E a s t Ay rs h ire Co u n c il
F e b ru a ry 2 0 0 3
Contents
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Page
Introduction
i
1.
The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
1
2.
The Education Service: operational context
1
3.
Strategic management of the service
13
4.
Consultation and communication
19
5.
Operational management
26
6.
Resource and financial management
31
7.
Performance monitoring and continuous
improvement
35
8.
How well does the authority perform overall?
50
9.
Main points for action
53
Appendices
Performance information
Inspection coverage
Quality indicators
55
59
61
Introduction
The education functions of each local authority in
Scotland will be inspected between 2000 and
2005. Section 9 of the Standards in Scotland’s
Schools Etc. Act 2000 charges HM Inspectorate of
Education, on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, to
provide an external evaluation of the effectiveness
of the local authority in its quality assurance of
educational provision within the Council and of its
support to schools in improving quality.
Inspections are conducted within a published
framework of quality indicators (Quality
Management in Education) 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 external auditor member of the inspection
team carries out a performance management and
planning (PMP) audit of the education functions
of the authority. The inspection team also
includes an Associate Assessor who is a senior
member of staff currently serving in another
Scottish local authority.
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Inspection of the education functions of
East Ayrshire Council
1. The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
The education functions of East Ayrshire Council were
inspected during the period September to November 2002
as part of a five-year national inspection programme of
all local authorities in Scotland.
The inspection team interviewed elected members and
officers of the Council. The inspection team also
attended meetings, visited schools and other
establishments in the authority and met with staff,
chairpersons of School Boards and other key stakeholders
of the Education Service. A summary of inspection
activities is given in Appendix 2.
On behalf of HM Inspectors, an independent company
issued and analysed responses to questionnaires to
headteachers of all educational establishments within the
authority and to the chairpersons of the School
Boards/Parents’ Associations and to partnership
pre-school establishments.
2. The Education Service: operational context
Social and economic context
East Ayrshire Council covers an area of around
190 square miles and has a population of 120,000 people.
Over the last ten years its population has declined faster
than the national rate and is projected to fall further. The
population is unevenly dispersed. Two-thirds live in the
smaller districts of Kilmarnock and Loudoun to the north
1
and one third in the larger area of Cumnock and Doon
Valley. Educational services make provision for 20,000
school-aged pupils and 2700 pre-school-aged children.
The Council’s area comprises a mix of urban, small town
and rural communities, each with strong identities.
Particular features of the area are the pockets of extreme
disadvantage, particularly in and around Kilmarnock and
the rural area to the south. This rural area is characterised
by communities which appear remote for people without
private transport. Cumnock and Doon Valley forms a
Social Inclusion Partnership. Parts of Kilmarnock are
Better Neighbourhoods Services Fund pathfinder areas.
The unemployment rate of 5.6% in East Ayrshire is
higher than the national average of 4.1%. However, the
drop by almost 5% over ten years is much faster than the
fall for Scotland as a whole. In particular, unemployment
amongst 18 to 24-year-old people has fallen faster than
for Scotland in the last year. The percentage of
unemployed people who have been out of work for more
than a year is higher than the national rate.
The Council’s area has experienced significant changes in
patterns of employment. It has a higher percentage of
jobs in production and construction and lower in finance
and business compared with Scotland. Between 1995 and
2000, jobs in manufacturing decreased by 32% compared
to a decrease of only 5% nationally. Jobs in the service
sector have increased by 13% compared to a 9% increase
for Scotland. Average earnings are lower than the
national average.
The free meal entitlement (FME) in primary and
secondary schools was above the national average but
below the average for comparator authorities. However,
it ranged widely from 0% to 73% in primary schools and
from 9% to 34% in secondary schools.
2
In the overall context, the Council is faced with
significant challenges in responding to the social and
educational needs of children, young people and their
families living in dispersed pockets of urban and rural
disadvantage. These challenges are compounded by the
need for the Council to address issues relating to the
condition and siting of school accommodation and to
prepare pupils for a changing pattern of employment.
Political and organisational context
Established in 1996 as a result of local government
reorganisation, East Ayrshire Council has faced the
challenge of creating a new corporate body and sense of
community identity.
The Council comprises 32 councillors, of whom 17 are
Labour, 14 Scottish National Party and one Conservative.
The administration is led by the Labour Party. As a result
of restructuring its departments in 2000, the Council
created the Department of Educational and Social
Services under a single Director. It retained separate
committees responsible for education and for social work.
All members of the Education Committee, which
included church, parent and teacher representatives,
shared the Council’s very strong commitment to
education and reported a high degree of consensus in
making decisions. The chair of the Education Committee
had long experience of education in local government.
His exceptionally high level of commitment was
demonstrated in his role as Children’s Champion and he
was very well known in schools and communities, as
were many other members of the Committee.
The Council’s values and vision were stated clearly in its
Council Plan 2000-2003. Quality, equality, access and
partnership were the four cornerstones of the Council’s
3
Statement of Commitment. The vision related to the
achievement of seven priority outcomes:
•
tackling unemployment;
•
fighting poverty;
•
better health;
•
improved housing for all;
•
excellence through education;
•
a safe, stimulating and sustainable environment; and
•
inspiring young people.
As each of the Council’s departments was expected to
contribute to the achievement of each of these outcomes,
all departments had a role in promoting education.
The Council set targets for education and social work in a
committee paper in 2002, Working Together to
Strengthen Services, a summary of which was shared
with service users through a leaflet.
The Educational and Social Services Department fully
reflected the values and vision of the Council in its
Statement of Commitment, which was reformulated in
2000 after extensive consultation with parents, schools
and pupils. Its emphasis on developing excellence in
education and improved opportunities included the
importance of raising attainment, inclusion, preparation
for lifelong learning, community learning and employee
development. The Strategic Plan for the Education
Department 2000-2003 provided an overview of the
direction of the Department’s work and this was further
refined in two key documents, Inspiring Children and
Young People: a joint plan of services for children and
young people: working in partnership 2001-2004 and
4
East Ayrshire Council Department of Education and
Social Services Service Improvement Plan 2002-2003.
These interrelated plans incorporated the National
Priorities for education and were supported by a range of
standard circulars and papers noted or approved by the
Education Committee.
The Chief Executive led the Senior Staff Management
Team, which comprised the Directors of Corporate
Resources, Development Services, Homes and Technical
Services, Community Services, Finance, and Educational
and Social Services, and which was responsible for
almost two-thirds of the Council’s budget. A Corporate
Strategy Group provided policy advice and had
responsibility for ensuring that departments worked
together to achieve corporate priorities.
The Director of Educational and Social Services was
supported by four Heads of Service covering: social
work; community support including pre-school provision,
New Community Schools and social inclusion; resource
support, and schools. As a result of a review of the remit
of the Head of Schools and the needs of the department,
the functions were to be split into two posts, Head of
Schools Support and Head of Quality Improvement. The
latter post was to cover both education and social work.
Changes to these and other posts were being put into
effect during the period of the inspection. The post of
Head of Resource Support was vacant throughout the
inspection and the newly created post of Head of Schools
Support was, as yet, unfilled, with the previous
post-holder continuing in that position as well as
assuming the new quality improvement role. The Head
of Schools also had responsibility for Network Support,
Psychological Services and the Quality Improvement
Team (QIT) which had recently been formed from the
Quality Development Team led by a Principal Officer.
The QIT was being increased in size to allow one Quality
Improvement Officer (QIO) to be attached to each of the
authority’s nine Learning Partnerships.
5
Just prior to the inspection, a new multi-agency initiative
had been launched to create Learning Partnerships, based
on the nine clusters of associated pre-school
establishments, primary and secondary schools, along
with representatives of the QIT, Psychological Services,
Community Support, Social Work, Ayrshire and Arran
Health Board and libraries. The aims of the initiative
were to raise standards of attainment by:
•
ensuring better co-ordination of services at local level
for the benefit of children and young people;
•
ensuring that times of transition were well managed;
•
enhancing the sense of teamwork and empowered
decision-making at local level; and
•
securing Best Value for the use and deployment of
resources.
Each of the Learning Partnerships was managed by a
committee, chaired by a head of a school or pre-school
establishment. The Learning Partnerships had working
guidance for 2002-2003 in a document entitled Putting
East Ayrshire’s Children First: Developing Learning
Partnerships. The Director himself chaired the
committee which was overseeing the development of the
initiative.
Educational provision and performance
In 2001-2002 East Ayrshire Council had a pupil
population of 20,000 in 46 primary schools, nine
secondary schools and four special schools. Six
mainstream schools had special units and there was one
part-time base for pupils in P1 to P3 with language and
communication disorders. Two secondary schools, one
with an associated primary school, had New Community
School status. Gaelic medium nursery and primary
education was provided in a pre-school centre and a
6
primary school. The Education Committee, following
consultation, had just approved such provision in a
secondary school. The Council made available
pre-school education for all three- and four-year-old
children whose parents wished a place. Pre-school
children were accommodated in the Council’s 15 nursery
schools and family centres, 18 nursery classes in primary
schools, and in 17 centres run in association with the
private and voluntary sector.
The Accounts Commission Statutory Performance
Indicators (SPIs) indicated that in East Ayrshire:
•
Ninety-four percent of four-year-old and 82% of
three-year-old children had taken up a pre-school
place, compared to national averages of 96% and 87%
respectively. Ninety-nine percent of four-year-old
and 78% of three-year-old children received at least
five sessions per week;
•
around 40% of primary schools had occupancy levels
below 60%, compared to 32% nationally. The rest of
primary schools had occupancy levels between 61%
and 100% which was the same as the national
average. All secondary schools had occupancy levels
between 61% and 100%, compared to around 70%
nationally. The Council had improved occupancy
levels by closing some schools and was consulting on
further improvements through the Public Private
Partnership (PPP) proposals for renewing school
buildings; and
•
the Government’s targets for reducing class sizes to
30 at P1 to P3 had been achieved.
