The DCSF has produced a Quality Standards Framework for Schools' Provision for Gifted and Talented Pupils and sees The Challenge Award Framework as feeding into it, which is good news for the thousands of schools, clusters and whole local authorities who are committed to the NACE Framework and using it to good effect.

The Quality Standards are for use as a summary vehicle/snapshot during the 'annual conversation', in the New Relationship With Schools providing tiered benchmarking for schools to position themselves with.

NACE suggests that you place a copy of the DCSF Institutional Quality Standards and Classroom Quality Standards in the front of your Challenge Award file. Audit your provision using Challenge Award criteria, highlighting strengths and areas for development against each of the 10 Elements.

Leadership teams may want to use this information to position themselves against the Institutional Quality Standards. School’s using both, draw on findings from their evidence led Challenge Award Audit which means they can rapidly tick or highlight their position on the tiered layers of IQS. Then keep this highlighted version as part of your evidence trail and remember that the Challenge Award Audit findings and your judgements about positioning can support you with writing your SEF.

Click here for more information on using the NACE Challenge Award and Institutional Quality Standards
Website subscribers see also Supporting Document 11   

Leading Teachers and Co-ordinators using the Challenge Award and Classroom Quality standards (CQS) also draw on findings from the Challenge Award audit to position themselves on CQS Layer 1. Keep this overview sheet in the portfolio and use the findings from Challenge Award criterion led reviews to update the CQS overview sheet. Do this as part of your usual monitoring and review cycle.

Click here for more information on using the NACE Challenge Award and Classroom Quality Standards
Website subscribers see also Supporting Document 27

Although the Challenge Award's Element 4 focuses more closely on classroom provision, a key principle underpinning the award is that classroom provision is the theme that runs strongly through all the Elements of the Framework.

NACE recommends using Supporting Documents from the 'What is Good?'
series of Challenge Award Supporting Documents which provides schools with a set of detailed benchmarking and development tools to focus attention on specific areas for development. Schools tell us that 'What is good Teaching? and ‘What is Student Effectiveness?' are practical, easy to use for evaluation and an excellent support for individual, team or school professional development.

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The Challenge Award Framework gives not only the benchmarks for effective whole-school provision, it exemplifies evidence and action planning. Evidence from Schools and LAs shows that the Framework transforms learning, creating a culture rich in challenge where pupils confidently lead learning.

Contact: juliefitzpatrick@nace.co.uk