Viva the NRCSE Quality Mark!

On 19 July 2017, we held the last Peer Recognition meeting for the Quality Framework for Supplementary Schools. After 10 years and over 100 recognition meetings, 175 supplementary schools have completed higher level Quality Framework Awards.

Congratulations to La Petite Ecole de Reigate and AFRIL Rainbow Club, the two excellent schools that achieved Silver Quality Framework Awards yesterday. Both schools said how much they got out of the process of building portfolios of evidence of their good practice in preparation for recognition AND how interesting it was to hear from another supplementary school how they do things: from performance assessment and classroom management to involvement of parents and community.

NRCSE trustees, members, staff and local authority partners have spent the last 12 months evaluating the Quality Framework and developing a new quality assurance system that will encourage growth and development in the education sector for at least the next 10 years. We are certainly not planning to do away with any of the opportunities for sharing best practice and learning from each other. The new scheme will, however, bring in experts with experience of mainstream education and do away with the peer assessment so that supplementary schools can focus on sharing and learning from each other and mainstream schools can gain insight into the tremendous work taking place in the voluntary and community sector.

 

Some of the features of the new NRCSE Quality Mark are:

The NRCSE Quality Mark builds on a solid foundation of safeguarding, as required by Section 11 of the Children’s Act 2004, and addresses ten standards to deliver effective educational provision:

1. 1. Environment,
2. 2. Teaching and learning,
3. 3. Recording and celebrating achievement,
4. 4. Resources,
5. 5. Planning
6. 6. Stakeholder consultation, monitoring and evaluation,
7. 7. Partnership,
8. 8. Staff and volunteer management,
9. 9. Safeguarding, and
10. 10. Financial management.

The NRCSE provides self-evaluation resources, online guidance and downloadable templates to every supplementary school upon joining the NRCSE. Contact details for agencies providing support in the school’s local authority area are also provided. Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 places duties on a range of organisations and individuals to ensure their functions, and any services that they contract out to others, are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. You can contact your local safeguarding children board to obtain details of the support provided in your area to meet these standards.

In order to demonstrate that you are running out-of-school activities that are not only safe but effective you can apply for an NRCSE Quality Mark. To achieve the NRCSE Quality Mark a supplementary school must:

• meet Section 11 requirements,
• provide up-to-date information on the services it provides, and
• have received a visit from an appropriate person*.

Following a Recognition Meeting the school will receive a detailed report highlighting good practice and containing recommendations for development. This information is publicly available on the NRCSE Online Directory of Supplementary Schools unless the supplementary school has provided a written request not to be publicly listed.

Download the Management file extra guidance for self assessment 2017 here.