Evaluating practice and performance

These key frameworks support self-evaluation in your school or centre.

They supplement the advice given in the latest editions of How good is our school? and The Child at the Centre.

Improving our curriculum through self-evaluation

This guide from HM Inspectors focuses on the use of Quality Indicator 5.1: The curriculum, to help schools and centres to evaluate and improve their curriculum.

The document stresses the importance of Curriculum for Excellence and, in particular 'Building the Curriculum 3', as a powerful framework for evaluating the quality of your curriculum. It highlights, in particular, the role played in self-evaluation by:

• the four capacities.
• the principles for curriculum design.
• the experiences and outcomes.
• the way that a school or centre provides opportunities for a blend of curriculum areas and subjects, interdisciplinary projects and studies, personal achievement, and enrichment through the ethos and life of the establishment as a community.

Improving outcomes for learners through self-evaluation

'Improving outcomes for learners through self-evaluation' provides advice on the application of three quality indicators:

• 1.1 Improvements in performance
• 2.1 Learners' experiences
• 5.3 Meeting learning needs.

It also provides advice on applying Quality Indicator 5.9: Improvement through self-evaluation.

Its purpose is to help staff in schools and pre-school centres to take a closer look at these four quality indicators. It has been written for pre-school centres and primary, special and secondary schools.

Learning Together: Opening up learning

This guide is intended to support the process of turning the aspirations of Curriculum for Excellence into reality.

It illustrates existing good practice in 'opening up learning': that is, gathering evidence on learning and its outcomes, engaging in professional development with colleagues, and planning improvements in response.