School development advice

Schools are responsible for the quality of their work and results. School development advisers support quality development and quality assurance processes in schools. School development advisers advise school management, cluster management, specialist teams, coordination and steering groups and all teaching staff on school quality management processes and contribute their professional know-how, as advisers, to creating sustainable plans for development and change in all types of schools.

The actual provision of advice is preceded by a detailed discussion to clarify the advice needed. Ideally at least the school’s head teacher, as the person ultimately responsible for the school’s development, and nominated and/or interested teaching staff take part in this discussion. Consequently a setting is developed for the advisory process for the duration of the counselling. Both short-term advice and procedural advice over an extended period are possible, as required.

Depending on the concerns or the remit the advice can focus on teaching development, organisational development and/or staff development. School development is understood to be a comprehensive process, support for which is a systematic process and therefore in most cases requires integration of teaching, staff and organisational development.

What do professional school advisers do?

• They help schools to identify specific strengths and opportunities, and also risks, by focussing on data and evidence.
• They promote development of efficient and effective work processes and team structures.
• They strengthen the culture of feedback and evaluation in the school.
• They support implementation of coordination and steering groups and project teams.
• They assist with shaping possibilities for schools to be independently creative and set their own foci.
• They offer advice in conflict situations.
• They support development of different forms of teacher cooperation and creation and development of professional learning communities.
• They work with teaching staff/specialist groups on customising teaching and gearing it to pupils’ abilities.
• They provide information about learning settings for long-term teaching development.
• They provide their expertise on development of a way to promote heterogeneity and diversity.
• They moderate conferences, training days and team meetings.