East Lothian Council
September 2001
Contents
________________________________________
Page
Introduction
i
1.
The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
1
2.
The Education Service: operational context
1
3.
Strategic management of the service
8
4.
Consultation and communication
14
5.
Operational management
18
6.
Resource and financial management
23
7.
Performance monitoring and continuous
improvement
31
8.
How well does the authority perform overall?
41
9.
Main points for action
43
Appendices
Performance information
Inspection coverage
Quality indicators
45
49
51
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.
i
ii
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Inspection of the education functions of
East Lothian Council
1. The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
The education functions of East Lothian Council were
inspected during the period March to May 2001 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 Lothian covers an area of approximately 270 square
miles with 43 miles of coastline stretching from the
eastern edge of Edinburgh to the North Sea. The
1
estimated population was 90,430 in 1999. Between 1991
and 1999, East Lothian had the highest percentage
population change in Scotland with a rise of 7%. This
trend of rising population is expected to continue for the
foreseeable future. Between 1993 and 2000 primary
school rolls rose by 14.35% and are predicted to increase
by a further 2.9% by 2004. Similarly, secondary school
rolls rose by 13.76% between 1993 and 2000, and are
predicted to increase by a further 11.5% by 2004. This
feature of one of the fastest growing populations within
Scotland presents very significant challenges for the
Education and Community Services Department in
managing school capacities, planning education provision
and meeting the various needs of local populations.
East Lothian contains a mix of urban and rural
communities and, in socio-economic terms, a mixture of
deprived and advantaged areas. There are some pockets
of social and economic disadvantage, particularly in the
west of the Council area. Average income in East
Lothian is £361.90 per week compared to the national
figure of £379.80 per week. The free school meal
entitlement (FME) is 14.6% compared to the national
average of 20.3%.
The economy of East Lothian has changed significantly
over the last decade. The area’s economy was formerly
based on farming, fishing, coal mining and general
manufacturing. Agriculture remains important, but
fishing is now only a small-scale industry. New
industries including electronics, bio-research, energy and
printing have become major employers in the area.
Tourism is also an important and developing industry.
The total unemployment rate in January 2000 was 2.8%
compared to the national average of 5.1%.
Political and organisational context
The political representation in the Council consists of
16 Labour, five Conservative and two Scottish National
Party Councillors. There are three main service
2
Committees, the Educational and Community Service
Committee, the Social Work and Housing Committee and
the Environment and Technical Services Committee.
These Committees report to the Council which currently
meets every eight weeks. The Council is now in a period
of transition as part of the process of modernising its
structures. An Executive, which will meet monthly, has
been set up to replace the Policy Forum and Policy and
Resources Committee. The Council has established a
Performance Review Panel and an Education Standards
and Quality Panel (ESQP). These Panels monitor and
scrutinise the implementation of all Council service and
business plans, with the ESQP having specific
responsibility for all aspects of educational performance.
This new system represents the strong commitment of the
Chief Executive to performance management and
reporting.
The Council has a clear corporate aim to safeguard,
promote and improve the social, economic,
environmental and democratic well-being of the people of
East Lothian. The Statement of Corporate Policy sets out
a statement of aims and values which provides a clear
context for the work of the Education and Community
Services Department. Within the statement of aims there
is an explicit intention to:
•
ensure the delivery of quality services in a quality
environment;
•
strive to address and reduce deprivation, disadvantage
and inequality;
•
work in partnership with other bodies;
•
ensure Council activities and resources are directed
by policy commitments and priorities; and
•
think and act corporately.
3
There is a set of four inter-dependent corporate policy
statements which reflect the corporate aims and provide
more detailed objectives. These direct the work of
Council departments in delivering quality services.
Senior management within the Education and
Community Services Department comprises the Director
and two Heads of Service. The Director has overall
responsibility for a wide range of educational and
community services. One Head of Service has
responsibility for education and the other for community
services. Both are supported by a number of managers
representing particular aspects of the service. Each
manager has responsibility for a professional and
administrative team of staff, some as full-time officers
and others on secondment from schools.
Educational provision and performance
The Council is responsible for around 13,100 pupils in
35 primary schools and six secondary schools. There are
no special schools, but a number of schools have special
units/bases. Pre-school education is provided in four
nursery schools, 25 nursery classes in primary schools
and 13 partnership nurseries. In 1999/2000 all children in
their pre-school year had been offered a place in nursery
provision and 80% of three-year-olds had similar
provision. Community education offered life-long
learning opportunities at 15 centres.
East Lothian was the only Council in Scotland in
1999/2000 to have no primary schools operating below
61% occupancy. Occupancy rates in secondary schools
are well above the national average. These levels of
occupancy, combined with continuing population
increase, present a challenge for the authority in
managing accommodation, particularly in secondary
schools. Over the last three years, budgeted running
costs of education per pupil in primary schools have been
broadly in line with the national average and above
national average in secondary schools.
4
In 2001/02 the Council allocated £46,959,000 to the
revenue budget for education compared with £43,131,000
in the previous year (both totals include Excellence Fund
core and special programme direct grants).
The following commentary draws on key performance
information about the schools in the Council provided
in Appendix 1.
Staying on rate and school leaver destinations
•
The percentage of school pupils staying on to S5
(post-Christmas) since 1997 has been consistently
below the national average. Over that period the
figure has remained steady at 60%, but has been the
third or second lowest of the group of similar
councils.
•
Between 1997/98 and 1999/00, the percentage of
school leavers entering Higher Education was below
the national average figures and the average for
similar councils. Over the same period, the
percentage of school leavers entering full-time
Further Education was also below national average
figures and, in each year, the lowest of similar
councils. In the period 1997/98 to 1999/00, the
percentage of school leavers entering employment
was above the national average, and in 1999/2000
was the fourth highest in Scotland.
5-14 performance
•
Between 1998 and 2000, there was an increase in the
number of primary school pupils achieving or
exceeding minimum levels of attainment for their
stage in reading, writing and mathematics.
Performance was in line with the national averages
and the respective rates of increase were also in line
with the national rates of increase. If the Council
achieved its targets set as part of the Government’s
5
Raising Standards - Setting Targets initiative, it
would continue to perform in line with national
averages in all three areas.
•
The performance of S2 pupils in National Tests
between 1998 and 2000 indicate an improvement in
reading, writing and mathematics. The rate of
improvement in reading, was faster than the national
rate of improvement. In writing it was slower. In
mathematics, East Lothian started from a position
well below the national average. The rate of
improvement has been more than twice the national
rate and the highest of similar councils. However, in
2000 performance was still below the national
average. If the Council achieved its targets set in
reading and writing, the extent to which it performed
above the national average would increase. If the
target is achieved in mathematics, the Council
performance would move from well below, to equal
to the national average.
SQA examination performance
6
•
Performance in Scottish Qualifications Authority
(SQA) National Qualifications at Standard Grade
from 1997 to 1999 has generally been in line with
national averages. Over that period, the percentage of
pupils gaining five or more awards at Credit level
increased from below national average to equal to
national average. The increased level of performance
still remained below that for similar councils. If the
Council achieved its targets set for 1999/2001, it
would maintain its position in line with national
averages.
•
At Higher Grade from 1997 to 1999, the percentage
of S4 pupils gaining three or more awards at A-C in
S5 was in line with the national average. Similarly,
the percentage of S4 pupils gaining five or more
awards at A-C in S5 remained in the line with the
national average. If the Council achieved its targets
set for 1999/2001 at Higher Grade, it would maintain
its position in line with national averages.
•
The proportion of S6 pupils gaining one or more
Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS) award at
A-C between 1997 and 1999 increased from equal to,
to above the national average.
•
Between 1997 and 1999, the percentage of S5/S6 roll
gaining three or more National Certificate modules
was well below the national average.
Attendance and absence
•
Over the last three years, the percentage attendance
figures in primary schools had moved from equal to,
to above the national average. The current attendance
rate indicates that very good progress had been made
towards meeting a target set to improve attendance,
and that the Council will meet or exceed its target.