Budgeted running costs per pupil in session 2001-2002
were £2114 for primary schools and £3327 for secondary
schools. These figures were slightly below the national
average and around the average for comparator
authorities.
7
In 2001 to 2002, the Council received £65,573,000 from
the Grant-Aided Expenditure (GAE). The total budget,
including the National Priorities Action Fund, was
£70,810,000, an increase of around 4% from the previous
year.
The following commentary draws on key performance
information about the schools in the Council provided
in Appendix 1. Comparator Authorities (CA) refers
to the group of education authorities which are most
similar to each other in terms of various
socio-economic and demographic factors.
Staying on rate and school leavers’ destinations
Over the three years 1999-2001, the percentage of pupils
staying on after the compulsory leaving age had remained
above the national average and the average for
comparator authorities. Over the same period, the
percentage of school leavers entering higher education
was consistently above the average for comparator
authorities and around the national average. The
percentage of school leavers entering further education
had increased and was around the national average and
above the average for comparator authorities. The
authority’s role in piloting and establishing Education
Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) to encourage pupils to
remain at school is likely to have contributed to these
improvements. In line with the increase in pupils
entering further education, the percentage of school
leavers going directly to employment had steadily
declined and was below the average for comparator
authorities and the national average.
Attendance and absence
Between 1999 and 2001, the percentage of total absences
in primary schools had remained around both the average
for comparator authorities and the national average.
During the same period, the percentage of total absences
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in secondary schools had remained around 11%, which
was below the average for comparator authorities but in
line with the national average. As part of the Raising
Standards – Setting Targets initiative East Ayrshire
Council had set itself challenging targets aimed at
reducing the average number of half-day absences in
primary and secondary schools. The target figure for
secondary schools was not achieved, although the number
of half-day absences had reduced from the starting level
set in 1997/98.
The number of exclusions per 1000 pupils had increased
over the period 1999 to 2001 and was well above the
national figure. However, the number for session 2001 to
2002 showed a substantial decline in exclusions as a
result of several initiatives.
5-14 performance
From 1999 to 2002, the percentage of pupils at primary
school achieving or exceeding appropriate levels of
attainment for their stage in reading and writing had
increased. Overall, attainment in mathematics had shown
an increase. However, in reading and mathematics, the
average rate of improvement was lower than both the
average rate of improvement nationally and that of
comparator authorities. Improvements in writing were in
line with the average rate of improvement nationally, but
below that for comparator authorities. The authority had
not met the targets it had set itself for 2002.
Between 1999 and 2002, the percentage of S2 pupils
achieving or exceeding appropriate levels of attainment in
reading, writing and mathematics had increased. The
percentage in reading had improved to be above that for
comparator authorities and just below the national
average. In writing, the percentage was in line with the
average of comparator authorities although it remained
below the national average. In mathematics, the
percentage was well above both the average of
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comparator authorities and the national average.
Improvements in reading and writing in East Ayrshire
were higher than the average rate of improvement in
comparator authorities. Improvements in mathematics
were below the average rate of improvement in
comparator authorities and the national rate. The
authority had exceeded its targets for 2002 in reading and
mathematics, but had not achieved the target it had set
itself in writing.
SQA examination performance
•
Over the period 1998 to 2002, the percentage of
pupils achieving five or more awards at Level 51 or
better by the end of S4 was above the average of
comparator authorities and around the national
average. The percentage of pupils achieving five or
more awards at Level 3 or better by the end of S4 was
around both the average of comparator authorities and
the national average. The percentage of pupils
achieving five or more awards at Level 4 or better by
the end of S4 was above the average of comparator
authorities and around the national average. The rate
of improvement for all of these measures in East
Ayrshire was above the average rate of improvement
of comparator authorities.
•
From 1998 to 2002, the percentage of pupils
achieving three or more and five or more awards at
Level 6 or better by the end of S5 was above the
average of comparator authorities and below the
national average. However, the rate of improvement
for three or more awards at Level 6 or better was
below both the average rate of improvement of
comparator authorities and the national rate. The rate
of improvement for five or more awards at Level 6 or
better was around both the average rate of comparator
1
10
Level 4 = Standard Grade at General Level or Intermediate 1 at A - C
Level 5 = Standard Grade at Credit Level or Intermediate 2 at A - C
Level 6 = Higher at A - C
Level 7 = Advanced Higher or CSYS at A - C
authorities and the national rate. The percentage of
pupils achieving three or more and five or more
awards at Level 6 or better by the end of S6 and one
or more award at Level 7 by the end of S6 was above
the average of comparator authorities, but remained
below the national average. The rates of
improvement were around both the average
improvement rate of comparator authorities and the
national rate.
School inspection evidence
During the period April 1999 to August 2002, HMIE
published reports which gave evaluations against a full
set of performance indicators in 16 primary schools, four
secondary schools and one special school. In addition,
ten partner pre-school establishments were inspected.
Most of the primary schools inspected were judged to
provide good quality education overall. In two of the
schools the quality was very good while in another two
there were a number of important weaknesses in some
key aspects. The ethos of schools was very good in
nearly 70% and good in the rest. In almost all schools,
relationships with parents and the community were good
or very good. A majority had good or very good
accommodation. The Council was preparing plans for the
one school building judged to be unsatisfactory. In all of
the schools inspected staffing and resources were
considered to be good or very good.
The overall quality of attainment in English language was
good in most primary schools and very good in one.
Attainment in mathematics was good or very good in all
of the schools inspected. There was an improving trend
in the quality of programmes in other areas of the
curriculum. In particular, there were indications of
improvement in environmental studies, including science.
The quality of teaching was good or very good and the
quality of learning good in most schools. However, the
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quality of teachers’ planning, matching learning to
pupils’ needs, and assessment were judged to be good or
very good in a majority of schools. Almost half the
schools had weaknesses in assessment and meeting
pupils’ needs. The quality of support for pupils,
including pastoral care, was good or very good in almost
all schools. The quality of leadership was very good in
nearly 70% of primary schools and good in nearly 20%.
The quality of promoted staff was good or very good in
almost all schools. Staff review and development was
good or very good in all schools and most had good or
very good approaches to development planning. Schools
varied in the ability to evaluate their own work, and this
aspect required further development.
All four of the secondary schools inspected were
evaluated as providing a good standard of education in all
or most aspects. Ethos was judged to be good in all,
although expectations of pupils’ attainment could be
higher. Staffing and resources were good or very good in
all of the schools. There were significant weaknesses in
accommodation in two schools. The structure of the
curriculum was good or very good in all the secondary
schools inspected. There were weaknesses in
programmes, mainly at S1/S2. Programmes for S5/S6
were good or very good. The quality of teachers’
planning and teaching were generally good in
departments. However, more than half of the
departments had important weaknesses in meeting pupils’
needs, largely related to lack of pace in learning and
insufficiently challenging work. Support for pupils
experiencing difficulties was generally good.
The quality of leadership was good or very good and the
effectiveness of promoted staff was good in all four
secondary schools. Development planning was good in
only one school and fair in the rest, while the approach to
staff review and development was good in two and fair in
the rest. Three schools had important weaknesses in
evaluating their own work.
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Pre-school partner centres
Almost all of the ten pre-school partner centres visited
provided good or very good experiences for children.
Strengths included caring, supportive environments, the
quality of relationships between staff and children and
with parents, effective teamwork and programmes in
emotional, personal and social development. The centres
needed to improve aspects of management and the
curriculum, provide children with greater challenge and
be clearer about the children’s next steps in learning.
Education authority support for inspection
The education authority’s reports prior to inspection were
generally informative and most provided helpful insights
into the effectiveness of the schools. The ethos, quality
of attainment and curriculum were more clearly evaluated
than the quality of management, which was sometimes
not evaluated at all. The follow-up action by Educational
Services was consistently thorough and effective and
their reports on progress full and evaluative. Most main
points for action were met, or good or very good progress
had been made. The only aspect requiring further
attention related to accommodation.
3. Strategic management of the service
Vision, values and aims
Performance in this area was very good. There were very
good links between statements of aims and values at
corporate level, for the Education Service and for
schools. The ‘Statement of Commitment’ for 2000 and
beyond concisely set out how the Education Service
within East Ayrshire would set about ‘developing
excellence in education and improving opportunities for
all through quality, equality, access and partnership’.
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This Statement had been attractively produced as part of a
large-format poster, Priority to Improvement, which
aligned the Education Service’s improvement objectives
to the National Priorities for education. The Chief
Executive, the Chair of the Education Committee and the
Director of Education all gave a very strong lead in
promoting the role of education in achieving the
Council’s vision and were well supported in this
endeavour by elected members of all parties.
The vision, values and aims of the Education Service
were widely understood and accepted by staff within the
Education Services and those working in establishments
across all sectors. The Education Department had
undertaken extensive consultation in developing its vision
for the future and formulating its Statement of
Improvement Objectives. The survey of heads of
establishment and chairs of School Boards carried out as
part of the inspection showed that almost all agreed that
senior managers in the Education Department had
communicated a clear overall vision for the development
of education. These findings were confirmed by the
comments of staff interviewed by the inspection team.
There were numerous examples of effective joint working
with other departments and agencies. The merging of the
education, including community education, and social
work departments under the leadership of a single
Director had helped to take forward service delivery in a
number of key areas. These areas included the recently
created Learning Partnerships based on the nine clusters
of pre-school establishments and schools. The Chief
Executive promoted a strong sense of corporate identity
within the Council and the Director played an important
role as part of the corporate management team. Almost
all headteachers surveyed acknowledged that the
Education Department fostered good links with other
departments.
Arrangements to advise elected members on
developments relating to the Education Department’s
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aims and objectives were very good. Papers for
committee were well prepared and presented by senior
officers. They responded very well to requests from
elected members for briefings and meetings to explain
new initiatives. There was a high degree of mutual
respect and trust between elected members and senior
education managers.
Elected members, senior managers, central staff and
headteachers had established a very clear, shared, vision
for the future direction of Education Services among
staff, pupils and parents. This shared vision was proving
very helpful in supporting partnership arrangements and
joint working to achieve the Council’s goals.
