Gove Axes The Sef

[Guest]

Another announcement to shake things up...

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11400774

 

Don't know about PVIs but we may be reclaiming our holidays.

[HappyMaz]

Don't know about PVIs but we may be reclaiming our holidays.

Well all I can say is that if the school SEF is abolished but the early years SEF is not, we may see hoards of PVI practitioners marching on Mr Gove's office with malice aforethought!

[catma]

Given that my life revolves around helping heads of centres from non education backgrounds write the flaming things I would be more than happy to see CC SEFs go. Would make my life a lot easier. But govey only thinks in terms of schools!!

 

Cx

[sunnyday]

Well really how rude!

 

This would be just typical........just as I've got a 'stunning' SEF and a SEF folder to go with it only took me half the summer holiday to get it together! :wacko:

 

Quick edit to say - I don't mean any of the previous posters are rude....'tis Michael Gove I'm accusing here!

Edited September 23, 2010 by sunnyday

[Upsy Daisy]

I have just one thing to say to you all.

 

PROCRASTINATION PAYS OFF! :(

[sunnyday]

I have just one thing to say to you all.

 

PROCRASTINATION PAYS OFF! :(

Well, as you well know I was almost certainly one of the last to 'get my act together' on the SEF front........but inspection is imminent!

 

I will force inspector to read my SEF and the contents of my all singing, all dancing SEF folder! :wacko:

[eyfs1966]

Well here we go,again, yet more uncertainty, yet more change, yet more confusion.

 

It will be interseting to hear how this one plays out.

[Guest]

Procrastination indeed! Sunnyday I'm very proud of you for getting it done . I still haven't! And now I'm not rushing for the time being despite IT being imminent too. I do have a lovely folder of evidence so I might just keep that up as I think it is also interesting to prospective parents whereas the formal SEF is a bit off putting to them.

[mundia]

For me, anyone who thinks that 'well being' is a 'peripheral' issue and in the same sentence wants to improve pupil achievement, is clearly missing the point...

[JacquieL]

I totally agree mundia, marginalising well-being is beyond my belief, and just confirms me in my view that the policy makers do not understand people/children and learning at all!

[hali]

totally agree Mundia - what a mess as usual!!!!

[Inge]

Well all I can say is that if the school SEF is abolished but the early years SEF is not, we may see hoards of PVI practitioners marching on Mr Gove's office with malice aforethought!

 

 

but SEF for the EYFS is not mandatory... you don't have to do it... just show some sort of evaluation on what you are doing and how you are using it to improve the setting

 

The setting I left did not do it.. had a small self evaluation folder which I had been doing for years and they just continued , it was never looked at during inspection and got outstanding...

 

(I will go back to my cosy hole of retirement now! So glad I don't have to cope with yet more change....)

 

Inge

[Guest]

Be careful what you wish for though ...

 

The whole point of self evaluation is that the school/setting participates in its own evaluation, rather than an inspector coming in and judging it in all areas, often without knowing what really goes on. That's what used to happen in schools in the old days, teachers fought for an element of self evaluation so I'd hope they keep that.

 

Although the SEF could certainly be slimmed down!

 

Well done to the procrastinators, Sunny you should have held out just that bit longer!!

[Guest jenpercy]

Be careful what you wish for though ...

 

The whole point of self evaluation is that the school/setting participates in its own evaluation, rather than an inspector coming in and judging it in all areas, often without knowing what really goes on. That's what used to happen in schools in the old days, teachers fought for an element of self evaluation so I'd hope they keep that.

 

Although the SEF could certainly be slimmed down!

 

Well done to the procrastinators, Sunny you should have held out just that bit longer!!

 

Well I certainly got the impression that as OFSTED looks at so much more these days, you certainly need some kind of audit of what you have done and intend to do - although despite a degree in English AND another one in Sociology it still does my head in working out what they are asking for in the official SEF.

 

Our inspector wasn't intersested in the unofficial SEF I had done, even though they had been sent a copy, and as we were having a re-inspection, she seemed not to be giving a full new imspection, and I had definately to go round offering things to look at as it seemed that if you don't say you've done it they won't ask

[HappyMaz]

The whole point of self evaluation is that the school/setting participates in its own evaluation, rather than an inspector coming in and judging it in all areas, often without knowing what really goes on.

I am well placed to reflect on my own practice and that of my setting without needing to fill in a bureaucratic, ever-repeating form which serves merely as a forum for writing down what I already know about my group. I take your point Inge that the SEF is not mandatory and I do keep repeating that to myself. However there is so much pressure to complete the SEF that in the end it is easy to give in to that pressure and devote hours and hours to the task.

 

I hadn't actually finished the SEF, but (in terms of paperwork) the star of my inspection was my operational plan which showed everything we have done and how I plan to do the things we haven't done.