•
Over the last three years, the percentage attendance
figures in secondary schools had consistently been
above the national average. The current attendance
rate indicates that very good progress had been made
towards meeting a target set to improve attendance,
although the Council still had some progress to make
before it achieved its demanding target.
•
There had been an increase in exclusions from 453 in
1998/99 to 527 in 1999/2000. Figures so far for
2000/01 indicate a reduction on the previous two
years’ total exclusions.
7
3. Strategic management of the service
Vision, values and aims
Performance in this aspect was good. The authority had a
clear vision of working in an integrated way to deliver
quality services. In the previous year, the aims and
values of the Department of Education and Community
Services had been reviewed as part of Best Value. The
outcome was a clear statement of aims, values and
strategic goals which linked closely to national priorities
and informed Service Planning.
The values of the Department included a commitment to
valuing staff, encouraging team work, being customer
focused and being challenging. Education managers
shared a commitment to these values which influenced
their working practices.
The aims of the Department were to ‘ensure quality and
equality in education and community services by
monitoring and evaluating standards and achieving
planned outcomes’. These strategic aims linked very
well with those of the Council. The strategic goals had a
clear focus on raising attainment, achieving social
inclusion and promoting lifelong learning.
The Department had been partially successful in
communicating its vision to staff in schools. A majority
of headteachers agreed that senior managers were
successful in communicating their vision for the
development of education. However, 50% of secondary
headteachers and 32% of primary headteachers disagreed
that a clear overall vision had been established. Below
the level of headteacher staff were less confident that the
department had a clearly communicated vision.
The vision of working as an integrated department had
not yet significantly influenced thinking and practice at
the level of delivery. Headteachers were aware of the
Department’s aims which were communicated via the
8
Service Plan. They had not been consulted on the aims or
the priorities in the Service Plan. As a result, there was
no shared ownership of the Department’s aims which had
not been clearly enough articulated by senior staff.
An important strength of the Department lay in its
commitment to joint working with other agencies,
notably social services. In particular, the Development of
the Community Plan, the Lifelong Learning Strategy and
the Children’s Services Plan had involved effective
working partnerships among representatives of the
Education Department, social work, health, the police and
the voluntary sector. Despite the involvement of staff at
the centre in a range of cross-cutting initiatives,
headteachers were not always fully aware of the ways in
which the Department fostered effective links with
agencies such as social work and health services.
The Department evaluated progress in achieving its goals
through the monitoring of Performance Plans. Senior
officers were aware of the need to strengthen evaluation
by making more use of evidence from school reviews and
quality assurance visits. A recent internal communication
review and wider self-evaluation exercise had been an
important first step in strengthening the evaluation
process.
Leadership and management
The effectiveness of leadership and management in the
Education and Community Services Department was fair
overall.
The Director had a wide-ranging and demanding remit.
He had delegated major areas of responsibility to his
senior officers. While this general approach had much to
commend it, the weaknesses in policy development and
evaluation identified in this report point to the need for
more direct involvement by the Director in key aspects of
educational management.
9
The Director was a valued member of the Council’s
corporate management team. He had good local
knowledge and a clear understanding of the local and
national political contexts. He maintained very good
relationships with elected members who gave strong
support to schools. He was committed to corporate
working and had established several important working
links with other Council services. Although he had been
successful in communicating his vision of what the
service was aiming to achieve to the Directorate team, he
still had considerable work to do to stimulate the
enthusiasm of school staff and parents for this vision.
The Director gave a very effective lead in the following
aspects of strategic management:
•
preparation of the East Lothian Economic
Development Plan and Community Plan;
•
development of the authority’s Public Private
Partnership (PPP) initiative; and
•
preparation of the Lifelong Learning Strategy which
had led to the establishment of the Lifelong Learning
Centre at Alderston House.
The Head of Education took up post in February 2001. In
his short time in post, he had established good working
relationships with Directorate and school staff. He had
identified areas for improvement. These included the
need to develop robust systems for processing
information from school visits; involving headteachers in
strategic decision-making; and providing better direction
to the New Community Schools initiative. At the time of
the inspection, he was forming a group to develop a
coherent 14+ service for pupils with social, emotional
and behavioural difficulties.
The Head of Community Services gave a strong lead in
his area, particularly in the Sports Development Strategy
and the Best Value reviews of the library service and
10
instrumental music provision. The Sports Development
Strategy had gained national recognition. The Head of
Service was aware of the need to heighten awareness of,
and strengthen the role of his staff in school
improvement.
Both Heads of Service shared the Director’s vision for
the service. They were reviewing how they could work
more effectively to achieve it. At the time of the
inspection, both were undertaking additional duties to
cover gaps in staffing. The Department had been
operating without a Head of Education for six months.
The pattern of unsettled staffing had created significant
pressures on the management of the service, although
there had been notable improvement in recent months.
The profile of senior managers with school staff was not
high. Staff were unclear about the respective remits of
the Director and the Head of Education. They felt that
schools had been left largely on their own to take forward
initiatives. All headteachers of pre-school establishments
agreed that the Department was effective in disseminating
good practice about how to improve standards and quality
in education. However, fewer than half the headteachers
in primary and secondary schools agreed with this view.
Some School Boards felt that the reputation of the
Education Department could be improved. Elected
members expressed concerns about under-achievement in
the secondary sector. An outcome of the Department’s
own self-evaluation exercise was, “the need for a more
strategic approach to measuring, monitoring and
evaluating schools’ performance in order to define
purposes, mechanisms and internal outcomes”.
The work of the Director had not been formally reviewed.
However, the process of review for centrally deployed
staff was well established within the Department. Annual
reviews were based on personal targets for improvement
as well as on those aspects of the Service Plan for which
they had responsibility. Staff constraints had meant that
some reviews had not taken place as planned. The review
11
process should now focus more directly on evaluating
staff contributions to improving schools’ performance.
The leadership challenges facing the Director and his
senior managers were to establish a more direct focus on
key priorities, to secure the support and enthusiasm of all
staff for these priorities and ensure consistently effective
implementation of related initiatives.
Policy development
The quality of policy development was fair. The
authority had a number of useful documents but there was
a need to provide a coherent rationale to underpin the
considerable range of work covered by the Department.
There was a lack of clarity about what constituted a
policy statement and on the status of some documents.
There was a need for clear guidance in key policy areas
to support school improvement.
A number of the authority’s policies and priorities were
contained within performance plans. The East Lothian
Childcare Partnership Service Plan gave a clear
indication of specific objectives and targets which had
resulted in an improvement in planning within pre-school
education. An officer had been seconded to support
policy development for the early years. Well-structured
guidance was now needed on Early Intervention and
strategies for sustaining gains in the early years at the
middle and later stages.
Most recently the authority had been producing several
policies and guidelines. Headteachers had responded
positively to guidelines on drug education, child
protection and anti-bullying. Other policies, such as
those for ICT and guidance were in process of
development. The revised policy on staff development
and review was beginning to impact on schools.
The school review manual, written by staff in the Quality
Assurance Division, was good. It set out clear roles,
12
responsibilities, procedures and expectations for school
review. Guidelines on improving school development
plans gave helpful advice to headteachers. There was
evidence of improvements arising from these. However,
there was now a need to complement these documents
with a clear statement on expectations of self-evaluation
and the tracking of pupils’ progress to effect school
improvement.
Establishment staff were very supportive of the Inclusion
Policy and recognised that this was a flagship policy of
the Council. They cited examples of young people with
special educational needs (SEN) being effectively
integrated into mainstream schooling. There were a
number of policy documents to support the provision for
pupils with SEN within mainstream schools, in support
bases and in specialised provision. The documents now
required to be rationalised and strengthened to address
the wider needs of children with learning difficulties.
Currently the authority was awaiting the outcome of an
external evaluation of its Inclusion Policy. The
development of a 14+ service for pupils with social,
emotional and behavioural difficulties was underway. It
was likely that both of these initiatives would have
knock-on effects to other aspects of provision. This
would provide the authority with an ideal opportunity to
review policy and practice.
Many headteachers and school staff felt that the
Department lacked an appropriate range of policies and
procedures for putting them into action, particularly on
the curriculum and learning and teaching. Some felt that
there was an over-reliance on written contact with
establishments regarding policy development. Staff
would have liked more opportunities to discuss and
clarify aspects of policy with colleagues.
4. Consultation and communication
13
The effectiveness of the authority’s approaches to
consultation was fair.
Although there were weaknesses in areas of consultation
which reduced the effectiveness of the processes, there
were some notable features, including the following.
14
•
Extensive consultation had been undertaken with
parents, pupils and staff prior to the introduction of
the anti-bullying strategy. Helpful leaflets were
provided to staff and parents after the launch of the
programme.
•
The team responsible for the PPP project to refurbish
and/or extend all six secondary schools had identified
and consulted with key stakeholder groups on plans
as they progressed. Headteachers, School Board
chairpersons and representatives of teaching unions
indicated that their questions and concerns had been
addressed fully. A termly newsletter distributed to
every pupil, staff member and Council employee
provided an update on progress with the project.
Updates on progress were also provided in the
Council’s Focus newspaper and over the last two
years a number of Roadshows had been held.
•
Arrangements for teacher union representatives to
meet and discuss issues with senior officials on a
number of Council Committees were generally
effective.
•
Headteachers and teacher unions were positive about
consultation leading to the Department’s scheme for
staff development and review. However, neither
group had received feedback on levels of uptake
across the authority.
•
Staff had been well consulted on the arrangements for
school review.
•
Some schools had good arrangements for consulting
with pupils through Pupil Councils or as part of the
development planning process. The establishment of
local youth forums leading to the formation of a
Youth Parliament was a commendable attempt by the
authority to involve young people in the consultation
and decision making process. Representatives had
made a valuable contribution to the Youth Crime
Strategy and aspects of community planning, but they
had had few opportunities to be consulted about
significant aspects of educational provision.
Despite these examples of a commitment to a
consultative approach to management some headteachers
were not fully convinced of the Department’s
commitment to genuine two-way dialogue.
•
Opportunities for headteachers to inform and shape
the Service Plan were limited.
•
Many headteachers believed meetings with senior
staff focused on routine business rather than the
strategic development of the service. Some felt
inhibited from expressing their views in open forums.
•
Schools welcomed the advice on preparing Standards
and Quality Reports, but headteachers indicated that
they had insufficient opportunities to discuss and
clarify aspects of the process with colleagues and
senior staff.
•
A majority of headteachers agreed that senior staff
consulted effectively with other stakeholders such as
parent and pupil groups.
•
The effectiveness of consultation with parents of
children with special educational needs through the
SEN Parents Forum was variable. The recently
formed SEN Joint Planning Group, which included
parents and representatives of the Education, Social
Work and Health Departments, had the potential to
15
have a positive impact on inter-agency planning and
policy development.
•
East Lothian Council had sought the views of the
wider community by conducting a citizen’s survey.
Greater use could be made of this mechanism to
gather views when planning for improved provision
for education.
Senior managers were aware of staff concerns over
consultation and communication and had recently
undertaken a self-evaluation exercise with a view to
improving these aspects of the Department’s work.
Communication was good overall. All heads of
pre-school partner centres and nurseries felt that officers
maintained effective contact with their establishments.
The majority of primary and secondary headteachers
shared this view. School staff recognised that the
headteacher provided their main channel of
communication with the authority. Staff were familiar
with the Council system of Core and Team Briefing.
Notable features of communication included the
following.
•
There were regular opportunities for headteachers to
meet with senior managers.
•
Very good working relationships had been established
with elected members who had very good access to
the Director and senior officials.
• All heads of pre-school partnership centres and
nurseries reported that they were clear about policy
and procedures on quality development.
• A helpful and well-produced leaflet summarising the
authority’s 5-14 targets and progress towards them
had been issued to all parents.
16
•
The Childcare Information Service was proactive in
promoting the availability of pre-school provision
across the authority. It used a wide range of
mechanisms including a free telephone helpline,
newspaper adverts and informative leaflets.
•
The increased use of e-mail was helping to improve
direct communication with schools.
School Boards were generally positive about aspects of
communication. Most felt they were aware of the main
initiatives the Education Department was taking to
implement its plans for education and knew what schools
had to do to implement these plans. Almost all were
clear about how to channel views, enquiries and
complaints.
School Boards were supported well by an information
officer who produced comprehensive summaries of all
reports presented to the Education and Community
Services’ Committee. He had organised a range of
training opportunities on matters such as effective School
Board membership and staff recruitment procedures.
Most chairpersons agreed that the authority provided
good opportunities for Board members to join together to
hear about developments. Elected members regularly
attended School Boards meetings.
The authority was developing a good range of
mechanisms for public performance reporting in
education. Officers provided regular reports to the
Education and Community Services Committee on
attainment in schools and the overall findings of quality
development visits to establishments. Focus, the Council
newspaper, was issued to all households regularly. Our
Track Record, East Lothian Council’s first Public
Performance Report, contained statistical data on school
provision and performance. Information was presented
attractively, and in an easy to read format. However,
reports were often insufficiently evaluative to enable
elected members and parents to make an informed
17
assessment of performance across the authority. The
authority’s first report on Standards and Quality on East
Lothian schools was due to be published in August 2001.
East Lothian Council had established clear procedures to
record and respond to complaints. The Education and
Community Services Department did not yet analyse the
frequency or nature of complaints or share a summary of
this information with establishments. Staff were adapting
the Council-wide system with a view to providing
guidance for schools and an advice leaflet for parents.
5. Operational management
Service Planning
The quality of Service Planning was good. The Council’s
comprehensive framework for Service Planning was
implemented well by the Education and Community
Services Department. The Education Service Plan
provided clear direction for the Education and
Community Services Department as a whole. Effective
planning structures existed which linked the Council’s
statement of corporate policy with the aims, goals and
values of the Education and Community Services
Department. The planning process focused appropriately
on national and local priorities and included clear
commitments to raise achievement, promote social
inclusion and lifelong learning, and improve standards in
all services. The Service Plan contained a comprehensive
set of objectives which developed the strategic goals into
specific actions. There was also a broad statement of
demographic trends and legislation which impacted on
the Department. Good account was taken of the political,
social and economic environment of the Council area.
The Service Plan was implemented through a range of
Performance and Business Plans. These provided a
systematic and coherent framework for performance
management and planning.
18
The Service Plan incorporated appropriate objectives for
the Education and Community Services Department from
the Children’s Services Plan and from the Community
Learning Plan. All plans effectively interpreted the
Council’s Community Plan and the National Priorities for
Education.
Each Division within the Department had a
well-structured Performance Plan. These expanded the
Service Plan objectives into targets and tasks. The plans
showed timescales for implementing targets and
identified personnel responsible for ensuring they were
achieved. Collectively they provided a clear and
comprehensive, account of the full range of work of the
Department. A strength of the Performance Plans was
their usefulness as working documents for
centrally-deployed staff.
The Department’s Management Team had recently
introduced a revised strategy to monitor, evaluate and
report on the Service Plan. A monitoring format had
been developed which required regular updated reports
on: commitment to corporate policy and departmental
aims; progress towards strategic goals and values; and
progress with departmental targets. This provided a
thorough approach to monitoring the achievement of
objectives and targets.
As part of a Council corporate initiative all Service
Departments were also required to produce Group
Business Plans. A group was defined as a collection of
“Family Units” each of which formed a budget heading.
Each Business Plan was organised under a set of
Performance Indicator headings and included a scorecard
system for measuring and reporting performance. It was
intended to report the outcomes of the Business Plans to
the corporate Performance Review Panel.
There were some aspects of planning which needed to be
improved. There was no systematic audit of the overall
19
performance of the Education and Community Services
Department in the formulation of the Service Plan. There
was a need to use aggregated performance data and
benchmarking information to determine actions to be
taken in the Service Plan. The Department was aware of
the need to develop a more coherent, cyclical approach to
planning which harmonised the Council’s budget
planning cycle with the timing of the development of the
Service Plan and school plans.
