I n v e r c l y d e C o u n c i l
F o l l o w - u p I n s p e c t i o n R e p o r t

Contents
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Page
Introduction i
1.
The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
2.
Changes in the operational context of the
Education Service
3.
4.
Continuous improvement
Progress towards the main points for action
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5.
Conclusion 14

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 and establishments 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.
All inspections of the education functions of educational authorities are followed up by inspection teams, normally around two years from the date of the original published inspection report.
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Inverclyde Council
Follow-up Inspection Report
The education functions of Inverclyde Council were inspected during the period April to June 2001 as part of a national inspection programme of all education authorities in Scotland over a five-year period.
The local authority prepared and made public an Action
Plan in September 2001, indicating how it would address the main points for action identified in the original HMIE inspection report published in September 2001.
An inspection team revisited the authority in
September 2003 to assess progress made in meeting the recommendations in the initial report.
Since the initial inspection of the education functions of
Inverclyde Council in the period April to June 2001, there had been a number of significant changes within the
Council.
At the time of the initial inspection, the Council administration was led by the Labour Party. Following the local government election in May 2003, and at the time of the follow-up inspection, the balance in power had changed and the administration was led by the
Liberal Democratic Party. The change in political leadership brought with it significant changes in policy
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2 and approaches to the rationalisation of schools within the Inverclyde area.
The officer structure of the Council remained largely unchanged and consisted of a Chief Executive and seven departments each led by a Director, including the
Director of Education Services, who together form the
Corporate Management Team. However, since the initial inspection, a new director had been appointed for the
Finance Service. The post of Director of Information
Technology (IT) Services had become vacant and the
Director of Finance Services held interim responsibility for that department.
The senior officer structure in Education Services had benefited from stability, though some remits had been re-organised and a seconded post established to provide the capacity to take forward the work needed on rationalisation of schools.
The Council continued to face challenges in tackling social and economic deprivation. Inverclyde ranked fourth on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
(SIMD) average score. The unemployment rate remained higher than the Scottish average at 5.5% and, since 1997, had declined more slowly overall than the national average. The total population had decreased by 9% since
1991 presenting significant challenges for the Council in rationalising school buildings and tackling over-provision of school places. Drug misuse remained a major problem, particularly affecting the poorest wards such as
Port Glasgow, Larkfield, Clune Brae and Broomhill. In contrast, the areas of Kilmacolm, the West End of
Greenock and the growing area around Wemyss Bay and
Inverkip continued to thrive.

Since the inspection report was published in
September 2001, the education authority continued to improve its overall effectiveness. Initiatives begun at or before the time of the inspection were being sustained and showed improvements in pupils’ achievements.
The Director of Education and the Heads of Service continued to provide clear strategic direction in both policy development and service delivery. They also provided clear leadership to education officers and headteachers in school improvement. They ensured that schools had important statistical information to assist them in improving standards of pupils’ attainment.
Statistical information was widely available on matters such as attendance and absence, exclusion of pupils, and destinations of school leavers. Attainment information was available on 5-14 levels and the national qualifications. Authority-wide data was benchmarked to national information and to other councils comparable to
Inverclyde. Trends over time were also analysed. The work being done to provide insights into attainment differences between boys and girls and in terms of social background was detailed and helpful, as was the individual subject performance in secondary schools.
Pupils’ attainment and achievement had been sustained overall and improvements had been made. Improvements in attainment at 5-14 levels and in National Qualifications are detailed in the following section. The authority monitored systematically the attainment of looked after and accommodated children, which was significantly higher in Inverclyde than the national average.
The centrally-employed team of educational advisers had been re-formed as a team of quality development officers
(QDOs). This had led to a new focus and emphasis on supporting and challenging schools on matters directly related to pupils’ attainment. The QDOs also retained the educational development role that was highly valued by
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4 headteachers as supporting school improvement. A research officer provided the Heads of Service and QDOs with high quality data which the QDOs used effectively to challenge and support each school on their calendar of visits throughout the year. Heads of Service now focused their visits to schools in most need, either to address issues of under-performance or other areas where additional support or challenge would have the greatest impact.
The education authority’s performance in following up recommendations from HMIE school inspections was very good. HM Inspectors had completed a total of eight follow-up inspections to date since the initial inspection of the Council. HM Inspectors had evaluated overall progress as very good in 75% of these and good in the remaining 25%.
Officers had put in place very good programmes to support probationer teachers and a wide range of professional development opportunities were on offer to all staff.
The Council had made very significant progress towards meeting objectives related to the National Priorities in
Education. New guidelines for working with young children under the age of three, Bright Beginnings, had been launched at a seminar in June 2003. An early education initiative, developed in partnership with a commercial technology provider, was demonstrating an improvement in information and communications technology (ICT) skills for children and their parents.
The authority had expanded nursery provision and further developed the curriculum, in particular to meet additional support or special educational needs (SEN).
The authority had improved and further promoted enterprise and citizenship. A peace initiative, developed in partnership with local churches, was both imaginative and valued. This initiative enabled older students in

