesson, with no intervention and no remarks during it

The observation card names the practices the observer looks for, and all of them ask about the teacher's effect on the learner, not the teacher's own performance. What is written is written as facts: what happened, not what was inferred. In "Farqad" the observer marks each practice met or not met, so agreement and disagreement between observers is read clearly.

• Equal opportunities for every group of learners, and a climate that draws everyone into taking part
• Activities that grow literacy, numeracy, higher thinking, social and digital skills, and a blend of classroom and online learning
• Varied strategies, varied assessment that is analysed and used, and prompt, constructive feedback
• The note describes facts, focuses on what the learner does, uses quantified rather than vague phrasing, and avoids complex terms

The environment walk reads the physical school in eight areas, from safety and security to toilets and their supplies. The walk answers one question: does the place serve learning? "Farqad" opens the eight areas in one card with their photographs, so the walk is documented easily and read precisely.

• Safety, security and maintenance in place and working
• Classrooms organised, and laboratories available with their equipment
• Learning resources and digital technology within the learner's reach
• Courtyards and sports equipment, a canteen and seating, facilities for the disabled, and toilets with their supplies

An interview is a guided conversation to gather information on a set subject, with four groups: learners and teachers in focus groups, the counsellor and the principal alone. Five requirements make it gather rather than judge. "Farqad" carries the question bank for each group and splits the roles, so the interview is run with confidence and recorded precisely.

• Read the questions beforehand and know which indicator and standard stand behind each
• Add a question when an answer opens a door, as long as it stays tied to the indicator
• Keep to the planned time, and split the team: a speaker who asks and a scribe who writes
• Say at the start that the interview gathers information about the school's performance, not about the person

The final report is printed from the platform, and from it the strengths and improvement areas of each domain are drawn, then the development issues and priorities. From there the improvement, development and sustainability plan is built on four qualities. "Farqad" reads the priorities straight from the results, so the plan is built on what was recorded, not on what was expected.

• Clarity: goals and steps every member of the school understands
• Flexibility: it changes when an obstacle blocks a programme
• Resources: named before any programme is promised
• Involvement: staff, families and the local community build it together