Each Division’s Performance Plan and the recently
established Group Business Plans did not match fully. It
was recognised, however, that the planning process of the
Council was in a state of change and that there needed to
be a re-alignment of the Performance Plans of each
Division and the Group Business Plans.
In order to implement the Service Plan the authority had
made good arrangements for staff development. A needs
analysis was carried out in schools based on the
performance indicators and associated themes of How
good is our school?1. Responses were based on
individuals needs, and also the needs identified through
school development planning or the outcome of staff
development and review. An analysis of staff
development was carried out by the Staff Development
Officers and appropriate Groups and used to formulate
provision of staff development opportunities. The
Department should proceed with its plans to provide
more effective and efficient staff development by
focussing on a narrower range of activities, clearly
related to agreed priorities and extending opportunities
for training in management and leadership. Training of
central support staff was generally good and there was a
wide range of opportunities available to them.
The authority was preparing to present itself for the
national standard of Investors in People (IIP).
1
How good is our school? - Self-evaluation using performance indicators (Audit Unit
- HM Inspectors of Schools, SOEID, 1996)
20
Deployment and effectiveness of
centrally-employed staff
The deployment of centrally employed staff was good
overall. Duties were clearly aligned to support quality
assurance and improvement priorities. The allocation of
responsibilities to staff reflected a commitment to provide
direct support to schools and to ensure added value.
The management structure for the Education and
Community Service was well suited to its very wide
range of functions. Senior staff in the Education and
Community Services Department were supported by
eight managers, one for each of the Divisions, within the
Department. The Head of Education was responsible for
the Policy and Resources, Quality Assurance, Pupil
Support, and the Catering Cleaning and Janitorial
Services Divisions. The Head of Community Services
was responsible for the Cultural Services, Community
Development, Landscape and Countryside Management,
and Support Services Divisions.
Responsibility for the management of quality assurance
and school development lay mainly within the Quality
Assurance, Pupil Support and Policy and Resources
Divisions. The managers had a wide range of
responsibilities and showed a strong commitment to their
work. There was a need to update remits at senior and
team levels to take account of new initiatives and
programmes.
The Quality Assurance Division provided generally good
support to schools. It was currently reviewing how best
to deliver a coherent strategy for challenge and support
which included monitoring school development plans,
discussing progress towards attainment targets with
headteachers and participating in the service wide
approach to school reviews. Headteachers commented
favourably on these activities. The outcomes of school
development plans were not used sufficiently to inform
the Service Plan or to prioritise future development work.
21
The strategy for curriculum development was to promote
and support self-help and to target support where a need
had been identified. The deployment of staff to provide
curriculum leadership in early years, primary and
secondary education was appropriate. Heads of
pre-school establishments commented favourably on the
support they received for curriculum development.
Headteachers within the primary and secondary sectors
felt, however, that there was insufficient central support
for curriculum development. Teachers in schools either
operated within self-help groups or developed aspects of
the curriculum within their own school. Secondary
headteachers felt that the strategy to establish support
groups with a lead officer to develop aspects of the
curriculum was of limited effectiveness. There was a
lack of an overall strategy for curriculum development.
The proposed Best Value Review which had been
identified for the Quality Assurance Division should
consider options for this aspect of service delivery.
Staff in the Pupil Support Division worked hard to meet
their demanding remit. Although their commitment was
recognised and positively commented on by staff in
schools, many felt that too much was being expected of
staff in this Division to translate the Council’s Inclusion
Policy into action. There was a recognised need to
provide additional support for pupils with emotional and
behavioural difficulties. The absence of two senior
members of staff from the Psychological Service was
having an effect on the support for schools in the
assessment of pupils with potential special educational
needs.
Overall, good use was made of seconded staff to support
school improvement through the Excellence Fund
Programmes and other initiatives to support schools.
There was a large number of working groups which had
been established within the Department. The extent of
their effectiveness in supporting school improvement
22
should be reviewed and a clear rationale developed for
their existence.
Individually and collectively, centrally deployed staff
showed a strong commitment to their work. Teamwork
featured highly within the Department. Financial
decisions taken to protect front line services had had a
subsequent impact on the Department’s ability to deploy
staff centrally to support and challenge schools. Staffing
difficulties had placed considerable pressure on senior
management and officers.
6. Resource and financial management
Resource management
The overall quality of resource management was good.
Since 1996 East Lothian Council had invested heavily in
education and had created a much improved revenue
budget position. Significant improvements had been
made to school buildings and a PPP project had been
introduced to refurbish all six secondary schools by 2004.
Resources were allocated within the Council through the
Annual Strategic Budget (ASB) process. 1999/00 was
the first operational year of the ASB and it is intended
that this will be the Council’s main tool in further
developing three year budgeting. The ASB is calculated
on an historical and incremental basis. The historical
basis used was inherited from Lothian Regional Council
at reorganisation. The allocation of service resources has
therefore not been reviewed for a number of years.
Annual increases of 3% across the board have been
allocated across the Business Groups from 2000/01 to
2003/04. Any further increases in overall expenditure are
split across specific budget heads on the basis of national
and local priorities. A list of service developments,
which outlined the Department’s future needs and
priorities, was produced. Three year strategic budgets
have been set in accordance with these.
23
The carry forward of any surplus or deficit on the income
and expenditure position of individual schools is not
considered prior to resources being allocated. Resources
are allocated on a pro-rata basis in line with school roll
numbers. This ensured that schools which were
managing their resources well were not penalised.
The Council’s Revenue Budget was based on the ASB.
Outturn against budget was regularly reported to the
Policy and Resources Committee. In this way elected
members were involved in assessing the resources which
were likely to be available over the next three years.
Revenue and capital budgets were broken down over a
three year period. Strategic budgeting gave the Council
flexibility to move expenditure between years and
provided a strong basis for effective planning of
resources over a three year cycle.
A good range of measures had been taken to ensure the
economic, efficient and effective use of resources to
support the delivery of education. These include:
•
‘spend to save’ initiatives;
•
Best Value service reviews; and
•
the implementation of a Building Energy
Management System.
In 1999/2000 the authority began to consider the
possibility of a PPP approach to the refurbishment and/or
extension of six secondary schools. This concept had
developed rapidly over the last two years and the project
was currently at the Invitation to Tender stage with
building work on course to commence in Spring 2002.
Benchmarking was being undertaken with two other local
authorities and the project was being developed with
input from Partnerships UK. There will be a phased
completion to building work throughout each school and
the process was planned to run concurrently across the
24
six schools. In recent years accommodation in primary
schools had been significantly upgraded through
refurbishment and extensions.
Provision of information technology to schools had been
enhanced significantly through the Excellence Fund TIC
project. All secondary schools were now electronically
linked to the authority and had access to internet and
e-mail facilities. Progress had been made in rolling out
these functions to primary schools and it is anticipated
that all primaries will be on line by the start of the new
school year in August 2001. This should facilitate more
effective communication with schools.
Through the use of National Lottery funding and matched
funding from the Council, considerable investment had
been put into the development of high quality sports
facilities, including an all weather pitch for each school
cluster.
A programme of Best Value reviews had been established
by the authority in November 1998. The programme of
reviews was led corporately. The review programme had
suffered from a large degree of slippage and as a result a
revised review programme has been put in place and was
now incorporated into the Corporate Plan. To date there
had been minimal elected member involvement in the
reviews. This should increase, however, with the
introduction of the ESQP.
Within the Education and Community Services
Department, Best Value reviews had taken place to cover
catering and building cleaning, landscape and countryside
management, music instrumental tuition, library services
and community development. The reviews for catering
and cleaning and landscaping and countryside
management were however carried out prior to these
services being part of the Education function. The review
of library services had resulted in an extended and
improved provision of library books and learning
resources made available to schools. The music review
25
had improved the management of instrumental instruction
and provided a more equitable organisation of their time
between schools.