Leadership and management
The effectiveness of leadership and management was
very good. The Director and his senior management
team had created a very positive working relationship
with schools which put improvements for individual
children and young people at the centre. There was a
strong, and developing, emphasis on quality assurance set
alongside a high degree of devolved responsibility to
schools and encouragement to innovate and take
initiatives. Senior managers, supported by elected
members, played a prominent part in recognising and
celebrating achievements in schools, such as in the arts,
modern languages or enterprise education. Headteachers
and staff interviewed gave strong approval for the clear
leadership provided by the Director and his team.
The Director had a wide and challenging remit which
included both education and social work. His
considerable experience in and knowledge of education,
allied to his clarity of vision and purpose, enabled him to
give strong and dynamic leadership to the development of
Education Services within the Council. His ability to
motivate, delegate effectively and encourage initiatives
was widely recognised and appreciated. These qualities
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were further enhanced by the close and productive
working relationships he enjoyed with the Chair of the
Education Committee, the Chief and Depute Chief
Executives and other Directors. The Director was a
prominent and highly respected figure. His influence was
evident in the strong start made in establishing the
Learning Partnerships initiative and in his contribution to
improving integrated ways of working within the
Council.
At the time of the inspection, the Education Service was
undergoing a process of review which affected the posts
within the department at Head of Service level. Two key
posts in the emerging structure, the Head of School
Support and the Head of Resource Support, were yet to
be filled. The newly created post of Head of Service
(Quality Improvement) was to involve both education and
social work responsibilities. At the time of the inspection
the postholder was Head of Schools and in that capacity
had earned great respect for his dedication, efficiency and
enthusiasm. He was very well known throughout the
authority and his ability and helpfulness were widely
appreciated. His workload was very demanding, and was
exacerbated by his willingness to involve himself too
directly in operational matters. Nonetheless, the
additional tasks he had taken on had not impaired the
effectiveness of his outstanding contribution.
The Head of Community Support included within her
portfolio of responsibilities several areas which involved
close links with school education, notably pre-school
provision and New Community School developments.
She was a highly effective Head of Service and her
contribution to education was widely recognised and
appreciated. Along with the Head of Social Work, who
also played a very valuable role in relation to education,
the Heads of Service formed a very strong team and
provided very high quality support to the Director.
The senior management team worked very well together.
Their meetings and discussions were very well focused
16
on the aims of the Department and they pursued their
objectives with vigour. They played a strong role within
the Council as a whole, for example in helping promote
approaches to quality assurance and Best Value. They
had benefited from the Council’s good system of staff
review and development.
The Chair of the Education Committee provided
energetic and enthusiastic political leadership. He was
highly committed to the promotion of education within
the Council and received strong support from elected
members of all political parties.
Pupils and parents in educational establishments within
East Ayrshire benefited from the clear direction and
strong leadership provided by elected members and
senior managers. Education was widely perceived to be
an important, high priority service committed to
continuous improvement. Pupils and staff considered
themselves and their contribution to be highly valued.
Policy development
The quality of policy development was very good. The
clear statement of the authority’s vision and values in its
plans and the Priority to Improvement document provided
a sound framework for policy development. A number of
policy documents and circulars had been inherited from
the former Strathclyde Region and these were being
systematically revised in line with the authority’s
priorities. The authority’s statements of policy
articulated well with the Council’s aims and the National
Priorities for education.
Heads of establishments expressed a very high degree of
satisfaction with the range and appropriateness of
policies. Among the numerous examples of high quality,
clear and helpful, policy statements were those on
Indiscipline and Exclusion and The Right to be Me.
Almost all of those surveyed stated that they were clear
17
about the authority’s policy and procedures on quality
development. Staff in schools thought that they were
well supported by a comprehensive range of policy
statements, circulars and guidelines which provided a
secure basis for their work. Most headteachers believed
that the authority was also good at backing up policy
developments by establishing clear procedures for
implementation through, for example, seminars,
discussion at headteachers’ meetings or presentations
from outside experts. Nonetheless, continuing efforts
were required to ensure that policies were fully coherent
and understood by stakeholders.
Policy development was characterised by a high degree
of participation by schools and other departments and
agencies. Policies were often generated through initial
discussions of issues with staff leading to more formal
working groups, drafts and consultation. Increasingly,
pupils were being involved in this process and senior
pupils interviewed were enthusiastic about the
opportunities they were now being given to participate.
A further strength was the involvement of the Heads of
Community Support and Social Work, along with
representatives from external bodies, in policy
developments relating to aspects of school education.
This had been the case, for example, in the production of
the authority’s policy on child protection.
The authority’s policy on self-evaluation and quality
development was set out in a standard circular. It
reflected the commitment to improvement in the
Standards in Scotland’s Schools Etc. Act 2000 and was
linked to other key documents within the authority’s
policy framework. It emphasised self-evaluation as
contributing to the identification of strengths and
development needs, sharing good practice, informing
policy development and effective performance
monitoring and reporting. The circular combined a
strong role for schools in carrying out their own
self-evaluations, rigorously and systematically, with
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references to the complementary roles of the authority,
principally through its QIT, and others, notably HMIE
inspections. It provided a very good basis for the further
development of the authority’s approaches to quality
improvement and was well understood by staff in
schools.
The authority’s framework of policies provided those
working in schools and other associated areas with clear
expectations and helpful guidance to ensure consistency
and quality in the provision they made for pupils and
parents.
4. Consultation and communication
The quality of the authority’s approaches to consultation
with stakeholders was very good. The Department had
produced a clear policy statement detailing the range of
consultation and communication mechanisms and
identifying the stakeholder groups to be involved. The
Chair of the Education Committee, the Director and other
senior managers gave a high priority to accessibility and
visibility. They used formal and informal visits to
schools and meetings with School Boards and with
representatives of the Student Council to help
communicate and consult. There were effective
procedures to communicate and consult with parents
including a parent representative on the Education
Committee. The Department consulted and
communicated well with other departments in the Council
and with other agencies such as health services and
voluntary organisations. Partnership working was also a
feature of various initiatives involving other Councils,
such as North and South Ayrshire and Argyll & Bute, and
national agencies, particularly related to modern
languages, enterprise education and the arts.
19
In the pre-inspection survey most headteachers thought
that the Education Department consulted effectively with
their establishments and with other customers such as
School Boards and parent and pupil groups. In schools,
there was a good awareness of whom to contact in
headquarters to raise issues or seek assistance. Most
heads of establishments agreed that they were
appropriately consulted on the direction and priorities of
the Service Plan. Most responses from School Boards
and Parents’ Associations indicated that the Education
Department was good at letting them know about its
policies and plans for education and a majority agreed
that, through consultation, they had a chance to influence
the Department’s aims and plans for education. The
Department was continuing to develop its approaches to
parental involvement. Almost all of those surveyed
agreed that the Department provided suitable
opportunities to join with other Boards or other groups to
hear about developments. The School Board Steering
Group, which included representatives from the Learning
Partnerships, provided a useful sounding board for the
Department and assisted with consultation processes.
The School Board Forum, to which all parent
representatives were invited, facilitated still wider
consultation.
School staff and School Board chairs, including those
who had been involved in proposed closures and mergers
of schools, gave very positive views about the way in
which they had been consulted and supported. There was
also evidence that the authority had listened to, and taken
account of, parents’ views with regard to a particular
re-zoning proposal. As a consequence, staff in schools
were clear about what was expected of them, and School
Boards felt valued and empowered. There were very few
complaints made by parents regarding Education
Services.
20
Notable features of the Department’s approach to
consultation included the following.
•
A number of standing groups and working groups
enabled staff to be involved in consultation on a range
of issues, such as the implementation of ICT in
schools, reviewing the Service Plan and promoting
inclusion. The group formed to draw up an
accessibility plan for the authority involved parents
formally for the first time.
•
A Parent Forum, for parents of children with special
educational needs and also groups focusing on
specific disabilities, provided suitable opportunities
for consultation on new policies.
•
Heads of establishments from the pre-school, primary,
special and secondary sectors had very good
opportunities to be consulted through meetings with
the Director and other senior managers and, in turn,
were expected to involve and consult with staff and
pupils in schools.
•
School staff also cited examples of direct involvement
in consultation on Gaelic education, on the length of
the school day in special schools and as part of the
National Debate on Education.
•
The Director held regular ‘Listening Lunches’ with a
random selection of staff providing a more informal
consultative forum.
•
The authority placed great importance on listening to
and consulting with young people. All schools were
expected to have a Pupil Council and pupils from all
secondary schools were nominated to serve on an
authority-wide Student Council. Pupils had also been
invited to the Education Committee to present their
views to elected members. Pupils were very positive
about the increasing opportunities for them to be
21
consulted and felt that their views were taken
seriously.
•
Community support staff provided support for young
people in planning annual conferences, this year on
the theme of behaviour. They also supported
18 young people from the Council area who were
members of the Scottish Youth Parliament.
•
A Joint Consultative Committee between teachers’
unions and the Council had operated effectively and
the Department had established an ancillary staff
consultative committee. Union representatives who
were interviewed felt that they were fully consulted
on policy matters and found senior managers
responsive to their views.
•
School staff, parents, pupils, community
representatives and voluntary organisations had the
opportunity to take part in a wide-ranging
consultation exercise to agree the priorities for the
Corporate Children’s Service Plan, Inspiring Children
and Young People.
The Education Services’ approaches to communication
were very good. The Director and Heads of Service had
successfully communicated their vision of excellence in
education and the key values of the Council to a range of
stakeholders. The statement of commitment and the
Priorities for Improvement poster were displayed
prominently in the establishments visited and staff
referred to it frequently.
Members of the Education Committee received clear and
helpful strategy papers and other information on
government initiatives and local priorities. In addition to
committee meetings, officers provided opportunities such
as seminars and informal briefing sessions to inform
elected members of key developments.
