Development of education within the school

The ISE is accredited with the Council of International Schools.  To be accredited with this organization the ISE undertakes a self-study against international school standards every 5 years.  The recommendations created during this  self-study process provides the school with a set of key action points for improving all facets of the school including, most importantly, the quality of education we provide.

In addition, the ISE uses parent questionnaires and examines student assessment data regularly as a means to provide other recommendations for improvement. All of these data and recommendations are used to make improvement plans at school level.  In particular we create a four year plan which is also driven by the mission and vision of the school.

Major developments that have resulted from our analysis of the above data and recommendations include: (i) the introduction of the TPO Project in the Dutch Bilingual Department, (ii) making and implementing a policy plan for improving student performance, (iii) creating and implementing a cultural education policy plan.

In the International Department, staff received training on the Approaches to Teaching and Learning which explores Enquiry Based Learning, Critical Thinking, Neuroscience and Creativity and other topics.  The Literacy and Mathematics Curriculum have also been reviewed and new online digital resources utilized.  Across both departments we also focus on catering for the needs of advanced learners.

To write and implement these policy plans, we have appointed a number of Curriculum Leaders. These are teachers who have been allocated  hours to fulfill their curriculum roles and often have a supplementary education.

Improving education – activities

Study Days

The school calendar has been organized so that across the school teachers can work collaboratively and take part in professional development workshops during our Study Days. This ensures that the quality of learning and teaching continues to develop. These Study Days are linked to the Annual Plan and the Mission and Vision of the school.  Within the Primary Departments we will continue to focus on pedagogical techniques, technology for learning,  and advancing students’ creativity.

Student Monitoring System (LVS) (Dutch Language Department)

In the context of our extended care system, the school uses the IEP Monitoring System as a tool for student and school evaluations. The system consists of a set of cognitive and social/emotional tests, a registration system and guidelines or material for providing focused assistance to students. It enables the teachers to systematically assess learning progress per student over longer periods of time and over multiple learning years and to base actions on this.

Improving education – results

In the 2020/21 school year the focus for curriculum development was the development of a curriculum which is authentic and incorporates our student competencies integrating all subjects into a design thinking process. to improve the quality of education.

This included:

• The development of authentic research skills
• Developing writing skills with a focus on creativity, audience and clarity
• Developing a shared vision of differentiation for the varied needs in our groups using the Design for Learning Framework
• Promoting translanguaging to use the student’s home language as a resource for learning
• Promoting student agency by providing opportunities for students to develop their competencies, become more independent, taking responsibility for their learning, reflecting upon their learning journey and sharing it with their community
• Developing real authentic learning opportunities to aid the focus on the development of the following skills: a growth mindset, problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, communication and collaboration
• A school wide focus on internet safety, productive technology, and digital literacy

Relationship with the community

Cultural Development

The cultural development of our students is considered very important. Projects are completed in cooperation with the library and the Centre for the Arts in Eindhoven. A Cultural Curriculum has been appointed and with the cultural work group this Curriculum Leader and implements cultural education. The aim is to develop intercultural and global awareness by embedding it in all aspects of our curriculum.

ECO Schools

In January 2021, the ISE primary and secondary departments, together with the Kinderstad daycare centre and the facility company Vebego, started a project called “Eco schools”. Eco-Schools is a global program to encourage students to think and act in a more sustainable manner. Using seven steps, students consider the school environment and work on actions to make it more sustainable. Students for example can design projects for saving energy, reducing waste or cleaning up the school  yard. The school had achieved the ‘Green Flag’, which is the international quality mark for sustainable schools.

Traffic Examination

It is important that children learn how to respond in  traffic. The students  have traffic lessons regularly. Once a year a traffic week is organized. Students attend workshops on various aspects of traffic.

Students in Group 7 in both departments take a theoretical traffic examination in April, followed by a practical traffic examination. Children can repeat this examination in group 8 if they haven’t passed the first time.

Speech Therapy Services

Since the 1st May 2017, an independent speech therapist has been working at the ISE to provide speech and language therapy for students who require additional support. All 5-year old students in Group 2 take a  language speech test (with the permission of parents/guardians). The test checks for the language development level, listening posture, pronunciation, sentence structure, stuttering or stammering, the position of the tongue/mouth movements and use of the voice. If necessary, treatment of any detected problems follows the screening, or a child will be re-examined at a later stage. Additional information can be obtained at the school.

Library

The school has its own library providing both fiction and nonfiction books in Dutch, English and a variety of home languages. Students from all classes can borrow books or request information for the various projects that they are studying. The library has multiple books in various languages.

Quality policy SILFO

The strategic vision SILFO 2022-2026 describes the overarching assignment for the quality development staff department. This has been formulated on the basis of the four Cs, the foundation-wide form by which SILFO shapes the various services.

The four C’s have been given substance on the basis of a developed set of instruments in which, in addition to measurable, noticeable and demonstrable quality data have been created. This data is collected, shared and evaluated in a cyclical process that includes targeted surveys, for example, follow-up questions to previously found data, collecting feedback, doing evaluations, having dialogues and sharing stories. The Inspectorate of Education’s assessment framework is consistent with this.

The quality cycle is embedded in the working methods within the foundation in various ways

Management reports

The foundation has been working with educational quality reports at both foundation and site level since mid-2019. The reports are discussed quarterly with the programme boards, the control department, the quality department and the Executive Board. The content focuses on measurable, as well as noticeable and demonstrable quality results. Noticeable and demonstrable data are presented in the site portfolios. Measurable data from the educational quality reports come from the schools’ various student monitoring systems, testing systems and reflection systems, which track progress in students’ knowledge and skills. At the site level, continuous learning lines also ensure that education is in line with a continuous development process of students. The student and parent satisfaction survey, teaching quality at school level observations and the accreditation report by the Council of International Schools for the International School are also used to measure educational quality.

Quality Dashboard

Using a Quality Dashboard, that is being developed across all SILFO schools, based on a Quality Development Cycle running synchronously with the Control Cycle, the development of educational quality is monitored.

The Quality Dashboard visualises educational quality and will be visible to the board, management, staff and the Supervisory Board through location portfolios. The Quality Dashboard is being designed to be used to monitor the quality of education within the foundation, based on the established vision. It uses the requirements drawn up by the inspectorate by means of Critical Performance Indicators (KPIs) and indicators for noticeable and demonstrable quality, the so-called Critical Quality Indicators (KKIs) that are linked to the school plan objectives. The development is evaluated quarterly with school management and is adopted by the Executive Board. The Dashboard thus also works as a tool for risk analysis.

Quality improvements

Agreements for quality improvement are drawn up and recorded quarterly on the basis of the management reports and the Quality Dashboard. School management, if necessary, perform further analysis at site level and/or adjust site targets, which are included in the Quality Dashboard. The process and the quality tools are evaluated annually, thus ensuring further quality development.

Accountability

The management reports with the location portfolios and the Quality Dashboard are shared quarterly and also discussed with the Supervisory Board. The site portfolios are also presented and discussed annually in a meeting with the Supervisory Board, the Executive Board and the Joint Participation Council. Quality data are published in the Annual Report and on the Schools on the Map website.