secondary schools to support younger pupils in managing their behaviour and adopting responsible attitudes.
The Council was further developing approaches to promoting pupils’ wider achievements. It supported bands, orchestras, choirs and drama. It was using resources available through the New Opportunities Fund
(NOF) to encourage achievements in sports. Health improvement was being promoted through healthy eating and lifestyle initiatives. The authority’s active support of the Eco School awards was particularly notable.
The Council had made very good progress in introducing a Human Rights policy and strategy which included well-targeted staff development. In response to the Race
Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, a Race Relations policy had been developed and implemented. An Action Plan supported schools and establishments in implementing this policy.
Links with local industries had been further strengthened and were making an impact on the learning and choices of pupils in secondary schools. The projects with IBM and National Semiconductor in promoting science and technology, and in particular the Girls into Science work, had been extended.
In contrast to the positive and successful initiatives above, and despite the best endeavours of the Director of
Education Services and his staff, there had been major weaknesses in the Council’s attempts to improve the school buildings infrastructure for pupils’ learning. At the time of the inspection the Council was taking further steps to address these problems. However, the lack of progress continued to impact on pupils’ experiences and prevented effective use of the resources available to improve them.
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The initial inspection report published in September 2001 identified four main points for action. This section evaluates the progress the authority has made with each of the main action points and the resulting improvements for pupils and other stakeholders.
4.1 The Council should take action to build on existing successes to further improve educational attainment and achievement, particularly for senior pupils.
The Council had made very good progress on this point for action.
Attainment of pupils in the Council had continued to improve. National Test results since 2001 showed that the percentage of primary school pupils who had attained appropriate 5-14 levels for their stage had increased in reading, writing and mathematics. In all three areas performance was similar to that achieved by comparator authorities and to the national average. Improvement had been particularly significant in writing. In secondary schools, attainment at 5-14 had risen in mathematics and reading but had fallen back slightly in writing in comparison to 2001. Performance in all three areas of
5-14 in secondary schools continued to be significantly above that of comparator authorities and the national average.
Overall, there had been improvement in attainment in
National Qualifications. Since 2001, from a good position, the percentage of the S4 roll who had gained five or more awards at Level 3 or better had improved slightly whilst those who had attained levels 4 had improved significantly. At almost all levels performance continued to be well above the average for comparator authorities and the national average. This was most
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marked at Level 4. In S5 and S6 levels of attainment were uniformly above the averages for comparator authorities and in some cases above the national average.
The department had developed new methods of presenting information to support school improvement.
These included a clear approach to tracking the value-added at each year stage of education. This information was presented on a database accessible to all schools through the Council IT network. The level of information and its clarity had developed substantially since the time of the initial inspection. Headteachers fully recognised the value of this information in supporting improvements in attainment.
Improvements in attainment and achievement were being supported by a wide range of initiatives. In early years education, new authority guidance had been issued on the planning of the 3 to 5 curriculum, while in the primary schools the early intervention programme was continuing to have an impact. Where appropriate, materials had been introduced from other authorities, or partnerships had been formed with commercial organisations to provide support for the curriculum. There were good examples of this in the development of modern languages, enterprising approaches to mathematics and in
ICT. Use of the Scholar forum supported S5 and S6 studies. Innovative ideas supporting learning through programmes related to thinking skills were being introduced. Breakfast clubs and multi-disciplinary initiatives linked to raising attainment through new community school approaches provided good support to pupils.
Inverclyde Council had established and sustained a focus on improving learning and teaching with a view to raising the attainment and achievements of its young people.
The continued emphasis on standards should ensure that the pace of improvement is maintained.
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4.2 A strategy and policy for the continuum of special educational needs should be developed.
The Council had made very good progress in this point for action. A very good inclusion policy set out clearly how pupils with additional support needs would have their needs met in Inverclyde. A helpful strategy described the range of resources and approaches to be used by schools, establishments and by specialist services. The necessary framework and direction for the education of all pupils with SEN in Inverclyde was established.
The Council had made very good use of consultation carried out with parents and education staff to shape the policy and strategy. Education staff from all establishments, Social Work Services and Children’s
Panel Members had attended well-focused seminars to launch the policy. Arrangements were in place for monitoring the implementation of the policy which would be the focus of a visit to all establishments this year.
Very helpful information had been produced for parents and for pupils explaining the policy and strategy. A summary booklet had been produced to raise staff awareness of the major themes contained in the policy.
The very good training programme for SEN auxiliaries reinforced the principles and practices of inclusion.
The Education and Lifelong Learning Committee had approved the extension of the length of school day in schools catering solely for pupils with SEN. The length of the pupil day in these schools was now in line with that of mainstream primary and secondary pupils and as a result pupils with SEN now had their full entitlement to education.
The Council had also carried out Best Value reviews of provision for meeting the needs of pupils who are deaf and hearing impaired, of Network Support and of Special
Educational Needs Auxiliaries Support. The Council had