22
The authority’s Standards and Quality Report, which was
available in booklet and CD format, was well presented
and aimed to highlight good practice. It was recognised
that future reports required to be more evaluative in
approach.
In the pre-inspection survey almost all headteachers
agreed that the Department was effective in disseminating
good practice on improving standards and quality in
education. Good news items were highlighted at each
meeting of the Education Committee and the
Department’s newsletter informed staff of initiatives and
good practice. Various groups of staff reported that when
meeting with colleagues they were encouraged to share
good practice and support each other.
The Department and individual schools made good use of
the local press to celebrate success. An annual Parents’
Open Day, ‘Education on Display’, provided an
opportunity for education establishments, learning
partnerships and support services to demonstrate
particular aspects of their work. This event was very well
supported and highly regarded by staff, parents and
elected members.
Notable features of communication included the
following.
•
A comprehensive range of policy statements, strategy
papers and standard circulars provided good quality
advice and guidance to staff.
•
A variety of brochures, leaflets and publications
which provided good information for staff, pupils and
parents. These included a charter of rights for
children and a range of attractive booklets assisting
staff, parents and carers.
23
•
Staff appreciated that key information was often
conveyed to them in their salary envelopes, helping to
ensure that it was seen and noted.
•
Various groups of staff including headteachers,
principal teachers, learning support co-ordinators,
nursery teachers and the chairs of Learning
Partnerships had the opportunity to meet with the
Director and senior officers on a regular basis. These
meetings dealt with business matters, informed staff
of key developments and allowed two-way exchange
of ideas.
•
The development of Learning Partnerships had been
informed by key policy papers and a multi-agency
seminar launch. The Learning Partnerships were
already an important vehicle for discussion among
headteachers and had considerable potential to
improve schools’ communication with other agencies,
particularly social work and health, at a local level.
•
Very good communication had been established with
the Care Commission.
•
Regular visits to schools by the Director and Chair of
Education, senior officers and QIOs provided some
good opportunities for dialogue and enhanced
knowledge of schools in the area.
•
Many school staff highlighted the accessibility of staff
in headquarters. Whether contacted by telephone or
e-mail, they were responsive and supportive.
School Board chairpersons who were surveyed and
interviewed were also positive about communication and
contacts with the authority. Almost all were aware of the
main aims and values for education and of how to
channel their views, enquiries and complaints. Those
interviewed reported that they received regular
communication from the authority and felt they were kept
24
well up-to-date. Senior officers were regarded as
approachable and supportive. The School Board Steering
Group attended by the Director and Head of Schools was
viewed as a valuable forum for discussion.
Almost all School Board chairs agreed that they were
aware of how well their school was performing.
However, only a majority felt that they could access good
information about the quality of education across the
whole Council area.
The Council had in place a clear system to log and
respond to complaints and enquiries. Advice to parents
stressed that the first point of contact for all concerns
should be the school, but, when required, a member of the
QIT would investigate and support those involved to help
find a resolution. Summary reports on complaints were
made to the Chief Executive on a quarterly basis.
Staff in the departmental headquarters, headteachers and
School Board chairpersons were increasingly using
e-mail very effectively as a means of communication.
Access to and use of e-mail was more variable among
teachers and pupils. The Department should continue to
take forward and expand the use of ICT in schools.
In addition to pursuing effective communication with all
partners locally, the authority also placed high value on
its wide range of international links. Contact with
overseas partners was maintained through e-mail,
videoconferencing and visits and exchanges by staff and
pupils.
25
5. Operational management
Service Planning
Educational Services’ approach to Service Planning was
good and improving. A Strategic Plan for the Education
Department 2000-2003 provided helpful strategic
guidance by setting the priorities for education within the
Council’s seven priorities and had made clear the links
with other Council plans. Until 2002, detailed guidance
on service development had been spread across various
committee papers, standard circulars, development plans
for different aspects of the service and next steps
identified in Educational Services’ Standards and Quality
reports. This approach had the merit of allowing
flexibility to the various services to work to priorities
identified through evaluations of the services and to be
responsive to changing government initiatives. However,
it was complex and difficult to monitor. These
difficulties were now being addressed through the
Improvement Plan to Deliver Priority to Improvement
2002-2003, presented to the Education Committee in
September 2002.
The Improvement Plan was very clear, integrated national
and local priorities well and linked closely with the
Children’s Services Plan, Inspiring Children and Young
People. Sources and levels of funding were clearly
specified. Generally, the plan gave good guidance on
priority developments. A strong focus was given to
developments in primary school education, building on
the successes of early intervention, to Learning
Partnerships and taking forward support for pupils. There
was a commitment to taking forward curriculum
flexibility, but no indication of developments in relation
to particular subjects in the secondary school. Some of
the targets in the plan, such as those for raising
attainment, were very precise, but others lacked clear
specification making monitoring of progress difficult.
Targets did not consistently specify intended outcomes in
26
terms of pupils’ experiences and achievements.
Responsibilities of middle managers for implementing
and monitoring the Improvement Plan were clearly
specified. There was scope for greater clarity in the roles
of senior managers in monitoring outcomes and progress
towards them.
The targets in the three-year and one-year plans were
generally taken forward by specified teams and working
groups, the latter being particularly effective in drawing
on the expertise of staff in schools as well as providing
valuable staff development. In some, but not all, projects,
the steps to be taken, the timescales and outcomes were
clearly specified. The arrangements for taking forward
and monitoring progress on the development of Learning
Partnerships were comprehensive and included the
commitment to a research project as one element in
evaluating their effectiveness.
The Children’s Services Plan, provided direction for
developments in pre-school provision, youth strategy and
New Community Schools. It had been based on
extensive consultation with stakeholders, including
children and young people, and included planning for the
contributions of other agencies such as health services
and the police.
The plans for other aspects of the services were all
soundly based on evaluations of their services. Most,
particularly those for Network Support Services, made
clear the intended impact on pupils’ learning. While the
QIT plan gave direction to the team’s main roles, there
were too many targets and it required a sharper focus on
the impact on schools. The plan now needed to be
updated to take account of the recent redirection of the
role of QIOs.
Schools followed a clearly specified timetable for
preparing, implementing and evaluating their
development plans. The QIOs provided advice and
27
guidance on the preparation of plans including how to use
quality indicators to undertake audits to identify needs.
They also visited establishments to monitor progress.
Although the improvement plan had only been finalised
in August, the QIT had ensured that heads of
establishments were fully informed about the proposed
major developments to enable them to produce school
development plans in line with that of Educational
Services. Almost all headteachers surveyed indicated
that they were clear about the aims and priorities for
education. Pre-school establishments and pre-school
partnership centres were also fully involved in the
development planning process with full support of the
pre-school officers. All heads of establishments received
detailed guidance on implementing aspects of the
Educational Services’ Service Plan through papers and
guidelines, such as those for Learning Partnerships.
The improved approach to planning was having several
beneficial effects. It was providing a coherent framework
for a range of government and local initiatives aimed at
raising pupils’ attainment and achievement. It was also
assisting closer integration of education and social
services in providing for the needs of children, young
people and their families.
Deployment and effectiveness of
centrally-employed staff
The deployment and effectiveness of central staff was
good. Schools valued the contacts they had with
professional and administrative staff and the support they
received from them. Central staff made important and
effective contributions across a broad range of areas to
the benefit of schools, pupils, and the wider aspects of
education within East Ayrshire. Examples of their
contribution could be seen in the improvements made to
school buildings, the effectiveness of delegated budgets
in deploying resources effectively and the approval given
by headteachers for the support they gave in solving
28
problems quickly to the benefit of pupils. In some cases
the extensive nature of their remits made it difficult for
them to fulfil all aspects to the same high standard.
In line with its commitment to decentralisation and the
allocation of a high proportion of responsibility for
staffing and resources to schools, the Education Authority
had established a relatively small central team. A number
of managers and officers supported Heads of Service in
the areas of resource, personnel and finance management,
and of community and early years provision. The QIT
was a main feature of central support in relation to
schools. Other officers co-ordinated specialist areas such
as network learning support or outdoor learning. In the
current review of the Directorate structure it will be
important to ensure that clear management structures are
established.
A principal officer led the QIT which now comprised a
group of nine QIOs and a number of other staff with
responsibility for various initiatives and projects,
including the arts, pre-school partnerships and the
Partners in Excellence project for modern languages. A
research officer provided support with statistical analyses.
The remit of the QIT was continuing to evolve. Initially
the team had three main roles which related to pastoral
support for schools, school and curriculum development,
and quality development in schools linked to
self-evaluation. While these roles were still a feature of
the work of the team, there was an increasing emphasis
on quality improvement in schools. In addition, the role
of QIOs had extended to include greater involvement in
managing operational areas, contributions to
departmental policy development and preparing papers
for the Education Committee, chairing consultation
groups, education at home visits, and responsibility for
specific aspects such as special educational needs. The
team also managed and contributed to an extensive
programme of staff development.
29
The principal officer managed the team well and had
effectively promoted good co-operation within the team.
QIT members carried out their responsibilities well and
made a number of very valuable contributions. Schools
were appreciative of support and advice in many areas
such as early intervention, literacy and modern languages.
They generally felt that officers had a good knowledge of
the schools and encouraged improvement through
challenging and supporting aspects of provision. In some
instances, the very full nature of the QIOs’ remits, and
their varying expertise, limited their effectiveness in the
increasingly prominent quality assurance role.
In recognition of the developing quality-related challenge
and support role of the QIT, the Education Authority had
recently increased the size of the team to enable one QIO
to be assigned to each of its nine Learning Partnerships.
To enable QIOs to effectively fulfil this role, the
authority should review the balance of remits to ensure
that each officer has sufficient time to work with schools.
It should also continue to provide appropriate staff
development opportunities to develop those skills
necessary for officers to fulfil fully their remits. It should
ensure that arrangements for the management of the team
in relation to the new Directorate structure are clearly
established.
