Quality Mark

Quality Mark activity can stand alone or complement and integrate with other local and/or national initiatives to improve pupils' achievements. A Quality Mark Improvement Visit is carried out for the sole purpose of supporting continuous improvement and is a bespoke model which is matched to your needs at the time of the visit. In collaboration with settings, Improvement Specialists will identify key areas of strength but mostly importantly, areas for improvement. This will be done by drawing upon (but not exclusively to):

• The extent to which settings are meeting the elements within the Quality Mark standards
• Previous Quality Mark reports (if applicable)
• Inspection report/s
• Local Authority improvement reports
• Other external reports ie. Consultants, other quality standards
• Data – internal and external

All practitioners, and others involved with the setting should be involved in the journey. Involvement in the process contributes to the development of leadership and management skills such as communication, action planning, monitoring and evaluating, in a practical context and with a tangible outcome.

Leaders, trust board members and governing bodies will find that work undertaken as part of the Improvement Route offers a meaningful context in which to monitor and evaluate the quality of provision, practice and outcomes. It will also demonstrate how they are actively carrying out their role to drive continuous improvement.
Improvement Specialists will use the Quality Mark standard as the baseline assessment tool in all settings. This process will evaluate the setting’s overall quality of provision in English and mathematics. In doing this, Improvement Specialists will be able to provide settings with clear feedback and targets to promote further improvement and support their improvement journey. Once you have emerged into a good or better inspection status, you would then transfer onto the Quality Mark award pathway.

The Quality Mark elements

The Quality Mark framework comprises 10 elements (11 for secondary settings). As part of the Improvement Route, your school is assessed against these elements. Your school will achieve the award once you emerge from an improvement category and demonstrate that the criteria for all are met and can provide evidence that participation in the award has had a positive impact on your provision and practice..

1. A whole school strategy and planning to improve performance in English and mathematics
2. An analysis of the assessment of pupil performance in English and mathematics
3. Target setting for the improvement of performance in English and mathematics
4. English and mathematics planning and intervention for all groups of pupils
5. Review of progress made by all groups of pupils in English and mathematics
6. A commitment to improving the skills of staff in the application of English and mathematics in the school
7. The use of a range of teaching approaches and learning styles to improve English and mathematics
8. The use of appropriate teaching and learning resources to improve English and mathematics
9. The involvement of parents and carers in developing their child’s English and mathematics
10. An effective procedure for monitoring planning and assessing performance in English and mathematics
11. Provision to enable all pupils to gain appropriate national accreditation in English and mathematics (Applies to Secondary schools only)