Pilot Inspection of the Education Functions of
Clackmannanshire Council in October 2005
Publication: May 2006
Contents
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Page
Introduction
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1.
The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
1
2.
What are the challenges for the council?
1
3.
How good are attainment and achievement of children and
young people and how well are they supported?
2
What impact has the authority had in meeting the needs of
parents’ carers and families, staff and the wider community?
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5.
How effective are key processes and planning?
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6.
How well is the authority led?
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7.
What is the council’s capacity for improvement?
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4.
Appendices
Appendix 1 - Quality indicators - Core
Appendix 2 - Quality Indicators - Additional
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Introduction
The education functions of each local authority in Scotland were inspected between
2000 and 2005. A second cycle of inspections began in 2006. Section 9 of the Standards
in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 charges HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE), 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 2) 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 2 (HM Inspectorate of Education 2006) is a framework of self-evaluation for Local
Authority Education Services.
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Inspection of the education functions of
Clackmannanshire Council
1. The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
HMIE inspects the education functions of all 32 councils within Scotland as part of its
commitment to inspect and report on the quality of education and to help secure
improvement. HMIE reported on the first inspection of Clackmannanshire Council in
September 2003. In the period since the publication of this report HM Inspectors
have worked with senior officers of the council to monitor progress on the main
points for action arising from the 2003 report. With the agreement of the council,
HMIE decided to bring together the follow-through inspection due in 2005 with a
pilot of a revised model for the inspections of the education functions of councils.
The pilot inspection was carried out in October 2005 by a team of inspectors with
expertise in education, policing, social work and Health. This report sets out the
findings of this pilot inspection and reports on the progress the council had made on
the main points for action contained in the original inspection report.
During the inspection HM Inspectors focused their activities mainly in the Hillfoots
and Alloa areas of Clackmannanshire Council.
2. What are the challenges for the council?
Context
Clackmannanshire has a population of just over 48,000 people. It comprises a
number of close-knit towns and villages which have a strong sense of community.
The small size of the authority brings both advantages and disadvantages. Three of
Clackmannanshire’s 18 electoral wards are within the top 10% of the most deprived
wards in the country. However, there is considerable variation across the authority
with pockets of wealth and prosperity and some areas of significant deprivation and
disadvantage.
The advantages of the small size of the authority include a strong sense of identity and
place, ease of communication, a good working knowledge of the local area and an
ability to take decisions quickly at local level. In terms of disadvantage, the Council
lacks the economies of scale and the level of resources that a larger authority would
enjoy. A key challenge facing the Council is to maximise the advantages and
minimise the disadvantages as outlined above. Clackmannanshire has the eighth
highest level of multiple deprivation of the 32 local authorities in Scotland. The
proportion of pupils with free meal entitlement (FME) in 2004 was 24% in primary
schools and 18% in secondary schools. However, this varied widely from 5% to 58%
across schools in the authority. This socio-economic context brings with it a number
of challenges. These include the need to encourage economic regeneration and
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develop work-related skills and initiatives aimed at raising the expectations,
achievements and self-esteem of children and young people.
Political and organisational structure
The administration of Clackmannanshire Council is controlled by Labour who hold
ten out of the 18 seats. Education continued to be managed within the department
responsible for Services to People (STP).
In June 2005, the Council approved a new decision-making structure which was fully
implemented from September 2005.
To maintain elected member’s links to services a number of Service Spokespersons
had been appointed, including one for education, whose responsibilities included
leading on service issues at Council meetings and the Audit Committee. The Council
faces the challenge of ensuring that this recent restructuring meets the objectives of
enhancing the leadership of elected members in driving forward key strategies and
policies, and providing a more joined-up approach to Council business and service
delivery.
Within STP, there had been recent changes in personnel and remits. The post of Head
of Education and Lifelong Learning was replaced by a Head of Schools and Quality
Improvement. The Head of Policy, Planning and Special Educational Needs took up
a post in the Chief Executive’s Department. These changes provided an opportunity
to bring together all aspects of schools work, including pre-school, and Psychological
Services under the remit of the Head of Schools and Quality Improvement. A new
post of Head of Inclusion, Planning and Resources was established, but had not yet
been filled. In 2004, the Council completed the recruitment of a team of Quality
Improvement Officers (QIOs) under the leadership of the Quality Improvement
Manager (QIM). Officers were consulting staff on proposals to progress the
integration of services within school clusters and set up related lines of management.
Stability in staffing and remits, and the capacity to release staff in schools to take up
central posts had recently caused difficulties for the Council.
3. How good are attainment and achievement of children
and young people and how well are they supported?
Pre-school
The provision and impact of pre-school education on children across the authority
was a particular strength. There was strong and effective partnership amongst the
Council, voluntary and private sectors in providing very effective services for
children. In inspections carried out in pre-school establishments and units over the
last two years, outcomes for children were, overall, very positive. Expenditure per
child was higher than the national average and that of comparator authorities 2.
This reflected the high priority given by the Council to this sector of provision.
2
2
The term ‘comparator authorities’ refers to the group of education authorities which are comparative to each other in terms of
socio-economic and demographic factors.
The quality of programmes provided for children were good or very good in almost
all centres. Staff/child interaction, support for development and learning, and support
for children with additional support needs was good or very good in all centres
inspected. Children had made significant progress in each of the key areas of their
development, particularly in their emotional, personal and social development.
An extensive and innovative physical activity programme operated in all nursery
schools and classes, and early years centres. This had had a positive impact on
children’s physical ability, health and confidence.
There was very good partnership working at both strategic level and community level
in supporting pre-school children. This included Psychological Services as well as
early years staff working with health visitors in identifying and supporting vulnerable
children. Services for pre-school children had increasingly become more integrated
and comprehensive.