Central staff, in addition to the QIT, also performed their
functions well. High quality support was provided, for
example, for various matters in relation to pre-school
provision and through the effective management of the
team of visiting learning support specialists. Schools
greatly appreciated the support and advice they received
from headquarters staff in relation to financial and other
administrative matters. They felt they had good access to
such staff and received prompt and helpful responses in
relation to most areas of enquiry. Schools also valued the
work of psychological services, although contributions
were sometimes restricted because of the limited number
of staff available. Educational Services had taken action
30
to address successfully difficulties in recruiting sufficient
numbers of psychologists.
The work of the central team had been augmented in
recent years through the secondment of headteachers.
These seconded staff had made very significant
contributions in a number of areas such as the
development of service planning, analyses of examination
statistics and policies relating to disability legislation.
6. Resource and financial management
Resource Management
The overall quality of resources management was very
good. The Education Department had a clear rationale
which reflected National Priorities on the allocation of
resources within the department. There were clear links
between the Service Plan and the Department’s budget,
including any additional grant funding such as from the
National Priorities Action Fund.
The Council recognised, at the time of reorganisation,
that there was a need to rationalise the number of schools
to reflect the changing patterns of population within East
Ayrshire. It had succeeded in closing and amalgamating
a small number of schools. The Education Department
had also carried out a full survey of its property in 1997
to establish the condition of the schools that the Council
had inherited on reorganisation. This survey highlighted
that there was a significant backlog in maintenance and
that the general condition of the schools at that time was
poor. To address these issues, the Education Department
had developed an Asset Management Plan linked to a
planned programme of repairs and maintenance. Over
the past five years the Council had incurred significant
expenditure to ensure that all schools were above the
minimum standard of being wind and watertight and to
respond to unforeseen situations, such as the recent
31
removal of asbestos from a secondary school. In
addition, the Council had also provided sufficient capital
funding for a range of developments including, an
extension to one secondary school, building a new
primary school and taking forward its programme of
school improvements. Despite these positive steps, the
Council recognised that significant additional funding
was still required to improve the poor overall standard of
many school properties. As a result, the Council had
recently prepared an outline business case as part of a
PPP project to obtain additional funding to enable the
replacement of some schools deemed to be in the poorest
state of repair.
Concerns were raised by some headteachers and School
Boards about the state of repair of school property and
the cost of the work carried out by the Council’s
contractors. The Education Department had recognised
these concerns and a process of regular ‘walk-throughs’
of schools by the Property Sector Officer and a
representative of the school had been implemented to
improve communication, establish what property matters
had been satisfactorily addressed and what work
remained to be done.
Good progress had been made towards meeting the
Government’s National Grid for Learning (NGfL) targets
for the implementation of ICT. All secondary schools
now had 2MB network connections and all primary
schools had either modem connections or ISDN lines.
The Department had plans in place to increase the speed
of network connections between schools over the next
few years. The Council had also met the Government
targets for computers in schools.
The Education Department benefited from a strong
personnel section with good links with the Corporate
Personnel Department. Schools appreciated the support
they received concerning supply staff to cover vacancies
through illness, even though difficulties sometimes
32
remained. They were provided with regular e-mail
up-dates on available teachers and the authority had
forged good links with neighbouring councils. A pool of
permanent supply teachers had been introduced for
primary schools.
The Education Department had a robust process in place
for demonstrating Best Value within the department. It
had adopted the principles of Quality Management in
Education (QMIE2) as a framework for improvement.
Based around this framework the Department had carried
out, in accordance with corporate direction, a number of
Best Value Reviews over the past three years. These
included Special Educational Needs (SEN), SEN
Auxiliaries, Hearing Impairment Services, Network
Support, Janitorial Services and the Schools Based
Technicians Service. Over the last year the Department
had focused on the preparation of the outline business
case for its PPP project. This effectively represented a
major Best Value Review due to the requirements for a
detailed costed option appraisal.
Overall, the authority’s careful management of its
resources and emphasis on ensuring Best Value helped
ensure that available resources were well targeted
towards improving provision for pupils.
Financial Management
The overall quality of financial management was very
good. The Council’s Financial Regulations were clear
and comprehensive. The Education Department
maintained a good working relationship with the Finance
Department, which had responsibilities for corporate
finance. There was a strong financial monitoring regime
in place within the Council, with six weekly reports
provided to the Education Committee and the Policy and
2
Quality Management in Education (HM Inspectors of Schools, 2000) is a framework
of self-evaluation for Local Authority Education Departments.
33
Resources Committee. In addition the Council’s Budget
Scrutiny Group, comprising Senior Councillors, the Chief
Executive and the Director of Finance, closely monitored
the financial position of all services within the Council,
including Education.
Overall, the budget setting and monitoring processes
were clear and transparent. Draft three-year capital and
revenue budgets were prepared for presentation to elected
members and the Council’s senior management team.
The Finance Department recognised that further work
was required to improve the quality of the information in
years two and three and were committed to improving the
three-year budgetary process. An outposted finance team
had been established within the Education Department to
enable close working relationships to be maintained with
finance. This team worked for the Education
Department, but had a reporting line to the Director of
Finance. This team was responsible for the production of
budgetary reports and for the provision of day-to-day
financial advice to the Directorate.
There was a clear methodology for how school budgets
were to be derived and this had been provided to
headteachers to ensure transparency in the allocation of
funding. Around 93% of the budget was managed
through the Devolved Management of Resources (DMR)
scheme, which involved all primary and secondary
schools. Headteachers and other budget-holders received
a monthly monitoring statement which provided clear
financial information that enabled them to monitor their
current expenditure.
Headteachers were assisted by Administration Finance
Officers (AFOs) who provided day-to-day support in
monitoring and controlling the budgets and financial
information. There were regular meetings between the
AFOs to discuss changes to the budget and to develop the
controls within the system. Headteachers were also able
to obtain training on the DMR system. Overall, there was
34
very positive feedback on the role of the AFOs from both
the schools and from the Council.
Within the DMR budget there was sufficient flexibility to
allow headteachers to address school priorities.
Headteachers had clear guidance on financial procedures
which enabled them to use this flexibility effectively.
Overall, there was very positive feedback from
headteachers on the DMR system.
The clear and transparent budget arrangements, coupled
with the high degree of devolution of responsibility to
school managers helped the authority to deliver local and
National Priorities in ways best suited to the
circumstances of individual communities.
7. Performance monitoring and continuous improvement
Measuring, monitoring and evaluating
performance
The overall quality of work in this area was good. The
Education Department had put in place a range of
approaches to monitoring and evaluating the performance
of its establishments. It was continuing to develop these
approaches further. Most heads were confident that
senior managers had an accurate knowledge of their
establishment’s performance and, through the authority’s
scheme for staff review and development, their own
performance as head of the establishment. They were
almost unanimous (99%) in recognising senior managers’
high level of commitment to the promotion of quality in
education. All acknowledged the authority’s
encouragement to develop systematic approaches to
monitoring and evaluating at establishment level.
There was a strong culture of quality improvement
evident within the authority which included, at corporate
level, the use of Best Value and other reviews and the
35
adoption of the European Foundation for Quality
Management (EFQM) approach. Senior managers from
within the Education Department had played a significant
role in relation to these. Within education, the
department had used the QMIE framework and surveys
of headteachers and central staff to help inform its own
quality improvement process and the restructuring of
posts within the department, including the creation of the
new post as Head of Quality Improvement.
The process of collection, analysis and dissemination of
data on school performance was becoming increasingly
helpful to schools. The authority’s own research officer
was supported in this work by contributions from other
officers within the authority, external consultants and
links to other Councils. Key staff, including managers in
schools and members of the authority’s QIT had
benefited from well-focused professional development on
the use of statistical data in school improvement. The
authority had well-founded plans to extend this staff
development to other staff in schools.
The QIT had a key role in supporting school
improvement at an operational level. They saw their role
as one which had evolved over a number of years to
where they now focused more closely on schools’
performance and approaches to ensuring quality and
improvement. Each member of the team combined a
pastoral role with a set programme of visits to discuss key
aspects of the work of the school, such as the formulation
of the school development plan, monitoring progress
against the plan’s priorities and attainment. The use of
agreed agendas, written reports and regular team
meetings helped ensure consistency across the team,
though more required to be done in this regard. Most
heads of establishments interviewed reported that they
found the visits by QIOs to be both supportive and
challenging. Staff in some schools thought that more
needed to be done by the QIOs to meet and discuss with
staff other than senior managers. Reports prepared for
36
HMIE ahead of inspections were, however, variable in
the extent to which they clearly evaluated key aspects of
the work of the school. The present structure provided a
good basis for further development of the system and
refinement of approaches to using data and other
information to stimulate improvement.
Heads of establishments, including partnership pre-school
centres, were strong in their approval for the authority’s
approach to development planning. All reported that the
authority carried out annual reviews of their development
plan and examples of officers’ written comments showed
them to be constructive and helpful in raising questions
and suggesting areas for improvement. However,
inspections by HMIE in primary and secondary schools
in the three-year period leading up to this inspection had
shown that there remained weaknesses in aspects of
schools’ approaches to evaluating their own work and
development planning. The authority had made good
progress in assisting partnership pre-school centres to
draw up plans for their development, in line with those
produced by the authority’s own centres.
The authority had in place a well-established scheme for
the staff review and development of its teachers and
managers working within the Education Department.
Almost all headteachers were positive in their comments
on the authority’s provision of staff development and
training. Teaching staff in schools and pre-school
establishments were generally pleased with the range and
appropriateness of the staff development opportunities
offered. Some teachers in secondary schools thought that
opportunities for development in their subject areas
required to be improved. Other staff in schools, and
within the Education Department, were very aware of the
imminent introduction of the new Council-wide scheme
for their review and development. They thought they had
been well consulted and prepared for the scheme.
37
All schools were producing annual Standards and Quality
reports and the authority was now supporting its
pre-school partnership centres to prepare similar reports.
