NETWORKING OF SCHOOLS FOR QUALITY 2023

Establishing a comprehensive, functional and operational internal quality assurance system with a well-developed evaluation culture at schools is a complex and protracted process – one that requires particular knowledge on the part of staff as well as a commitment to the idea itself.

In the 2006/07 academic year, legislation was introduced laying down new compulsory elements for quality assurance systems for VET providers. Today, 15 years later, two-thirds of secondary VET schools are still inactive in this area (or not active enough). As system-level representatives, we are looking for ways of establishing the conditions and factors at national level that will encourage all headteachers to introduce and upgrade the systematic quality management process in a gradual, sustainable and continuous way, – i.e. the ways in which they can be encouraged to put in place a transparent, comprehensive and functional internal quality assurance system with a well-developed culture of evaluation at school and a system for developing the capacity of staff to perform their central educational tasks.

One of the initiatives that arose in 2023 in collaboration with the Department for Quality and Analysis at the Ministry of Education’s Office for Development and Quality Assurance was the provision of long-term support to headteachers and school quality assurance teams in establishing internal quality assurance systems and introducing the quality assurance process with self-evaluation under the title Networking of Schools for Quality 2023. We invited those responsible for developing quality management at individual schools/members of school quality assurance teams and headteachers of secondary vocational and professional schools to take part in the networking process. In 2023 around 20 schools took part in the networking activities carried out by the EQAVET NRP (CPI) with external associates. Most of the schools taking part in our quality in education events were doing so for the first time. The Networking of Schools for Quality 2023 activity began with the first joint meeting of all registered schools in May, and concluded in December.

The basic material for the first joint meeting as part of the Networking of Schools for Quality 2023 initiative was the results of the online EPoS self-evaluation, which we interpreted together. Later on in the meeting, the speakers sought to get the participants to come up with self-evaluation findings and encourage them to reflect on the measures and on the planning of improvements at their schools. We advised participants of the meeting on how to guide teaching staff through the self-evaluation process, gave them some concrete tips on how to improve quality management in schools, and offered them support in their work with colleagues and pupils.

In addition to joint networking meetings, schools will meet in smaller groups. Interim small-group meetings are designed for the purposes of mutual support and the sharing of experiences in the implementation of the self-evaluation process and the introduction of improvements.

The expected results of the Networking of Schools for Quality 2023 initiative are given below.

At every school we would like to:

• establish/upgrade the self-evaluation process through the introduction of improvements at school level;
• establish an organisational quality assurance structure and adopt an agreement on roles and responsibilities in the quality assurance and development process (the role of the headteacher, the quality assurance team, the teaching staff, the individual teacher or professional associate, and other (development) teams and groups at the school);
• prepare basic documentation relating to quality assurance (self-evaluation report with action plan of measures and improvements in evaluated areas);
• the expected long-term result is progress in the quality of selected substantive areas covered by self-evaluation and the introduction of improvements in 2023.

The conceptual background of all activities in the Networking of Schools for Quality 2023 initiative is the collection of articles titled Quality in Nurseries and Schools. In addition to being upgraded, the self-evaluation with the introduction of improvements at schools process focused on safe and stimulating learning environments and professional learning and teaching work in 2023.

The Networking of Schools for Quality 2023 initiative aims to lay the foundations for internal quality systems at schools (organisational structure, the quality assurance process with self-evaluation and school documentation on quality assurance) and for improvements to both substantive quality assurance areas: safe and stimulating learning environments and professional learning and teaching work. To empower participants of the Networking of Schools for Quality 2023 initiative to discuss and plan measures, they must study the descriptions of the standards applying to the selected substantive areas in the Quality in Nurseries and Schools collection.  Without this additional substantive input, they will not be able to be so creative in seeking out the measures and activities for further development that are to be set out in the action plan.