The education authority was committed to intervening at the earliest stages to support
children experiencing difficulties in their development and learning. The Pre-five
Support Service had recently been extended to provide enhanced services to the
pre-school sector. This development had successfully improved transition
arrangements for children with additional support needs moving from nursery to
primary education. Currently, the Inclusion Service was trialling a programme within
one cluster group of schools to identify and address children’s needs in language and
communication, emotional resilience and physical coordination. This well-targeted
initiative involved effective partnership working with health professionals from
speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
Features of good practice: pre-school services
An extensive range of effective pre-school services impacted positively on children
and their families. Innovative features included:
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Strong partnerships with the health services, including the provision of a
Surestart Public Health Nurse. The particular focus on tracking and improving
oral and dental health of children from the first six weeks after birth.
Children in all early years services had access to fresh fruit on a daily basis as
part of a drive to support healthy eating from birth.
The Early Years Active Start programme of physical activity for all children
attending early years services, including partnership providers.
An extension of the Books for Babies programme to children in all early years
services to support early reading and language development.
All children in their pre-school year in local authority and partnership provision
were given a Treasure Box of books and resources which could be taken home
to encourage parents to support their child’s development.
3
Primary schools
Over the period 2001 to 2005, there had been a steady improvement in pupils’
attainment in writing and mathematics. Attainment remained static in reading. In
almost all of the eight primary schools inspected by HMIE over the last two years
there were major strengths in the pastoral care provided for children. Pupils were
mostly positive about the education they received. There were important
weaknesses in meeting pupils’ needs in half of the schools inspected. The Council
successfully placed a high priority on promoting pupils’ wider achievements. A
range of initiatives had been introduced to promote enterprise education,
environmental education, citizenship, arts, sporting and cultural activities. The
authority had very good arrangements to support pupils with additional support
needs at the primary stages.
Between 2001 and 2004 the rate of improvement in reading and mathematics was in
the middle 50% of comparator authorities and in writing it was in the top 25%.
However, in 2004 performance in all three areas was below the average for
comparator authorities and national averages. National and comparator data were not
available for 2005. Attendance in primary schools was close to the national average
of 95%. The appointment and deployment of an attendance and welfare officer in
each of the three clusters was beginning to impact on improved levels of attendance in
2005. Exclusions per 1000 pupils in primary schools had increased between 2003 and
2005 and the rate was now around twice the national average and that of its
comparator authorities.
In the period from August 2002 to November 2005, HMIE published reports on eight
primary schools. In almost all schools inspected, there were important strengths in
pastoral care provided for children. The quality of the teaching process, climate and
relationships, equality and fairness, partnership with parents and the community and
accommodation were good or very good in all schools. The quality of pupils’
learning and their attainment in English language and mathematics was more variable
and was good or better in the majority of schools. However, there were important
weaknesses in meeting pupils’ needs in half of all schools inspected.
In response to questionnaires issued to pupils in schools being inspected almost all
reported that, teachers expected them to work hard, they got on well with other pupils,
teachers checked their homework and the school helped them to keep safe and
healthy. A majority thought that the behaviour of pupils in school was good, that the
school was good at helping to sort things out if they were upset and that all pupils
were treated fairly in the school.
The Council was further developing its approaches to promoting pupils’ attainment.
The guidance on Synthetic Phonics was being applied consistently in all primary
schools and had gained international recognition. Research conducted by
St Andrew’s University showed that this was having a positive impact on pupils’
reading and spelling ability, particularly that of boys. Whilst this programme had
made a strong impact on pupils’ ability to sound out, spell and recognise words,
further work was required to link these skills to other aspects of reading such as
comprehension. In particular, staff needed to build on the early gains in the technical
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aspects of reading in order to improve further pupils’ levels of attainment in reading
at 5-14.
The innovative programme, Thinking Through Philosophy, was being used in all
primary schools and was being developed further into S1 and S2. An evaluation of
the programme by Dundee University indicated that it had improved pupils’ reasoning
skills and discussion in the classroom.
Features of good practice: Thinking Through Philosophy
All primary schools delivered a programme of lessons to pupils in P6 and P7 which
involved them in philosophical enquiry. Staff had been trained in the aims of this
initiative and in the delivery of these lessons. The lesson methodology involved the
use of very high levels of open-ended questions and feedback to pupils.
Outcomes for pupils:
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measurable and sustainable gains in cognitive abilities;
improved self-esteem and self-confidence;
improved discussion and communication skills;
increase participation and engagement in classroom activities;
improved levels of concentration; and
improved behaviour.
Staff continued to be supported to implement the Improving Primary Mathematics
(IPM) programme which had been introduced systematically on a year-by-year basis
and had reached pupils in P7. Teachers were now using the programme in a more
flexible way. Attainment data indicated that the programme had contributed to an
improvement in pupils’ performance in mathematics.
The Council deployed a very effective team of staff to extend and improve pupils’
programmes in physical education. Initial feedback at the end of the first year of the
Primary Physical Education Programme had been extremely positive and staff
recorded improvements in pupils’ levels of skill and fitness. There had also been a
significant increase in pupils’ participation rates in festivals, competitions and
attendance at local clubs. Pupils had free access to swimming during the school
holidays. Early evidence indicated that the wide range of enriching experiences was
helping to build pupils’ confidence and self-esteem.
A range of other initiatives had impacted positively on pupils’ experiences as
indicated by, for example:
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An increase between 2002 and 2004 in the number of schools registered as Eco
Schools, most of whom achieved accredited status.
