Recommendations for the development of a bespoke audit tool

In summary, the detailed review of existing audit tools has revealed two that have been found to be most fit for purpose in relation to addressing the full range of criteria agreed with Pupils’ Emotional Health and Wellbeing Working Group One: SEAL and the Health Promoting Schools Initiative. Taken together, and as outlined above, these two audit tools are of most relevance and applicability to the needs of post-primary schools in Northern Ireland.

While SEAL is supported by an extensive range of resources and also has a growing evidence base underpinning it, it was not designed specifically to address the needs of schools in Northern Ireland.

In contrast, the Health Promoting Schools Initiative and tool was designed locally and is already likely to be familiar to many schools in Northern Ireland. While a range of resources also supports it, these are less extensive to those associated with SEAL and there is currently uncertainty regarding its future use regionally. In addition, there is a need to align any new tool with the current inspection processes in Northern Ireland while also drawing upon elements of other audit tools to address the small number of areas left unaddressed by SEAL and the Healthy Schools Initiative.

It is with this in mind that it is recommended that:

Based on the review of existing audit tools and guidance from literature on the indicators and criteria for the fostering of wellbeing in the context of a health promoting school in Northern Ireland, there are specific recommendations that can be made about the design of a new whole-school audit tool. There are 26 of these recommendations in total, relating to context, content, design, format, implementation and supporting resources and these will now be set out in turn.

5.6.1 Context

In relation to the context within which the audit tool is used, it is recommended that:

1. The audit tool should be grounded in the context of a Pupils’ Emotional Health and Wellbeing Programme that is co-ordinated and run in a coherent and consistent manner, thus maximising the fidelity of the Programme. This should aim to promote a whole-school culture to pupils’

emotional health and wellbeing, characterised by the fostering of good relationships with self and others, and underpinned by effective leadership, management and use of power.

5.6.2 Design

In relation to the design of the audit tool, the following recommendations are made:

2. The audit tool should be refined over a period of time to maximise its ease of use; balancing

‘form and function’ as a basic design principle.

A bespoke audit tool should be created to enable schools to evaluate their own whole-school practice in relation to promoting pupils’ emotional health and wellbeing. This new tool should:

 be based on a synthesis of two existing toolkits: SEAL and Health Promoting Schools (SEAL, 2007, 2008; HPANI, 2007);

 be aligned with the self-evaluation processes contained in Together Towards Improvement (Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI, 2010); and

 include specific components drawn from the literature and other tools reviewed.

3. The audit tool design should ensure that the following core quality areas, with associated indicators, are prioritised given the evidence that they reflect the key drivers in the effective and sustained promotion of wellbeing:

 an appropriate style and quality of leadership and management that is based on an inclusive approach to working with all members of the school community, including parents, and routinely promoting inter-agency working (ETI, 2010; HPANI, 2007; SEAL, 2007, 2008)²⁴

 a whole-school approach that includes the incorporation of this area of work in the School Development Plan as well as the use of clearly defined policies, the selection of evidence-based programmes based on an explicit understanding of need, appropriate staff training and support and the explicit monitoring and tracking of pupils (SEAL, 2007, 2008; HPANI, 2007; DH & DCSF, 2009; Leavey et al., 2009: 11-12; NICE, 2009; Weare, 2000; ETI, 2010)

 a whole person approach to the promotion of pupils’ emotional health and wellbeing that comprises:

o the creation and development of a caring ethos capable of fostering emotional health and wellbeing (ETI, 2010; WHO, 2010)

o good quality relationships (ETI, 2010; IUHPE, 2009a: 2; Weare and Markham, 2005; UNICEF, 2010a; HPANI, 2007, crit.3; SEAL, 2007)

o caring (WHO, 2010) and respect and consideration for others (HPANI, 2007, criterion 3)

o ethical principles and values, including the promotion of trust, integrity and equal opportunities (European Network for Mental Health Promotion / ProMenPol, 2009) as a ‘coherent and ethical framework’ (Weare, 2000: 15);

and

o robust evidence-based evaluation of outcomes (SEAL, 2007), services and programmes used and including ‘public value’ (ETI, 2010)

4. To maximise usage, the audit tool design should ensure alignment with the design of the recently reviewed ETI (2010) quality areas and process.

5. The design offers opportunities for audit, reflection and planning across various phases of a school’s journey, for example as advocated in the SEAL (2007, 2008) tool:²⁵

 Enhancing (sustaining achievement & action stage)

 Establishing (consolidation stage)

 Developing (taking action stage)

 Focusing (awareness raising stage)

24 An appropriate style of leadership underpins and facilitates other key drivers including: the establishment of a whole-school approach to the promotion of wellbeing that fosters: a caring ethos and environment; good quality relationships;

empowerment, the inclusion and participation of all stakeholders, and integration into learning/teaching, the curriculum and assessment (WHO, 2001; Jensen and Simovska, 2002).

25 For other examples see the European Network for Mental Health Promotion/ProMenPol’s (2009) developmental phases or the ‘phases in the roll-out of the health promoting school model’ (Young, 2005: 115).

6. The design should offer a rating/scoring system, consistent with the literature and paralleling the rating schemes contained in SEAL (2007, 2008), HPANI (2007) and the ETI (2010).

5.6.3 Content

In relation to the content of the new audit tool it is recommended that:

7. The audit tool should contain quality areas and indicators that are comprehensive and consistent with the characteristics of a good school promoting emotional health and wellbeing, as identified in the literature and existing tools. These should include evidence of:

 Appropriate and effective leadership and management

 A whole-school approach

 A whole person approach to the promotion of pupils’ emotional health and wellbeing that comprises:

o the creation and development of a caring ethos o good quality relationships

o respect and consideration for others o a coherent and ethical framework

o robust evidence-based evaluation of outcomes, services and programmes used.