These establishment reports formed an important part of
the Education Department’s own Standards and Quality
report. While these reports represented an important
development in the authority’s approach to quality
improvement there remained room for improvement in
the consistency and clarity of evaluations.
The Department’s very strong emphasis on quality
improvement was evident in all areas of its work. There
was a strong sense of common purpose among staff and
this had been successfully communicated to parents and
pupils. The authority had recognised the need to
strengthen further its use of statistical techniques and
data, and to continue to support school self-evaluation
through an enhanced quality improvement role for its
officers.
Continuous improvement in performance
The overall impact of the Education Department’s
approaches to securing continuous improvement was
good. Recent staffing enhancements to and a stronger
emphasis on the quality improvement role within the
Department were further indications of the Department’s
intention to further strengthen its commitment to
continuous improvement. The survey of headteachers
showed that most headteachers were confident that the
authority was helping their school to improve the quality
of education. The authority had encouraged a wide range
of initiatives, well linked to its overall vision for
education and to National Priorities, and supported
schools in taking these forward. While many of these had
been very successful in improving pupils’ experience and
in raising levels of achievement, there remained room for
further improvements, particularly in relation to subjects
in the secondary school.
38
Support for pre-school education
The Education Department provided very good support
for pre-school education. It was able to offer a place for
all four-year-olds and was very close to being able to
offer a place for every three-year-old. Senior managers
and officers involved with pre-school establishments
were very highly regarded and there was clear evidence
of the positive impact they had made in relation to the
curriculum, planning and the transfer of information to
primary schools. Staff in pre-school centres felt very
much a part of the Council’s vision for education and that
their contribution was valued. There were already some
very positive examples of pre-school staff making
significant contributions to the new Learning
Partnerships.
Staff development opportunities were highly valued and
staff in partnership centres were particularly appreciative
of the support they had received from the Partnership
Officer. They were able to point to a number of key
areas, such as development planning and assessment and
reporting, where they saw major improvements. There
were regular meetings for pre-school staff and good
opportunities for them to share best practice. Links with
other departments and outside agencies were strong and
positive.
The strong support given by the authority had done much
to ensure that children in East Ayrshire pre-school
establishments were receiving a high quality, and
improving, educational experience.
Support for primary schools and 5-14
At the early stages of the primary school, the authority’s
early intervention initiative had been very well led and
managed. Staff in schools spoke highly of the support
that had been provided for P1 to P3 and which was now
being extended to P4 and P5. Evidence from National
39
Tests in reading, writing and mathematics showed a
significant increase in the numbers of pupils achieving
the levels usually associated with P3 earlier in P2, or
occasionally, in P1. The Project Co-ordinator showed a
clear understanding of the issues arising from the project
and how the gains might be sustained and developed.
The authority was now embarking on a research project
in association with the University of Glasgow.
The Education Authority provided a wide range of
support for primary schools and the 5-14 curriculum,
including programmes of study, planners and additional
support materials for all the main areas of the primary
curriculum. These were well backed up by in-school
support, conferences and other staff development
opportunities for headteachers and staff. Where
appropriate, the authority worked with other Education
Authorities to develop and introduce materials and, in
some instances, acquired existing packages from others.
Staff in primary schools reported that they thought they
were well supported by the authority.
Overall, primary school pupils’ attainment in reading,
writing and mathematics had increased. Improvements in
mathematics were less marked than in reading and
writing. Pupils’ attainment at S1/S2 in reading, writing
and mathematics had also steadily improved.
Support for secondary schools
There had been good support for the development of new
courses leading to National Qualifications. Staff had
appropriate opportunities to participate in national
training and to consider issues at local meetings. Some
helpful teaching resources had been produced in
co-operation with other Education Authorities, and other
items, such as distance learning materials, had been
purchased and made available to schools. More general
support for subject departments was provided through
curriculum management groups for the different subject
40
areas. These groups met at least twice per session and
brought together heads of department from each school to
discuss developments, identify staff development needs,
and share good practice. Modern language departments
had benefited from the Partners in Excellence Project for
senior students. Other departments had gained from the
Council’s efforts to promote the arts. Steps had recently
been taken to strengthen support across the range of
subjects. Arrangements for operating curricular groups
had been revised, including the appointment of a group
member as subject leader. The Education Committee had
approved proposals to improve the dissemination of good
practice. Overall, however, arrangements to support
subject departments required review.
The authority had set targets for improvements in pupils’
performance in SQA examinations. Over the period 1998
to 2002 the number of pupils gaining five or more awards
at Level 4 or better by the end of S4 had increased by
over five percentage points. The numbers gaining five or
more awards at Level 5 or better had increased by almost
four percentage points. These increases were above the
equivalent national figures, and above the averages for
comparator authorities. In 2002, the proportion of awards
at both these levels was above the national average.
Despite these improvements, the authority did not
achieve the three-year targets it had set for 2001.
However, it had set more realistic one-year targets for
2002 and these had been exceeded. The number of pupils
gaining three or more Level 6 awards by the end of S5
had fluctuated but remained largely unchanged over the
period. The number of pupils gaining five or more
awards at Level 6 or better by the end of S5 had increased
by almost two percentage points, an average rate of
improvement around the national rate and the figure for
comparator authorities. Performance at this level was
above that for comparator authorities but below the
national figure. The authority had met its 2002 target for
five or more awards. It had not achieved either the
three-year target for 2001 or the reduced one-year target
41
for 2002 in relation to three or more awards. To realise
its aim of further improving performance, the authority
should review its procedures for setting targets to ensure
that schools are set challenging but realistic targets. It
should continue to explore ways to more effectively
support improvement in secondary subjects.
Support for pupils
The Council was strongly committed to the involvement
of all children and young people in their education.
Educational Services, in full co-operation with relevant
agencies, had given very good guidance and support to
establishments to develop and share techniques and
expertise in pastoral care and personal and social
education, including citizenship. The results were
evident in the high number of young people who were
supported to be members of the Scottish Youth
Parliament. Funding for study support was effectively
targeted to raise pupils’ expectations and promote
attainment and achievement. The effectiveness of links
with projects to widen access to further and higher
education were reflected in the steady increase in
numbers going to colleges and universities. Educational
and social work were progressing well in meeting the
needs of looked after and accommodated children,
including the provision of a teacher to promote learning
in the Council’s residential units and in foster homes.
Educational Services were taking a thorough approach to
implementing the Council’s revised policy on inclusion
for pupils with special educational needs, taking full
account of recent relevant legislation and national
guidance. At the time of the inspection approaches to
support for pupils were undergoing some significant
changes. The new approaches were outlined in two
recent papers, Every Child is Special 2002, and Pathways
to Inclusion. The former provided guidance on the
approaches to be taken with pupils with learning
difficulties and disabilities and the latter with children
42
and young people with social, emotional and behavioural
difficulties. These papers were of high quality but now
needed to be brought closer together to help ensure a
coherent and integrated approach to support for pupils.
The new developments related to special educational
needs were building on some very good arrangements
already in place. For example, the very well organised
Network Support Service provided highly effective
support to pupils with a range of disabilities and learning
difficulties, their teachers and families. Specialist
services for pupils with sensory impairments were shared
with North and South Ayrshire Councils. The Council
had been proactive in taking advantage of opportunities
to increase the number of special units it provided in
mainstream schools to educate pupils with pronounced
and complex special educational needs nearer their
homes. The special schools also promoted inclusive
practices.
Staff in special schools and units appreciated the support
provided by a key member of the QIT and had made very
good progress in developing the curriculum and
target-setting for their pupils. However, staff working to
meet the particular needs of pupils, such as those related
to multiple impairments, reported that they would
welcome increased opportunities to network with staff
with similar interests in other authorities.
Educational and Social Services were undertaking a
number of initiatives to improve approaches to pupils
with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The
rise in the number of exclusions of pupils from schools
and referrals of pupils to the Youth Strategy team had
been evaluated. Among the measures to address the
issues identified were projects to develop the skills of
teachers in dealing with low level disruption in
classrooms and a new staged approach for schools and
support agencies to respond to pupils’ difficult
behaviours and to involve their parents. The action on
43
exclusions had been successful in reducing the rates for
primary and secondary schools. The reorganisation of
additional in and out of school support for disaffected
pupils was in progress and involved the Learning
Partnerships in sharing expertise and resources. The new
approaches were potentially valuable but some school
and support staff expressed confusion about how they
were to be implemented and aspects of provision were
not yet in place.
Psychological services made important contributions
across the work of Educational and Social Services.
Under the strong leadership of the principal psychologist,
the team members worked closely with schools to
provide a range of services to children, young people and
their families. In addition, they were engaged in projects
such as baseline assessment, disseminated research on
learning and teaching and took a lead in key projects to
improve learning and teaching. Establishments reported
positive relationships with link psychologists and their
only criticism related to wanting more time from them.
Support for Staff Development
The Education Department had generally good
arrangements for supporting staff development. An
extensive programme of staff development was organised
by the QIT covering areas such as ICT, early literacy,
thinking skills, play, personal and social education, 5-14,
and SEN. Good provision was also made for pre-school
staff, including those from partnership establishments.
Staff in secondary schools were generally less satisfied
with the extent of provision for their continuing
professional development. Teachers and support staff
were positive about courses attended and all courses
delivered through the programme were evaluated by the
QIT taking account of presentations, workshop activities,
handouts and overall ratings. Evaluations for almost all
courses were positive and feedback was used to inform
future planning and delivery.
44
Classroom assistants spoke very positively of their
training programme and both classroom assistants and
SEN auxiliaries welcomed the authority support for them
to undertake the Professional Development Award.
Other support staff in schools commented favourably on
training opportunities available to them including health
and safety courses, management courses and training for
clerical staff. Almost all were aware of the piloting and
roll out of the system of staff review. This would provide
an annual opportunity to talk about work, set objectives
and identify training needs.