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An increase in the number of pupils who had opportunities to be involved in a
broad range of enterprising activities.
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•
The Youth Music Initiative which had led to a significant increase in the numbers
attending the Primary Schools’ Choir and the strong uptake of free violin, cello
and guitar tuition for pupils in P5.
The Education Service had implemented a number of initiatives to improve pupils’
health, diet and well-being. In August 2005 a cook-chill facility was introduced to
improve the quality of school meals. There were early indications of an increase in
the uptake of meals. Breakfast clubs had been introduced into almost half of the
primary schools. There were various developments in individual primary schools
planned and delivered in partnership with health professionals to improve pupils’
health. However, these were not generally shared and replicated across the authority.
The authority was at an early stage in developing procedures that would assist schools
to become accredited as health promoting schools.
The Inclusion Service provided a wide range of effective specialist support and
resources to ensure that almost all primary aged pupils, were enabled to attend their
local schools. More than half of pupils with additional support needs attended
mainstream schools. The authority also maintained a highly regarded provision for
pupils whose needs could not be sufficiently met in mainstream schools. The
proportion of pupils meeting or exceeding the targets set for them within their
individualised educational programmes (IEPs) was in line with national targets. The
authority also provided a Support Service for pupils experiencing behavioural
difficulties. Staff in schools were positive about the responsiveness of this service. In
keeping with the authority’s strong commitment to supporting and promoting
inclusion, there was scope to integrate further the work of the two services.
Secondary schools
In secondary schools pupil’s attainment had improved in some aspects, particularly
the percentage of pupils in S4 who gained five of more awards at Level 5 or better.
However the overall picture of improving standards was not strong or consistent.
The performance of pupils in National Qualifications showed some signs of
improvement, particularly in 2005, but there was no overall sustained trend over the
last three or five years. Performance of pupils in S5 showed some improvement in
2005 but remained below the national average and that of comparator authorities.
In the one secondary school inspected by HMIE over the last two years, pastoral
care was very good and the standard of attainment of pupils in S1, S2, S5 and S6
was good. There were important weaknesses in pupils’ attainment in S3/S4. The
percentage of young people in the authority who entered further and higher
education was below the national average. The quality of support to pupils with
additional support needs at secondary schools was variable.
In 5-14 reading and writing, the percentage of pupils who had achieved Level E by
the end of S2 stayed steady between 2003 to 2005. In mathematics, attainment had
been steady in 2003 and 2004, but had improved significantly in 2005.
The percentage of pupils in S4 who gained five or more awards at Level 5 or better
had increased consistently over the last four years. In 2005 this area of performance
was slightly better than in comparator authorities. The performance of the lowest
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attaining 20% of S4 pupils in the authority had been around half the national average
over the last four years. In almost all measures of pupil attainment in S4,
performance in Clackmannanshire had been consistently below both the national
average and the average for similar authorities over the last three years.
The percentage of pupils in S5 who gained three or more awards at Level 6 had
remained relatively steady over the last three years. The number of pupils who gained
five or more awards at Level 6 or better increased in 2005 to the highest over the last
five years. Performance in all areas was below the national and comparator averages.
In 2005, the percentage of S6 pupils who gained awards at Level 3 or better in
English and mathematics was higher than the previous two years. On most other
measures at S6 there was no sustained pattern of improvement in performance.
One of the authority’s three secondary schools was inspected in March 2005. The
pastoral care and curricular and vocational guidance provided for pupils were very
good. Pupils achieved good standards of attainment in S1 and S2. There was good
performance in a few subjects at S3/S4. However, overall attainment at S3/S4 was
fair and further efforts were needed to improve the motivation and success of
lower-attaining pupils. Young people in S5 and S6 had achieved consistently high
standards.
Clackmannanshire had given a priority to improving pupils’ attendance. Between
2004 and 2005 there had been an increase in attendance to 90%. Exclusions per 1000
pupils increased from 2003 to 2005, but was consistently below the rate in comparator
authorities and the national rate.
There were signs that the uptake of meals within secondary schools had improved
since 2004, giving young people access to a healthier diet.
The Council had developed the CAMPUS initiative in partnership with Stirling
University. This enabled secondary aged pupils to participate in university summer
schools to encourage them to consider further and higher education as future options.
A range of productive links had been developed with Forth Valley College. Courses
were provided in a broad range of vocational areas. Other courses were provided to
meet young people’s additional support needs. Clear steps had been taken to ensure
the College and school experience of the pupils involved were well linked.
Participants in these courses had gained a range of additional qualifications.
The authority organised a range of sporting activities for 12 to 16 year old pupils,
which supplemented the provision in individual schools. These included the annual
inter-school programme coordinated by the sport development and active school
teams. On Friday evenings midnight football leagues were run in partnership with the
Police and other agencies with free transport provided. In the summer a programme
of activities was offered under the title Summer up4it.
Provision to support pupils with additional support needs included the Support
Service for pupils experiencing behavioural difficulties, a unit for pupils with
complex and moderate learning difficulties within one secondary school and a special
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school. The work of the Inclusion Service did not extend, as yet, to pupils in
secondary education. The authority had recently appointed a principal teacher to
assist vulnerable pupils with the transition from primary to secondary school and to
help secure consistency in approaches to meeting pupils’ specific needs. There was
not a sufficiently clear or integrated approach to coordinating support services for
pupils in secondary education.
Community learning and development
The Cultural and Community Services (CCS) were developing and delivering new
programmes that effectively engaged, and impacted on, young people. Staff offered
a range of programmes, particularly in arts, the environment, drama, sports and
music, that were developing a more creative approach to youth activities. Some of
these creative programmes had been developed in partnership with local schools.
