In s p e c t io n o f th e E d u c a t io n
F u n c tio n s of Lo c a l Au th o ritie s
P e rth & Kin ro s s Co u n c il
M a y 20 0 3
Definition of terms used in this report
HM Inspectors use published criteria when making judgements about the work of a
school. These performance indicators relate judgements to four levels of performance.
This report uses the following word scale to make clear the judgements made by
Inspectors:
very good
good
fair
unsatisfactory
major strengths
more strengths than weaknesses
some important weaknesses
major weaknesses
This report also uses the following words to describe numbers and proportions:
almost all
most
majority
less than half
few
over 90%
75-90%
50-74%
15-49%
up to 15%
Contents
________________________________________
Page
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
12
4.
Consultation and communication
20
5.
Operational management
23
6.
Resource and financial management
27
7.
Performance monitoring and continuous
improvement
33
8.
How well does the authority perform overall?
49
9.
Main points for action
51
Appendices
Performance information
Inspection coverage
Quality indicators
53
59
62
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. The inspection team for
Perth & Kinross Council included an inspector
from the Social Work Services Inspectorate.
i
_______________________________
Inspection of the education functions of
Perth & Kinross Council
1. The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
The education functions of Perth & Kinross Council were
inspected during the period November 2002 to
February 2003 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
Perth & Kinross Council covers an area of 2,200 square
miles. The total population has risen over the last
ten years to around 133,000. Over that period, the pupil
population has remained constant in comparison with a
nationally decreasing trend. While the number of
secondary pupils is expected to increase slightly until
1
2005, projections for the next 15 years indicate an overall
declining trend broadly in line with a predicted national
decline of 17%. On the other hand, the projected increase
of 23% in the population above working age is greater
than the predicted national trend.
Other features of the social and economic context include
the following.
2
•
The Council comprises a mixture of urban and rural
communities. While most of the Council area is
relatively advantaged in socio-economic terms, there
are some areas of significant deprivation.
•
Compared with Scotland as a whole, there is a higher
percentage of jobs in the service sector, notably in
retail, wholesale and hotels. There is a lower
percentage of jobs in manufacturing.
•
The unemployment rate of 2.5% compares favourably
with the national average of 4.1%.
•
Average gross earnings per week in the Council area
were 12% below the national average in 2001.
•
The free school meal entitlement (FME) rate of 8.4%
in primary schools is low in comparison to the
average rates of 15.9% for comparator authorities and
20.1% nationally. However, the rates in primary
schools range between 0% and 64%. The FME rate
of 5.9% in secondary schools is well below the
average figures of 11.3% for comparator authorities
and 16.0% nationally.
•
Numbers of Looked After Children are low, in
comparison with national average figures. Numbers
of Looked After and Accommodated Children are
also low. The rate for placement of children on the
child protection register has fallen, and is now low
relative to the national rate.
Education and Children’s Services (ECS) covers a large
range of communities which have widely differing
characteristics. It therefore has the task of providing
consistent levels of support and challenge for large,
small, urban and rural schools across the authority. It
also faces the task of substantially improving school
buildings, particularly secondary schools, to provide
environments for learning suitable for the 21 st century.
Political and organisational context
Perth & Kinross Council has 15 Scottish National Party
Councillors, 11 Conservatives, seven Liberal Democrats,
six Labour and two Independent Councillors. The
Partnership Group which forms the administration
comprises elected members from the Conservative,
Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, and one
Independent member.
On its formation in 1999, the two main priorities of the
Partnership Group were to improve service delivery and
develop a streamlined and effective organisation. These
priorities informed the introduction of a new management
structure in 2000 and the construction of the Council’s
Corporate Plan 2000-2003. Strategic priorities identified
in the Corporate Plan are to:
•
provide effective and efficient services which deliver
quality and value for money;
•
support and manage population growth whilst
enhancing the quality of life;
•
maximise opportunities for creating wealth and jobs;
•
protect and enhance the environment;
•
promote social inclusion; and
•
deliver lifelong learning for all.
3
Within the committee structure, the Strategic Policy and
Resources Committee has overall responsibility for
planning, developing and allocating resources to
implement service plans. The Education and Children’s
Services Committee is the main policy and
decision-making body covering a wide range of the
education, cultural and social work functions of the
Council. The Standards Sub-Committee, an important
group in terms of monitoring performance and promoting
improvement in education, was established in
December 2001. Its remit includes Best Value and other
self-evaluation reviews undertaken by ECS, public
performance reports by bodies such as Audit Scotland,
consideration of HMIE reports on individual schools and
on broader themes, and up-dates on progress with the
service plan.