8. The audit tool should have content that is also congruent with the self-evaluation process outlined in the recent Education and Training Inspectorate policy document (ETI, 2010).

9. The tool should prompt, and be supported by, the gathering of robust evidence-based audit data on appropriate attitudinal, behavioural, emotional, social, wellbeing and educational outcomes.

It should include short-term, mid-term and long-term outcomes; intended and un-intended outcomes; positive and negative outcomes; outcomes for pupils, adults around them and the school as a system. This should include prompts for schools to evaluate cost-effectiveness.

10. The content should accommodate, and seek information on provision for promoting pupils’

emotional health and wellbeing in relation to the diversity of pupils, including: gender; culture / ethnicity; socio-economic background; age and developmental phase; across the spectrum of abilities and needs (wellbeing, educational, additional needs); and religion.

11. The tool’s use should be encouraged in a way that complements the Revised Curriculum for Northern Ireland and to maximise mutual enrichment between this and the promotion of pupils’

emotional health and wellbeing.

12. The content should be aligned with international standards and principles, including: UNICEF’s (2010a) framework for rights-based, child-friendly educational systems and schools; the European Network of Health Promoting Schools [ENHPS] recommendations (WHO/CE/CEC (1993; Young, 1986; Young & Williams, 1989) which underpin the HPANI (2007) toolkit; the World Health Organisation’s recommendations (WHO, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999; Pattenden et al.

2001) which also underpin the HPANI (2007) toolkit. It should also be informed by, and consistent with, relevant national and regional standards and guidance on the promotion of

wellbeing in schools (Department for Children, Schools and Families / Department of Health, 2007; Blank et al., 2009; DENI, 2009; 2010; DCSF, 2009; HM Government, 2004; NICE, 2009).

13. The audit tool should prompt the evaluation of congruence in activities to promote pupils’

emotional health and wellbeing throughout a school’s layers (mind-set - beliefs/values, behaviours/voice, artefacts) and levels (individual, school and area for example) as recommended in cultures as systems theory (Hawkins, 1997) and in bio-ecological systems theories (Bronfenbrenner, 2004: 2005). This could help to ensure the overall programme itself has a ‘sense of coherence’ (Antonovsky, 1987), paralleling that being engendered in schools and individuals.

5.6.4 Format

In relation to the format of the new audit tool it is recommended that:

14. Versions of the tool should be tailored and produced that promote and ensure cross sector applicability.

15. The tool should be available in a variety of formats – navigable pdf and in online and Word (or similar) formats which can be edited to suit the users’ needs. This should also enable and facilitate the recording, storage and revisiting of the audit, needs, evidence, achievements, forward planning and an on going audit spiral.

16. The audit tool should be in formats that help schools to use it in a developmental way over time;

assisting the prioritisation of needs and the identification of strengths and weaknesses and goals; and the mapping and reviewing of progress.

5.6.5 Implementation

In relation to the implementation of the new audit tool it is recommended that:

17. Those leading the implementation of the audit tool should actively seek out and involve all relevant stakeholders in a collaborative way, as consistent with a whole-school approach. There should thus be the inclusion of diverse people (all pupils, all staff, adults and external parties) in active collaboration and the implementation should feature collaborative partnerships with external agencies, families and other relevant parties.

18. The audit tool should be implemented in a coherent and constructive way within a developmental culture paralleling that of the ETI inspection process. The use of the tool should be supported to assist in whole-school audit.

19. To maximise usage, the audit tool should be used to complement the recently reviewed self-evaluation process introduced through the Education and Training Inspectorate in Northern Ireland (ETI, 2010).

20. The tool, reflecting the programme, should be implemented in ways that: are consistent; include pupils, parents and teachers; are underpinned by diverse initiatives integrated into the curriculum; and are adopted in age and developmentally appropriate ways (Rones and Hoagward, 2000).

21. Whilst its initial design is for the post-primary sector, it is recommended that it be adapted and used across diverse sectors, as appropriate.

5.6.6 Supporting resources

In relation to the development of supporting resources it is recommended that:

22. Whilst ideally not requiring specialist training to use, the audit tool and process would be more effective if supported by a dedicated team who could assist schools to undertake the audit process, especially the first audit, and to align it to the school’s existing processes. A team of coordinators could also facilitate the cross-fertilisation of practice across schools, thus helping the Pupils’ Emotional Health and Wellbeing Programme achieve its goal to offer a cohesive framework. It is recommended that such a team and programme has a clear overall leader (coordinator overseeing other coordinators) modelling the style of leadership consistent with the literature. This could help to ensure the Pupils’ Emotional Health and Wellbeing Programme culture itself has a sense of coherence (Antonovsky, 1987), paralleling that hopefully being engendered in schools and individuals.

23. A manual, guidance notes and/or toolkit should accompany the audit tool where relevant. This should offer blended learning opportunities.

24. The audit tool and process should be supported by a range of documentary resources, such as resources for each quality area and for the indicators.

25. An online database of good practice and other information should be developed. This should collate and share local information and should have links to national and international good practice repositories.

26. Online navigable ‘maps’ of (a) evidence-based programmes; (b) evidence-based external services; and (c) a compendium of robust outcome measures of diverse types – should all be developed. These could assist whole-school reflection on and evaluation of their work in relation to promoting emotional health and wellbeing along a ‘care pathway’: within schools, seeking help for those showing continuing concern, seeking referral to specialist support and advice (National Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) support Service, 2006). They could also assist whole-school evaluation of value for money.