The service had benchmarked its performance through
participation with other councils in a benchmarking
group. It had also reviewed aspects of its progress
against HMI and Accounts Commission documents.
Education’s Statutory Performance Indicators are
published in the Council’s Focus magazine and this was
helping to raise awareness of the standards and targets to
be achieved with parents. Performance was also
regularly reported to the Policy and Resources committee
and the newly established ESQP will increasingly
scrutinise performance. Performance measures were
included in the authority’s performance scorecard
initiative. These scorecards were incorporated into the
Education Business Plans.
A Devolved School Management (DSM) review is in
progress and wider reviews are now being planned. It is
intended that primary education will be undertaken as one
review and secondary education as another.
A Building Energy Management System was operated by
the Property Services Department to optimise the use and
consumption of energy. An Energy Officer monitors and
examines all utility bills received to ensure that any
unexpected variances are identified and investigated. A
review was undertaken in 2000 of all water bills and it
was found that the charging by the supplier was
haphazard. A fuller review was therefore undertaken to
ensure that the charging mechanism was accurate.
There had been some specific difficulties with the
provision of Property and Transport Services to
Education. Property and Transport Services control the
budgets for providing transport and property repairs to
Education and other Council services. This results in
better and more effective use of resources and economies
of scale throughout the authority. However, as a result of
poor communication between the central Education
26
function, schools and Transport and Property Services,
budgets have not always matched service requirements.
All property items are held on the Council’s Asset
Register. The Council has a rolling programme of
reviews for its assets for capital accounting purposes.
The property owned by Education and Community
Services Department is due to be reviewed in 2001/02.
Financial management
The overall quality of financial management was good.
The Finance function at the authority was run centrally
but was integrated with each of the operational services.
The Education and Community Services Department
received the support of a Finance Manager (0.5 Full Time
Equivalent). Since September 2000 schools have
received dedicated accountant support and further support
is provided through Finance Assistants. Prior to
September 2000 the Finance Manager had no support
from other qualified accountants to specifically manage
school budgets and this sometimes resulted in the
production of inaccurate statements and the provision of
misleading information to Headteachers.
On a regular, monthly basis the Finance Service produced
monitoring reports for Education’s Business Units,
Business Groups and schools operating under DSM.
DSM monitoring reports provided information on the
income and expenditure performance to the previous
month end, and on the performance for the year.
Budgetary and actual information was also provided and
over and underspends identified in both monetary and
percentage terms. The statements for Business Units and
Business Groups provided the same information
including prior year comparatives.
All budget monitoring reports produced for the Education
and Community Services Department were on a cash
rather than an accruals basis, although some adjustments
were exceptionally made to individual budget heads to
27
accrue items of expenditure. No commitment accounting
system was in operation at the authority. The
implementation of commitment accounting would
provide a mechanism for highlighting potential over
spends at an earlier stage and should improve financial
management.
Profiling and forecasting also required to be used more to
increase the accuracy of the budget monitoring
documents. The Business Units and schools needed to
ensure that the Finance Service were aware of their
committed spending patterns for the year to allow these
to be built into the budget statements. Updates should
also be given to the Finance Service if ‘windfall’ monies
were received late in the financial year from the Scottish
Executive to ensure that these were also built into
spending profiles. The provision of such information
would help to ensure that only ‘real’ variances appeared
on budget monitoring statements.
Carry-forward figures representing over or under spends
against budget for the Department had not always been
provided timeously after the financial year end. Steps
had been taken to improve this position recently. Targets
for savings on a cash basis remained in place at
secondary schools, but were currently under review. As a
result the income and expenditure budgets set for
secondary schools were not always a true reflection of the
budgetary position since additional cash savings had to be
made.
Significant efforts had been made by the Finance
Services to make budget reports more user friendly. As a
result, new budget monitoring statements had been
produced since September 2000. However, all budget
holders had yet to receive training to ensure that they
understood the statements and used them effectively.
Overspends within Education were discussed at the
monthly Departmental Budget Planning Group meeting.
The Convenor and Vice-convenor of Education attended
28
these meetings. From the mid-point in the financial year
(September), the Finance Manager produced an
additional paper which projects the overall outturn within
the service. This was discussed at the Budget Planning
Group meetings to determine the overall position and any
required action which needed to be taken. Over and
under spends across Education were also discussed
together with any potential virement required across
budgets. The remaining overspends were delegated to
the named budget holders to deal with.
No contingency plan had been discussed at the Budget
Planning Group to ensure that the service could continue
to meet its commitments for the Excellence Fund
initiatives if funding was reduced or terminated at the end
of this financial year. The Excellence Fund was
monitored by the Finance Service on an annual basis,
with responsibility for managing the day to day budget
devolved to individual budget holders. Monthly
monitoring meetings were held with each of the budget
holders.
The Director of Finance provided budget reports to the
Policy and Resources Committee on a six weekly cycle.
The current position on the ASB was also discussed at
this committee. Budget figures against actual were
provided for each of the Education Business Groups
together with any corresponding variances. Short
explanations were provided for the largest variances
arising within the authority’s Revenue Budget.
Good progress had been made with three year budgeting
within the Education Units and Groups. The capital
projects relating to Education and Community Services
were costed over three years in the Service Plan. The
summarised Revenue Budget for the authority as a whole
over the three year cycle linked into the Annual Strategic
Budget for the authority.
The Council’s Financial Regulations had not been
updated since June 1997. The procedures for virement in
29
the regulations needed to be formalised for movements
between the new Business Units and Groups and
processes for three year budgeting needed to be included.
Virement could be used between Business Units and
Groups to reduce deficits. The Department’s main
concern tended to be with ensuring that the whole service
position was in line with budget rather than ensuring that
individual Units and Groups were individually exercising
proper budgetary control. Both aspects are important and
should be built into the review of Financial Regulations.
Financial procedures at schools were updated in 1999.
Within the authority itself, financial procedures manuals
were not however in place.
Management information used by Education included
service specific performance indicators relating to
economic efficiency such as occupancy rates and staff
pupil ratios. This information did not however take
account of central and departmental recharges. This can
be an issue when the service attempts to benchmark
performance since it is unaware of central costs which
should be included.
The authority had recognised some of the deficiencies
identified and was taking steps to improve aspects of
financial management. A full review of the DSM scheme
was being undertaken.
7. Performance monitoring and continuous improvement
Measuring, monitoring and evaluating
performance
The authority had put in place some effective
mechanisms for measuring, monitoring and evaluating its
own and schools’ performance. However, further work
required to be done to develop a more coherent and
systematic approach to measuring performance. The
overall quality of work in this area was fair.
A quality assurance team had been established to promote
high standards, best practice and continuous
30
improvement across the Department. Their work
included monitoring and evaluating aspects of schools
performance and supporting development planning in
schools. All schools had a development plan, based on
clear guidelines, including a useful template for the plan.
Schools received written approval of plans and, when
necessary, individual schools were advised and supported
on aspects of the plan that required improvement.
Quality assurance officers visited schools twice a year to
monitor progress in implementing the plan and assist staff
in auditing to identify future priorities. More should be
done to collate information from school development
plans across the authority and use that information in
management decision making.
The authority was at an early stage in the introduction of
Standards and Quality reporting. A working group had
drawn up draft guidelines on the preparation of such
reports and had distributed exemplar reports. There was
an expectation that all schools would produce a Standards
and Quality Report by October 2001. The authority
intended to produce a Standards and Quality Report in
August 2001 and produce an aggregated report, based on
the school reports, in the longer term.
Knowledge about schools performance was gained
through a programme of school reviews. A team, headed
by a lead officer from Quality Assurance, visited each
school once every three years. The focus for the review
was agreed between the head teacher and the lead Quality
Assurance Officer, and related mainly to priorities set in
the school development plan. The visit was followed by
a report, agreed with the school which was shared with
school staff and the School Board. A comprehensive
school review manual and staff development helped to
promote consistency of evidence gathering across
reviews. A general summary of review visits, across all
schools, was presented annually to the Education and
Community Services Committee.