The Council’s management structure comprises the Chief
Executive, a Depute Chief Executive, and eight Directors
of Services. The Director of Education and Children’s
Services and other directors are responsible to the Chief
Executive. Together with the Depute Chief Executive,
they form the Corporate Management Team.
Over the last three years, there have been significant
changes in organisational and management structures and
in personnel, including three different directors. In 2000,
the Education Department’s remit was significantly
broadened when it became Education and Children’s
Services under a new Director. In 2001, the Arts and
Heritage and Libraries and Archives Departments were
brought within ECS. In 2002, there was another change
of Director.
At the time of the inspection, the current Director of
Education and Children’s Services had been in post for
six months, having been Acting Director since
January 2002. He was supported by a Depute who was
responsible for providing strategic direction in planning
for improvement. Both had been in senior posts in the
4
education authority since the Council had been formed in
1996. Together they had overall responsibility for
leading and managing the service.
Two groups at senior level contributed to strategic
decision-making. An Acting Head of Service for
Children, Families and Young People joined the Director
and Depute to form the Directorate Team which met
weekly. The Senior Management Team, which met every
six weeks, had wider representation. It included an
Acting Head of Service for Criminal Justice Services,
Heads of Service for Arts and Heritage, and Libraries and
Archives, together with four service managers and
representatives of primary and secondary headteachers.
There were 22 service managers of whom nine were
directly responsible to the Director, nine to the Depute
Director, and four to the Acting Head of Service for
Children, Families and Young People.
This structure for decision-making at senior level had
been inherited from previous management arrangements.
At the time of the inspection, proposals for a more
coherent management structure within ECS were being
submitted to the Council.
Educational provision and performance
In January 2003 the Council was responsible for around
18,500 pupils in 89 schools. There were 77 primary
schools, one of which provided Gaelic medium
education, 10 secondary schools and two special schools.
Pre-school education was provided by the authority in
two nursery schools and 38 nursery classes in schools,
and in partnership with 36 private centres. Seventy-three
percent of primary schools and all secondary schools had
School Boards.
The Council provided a pre-school place for all three- and
four-year-old children whose parents wished it. The
Accounts Commission Statutory Performance Indicators
5
(SPIs) indicated that in 2001-2002, all four-year-olds and
81% of three-year-old children took up a pre-school
place, compared to national averages of 96% and 90%.
The SPIs for 2001-2002 indicated that 29% of primary
schools had occupancy levels of below 60%, very closely
in line with those in comparator authorities and below the
national figure of 33%. None of the secondary schools
had occupancy levels below 60%, compared with figures
of 15% for comparator authorities and 16% nationally.
The figures of 21% of primary schools and 50% of
secondary schools which had occupancy levels greater
than 101%, were at least three times the national averages
and those for comparator authorities. These significant
levels of over-occupancy were among the factors
contributing to the Council’s decision in 2002 to make a
major investment in replacing and refurbishing its
schools. To this effect, the Council had submitted a
substantial bid to the Scottish Executive for funding
through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative.
Running costs per pupil had been broadly in line with
national averages and those for comparator authorities
over the last three years.
The Council’s allocations to the revenue budget for
education were £65,682,000 in 2000-2001 and
£70,263,000 in 2002-2003. These figures included direct
grants under the Excellence Fund core and special
programmes.
The following commentary draws on key performance
information about the schools in the Council provided
in Appendix 1. Comparator Authorities (CA) refers
to the group of education authorities which are most
similar to each other in terms of various
socio-economic and demographic factors.
6
Staying on rate and school leavers’ destinations
•
The percentage of pupils staying on beyond the
compulsory school leaving age had been above the
national average and that for comparator authorities
over the last three years.
•
Between 2000 and 2002, the percentage of school
leavers entering higher education had increased. In
each of the last three years it had been above the
national average and the averages for comparator
authorities. Between 2000 and 2002 there had been
an overall decline in the percentage of pupils entering
further education, while there had been an increase
nationally and in comparator authorities. In line with
trends nationally and in comparator authorities, the
percentage of pupils entering employment had
declined between 2000 and 2002. The figures were
slightly above national averages, and below the
averages for comparator authorities.