However, many were at an early stage and needed to be developed further.
Participants in The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award had grown in confidence and
developed good social and leadership skills. A range of worthwhile and innovative
community-based projects enabled young people to make a positive contribution to
their local community, increase their self-confidence and develop skills in using
information and communications technology. Council staff in arts, drama, youth
work and sports activities provided a range of worthwhile activities and support for
young people in the community which had successfully attracted an increasing
number of new participants. A regular feature on young people in the local press had
recently been launched but the youth information website was still at an early stage of
development. Detached youth workers within the CCS Team, and partner
organisations in the voluntary sector engaged effectively with a number of excluded
young people. This support was not yet fully available across all the communities of
Clackmannanshire. Staff from the Council and partners were actively supporting
young people in the development of a number of environmental improvement
initiatives. Although young people generally achieved well through a range of
initiatives, staff did not formally recognise these achievements. The methods used to
assess and record achievements by young people were under-developed.
Whilst staff had developed systems and materials for the marketing of programmes
for young people through the national Dialogue Youth initiative, there was not a
sufficiently systematic approach to youth information provision. A youth information
plan had been developed but not yet fully implemented. Although information and
guidance was available from staff, too often young people were unaware of
opportunities available to them.
Children and young people with additional support needs
Education staff made regular and effective contributions to child care reviews and
case conferences. Overall, there were good examples of effective joint-working
between education staff and social workers to support individual children and
young people. The education authority worked well with social services to provide
very good support to looked after children and young people. The Council had
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appropriate arrangements in place to support the specific needs of pupils from
minority ethnic backgrounds.
In 2004 and 2005 HMIE conducted visits to two special schools to follow-up progress
after previous inspections. Since the original inspections both schools had undergone
significant changes as part of the service reorganisation. They had made very good
progress in tackling demanding sets of recommendations and had improved the
quality of service they provided for children and young people.
The attainment in English and mathematics of the number of looked after3 children
leaving care had increased over the last three years and was above the national and
comparator authority averages. The Looked After Children Education Group
provided very effective support to these young people. A group of young people who
were looked after had successfully taken part in training to improve their leadership
skills.
Procedures on child protection for education staff were clear. All headteachers who
responded to the pre-inspection questionnaire agreed or strongly agreed that the
Council made sure that they were fully informed about procedures relating to child
protection and that schools implemented guidelines and training. There was a high
level of commitment to training, including joint training with other agencies, to raise
awareness of child protection issues and responsibilities.
New approaches to monitoring the progress of pupils from minority ethnic
backgrounds had helped to highlight that further support was required to promote
pupils’ learning at the early stages of primary.
In 2004, educational services implemented new procedures to help identify and
address the levels of support required by pupils with additional support needs and by
individual pupils to avoid them being excluded from school. The authority had
carried out a review of the effectiveness of the procedures in June 2005. Results
identified the need to provide further assistance to schools to help implement staged
intervention procedures more effectively and consistently.
The authority had given good attention to improving the transition for young people
with additional support needs in moving on from school to adult day services. The
authority funded a two year project focused on providing a transition coordinator to
support and extend opportunities for young people. Pupils and parents had valued
highly the role of the coordinator in listening and responding to their views and in
ensuring that agreed plans were carried out.
Staff from all school sectors and parents valued highly the service and support
provided by the Psychological Service and the impact the service had on meeting
pupil’s needs.
3
The term ‘looked after’ in this report includes all children looked after or looked after and accommodated by the Council.
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Features of good practice: Interventions for Recovery Project
This project, which was led by Psychological Services, was targeted at vulnerable
families identified mainly by health visitors or early years staff. It promotes
resilience in children and allows them to explore and cope with grief, loss and
trauma in their lives which may have been caused by death, divorce, separation or
illness. The project involves work with parents as well as children.
Staff provide direct help for the children and their families and training and support
for professionals who are working with children. Training had been provided for all
foster carers, social workers, early years staff, primary and secondary school staff,
health visitors and voluntary sector workers. This had enabled them to interpret the
behaviour they saw when in contact with the child and support the child more
appropriately and effectively.
In 2003 the project worked with 96 families. Forty-nine staff members consulted
the project for advice and training was provided for 24 people. Child and adult
mental health services had noted a decrease in the number of referrals to their
service since the project started.
A paediatric nurse worked effectively in partnership with staff from other agencies to
support children with complex needs. This work focused primarily on ensuring
smooth transitions between different schools. It had been helpful in enhancing
home/school links and supporting individual vulnerable children and young people.
In one primary school, a successful nurture group had been in operation for three
years at the P1 stage. The group provided intensive support for small groups of pupils
who needed to develop their social and emotional competencies in order to help them
approach learning situations with confidence. A recent evaluation carried out on the
impact of the nurture groups showed that all pupils had been successfully
re-integrated into their mainstream classes with some requiring no further support for
learning. Staff also reported the work of the nurture group had helped to develop the
school’s approaches to meeting the needs of pupils with social, emotional and
behavioural difficulties. The education authority intended to share this good practice
with other schools.
4. What impact has the authority had in meeting the needs
of parents, carers and families, staff and the wider
community?
Impact on parents, carers and families
The impact on meeting the needs of parents, carers and families was very good.
Partnership with parents and the community was reported to have been good or
very good in all primary and secondary schools inspected by HMIE since
August 2002. The authority maintained good relationships with members and
10
chairpersons of School Boards. Effective programmes were provided for parents
and carers to develop their parenting skills and have access to support provided by
partners in health and the voluntary sector.
