Step 6

When the school feels that it has secured practice at the Bronze phase, it can begin to build the evidence base necessary for self-certification.

Evidence will come from collating evidence arising from many of the ongoing monitoring activities that the school has already undertaken, and should not require schools to generate further data.

The first step is to tell your story, and to cite the evidence that supports the story.

When the school feels that it has secured practice at the Silver phase, it can begin to build the evidence base necessary for certification.

Evidence will come from collating evidence arising from many of the ongoing monitoring activities that the school has already undertaken, and should not require schools to generate further data.

The first step is to tell your story, and to cite the evidence that supports the story.

When the school feels that it has secured practice at the Gold phase, it can begin to build the evidence base necessary for external certification.

Evidence will come from collating evidence arising from many of the ongoing monitoring activities that the school has already undertaken, and should not require schools to generate further data.

The first step is to tell your story, and to cite the evidence that supports the story.

Building the Evidence Base

When the school feels that it has secured practice at the Silver phase, it can begin to build the evidence base necessary for certification. The evidence base for self-certification and external certification is identical.

Evidence will come from collating evidence arising from many of the ongoing monitoring activities that the school has already undertaken, and should not require schools to generate further data.

The first step is to tell your story, and to cite the evidence that supports the story.

Against each indicator row, summarise what the school has done to secure practice in relation to the Indicator in the third column of the chart. In the fourth column summarise the supporting evidence.

The ‘What you have done’ is very much a function of your starting point and will be unique to every school, whereas the evidence base will be relatively common across schools.

Download a summary of the evidence base you might put together, and also see the relevant pages of the Development Guide and the Full Audit Tool for further detail in preparation for accreditation.

A fully completed Level Review Chart and the associated Evidence Base is the first step in the self-certification process. 

Which accreditation route is right for us?

‘Why pay for external accreditation when we can self-certify?’ is a frequently asked, and understandable, question. The answer is a simple one: If your aspiration is to stop at Silver, then self-certification will be both the cheapest and easiest option.

But if you aspire to rising to the Gold phase of development, external accreditation will give you two invaluable insights:

• You will be certain that your self-assessment at Silver phase is correct and that you therefore have a sound base from which to move forward towards Gold;
• You will have guidance on the aspects that are most in need of development if you are to reach the Gold phase of The Learning Quality Framework.

We have come across one school only that has been able to achieve the Gold phase accreditation without having first undertaken Silver phase accreditation.

Building the Evidence Base

When the school feels that it has secured practice at the Gold phase, it can begin to build the evidence base necessary for external certification.

Evidence will come from collating evidence arising from many of the ongoing monitoring activities that the school has already undertaken, and should not require schools to generate further data.

The first step is to tell your story, and to cite the evidence that supports the story.

Against each indicator row, summarise what the school has done to secure practice in relation to the Indicator in the third column of the chart. In the fourth column summarise the supporting evidence.

The ‘What you have done’ is very much a function of your starting point and will be unique to every school, whereas the evidence base will be relatively common across schools.

Download a summary of the evidence base you might put together, and also see the relevant pages of the Development Guide and the Full Audit Tool for further detail in preparation for accreditation.

A fully completed Level Review Chart and the associated Evidence Base is the first step in the self-certification process. 

But – be aware: The Gold phase is difficult to achieve and many schools do not achieve it at the first attempt. Complete the Level Review Chart as fully as you can as it is this document that will frame the external verification visit.

Accredited Self Assessment….for Bronze level only

Schools generally value external assessments to validate the security of their evidence. Successful assessment leads to accreditation of a level of the Learning Quality Standard that schools use to recognise and celebrate their achievements. External reviewers ‘bring a fresh pair of eyes’ to the evaluation of practice and evidence, and their experienced insightful questioning provides objective feedback which schools can use to inform the next stage of their journey. At Bronze level the reviewer will not visit the school and all interaction will take place online and by phone.

How to activate the Accredited Self Assessment process

1. Level Review Chart

In order to get your accreditation process underway you need to ensure that your electronic Level Review Chart Tool is up-to-date and populated with the most recent evidence that is available. This may include adding evidence on people’s perception and practice. The Level Review Chart focuses solely on the level at which you wish to be accredited. This will be the first substantive document that the reviewer will use to ‘build the picture’ of your school.

2. Review Request
Complete the Review Request Form (see below). This form asks you to state the level you wish to be accredited for together with details of personnel associated with the LQF in school. If you are a federated school then you will need to ensure that your Review Request Form makes the number, types and sizes of school sites to be involved very clear.

3. Pre-verification check
Email both your completed Review Request Form and Level Review Chart to TLO for initial scrutiny. This pre-verification checking service ensures that you comply with the level requirements and helps to remove the chance of an invalid assessment.

4. Confirmation of continuation
Once checks have been made and your proposed Level Review Chart has been passed for consideration of accreditation you will receive email confirmation of this. If the LRC appears to fall short of the accreditation level the school will be informed and along with brief advice.

5. Reviewer allocation

An approved reviewer will be allocated by TLO and she/he will get in touch to discuss the accreditation process, answer any questions you might have, and ask for more evidence if necessary. All approved reviewers have: had school senior leadership experience expertise in the substantive issues of the LQF, long experience of supporting school improvement, and experience of reviewing quality marks.

6. The Accreditation Plan

The Reviewer will send the school a tailored ‘Accreditation Plan’ indicating which documents will be required, and also provide detailed guidance in relation to the online communication requirements.

The rules about evidence

The level accreditation draws upon three principal types of evidence to substantiate that the indicators for the target level have been met:

a) Evidence from online interviews: the in-school LQF lead and HT, some lead teachers and some students of lead teachers, will be interviewed. It is expected that the majority of interviewees will support a given indicator, but it is not expected that every single person will have experience or opinion which perfectly matches the indicators. Reviewers will take account of the weight and balance of evidence from such interviews.

b) Documentary evidence: where documentary evidence is required to support the accreditation process, the school will send such documents electronically to the TLO reviewer for scrutiny.

c) Evidence from classroom observations of practice in classrooms and the wider school environment: the school will offer filmed footage of the school environment and of lessons of lead teachers that the school believes will illustrate practice in the school and support the accreditation process. Such footage will be viewed jointly by the Reviewer and the in-school LQF lead so the school has the opportunity to explain the nature of the evidence and why it was chosen.

Footage should include environmental factors such as displays and the ways in which different areas of learning around the school meet the Bronze requirements of the LQF. Classroom footage must be used to gather ‘first hand’ evidence of lead teacher and learner behaviours. 

Feedback.

This takes the form of verbal feedback provided by the Reviewer at the conclusion of the accreditation process. It gives a  judgement, indicating whether:

a) the evidence provided by the school shows that the award level has been fully met, or;

b) there is currently insufficient evidence in place to achieve the selected award level and the accreditation is ‘staged’.

A staged accreditation gives the school an opportunity to return to the process at a later date when it has responded to shortfalls identified. This will not usually require a full re-assessment unless substantial and significant changes have occurred within the school; the Reviewer will provide guidance on this.

Confidentiality

Schools are assured that all matters relating to progress review or level verification are confidential and both parties are expected to be compliant with this as part of the Terms and Conditions of assessment.