by John Bartholomew,
Cornerstone Senior Reviewer

At the 2003 Cornerstone Summer Institute, I had the pleasure of talking about school self-evaluation, an integral part of school review which ensures that self review provides schools with an objective stake in the whole process. Schools are asked to be their own ongoing reviewers - it works least well as a scramble a few weeks before the Cornerstone review team comes to visit - and to look at the main aspects of their school's literacy work:

  • Actions taken in response to previous review recommendations
  • The Practice of Teaching
  • Student Learning
  • The Learning Community
  • Issues facing the school

One of the questions facing school leaders is:
What have been the most and least successful aspects of the literacy leadership in the school?

This may well be the hardest question of all to answer since it challenges the leadership team in the school to identify the areas where they have been least successful.

The following criteria may help this process. They are based on the 2003 OFSTED criteria for school leadership now being used in British Schools to evaluate the quality of leaders. These criteria were shown briefly as a slide during my presentation, but had been added after production of the handout, and passed on too quickly for notes to be taken.

  • Is there a clear vision and sense of purpose?
  • Does strategic planning reflect the school's literacy goals?
  • Do the literacy leaders inspire, motivate and influence the teachers?
  • Have the leaders created effective teams to advance literacy in your school?
  • Do they provide knowledgeable and innovative leadership of teaching?
  • Are they committed to an inclusive school where each individual matters?
  • Do they provide good role models for others who work in the school?

As the leadership team meets to discuss these criteria, it does not need to involve painful self-immolation. It can be a highly constructive discussion in which each of the criteria promotes discussion of how the school can evolve. No-one thinks they are perfect, after all.