Paper for the Doran
Review
Examples of good practice and
improvement
Contents
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Introduction
02
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Improving Scottish Education reports and the changing context of special schools and units
03
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Examples of excellent practice in assessing and meeting needs
04
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Improving provision through task activity and review, follow through and building capacity activity
05
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Vignettes of best practice
06
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Education Scotland publications from the past five years relevant to the Doran review.
2 | Document title
1. Introduction
Education Scotland provided the Doran Review with this brief paper of key
themes relating to the improving picture of special schools and units in
Scotland. This paper focuses mainly on schools for those children and young
people with multiple and more complex additional support needs.
The key points in this paper are:
•
special schools and units continue to improve,
•
across Scotland there is a greater diversity in the range of specialist
settings, schools, units and bases,
•
school and units for those with complex needs are some of the very
best schools in the country,
•
the majority of schools for those with complex needs make very good
or excellent provision,
The evidence base of this report includes recent inspection and task activity,
drawing on, in particular, reports on schools for those with multiple and more
complex needs.
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2. Improving Scottish Education 1 and the changing context of special
schools and units and meeting additional support needs
Education Scotland through the work of HM Inspectors inspect, review and
report on the quality of provision in special schools and units. HM Inspectors
published a report on special schools in 2002 and two sectoral reports within
the Improving Scottish Education titles. The sectoral reports comment on the
evaluation of improvements in day special and residential schools and secure
units.
Improving Scottish Education reports
Both the 2006 and 2009 Improving Scottish Education reports comment that
special schools improved in their quality of provision. Schools for those with
complex needs are included in this ongoing improvement. In Improving
Scottish Education 2002-2005, a strong improvement and a number of key
strengths are mentioned. However, the report also states:
“Throughout the special school sector, there needs to be a clearer
emphasis on evaluating practice with a view to improving learning
experiences and meeting individual pupils’ needs. Building on its
current strengths, the special schools sector has the capacity to
improve and to meet these challenges.”
In Improving Scottish Education 2005-2008 we noted further improvement
and better leadership in the sector, for instance,
“In the best practice in schools for young people with more complex
needs, staff use a range of effective approaches consistently to
develop communication skills.”
Within the residential sector, HM Inspectors have successfully been involved
in building capacity in residential special schools. This work is supporting
schools to improve their approaches to self-evaluation, leading to better
outcomes for children and young people. Current expectations of inspectors
are that, in general, across all special schools, provision will have important
strengths overall and are likely to be improving.
Over the past 5 years, HM Inspectors have reported on 120 day special
schools. They found continuing strong performance with some excellent
practice particularly in schools for those with complex needs. During this
period HM Inspectors have also reported on all residential special schools and
units as well as newly established schools in this sector.
Changing context
One indicator of the changing context of special schools is that the children
and young people in special schools are more likely to encounter more
1
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/ise09.pdf
4
complex and multiple barriers to learning than was recognised previously. In
the past we inspected schools against a less flexible description of the context
and nature of the school and its pupil population. HM Inspectors describe the
nature of the school in terms of the population it serves. Looking across these
schools we described them as making provision for the following needs.
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reports for those with complex needs or more complex needs.
learning difficulties.
autism spectrum disorders.
deaf/hearing impaired.
social emotional and behavioural needs.
multiple factors e.g. autism and complex needs.
dyslexia.
speech and language.
cerebral palsy.
additional support needs.
Strengths and areas for development from recent reports
In June 2012, Education Scotland updated its review of the quality of
provision in its report on Quality and improvement in Scottish
education, trends in inspection findings 2008-2011. In pre-school
centres, most children requiring additional support with their learning are
identified early and a programme of staged intervention is put in place.
Nevertheless, there is still a lack of confidence and skill in pre-school
unpromoted staff in their assessments of children and how to plan for support
to individuals. In secondary schools, improvements are still needed in the
way teachers use information from learning support and pastoral care
colleagues, and in communication at times of course choices. A strength in
special schools is the increasing opportunities for young people to have their
achievements recognised, including through accreditation. Less successful is
coordinating support for groups of learners, including those children and
young people who are looked after, young carers and those with mental
health difficulties. In the past three years we have identified the following
strengths and areas for improvement across special schools:
Key strengths
•
•
•
•
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Special schools have developed high quality relationships among
children, staff and parents.