Evidence from questionnaires returned during school inspections indicated that
parents and carers were highly satisfied with provision in the schools their children
attended. They gave very positive responses to almost all questions. In particular,
they were of the view that staff made them feel welcome in the school, parents
evenings were helpful and informative, staff showed concern for the care and welfare
of their children, and that their schools were well led. A survey of parents views
carried out by the Council in 2003 similarly provided very positive responses from
parents, with almost all stating that, overall, they were satisfied or very satisfied with
educational provision.
The Council was responsive to complaints and achieved satisfactory resolutions to the
issues raised. In 2004/2005, 54 complaints were received from parents, all of which
were resolved. So far in 2005/2006, nine complaints had been received all of which
have been resolved.
The Director of STP held helpful termly briefing and consultation meetings with
chairpersons of School Boards. In response to the pre-inspection questionnaire
chairpersons who responded were largely positive about the leadership provided by
the Council. They expressed varying views on the impact of the Council on learners,
parents, carers and families.
A range of programmes to assist parents and carers develop their parenting skills had
had an important impact on early intervention and support for parents in their
parenting and care for children.
Parents, carers and families of pupils with additional support needs were very positive
about the quality of support that they and their children received. Parents felt that
they were treated as partners in their children’s education.
Impact on staff
There were important strengths on the impact of the council on meeting the needs
of staff. An extensive range of worthwhile staff development opportunities,
including inter-agency training, enabled staff in pre-school provision to work very
effectively with children to develop their knowledge and skills. Staff in primary and
secondary schools were generally positive about recent improvements in the
Council’s programme for continuing professional development (CPD).
Evidence from questionnaires returned during school inspections indicated that
teaching and non-teaching staff were positive about working in schools. Most staff
felt that their schools were well led, that there was effective communication between
senior managers and staff and that they had good opportunities to be involved in
decision-making processes. Most non-teaching staff felt that their training time was
used effectively. A majority felt that they had good opportunities to be involved in
decision-making. The positive feedback was confirmed by the council’s own surveys
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which indicated that staff had positive perceptions of the work of the Education
Development Service (EDS) team, the Finance and Administration Officers (FAOs)
and staff from Psychological Services.
The authority had continued to provide a broad range of opportunities for staff to
extend their professional skills. These were matched well to identified priorities in
the Service Improvement Plan. The authority encouraged and supported staff at all
levels to further their professional development through participation in local and
national training events and personal study. Participating staff, including classroom
assistants, central administration staff and learning support teachers had gained formal
qualifications appropriate to their posts.
Over 20% of the teaching force had accessed a range of leadership and management
courses run through the Central Scotland Partnership which was administered by
office staff from Clackmannanshire. There had been an increasing level of interest in
these courses by staff at principal teacher (PT), class teacher and headteacher levels.
Features of good practice: Central Scotland Partnership – Leadership
and management development programme
Five local authorities, Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Perth and Kinross, Stirling, and
West Lothian work in partnership to provide training opportunities for staff in
leadership and management. This is an example of effective collaboration to provide
a level and quality of training which no one authority could provide on its own.
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The partnership provided a high quality programme at four levels - project, team,
school and strategic leadership.
Further partnership with consultants, universities and health staff was used to
enhance courses.
There had been very positive programme evaluations.
Partners met monthly to monitor and develop the programme.
The partnership provided best value in delivering professional development.
Steps were being taken to provide participants with accreditation for success in
courses taken.
The Council had developed a range of support systems for staff in new posts.
Principal teachers and Depute Head Teachers (DHTs) had benefited from a range of
appropriate in-service sessions on aspects of learning and teaching, risk assessment,
teamworking and monitoring and evaluation. Networks had been established for PTs,
DHTs, support for learning staff and staff registered on the Scottish Qualification for
Headship (SQH). Staff felt that the networks were proving to be an effective forum
for sharing good practice and for taking forward issues of common concern. There
were early indications that the PT network had been particularly successful in
establishing common approaches to monitoring and evaluating learning and teaching
in some secondary schools. Despite efforts on the part of the authority to promote the
scheme, there had been a continuing poor uptake on the Chartered Teacher
programme. There had been a small increase in the number of staff registered on the
SQH. A number of joint training courses had been provided on child protection and
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freedom of information. Staff valued these courses but felt that there was a need for
more joint training as they moved towards the delivery of integrated services to
children, young people and their families. The EDS team had benefited from a
well-planned training programme which enabled them to support and challenge
schools more effectively. The QIO team were now providing pre-inspection reports
on their link schools which included increased evaluation.
The percentage of days lost due to sickness for teachers in Clackmannanshire was
consistently among the highest in Scotland. In 2004/2005, 6% of days were lost due
to sickness for teachers. The Council was aware of this pattern and had set up a
working group to investigate and report on the situation.
Impact on the local community
The impact on the local community was weak. The Council had begun to develop
some useful approaches to engage the wider community and increase their
involvement across the authority, but some important weakness remained.
The involvement of both young people and voluntary sector organisations in the
process of community planning was particularly welcome, but needed to be further
developed and embedded. The focus on young people within some of the theme
groups of the Community Plan had led to stronger links between the groups, schools
and youth programmes.
Staff in the Clackmannanshire Anti-social Behaviour Liaison and Mediation Team
(CALM) team and the Community Wardens worked effectively with a range of
partner organisations in education, social work, police and housing. This had led to
the development of useful work on community mediation, school-home liaison,
support for the homeless and night football leagues for young people. Their work had
contributed to a reduction in vandalism and potential episodes of anti-social behaviour
around schools.