There was a strong commitment in the authority to staff
training and development. Almost all headteachers
surveyed indicated that the authority assisted their staff in
accessing appropriate staff development and training
support. However, 38% of secondary school
headteachers disagreed. In an effort to support secondary
subject teachers the authority had instituted curriculum
management meetings to provide a forum for heads of
department to meet, share materials and ideas and
identify staff development needs. Some subject staff
were very positive about the support available through
these meetings but they, and some officers, recognised
that there was a need to refocus and revitalise a number
of these groups. Teaching staff in special schools also
felt that they had limited access to appropriate staff
development and too few links with other special schools.
Staff in the Network Support teams, however, reported
good access to staff development.
Overall, school staff commented positively on the staff
development programme and conferences on key aspects
such as inclusion and citizenship. They welcomed the
flexibility of devolved budgets which enabled individual
schools or groups of schools to buy in courses or send
individuals to courses in neighbouring authorities or at
national level.
45
Pre-school and primary staff were very positive about the
staff development provided, especially through the Early
Intervention programme. Pre-school partnership staff
strongly appreciated the well-focused support and
encouragement they had received. Newly appointed
headteachers commented favourably on induction
support. A good programme of induction and support for
teachers in their probationary period was being provided
in partnership with South Ayrshire Council.
Good progress was noted in implementing the New
Opportunities Fund (NOF) training programme to
develop teachers’ and school librarians’ skills in using
ICT. Some 90% of staff were involved in the programme
but the authority was aware of varying outcomes for staff
and was providing additional ICT courses within the
authority staff development programme.
The Council’s support for staff development had helped
ensure that staff were well prepared to take forward the
various national and local initiatives. This support had
been particularly successful in pre-school and at the early
stages of the primary school, where staff skills and
confidence had been noticeably improved. The impact of
staff development arrangements had proved less
successful in meeting the aspirations of secondary
teachers.
Other features of support
The Arts
An Arts and Education Strategy for the authority,
Creative Minds, approved by Education Committee in
September 2002, helped take forward the Council’s very
strong commitment to arts and culture as a way of
engaging pupils and raising achievement.
The authority’s Links Officer in Arts and Education
along with the Senior Teacher Expressive Arts (Music)
made a very positive contribution to the promotion of the
46
arts within the Council. Along with the cultural
co-ordinators, recently appointed in partnership with the
Scottish Arts Council, they were forming a creative arts
team. The Instrumental Service, led by a Principal
Teacher, provided instrumental tuition free of charge to
pupils and made a significant contribution to the
development of music-making throughout the authority.
The wide range of arts initiatives included.
•
The formation of the East Ayrshire Primary Choir and
the development of strings sections in primary and
secondary schools.
•
An annual exhibition of pupils’ art and design
showing in three venues.
•
The ‘Tale o’ Tam’ project with Scottish Opera.
•
The ‘XtrArts’ summer school and out of school hours
learning programmes developing opportunities in art
and design, dance, drama and music.
•
An extensive programme of ‘showcase’ performances
involving pupils from all schools.
The Arts Officer recognised the importance of such arts
experiences in their own right and as a means of raising
pupils’ achievement more widely. He was working with
headteachers to explore ways of evaluating the success of
these initiatives in promoting positive behaviour and
enhancing learning. Senior managers and elected
members gave great support to arts initiatives throughout
the authority.
Sports
The authority had developed a positive approach to sports
development based on a productive partnership with
47
schools, other Council departments and external agencies.
Joint working with the Department of Community
Services enabled programmes to be delivered within an
overall Council strategy promoting healthy lifestyles and
personal achievement. The Department of Educational
and Social Services centrally-employed sports and
physical education specialist staff and the Outdoor
Learning in East Ayrshire (OLEA) team. The OLEA
team made a particularly successful and valued
contribution in providing challenging but rewarding
activities for young people from disadvantaged
backgrounds, or who were experiencing behaviour
problems. With the support of OLEA, innovative
programmes of international visits had been developed
from which all children could benefit. Two Learning
Partnerships used outdoor education and sports initiatives
to help ease transition from primary to secondary schools.
The school sports co-ordinator programme was well
established, and advantage had been taken of additional
national funds to expand this into a second phase with
increased staffing. This initiative allowed links to be
developed with local athletics, rugby and football clubs
for specific events. The annual Curling’s Cool project
had been particularly successful. There were productive
links with sports development officers. The contribution
of Kilmarnock Football Club’s community coach in
programmes developed as part of Scotland Against Drugs
had been seen as very valuable.
Modern Languages
Over the past two years, the Council had been working in
partnership with two other Councils to develop the
Partners in Excellence Project – a Centre of Excellence
project funded by Scottish Executive Education
Department (SEED). The aims of the project were to:
•
48
raise attainment of all modern languages students in
S5/S6 and improve uptake post S4;
•
develop an appropriate environment for ICT-assisted
learning and teaching; and
•
build a community of language learners and teachers
across the authorities.
Teachers benefited from enhanced provision in the
classroom, additional resources to support learning and
ICT training opportunities. Pupils had access to the
‘Language Zone’ website, opportunities for residential
weekends and film-making activities and foreign visits.
Staff in schools praised the quality of in-service and
support provided and senior pupils were very positive
about their experiences in modern languages. Although
initially focusing on senior pupils, younger pupils were
now becoming involved.
‘Partners in Excellence’ was overseen by a Board of
Management chaired by the Director of East Ayrshire.
The Director of the Scottish Centre for Information on
Language Teaching (CILT) was a member of the Board
and had responsibility for the monitoring and evaluation
of the initiative. The evidence to date showed significant
gains in pupils’ attainment with a 78% increase in
presentations across all languages in two years and a 30%
increase in the number of students achieving A passes at
Higher Grade.
Enterprise education
The key role for education in the economic and social
regeneration of the area was widely recognised and
appreciated by staff and pupils. Elected members and
senior managers gave strong support. Enterprise
education was recognized in education strategic plans and
the statement of local improvement objectives.
The authority’s approach involved pre-school, primary,
secondary and special schools. A number of teaching
staff had taken advantage of the Excellence in Education
49
through Business Links (EEBL) programme. A useful
partnership had been established with a further education
college which had led to several promising initiatives.
The authority provided excellent opportunities for pupils
to broaden their horizons through education for work and
enterprise, including international links and work
experience.
The authority’s comprehensive approach to supporting
and developing pupils’ career aspirations involved
working in partnership with bodies such as Careers
Scotland, Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire and others in the
private and voluntary sectors. Schools were encouraged
to take advantage of specific funding initiatives. A
number of East Ayrshire schools had been successful in
gaining national recognition for their work in enterprise
education. Senior pupils from a number of secondary
schools had work experience placements in Europe and
enterprise links had been established with North America.
Such initiatives had widened pupils’ awareness and
experience of the world of work.
8. How well does the authority perform overall?
Overview
East Ayrshire Council had set out a clear vision for the
future development of Education Services. It had
successfully shared this vision with stakeholders and had
firmly established a culture of self-evaluation and
improvement. Through the efforts of elected members,
senior managers and Education Department staff it was
making a very significant contribution to the work of
pre-school establishments and schools in raising
standards of attainment and achievement and promoting
social inclusion. A notable feature of the Council’s
support for its schools was the very strong emphasis it
50
placed on encouraging and celebrating pupils’ wider
achievements, particularly in the arts.
The Education Department was very well led and
managed. The Director and Heads of Service provided a
clear strategic direction for the Service, based firmly on
the corporate aims of the Council. They received strong
support from the Chief Executive, other Directors and
elected members. The process for service planning was
effective and improving. There were clear links between
planning for improvement at corporate and service level
and in schools. The Service Plan was supported in its
implementation by a team of hardworking and committed
officers, seconded staff and a highly efficient
administration and support team.
The Director and his team had succeeded in establishing a
very clear vision for the future direction of Education
Services. This vision was very well understood by staff
in schools. The Director had established a very good
sense of teamwork with headteachers and he and his team
were highly regarded by school staff and parents. The
authority’s commitment to integrated provision for
children and young people through its nine Learning
Partnerships and its promotion of achievement in the arts,
modern languages and enterprise education were highly
commendable. The Education Department was strongly
committed to effective and wide-ranging consultation,
including the involvement of pupils.
The Council was strongly committed to the principles of
Best Value. It had carried out a number of Best Value
and other quality assurance reviews. The financial
management of the department was very sound and the
department had very positive and productive working
relationships with other departments. Arrangements for
the devolution of budget responsibilities to schools were
very good and schools received high quality support from
centrally-employed staff.
51
The Education Department was continuing a process of
restructuring posts to help further improve its approaches
to monitoring the performance of its establishments and
giving greater emphasis to quality improvement. Overall,
pupils’ attainment in both primary and secondary schools
showed steady improvement. The department should
continue to monitor pupils’ performance at Higher and
the curriculum at S5/S6 to ensure that all pupils achieved
their potential. While there was useful work already in
place concerning the analysis and use of performance
data by QIOs their role in working with schools to
improve performance required further development. The
Department provided very strong support for pre-school
and primary education. It needed to ensure that it was
able to provide appropriate support for subjects in the
secondary school.
Key strengths
52
•
The clear vision, values and aims of the Education
Service which were widely understood and accepted
by staff within the Education Department and those
working in establishments across all sectors.
•
The strong, purposeful, leadership provided by the
Director and the Heads of Service, the strong sense of
teamwork within the Education Department and the
effective links to other departments.
•
The effective procedures for the management of
resources and finance in relation to Education
Services.
•
The prominent part played by elected members and
officers of the Council in recognising and celebrating
a wide range of pupils’ achievements.
•
The effective procedures for consultation and
communication with a wide range of stakeholders,
including pupils.
•
The high quality support for development in
pre-school and the early years of primary school
education.
9. Main points for action
•
The Service Plan should be improved, in line with the
recommendations contained in this report, to specify
more clearly the outcomes of initiatives and provide a
firm basis for evaluating their success.
•
Senior managers should proceed with plans to clarify
the management, roles and responsibilities of the
Quality Improvement Team and ensure that Quality
Improvement Officers have a manageable number of
targets including those relating to their prime function
of quality improvement in schools.
