Argyll & Bute Council
June 2005
Contents
________________________________________
Page
Introduction
i
1.
The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
1
2.
The Education Service: operational context
1
3.
Strategic management of the service
12
4.
Consultation and communication
19
5.
Operational management
24
6.
Resource and financial management
30
7.
Performance monitoring and continuous
improvement
35
8.
How well does the authority perform overall?
54
9.
Main points for action
57
Appendices
Performance information
Inspection coverage
Quality indicators
59
64
67
Introduction
The education functions of each local authority in
Scotland will be inspected between 2000 and
2005. Section 9 of the Standards in Scotland’s
Schools Etc. Act 2000 charges HM Inspectorate of
Education, on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, to
provide an external evaluation of the effectiveness
of the local authority in its quality assurance of
educational provision within the Council and of its
support to schools in improving quality.
Inspections are conducted within a published
framework of quality indicators (Quality
Management in Education)1 which embody the
Government’s policy on Best Value.
Each inspection is planned and implemented in
partnership with Audit Scotland on behalf of the
Accounts Commission for Scotland. Audit
Scotland is a statutory body set up in April 2000,
under the Public Finance and Accountability
(Scotland) Act 2000. It provides services to the
Accounts Commission and the Auditor General
for Scotland. Together they ensure that the
Scottish Executive and public sector bodies in
Scotland are held to account for the proper,
efficient and effective use of public funds.
The inspection team also includes an Associate
Assessor who is a senior member of staff currently
serving in another Scottish local authority.
1
Quality Management in Education (HM Inspectors of Schools, 2000) is a framework of self-evaluation for
Local Authority Education Departments.
i
_______________________________
Inspection of the education functions of
Argyll & Bute Council
1. The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
The education functions of Argyll & Bute Council were
inspected during the period December 2004 to January
2005 as part of a five-year national inspection programme
of all local authorities in Scotland.
The inspection team interviewed elected members and
officers of the Council. The inspection team also
attended meetings, visited schools and other
establishments in the authority and met with staff,
chairpersons of School Boards and other key stakeholders
of the Education Service. A summary of inspection
activities is given in Appendix 2.
On behalf of HM Inspectors, an independent company
issued and analysed responses to questionnaires to
headteachers of all educational establishments within the
authority and to the chairpersons of the School
Boards/Parents’ Associations and to partnership
pre-school establishments.
2. The Education Service: operational context
Social and economic context
Argyll and Bute covers almost 10% of Scotland’s land
area, the second largest geographical area of any Scottish
local authority, but it has less than 2% of Scotland’s
population. Its population of around 91,000 inhabitants
had declined over the last ten years and this decline was
1
projected to continue, although at a slower rate than the
predicted national trend. However, the population in the
16 to 24 age range was declining at a faster rate, while the
number of inhabitants who were over 60 years old was
increasing.
The diverse nature of Argyll and Bute was a significant
feature. The Council area comprised Atlantic islands,
rural mainland and the more urban, commuter areas of
Helensburgh and Lomond and Bute and Cowal. The
experiences of the different population groups in these
areas, and the challenges that they faced, were very
varied.
Other features of the social and economic context
included the following.
• The unemployment rate was, at 2.9%, lower than the
national figure. However, the area had high levels of
low paid and seasonal employment, particularly on the
Atlantic islands. Many unemployed people left the
area to seek employment. A particular feature of the
rural and island communities, was that young people
often left for further education or employment. A lack
of higher education opportunities within Argyll and
Bute as a whole meant that many young people who
wished to continue their education left the area to do
so.
• The majority of people were employed in the public
sector and, compared to Scotland as a whole, there
was a higher percentage of jobs in farming, fishing,
forestry and hospitality.
• In terms of the Scottish Index of Multiple
Disadvantage (SIMD), Argyll and Bute suffered less
deprivation than other local authority areas. However,
three of the Council’s 36 wards were in the lowest
15% of wards nationally in terms of deprivation.
2
Argyll and Bute had the second highest access
deprivation in Scotland.
• Free school meal entitlement (FME) in Argyll and
Bute was below the national average, but rose to 37%
in some areas of deprivation. In 2003, the average
FME in primary schools was 12.7%, compared to
14.9% in comparator authorities and 20.1% nationally.
The average FME in secondary schools was 11.5%,
compared to 10.2% in comparator authorities and
16.0% nationally.
• Gaelic was a key part of the life and culture of several
communities within Argyll and Bute and was
promoted and developed through various educational
initiatives.
The Council faced significant challenges in relation to the
dispersed and diverse physical nature of the area with
increased costs and transport difficulties when providing
services to island communities. In addition, declining
population in some areas had consequences for the
viability of communities and schools.
Political and organisational context
When local government reorganisation took place in
1996, the boundary changed to include the Helensburgh
and Lomond area within Argyll and Bute. At the time of
the inspection, Argyll and Bute had 23 Independent, eight
Liberal Democrat, three Scottish National Party and two
Conservative councillors. The Council was led by a
Group comprising 21 of the 23 Independent Councillors.
The Council undertook a review of political management
in 2001 in line with the recommendation of the
3
MacIntosh2 and Kerley3 reports and agreed to introduce a
Strategic Policy Committee. As a result, overall
responsibility for the education functions of the Council
was now undertaken by the Strategic Policy Committee.
Specific dates were identified in the calendar for this
Committee to deal with educational matters. The
Committee was chaired by the Leader of the Council. It
included the Spokesperson for Education, whose
responsibility also covered Social Work and Health. In
addition, Area Committees covered each of the four main
Council areas, namely Helensburgh and Lomond; Bute
and Cowal; Mid Argyll, Kintyre and Islay; and Oban,
Lorn and the Isles. As well as being included as a focus
for the Strategic Policy Committee, education matters,
including the performance of schools, were also
discussed at each Area Committee.
The Council’s Corporate Plan identified key themes
which were to be addressed to achieve the Council’s
overall aim of being recognised as Scotland’s leading
rural area. The priorities of the Plan focused on actions
to make Argyll and Bute a better place:
• economically;
• socially;
• healthily;
• culturally;
• politically; and
• environmentally.
2
The Report of the Commission on Local Government and the Scottish Parliament –
The McIntosh Report, Scottish Office, June 1999.
3
The Report of the Renewing Local Democracy Working Group – The Kerley Report,
Scottish Executive, June 2000.
4
While education did not feature as a main theme, it was
included in some of the action plans relating to these
themes.
The Council was very aware of its leading role in the
Argyll and Bute Community Planning Partnership and the
need to ensure that the priorities of the partnership, which
were consistent with its own priorities, were addressed.
The Council’s priorities were set out in its Corporate Plan
as intentions to:
• promote health and well-being;
• improve opportunities for learning, employment and
skills development; and
• sustain and develop our communities, culture and
environment.
It planned to address these priorities by:
• developing its people;
• working in partnership; and
• improving services and containing costs.
In June 2003, the Council restructured from six
Departments to four Services, comprising Development
Services, Community Services, Operational Services and
Corporate Services, each of which was led by a Director.
The restructuring resulted in the number of senior posts
for education being reduced from the Director of
Education, four Heads of Service and the Quality
Standards Manager to two Heads of Service and the
Quality Standards Manager, responsible to the Director of
Community Services. Some aspects of provision, which
had previously been the responsibility of the Education
Department, had been transferred to the remits of other
Heads of Service within Community Services. Together
5
with the Heads of Service for Children and Families,
Community Regeneration, Planning and Performance,
Housing, Community Support, and Integrated Care, the
two Heads of Service for Education formed the
management team for Community Services.
Educational provision and performance
The Council was responsible for around 13,500 pupils in
80 primary, ten secondary schools and three learning
centres. There were an additional eight learning centres
in mainstream schools. Learning centres made provision
for pupils with a range of additional learning needs.
Pre-school education was provided by the authority in
two nurseries and 39 nursery classes, and in partnership
with 36 private and voluntary centres. Three of the
schools had both primary and secondary departments, and
two of these schools also had nursery classes. There was
Gaelic medium provision for primary pupils in six
schools, and some also had pre-school provision. Two
hostels provided residential accommodation for
secondary pupils who lived in locations which were too
far from their schools to allow daily travel.
At the time of the inspection, all schools had a School
Board.
The Council provided a pre-school place for all
three-year-old and four-year-old children whose parents
wished it. The Accounts Commission Statutory
Performance Indicators (SPIs) for 2003 show that 100%
of three-year-old and 100% of four-year-old children
received a pre-school place, compared to respective
national averages of 94% and 98%.
Pupil-teacher ratios in primary and secondary schools and
in the learning centres were close to the national average.
Most primary schools were small or very small, with rolls
of less than 150. Ten had rolls of between 151 and 300
and five had rolls of between 301 and 500. Half of the
6
secondary schools had rolls of less than 500 and three had
rolls of between 501 and 1100. One secondary school
had a roll of over 1401.
Overall, school occupancy rates for primary schools were
lower than the national average. Only 7% of primary
schools had occupancy levels above 80%, compared with
26% in comparator authorities and nationally.
Twenty-six percent of primary schools had occupancy
levels of 40% or less, compared with 13% in comparator
authorities and 10% nationally. Thirty percent of
secondary schools had occupancy levels of more than
80%, the same as comparator authorities but below the
national average of 38%. Sixty percent had occupancy
levels of between 61% and 80%, compared with 27% in
comparator authorities and 33% nationally. No
secondary schools had occupancy levels of less than 40%,
compared with 10% of schools in comparator authorities
and 3% nationally.
In 2003/2004, the Council allocated £88,596,401 to the
revenue budget for education. In 2004/2005, the figure
increased to £96,356,090. These figures included direct
grants from the National Priorities Action Fund.
The following commentary draws on key performance
information about the schools in the Council provided
in Appendix 1.
Staying on rate and school leavers’ destinations
•
Between 2002 and 2004, the percentage of pupils
staying on beyond the compulsory school leaving age
remained constant at 74%. These figures were above
the averages for comparator authorities and well
above those for Scotland as a whole.
•
Between 2001 and 2003, the percentage of school
leavers entering higher education fell from 36% to
33%. These figures were broadly in line with the
7
averages for comparator authorities and above those
for Scotland as a whole.
•
Between 2001 and 2003 the percentage of school
leavers entering full-time further education fell from
17% to 14%. These figures were lower than those for
comparator authorities and for Scotland as a whole.
•
Over the same period, the percentage of pupils
entering employment rose from 33% to 35%. These
figures were above those for comparator authorities
and well above those for Scotland as a whole.
Attendance and absence
•
Throughout the period 2000 to 2003, absence rates in
primary schools remained steady at 5%. These
figures were broadly in line with the average for
comparator authorities and with national figures. In
secondary schools, absence rates remained steady at
8% between 2000 and 2003. These figures were
below the averages for comparator authorities and for
Scotland as a whole.