Although the authority had a commitment to engage with its community, this was not
always supported by effective and sustained action. The Clacks 750 Citizens Panel
was not yet operational and there was a lack of representation of young people on this
body. The authority had not yet linked its good work on community engagement with
school pupil councils and its youth forum. Young people particularly lacked
opportunities to engage with senior staff and elected members on issues of concern to
them such as safety, territorialism and public perceptions of youth. A number of key
strategic documents that would further direct and develop community involvement
and engagement such as the Community Learning Development Plan and the Culture
Strategy had not been completed and published. The authority needed to develop
more systematic and comprehensive approaches to actively involve the community
and voluntary sector organisations in supporting social and economic development
activities.
13
Impact on the wider community
A range of innovative programmes had been successfully initiated by the authority.
Officers of the authority played an active part in a wide range of national groups
and committees. The involvement of the Chief Executive and other senior officers
in national and international developments impacted very positively on the work of
the authority.
The impact on the wider community was very good.
Some programmes, such as the Thinking Through Philosophy programme have been
of international interest and have been discussed at two international conferences.
The Synthetic Phonics programme has had major impact on the acquisition of reading
skills both nationally and worldwide. The Physical Education team set up to manage
the reduction in primary class contact time was recognised as a model of good
practice across the UK. Staff from the authority’s Psychological Service were
acknowledged internationally, as well as nationally, for their roles in specialised
recovery techniques with pupils who suffered severe trauma.
In addition to contributing to the changing educational agenda at a national level, the
authority adopted leading-edge practices from elsewhere. Such practices included the
Improving Primary Maths (IPM) programme from Zurich and the London Borough of
Barking and Dagenham, Cooperative learning and Critical Skills programmes
developed in Canada/USA and the behaviour support strategies Framework for
Intervention and Crisis Prevention Intervention.
5. How effective are key processes and planning?
As part of the inspection of Clackmannanshire Council, HMIE evaluated a number of
areas of procedure and operational management. This section highlights those areas.
Resource management
The school estate
The Council had taken positive action to improve the school estate. Elected members
and officers were in the process of taking forward ambitious plans to improve and
make more efficient use of educational buildings through the development of a public,
private partnership (PPP) scheme to rebuild all three secondary schools. The Council
was currently evaluating the submitted tenders. The scheme will result in three new
secondary schools in Alloa, Alva and Lornshill. The Scottish Executive is making
available funding towards the cost of the project with the Council providing funding
of approximately £16.35 million through capital receipts and contributions. An
internal negotiating team has been set up to monitor issues around the affordability
and costs of the scheme as it develops.
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Information and communications technology (ICT)
Good progress had been made in improving the provision and use of ICT. All schools
were connected to the internet and the Council’s network. A clear ICT strategy had
been established, but staff recognised the need to continually update it to take account
of the pace of change. An intranet had been set up to allow staff and pupils access to
email, news items and vetted curricular web links. The use of these facilities
continued to increase.
There had been a high uptake of an extensive range of courses for staff to enhance
their knowledge and ICT skills. Staff valued these opportunities and courses received
positive evaluations.
A core ICT skills curriculum framework had been developed and introduced
successfully for pupils aged between 3-14. It provided broad guidance on what pupils
should learn at different levels. Clear guidance was issued to schools on the safe use
of the internet. There was a significant increase in use of the internet in schools to
support and enhance pupil’s learning.
Key learning software used in schools had been made available for pupils, teachers
and parents to use at home free of charge. Parent’s evenings were organised to
encourage and support use of this at home. Since its introduction there had been a
significant increase in uptake and usage.
These developments, which had enhanced pupils learning and staff access to facilities
to improve teaching, were supported by an education ICT technician service. This
was organised on a cluster basis and provided a high quality and responsive service to
schools.
Management information systems
Progress in improving the collection and use of statistical data to provide a means of
monitoring and helping schools to improve was adequate and the full impact of
changes made had yet to be confirmed.
Plans had been put in place to introduce a new and improved management
information system. A planned programme to roll out the system across school
clusters had been started. It was not yet possible to measure success, but the potential
for significant improvement was evident.
Progress had been made in establishing a more systematic and comprehensive
approach to the collection and use of 5-14 attainment data in primary and secondary
schools. Following staff development and support, QIOs and senior managers in
secondary schools had increased in confidence and competence in using analysis of
pupils’ attainment in national examinations (STACS) data to identify poor
performance and good practice. An external consultant provided valuable analysis
and supported staff in examining trends, strengths and weaknesses in performance.
The QIO team were increasingly making effective use of data to support and
challenge schools.
15
The authority was aware of the need to be more consistent and robust in gathering and
using performance data to evaluate the impact of initiatives and measure the extent to
which targets set were met. Good work had been undertaken with universities and the
Corporate Research and Information Unit (RIU) to provide data analyses on some
initiatives to secure improvement and surveys of parental satisfaction. More required
to be done to give senior managers access to performance and management data to
enable them to evaluate progress and plan for further improvement.
Financial management
A new finance system (STRATEGIX) to support the devolved school management
(DSM) scheme had recently been introduced across individual schools. Users had
been provided with training and the new system had proved to be more accessible.
The support provided to schools, specifically by financial administrative officers had
been very good, both on a day-to-day basis and through the provision of training
where needs were identified.
A working group was established around two years ago to review and revise the DSM
system. This remained an area of work in progress, with competing time priorities,
particularly the development of the PPP scheme, causing slippage in the planned
programme.
In 2004/2005 there had been an improvement in budgetary control and in the accuracy
of financial monitoring and reporting across the Council. The final outturn of general
fund services, including education, was in line with management projections. The
main factors which contributed to this improving position included a continued move
away from incremental based budgeting, involvement of elected members in the
mechanics of setting and revising budgets, and stronger linkage between financial
budgets and service plans.
