The Quality of Education
The Quality of Education
The quality of education is one of the major categories in the OFSTED Handbook for Schools and the criteria set out within it is how OFSTED evaluates the performance of a school in relation to curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment, behaviour and well-being. Quality is a concept and requires leaders and their teams to construct systems that build synergy where every team, phase and department are working together to define the goals for success and determine the pathways that will realise that success.
We have designed a set of questions linked to the criteria contained in the quality of education judgement. Use our Contact us page to request a copy by putting Qualty of Education questions in the message box.
Quality as a process – What is TQM and Quality Assurance?
Quality assurance underpins how well-run businesses here in the UK and internationally ensure they can create the strategies and the structures that make them world-class. We want the same world-class excellence and high-quality assurance for education across all its sectors. In business Total Quality Management or TQM in principle defines a philosophy of continuous improvement and its embodiment as a system focuses on the mechanisms and the tools and techniques which are used to put TQM into practice.
Taking the OFSTED handbook as a starting point it is possible create a system of total quality management in a school or college that will create the framework for quality assurance. In a nutshell it is creating constancy of purpose that ensures every member of the organisation, the school, college or trust knows the part they play in delivering the highest quality educational outcomes for all learners, staff and the wider community.
The Quality of Education in Practice
Creating a system of TQM in a school or college starts with a leadership commitment to understand the principles and structures that underpin a process of TQM. It is about having a strategy that embraces partnership and collaboration, listening and learning. Strong teamwork is the key where there is trust in the abilities and commitment of staff to achieve the vision and understand the absolute need to be focused on continuous learning linked to well-defined quality benchmarks.
Everybody in the organisation has a part to play and a role in the quest for excellence. Innovation and creativity are encouraged and where things go wrong it is seen as an opportunity to learn and ensure the same thing does not happen again. Evaluation and review are an integral part of the process and help to cement the conviction that quality is about continuous improvement. CPD for teachers and all other educational professionals is essential.
Developing TQM systems in a school, college or trust
Highly effective leadership is an essential starting point. well-defined strategies that focus on creating the highest quality outcomes linked to a long term vision of continuous and sustained improvement that all staff, learners and other stakeholders willingly want to be a part is also vital. The third element that needs to be in place is highly effective, resource rich and well-trained teams who are able to work together in synergy to deliver the quality plan.
There are seven principles of TQM that shape the framework for leaders and their teams to use to create a system that will provide evidence of cohesion, excellence and a detailed plan that leads to realising the vision for continuous improvement. These are,
- Positive, effective and commited leadership
- Identifying the needs of all learners
- Engaging and empowering all staff to know their strengths and the part they play in TQM
- Desiging and delivering systems that set the standards and maintain the momentum
- Assessing the outcomes of pedagogy, curriculum implementation, well-being and continuous improvement
- Managing the data as part of evidence-based decision making
- Involving all stakeholders in the process
We have taken these principles and built an essential training course that will support leaders and their teams to begin the process of TQM. Creating Quality Assurance Systems Within an Education Setting This course is available as a live webinar or as an on-demand course for you to use to raise awareness of the powerful fundamentals of TQM and how it can transform the processes that need to be in place to secure evidence of continuous school or college improvement.
Read Glynis’s recent article ‘How do you evaluate curriculum quality’ or delve into other articles about quality
CPD for teachers and all other educational professionals is essential!
Talk to us about your vision and your goals for creating a coaching culture in your school or college. Use our contact us page or telephone us on 01746 765076 or email me, glynis@learningcultures.org.