•
The rate of exclusions from primary schools remained
constant between 2001 and 2003 at ten exclusions per
1000 pupils. These figures were broadly in line with
the average rates for comparator authorities and
national rates. Over the same period in secondary
schools, rates increased from 95 to 110 exclusions per
1000 pupils. These figures were considerably higher
than those for comparator authorities but, other than
in 2003, lower than national figures.
5-14 performance
•
8
Between 2001 and 2004, primary 5-14 attainment
levels increased slightly in writing, and mathematics,
and remained relatively steady in reading. For all
three measures, the figures were broadly in line with,
or above, those for comparator authorities and for
Scotland as a whole.
•
Between 2001 and 2004, secondary 5-14 attainment
levels had improved steadily in reading. In writing,
attainment increased from 2001 to 2003, but declined
in 2004. In mathematics, attainment increased
steadily from 2001 to 2003 and remained relatively
steady in 2004. Attainment levels were well above
the national average.
SQA examination performance
•
Performance at S4 from 2000 to 2004 was above
comparator authorities for all Scottish Qualifications
Authority National Qualifications (NQs). Over the
same period, performance was above and often well
above national averages. The education authority
performed notably well for the percentage of pupils
attaining five or more NQ awards at Level 44 or
better. In general, attainment levels were high and
remained roughly level from 2000 to 2004.
•
Between 2000 and 2004, the percentages of S5 pupils
gaining three or more and five or more NQ awards at
Level 6 or better were generally above national
averages and slightly above those in comparator
authorities for all years except for 2002. Again,
attainment levels were strong in S5 and had remained
relatively level in recent years.
•
Between 2000 and 2004, the percentages of S6 pupils
gaining one or more NQ award at Level 7 or better
4
Level 1 = Access 1. Level 2 = Access 2.
Level 3 = Standard Grade at 1-2 or Access 3.
Level 4 = Standard Grade at 3-4 or Intermediate 1 at A – C.
Level 5 = Standard Grade at 5-6 or Intermediate 2 at A – C.
Level 6 = Higher at A – C. Level 7 = Advanced Higher or CSYS at A – C.
9
were in line with comparator authorities and national
averages.
School inspection evidence
In the period from August 2001 to October 2004, HMIE
published reports on 31 primary schools and six
secondary schools in Argyll and Bute. Five of the
primary schools included nursery classes which were
inspected. In addition, five nursery classes within
primary schools and 19 pre-school establishments were
inspected by the Care Commission. HMIE also published
reports on the two hostels which provide residential
provision for pupils attending secondary schools.
In most nursery classes the curriculum was good or very
good. Most children were making good progress in their
development and learning. Support for children and
families and aspects of leadership were good or very
good in most establishments. Most needed to improve
further their arrangements for self-evaluation to assist
improvement.
There were major strengths in most of the primary
schools inspected. In almost all primary schools
inspected, the curriculum, teaching and support for
learning were good or very good. The quality of pupils’
learning, attainment in mathematics and English
language, and meeting pupils’ needs was good or very
good in most schools. The quality of attainment in Gaelic
language, which was evaluated in two primary schools
which had Gaelic medium classes, was very good in one
school, but had major weaknesses in the other. Schools
demonstrated strengths in leadership, climate and
relationships, approaches to equality and fairness, and
partnership with parents. There were weaknesses in
accommodation in six primary schools and major
weaknesses in one. The most frequently identified areas
requiring attention related to making better use of
assessment information to plan next steps in pupils’
10
learning and further developing approaches to
self-evaluation.
In five of the six secondary schools inspected, many
aspects were judged to be good or very good. The
structure of the curriculum, the quality of learning and
teaching, and pupils’ attainment were good or very good.
Other areas of strength included leadership, meeting
pupils’ needs, pastoral care, curricular and vocational
guidance, expectations and promoting achievement, and
partnerships with parents and the community.
Approaches to self-evaluation had important weaknesses
in two of these schools. Overall, accommodation was
judged to be fair in one school and unsatisfactory in two
others. There were important and major weaknesses in
one of the secondary schools inspected. The authority
was working with HM Inspectorate to address these
weaknesses.
HMIE inspected the care and welfare of residential pupils
in the authority’s two hostels. Most aspects of provision
were judged to be good or very good. Self-evaluation,
staff review and development, and planning for
improvement were fair. In one, accommodation was also
identified as having important weaknesses.
Community learning and development
inspection evidence
In 2003, HMIE published a report on Community
Learning and Development (CLD) in the Helensburgh
and Lomond area. The overall provision was judged to
be good. The report identified a number of strengths
including, the effective support to parents and children
through the ‘Home Link’ project, the range and
effectiveness of partnership working, and very effective
team leadership.
11
3. Strategic management of the service
Vision, values and aims
Performance in this area was good. The Council’s
overall vision, that Argyll and Bute should be recognised
as Scotland’s leading rural area, was clearly stated in key
documents including the Corporate Plan. It formed the
context for building upon the Council’s three values of
getting closer to communities, valuing employees and
working with partners. These values and the related
goals guided the work of the Council. It was committed
to ensuring that the services it provided were delivered in
a fair, consistent, efficient and effective way, taking
account of the needs and aspirations of communities and
individuals and the social and environmental impact. The
vision statement in the Community Plan reflected the
Council’s values and goals. It set out the intention to
‘work in partnership with communities to realise their full
potential across Argyll and Bute, in a way that enhances
the quality of life, creates prosperity and empowers
communities, while protecting the area’s outstanding
natural environment’. Overall, the vision and values
provided an appropriate context for the work of the
Council.
A key strategic priority of the Council was to promote
prosperity in Argyll and Bute through:
12
•
attracting inward investment;
•
sustaining and developing indigenous business;
•
improving communication – both physical and
electronic; and
•
improving the skills and qualifications of the
workforce.
The establishment of Community Services reflected the
Council’s desire to promote and facilitate partnership
working to improve service provision for children, young
people and their families. It had led to a review of
provision of childcare services with the aim of offering a
wide range of more flexible, locally based services. Thus
the Council was giving priority to addressing the
problems of a declining population.
The aims and objectives for the Education Service
appropriately emphasised the importance of high
standards of achievement, continuous improvement,
equality of opportunity and a commitment to lifelong
learning. The commitment of the Education Service to
implementing both national and Council priorities were
clearly identified within the Service and Budget Plan and
related action plans. The Service and Budget Plan for the
Education Service identified clearly the contribution of
education to promoting the Council’s priority of
promoting prosperity. Also, the Service had a strong
focus on education for enterprise and work in its schools
through a close association with local businesses.
The Council’s aims, goals and values were well
embedded in key plans and policies. Heads of Service
systematically promoted the aims and objectives of the
Education Service at meetings of headteachers. The
development of a ‘learning community’ and the Service’s
key set of policies on Teaching for Effective Learning
were effectively promoted at the well regarded biennial
conferences for headteachers. At a seminar for senior
officers and members of the Quality Improvement Team
of the Education Service, the Director of Community
Services had reinforced the four main aims for education
and the overall goal of ensuring that all staff aimed to
provide the highest quality of education to enable young
people in Argyll and Bute achieve their fullest potential.
In the pre-inspection survey, most heads of
establishments and School Board chairpersons agreed or
strongly agreed that senior managers communicated a
13
clear overall vision for the development of education.
Half of the secondary headteachers who responded to the
survey disagreed. However, those interviewed by
HM Inspectors were more positive.
A particular strength of the Council was the commitment
of staff within Community Services to work together to
provide more integrated services to children, young
people and their families. Staff had good working
relationships which were underpinning new partnerships.
Heads of Service with particular responsibilities for
education had developed very constructive links with
other Heads of Service within Community Services.
They were kept fully informed of the overall work of
Community Services at regular Management Team
meetings. Their close working with the Heads of Service
for Children and Families, Community Regeneration and
Planning and Performance, in particular, was evident and
was resulting in measurable impact on the quality of
provision and support for children and young people.
Joint strategic planning, bringing together aspects such as
child protection, disability, youth crime and the childcare
partnership, was beginning to develop better integrated
services. The Fuller Services in our Neighbourhoods and
Schools (FUSIONS) initiative, had considerable potential
to further develop partnerships at area and school levels.
Very good links between the Education Service and
Community Regeneration, at central and local levels, was
resulting in valuable sports and cultural initiatives for
children and young people.
The Council’s overall vision, values and aims provided a
sound foundation for the work of Community Services.
Some adjustments were required in the stated aims of
Community Services to make more explicit the
commitment and emerging good practice in providing
more integrated services for children, young people and
their families. The Council’s establishment of
Community Services reflected its aim of providing better
14
services for children and young people through more
integrated working.
Leadership and management
The effectiveness of leadership and management was
good. The revised management structure for delivering
the education functions of the Council through
Community Services was developing well. The Director
of Community Services and Heads of Service were
making sound progress in managing their revised remits
and responsibilities effectively. There was a substantial,
and developing, emphasis placed on quality assurance
and integrated working to improve the quality of service.
The pre-inspection survey showed that most heads of
establishment (98%) agreed that senior managers showed
a high level of commitment to the promotion of quality.
The Spokesperson for Education, Social Work and Health
provided a depth of experience in local government, and
clear and pragmatic political leadership. He was strongly
committed to the development of education within the
Council and received broad support from other elected
members. He provided strong support for the Director of
Community Services and his teams.
The Director of Community Services had a wide and
challenging remit. He gave high priority and a strong
strategic lead to the development of education within the
Council. His ability to listen, take an analytical approach
and delegate effectively provided a style of management
which facilitated the work of the Heads of Service and
was appreciated by them. These qualities were further
enhanced by positive and productive working
relationships with the Chief Executive and elected
members. The Director’s influence was evident in the
strong support provided to education, his contribution to
improving integrated ways of working and to managing
the Non-Profit Distributing Organisation (NPDO) project
to upgrade the school estate.
15
The Head of Pre-school and Primary Education and the
Head of Secondary Education and Pupil Support formed
the effective education management team within
Community Services. They had lost no time in taking on
new roles within the Council as a result of the
reorganisation which had made considerable demands on
them. They linked well with other Heads of Service and
made an important contribution to integrated working
within Community Services and with other stakeholders.
Their roles and functions were clear and well understood.
They were well deployed to make best use of the range of
different skills and attributes they provided. They made
good use of regular team meetings to plan and provide
appropriate consistency across the different sectors which
they managed. Their approachability, accessibility and
commitment were widely recognised. Headteachers
acknowledged the extent to which they were increasingly
included in decision-making. Both Heads of Service had
a sound knowledge of the local and national educational
contexts. Good leadership and direction were provided
through the clear and precise identification of
development priorities for the future and the Service and
Budget Plan.