31
This cycle of school reviews reflected the intention of the
authority to obtain a comprehensive knowledge of the
performance in all its schools and partner nursery
schools. Headteachers generally welcomed the review
process and saw it as supportive. Some staff were not
fully confident that the authority had an accurate
knowledge of the performance of their schools. They
were unsure as to how influential such information was in
the Department’s decision making or targeting of support
to ensure improvements. The review visits were helping
to establish supported self-evaluation in schools. Some
individual primary schools were very effective in
self-evaluation leading to improvement. A more targeted
approach, based on need and greater challenge would
assist the authority to address under-achievement. The
intention to carry out a programme of school visits on
particular themes and to collate and analyse performance
data gathered would enable trends to be identified and
followed up.
Good progress had been made in promoting the use of
national performance indicators in How good is our
school?1 and The Child at the Centre2 in self-evaluation
and planning for improvement. All heads of pre-school
establishments and most primary and secondary
headteachers indicated that the authority encouraged
them to develop a systematic approach to monitoring and
evaluating their work. The authority required to continue
to promote more rigorous approaches to self-evaluation
to develop more consistent practice across schools.
A voluntary staff development and review scheme had
been introduced across the Department in 1999. Progress
with implementation had been slow. In the current year a
majority of the departmental management team, none of
the headteachers and around 65% of teaching staff had
been involved in the process of review. The review
1
How good is our school? - Self-evaluation using performance indicators (Audit Unit
- HM Inspectors of Schools, SOEID, 1996)
2
The Child at the Centre - Self-evaluation in the Early Years (SEED, 2000)
32
process should be extended as quickly as possible to all
staff. Systems should be established to ensure that the
results of such reviews are used to promote improvement.
The authority was at an early stage in its approach to
systematically collecting and analysing statistical data on
pupil attainment. There was no baseline assessment
programme in P1 to assist schools in measuring pupils’
subsequent progress. An initial pilot project had been
undertaken on a programme of standardised assessment
in English language in primary and secondary schools,
and a cognitive abilities test in a secondary school. It had
been decided to continue with the pilot schemes before
decisions on the introduction of a standardised testing
approach were made. In the Early Intervention initiative
pupil attainment data relating to 5-14 levels in P3 had
been monitored, but no monitoring had taken place to
establish the extent to which pupils achieved national
standards earlier in P2 or P1. There had been no
examination of data on Early Intervention to identify
trends where further support may be required.
Data on the progress made towards achieving 5-14
attainment targets for June 2002 in reading, writing and
mathematics had been collated and issued to schools.
Quality Assurance Officers followed up any concerns
about the rate of progress towards achieving targets with
individual schools. There had been little analysis of the
information and limited advice had been given on how
data could be used to improve pupils’ performance. No
systematic monitoring or evaluation had been done of the
initiative to raise attainment in English language and
mathematics through the appointment of additional
English and mathematics teachers to each cluster of
schools. Monitoring and evaluation of the impact of this
initiative had not been built in at a sufficiently early
stage.
Individual secondary schools used information from the
National Standards Tables to analyse their Standard
Grade and Higher Grade examination results. They were
33
also provided with an analysis done by East Renfrewshire
Council’s ‘EMIS’ unit. Senior staff had taken part in
collective discussions with headteachers on results of
SQA examinations and had meetings with individual
headteachers over particular issues. The delay in the
publication of examination results for 2000/01 by the
SQA had meant that this year discussion had been
limited. More detailed and rigorous discussion required
to take place between senior staff in the authority and
individual schools.
The authority had commissioned external evaluations of
some initiatives, including the Inclusion Policy, the Early
Intervention programme in Prestonpans and the New
Community Schools. When such external evaluations
take place the authority should ensure that they are tightly
specified and that outcomes are clear and quantified.
The authority should consider how best to draw together
mechanisms for measuring, monitoring and evaluating
performance within a consistent and coherent framework.
Too often monitoring and evaluation focused on
processes and procedures, rather than on intended
outcomes. The authority needed to complete the process
of staff development and review for senior staff,
implement a process for headteachers and consider how
these reviews would contribute to the system for quality
assurance. Procedures for more rigorous analysis and
reporting on performance data, at school and service
levels, required to be introduced and the information used
to enhance decision making.
34
Continuous improvement in performance
There was a strong commitment to the development of an
ethos of improvement within the authority. A range of
approaches, including initiatives supported by the
Excellence Fund, had been introduced to improve school
performance and raise standards. These approaches had
resulted in improvement in performance in a number of
areas. Overall, continuous improvement was good.
Support for pre-school education
From a low base, there had been a rapid expansion in the
provision of pre-school education. This was achieved
mainly through the authority’s own nursery provision, but
also through effective partnership arrangements. This
placed the authority in a strong position to meet the
Government’s target of a place for all three-year-olds by
August 2001. A new policy framework and guidelines on
quality assurance had recently been issued to staff. A
range of staff development opportunities based on the
perceived needs of staff, had been provided. Pre-school
establishments were involved in the cycle of school
reviews. Support and challenge for pre-school provision
was good.
Support for primary schools and 5-14
Recent HMI inspections had shown that East Lothian has
some very good primary schools, where pupils are
experiencing a high quality of education and
headteachers’ leadership is very effective. These
individual examples represented an important source of
best practice which should inform the process of
continuous improvement in the authority.
The funds for Early Intervention were initially targeted at
the schools in the Prestonpans cluster. The approach was
extended throughout the authority to provide classroom
assistants in P1 and P2 in almost all primary schools,
35
nursery nurses working in P1 and P2 classes, additional
nursery nurses in nursery schools and additional
home-school links through community education
outreach staff. Teachers involved benefited from this
additional support and have been able to devote more
time to direct teaching. Resources had been provided to
support improvement in literacy. Between 1998 and
2000 there had been improvement in some aspects of
attainment at P3.
Two teachers had been allocated to each cluster of
schools to work with staff to raise the attainment of
pupils in English language and mathematics. The focus
of this development was on the upper stages of primary
schools and the early stages of secondary schools.
Deployment of the additional staff was decided by
individual clusters. Staff reported an improvement in
primary/secondary liaison and eased transition for pupils
from primary to secondary school.
The authority’s approach to the development and
implementation of the 5-14 curriculum in primary schools
was based on devolving resources and management
decisions to individual school clusters. Curriculum
materials had been provided for teaching in a range of
curricular areas, including mathematics, English
language, music and physical education. Staff
development opportunities had been provided to assist
staff in implementing national 5-14 guidelines. Staff in
schools, however, felt that there had been insufficient
direction and support from the authority to assist them in
implementing the 5-14 curriculum. Between 1998 and
2000 performance in reading, writing and mathematics in
primary schools had improved in line with the national
rate of improvement. At S1/S2, improvements in
attainment in reading had been greater than the national
trend. In writing it had been lower. In mathematics the
rate of improvement had been twice the national figure,
but performance was still below national average.
If targets set at the 5-14 stages were met, performance in
reading and writing would be above the national average
36
and performance in mathematics would be at the national
average. The authority should give more practical
guidance on aspects identified as requiring improvement.
Support for secondary schools
A system of subject support groups had been set up to
develop the curriculum and support improvements in
learning and teaching in secondary schools. A principal
teacher acted as a lead teacher for each group and had
responsibility organising appropriate support for their
curricular area. Each lead teacher controlled a small
budget and groups could bid for funds to progress
particular curriculum projects. The impact of this
structure on support and development for individual
subjects varied. A number of lead teachers devoted
considerable time and energy to their tasks. Some groups
had been successful in developing curriculum materials
and organising staff development activities. However, a
few subjects had no lead teacher. There was a need for a
stronger lead in co-ordinating the work of lead officers
and providing feedback on their work. Annual reports
evaluated the impact of subject support groups. More
rigorous evaluation is planned and will be reported to the
Education Standards and Quality Panel.
Secondary schools had made good progress in
introducing new courses to provide pupils with
opportunities to gain National Qualifications. A member
of staff had been seconded to the post of Higher Still coordinator. Staff had been given time to attend national
training and staff development related to individual
subjects. Resources had been provided through a
partnership arrangement with other local authorities.
