School Improvement

What is self evaluation and improvement planning?

Self evaluation and improvement planning is an important part of any school’s work. At St Julian’s we invest a vast amount of time engaging in rigorous self evaluation processes to ensure that we know precisely what our strengths and areas for development are in all areas across the school. We set out success criteria for each area for development and address them through improvement plans at a whole school, department and year group level. Senior and middle leaders regularly monitor, review and evaluate plans for effectiveness through a range of activities which ensure that evaluations are accurate and are supported with robust evidence. As part of this ongoing cycle, we update and adapt plans where necessary.

How exactly do we monitor, review and evaluate?

We monitor, review and evaluate (MRE) the quality of teaching, learning, curriculum, student support and leadership across the school through a range of MRE activities. These include:

Learner work reviews;
Learning observations;
Discussions with learners;
Discussions with teachers;
Data analysis;
Seeking views from parents/carers;
Document reviews

What are the school’s improvement priorities and how will we improve?

Self evaluation processes have enabled us to identify key priorities to work on in 2024-2025.

In addition to this, the school was inspected by Estyn in June 2024. This highlighted many strengths of the school’s work and case studies of best practice but also recommended two areas for the school to work on improving. These areas form part of our improvement planning.

Clear success criteria, actions and monitoring activities are outlined in the school’s development plan for the following key priorities:

2024/2025 Priority	What exactly do we want to improve?	How will we improve this area?
Further improve the quality of learning and teaching	Improve the coordination and provision for learners’ Digital Competency Framework skills (Estyn Recommendation) Improve learners' technical accuracy when writing across the curriculum Develop learners' understanding and application of tier two vocabulary Develop learners’ independent learning skills through home learning provision	INSET training Department professional learning Support for individuals Action research Regularly sharing effective practice (pedagogy briefing and bulletin) Development of resources Intervention programmes Communication home
Develop the curriculum in line with the curriculum for Wales	Develop learners’ understanding and appreciation of their Cynefin, local area and Welsh language, history and culture (Estyn Recommendation) Ensure all departments are ready to deliver new qualifications from September 2025	INSET training WJEC training Department meeting time Support and development for departments Development of schemes of learning and resources
Further improve student support	Further improve learner attendance and punctuality Further develop behaviour systems for a few challenging learners Improve the coordination and impact of student leadership groups across the school	Staff development Utilise support staff to improve provision and communication home Refine processes and systems to further strengthen their impact
Further improve provision and support for groups of learners	Develop targeted provision for designated ALN classes (C and Boost classes) Further embed a proactive approach to developing an inclusive culture across the school Remove barriers to learning and improve outcomes for all learners impacted by deprivation	INSET training Engagement with organisations such as Show Racism the Red Card and DARPL Support and development for departments/teams/individuals Curriculum development Utilise support staff and GEMS to improve provision and communication home Refine processes and systems to further strengthen their impact
Ensure leadership remains a strength of the school	Ensure consistency and continuation of high quality senior leadership within a new team Improve parental and community engagement	Professional development Line management structure

Who will support the school?

Different stakeholders will be involved in the professional development and support of staff in each priority area. Middle and senior leaders within the school will be responsible for much of the professional development and support in driving the school forward towards meeting our aims. We are held to account by governors on the Academic and Pastoral School Improvement sub-committees: Progress reports are submitted to these committees, who meet periodically to discuss the progress being made in key priorities and the evidence used to support evaluations. In addition, all schools in Wales are allocated a School Improvement Partner, whose role it is to support and evaluate the work of leaders in the school on behalf of the Local Authority and Education Achievement Service for South East Wales (EAS). The school also accesses other support services, offered to all schools by organisations such as the EAS.