A school's experience of the Quality Mark process
Sara Ellis, Head of Deparmtent at Uckfield Community Technical College, describes her experience when the school applied for the EBEA Quality Mark.
"At the initial meeting the consultant gave a presentation to a group of interested business departments outlining the quality mark elements and the process. This was particularly useful as it enabled a sharing of ideas about the practical arrangements, what might constitute suitable evidence and how to collate and present this for assessment with like-minded people.
"Having gained the background knowledge of the award and determined how to approach the process, I returned to college with the Quality Mark grid. The department was taking students on a residential field trip to Cyprus and I felt this would be a good opportunity to review the quality mark outside the college with my staff, giving opportunities for more lateral thinking. Once we started this external review, reflecting on and evaluating our current practice we found we were motivated to think about how we could justify grading ourselves in the ‘1’ column. These informal discussions away from the college environment and the fixed agenda of a department meeting enabled more creative thinking. We began planning to move the department forward, thinking about what was possible and what was unrealistic. The documentation grid provided a visual overview of the current situation and helped us to identify areas of development.
"On returning to college we began the process of writing up our statements against the QA grid. Collation and bringing the evidence together needed a sustained period of concentration time rather than the odd half hour a day. The department found the half-day visit from the consultant invaluable. Although we found some of the questions which were asked to clarify evidence quite challenging, it was a positive and supportive experience."
Final thoughts:
"It's an audit similar to the school self-evaluation framework but more specific to the department and therefore more useful. If you can commit to the obvious time of reflection it takes to scrutinise your own department critically, then you will come out of it the other end re-energised with a great deal of satisfaction, being far clearer about the department's areas for development and devise an improvement plan. From the initial meeting to final assessment the process took around six months; the department feels that the effort involved was not an undue workload. It was a team effort, with staff discussing and contributing relevant evidence.
"We are delighted to receive the EBEA Quality Mark. It has focused our debates and has led to some really frank self-evaluation. The quality mark has been cause for celebration in our department and school, confirming the quality of the work we put into making a successful department.”