Between 1997 and 1999 there had been an improvement
in attainment at Standard Grade. The number of pupils
achieving five or more awards at Credit Level had
improved slightly more than nationally. Between 1997
and 1999, in two out of the three years, pupils’ attainment
at Higher Grade was lower than that which would have
37
been expected from their Standard Grade results. The
authority needed to work with secondary schools to
improve attainment at S1/S2, increase the percentage of
pupils staying on to S5, improve the number attaining
three or more Higher Grade awards and increase the
number progressing to Further and Higher Education.
Support for pupils
The authority had made very good progress in using the
Excellence Fund to develop supported study initiatives.
All secondary schools and an increasing number of
primary schools operated a wide range of activities based
on the authority’s ‘Enabling Strategy for Study Support’.
A distinctive feature of provision was the development of
a multi-agency approach. There was evidence of
innovative work, including study support being delivered
outwith schools in community centres, libraries and youth
centres. A successful Easter school provided classes in
revision and exam preparation for secondary pupils.
Good practice was shared at study support conferences.
Regular evaluations indicated that those pupils involved
had developed more positive attitudes to study and had
enhanced their self-esteem. More evidence was required
to evaluate the impact of study support on improving
pupils’ performance.
The East Lothian Inclusion Service (ELIS) had been set
up as a partner initiative between Barnardo’s and East
Lothian Council. Its key aim was to ensure that as many
young people as possible maintained their placements in
schools and avoided exclusion. ELIS comprised a team
of multi-disciplinary professionals who worked with
young people at risk of losing their mainstream
placement because of severe social and emotional
difficulties. Most of the pupils referred to ELIS had
maintained their mainstream school placement. Pupils
aged between eight and 14 years of age were referred to
this service. Some primary school pupils with particular
behavioural difficulties also attended specialist provision
at a base in Pencaitland Primary School. Pupils aged
38
over 15 and a half were referred to the East Lothian
Support Unit. Further development of the Unit was
required to provide an appropriate experience for pupils.
The authority recognised the need to provide enhanced
training for staff on how to cope with pupils with
challenging behaviour. It also recognised the need to
extend provision to meet the needs of pupils with
particular behavioural difficulties.
The Council was strongly committed to an Inclusion
Strategy for pupils with special educational needs, which
emphasised the goal of maintaining almost all pupils
within their local schools. In addition, a range of
specialist support bases were provided throughout the
authority.
Excellence Fund monies had been used successfully to
support parents through work in the New Community
Schools, the appointment of a home/school co-ordinator
in one of the school clusters and work on strategies to
combat bullying. Guidelines on anti-bullying had been
introduced in 1999 and an anti-bullying strategy
co-ordinator had been appointed to provide an advocacy
and support service to families. To support the effective
implementation of the strategy a comprehensive
programme of training had been provided, not only for
Education and Community Services staff, but, also for
voluntary groups working with young people.
The authority had good procedures in place to provide
reports to HMI prior to school inspections. Overall, good
support had been given to schools to produce action plans
in response to points for action in inspection reports. In
follow-up inspections, most schools satisfactorily met all
the recommendations by the time of the return visit. In
some cases, follow-up inspections indicated very good
progress on the part of the authority and schools. In a
few cases, progress had been disappointing.
To achieve its aim of providing a range of services for all
users the authority had set up two New Community
39
School initiatives, based on two school clusters. Both
initiatives had developed inter-agency co-operation,
involving staff in education, social work, health and
police. Funding had been used to support a variety of
projects to enhance provision for young people and their
families. While both initiatives had had a positive
impact, the authority should develop a clear strategy for
future development and provide greater central direction
and support.
A significant amount of staff, resources training and
support had been allocated to promote the use of ICT in
schools. This had been well received by staff.
Innovative approaches such as the use of wireless
technology and portable workstations are in place. A
successful training programme had supported teachers.
Work was in hand to ensure the full and effective
introduction and promotion of ICT to enhance learning
and teaching. It was too early to assess the impact of ICT
on learning and teaching and pupils’ attainment. A
review was planned to commence in 2001.
The Council had a strong commitment to encouraging the
all-round achievements and talents of its young people.
This was particularly evident in its strategy to promote
pupils’ skills in sport. The Sports Development Strategy
had been highly successful. Positive partnerships
between sports development staff and schools allowed
knowledge and expertise to be shared. As well as
providing specialist staff and facilities, a main feature of
this strategy was the Centre of Excellence for sport,
where elite performers were given specialist coaching to
develop their skills to the full. The Council also ran a
number of successful arts and music initiatives to
promote the all-round achievement and skills of pupils.
Staff in Cultural Services, working in partnership with
Quality Assurance, had recently made a successful
application to the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) to
develop an Out of School Hours Learning Programme
focused on the arts and new technology. Various
40
modules will be offered initially to P6 to S2 pupils on, for
example, drama dance and electronic music.
The authority deployed a range of mechanisms to
disseminate good practice and celebrate success,
including:
•
education conferences and staff meetings;
•
Education Officers and seconded staff contact with
schools;
•
publication of a Catalogue of Excellence, Alphabet
Magic and the Prestonpans Early Intervention Pack;
•
noting of successes at the Council’s Education and
Community Services Committee; and
•
the Council newspaper and the local press.
There was a need to build further on these mechanisms to
develop more systematic and effective means of
disseminating best practice and acknowledging
achievement. In particular, the high quality of work in
some primary schools should be used more extensively to
provide practical examples of good practice.
8. How well does the authority perform overall?
Overview
The East Lothian Council was committed to delivering a
quality service through an integrated Education and
Community Services Department. The Department’s
strategic goals to raise attainment, achieve social
inclusion and promote life long learning clearly reflected
the Council’s Corporate Strategy and national priorities.
One of the strengths of the Department was the extent of
its joint working with other Departments and external
41
agencies, notably social services. More work required to
be done to extend this thinking and practice at the level of
delivery. Extensive effort had been made to integrate
pupils with special educational needs into mainstream
schools. Service Planning was good and provided a
coherent framework for performance management and
planning.
The Department was generally effective in maintaining
good communication with schools, elected members and
other stakeholders. Some important aspects of
consultation required to be improved to increase the
effectiveness of the processes.
A number of primary schools in the authority provided a
very high quality of education for their pupils. Although
there had been a general improvement in standards of
attainment in recent years, pupils’ attainment required to
be increased further, particularly in secondary schools.
Further work needed to be undertaken to support and
challenge schools in a coherent process of continuous
improvement. A management information system
required to be set up to inform decision making and the
targeting of resources.
The commendable desire of the Council to undertake
initiatives across a broad front was in danger of
overstretching its capacity to deliver effectively. More
systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of initiatives
and their impact on pupils’ achievement was required.
Clearer leadership was needed to focus attention on key
priorities and to engage all staff in their implementation
and achievement.
Key strengths
•
•
42
The commitment of the Council and the Education
and Community Services Department to promoting
social inclusion and raising pupils’ attainment.
The contribution of the Education and Community
Services Department to corporate Council working.
•
The range of mechanisms for communication with
staff, elected members and the wider community.
•
Good planning structures which linked Corporate
Council policy and departmental planning. The
structure and content of performance plans.
•
The supportive teamwork of central staff.
•
Effective partnerships with other agencies in
supporting pupils and their families. The inclusion of
pupils with special educational needs in mainstream
schools.
•
The high quality of education provided to pupils in
some primary schools and the successful Sports
Development Strategy.
9. Main points for action
•
Schools should be provided with a more focused set
of policy priorities and be fully supported in working
towards their successful implementation.
•
Building on recent improvements, the authority
should engage staff and other stakeholders more
productively in decision making. Steps should be
taken to provide full information on the results of
consultation and the reasons for decisions taken.
•
The authority should ensure that all teaching and
centrally deployed staff can benefit from the
programme of staff development and review.
•
The authority should improve the rigour of
approaches to measuring, monitoring and evaluating
43
performance and focus more on the intended
outcomes for pupils.
