This presentation was given by Suzanne Dillon from the Irish Department of Education and Skills at the GCES Conference on Governing Education in a Complex World during the second Workshop B on the role of shared responsibility in developing accountability mechanisms that work in Brussels on 17 October.

1. SHARING
RESPONSIBILITY FOR
SCHOOL
ACCOUNTABILITY

2. SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY
Schoo
l
Inspectora
te
Patro
n
Bodie
s
Teaching
Council
Legislatio
n
NCCA
Regulatio
nParents
State
exams

3. A FRAMEWORK FOR SCHOOL
QUALITY
Schools
Inspectorate
Parents
Why have a framework
at all?
Provides reassurance
that you are operating
in a way that is likely to
support the
achievement of your
aims
Provides a particular set
of questions to ask, and
a particular perspective

4. LOOKING AT OUR SCHOOL
Looking At Our School provides a unified and coherent set of
standards for the two key dimensions of the work of schools:
1. teaching and learning
2. leadership and management
This framework provides:
1. clarity regarding what effective teaching and learning
and effective leadership looks like
2. consistency in appraising strengths and a means of
identifying areas for development

5. THE STRUCTURE OF THE
QUALITY FRAMEWORK
Dimension
Domain
Standard
Statement of Practice
Teaching and learning
•Learner
experiences
Pupils engage
purposefully in
meaningful learning
activities
•Pupils understand and
can explain the
purpose of the
Leadership and
management
•Leading School
Development
School leaders lead the
school's engagement in a
continuous process of self-
evaluation
•Engage with school self-
evaluation as a structured
process focussed on
improving teaching,

6. USING THE QUALITY
FRAMEWORK

7. USING THE FRAMEWORK –
SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION
• Framework published in revised SSE Guidelines
• Inform self-evaluation in schools
• Focus will continue on teaching and learning
• School may also reflect on leadership and management
• Assist in supporting SSE in schools (Inspectors/PDST/SESS)
• Simplicity
• Clarity
• Consistency

8. USING THE FRAMEWORK –
ACROSS THE SYSTEM
Supporting a wide range of partners across the
system
Internal sections of the Department
Reflection tool for schools – whole-school, leadership,
teachers
Developing and sustaining school leaders – system,
school, profession
Recruitment – patrons, management bodies, school
principals
Professional development – system, third level
colleges, schools, profession
Transparency, accountability, improvement

9. USING THE FRAMEWORK –
EXTERNAL EVALUATION
Framework is a comprehensive picture of quality teaching and
learning and quality leadership and management
It is used by us to identify, affirm, promote and report on the quality
of teaching and learning and leadership and management as we find
it in the schools we visit
The work we do in schools is focussed on the dimensions, domains
and standards set out in the Quality Framework
(Not all aspects of the framework are included in any one evaluative activity)
The information/data we collect in schools facilitates reporting on
those dimensions, domains and standards

10. LOOKING AT OUR SCHOOL –
OVERVIEW:
LEARNING AND TEACHING
Dimensions:
Learning and
Teaching
Domains:
Learner outcomes
Learner experiences
Teacher’s individual
practice
Teachers’ collective /
collaborative practice

11. LOOKING AT OUR SCHOOL –
OVERVIEW:
LEADERSHIP AND
MANAGEMENT
Dimensions:
Leadership and
Management
Domains:
Leading learning and
teaching
Managing the
organisation
Leading school
development
Developing leadership
capacity