Quality & Continuous Improvement
CLD Self Evaluation Toolkit
Please Note:
The Self Evaluation Toolkit has not been updated to match the requirements of the 4th Edition of the How Good is our CLD framework released in October 2021.
Find information about the How Good is our CLD 4th Edition on the Education Scotland Website.
CLDMS are considering updating the toolkit resource.
About
The toolkit was developed by CLD practitioners to support self evaluation, which includes a step-by-step guide, case studies and resources.
The toolkit is designed to support community learning and development (CLD) practitioners and managers in self evaluating their work. The general principles and practices described have wide application and may be used to underpin self evaluation in a range of contexts, using the most effective quality frameworks and evaluation tools as appropriate. These frameworks provide a set of standards against which CLD can be evaluated.
Education Scotland HMI presently utilise a number quality frameworks in conducting CLD inspections, the focus of which has moved towards verifying the effectiveness of the self evaluation carried out by local Partnerships themselves.
The toolkit concentrates on evaluating the impacts of community learning and development practice on individual learners and communities. The principles and practices advocated are relevant for evaluation of face to face practice, and also operational and strategic management.
Understanding self evaluation
- What is self evaluation, its benefits and how and when to use it
- The relationship between effective planning and evaluation
Self evaluation in action
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Guidance on how to use HGIOCLD? 2 in evaluating the impacts of CLD
- How to relate intended impacts and the content of CLD activities to evidence progress or success
- Guidance on how to use the evidence to improve quality, effectiveness and efficiency.
Learning Link - Explaining the Difference Tutorial
http://www.learninglinkscotland.org.uk/edo-pack/edosecnav/tutorial.aspx
A logic model is a visual way to illustrate how your project or organisation works and it was the tool of choice for the Explaining the Difference project. It can show the story of your work in the form of a diagram, using a few simple words. It can help you describe the connections between a need in the community that you have identified, what you are doing or going to do and how this makes a difference for the people you want to help. The process of creating the model is called logic modelling. This tutorial will help you to be clear on what a logic model is like and how and when you could use one.
Effective Self-Evaluation in Community Learning and Development (CLD): A Guide for Practitioners and Managers
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/12/12093755/1
Staff and services are being required to provide evidence of the impact of their work on individual participants and communities. This guide is designed to support CLD in self-evaluating their work using the quality framework, How Good is Our Community Learning and Development? 2 (HGIOCLD? 2).
The guide focuses upon evaluating the impacts of CLD practice and includes a set of principles and practices appropriate for evaluation in different circumstances.
It sets out to answer the following questions:
- What is Self-evaluation?
- Who should do it?
- Why do it?
- When to do it?
- How to make it manageable?
- What are evaluation criteria?
Let's prove It
http://www.cldms.org.uk/resource-library/papers-and-statements/guidance-framework
Guidance and Framework about providing evidence on the local and national outcomes of community learning and development activities. Let’s Prove It was prepared by Community Learning and Development Managers Scotland, in consultation with other partners. It is intended as a contribution to helping CLD practitioners to provide evidence that will help them to improve the outcomes from their services and to gain wider recognition and understanding for these.
So what does this framework offer? It is intended to have uses at three different levels:
- as an aid to self-evaluation
- for evidencing contributions to Single Outcome Agreements
- to demonstrate the overall contribution of CLD to National Outcomes.
Glasgow Life: A Guide to Quality Reviews
http://www.cldms.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Quality-Review-Pack-FINAL.pdf
This Guide developed by Glasgow Life contains material to help you to get started and be prepared for a Quality Review process. You can use it on your own to help you understand what you know about the impact of the learning you are responsible for. It will also help you work with others and it contains templates you can use to record information. You probably already gather a range of performance and quality information. The Quality Review (QR) process uses that information and focuses on the quality and content of self evaluations, to provide an overview on whether associated evidence is sufficient and robust. It also looks at the extent to which programmed activities are aligned to outcomes and address the needs of an area or client group. The QR process helps to identify the outcomes and impact of learning for participants and communities.
Plan, Do, Check, Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA
PDCA (plan–do–check–act or plan–do–check–adjust) is an iterative four-step management method used in business for the control and continuous improvement of processes and products. A fundamental principle of the scientific method and PDCA is iteration—once a hypothesis is confirmed (or negated), executing the cycle again will extend the knowledge further. Repeating the PDCA cycle can bring us closer to the goal, usually a perfect operation and output. PDCA is known as a system for developing critical thinking.
Validated Self Evaluation
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/inspectionandreview/validatedselfevaluation/index.asp
Validated self-evaluation (VSE) is not inspection. It is a voluntary process which aims to support and challenge the work of education authorities to improve the quality of provision and outcomes for learners.
It is led by the education authority and involves a partnership in which Education Scotland works alongside the authority and applies its knowledge of educational delivery and expertise in evaluation. The purpose of this is to support, extend and challenge the education authority's own self-evaluation, and so affirm (or otherwise) and strengthen outcomes for learners.
VSE acknowledges that the responsibility for improving services and outcomes lies with the education authority. It recognises that self-evaluation is increasingly well embedded across the Scottish educational landscape and that high quality self-evaluation can lead to continuous improvement for learners and the achievement of excellence in practice and provision.
The Public Service Improvement Framework
http://www.improvementservice.org.uk/psif.html
The Public Service Improvement Framework is a performance improvement model using a self-assessment approach which encourages organisations to conduct a comprehensive review of their own activities and results. It promotes a holistic approach to continuous improvement, and is mapped to a number of established organisational improvement tools:
- The EFQM Excellence Model
- The Investors in People Standard
- The New Customer Service Excellence Standard (formally Charter Mark Standard)
- Best Value principles.
Statistics and Stories
https://www.i-develop-cld.org.uk/mod/article/view.php?id=798
The CPD Programme, Statistics and Stories, came out of a project funded by the Community Learning and Development Managers (CLDMS) network. It was funded by Education Scotland. Using an action research process, Sue Briggs and Karen McArdle explored the views of CLD practitioners about gathering the evidence of impact of professional practice.