The two Heads of Service performed their individual
responsibilities very well and had contributed effectively
to improving important aspects of the Service. The Head
of Service for Pre-school and Primary Education had a
deep understanding of the needs of the authority’s
primary schools and endeavoured to meet them. She had
made a very positive contribution to improving the
quality of pre-school education and developing the
Assessment is for Learning Project. The Head of
Secondary Education and Pupil Support had managed
provision for pupils with special educational needs very
effectively. He had overseen an extensive scrutiny
review which had improved budget setting and patterns
of service delivery. Both Heads of Service played key
roles in school improvement. They line managed Quality
Improvement Officers (QIOs) operating in their sectors of
16
responsibility. Performance monitoring and support were
strong features in the pre-school and primary school
sectors. The Head of Secondary Education and Pupil
Support was appropriately focussing on his key priority
of ensuring full and effective implementation of strategies
for quality improvement in secondary schools.
As part of regular reviews of their own work, the Heads
of Service had twice surveyed heads of establishments to
gather their views on the effectiveness of the
management of the Service. Successful steps had been
taken to improve aspects of consultation and
communication as a result of the findings of these
reviews. The work of the Director of Community
Services and Heads of Service had been formally
reviewed. Increasing emphasis should be placed on
evaluating their contributions to improving schools’
performance.
The Council was committed to providing improving
education services for young people and their families.
Senior managers had worked hard to provide good
leadership and maintain and improve services through
periods of restructuring within the Council. The most
recent structure was operating well. Priorities for
improvement were clear and appropriate. Stronger
leadership in ensuring improved support and challenge to
secondary schools to further raise attainment and
achievement had been provided recently, but it was too
early for the full impact to be realised.
Policy development
The quality of policy development was good. The
Education Service had produced a broad range of policies
that covered almost all of the key areas of its work. The
priorities in the Education Service and Budget Plan set
out clear expectations for developments and formed the
framework for policy development. Policy documents
provided establishments with concise, helpful guidance to
17
inform practice on key national and local priorities and
implementing legislation. They contained explicit links
to the Council’s aim, values and goals. A comprehensive
set of Standard Circulars gave clear advice on appropriate
procedures to be followed in routine, legal and
administrative matters. Most heads of establishments
(87%) agreed that the range of policies was appropriate to
their needs.
The Education Service had good approaches in place for
developing policies. Staff were involved in initial
discussions about issues and had regular opportunities to
participate in working groups. Establishments and
professional associations were involved appropriately in
consultations on drafts before policies were finalised.
Headteachers were positive about their involvement in
the process. The Education Service had recently taken
steps to ensure that class teachers, as well as those with
additional responsibilities, were involved directly in
policy development. There were some good examples of
working in partnership with colleagues within the
Council to produce guidance on national initiatives such
as Better Behaviour-Better Learning, Integrated
Community Schools and The Health Promoting School.
Teaching for Effective Learning contained a
comprehensive range of policies that was helping to
ensure consistency in approaches to learning and teaching
and to secure continuous improvement, particularly in the
pre-five and primary sectors.
Promoting inclusion was central to the work of the
Education Service. The manual, Supporting Children:
Supporting Effective Learning contained a clear strategic
framework to ensure that all children and young people
could be supported and included in mainstream schools.
It provided very good policy advice and practical
guidance on a wide range of aspects including legal
requirements, a staged approach to meeting pupils’ needs
and working with parents and other agencies.
18
Headteachers were very positive about the quality and
extent of guidance for promoting inclusion and viewed
the manual as a key reference document. The Council
had a notably wide range of provision to meet the diverse
needs of pupils appropriately.
The Education Service’s framework for quality
improvement was soundly underpinned by a set of
policies in the Quality Standards Framework file. It
included useful advice for schools on self-evaluation,
school improvement planning, preparing Standards and
Quality reports and professional review and development.
In the past eighteen months, several of the policies had
been reviewed and up-dated to reflect best practice. In
March 2004, a working group of headteachers had
produced a comprehensive set of materials to provide a
sounder basis for effective quality assurance in secondary
schools. Most headteachers (87%) indicated that they
clearly understood the policy on quality improvement and
felt that proposed developments would have a positive
impact when fully implemented.
Overall, the framework of policies played a major role in
ensuring that the aims of the Service and Budget Plan
were met. Whilst the Education Service kept policies
generally under review, it now needed to establish more
systematic approaches to reviewing and evaluating their
effectiveness.
4. Consultation and communication
Senior officers were very conscious of the importance of
maintaining effective consultation and communication
across the Council’s dispersed and varied geographical
area. The education authority had successfully put in
place a wide variety of procedures to overcome the
difficulties it faced. The quality of the Education Service
19
approaches to consultation was good and the quality of
communication was very good.
The Education Service had a very effective range of
approaches to consulting pre-school establishments and
primary schools and was taking steps to strengthen its
consultation mechanisms in the secondary sector. In the
pre-inspection survey, most heads of establishment who
responded indicated that the authority consulted
effectively with them. This was greatest in the pre-school
and primary sectors. Only 50% of secondary and special
school headteachers were positive about consultation
with their establishments.
Notable features of the education authority’s approach to
consultation with schools included the following.
20
•
The Education Service ran a very good range of
planned meetings of groups of pre-school and primary
school headteachers. Headteachers were increasingly
expected to consult staff within their own
establishments and to report back their views on
proposals. There was evidence that some were
already responding well to this expectation.
•
Senior officers had revised the structure and operation
of secondary headteacher meetings to improve their
effectiveness as a mechanism for consultation. This
had been well received by secondary headteachers
who now had improved opportunities to influence
policy and practice at an earlier stage of development.
A new system of working sub-groups chaired by
headteachers included appropriate involvement of
secondary staff beyond headteacher level.
•
The Education Service had carried out some effective
consultation to gather views directly on specific
policies and initiatives. For example, consultation
had taken place on developing and updating aspects
of the Quality Standards Framework. The Education
Service made effective use of working groups, such
as the Teaching for Effective Learning Group, to
consult on draft policies and guidelines. However, a
significant number of staff, particularly in the
secondary sector, did not feel that they had been
given sufficient opportunity to give their views on
aspects of educational change.
•
Regular formal consultations with trade unions were
well established. Union officials identified a recent
improvement in the willingness of Education Service
officers to engage in constructive debate and enable
professional organisations to be appropriately
represented in working groups. Church
representatives on the Council’s Strategic Policy
Committee did not feel that they were given sufficient
opportunities to influence decision-making.
The Council had recently mounted a large scale
consultation exercise on specific proposals in the NPDO
initiative. This involved an extensive and thorough
survey of stakeholders’ views. Elected members used the
analysis of results, produced by an external consultant, to
inform decision-making. There had been mixed reactions
to this consultation across the Council. Many staff and
parents had been impressed by the thoroughness of the
exercise. However, in relation to some specific proposed
projects a number expressed doubts about the value of the
process.
In the pre-inspection survey of School Board
chairpersons, only a third of respondents agreed that they
had a chance to influence the Council’s aims and plans
for education. Few School Board chairpersons had
knowledge of the work of the Parent Strategy Group
which the authority had recently set up as a means of
gathering parents’ views. There were useful annual
surveys of parental and provider views of the quality of
pre-school provision. The Council should continue its
work to involve parent representatives in developing and
evaluating services.
21
Commendably, the Council consulted pupils formally on
the Children’s Service Plan. Senior officers had recently
participated in a seminar organised by Dialogue Youth on
health issues. The Council was about to initiate a
large-scale consultation exercise involving samples of
parents and pupils in all schools in connection with its
plans for the expansion of opportunities for physical
activities. All schools consulted pupils through pupil
councils and the authority intended to reinstate the Senior
Pupil Forum to enable pupil council representatives from
across the Council to debate educational issues of their
choice.
The Education Service had put in place a wide range of
very good approaches to maintain efficient
communication with schools. Most headteachers (83%)
felt that education authority officers maintained effective
contact with their establishment, although in the
pre-inspection survey headteachers in the secondary and
special education sectors were less positive on this aspect.
Most headteachers (87%) across all sectors felt that
Education Service staff were prompt and helpful in
responding to contacts from their schools. Almost all
(90%) felt that the authority had made clear its aims and
priorities for education.
Biennial residential conferences for all headteachers gave
very good opportunities for ensuring a common
understanding of Service priorities and enabled new
initiatives to be introduced, sometimes with appropriate
support from recognised experts from outwith Argyll and
Bute. In the pre-school and primary sectors, the
Education Service had arranged a wide range of meetings
of headteachers. They gave headteachers very good
opportunities to exchange views, establish common
expectations, and discuss progress with current
initiatives. Regular meetings of secondary headteachers
now provided improved opportunities for debate and
22
involvement in the development of authority policy and
practice.
The information system EÒLAS (Educational On-line
Learning for Argyll Schools) enabled school staff to
access all the Council’s education documents. The
system was a comprehensive one which many teachers
found very helpful. Some users had set up electronic
discussion boards to exchange views and to share best
practice. As part of a Council web-based intranet
initiative, the Education Service was currently engaged in
work to extend EÒLAS further and improve access to the
information contained on the site.
The Council provided staff with a regular newsletter,
Work4ce, and there were some informative
education-specific newsletters for staff in pre-school and
for Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
Some staff in primary and secondary schools felt the need
for a regular and more detailed up-date on Council issues
and developments specific to education. Plans were in
hand to reinstate a newsletter for the primary sector. An
annual Standards and Quality Report gave a clear
summary of the work of the Education Service and
parents received helpful Standards and Quality Reports
from all primary and secondary schools. Parents also
benefited from a series of informative leaflets about
current developments.
The Education Service had made effective use of
video-conferencing to overcome the difficulties imposed
by the geography of the area. Video-conferencing had
enabled teachers in remote locations to participate in
working groups and allowed meetings of headteachers of
island schools to be held more frequently.
Video-conferencing technology had been used to deliver
staff development to teachers in remote areas and had
enabled some parents to access School Board training.
23
The geographical spread of the Council made it difficult
for the Education Service to maintain direct contact with
School Boards. Nevertheless, in the pre-inspection
survey, a majority of School Boards chairpersons (68%)
agreed that the Education Service was good at letting
them know about its policies and plans for education and
almost all (97%) agreed that they were aware of how to
channel views, enquiries and complaints. However, just
over half agreed that they could access good information
about the quality of education across the Council as a
whole. The Education Service organised bi-annual
information events for parents and School Board
members. Participants praised the quality of these events.
School Boards received a helpful annual newsletter.
Overall, the Education Service had robust systems for
consultation and communication. Staff recognised the
need to build further on existing strengths, particularly in
relation to consultation with secondary schools and with
parents and pupils. It was currently taking steps to
strengthen its approaches in each of these specific areas.