•
The Education Department should continue to
develop the use of statistical data by central staff and
schools to help inform approaches to raising standards
of attainment among pupils.
•
The Council should continue to improve the overall
quality of school accommodation to ensure that
buildings and facilities provide an appropriate
learning environment.
•
Improved support should be provided for
developments in the secondary school curriculum.
•
The Education Department, working with other
agencies, should continue to refine and implement its
inclusion policies. In particular, it should ensure
coherence in planning and providing for pupils with
special educational needs, including those with social,
emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Around two years after the publication of this report
HM Inspectors will re-visit the authority to assess
53
progress in meeting these recommendations. The local
authority has been asked to prepare and make public an
action plan, within eight weeks of the publication of this
report, indicating how it will address the following main
points for action in the report.
Ian Gamble
HM Chief Inspector
Quality, Standards and Audit Division
February 2003
54
Appendix 1
Performance information
Statistical indicators
•
% of school pupils staying on to S5 (post Christmas)
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average 3
•
1998/99
1999/00
2000/01
66
65
63
74
65
66
67
64
64
Pupil destinations
% Entering Full-Time
Higher Education
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
1998/99
29
31
28
1999/00
33
31
28
2000/01
31
32
30
% Entering Full-Time
Further Education
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
13
18
16
19
19
19
20
20
19
% Entering
Employment
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
21
26
26
20
26
25
18
24
22
• Absence
As part of the 2002 Target Setting initiative, East Ayrshire
Council set itself the following target to minimise the average
number of half-days absence per pupil in primary and
secondary schools by 2002.
Target
Level
(June 2001)
1999
2000
2001
Target
Level
(June 2002)
2002
Primary
East Ayrshire
National
19
18
20
20
19
19
20
20
19
17
20
19
Secondary
East Ayrshire
National
40
36
43
43
42
41
43
43
39
37
42
42
3
CA Average refers to the group of education authorities which are comparative to
each other in terms of various socio-economic and demographic factors.
55
•
Exclusions from schools in East Ayrshire
2000/2001
Total
Exclusions
Exclusions Per
1000 Pupils
Temporary
Exclusions
Permanent
exclusions
East Ayrshire
1323
70
1321
2
National
38,656
51
38,334
322
As part of the 2002 Target Setting initiative, East Ayrshire
Council set itself the following targets in reading, writing and
mathematics to be achieved by 2002, and has made the
following progress in achieving them.
The figures represent the percentage of pupils in primary
schools attaining and expected to attain appropriate 5-14 levels
by P74.
Primary
Reading
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
Target
Level
June
2001
78
77
-
Writing
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
68
67
-
58
60
58
65
66
66
71
70
70
73
73
-
70
72
73
Maths
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
82
81
-
77
76
78
77
77
78
81
79
81
83
82
-
79
80
82
4
1999
72
73
73
2000
75
76
77
2001
78
80
80
Target
Level
June
2002
80
81
-
2002
78
81
82
Level A by end of P3. Level B by end of P4. Level C by end of P6. Level D by
end of P7.
56
The figures represent the percentage of pupils in secondary
schools attaining and expected to attain appropriate 5-14 levels
by S25
Secondary
Reading
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
Writing
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
Maths
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
•
Target
Level
June
2001
51
54
-
2001
54
56
53
Target
Level
June
2002
56
59
-
1999
37
44
42
2000
50
53
50
2002
58
59
56
48
48
-
35
38
37
38
43
39
42
46
42
48
51
-
46
50
46
61
55
-
54
42
42
55
47
46
62
51
51
61
56
-
62
54
52
Results in Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
National Qualifications.
Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) levels:
7: CSYS at A-C
6: Higher at A-C
5: Intermediate 2 at A-C; Standard Grade at 1-2
4: Intermediate 1 at A-C; Standard Grade at 3-4
3: Access 3 Cluster; Standard Grade at 5-6
Percentage of relevant S4 roll achieving
By end of S4
SG Eng 1-6
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
1998
92
93
93
1999
93
94
94
2000
94
94
94
2001
93
94
94
2002
94
94
94
SG Maths 1-6
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
92
92
92
94
94
94
93
94
94
94
94
94
94
93
92
5+ @ level 3 or better
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
88
90
90
91
91
91
90
91
91
92
91
91
92
91
91
5+ @ level 4 or better
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
72
74
71
76
75
73
75
77
75
75
77
75
77
76
73
5
Level E by end of S2.
57
5+ @ level 5 or better
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
By end of S5
30
30
26
30
32
28
32
33
29
29
34
29
34
33
28
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
3+ @ level 6 or better
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
19
20
17
19
21
16
17
23
20
21
23
19
19
22
18
5+ @ level 6 or better
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
6
6
5
7
7
5
6
8
6
7
9
7
8
9
6
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
9
9
7
9
10
7
9
10
7
9
11
9
10
11
8
By end of S6
1+ @ level 7 or better
East Ayrshire
National
CA Average
As part of the 2002 Target Setting initiative, East Ayrshire
Council set itself the following targets for pupils attainment in
National Qualifications, and has made the following progress
in achieving them.
58
SG English 1-6
East Ayrshire
National
Target
1999/2001
94
94
1999/2001
93
94
Target
2002
94
95
2002
94
94
SG Maths 1-6
East Ayrshire
National
94
94
93
94
94
95
94
93
5+ @ level 3 or better
East Ayrshire
National
92
93
91
91
92
93
92
91
5+ @ level 4 or better
East Ayrshire
National
77
77
75
76
76
79
77
76
5+ @ level 5 or better
East Ayrshire
National
34
34
30
33
31
35
34
33
3+ @ level 6 or better
East Ayrshire
National
21
23
19
22
20
24
19
22
5+ @ level 6 or better
East Ayrshire
National
8
8
7
8
8
9
8
9
Appendix 2
Inspection coverage
Establishments visited:
Auchinleck Academy
Bellsbank Family Centre
Bellsbank Primary School
Dean Park Nursery
Drongan Primary School
Grange Academy
Muirkirk Primary School
Nether Robertland Primary School
Netherthird Primary School
Newmilns Primary School
Onthank Nursery School
Park School
Puddleducks Nursery
Sorn Primary School
St Joseph’s Academy and Cumnock Campus
St Matthew’s Primary School
St Xavier’s Primary School
Stewarton Academy
Meetings attended:
Heads of Service
Care Commission Liaison
Early Years Headteachers
Primary Headteachers
Secondary Headteachers
Chairs of Learning Partnerships
Quality Improvement Team
St Joseph’s Learning Partnership
Students’ Council Seminar
59
Interviews or meetings with Council Members and
Officers:
Leader of the Council
Chair of Education Committee
Opposition Spokesperson on Education
Chief Executive
Depute Chief Executive
Director of Education and Social Work Services
Director of Community Services
Director of Finance
Head of Schools
Head of Social Work
Head of Community Support
Research Information Officer
Teacher Representative on Education Committee
Links Officer in the Arts and Education
Senior Teacher Expressive Arts 5-14 (Music)
Co-ordinator of Peripatetic Services for Hearing
Impaired
Network Support Co-ordinator
Partners in Excellence Project Officer
Educational Finance Manager
Principal Officer Early Years
Pre-school Partnership Link Officer
Children’s Services Integration Manager
Principal Officer, Quality Improvement
Personnel Manager Schools
Quality Improvement Officers
Principal Officer, Children and Families
Principal Psychologist
Youth Strategy Manager
Interviews or meetings with other Stakeholder Groups:
Focus Group of Teachers
Focus Group of Special School Heads
Focus Group of Heads of Partner Centres
Representatives of Staff Unions
Interviews with Education Service Staff
Focus Group of Administrative Staff
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Appendix 3
Quality indicators
We judged the following to be very good
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Vision, values and aims
Effectiveness of leadership and management
Policy development
Mechanisms for consultation
Mechanisms for communication
Resource management
Financial management
We judged the following to be good
•
•
•
•
Service Planning
Deployment and effectiveness of staff
Measuring, monitoring and evaluating performance
Continuous improvement in performance
We judged the following to be fair
•
No aspects were found to be in this category
We judged the following to be unsatisfactory
•
No aspects were found to be in this category
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How can you contact us?
Copies of this report have been sent to the Chief
Executive of the local authority, Elected Members, the
Head of the Education Service, other local authority
officers, Members of the Scottish Parliament, Audit
Scotland, heads of the local authority educational
establishments, chairpersons of the local authority School
Boards/Parents’ Associations and to other relevant
individuals and agencies. Subject to availability, further
copies may be obtained free of charge from the address
below or by telephoning 0131 244 0746. Copies are also
available on our web site: www.hmie.gov.uk
Should you wish to comment on or make a complaint
about any aspect of the inspection or about this report,
you should write in the first instance to Ian Gamble,
HMCI at:
HM Inspectorate of Education
Quality, Standards and Audit Division
1-B95
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
A copy of our complaints procedure is available from that
office and on our website.
If you are still dissatisfied, you can contact the Scottish
Public Services Ombudsman directly or through your
member of the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Public
Services Ombudsman is fully independent and has
powers to investigate complaints about Government
Departments and Agencies. She will not normally
consider your complaint before the HMIE complaints
procedure has been used. Instead, she will usually ask
you to give us the chance to put matters right if we can.
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Complaints to Scottish Public Services Ombudsman must
be submitted within 12 months of the date of publication
of this report.
The Ombudsman can be contacted at:
Professor Alice Brown
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
23 Walker Street
Edinburgh
EH3 7HX
Telephone number: 0870 011 5378
e-mail: enquiries@scottishombudsman.org.uk
More information about the Ombudsman’s office can be
obtained from the website:
www.ombudsmanscotland.org.uk
Crown Copyright 2003
HM Inspectorate of Education
This report may be reproduced in whole or in part, except
for commercial purposes or in connection with a
prospectus or advertisement, provided that the source and
date thereof are stated.
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