Continuing improvements have been made in the quality of learners’
experiences.
Young people are gaining better levels of attainment and have
increasing opportunities to have their achievements recognised.
Almost all schools are very effective in meeting the wide range of
children’s and young people’s learning and support needs.
Strong leadership and management is developing in an increasing
number of special schools.
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Aspects for improvement
•
•
•
•
Special schools should continue to implement Curriculum for
Excellence with a view to maximising learners’ achievements and
preparing them well for life beyond school.
Staff need to increase expectations and continue to raise attainment,
particularly for children and young people with social, emotional and
behavioural difficulties.
Partnership working between mainstream and special schools needs to
be strengthened to help ensure that children and young people can
access a broad general education.
More effective use should be made of the information gathered through
self-evaluation activities to drive up standards and improve provision
for all learners.
In the last three years, we reported on provision in 112 special schools and 93
special units. Within a number of day special schools, staff make provision in
the form of a special class or unit for support needs linked to more complex
needs or autism spectrum disorders. The quality of provision for day special
schools for children and young people with more complex needs is high.
Over the past three years about 27 day special schools inspected made
provision for those with more complex needs. Eight day special schools
included some aspect of excellence in their provision. These schools were
Fairview School, Perth and Kinross
Woodstock School, North Ayrshire
Kersland School, Renfrewshire
St Andrew’s School, Aberdeenshire
Campsie View School, East Dunbartonshire
Calaiswood School, Fife
Bothwellpark School, North Lanarkshire
Prospectbank School, Edinburgh
A further six had very good provision in some aspect. Four such schools had
some form of important weaknesses in their provision and these schools then
engaged with HM Inspectors and education authority staff in follow though
and improvement activity. Within a different model of inspection, 12 schools
have been engaged with HM Inspectors in follow through activity in the
residential special sector. Eight of these schools had a second follow
through.
Within the residential special sector and secure provision, the following
schools have been evaluated as making excellent provision:Camphill Schools
Corseford School
New Struan House
Good Shepherd Secure Unit
Kibble Education and Care Centre
Donaldson's College.
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3. Examples of excellent practice in assessing and meeting the needs of
children and young people with complex additional support needs.
In 2011, HM reported on Educational Psychology Services including the
quality of their work across Scotland in assessment.
“Most services have in place a range of appropriate assessment
approaches and tools for working with individuals. Educational
psychologists work effectively in partnership with others to provide
integrated assessments which lead to clear plans to meet the
needs of children and young people successfully, and also support
their parents. The majority of services are influential within the
education service and wider council in supporting the development
of shared or integrated assessment frameworks. In a few services,
the quality, range, and suitability of assessment methods is not
consistently good.”
Educational psychology in Scotland: making a difference, 2011
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Campsie View School, East Dunbartonshire
All staff have very high expectations of what young people can learn and
achieve. Staff work closely with parents to build on what is important for the
whole family and what is happening outside of school. Staff have a deep
knowledge and understanding of the young people and their needs. The
knowledge and understanding of young people’s needs allows staff to ensure
that learning experiences help young people to achieve their potential.
Individualised planning for young people involves parents, young people and
a wide range of partners from health, social services and education. The
planning is of a very high standard and gives clear direction to young people’s
learning and development. Learning experiences are planned with the long
term in mind so that young people can be as independent as possible.
Planned learning is at the cutting edge of developments following national
advice in Curriculum for Excellence.
Balwearie High School, Fife
The curriculum in the Department of Special Education met the range of
pupils’ needs very well. Individualised planning effectively identified an
appropriate range of learning experiences for all pupils, including those with
severe and complex needs. The school made outstanding arrangements to
meet the needs of pupils who required significant additional support with their
learning or behaviour. Staff had put in place additional arrangements for early
identification of and support for these pupils. Along with their teachers and
parents, these pupils were fully involved in identifying areas where
improvement was needed and agreeing the most appropriate strategies.
New Struan House, Independent
Tasks, activities and resources are chosen very carefully to match pupils’
learning needs. Staff know children and young people as individuals and they
2
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publications/epsmad.pdf
7
have a deep understanding of autism and how to address the individual needs
of young people sensitively. Teaching is of a very high quality. Individualised
educational programmes are excellent. They focus clearly on learning
outcomes, contain appropriate individualised targets and are used by
teachers to ensure that key learning needs are addressed appropriately. Staff
communicate skilfully with children and young people. They use a range of
approaches including using symbols to focus pupils’ attention and signal the
beginning and end of lessons. Classroom assistants provide very effective
individualised support for children and young people.
Kibble Care, Independent residential special school including secure care,
Independent
Due to strong leadership and the range of care and education services that
Kibble provides, staff can reduce the number of disruptive changes vulnerable
young people make when their circumstances change. The Kibble model
supports the seamless transition of young people from the Safe Centre to the
open school and vice versa. The service vision includes the development of a
personalised curriculum to meet the needs of individual young people.
Good Shepherd Secure Centre, Independent
The centre has a very clear vision and rationale for the curriculum which
focuses on learning skills for living and working. This takes full account of
learners’ entitlements and unique needs within secure care. Education
managers have developed a strategy for ensuring that young people’s literacy
and numeracy skills are the responsibility of staff across care and education.
Staff in care and education are actively developing a coherent approach to
health and wellbeing with particular focus on positive attitudes and nurturing
approaches across the service. They deliver an extensive range of ASDAN
courses at bronze and silver level. Young people are creative, enterprising
and well prepared for the world of work and careers through a wide range of
taster courses and work experience placements including excellent in-house
hair and beauty courses and film making in creative digital media, in
partnership with BBC Scotland. Young people value highly the extensive
range of therapeutic programmes within the curriculum and view them as life
changing.
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4. Improving provision through task activity and review, follow through
and building capacity activity
In carrying out review of provision, HM Inspectors provide analysis based on
evidence from reports and task activity. An example of this work is included
below, focusing on learning impaired and deaf children. Recently in
considering the quality of provision for those children and young people who
are deaf, HM Inspectors evaluated the provision for those who are deaf or
hearing impaired across Scotland.
Provision for children and young people who are deaf or hearing impaired
Since the Additional Support for Learning Act was implemented HMIE have
inspected about 20 schools and units for children and young people with
hearing impairment or who are deaf. The schools and units varied in their
type and nature. A few authorities had special school provision with little use
of shared placements while others involved units in mainstream schools.
Other forms of provision involved deaf children and young people attending
mainstream schools with support from visiting teachers. During the period
HMIE inspected Donaldson’s School, the grant-aided special school for the
deaf. In almost all specialist schools and units for the deaf children’s learning
needs were met effectively and in some cases very effectively. A few had
aspects of practice that were outstanding. Overall, HMIE evidence is that
children in schools and units for the hearing impaired are successfully having
their learning needs met by schools and authorities carrying out the provisions
of the Act.
On visits to authorities and schools, HMIE also found positive provision in
meeting the learning needs of children and young people with hearing
impairments.
In one secondary school with a unit for deaf young people, the school had
won first prize in a citizenship award through Barclay’s Bank for organising
and running British Sign Language (BSL) classes in the school for the
community, including staff and pupils. The whole project was set up and
organised by a small committee of hearing impaired and hearing pupils. The
school also had a signing choir which provided pupils and parents with an
awareness of BSL and the need for signing. These activities helped pupils to
develop self-confidence, citizenship, equality, enterprise and lifelong learning
as well as raising awareness of the deaf culture in the school.
In another city secondary school staff made provision for young people with
hearing or visual impairment. HMIE noted that the proportion of pupils with
recognised additional support needs had been increasing steadily and was
16% at the time of the inspection. Special provision within the school offered
additional support to these pupils, and to others from across the city with a
range of additional needs, such as visual and hearing impairment. The
support for pupils with hearing or visual impairment was excellent. Pupils
were well integrated into the life of the school through effective planning and
consultation with subject departments. The support given included in-class
support as well as small-group tutorials. This was successful in developing
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pupils’ skills in communication, the use of technological aids, and independent
living. Appropriate courses had been produced for pupils who spent their time
within the sensory unit. Progress in all areas was carefully monitored through
high quality IEPs, which were fully discussed with parents. Staff gave very
good attention to planning for pupils’ future needs after they left school.
Children in a school for the deaf attended the school for the part of the week
and shared time with a mainstream school. Teachers of the deaf at all stages
are very skilled at interacting with children, they use questioning very
effectively to help children think for themselves and develop ideas. They
provide activities for children in small groups or as individuals at the right level
of difficulty for each child. Across the school, teachers have developed
individualised educational programmes (IEPs) which identify long- and shortterm learning targets for children. They have not yet developed a detailed
profile of each child’s learning which includes information about each child’s
strengths, next steps in learning and the language spoken at home.
Such schools and units had very few aspects for development. In one school
with a base for deaf young people, staff across the school did not always view
supporting learners as part of their individual responsibility to fulfil their role in
meeting all young people’s needs.
Improvement activities through follow-through arrangements
The following are examples of schools or services where there were
weaknesses identified in the original inspection. This led to support and
follow-through visits resulting in the improvements which are identified.
Special school’s report, 2009
Staff plan activities based on individuals’ learning needs. They are beginning
to enrich learning through topics involving a number of subjects. In a few
cases, class programmes are not of a sufficiently high quality. The school
does not yet have an effective system for tracking individuals’ progress across
the curriculum. Young people have appropriate opportunities to develop
enterprise skills through, for example, raising money for cancer charities and
the children’s hospice. Sound arrangements for young people to transfer into
the school successfully enable parents, staff and young people to become
familiar with the environment before they arrive. Staff involve parents and
partner agencies in preparing young people for leaving school. The school
manages the transitions of young people who attend mainstream schools on a
part-time basis very well.
Follow through, 2011
Staff have used Curriculum for Excellence guidance effectively to review
learning activities. As a result, they provide learning which has greater
breadth and depth and better meets the needs of young people. Activities are
more purposeful and help young people develop appropriate skills and to
learn more effectively. Staff now need to assess more carefully what each
young person is learning during group activities. Staff work closely with
parents and therapists to plan learning for each young person. They set
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targets within individualised learning programmes which help each young
person to make progress.
The school now has a very strong culture of improvement. Staff talk daily
about the quality of learning and how young people are progressing. They
plan developments carefully, based on identification of what they do well and
how they can improve. The headteacher regularly discusses learning with
teachers and support staff. As a result, the quality of young people’s
experiences is now better and their achievements have improved.
Special school’s report 2008
The school’s arrangements for meeting the needs of learners had major
weaknesses. Most tasks and activities in classes did not engage pupils or
meet their learning needs. Pupils were often uninterested in what was
happening in class. Activities did not build on their previous learning.
Professionals from other agencies provided limited support to a few pupils
who had been referred to their services. Partner agencies were not
sufficiently involved with the school in identifying and overcoming pupils’
barriers to learning. The speech and language therapy service had not
worked in partnership with the school staff to develop an environment which
used a wide range of approaches to encourage communication. The school
had not had access to specialist support to help pupils with autism spectrum
disorder overcome their barriers to learning. Staff had prepared individualised
educational programmes (IEPs) for pupils which identified long term targets
for them. These targets were not based on effective assessment. Pupils’
IEPs did not identify steps towards meeting targets, or how staff would teach
or develop the skills required to meet the targets. Appropriate targets were
identified in most pupils’ CSPs but these were not used meaningfully to
support pupils’ learning in school. They did not clearly identify when pupils
required significant support from health services, such as speech and
language therapy and physiotherapy.
Follow-though 2010
The new headteacher and staff in the school and the education authority
worked well to improve provision for assessing learners’ needs. Staff have
used Curriculum for Excellence guidance effectively to review learning
activities. As a result, they provide learning which has greater breadth and
depth and better meets the needs of young people. Activities are more
purposeful and help young people develop appropriate skills and to learn
more effectively. Staff now need to assess more carefully what each young
person is learning during group activities. Staff work closely with parents and
therapists to plan learning for each young person. They set targets within
individualised learning programmes which help each young person to make
progress. Parents and staff work very effectively together to support young
people. They share detailed knowledge about each young person’s strengths
and what will help them learn. Parents’ views are valued by school staff. The
Parent Council is very supportive of the school. Parents work well together,
and have supported the school’s development.
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Partnerships with other services, in particular the health service is much more
effective. Professionals work together to achieve very good assessment and
outcomes for young people.
Staff, parents and the whole school community share a vision for the school
and have raised their expectations of young people’s ability to learn and make
progress. As a result, all have increased pride in the school and young
people’s achievements. Staff continue to provide very high quality care,
taking account of the health and emotional needs of young people.
Building capacity for improvement in residential schools and secure
care services
Between June 2010 and July 2011, HMIE provided support to residential
special schools and secure care services in Scotland to assist in the
implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. This was the second phase of
HMIE’s building capacity task to identify and share best practice and make
recommendations for continuous improvement across the service.
This work identifies important strengths and ways in which residential schools
and secure care services can take action to improve approaches to
implementation of Curriculum for Excellence, leading to better outcomes for
children and young people.
While there are variations in the pace of implementation across schools and
services, overall the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence is
progressing well. In schools and services where management is strong and
there is a clear vision for Curriculum for Excellence linked to school or service
improvement, progress is at a more advanced stage. In these schools and
services, managers strategically plan a coherent and progressive curriculum
using the experiences and outcomes. They take full account of the principles
of Curriculum for Excellence and young people’s entitlements
Where schools and services do not have a clear, shared vision or strategic
plan for implementation of Curriculum for Excellence, staff and senior
management need to have a clearer understanding of the principles.
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5. Vignettes of best practice (Drawn from Inspection Evidence)
Cumnock Academy East Ayrshire
Staff know the young people very well and work successfully to make sure
they receive the additional help they need. Teachers in the English
department gave young people tasks which are set at the right level of
difficulty and used target setting diaries to fully involve young people in their
learning. Lessons meet young people’s interests very well, for example in
mathematics in S1 where a real interest was coming from classwork linked to
the Olympics. A number of young people benefit from additional support with
literacy and numeracy in S1 and S2. In a number of lessons, teachers make
sure all young people are fully supported and challenged, but this is not yet
the case in all. Teachers use information and communications technology to
help make lessons interesting, for example in modern languages where
excellent use is made of interactive whiteboards. Young people really
enjoyed and benefited from their learning in physical education, including
extra curricular activities. Highly skilled staff in the supported learning centre
aid young people’s learning through running lunchtime homework clubs. In
this centre, young people are developing confidence and citizenship skills
through developing a sensory garden and participating in a life skills club.
St Andrew’s School, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire
All staff are clear that their purpose is to provide the highest quality of
education for all young people. Staff’s focus is learning and teaching. The
quality of relationships between staff and young people across the school is
very high. Young people’s views are valued by staff and young people are
encouraged to be independent and take responsibility for their learning. The
school has a very clear focus on encouraging communication by whatever
means including language, signing, symbols, real objects and alternative
mean such as electronic communication aids. In addition to a very high
standard of learning and teaching, as well as very good individualised
planning, young people at St Andrew’s benefit from very good links with local
schools and their community. Staff place a premium on young people being
part of their own local community as well as the community of St Andrew’s
school. Young people attend local secondary schools for specific experiences
such as home economics or science. Each year around 10% of young people
in the school progress to the point where they can attend their local school.
They also enjoy work experience with support in a local café/restaurant which
helps them prepare for independent living after school. Young people
develop good social skills and independence through well-planned residential
trips. Leadership and a vision for what constitutes very high quality education
are key. The school is very well led and self-evaluation is outstanding. A
culture of rigorous self-evaluation is embedded in the school. Staff have
carried out peer observations for a number of years and now challenge each
other to improve their practice continuously.
Camphill Schools Aberdeen
Staff use of the outdoors to enrich learning is outstanding. Opportunities are
planned coherently to build a depth and breadth of experience, build on the
levels of challenge and allow children and young people the opportunity to
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make choices which are relevant to them. Staff in the kindergarten, and
increasingly across the school plan learning through the experiences and
outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence. The school offers a highly
comprehensive educational programme for each pupil which includes a broad
range of subjects. Children benefit from significant therapeutic involvement
from a range of specialists who support young people through individual
intervention. Young people access college placements where appropriate
and all have significant opportunities to learn skills for life and work both within
and outwith the campus. The school places considerable emphasis on
planning and supporting new students and those moving on to the next phase
of their lives.
Corseford School, Grant-aided
Corseford School has a strong management team with a clear vision for the
school. Managers focus on improving teaching and learning through self
evaluation. Priority action points identified through self evaluation are simply
laid out and clear. The school has well developed thinking in the
implementation of Curriculum for Excellence, in particular the Literacy and
English programme. Staff have undertaken development work in linking
subject areas together to make comprehension more relevant and set within a
context.
St Modan’s High School, Stirling
Young people value the many opportunities they have to participate in a wide
range of out-of-class learning experiences. The extension of the timetable on
Mondays provides varied opportunities for all young people to explore and
develop their talents in physical education, cultural and enterprise activities.
In addition, many participate in residential experiences, school performances
and visits to cultural and other special events, to broaden their view of the
world. As a result, young people feel a sense of personal achievement and
increased self-confidence. They know how to keep themselves safe and
healthy. Those on the autistic disorder spectrum and those with complex
needs learn particularly well and are increasing their skills in social interaction
with other young people, staff and visitors. Overall, young people are making
very good progress in their learning and personal development.
Kersland School, Renfrewshire
All staff across the school work together to improve learning and achievement
for children and young people. They seek the views of parents and children
regularly. They talk to other services about how to improve joint working.
They have taken forward improvements to the curriculum and learning and
teaching which have made a significant difference to the quality of provision.
The headteacher provides inspirational leadership. She has established an
ethos of mutual respect and very high expectations across the school
community. The promoted members of staff, teachers and support staff and
learners all take responsibilities for developing aspects of the work of the
school. We have confidence that the school will continue to improve.
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The inspection of Kersland found the following key strengths.
•
•
•
•
•
•
The achievements of children and young people.
The consistently high quality of learning and teaching.
Innovative and creative approaches to the curriculum.
Partnerships with parents, other services and the community.
The ethos of the school which values all members of the school
community, and ensures a focus on high expectations and continuous
improvement.
Leadership of the headteacher and across the school.
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6. Education Scotland publications from the past five years relevant to
the Doran review
•
Quality and Improvement in Scottish education, June 2012
Quality and improvement in Scottish education, 2008-2011
•
Count Us In: Mind Over Matter, March 2011,
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/mom-01.pdf
•
Educational psychology in Scotland: making a difference, March 2011,
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publications/epsmad.pdf
•
Review of the Additional Support for Learning Act: Adding Benefits for
Learners, November 2010,
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/raslaabl.pdf
•
Count Us In: Success for All, September 2010,
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/cuisa-09.html
•
Out of site, out of mind?, May 2010,
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/oosoom.html
•
Learners with profound and complex needs in Scotland's colleges,
December 2009,
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/lpcnsc.pdf
•
How Good is Our Corporate Parenting?, June 2009,
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/ischgiocp.html
•
Count Us In: Improving the education of our looked after children,
2008, http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/cuiielac.pdf
•
How good are our services for young carers and their families?, 2008,
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/isfc.pdf
•
Residential Care and Education: Improving Practice in Residential
Special Schools and Secure Care Accommodation: A staff
development guide to support the evaluation of quality across care and
education, HMIE/ Care Commission, 2007,
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/rceip.pdf
•
Learning and Teaching Scotland Inclusive Education:
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/supportinglearners/
•
Learning and Teaching Scotland, Looked After Children
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/supportinglearners/additionalsupportneeds
/lookedafter/index.asp
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Education Scotland
Denholm House
Almondvale Business Park
Almondvale Way
Livingston EH54 6GA
T +44 (0)141 282 5000
E enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk
www.educationscotland.gov.uk