5. Operational management
Service planning
The quality of Service Planning was good. Planning
processes took appropriate account of local and national
priorities and maintained a continuing focus on certain
priorities in subsequent plans. There were clear links
between Community Planning, the Corporate Plan and
the Education Service and Budget Plan. The Council’s
planning cycle, aligned to Corporate and establishment
working cycles, was understood by schools and was
relevant to their activities and procedures. The structure
of plans showed clear connections between aims, audit,
improvement objectives and actions. The responsibilities
24
of senior managers for leading on specific actions were
clearly specified.
Overall, only a majority of headteachers (65%) felt
appropriately consulted on the direction and priorities of
the Service and Budget Plan. Effective consultation had
taken place with pre-school and primary headteachers,
but most secondary headteachers did not feel consulted.
Recently they had been included more fully in both
planning and prioritising action on improvement through
monthly meetings with the Head of Service. Many of
those interviewed during the inspection commented
favourably on recent action to involve them.
The Education Service and Budget Plan focussed on
major important priorities including action on continuous
improvement in the quality of education, lifelong
learning, the promotion of partnership working and the
effective use of existing resources. Anticipated outcomes
were clearly stated. The plan needed to provide more
information on how successes were to be measured. The
system reporting on progress at quarterly intervals was an
effective mechanism for tracking and monitoring
progress in the implementation of tasks. More rigorous
approaches were required to measuring the impact and
effectiveness of key priorities. The planning process
fulfilled the statutory requirement for an annual statement
of improvement objectives and an annual report on
progress towards meeting them.
Planning also gave due attention to partnerships with
others within Community Services and other providers.
The roles and responsibilities of partners were clearly
defined in plans and there were good examples of
integrated planning across the Community Services.
Headteachers were very clear about the importance of the
annual statement of improvement objectives and the
Service and Budget Plan in relation to setting priorities
for establishment improvement plans. Priorities and
25
plans were distributed to schools and placed on EÒLAS
to ensure that they clearly informed establishment
planning processes. Examples of the outcomes of
effective planning were evident in improvement in
attainment in the early years of primary education, pupils’
attainment at S1/S2, the introduction of national
qualifications, increased inter-agency working, Gaelic
developments and more effective health promotion.
Procedures for service planning were sound and were
impacting on improvement. There was a good and
growing joint-working between the Quality Standards
Manager and the corporate Policy and Strategy Manager
founded on their work to develop greater Council wide
consistency in planning processes. They should now
explore the beneficial impact of a Best Value approach to
make planning more effective.
Deployment and effectiveness of
centrally-employed staff
Performance in this area was good. Centrally-employed
staff showed high levels of commitment and their
effectiveness was enhanced by the very strong teamwork
at all levels within the Education Service.
The Quality Standards Manager was a well-established
senior member of the Quality Improvement Team. He
brought a wide range of experience and expertise to the
post and worked closely and very well with the Heads of
Service for Education. He had had a key role in
developing the Quality Standards Framework. The
formation of Community Services had provided good
opportunities for his expertise to be used more at a
corporate level in service planning. There was scope to
extend his deployment more widely across Community
Services. As approaches to support and challenge are
revised for secondary schools, it would be appropriate to
re-examine the respective roles of the Quality Standards
Manager and the Head of Secondary and Pupil Support.
26
The Council’s commitment to ensuring continuous
improvement in the quality of education was reflected in
the recent increase in QIOs who were deployed with
remits focused on providing support and challenge for
schools. The Director of Community Services and Heads
of Service for Education had recognised the need to
extend the central team deployed to work with secondary
schools which, previously, had been too limited. All
QIOs were clear about the expectations of their role in
relation to improving the attainment and achievement of
children and young people. The work of the QIOs was
supported by well-defined action plans. Increasingly,
officers were working in multi-disciplinary teams and
forums.
A small team provided very good support for pre-school
education. They worked very effectively together and
with staff in other sections of Community Services to
support young children and their families. The very clear
linkages between the various aspects of the remits of all
staff that supported pre-school provision assisted
effective communication and joint working. Almost all
heads of pre-school provision (92%) were clear about the
role of the QIO in relation to their establishments and
were confident of appropriate support being available if
required.
QIOs working in primary schools were making very good
progress in adapting to their increased responsibility for
quality assurance and school improvement. Almost all
primary school headteachers (96%) were clear about the
role of QIOs in relation to their establishments and almost
all (91%) agreed that QIOs maintained effective contact
with their schools.
Clarity of the QIOs’ roles in relation to secondary schools
had still to be fully established. Most secondary
headteachers (75%) agreed that they were clear about the
QIOs’ role in relation to their schools, but only a majority
(63%) felt that officers maintained effective contact with
27
their schools. While it was too early to see the full
impact of the extended team of QIOs with responsibilities
relating to secondary schools, there were signs that their
input was beginning to be effective.
Area Network Support Teams (ANSTs) provided much
valued advice and support to schools. Across the teams
there was a good range of specialisms to support specific
needs, and team members worked well together to share
knowledge and expertise. The QIO with overall
management responsibility for the ANSTs showed strong
commitment to her work. She had a firm grasp of
operational issues and supported ANSTs and
establishments well. Her very good knowledge of
specific issues related to her remit had enabled her to play
a significant role in developing key guidance for schools
on supporting children and supporting effective learning.
The Heads of Service had recognised the need to extend
this team through, for example, the appointment of a QIO
for pupil support and social inclusion to ensure that
schools were supported to provide appropriately for the
wider range of pupil needs.
The Psychological Service team made an important
contribution to the quality of support for pupils. Staff
worked closely with children, parents and schools to
identify individual needs and to provide a range of
appropriate and highly valued services. In addition,
educational psychologists supported developments in
approaches to meeting the needs of pupils with autism,
specific literacy difficulties, and behavioural difficulties.
The Principal Psychologist had led a key project to
promote the Service’s responses to Better
Behaviour - Better Learning. He and his colleagues also
played a major role in carrying out research and
evaluations to improve approaches to learning and
teaching.
A strong and innovative feature of the Council’s support
for primary schools was the well-established structure of
28
Area Co-ordinators. This initiative was an imaginative
response to the dispersed rural nature of much of the
Council’s area. All seven Area Co-ordinators were
experienced headteachers who had been allocated
additional funding to release them for these extra duties.
They had key roles in taking forward local and national
priorities, in communication and consultation, in
providing local support for primary schools, in mentoring
new headteachers, and in assisting the QIOs in providing
additional intensive support for identified schools. Their
very effective contributions were highly valued by
schools and the Education Service staff.
Schools received very good support from other
centrally-employed staff, in areas such as ICT, general
support, personnel and finance. The work being done by
the Education Support Officer for ICT in supporting the
use of ICT to enhance learning and teaching was highly
valued by schools. The high quality service provided by
the administration section of the Education Service was
well recognised and appreciated.
Centrally-employed staff had very good opportunities for
staff development and were included in arrangements for
professional review and development. A very well
planned programme of training and continuous
professional development (CPD) was in place for the new
QIOs. They were also very well supported through
mentoring by the Heads of Service.
Overall, the work of centrally-employed staff was having
a positive impact on provision in schools and other
educational establishments. The work of the QIOs in
increasing the level and quality of support and challenge
for schools was soundly established in primary schools
but had yet to be fully implemented in secondary schools.
Very good measures were in place, through
well-documented procedures and regular team meetings,
to develop consistency of practice across the team.
29
6. Resource and financial management
Resource management
The overall management of resources was fair. The
Council had introduced a range of measures to improve
resource management, but it was too early to assess the
full impact of many of these changes.
The Council was continuing to develop a more structured
approach to performance planning, monitoring and
reporting. This was evident in the new Performance
Management Framework approved by the Strategic
Policy Committee in December 2004. One of the key
aims of the framework was to link budget allocations
more closely to service planning. A timetable had been
set to ensure all services introduced new approaches to
performance management by late 2005 and implemented
an integrated information management database by 2007.
The Council’s strong commitment to education was
demonstrated in its allocation of resources. Over the
period 2002/2003 to 2004/2005 the budget allocated to
education had increased from £80.9 million to
£93.6 million. Expenditure per primary school pupil was
in line with the average in comparator authorities and
above the national average. Expenditure per secondary
pupil was in line with the average in comparator
authorities and well above the national average.
There were some positive features in the Education
Service’s approach to estate management. The original
School Estate Asset Strategy and Management Plan of
January 2004 identified an all inclusive cost of
modernising the school estate of £158 million. Steps
were being taken to ensure that this plan was incorporated
into the overall Corporate Asset Management Strategy
and management arrangements.
30
In 2003/2004, 57% of primary schools were less than
60% occupied and only 7% were more than 80%
occupied. Some steps had been taken to address the issue
of over-capacity in primary schools and a small number
had been closed in recent years. Elected members and
officers of the Council were particularly conscious of
balancing education need and financial resource against
the effect on local communities when considering
potential school closures. The Council was working with
a private sector partner and continuing a dialogue with
the School Estate Division of the Scottish Executive to
ensure appropriate decisions were made taking account of
these factors. However, there was a need to establish a
clear and practical set of procedures for the review of
schools to address issues of increasing over-capacity in
primary schools.
Over the last four years, the Council’s plans for the
management of the future school estate were linked
directly to a major Public Private Partnership (PPP)
initiative. The form of PPP chosen was a Non Profit
Distributing Organisation (NPDO). Proposals were at an
advanced stage with financial closure anticipated in
May 2005. The construction plan included a completion
date of October 2007. The scale of the project had varied
significantly since 2001 when the original Outline
Business Case (OBC) was submitted. Following a
detailed consultation exercise in 2004 original proposals
were amended to include 17 schools. However, decisions
about the scale of the project were still to be finalised.
The comprehensive and complex nature of the project
had led to perceptions among some School Board
chairpersons, staff and parents of undue delay, given the
need to improve the condition of some schools.
The Council was also engaged in strategic planning for
the management of those parts of the school estate which
would not be covered by the NPDO project. Over
70 additional schools required extensive modernisation.
Capital monies have been identified for the next three
31
years to address priority areas. Nevertheless, there
remained important decisions to be taken about the
management of the school estate and a pressing need to
respond to delays in achieving an improved environment
for learning in some schools.
The current Best Value regime was introduced in 2001 as
a result of recommendations made by an external
consultant who had been engaged to refine the Council’s
Best Value process. The Education Service had
undertaken a number of Best Value service reviews
covering various aspects of its work. As a result
improvements had been made to provision for school
transport, support for pupils’ learning, pre-school
education and the use of ICT in administration. Reviews
of janitorial services, cleaning and catering have also
provided improvements in resource management. The
Council had acted positively to national changes in Best
Value requirements by setting up a Best Value Network
across all services, to which Education made an important
contribution. The Council was in the process of
responding to the Audit Scotland Transitional Audit of
Best Value in July 2004 and reviewing the procedures
currently in place for best value reviews. The new
Performance Management Framework will provide the
Education Service with further opportunities to
strengthen and integrate Best Value approaches to
securing improvement.
