UK
Wales
In 2017 Wales developed schools as learning organisations (SLOs) a key means for realising improvements in schools and curriculum. An SLO has the capacity to change and
adapt routinely to new environments and circumstances as its members, individually and together, learn their way to realising their vision. Collective working and learning and expanding the skills and learning of new ones by many teachers, teaching support staff, school leaders and others involved is believed essential for bringing Wales’ new curriculum to life.
The SLOs vision is a motivating force for sustained action. Staff are responsible for their own professional learning. Collaborative working and collective learning are central to the SLO.
SLOs uses enquiry to establish change and innovation in educational practice. They ensure they are “information-rich” or, more appropriately, “knowledge rich”. SLOs exchange information and collaborate with the wider learning system. The SLO model for Wales focuses on seven dimensions in its schools. These seven action-oriented dimensions and their underlying elements highlight both what a school should aspire to and the processes it goes through to transform itself into a learning organisation.
1. Developing a shared vision centred on the learning of all learners
2. Creating and supporting continuous learning opportunities for all staff
3. Promoting team learning and collaboration among all staff
4. Establishing a culture of enquiry, innovation and exploration
5. Establishing systems for collecting and exchanging knowledge for learning
6. Learning with and from the external environment and wider learning system
7. Modelling and growing learning leadership.
Case Study 1
Priory Church Primary school, Wales
Priory Church in Wales is an English-medium primary school situated in Brecon, Powys. There are 146 learners on roll, aged 3 to 11.The proportion of learners eligible for free school meals is 20 per cent, which is slightly above the national average of 19 per cent. Around 16 per cent of learners have a special educational need, which is below the national average of 21 per cent.
The school is the only training school in Wales for Mantle of the Expert, an inquiry-based approach to the curriculum that uses drama to engage, challenge and excite learners. As part of the professional learning school project the school has looked at developing the teaching staff (and learning support assistants) in school through a peer-coaching support programme to build on expertise ‘in-house’ and to develop the learning environment as a whole. The staff work in groups of three to trial the ‘Lesson Study’ approach adopted in Japan. This approach involves grouping teachers together to study the processes of learning and teaching in the classroom following the pedagogical approach of Mantle of the Expert. This is then followed by discussions of how to improve classroom practice. This approach has led to an increase of confidence in the creativity of all teachers across the school. There has also been an increase in the number of lessons judged good or better by leaders.
The school has shared this approach to learning and teaching with other schools across Wales by hosting study days and workshops for other practitioners to observe and discuss the practice.
Case Study 2
Dŵr y Felin Comprehensive School, Wales
Dŵr y Felin Comprehensive School is an English-medium mixed 11 to 16 comprehensive school in Neath Port Talbot. There are currently 1,134 learners on roll. Learners are drawn from an area that includes Neath and the surrounding area. The school moved onto one site in 2012. Just over 14 per cent of learners live in the 20 per cent most deprived areas of Wales. Just over 17 per cent of learners are eligible for free school meals, which is in line with the Welsh average of 17.4 per cent. The percentage of learners with special educational needs is 25.8 per cent, which is in line with the national average of 25.1 per cent. The percentage of learners who have a statement of special educational needs is around 1 per cent, which is below the national average of 2.5 per cent.
Leaders wanted to adopt an approach to school improvement led by teacher collaboration. As a pioneer school for professional learning, the school is keen to develop opportunities for staff to develop their understanding of pedagogical principles through working and sharing together. In order to foster a proactive professional learning culture a ‘learning and teaching coordinator’ was appointed and given the role of developing pedagogy across the school. Following this, a ‘teacher learning network group’, led by the coordinator, was introduced. The teacher learning network group met on a monthly basis to give the staff the opportunity to share their knowledge of pedagogy and teaching resources, in line with the termly school pedagogy foci. The group created and trialled resources that were implemented at a whole school level. For example, the school marking and feedback resources were collaboratively discussed, created, trialled and edited by network group members – giving staff an important voice for their expertise, and offering them an opportunity to access relevant theory behind whole school choices. The group focused on meeting school priorities, such as raising the attainment of more able and talented learners, by looking at the way they plan effective questioning, assessment for learning and group work.
Through the annual self-evaluation cycle and processes, staff were able to identify areas of good practice within learning, teaching and pedagogy that need to be shared or developed across the school. The overall aim was to raise standards in both Key Stages 3 and 4. The ‘Teacher Networking Group’ had a clear impact on the standards of learning and teaching across the school. Between 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 there was an increase in the quality and consistency of teaching at the school. Many staff enthused to create their own subject-specific resources from resource templates, and a collaborative culture was nurtured. Many of the resources have been shared and a common approach to teaching across the school is now embedded. This has given a greater consistency to the learning experience for learners and helped increase their transfer of skills across the curriculum.
Case Study 3
Research Learning Communities Project, University College London (UCL) Institute of Education, England
Primary schools in England worked with the UCL Institute of Education in a two-year pilot project, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation, focused on increasing the use of research in schools. The Research Learning Communities project was designed to help schools that aim to become more evidence-informed by: developing approaches to building teacher capacity to engage in and with research and data; exploring how school cultures can become more open to using evidence, making the use of research a cultural norm; exploring how schools can promote the use of research as part of an effective learning environment; and examining the structures, systems and resources needed to facilitate the use of research and share best practice.
Two leaders, a senior leader and an informal opinion leader, represented each participating school to ensure that central actors will champion research-informed practice and promote wider reach and buy-in to the approach across the school. During the first year, teams met four times in 10 groups of 5-6 schools for one-day workshops where they examined research and evidence relating to a commonly agreed area of focus. Based on this evidence, they then formulated, applied and evaluated school- or stage-wide development strategies. These were tested in schools between the sessions. The sessions were also designed to build capacity for sustaining the approach, ensuring that schools can continue to participate in the Research Learning Communities and use evidence effectively after the project ends. In the second year, participating schools led sessions, with external facilitators on hand to support and challenge them.
Source: Research Learning Communities, Education Endowment Foundation and the UCL Institute of Education, University of London, https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects/research-learning communities/