Services plans continue to be the keystone of performance management. They
contained a set of improvement actions over three years along with related
performance measures. In both 2004 and 2005 service plans were submitted for
approval earlier than in previous years and close to the start of the financial year.
Plans set a context for budget working group discussion and decision-making. The
main weakness in service planning was the balance and presentation of performance
information. The focus of effort in improvement in 2005/2006 was on development
of a balanced scorecard approach. Improvements in the service planning process
should allow for more transparent linkages between service plans and financial
budgets.
6. How well is the authority led?
Vision, values and aims
Overall, the impact of the vision, values and aims of Education Services was good.
Priorities and targets set for education were clear, comprehensive and fully
consistent with the National Priorities in Education. The most recent trends in
16
pupil’s attainment, in both primary and secondary schools, indicated progress in
improving poor performance, but significant work required to be done to enable the
Council to achieve the vision and aims it has set itself for pupil’s attainment levels.
The corporate priorities for the Council for 2004 to 2007 identified the broad aims of
achieving potential, maximising quality of life, securing prosperity, enhancing the
environment and maintaining an effective organisation. Within these aims,
appropriate key priorities were identified which clearly directed the work of
Education Services. These provided coherence with corporate vision and aims,
particularly in relation to achieving potential and maximising quality of life.
Learning to succeed in Clackmannanshire continued to provide a vision of the
development of education in the authority. Emphasis was clearly placed on
promoting effective teaching, inclusion and partnership. A range of initiatives
introduced by the Council were contributing to achieving this vision.
Over the last two years elected members and officers had placed a very strong focus
on improving the attainment of pupils, particularly in secondary schools, and raising
the aspirations of young people. A number of strategies had been introduced to
achieve these aims. Headteachers were clear that these were key priorities for the
Council and had a major impact on their work.
There was a particular commitment to provide more coherent services through
integrated working within the Council and with other partners and agencies.
Although education, social work and housing had been brought together in one STP
service and progress had been made towards integrated working, continued work was
required to maximise the impact of this arrangement on delivering services.
Leadership and direction
There were important strengths in the overall effectiveness of strategic leadership
and direction. Elected members with responsibility for education and senior
officers provided strong leadership in a number of specific areas. The Chief
Executive, senior elected members and the Director of STP had given a strong and
consistent lead in promoting and improving attainment and achievement in schools.
They had ensured appropriate strategic planning and the deployment of resources
to support these key priorities. The Director of STP had been highly successful in
engaging the commitment of staff within the Education Service to improvement.
All headteachers agreed that the Director of STP showed a high level of commitment
to improving education. Almost all felt that the authority made a positive difference
to improving the quality of learning and teaching. Most agreed that they were
encouraged to develop a systematic approach to self-evaluation and that the authority
promoted productive links with agencies such as social services and health services.
The majority of headteachers and almost all School Boards agreed that the authority
was well led.
The Leader of the Council and the Convenor of the Learning and Leisure Committee
had taken a strong stance in commissioning and supporting an external report which
17
was focused on improving attainment in the secondary sector. They provided strong
support for improved opportunities in sport and leisure and had deployed resources
effectively and imaginatively towards the development of the primary physical
education team. Elected members had supported the Director of STP in strengthening
the EDS team to support and challenge schools. They also supported the ambitious
PPP programme and a review of the primary school estate.
The Chief Executive had a strong presence in the authority. He knew the education
sector and the political context very well. He encouraged headteachers to make local
decisions and to be innovative and flexible in their approach to developments. The
Director of STP demonstrated a wide range of effective leadership skills and showed
the ability to take decisive action in key areas requiring improvement. He ensured
that elected members were well briefed on developments and staff at all levels were
clear on his aspirations for the education service. The Director had established
effective teamworking with his heads of service, particularly the Head of Schools and
Quality Improvement and the QIM. Together, they were proving to be a strong team
who were committed to driving forward the improvement agenda in schools. The
head of Childcare and Criminal Justice provided a strong lead in taking forward the
Children’s Services Plan, the Council’s Child Care Strategy and provision for looked
after children.
Leadership of people and partnerships
The leadership of people and partnerships was good. A strong base of teamwork
and sense of shared purpose had been established within educational services. An
open, consultative and considerate style of management had been developed which
contributed to staff morale and high levels of motivation throughout the service.
Staff in Education Services worked well with their colleagues in STP.
The Director of STP and centrally-deployed staff were seen as approachable,
energetic and knowledgeable. The management of the public private partnership
(PPP) project to improve school accommodation was seen by headteachers, and
others, as a good example of the leadership approach with wide consultation and
involvement, personally led by the Director and supported by elected members.
A well-structured system of management meetings had been established which
fostered a sense of teamwork. This was complemented by a number of working
groups focused on important issues such as raising achievement and improving
attendance. A positive and effective working relationship had been established with
the teacher’s unions, resulting in a full range of arrangements being agreed through
the Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers (LNCT) established under A Teaching
Profession for the 21st Century 4.
Good partnership had been forged with Forth Valley College to provide a
well-planned alternative and relevant curriculum to meet young people’s needs.
There were links with other authorities on matters such as the register of supply
4
A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century – Scottish Executive, January 2001.
18
teachers, sensory impairment services, staff development and Gaelic education.
Universities had been involved appropriately in evaluating educational projects.
The authority’s arrangements for child protection and inter-agency working in this
context were well understood by schools, and the associated inter-agency training was
valued. There were also examples of good inter-agency working at local level.
There were strong links between the Education Service and the Children’s Reporter.