Provision of ICT to support schools and administration
was good. The draft paper ICT support for Community
Services presented an overview of present arrangements
and recommendations for the delivery of an enhanced
ICT service. A Broadband Pathfinder initiative was
about to be re-launched under the management of a
consortia of Local Authorities. Initial indications were
that the project was likely to start to deliver Broadband
services in Argyll and Bute from 2007 onwards. Given
the impact of ICT for communication, this was a
potentially very valuable development.
32
Staffing levels within schools were good. Effective use
was made of support staff and non-teaching assistants.
Support for children with additional learning needs was
allocated annually, based on a review of need. In some
locations there were particular problems in securing
appropriately qualified supply teachers to cover absences.
Similarly, some areas faced difficulties in recruiting and
retaining appropriate staff. The Council was working
hard to address these problems.
An Education Service Health and Safety Committee met
regularly to review and address Health and Safety issues
within schools and other education establishments.
Health and Safety guidance was available within master
safety files. Headteachers carried out a substantial
number of risk assessments at local level. Further
training should be made available to them to enable such
assessments to be carried out to the required level.
Energy costs were managed centrally. Further
consideration should be given to re-introducing the
system through which volume savings on energy were
returned to schools with price risk being retained at the
centre. A spend to save project on boiler replacement had
been introduced to aid energy efficiency.
Overall, advances had been made in the equality of
resource management, but important weaknesses
remained. Further developments were required to
address issues of overcapacity in primary schools and the
upgrading and replacement of school buildings to
improve the learning environment available to pupils.
Approaches to Best Value needed to be more fully
integrated into performance management to deliver
improvement.
Financial management
The quality of financial management was good.
Arrangements for monitoring the budget within
Education Services and the budget devolved to schools
33
were effective. Steps had been being taken to ensure that
budget allocations were linked more closely to service
planning, and that performance and financial reporting
were more closely integrated.
The respective roles of the Strategic Policy Committee,
the Head of Strategic Finance and Service Directors were
clearly defined within appropriate and recently revised
Financial Regulations. They covered financial
administration, planning and budgeting, financial and
budgetary control, and specifics such as virement. The
Head of Strategic Finance was responsible for collating
all service monitoring reports and producing a summary
corporate monitoring report. The roles of education staff,
including the responsibilities of budget holders, were
clearly defined. All budget holders met monthly with
their Finance Team to monitor budgets and discuss issues
arising.
The Council had clear and appropriate procedures for
agreeing the corporate budget and identifying allocations
to each service. Throughout 2004/2005, budget
allocations had been amended appropriately to reflect
additional resources allocated from the Scottish
Executive or from central reserves, and to reflect any
inter-service budget transfers.
There has been a significant improvement in budgetary
control over the last few years. A larger and more highly
qualified financial team had been put in place within
Community Services. Within the Education Service,
detailed budget reports were considered monthly and
provided to the Strategic Policy Committee on a regular
cyclical basis. Reports identified budget pressures,
highlighted major variances, and, where possible,
identified the means of dealing with them. Very good
support for this process was provided by the Education
Finance Team. Elected members were kept well
informed on the current budget position and emerging
issues.
34
Education had a well-established Devolved Management
of Resources (DMR) scheme. Devolved budgets had
been introduced for all pre-school provision. Across all
sectors, the clear guidelines for the operation of the
scheme had been reviewed in 2003/2004. Some 90% of
the budget was devolved to schools. Repairs and
maintenance budgets were managed centrally and work
was prioritised according to agreed property management
arrangements. Headteachers were provided with monthly
monitoring reports and transaction reports to help them
control their devolved budgets. Helpful support for DMR
was provided through the Central Finance Team. The
Administrative and Finance Assistants (AFAs) who
supported a secondary school and a cluster of associated
primaries to deal with financial and core administrative
duties provided valuable and effective additional support
for schools. A review team had been established to
consider and report on proposals for the future role and
responsibilities of AFAs. Most headteachers (87%)
agreed that the authority’s financial procedures were
effective for their establishments.
Financial management and budgetary control had
improved and were working well at corporate and service
levels.
7. Performance monitoring and continuous improvement
Measuring, monitoring and evaluating
performance
The quality of measuring, monitoring and evaluating the
Education Service’s performance was fair overall. A
range of approaches had been put in place to monitor and
evaluate the performance of establishments and the
authority was continuing to develop these further. Policy
and practice were well established and effective in
pre-school establishments and primary schools.
35
However, there had been important weaknesses in
monitoring aspects of performance in the secondary
sector. More robust procedures were being put in place,
but it was too early for evidence of impact.
In the pre-inspection survey, most headteachers (86%)
expressed confidence in the authority knowing their
establishments well. They acknowledged the authority’s
commitment and encouragement to develop systematic
approaches to monitoring and evaluating at establishment
level.
A very strong, clear and systematic approach to quality
development had been established in pre-school centres,
both in those managed by the Education Service and by
partners. Annual support and challenge visits and a
programme of quality monitoring visits provided staff
with a clear view of the quality of provision in
establishments. Information gathered was used well to
support improvement. All centres completed
self-evaluation returns annually and the outcomes were
used to inform planning and set priorities. Aspects of
effective practice, particularly in recording and reporting,
were being extended into procedures in the primary
sector.
The pattern of support and challenge in primary schools
was good. Quality assurance and improvement at
operational level was the responsibility of the QIOs. As
well as monitoring and providing feedback on school
improvement planning and standards and quality reports,
QIOs for primary schools undertook annual Key Area
Visits to evaluate each school’s performance in particular
aspects of its work. Appropriately, these visits always
included a focus on aspects of learning, teaching and
attainment. Feedback to schools resulted in an agreed
agenda for action to show good practice or address
weaknesses. The results of the school visits helped to
determine programmes of staff development. A
programme of School Review Visits conducted by the
36
Quality Standards Manager, QIOs and a manager from
another school, provided a more extensive and in-depth
review of the quality and outcomes of provision in
individual schools.
Increasingly effective overall deployment of QIOs was
exemplified in the proportionate approach that the
Education Service had adopted to ensure that the extent
of support allocated to schools was relative to identified
needs or weaknesses. QIOs had also deployed additional
intensive support to address identified weaknesses in
leadership. The impact of this was evident in those
schools which had received intensive support.
The provision of support and challenge to secondary
schools had not been as systematic and well established
as in other sectors. Senior managers had carried out
reviews with headteachers and senior management teams.
However, senior managers had not been able to sustain
the intensity of challenge and support due to other duties.
The recent appointment, induction and training of a
number of QIOs to be deployed primarily in the
secondary sector were evidence of the authority’s
intention to address the shortcomings and significantly
strengthen the QIO team. A programme of Key Area
Visits similar to those in primary schools was being
introduced. Also a pilot School Review had been
conducted to ascertain the best way of using reviews to
assist schools to improve. QIOs had visited secondary
schools to identify good practice and challenge
weaknesses in attainment in subject departments.
Schools identified as having weaknesses as a result of the
authority’s quality assurance procedures and/or HMIE
inspections were receiving substantial support. The
priority that the authority was giving to improving
challenge and support for secondary schools had the
potential to address weaknesses effectively.
The Education Service provided schools with helpful
analyses of 5-14 and Scottish Qualifications Authority
37
(SQA) attainment to help them to target aspects which
needed improvement. The 5-14 analysis provided good
information about the performance of groups of pupils,
trends and national comparisons. Headteachers found
this information helpful and it formed the basis for
discussion as part of the annual cycle of visits by the
QIOs. Managers in secondary schools reported on the
benefits of the assistance given in analysing SQA
statistics, particularly the additional insights provided by
an external consultant. The data was discussed at a
headteachers’ meeting and the Head of Service and
Quality Standards Manager visited individual schools for
detailed discussion on results. These visits focused on
what could be learned from consistently high performing
departments and those showing poor performance over a
number of years. Action plans were agreed.
Headteachers provided an annual presentation on
attainment to elected members at their Local Area
Committee meetings. Some schools, particularly in the
secondary sector, were investigating and developing
approaches to tracking and monitoring the progress of
individual pupils.
The pre-inspection reports prepared by Education Service
officers showed that they had a good knowledge of
performance in most schools. As a result, they were able
to use staff in successful schools to assist others to
improve. Officers also provided other support to schools
they had identified as having weaknesses. However, they
had not been fully aware of the extent of some
weaknesses in a few schools. The authority made good
use of HMIE inspection reports as a means of monitoring
performance and continuous improvement. HMIE’s
follow-through procedures found that the authority was
effective in providing a high level of support to assist
schools successfully address the main points for action in
inspection reports.
The authority’s scheme for professional review and
development ensured that all centrally-deployed staff
38
were reviewed annually. Headteachers were reviewed
biennially by a peer reviewer. This approach to the
review of headteachers was not wholly successful. A
majority of headteachers (72%) were confident that the
authority had a good knowledge of their performance as a
head of establishment through the staff review and
development scheme. Procedures for headteacher
reviews and systems for analysing and using the results
required to be strengthened.
All schools and pre-school centres produced annual
Standards and Quality reports, based on clear guidelines
and monitored by the Quality Services Manager and
QIOs. The clarity of evaluations they contained was
improving and the reports provided useful information to
parents and other stakeholders. These reports were an
increasingly important part of the authority’s approach to
quality improvement by providing a way of overviewing
the strengths and needs in the system.
In March 2004, following staff training, all area
Community Learning and Development teams evaluated
their work with young people and adult learners. The
outcomes informed the Strategic Development Plan and
Area Development Plans for 2004/2005 and helped
develop baseline performance data for future monitoring
and evaluation.
There was a strengthening culture of quality improvement
within the Education Service. Senior managers had used
the QMIE framework, surveys of headteachers, analysis
of HMIE reports, a number of reviews and attainment
data to evaluate the effectiveness of their own
management and help inform service planning and the
development and refinement of quality improvement
processes. Some steps had been taken to monitor the
implementation of key policies and initiatives, but more
needed to be done to rigorously evaluate their impact on
improvement.
39
Commendably, education headquarters administrative
staff had engaged in a process of self-evaluation and
continuous improvement. They had attained Charter
Mark status in 2001. The reorganisation had delayed the
planned updating of that status.
Overall, the approach to performance monitoring was
now based on sound principles. Significant progress had
been made in developing support and challenge
proportionate to meet the circumstances and needs of
individual pre-school and primary establishments. Some
schools had improved markedly as a result. There was a
growing sense of common purpose among staff. The
Education Service had recognised and was responding
positively to the need to strengthen the quality
improvement role in secondary schools. However, all
measures to address weaknesses were not fully in place.
Continuous improvement in performance
The overall impact of approaches to securing continuous
improvement was good. The Education Service had in
place a number of initiatives to support establishments
and generate improvement, particularly in pre-school
establishments and primary schools. Almost all heads of
establishments (98%) in the pre-inspection survey agreed
that senior managers were committed to quality
improvement. Almost all (91%) thought that the
authority had a good range of actions to support quality
development and most (89%) were confident that the
authority was helping their establishment to improve the
quality of education. These views were held less strongly
by secondary headteachers.