identified action needed in each of these areas and incorporated these actions into the proposals for the future provision of education in Inverclyde. The Council had plans to further review provision in special schools and units within the current year.
As part of the consultation with schools and establishments on the development of the Additional
Support Needs policy, an Individual Education Planning
(IEP) system had been further developed to include strategies to assist pupils with learning. The education service monitored the impact of IEPs on pupils learning and achievement of targets.
The authority had developed further its inclusive approach for pre-school children with additional support needs. The Pre-School Assessment and Development
Unit had been relocated in Blairmore Nursery School to facilitate inclusion. Training offered to staff and parents helped them support children’s language and speech development.
The Council had allocated extra funding to improve resources in the area of SEN. Among the benefits of this funding was increased curriculum support, improved facilities for pupils with autism and the extension of support for pupils with speech and language difficulties.
4.3 The Council should ensure that targets and timescales are met for implementation of the
National Grid for Learning and other ICT improvements.
Progress had been made in some elements of the provision of ICT in schools and establishments and some innovative work had begun to impact on learning and teaching in schools and establishments. However, progress in meeting targets and timescales for the implementation of the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) was fair overall.
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The authority had embarked on a programme of standardisation of hardware and software throughout the
Council. This was now largely complete. The communication difficulties amongst the Education
Services, central IT Services and establishments identified in the initial inspection had been largely resolved. The departments were communicating effectively to support schools and establishments.
While the Council had allocated £1.4 million to the
Education Department in 2002/2003 to assist in the fulfilment of NGfL targets, these targets had not been fully achieved by the deadline of December 2002. At the time of the inspection, the Education Service had been advised that some £1.13 million would now be released following on from the review of the capital programme.
The Council had now achieved the NGfL primary school target of one computer to every 7.5 pupils. The secondary school target of one computer to every five pupils had not been met. The imminent installation of over 450 computers across all secondary schools would address the shortfall in the achievement of the target by the end of March 2004. To facilitate effective support to schools and establishments the department had completed a Best Value Service review of the school technician service and an Action Plan had been established. The target of having a fully integrated network, including
Internet and e-mail access for all schools and establishments, had not been achieved. The Department had no plans in place for the upgrade or replacement of computers, identified as being 500 each year.
Good progress had been made in the areas of staff training in ICT skills. The use of ICT in schools and establishments had been supported by a thorough programme of continuing professional development.
Ninety-five percent of teachers and librarians had taken up ICT training under the NOF scheme. However, in establishments where the ICT hardware installation programme was incomplete staff had been unable to

apply and practice their new skills and this had limited the impact on learning and teaching. Where staff had been trained, progression to the Masterclass programme was possible and this opportunity was contributing to enhancing the IT skills of those teachers involved. The adoption of Smartboard and digital camera technologies was also being taken forward in a number of schools and establishments.
The range of approaches introduced to support the use of
ICT in classwork were having an impact on schools. The advice provided by a new ICT support team was widely appreciated by headteachers. Their demonstration lessons within schools were particularly effective. An
ICT programme of study within 5-14 had been issued to schools. Electronic management information systems, including a web-based library of key documents, were valued by schools. The Council’s IT Services were working in partnership with a commercial organisation to develop safe and effective use of e-mail and the Internet in early years. Other packages had been developed to promote ICT in primary schools, including one that would enable young people to gain experience, at an appropriate level, of the range of computer applications found in commercial offices.
The slow progress made in the introduction of the necessary hardware had not substantially hindered wider developments in ICT. The range of professional development opportunities that had been provided, together with the professional advice that was available, meant that the authority was well placed to take full advantage of the next phase of development. The
Council should, however, take steps to ensure that its technical infrastructure is sufficiently robust to provide support to schools and establishments with hardware, software and networking issues.
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4.4 As a high priority the Council should address value for money issues concerning school rationalisation.
At the time of the follow-up inspection there were no significant improvements in the Council’s school estate since the inspection in 2001. While buildings had been maintained, the major problems of over-capacity and overall poor quality remained. No schools had been closed and no refurbishment or new building had been undertaken. There was no agreed plan for the rationalisation and redevelopment of the school estate.
This situation was unsatisfactory.
In the period following the publication of the inspection report in September 2001, officers had shown high quality professional expertise and leadership in preparing ambitious, but well-founded, plans for the school infrastructure. These plans addressed value for money issues. They sought to place education at the heart of the
Council’s objective for social and economic regeneration while meeting the needs of the different areas within
Inverclyde and providing children and pupils in
Inverclyde with high quality buildings in which to learn.
The plans took account of changes in the curriculum and staffing implications. Notably, these plans would have resulted, over time, in every pupil being educated in either a new or a refurbished school building.
The Council agreed these plans and subsequently gained the approval of the Scottish Executive to proceed. After an extensive consultation exercise which made great demands on the Director, his staff and other council officers, the Council obtained approval to proceed with the plans, accepting £5.7 million of revenue support for an £80 million capital project through a Public Private
Partnership (PPP) initiative to fund most of its implementation. Agreement to the school closure programme was secured in April 2003 at the Policy and
Strategy Committee and full Council.

The new administration, elected in May 2003, reversed the decision to proceed with the plan, but did not offer an alternative. The new Convenor of the committee indicated that he was minded to retain one secondary school previously earmarked for closure and close five primary schools. Following decisions not to proceed, a significant number of individuals and representatives of key stakeholder groups expressed concerns over the abandonment of the previous proposals, the lack of a clearly articulated alternative plan, and the proposed closures. Concerns were expressed by other key groups of stakeholders including headteachers’ associations, teachers’ unions and the chairs of School Boards. Many of those interviewed by the inspection team reported that one of the adverse effects of the decision not to proceed was to lower morale among school staff and to create uncertainty for parents. While officers were working hard to try to raise morale among school staff, they had not been entirely successful.
In May, the new Education and Lifelong Learning
Committee asked the Director of Education Services to provide a revised set of proposals relating to the future provision of education in Inverclyde for consideration by the Council.
The position at the time of the follow-up inspection was that the new Council had no clear view of how it would address timeously the major needs of the school estate in
Inverclyde. The Council had requested and received new proposals from officers, and had considered them at two further committee meetings in the period immediately after the inspection visit. As a result, school rationalisation proposals had once again been accepted in principle. Further full, legal, consultation on new proposals was underway and would be completed by the end of December 2003. There remained some uncertainty over the feasibility of the Council’s preferred funding options for any large-scale improvement plan.
The Director of Finance Services was reviewing funding
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options using traditional funding methods through the
Prudential framework
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and PPP options.
The Council now needed to act quickly to reconsider the options open to them. Drawing on the high quality work already undertaken by the Director of Education Services and his team, it should produce a clear, comprehensive plan which addresses the future development of
Inverclyde’s school buildings. Such a plan should take account of Best Value, the need to achieve solutions quickly, the requirements of education in the 21 st
Century and the needs of all the communities within the Council area. The plan should also indicate how the Council will address the requirements of the Disability Discrimination
Act (1995) with respect to the accessibility of school buildings. Having produced such a plan, the Council should ensure that it is subject to a full and meaningful consultation process before proceeding to implementation.
Since the inspection report was published in
September 2001 the Director and his staff had sustained a good level of improvement in attainment and achievement and had made very good progress in supporting improvement in learning and teaching in its schools. They had put in place some very effective systems to support schools and establishments in becoming more effective. The authority had been successful in developing and implementing a policy to improve educational provision for pupils with special educational needs within an inclusive setting. The
Education Service had given a clear lead on Human
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The Prudential framework has been developed in response to the requirements of
the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003. Its aim is to underpin and flesh out
the system of capital financing and its application should ensure that capital
investment plans of local authorities are affordable, prudent and sustainable.
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Rights and Race Equality and had made significant investment in these areas.
The Council had put in place a number of innovative approaches to the use of ICT in educational establishments. It had made good progress in providing effective staff development that enhanced teaching approaches. However, there remained more to be done to meet the targets agreed for the installation of computers and a computer network in all schools and establishments. The lack of funding and the resultant slow progress in meeting these targets had limited the impact of ICT on pupils’ learning.
Education Service Officers had demonstrated professional expertise and leadership in preparing plans for the improvement of the school estate which had the support of many key stakeholders. However, the new administration’s decision to revoke the plans and the inevitable delays had resulted in an unsatisfactory situation. There remained significant weakness in the management of the school estate, in particular the need to address the issue of school rationalisation to ensure Best
Value in the use of scarce resources.
Alternative plans, and the funding to support them, now needed to be drawn up as a matter of urgency to ensure that all pupils in
Inverclyde are able to learn in a suitable school environment.
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As a result of the overall fair progress in connection with the rationalisation and improvement of school buildings
HMIE will make a further visit to the Council in about a year of the publication of this report. In addition, the
Council should produce a report in April 2004 showing progress in implementing the National Grid for Learning targets. HMIE will follow-through with the Council on the areas for further development outlined in this report.
Ian Gamble
HM Chief Inspector
Directorate 5
January 2004

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 website: 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
Directorate 5
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.scottishombudsman.org.uk
Crown Copyright 2004
HM Inspectorate of Education
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