 

I for one would be glad to see the worry of the SEF lifted from the shoulders of overworked practitioners - especially as our Local Authority has invested in ECERS and will augment that with EYQUISP as a way of reviewing quality and reflecting on practice.

 

I heartily agree with what everyone else has said about more uncertainty, more changes and mundia I shall go back and look at what you say about wellbeing. That sounds preposterous.

 

Maz

[Guest]

Don't get me wrong, I'm totally with everyone else on how wrong the bureaucratic stuff like the SEF is. It's just that I can remember the educational establishment fighting for the right to self evaluate, so we will need to be careful that our self evaluations still get taken into account when they are not written on some official form. It used to be that Ofsted just came in and passed judgement without thinking about how schools were trying to improve themselves.

 

It's a bit like PPA time, teaching assistants and a maximum size for reception classes, which everyone takes for granted now, but which were not even a distant dream when I trained as a teacher.

 

I can see from other posters here that the self evaluations are frequently being ignored by inspectors which is very frustrating. What I do like about the current self evaluation is the list of priorities for improvement - at least an inspector can see that you've considered what needs doing and how it will be addressed.

[HappyMaz]

For me, anyone who thinks that 'well being' is a 'peripheral' issue and in the same sentence wants to improve pupil achievement, is clearly missing the point...

I had read the words but not understood the intent mundia so thank you for pointing this out. I have emailed Mr Gove to seek reassurance that the BBC have got it wrong since I would hate to think that children's personal social and emotional development gets pushed to the periphery once children reach statutory school age.

 

If anyone wants to lobby Mr Gove about this (or anything else that makes you see red) his email address is ministers@education.gsi.gov.uk

 

Maz aka Grumpy Old Woman

[SueJ]

Oh this is such a shame - my task this weekend was to update the SEF which I only completed after much Sunnyday like procrastination in July

 

Further to Inge's post however we were ofsted'd without a SEF and even though we have a comprehensive ops plan (2 D ring folders) PSLA and LA accreditation (very large plastic box from staples with evidence) we were told we didn't self assess enough !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Marion]

http://www.education.gov.uk/news/press-not...of-form-filling

 

It seems from the announcement it is only schools

[catma]

Yup - very clearly only talks about school sef.

Cx

[Guest jenpercy]

Yup - very clearly only talks about school sef.

Cx

 

That's only because we are all Cinderelllas!!!

[Cait]

Cinderelllas!!!

 

 

???

 

Are you saying that schools must be ugly sisters?

[JacquieL]

That is because a school SEF is an entirely different from an EYFS SEF. It covers right

through a school including covering a maintained nursery within a primary school setting, or a secondary school. At the moment this is what he is addressing, which is why this is in the Reception/KS1 area of the forum. He has not yet said what will happen to the EYFS SEF in PVI settings, which is covered by a completely different branch of OFSTED.

We await the next step!

[HappyMaz]

That is because a school SEF is an entirely different from an EYFS SEF.

And am I right in thinking that unlike the early years SEF, the school one is mandatory?

[mundia]

Yes maz, as far as I am aware, it currently is mandatory fro schools, and long, really long. The govt want to trim it down to 4 sections, although it will be interesting to see what they are proposing for the EYFS section of the SEF!

[JacquieL]

I am hoping a bit of planning is going on in Gove's mind surely they wont decide to do anything re the EYFS until the consultation has taken place, and it has been reviewed, so not abolishing the PVI SEF isn't about Early Years being the Cinderella to the maintained sector. I hope that the review will lead to sensible decisions re the bureaucracy, as well as everything else, but believe that we should still be accountable.

Don't forget to respond to the consultation if you haven't already as it closes on 30th Sept. The link is on the Home page.

Whilst getting rid of a lot of the school SEF is about reducing the amount of paperwork taking up teacher's time I think it may also be linked to the Government's plans to free up schools from LA control, and some schools from curriculum control by central government. It may well be part of the agenda linked to setting up Academies and Free Schools where these schools have much more control over what they teach and how. Remember too that they have already abolished the new primary curriculum which so many schools had begun to plan for and work on. There is a big picture here really and we are all affected by it wherever we may work.

[Guest jenpercy]

OK I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. As an out of school club, we feel a bit out of things - expected to join in, but all the guidance and OFSTED criteria, just aren't useful/don't apply to what we do do and can do given our constraints

[JacquieL]

I think we can all empathise with you jenpercy Will it get any better I wonder?

[Guest LornaW]

Yup - very clearly only talks about school sef.

Cx

 

I reckon that is only becasue Gove doesn't even know PVI's complete a SEF!!!

 

Lorna

[catma]

Agreed!