The most recent pre-inspection reports prepared by the
Education Service had been very helpful and evaluative.
The quality of support for schools which had had an
HMIE inspection was improving. Follow-through
inspections indicated a high level of response and
improvement in addressing the main points for action in
40
inspection reports. There were also signs that the Service
was prepared to take appropriate action to tackle
underperformance identified by its own review processes.
There was evidence of improvement in the quality of
pupils’ experience and aspects of schools performance.
However, the challenge remained to further improve
existing strong levels of pupils’ attainment.
Support for pre-school education
Very good support was given to pre-school education. In
recent years there had been an expansion in provision and
the authority provided a pre-school place for all threeand four-year-old children whose parents or carers
wanted it. The QIO with responsibility for pre-school
education and the Principal Officers pre-five provided
very good support for the broad range of nursery classes
and partnership centres and were helping them to
improve. Four Early Years and Family Support workers
had recently been appointed to enhance the support for
partnership centres and a range of child care services.
Good links had been established with staff in the Children
and Families Service to extend support for young
children and their families. The very successful Preschool Education Provision Helpline provided an open
and easily accessible way for parents to obtain
information and advice. Council staff and partner
providers also found it provided valuable support. This
service was nominated for a Convention of Scottish Local
Authorities (COSLA) award for customer satisfaction.
The Education Service provided an extensive and very
helpful range of curricular guidelines, programmes and
materials to staff, including advice on play, and
developing children’s early literacy and numeracy skills.
A comprehensive procedures manual was issued to all
providers and a helpful handbook was given to all
members of the Childcare Partnership. The materials had
had a positive impact on improving children’s experience
41
and learning. An innovative electronic system TEDEY
(Tracking Educational Development Early Years) had
been introduced successfully to monitor, record and track
individual children’s progress. It also assisted reporting
to parents and transferring information from pre-school to
primary. Good advice was provided on self-evaluation
and planning for improvement. Good practice was shared
through visits from Council officers, an annual
conference for pre-school providers and a regular
newsletter.
Following an annual needs analysis to identify training
requirements, a broad staff development programme was
planned and offered to all staff. It included appropriate
opportunities for staff to access accredited courses which
were provided by further and higher education providers.
Overall, the very strong support provided by the authority
had done much to ensure that children in pre-school
provision were receiving a high quality experience.
Inspection of nursery classes in primary schools found
most children were making good progress.
Support for primary schools and 5-14
The Education Service provided strong support for its
primary schools to promote improvement. The 5-14
curriculum was supported very effectively through a
range of well-designed support materials. These have the
merit of addressing the issues which arose from the
nature and size of schools which varied so markedly. The
more recently produced packs had helped schools to
address aspects of the curriculum identified as in need of
improvement. Recent examples of effective use of
curriculum materials included science, health education
and social subjects. The support materials were helping
schools to make programmes more coherent and improve
continuity and progression in developing pupils’
knowledge and skills.
42
To support pupils’ learning at the early stages, and raise
attainment in numeracy and literacy, well-planned staff
development had been offered to all pre-school and
primary school staff. This initiative had helped to
improve levels of attainment at P1 to P3. The Education
Service was also placing a strong focus on improving
writing at all stages. The introduction of new materials
for writing, supported by a comprehensive programme of
staff development, was having a positive impact on levels
of attainment. In a few areas, projects to promote raised
attainment through improved collaboration between
associated primary and secondary schools were also
helping to improve the quality of pupils’ writing. The
involvement of all schools in the Assessment is for
Learning Project was being used effectively to further
promote the Service’s focus on teaching for effective
learning. Staff were responding well and with increased
enthusiasm as they identified the positive outcomes.
Innovation in relation to ICT developments was very well
established. Recent developments in the use of
video-conferencing to support aspects of the primary
curriculum were notable, and had been taken forward
with support from national funding. Video links between
schools were used, for example, to support the teaching
of French, to enable pupils in small schools to work on
shared projects with their peers in other schools, and to
provide additional support for learning. Use of
video-conferencing had also been used effectively by
health professionals involved in providing targeted
support for pupils.
Between 2001 and 2004, the percentage of primary pupils
achieving or exceeding national levels of attainment for
their stage in mathematics and writing had improved
slightly. It had remained relatively steady in reading.
However, pupils’ levels of attainment in all three areas
had remained above those of national and comparator
averages. In writing, rates of improvement over this
period were broadly in line with those achieved in
43
comparator authorities and nationally. In reading, the
rates of improvement were below those achieved in
comparator authorities and nationally.
Support for secondary schools
There had been important weaknesses in challenge to
secondary schools to promote improvement. Revised
structures and procedures were being put in place to
promote continuous improvement, but it was too early for
them to have had significant impact.
Good support was given to schools through the provision
of performance information, from a variety of sources,
which enabled staff to analyse patterns of attainment and
plan improvements. The work of the Quality Standards
Manager in analysing and presenting performance
information on schools added to the level of support and
challenge which the authority provided to schools.
Support had been provided to schools through an external
consultant to review and plan their curriculum structures.
Working groups of secondary headteachers were making
good progress in reviewing current guidance on
curriculum flexibility and in producing policy advice to
promote enterprise in education and assertive discipline.
Secondary schools had been supported previously in
implementing National Qualifications by a team of
Subject Development Co-ordinators. They were
Principal Teachers who were given time and money to
support curriculum development in their particular
subject areas across the authority. Although some
subjects had been supported well, overall, the outcomes
of this structure had been variable. The Head of
Secondary Schools and Pupil Support was in the process
of re-establishing a more structured and managed
framework of support for secondary subjects, through the
QIOs and the appointment of Subject Leaders with
particular expertise.
44
The Partners in Excellence project in modern languages
provided significant benefit to senior pupils and had
resulted in an increased level of uptake in Spanish and
French. The Council’s plans to expand health promotion
and Eco schools were commendable. The Council had
provided a strong focus on a national project on
assessment and good support to enable staff to consider
issues on the effectiveness of teaching and learning
approaches. This offered worthwhile opportunities to
promote and deliver continuous improvement.
Between 2001 and 2004, secondary 5-14 attainment
levels had improved steadily in reading. In writing,
attainment had increased from 2001 to 2003. Attainment
in both reading and writing was above both national and
comparator authorities’ averages. In mathematics,
attainment increased steadily from 2001 to 2003. It was
above national averages but below that of comparator
authorities, except in 2003. In all these curriculum areas,
rates of improvement were broadly in line with those
nationally. In reading, the rate of improvement was
above that achieved in comparator authorities, and in
writing and mathematics, it was in line with their levels
of improvement. In S4, levels of attainment in National
Qualifications were high, but had remained roughly level
from 2000 to 2004. Attainment levels were strong in S5,
but had remained relatively steady over the last four
years. Although, overall, secondary schools in Argyll
and Bute performed above the national and comparator
authority averages, the Education Service needed to
promote and support an ‘improvement on previous best’
ethos to deliver its commitment to continuous
improvement in the quality of education.
Support for pupils
The Education Service demonstrated a strong
commitment to social inclusion and had developed a
range of strategies to provide very good support for
pupils. It had set out a clear framework in Supporting
45
Children: Supporting Effective Learning for meeting the
needs of children with additional support needs including
special educational needs, within their local schools. The
Education Service had been successful in that regard and
only a few pupils were in placements outwith the
authority. Very good arrangements were in place for
pupils attending specialist learning centres to receive
some aspects of their education within their local schools.
Following the Scrutiny Review of the Education Service
in 2002, one outcome was to inform the development of
more coherent support systems within schools. Area
network support teams were supplemented and good
attention was given to ensuring that team members had a
good range of skills and experience to support a wide
range of pupils’ specific needs. Headteachers were
consulted on the deployment of area network support
teams and, overall, schools were very positive about the
quality of support delivered by teams. More integrated
approaches to support for pupils were being adopted in
secondary schools and the Education Service had
allocated additional resources to provide more teaching
and auxiliary support. Across the authority, a “staged
intervention” approach had been established to improve
approaches to identifying and meeting the needs of pupils
with learning difficulties and those with social, emotional
and behavioural difficulties. Effective partnership
working with multi-agency groups was helping the
Education Service to provide better targeted support to
children and their families. This included strong
partnership working with social work colleagues to
support looked-after and looked-after and accommodated
children.
The Education Service had taken forward a number of
projects to support pupils with behavioural difficulties
and those at risk from exclusion. It had deployed
additional staff to extend support teams within secondary
schools, promoted the use of joint assessment teams,
funded a range of initiatives in primary schools and was
46
working with other agencies to provide alternative
educational programmes. Over the past few years, the
number of exclusions of pupils from primary schools was
in line with national averages but, in 2002/2003, there
was a rise in the number of pupils excluded from
secondary schools. Senior managers carefully monitored
the rate of exclusions and worked with schools where
exclusions were comparatively high. There were
encouraging signs that the various projects were
beginning to have a positive impact with a fall in the
number of exclusions in 2003/2004.
The Integrated Community Schools development had
made a positive contribution to the effectiveness of the
Service’s inclusion strategies. It had improved links with
other services to facilitate staged intervention approaches
to support pupils and meet their individual needs. It had
also delivered projects to strengthen partnerships with
parents, improve approaches to managing children’s
behaviour, support pupils moving from primary to
secondary school, and develop self-esteem in children.
Joint agency training on health issues had enabled staff to
enhance education and care for children and families.
Building on this approach, the Council had recently
introduced the concept of Fuller Services In Our
Neighbourhoods and Schools (FUSIONS) to better
integrate all services working with children and their
families in order to provide high quality support for
children’s learning and well-being. The Integrated
Service Action Group (ISAG) comprising senior
managers from education, health, social work and the
voluntary sector provided strategic direction and
management for the initiative. Four Children’s Services
Teams had been set up in the four main areas of the
Council and a range of projects had been introduced to
provide further support within and outwith schools. All
of these developments had the potential to achieve the
commitment to make services more ‘joined-up’ for
children, young people and their families.
47
Support for staff development
The education authority was highly committed to
supporting teachers’ staff development. Most
headteachers (89%) responding to the pre-inspection
survey agreed that staff were assisted in accessing
appropriate staff development and training to support
improvement in their work.
The Education Service had a well organised approach to
identifying staff development needs. A wide range of
courses was delivered, systematically evaluated and
generally found to be of high quality. There was a
particularly good range of courses for pre-school and
primary staff. The Education Service had supported
major educational initiatives well through comprehensive
programmes of staff training on, for example, assessment,
writing, mathematics and behaviour management.
Other key features of the education authority’s approach
to supporting staff included the following.
48
•
The Education Service had put in place very good
arrangements for the support of probationer teachers.
