Evaluation
A comprehensive system of evaluating ECM coverage enables schools to assess and demonstrate the effectiveness of their work towards Every Child Matters. Because the National Curriculum is at the heart of a school’s role, it provides an excellent starting point for ECM evaluation and should form the core of any school’s ECM policy.
This section of ECM Curriculum Contributions is designed to provide the resources and information needed to run a whole-school audit that will produce comprehensive, subject-by-subject evidence of how the school’s teaching covers each ECM outcome. The process of generating this evidence will also raise staff awareness of the aims of ECM and how these aims apply to their specific roles.
Schools can choose the time of year to undertake a curriculum evaluation according to their needs. An initial evaluation of past teaching is a useful way to assess the current situation and to discover any significant gaps in provision. A similar assessment can then be used while planning for the year ahead, to minimise gaps and ensure that the school demonstrates progress.
The process is divided into five simple stages: