Summary of the follow-through
evaluation of the educational
psychology service
A report by HM Inspectorate of Education
Stirling Council
23 February 2010
Definition of terms used in this report.
HM Inspectors use published criteria when making evaluations. They are published as
quality indicators which relate evaluations to six levels. HMIE began using a six-point
scale to make evaluations in August 2005. The table below shows how the six-point
scale relates to the four-point scale that we used previously.
Old level
Very good
Good
New level
Excellent
Very good
Good
Fair
Unsatisfactory
Satisfactory
Weak
Unsatisfactory
Description
Outstanding, sector leading
Major strengths
Important strengths with some areas for
improvement
Strengths just outweigh weaknesses
Important weaknesses
Major weaknesses
This report also uses the following words to describe numbers and proportions:
almost all
most
majority
less than half
few
over 90%
75-90%
50-74%
15-49%
up to 15%
Contents
Page
1. The inspection
1
2. Continuous improvement
1
3. Progress towards meeting the main points for action
2
4. Conclusion
4
1. The inspection
HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) published a report on the inspection of
Stirling Council in April 2007 which included an evaluation of Stirling Educational
Psychology Services (EPS). Following the inspection, the service prepared an
action plan indicating how they would address the main points for action identified in
the original HMIE inspection.
HM Inspectors (HMI) revisited the service in November 2009 to assess the extent to
which the EPS was continuing to improve the quality of its work, and to evaluate
progress made in responding to the main points for action.
2. Continuous improvement
Since the inspection in April 2007 there has been a review of council services and
structures. A new principal educational psychologist (PEP) and depute principal
educational psychologist (DPEP) have been appointed and there have been
significant changes in EPS staff. The service has also moved offices and is now
based in Raploch.
The new PEP and DPEP have created a clear agenda for change in collaboration
with service staff, and supported by senior education officers. The PEP and DPEP
have made good progress in encouraging distributed leadership across the service.
EPS staff, led by the senior management team (SMT), are now more involved in
working groups and service tasks which are directly linked to the service
improvement plan. This has resulted in better team working. There is an effective
culture of self-evaluation developing across the service. Staff are encouraged
through the new support and supervision sessions, to reflect on practice and identify
areas for development.
The service has continued to develop its knowledge and expertise in areas of trauma
and attachment, including strengthening its work on the innovative FRIENDS
programme. The service has led the training, development and evaluation of
FRIENDS in Scotland. Partner agencies value the contribution made by the EPS to
working groups and to meeting the complex needs of individual children and young
people. The service has reviewed its approach to research and established new
practice guidelines, which are improving the research capacity across the service.
These improvements now need to be better communicated to schools, authority staff
and partner agencies. The service has further developed its skills in video
interactive guidance aimed at enhancing positive interactions between children and
adults through the use of video feedback. The range of therapeutic interventions
delivered by the service across the Council requires to be reviewed to ensure that
there is equality of access across Stirling for children and families in need.
1
Features of good practice:
•
FRIENDS is an initiative designed to help children and young people cope with
feelings of anxiety and depression by building resilience and self esteem and
teaching cognitive and emotional skills.
•
An innovative conference for stakeholders, designed to encourage participation
and seek feedback on service performance.
3. Progress towards meeting the main points for action
The initial inspection report identified three main points for action. HMIE confirm that
the service has made positive progress across the main points for action resulting in
improvements for children, young people and families.
Ensure targets for improvement highlight impact and outcomes for service
users, particularly children and young people and are more closely linked to
authority priorities
The education authority and the Interim Head of Education provide good support and
advice to the EPS in helping them to progress service developments. The PEP and
DPEP have provided effective leadership in addressing the action points arising from
the inspection in April 2007. The PEP makes important contributions to education
service developments including child protection issues, outwith placements and
managing and supporting schools in dealing with the needs of children and young
people with complex needs.
EPS activities are more appropriately linked to education service priorities. The
service has representatives on a number of strategic working groups including
support for children with dyslexia and for young people who require More Choices,
More Chances. The EPS now produces helpful annual Standards and Quality
reports. The EPS involvement in policy and guidance for the authority is now making
a difference. For example, through their strong contribution to the mental health and
well-being agenda linked to the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence.
The service has extended the range of training provided for staff to ensure a better
match with the strategic requirements of the authority. The EPS now has an
important role in supporting the needs of children and young people who are looked
after and accommodated by the authority. The service has developed sound links
with partners working in youth services and the college sector. The service has also
established productive working relationships with EPS from neighbouring authorities
to share practice and improve service delivery.
The Education Service and the EPS should build on this good progress and seek
further opportunities for the service to improve outcomes for Stirling’s children and
2
young people, including the wider development of learning and teaching across the
authority.
Review their policy and planning to better reflect service activities and focus
to improve outcomes for children and young people
The DPEP has taken a lead role in creating an appropriate policy context for the
service. The service now has a clear framework for reviewing service policies and
practice. Working groups, including those for early years and post school provision,
ensure that policies are updated and new polices are developed to reflect on-going
developments within the service. Useful practice guidance is in place for a range of
service activities including EPS evaluation, and consulting with children and young
people. Practice guidance needs to be reviewed for the delivery of consultation
services to ensure that legislative requirements are fully met. The service
improvement plan has a clear set of manageable and realistic priorities which link
with the Council’s Children’s Services Plan. Improvement plan targets need to be
more focused on impact and outcomes for children and young people. The service
is aware of the need to involve stakeholders more in joint planning and policy
development.
Involve all key stakeholders in service development and improvement
The EPS have consulted with a wide range of stakeholders including children and
young people, parents, school staff, mental health practitioners, social workers and
allied health professionals to improve service delivery. An innovative stakeholders’
conference was held in 2007, which successfully engaged stakeholders in the
service review and evaluation. A three-year cycle of stakeholder consultation has
been put in place, which will help the service to take better account of stakeholder
views and evaluations in planning for service improvement. Overall, early years and
primary school staff are positive about the service they receive from the EPS. The
secondary school sector raise concerns about a number of aspects of service
delivery including consultation, assessment and casework practices. Centrally
deployed staff are generally positive about the advice and information they receive
from the EPS but continue to raise important concerns about roles, remits and
communication processes currently in place. EPS staff recognise the need to
promote more effective joint working practices particularly with secondary and
centrally deployed staff to improve outcomes for all children and young people.
3
4. Conclusion
The education authority, PEP, DPEP, and staff group have worked effectively to
improve service focus and development to better meet the needs of children and
young people in Stirling. Children, young people and families, and a number of key
stakeholders, are more actively involved in the development and improvement of the
service. Overall, the PEP and service staff demonstrate the capacity to manage
change effectively and continuously improve the quality of their work. As a result of
the overall good progress achieved by the service towards meeting the main points
for action, HM Inspectors will make no further visits in connection with the report of
April 2007. HMIE will continue to discuss with the education authority improvements
in collaborative working across EPS, secondary and centrally deployed staff.
Anna Boni
HM Inspector
23 February 2010
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HM Inspectorate of Education