•
The authority should systematically evaluate the
impact of initiatives on improving pupils’ educational
experience and achievement.
•
A management information system should be
established for the collection, analysis and reporting
of performance data to inform decision making and
help target resources where needs are greatest.
•
The authority should continue to work with schools to
identify and disseminate good practice with a view to
raising pupils’ attainment and the quality of learning
and teaching.
Around two years after the publication of this report
HM Inspectors will re-visit the authority to assess
progress in meeting these recommendations. The local
authority has been asked to prepare and make public an
action plan, within eight weeks of the publication of this
report, indicating how it will address the following main
points for action in the report.
Bill Clark
HM Chief Inspector
Quality, Standards and Audit Division
September 2001
44
Appendix 1
Performance information
Statistical indicators
•
% of school pupils staying on to S5 (post-Christmas)
1997
61
64
63
East Lothian
National
Av. Similar councils 1
•
1998
60
64
64
1999
61
65
66
Pupil destinations
% Entering Full-Time
Higher Education
East Lothian
National
Av. similar councils
1997/98
26
30
32
1998/99
28
31
35
1999/00
28
31
35
% Entering Full-Time
Further Education
East Lothian
National
Av. similar councils
12
19
21
14
18
21
13
19
20
% Entering
Employment
East Lothian
National
Av. similar councils
37
26
31
36
26
29
36
26
28
•
Absence
In relation to the Raising Standards – Setting Targets
initiative, East Lothian Council set itself the following
target to minimise the average number of half-days
absence per pupil in primary and secondary schools by
2000/01.
Primary
Secondary
1
East Lothian
National
East Lothian
National
Starting Level
(1997/1998)
Current Level
(1999/2000)
Target Level
(2000/2001)
22
21
40
43
17
19
33
41
16
18
28
36
Av. similar councils refers to the group of education authorities which are most
similar to each other in terms of various socio-economic and demographic factors.
45
•
Exclusion from schools in East Lothian
1998/1999
1999/2000
453
2
527
2
Total exclusions
Removal from roll
•
As part of the Raising Standards – Setting Targets
initiative, East Lothian Council set itself the
following targets in reading, writing and mathematics
in primary schools to be achieved by 2001, and has
made the following progress in achieving them. The
figures represent the percentage of pupils attaining
and expected to attain appropriate 5-14 levels by P71.
Target
Reading
Writing
Maths
•
East Lothian
National
East Lothian
National
East Lothian
National
Current Level
June 2000
Target Level
June 2001
71
69
60
56
74
73
77
76
70
66
77
77
79
77
72
67
81
81
As part of the Raising Standards – Setting Targets
initiative, East Lothian Council set itself the
following targets in reading, writing and mathematics
in secondary schools to be achieved by 2001, and has
made the following progress in achieving them. The
figures represent the percentage of pupils attaining
and expected to attain appropriate 5-14 levels by S22.
Target
Reading
Writing
Maths
1
Starting Level
June 1998
East Lothian
National
East Lothian
National
East Lothian
National
Starting Level
June 1998
Current Level
June 2000
Target Level
June 2001
40
41
37
36
31
41
55
53
42
43
44
47
57
54
53
48
55
55
Level A by end of P3. Level B by end of P4. Level C by end of P6.
Level D by end of P7.
2
Level E by end of S2.
46
•
Results in Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
National Qualifications.
% S4 Roll gaining:
5+ S Grades at 1-6
East Lothian
National
Av. similar councils
1997
89
90
92
1998
89
90
91
1999
92
91
93
5+ S Grades at 1-4
East Lothian
National
Av. similar councils
73
73
77
68
74
77
73
75
78
5+ S Grades at 1-2
East Lothian
National
Av. similar councils
27
29
32
27
31
34
31
31
33
3+ H Grades at A-C in S5
East Lothian
National
Av. similar councils
19
20
22
17
20
23
19
20
23
5+ H Grades at A-C in S5
East Lothian
National
Av. similar councils
5
6
6
7
6
7
6
7
7
% S4 roll gaining 1+ CSYS
at A-C in S6
East Lothian
National
Av. similar councils
10
10
12
10
9
11
11
10
11
% S5/S6 roll gaining 3+
NC modules
East Lothian
National
Av. similar councils
32
41
36
33
41
37
31
39
35
47
•
As part of the Raising Standards – Setting Targets
initiative, East Lothian Council set itself the
following SQA Standard Grade and Higher Grade
targets for session 2000-2001, and has made the
following progress in achieving them. The figures
represent the percentage of pupils achieving particular
targets.
SG English 1-6
SG Maths 1-6
5+SG 1-6
5+SG 1-4
5+SG 1-2
HG, 3+ (A-C)
HG, 5+ (A-C)
•
Current Level
(1997/1999)
Target Level
(1999/2001)
93
92
92
92
90
89
71
72
26
28
20
20
5
6
94
93
93
93
90
91
71
74
29
31
19
20
6
6
95
94
95
94
95
93
79
77
34
34
23
23
7
8
Value Added from S Grade to H Grade
(- represents a performance lower than would be
expected, + represents a performance higher than
would be expected and * indicates a performance
significantly below or above expectations)
East Lothian
48
East Lothian
National
East Lothian
National
East Lothian
National
East Lothian
National
East Lothian
National
East Lothian
National
East Lothian
National
Starting Level
(1995/97)
1997
-3.30
1998
-5.27*
1999
+0.77
Appendix 2
Inspection coverage
Establishments visited:
Butterflies Nursery, Musselburgh
Jaydees Pear Tree Nursery, Haddington
Levenhall Nursery School
Prestonpans Nursery School
Dunbar Primary School
East Linton Primary School
Gullane Primary School
Law Primary School
Longniddry Primary School
Pencaitland Primary School
St Gabriel’s RC Primary School
Saltoun Primary School
Dunbar Grammar School
North Berwick High School
Ross High School
Meetings attended:
Headteacher Focus Group
School Board Chair Focus Group
Headteachers’ Meetings – Primary and Secondary
Departmental Budget Planning Group
Education and Community Services Department
Management Team Meeting
Learning and Teaching Group
School Liaison Group Meeting
SEN Parents’ representatives
Youth Parliament representatives
Joint Consultative Group (Teachers)
representatives
49
Interviews or meetings with Council Members and
Officers:
Chief Executive
Director of Education and Community Services
Head of Education
Head of Community Services
Managers, Officers and Secondees working in
Education and Community Services
Director of Finance and IT
Head of Finance
Corporate Finance Manager
Finance Manager
IT Manager
Director of Environment and Technical Services
Director of Social Work and Housing
Head of Property
PPP Project Manager
Head of Transportation
Transport Manager
Interviews with a range of Education Service Staff
Interviews or meeting with elected members:
Provost of East Lothian
Leader of the Council
Convenor and Vice Convenor of the Education
and Community Services Committee
Official Conservative Spokesperson on the
Education and Community Services Committee
Education and Community Services Committee
Education Standards and Quality Panel Meeting
50
Appendix 3
Quality indicators
We judged the following to be very good
•
no aspects were found to be in this category
We judged the following to be good
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Vision, values and aims
Mechanisms for communication
Service Planning
Deployment and effectiveness of centrally-employed
staff
Resource management
Financial management
Continuous improvement in performance
We judged the following to be fair
•
•
•
•
Effectiveness of leadership and management
Policy development
Mechanisms for consultation
Measuring, monitoring and evaluating performance
We judged the following to be unsatisfactory
•
no aspects were found to be in this category
51
How can you contact us?
Copies of this report have been sent to the Chief
Executive of the local authority, 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 office at
the address below or by telephoning 0131 244 0746.
Copies are also available on our web site:
www.scotland.gov.uk/hmie
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 Bill Clark, HMCI
whose address is given below. If you are unhappy with
the response, you will be told in writing what further
steps you may take.
HM Inspectorate of Education
Quality, Standards and Audit Division
1-B01
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
Crown Copyright 2001
Scottish Executive
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.
52