Education staff regularly attended Children’s Hearings and were well informed about
the young person who was the subject of the Hearing. Educational psychologists
provided a particularly strong contribution to the Hearing system.
Leadership of change and improvement
Overall, the strengths in leadership of change and improvement just outweighed the
weaknesses. The team of QIOs had further strengthened its approach to quality
assurance. QIOs were working effectively with schools to take forward the main
points for action identified in HMIE reports. Whilst there were examples of
effective leadership of change, there were some areas where greater strategic
direction and a brisker pace of change was required.
The EDS team played a key role in supporting and challenging schools. They were
led well by the Head of Schools and Quality Improvement and the QIM, who
supported and encouraged effective practices, aimed at securing improvement. The
QIM challenged both her staff and headteachers in schools to continue to improve the
quality of provision for learners. She encouraged her team to continuously monitor
the effectiveness of their performance, including gathering views from schools on the
effectiveness of the central team. Staff in schools felt that their link QIO had been
helpful in developing the capacity of the cluster to take forward common initiatives.
The introduction of department audits by the QIOs in the secondary sector had helped
school staff to identify strong performance and the approaches to be adopted to secure
improvements. QIOs now had more detailed statistical data which was being used
effectively with headteachers to discuss attainment trends in primary and secondary
schools, to target areas of under-performance and to gather and disseminate strategies
linked to areas of strong performance. Results of follow-through inspections
indicated that QIOs were working effectively with schools to take forward the main
points for action identified in HMIE reports. Schools had been provided with strong
support from authority staff.
Stronger leadership and direction was required in some areas. In particular, the
Community Learning Strategy was at an early draft stage. The strategy for Integrated
Community Schooling (ICS) was at an early stage of development. Whilst there were
a number of examples of very good partnership working and health promotion
initiatives to deliver improvement at an operational level, there was a lack of strategic
direction in building on the work of new community schools pilot project.
Although some sound beginnings had been made to improve pupils’ attainment and
there were indications of recent improvement in some areas, much required to be done
before the outcomes planned for children and young people were fully realised.
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7. What is the council’s capacity for improvement?
The education authority had taken positive action to add value to the work of
schools and secure improvements for children, young people and their families.
Although progress was clear in many areas and there were recent signs of
improvement in pupils’ attainment, the Council still faced the challenge of
sustaining and building on these improvements. Overall, it was well placed to make
further progress.
The Education Service was strongly committed to improvement and, in particular, to
raising pupils’ attainment. It had benefited recently from a period of more settled
leadership. However, it had been carrying a vacancy at head of service level for over
a year and a QIO for almost two years. These vacancies had impacted on the work of
other staff who were already carrying heavy remits. Difficulty in releasing staff from
schools meant that the Education Development Service team had been depleted for
2005/2006. There were signs that this would soon begin to impact on the quality of
curriculum support provided to schools. Difficulties in recruiting sufficient levels of
social work staff meant that school’s access to social workers to support pupils had
been curtailed. These staffing issues limited the extent to which the Council could
benefit fully from revised structures put in place to secure improvement.
The Council’s capacity to improve had been enhanced through partnership working
with other local authorities. In this way the Council achieved best value and provided
a level and quality of service which would not have been possible within its own
resources.
Implementation of the new quality assurance framework and the QIO team had
significantly strengthened the capacity of the authority to improve. The work
undertaken to improve leadership and management in secondary schools and raise the
quality of learning and teaching was beginning to show encouraging results and
placed the Council in a strong position to make further progress.
Centrally-deployed staff and schools still required access to a more efficient and
effective management information system for recording and analysing data to enable
them to evaluate progress and plan for further improvement. Significant changes had
been introduced recently which when fully implemented should strengthen
considerably this important aspect of provision.
Overall, the Council had made good progress towards meeting local targets set for
improvement. Measures demonstrated continuous improvement in most areas.
HMIE will make no further visits to the council in relation to the original inspection
of September 2003.
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Key strengths
•
Effective services for pre-school children and their families.
•
Programmes to promote the health, fitness and well-being of
pre- and primary school children.
•
Approaches to supporting and including pupils with additional support needs and
raising their attainment.
•
The positive views pupils, parents and carers have of the services they receive.
•
The clear focus on the effective arrangements to promote the welfare,
development and achievements of looked after children.
•
The lead given by elected members and officers to raising pupils attainment,
particularly in secondary schools.
Main points for action
•
The Council should continue to give priority to raising pupils’ attainment.
•
The Council should further develop approaches to actively involve the community
in influencing the activities and services provided for them.
•
The Education Service should further improve systems to collect and use
statistical data to monitor the impact of initiatives and secure improvement.
•
Plans to introduce more integrated working through school clusters should be
taken forward to enhance the provision of coordinated services for children, young
people and their families.
•
Higher priority should be given to developing more systematic approaches to
identifying and sharing good practice.
Annette Bruton
HM Chief Inspector
Directorate 5
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Appendix 1
Quality Indicators
We judged the following to be very good
•
•
Impact on parents/carers and families
Impact on the wider community
We judged the following to be good
•
•
•
•
•
•
Performance against local objectives
Impact on learners
Impact on staff
Vision, values and aims
Leadership and direction
Developing people and partnership
We judged the following to be adequate
•
•
Continuous improvement and performance
Leadership of change and improvement
We judged the following to be weak
•
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Impact on the local community
Appendix 2
In addition to the core quality indicators the inspection team evaluated aspects of
additional indicators related to key processes and operational management.
We judged the following to be good
•
•
Resource management
Financial management
We judged the following to be adequate
•
Management information systems
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How can you contact us?
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 Annette Bruton 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 600 258 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 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 2006
HM Inspectorate of Education
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