Residential courses for newly promoted staff,
including headteachers, were effective in inducting
new post-holders and providing, where appropriate,
additional management training. The authority gave
good opportunities for promoted members of staff to
participate in Scottish Qualifications for Headship
training. It was collaborating with Paisley University
to provide Chartered teacher training.
•
In the pre-school and primary sectors, support staff
had good opportunities to acquire relevant training
including additional qualifications such as a Higher
National Certificate in Childcare.
•
In secondary schools, headteachers made good use of
resources devolved to them for staff development by
supporting staff to access a wide range of
development opportunities.
The Education Service had provided a good range of staff
development opportunities to help build confidence and
skills in supporting the wide range of pupils’ needs.
Training included contributions from local, national and
international speakers on autism, dyslexia, and behaviour
management. Staff in Area Network Support Teams and
schools were encouraged to obtain specialist
qualifications and auxiliary staff supporting pupils with
special educational needs also had opportunities to gain
national qualifications.
The Education Service had recently appointed a QIO with
responsibility for Continuous Professional Development
(CPD) and set up a steering group which had produced a
draft action plan to further strengthen the range and
quality of CPD provision.
Other features of support
Support for Gaelic language
The Education Service had a comprehensive and clear
policy for the development of Gaelic education. The
recent development of a Council wide Gaelic
Development Strategy set a useful, wider framework for
the work of the Education Service. Despite considerable
difficulties presented by the impact of national staffing
shortages the Education Service continued to promote
and develop provision for Gaelic and, in some instances,
took a lead nationally in doing so. Recent examples
included the opening of further Gaelic medium provision,
the successful development of Gaelic Language in the
Primary School (GLPS) and effective joint working
between teachers to deliver geography in a secondary
school online.
49
Staff in schools greatly valued the support given by
officers with responsibility for Gaelic medium education.
There were examples of very good quality teaching, but
there was general recognition of a need to work towards
achieving greater consistency in the overall quality of
outcomes for pupils. There were some areas of weakness
in the authority’s arrangements for monitoring and
ensuring consistency in the quality of Gaelic provision.
This included some inconsistency in the range of
provision offered to pupils progressing to secondary
education and in subjects they could study using the
medium of Gaelic.
The authority had taken a lead in developing a GLPS
course for teachers across a consortium of local
authorities and provision for bilingual education was
developing very well. Initial external evaluation of the
pilot project across the consortium authorities had been
positive and the scheme continued to develop and thrive.
Within the authority, just over a third of all primary
schools were now teaching Gaelic as an additional
language. There were as yet no formal arrangements in
place within the authority to monitor and evaluate the
impact of this initiative and the benefits it offered pupils.
Staff recognised the need to address this.
There were very good examples of the effective use of
ICT to allow pupils to learn online and to link with others
but these were not consistent across the authority. In
order to address the issues presented by staffing shortages
the authority had made some good progress towards
developing partnerships with higher education institutions
to enable community based training of teachers to take
place. Overall, the authority was very supportive of staff
who wished to re-train and transfer into Gaelic medium
teaching.
50
Health
The promotion of healthy eating in schools and
residential establishments was a priority in the Council’s
Corporate Plan.
All education establishments were supported to be health
promoting through the FUSIONS initiative and the work
of the development officer responsible for Health
Promoting Schools. The Education Service was working
very effectively as part of a multi-agency strategy group
to implement the recommendations of Hungry for
Success5. This development was linked appropriately to
broader health promotion priorities set in the current
year’s Service and Budget Plan. There was a
comprehensive drugs education programme.
Many schools participated in the Scotland’s Health at
Work Award to improve staff health and well-being.
Sports
The authority had developed a positive approach to sports
development which took account of the particular
features, facilities and challenges within Argyll and Bute.
Productive partnerships were being established between
schools, external agencies and local communities.
The work of the Active Schools staff was resulting in a
notable increase in the range of opportunities for pupils to
take part in sports. Thoughtful planning ensured that due
account was being taken of the wide-ranging needs of
Argyll and Bute schools. The Active Sports Manager
was effective in building on strengths within local
communities to the benefit of pupils.
5
Hungry for Success: A Whole School Approach to School Meals in Scotland,
Scottish Executive, 2003.
51
Through the Active Schools Programme the Council
supported a major initiative called STRAMASH.
Programmes of sport and adventure activities were
provided in different areas. Easter and summer activity
programmes provided an extensive range of outdoor
activities and personal development opportunities for
pupils. Funds were made available for staff, pupils and
adult volunteers to gain or upgrade coaching
qualifications. Authority-wide programmes to develop
badminton, basketball and hockey had been introduced
successfully. Increased coaching opportunities were
provided to pupils to further develop their skills.
A working group had been set up to develop an overall
Sports Strategy. A Sports Facilities Plan had been
developed and the Council was considering opportunities
for joint funding to finance and implement aspect of it.
As a result of a range of initiatives, opportunities
provided for young people to develop their talents and
physical skills had been improved. More opportunities
were available to them to increase levels of physical
activity. Links between schools and their communities
had been strengthened.
The Arts
The Council gave good support for a wide range of
initiatives and activities in the arts. It successfully
encouraged partnership between schools and local
individuals and arts groups to enable pupils to participate
in arts experiences and as a means of raising their
achievements more widely. Steps were taken to ensure
that pupils in more remote and island communities
benefited from access to arts and cultural activities and
expertise through the use of video-conferencing.
The instrumental service provided tuition in a majority of
primary schools and most secondary schools. Steps had
been taken to extend the diversity of musical instrument
teaching to the benefit of pupils.
52
The Council provided strong support to schools to work
with local Gaelic Féisean to promote traditional music
and culture. A wide range of projects, raised pupils’
awareness of traditional music, provided opportunities for
instrumental, encouraged Gaelic singing, gave pupils
opportunities to participate in community performances
and strengthened partnership with local community
groups.
The Council had consulted on its cultural strategy which
it had recently approved. This strategy had the potential
capacity to sustain effective practice and improve the
coherence in provision.
Enterprise Education
The key role for education in the economic and social
sustainability and regeneration of communities
throughout the Council area was widely recognised. The
Council was a ‘pathfinder authority’ in taking forward
Determined to Succeed 6. The further development of
enterprise education featured clearly in the Service and
Budget Plan. A Principal Teacher of enterprise was
appointed in every secondary school and there were
seven primary area co-ordinators with responsibilities for
overseeing and developing enterprise activities.
A range of activities had been introduced to raise
awareness of Determined to Succeed. A review group
representing the Council, Careers Scotland and Argyll
and the Islands Enterprise had been formed to monitor
progress and report to a multi agency steering group.
Enterprise in Education: Teaching for Effective Learning
had been issued to all schools to provide guidance and
consistency in approach to policy formation and planning
for enterprise. ‘UP for Enterprise’ had been introduced in
S1/2 to develop core skills and raise pupils’ expectations
6
Determined to Succeed – Scottish Executive, 2002.
53
and self-confidence. Young Enterprise Scotland (YES)
was supported well with a number of schools registering
a company. All pupils in S3/S4 undertook work
experience and most gained accreditation through a
National Qualification. A number of schools had been
successful in gaining national awards for their work in
enterprise education.
The focus on activities to deliver enterprise education had
helped to build pupils’ self-confidence, self-reliance and
ambition.
Sharing good practice
The Education Service employed a wide range of
effective approaches to sharing good practice including
visits from Council officers, annual conferences and
EÒLAS. In the pre-inspection questionnaire, most
headteachers (87%) agreed that the Education Service
was effective in disseminating good practice. The
education authority recognised the need to build on its
approaches to disseminating effective ways of working
by putting more emphasis on recognising and celebrating
effective or innovative practice and school and pupil
achievement.
8. How well does the authority perform overall?
Overview
Argyll and Bute Council demonstrated good and
improving performance across many different aspects of
its work. Elected members and senior managers
demonstrated a strong commitment to providing high
quality services and promoting a culture of improvement.
Recent restructuring, while having created a period of
uncertainty, had strengthened the management capacity
54
within the Council and extended opportunities for
integrated working to improve services.
The vision, values and aims of the service were clear, but
required some adjustment to fully reflect recent
improvements in ways of delivering services within the
Council. Strong partnerships were being forged across
the Council and with partner agencies to provide more
integrated services for children, young people and their
families.
The Director of Community Services and the Heads of
Service with prime responsibility for education provided
effective leadership by re-focusing the service, setting
clear strategic direction, and prioritising and resourcing
key aspects of provision which were identified as in need
of improvement. A very strong sense of teamwork
operated at all levels. The Heads of Service contributed
very effectively to improving important aspects of
provision and were highly regarded by school staff.
Communication was very good.
The financial management of the Education Service had
improved and was sound. There was a need to further
develop the process of more closely aligning budget and
service planning. Arrangements for the devolution of
budget responsibilities to school and pre-school centres
were good and high quality support was provided from
local and centrally-employed staff. Although plans were
being developed to improve the school estate, more
required to be done to address issues of increasing
over-capacity in primary schools.
Very strong support was provided for pre-school and
primary education. A number of steps had been taken to
improve the arrangements for supporting and challenging
schools. A more proportionate and manageable system
had been developed to monitor performance and provide
support based on need across the dispersed and diverse
communities on the mainland and islands. This system
55
was not yet established for supporting and challenging
secondary schools. However, the Education Service was
making determined efforts to address weaknesses in the
secondary sector. The authority needed to continue to
monitor the impact of the teams of QIOs on raising
pupils’ attainment and achievements, and improving
learning and teaching. In primary schools, attainment in
mathematics and writing had improved slightly, but had
remained steady in reading. At S2 in secondary school,
there was evidence of improved attainment levels in
mathematics and writing, and particularly in reading. At
S4 and S5, attainment in National Qualifications was
high, and had remained steady over the last four years.
The Education Service now needed to give priority to
further improving existing high levels of attainment,
particularly in secondary schools.
The Education Service had strong and well established
approaches to the inclusion of children and young people
with additional support needs within mainstream schools.
It was building on this experience to extend further its
partnerships with social work and health staff to provide
more integrated services for the children and young
people. The all round experiences and achievements of
children and young people were being extended by
imaginative developments in arts, culture, enterprise and
sports.
Overall, from a sound base, the Education Service was
strengthening its impact on meeting the Council’s key
aim of being recognised as Scotland’s leading rural area.
56
Key strengths
•
Effective communication in a dispersed authority.
•
Many examples of effective partnership working
across Community Services.
•
The commitment and effectiveness of the Heads of
Service with prime responsibility for education.
•
Teamwork across centrally-deployed staff.
•
Support for pre-school establishments and primary
schools.
•
The effective inclusion of pupils with special
educational needs in mainstream education.
•
Improvements in budget management.
9. Main points for action
In addition to addressing the areas for improvement
identified in this report, the local authority should act on
the following recommendations.
•
Establish closer integration between service and
budget planning.
•
Address the issues of capacity and the physical
environment in schools.
•
Strengthen procedures for monitoring and evaluating
the performance of secondary schools.
•
Ensure more effective support for the curriculum and
learning and teaching in secondary schools to achieve
the Council’s aim of raising attainment and
achievement further.
57
Around two years after the publication of this report
HM Inspectors will re-visit the authority to assess
progress in meeting these recommendations. The local
authority has been asked to prepare and make public an
action plan, within eight weeks of the publication of this
report, indicating how it will address the main points for
action in the report.
Margery Browning
Acting HM Chief Inspector
Directorate 5
June 2005
58
Appendix 1
Performance information
Statistical indicators
•
% of school pupils staying on to S5 (post Christmas)
Argyll & Bute
CA Average7
National
•
2002
2003
2004
74
69
65
74
68
64
74
67
64
Pupil destinations
2001/2002
2002/2003
2003/2004
% Entering Full-Time
Higher Education
Argyll & Bute
CA Average1
National
36
33
32
33
32
31
34
28
29
% Entering Full-Time
Further Education
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
15
18
20
14
19
21
14
19
21
% Entering
Employment
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
33
30
23
35
31
23
36
35
25
7
CA Average refers to the group of education authorities which are comparative to
each other in terms of various socio-economic and demographic factors.
59
• Absence
As part of the 2002 Target Setting initiative, Argyll and
Bute Council set itself the following target to minimise
the average number of half-days absence per pupil in
primary and secondary schools by 2002.
Argyll & Bute
Primary
CA Average
Secondary
•
Target
Level
(June
2001)
2001
Target
Level
(June
2002)
2002
2003
2004
18
19
17
18
19
17
-
18
-
17
17
17
National
18
20
17
19
19
18
Argyll & Bute
32
32
29
32
32
31
CA Average
National
36
38
43
37
39
42
36
41
34
37
Exclusions from schools in Argyll and Bute
2002
Primary
Exclusions
Total
Exclusions
per 1000
Exclusions
Exclusions
Total
Exclusions
per 1000
Exclusions
per 1000
10
71
10
36
-
9
-
8
-
8
National
4478
11
4131
10
4478
11
Argyll & Bute
539
96
620
110
601
105
-
49
-
50
-
51
31767
101
33465
105
CA Average
National
60
Total
2004
71
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
Secondary
2003
9 8
31055
5
•
As part of the 2002 Target Setting initiative, Argyll
and Bute Council set itself the following targets in
reading, writing and mathematics to be achieved by
2002, and has made the following progress in
achieving them.
The figures represent the percentage of pupils in primary
schools attaining and expected to attain appropriate 5-14
levels by P78.
Primary
Target
Level
June
2001
2001
2002
Target
Level
June
2002
2003
2004
Reading
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
83
77
83
80
80
83
80
81
81
81
84
80
81
82
81
81
Writing
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
75
67
74
71
70
75
73
72
72
73
77
73
74
76
74
74
Maths
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
86
81
80
78
79
81
78
80
80
82
81
78
80
81
81
82
2003
2004
The figures represent the percentage of pupils in
secondary schools attaining and expected to attain
appropriate 5-14 levels by S29.
Secondary
Target
Level
June
2001
2001
2002
Target
Level
June
2002
Reading
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
65
54
64
62
56
67
63
59
66
59
70
63
61
71
67
64
Writing
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
62
48
53
52
46
53
54
50
60
51
63
54
51
58
58
52
Maths
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
66
55
56
57
51
57
59
54
59
56
64
58
54
63
64
59
8
Level A by end of P3. Level B by end of P4. Level C by end of P6.
Level D by end of P7.
9
Level E by end of S2.
61
•
Results in Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
National Qualifications.
Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) levels:
7: CSYS at A-C
6: Higher at A-C
5: Intermediate 2 at A-C; Standard Grade at 1-2
4: Intermediate 1 at A-C; Standard Grade at 3-4
3: Access 3 Cluster; Standard Grade at 5-6
Percentage of relevant S4 roll achieving
By end of S4
2001
2002
2003
200410
English 1- 6
@ Level 3 or better
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
98
95
94
96
95
93
97
95
93
96
95
94
97
95
94
Maths 1-6
@ Level 3 or better
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
97
95
94
96
95
93
96
94
93
96
94
93
94
94
92
5+ @ level 3 or better
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
96
93
91
95
92
91
96
92
91
95
92
91
94
92
91
5+ @ level 4 or better
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
85
82
77
84
82
77
85
81
77
82
80
76
82
81
76
5+ @ level 5 or better
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
36
37
33
35
37
34
39
37
34
39
37
34
33
37
34
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
By end of S5
3+ @ level 6 or better
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
26
25
23
26
26
23
23
24
23
26
24
23
26
23
22
5+ @ level 6 or better
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
11
9
8
11
10
9
8
10
9
11
10
10
11
9
9
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
11
12
10
12
13
11
14
13
12
12
13
12
13
13
12
By end of S6
1+ @ level 7 or better
10
62
2000
Argyll & Bute
CA Average
National
2004 figures are Pre-appeals.
As part of the 2002 Target Setting initiative, Argyll and
Bute Council set itself the following targets for pupils
attainment in National Qualifications, and has made the
following progress in achieving them.
English 1-6
@ Level 3 or better
Maths 1-6
@ Level 3 or better
5+ @ level 3 or better
5+ @ level 4 or better
5+ @ level 5 or better
3+ @ level 6 or better
5+ @ level 6 or better
Argyll & Bute
National
Argyll & Bute
National
Argyll & Bute
National
Argyll & Bute
National
Argyll & Bute
National
Argyll & Bute
National
Argyll & Bute
National
Target
2002
2002
2003
2004
97
95
97
95
96
93
86
79
37
35
27
24
9
9
97
93
96
93
96
91
85
77
39
34
23
23
8
9
96
94
96
93
95
91
82
76
39
34
26
23
11
10
97
94
94
92
94
91
82
76
33
34
26
22
11
9
63
Appendix 2
Inspection coverage
Establishments visited or contacted:
Badden Farm Nursery School
Braehead Kindergarten
Busy Bees Nursery School
Campbeltown Grammar School
Campbeltown Nursery School
Cardross Primary School
Castlehill Primary School
Clyde Cottage (voluntary) Nursery
Drummore Learning Centre
Drummore Learning Centre Pre-school Unit
Happy House Christian Pre-school
Hermitage Academy
Islay High School
John Logie Baird Primary School and Pre-five
Unit
Lochgilphead Primary School
Lochgilphead High School
North Bute Primary School
Oban High School
Parklands School
Rothesay Academy
Rothesay Primary School and Pre-five Unit
St Andrew’s Primary School
St Columba’s Primary School
St Joseph’s Primary School
St Kieran’s Primary School
St Mun’s Primary School
Salen Nursery School
Salen Primary School and Pre-five Unit
Sandbank Primary School
Tarbert Academy Primary and Secondary
Departments
64
Tobermory High School Primary and Secondary
Departments
Whitegates Learning Centre and Pre-five Unit
Meetings attended:
Community Services: Education Team
Community Services Departmental Management
Team
Secondary Headteachers
Interviews or meetings with Council Members and
Officers:
Leader of the Council
Spokesperson for Education, Social Work and
Health
Opposition Spokespersons on Education
Chief Executive
Director of Community Services
Head of Service Children and Families
Head of Service Community Regeneration
Head of Service Pre-school and Primary
Education
Head of Service Planning and Performance
Head of Service Secondary Education and Pupil
Support
Head of Strategic Finance
Active Schools Manager
Area Integration Managers
Capital Programme Manager
Child Protection Co-ordinator
Communications Manager
Education Support Officers
Financial Manager - Community Services
Head of Capital Funding Project
ICT Development Manager
IT Infrastructure Services Manager
Internal audit Manager- Services
Policy and Strategy Manager
65
Principal Officers
Principal Psychologist
Quality Improvement Officers
Quality Standards Manager
Interviews or meetings with other Stakeholder Groups:
Area Co-ordinators
Area Network Support Teams
Church representatives
Focus group of heads of Pre-five Units
Focus group of primary headteachers
Primary and secondary Gaelic medium teachers in
Tiree High School
Group of recently appointed headteachers
Representatives of Staff Unions
School Board chairpersons in schools visited
School Board representatives
Group of secondary headteachers
Interviews with Education Service Staff:
Focus group of administrative staff
66
Appendix 3
Quality indicators
We judged the following to be very good
•
Mechanisms for communication
We judged the following to be good
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Vision, values and aims
Effectiveness of leadership and management
Policy development
Mechanisms for consultation
Service Planning
Deployment and effectiveness of centrally-employed
staff
Financial management
Continuous improvement in performance
We judged the following to be fair
•
•
Measuring, monitoring and evaluating performance
Resource management
We judged the following to be unsatisfactory
•
No aspects were found to be in this category
67
How can you contact us?
If you would like an additional copy of this report
Copies of this report have been sent to the Chief
Executive of the local authority, elected members, the
Head of the Education Service, other local authority
officers, Members of the Scottish Parliament, Audit
Scotland, heads of the local authority educational
establishments, chairpersons of the local authority
School Boards/Parents Associations and to other
relevant individuals and agencies. Subject to
availability, further copies may be obtained free of
charge from HM Inspectorate of Education,
Directorate 5, Denholm House, Almondvale Business
Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston, EH54 6GA or
by telephoning 01506 600 380. Copies are also
available on our website: www.hmie.gov.uk.
If you wish to comment about education authority
inspections
Should you wish to comment on any aspect of
education authority inspections, you should write in
the first instance to Mrs Margery Browning,
Acting HMCI, at HM Inspectorate of Education,
Directorate 5, Denholm House, Almondvale Business
Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston, EH54 6GA.
Our complaints procedure
If you have a concern about this report, you should
write in the first instance to Hazel Dewart, Business
Management Unit, HM Inspectorate of Education,
Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park,
Almondvale Way, Livingston, EH54 6GA. A copy
of our complaints procedure is available from this
office or by telephoning 01506 600 265 or from our
website at www.hmie.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the action we have taken
at the end of our complaints procedure, you can raise
68
your complaint with the Scottish Public Services
Ombudsman. The Scottish Public Services
Ombudsman is fully independent and has powers to
investigate complaints about Government
departments and agencies. You should write to The
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, 4-6 Melville
Street, Edinburgh EH3 7NS. You can also telephone
0870 011 5378 or e-mail
enquiries@scottishombudsman.org.uk. More
information about the Ombudsman’s office can be
obtained from the website:
www.scottishombudsman.org.uk
Crown Copyright 2005
HM Inspectorate of Education
This report may be reproduced in whole or in part,
except for commercial purposes or in connection with
a prospectus or advertisement, provided that the
source and date thereof are stated.
69