Attendance and absence
•
In 2002, the overall percentage of total pupil absences
in the Council’s primary schools was very similar to
the 2000 figure. Absence rates had remained broadly
in line with the average for comparator authorities
and slightly below the national average over the last
three years. In secondary schools, over the period
2000 to 2002, the percentage of total absences was
slightly lower than the national average figures, but
slightly above the average for comparator authorities.
Over the last three years, secondary absence figures
for the authority had risen at a slightly faster rate than
trends nationally and in comparator authorities. The
authority had not met the 2002 targets for reducing
the number of half-days absence per pupil in primary
and secondary schools.
7
•
Over the period 1999-2001 the average number of
exclusions per 1000 pupils from schools was well
below the national average figures, although it had
risen in line with a similar national trend.
5-14 performance
•
Between 1999 and 2002 there was an overall increase
in the number of primary school pupils achieving or
exceeding appropriate levels of attainment for their
stage in reading and writing. Performance in both
these aspects of the curriculum was at or above
national levels. The rate of improvement was,
however, below the national rate and that of
comparator authorities. Over the same period,
attainment in mathematics had declined from above to
below the national average. It had remained above
the average for comparator authorities but the gap had
narrowed. The authority had not achieved the targets
set for 2002 in reading, writing and mathematics.
•
The performance of S2 pupils in reading, writing and
mathematics had improved between 1999 and 2002,
although the authority’s targets were not met. The
rate of improvement was above that of comparator
authorities but below the national rate. Over the
period, levels of performance in reading, writing and
mathematics were well above national averages. In
2002, the authority’s level of performance in both
writing and mathematics at S2 was the second highest
nationally.
SQA examination performance
•
8
Between 1998 and 2002, the percentage of S4 pupils
gaining five or more awards in National
Qualifications (NQs) at Level 31 or better was broadly in
line with the national average. Over the five-year period,
performance was consistently the second lowest of
comparator authorities. Over the same period, there had
been a slight decrease in the percentage of S4 pupils
gaining five or more awards at Level 4 or better. Since
1999, performance had been slightly below the average of
comparator authorities and the gap had been widening.
Performance had been slightly better than the national
average, but the gap had narrowed between 1998 and
2002. The percentage of S4 pupils gaining five or more
awards at Level 5 had increased over the same period.
Performance had been better than the national average
and that of comparator authorities but in both cases the
gap had narrowed in 2002. None of the authority’s
targets for the attainment of S4 pupils had been met.
•
Of the small number of Looked After Children
ceasing to be looked after by age 16/17, less than half
achieved an award in English and mathematics at
Level 3 or above. This was in line with national
figures.
•
The percentage of S5 pupils gaining three or more
awards at Level 6 had fluctuated between 1998 and
2002. While performance was better than the national
average and that of comparator authorities, the overall
rate of improvement was lower and the authority’s
target had not been met. The percentage of S5 pupils
gaining five or more awards at Level 6 had steadily
risen between 1998 and 2002. Performance in 2002
was the highest of comparator authorities and the
fourth highest nationally. The overall rate of
improvement was higher than the average for
1
Level 3 = Standard Grade at Foundation Level or Access 3
Level 4 = Standard Grade at General Level or Intermediate 1 at A - C
Level 5 = Standard Grade at Credit Level or Intermediate 2 at A - C
Level 6 = Higher at A - C
Level 7 = Advanced Higher or CSYS at A - C
9
comparator authorities and nationally, and the
authority had exceeded its targets.
•
Between 1998 and 2002, the percentage of pupils
gaining one or more NQ award at Level 7 by the end
of S6 had remained broadly constant. Performance
had been above the average for comparator authorities
until 2001. It had remained above national averages
over the five-year period, but the gap had narrowed.
School inspection evidence
In the period from September 1999 to February 2003,
HMIE published reports giving evaluations against a full
set of quality indicators in 28 primary schools, four
six-year secondary schools, one four-year secondary and
one special school. There were some significant
variations in quality across the schools inspected. In
almost one third of the primary schools inspected all
aspects were judged to be good or very good. In the
four-year secondary school and in one of the six-year
secondaries almost all aspects were evaluated as good or
very good. In one of the six-year secondary schools and
in the special school inspected, well over half the quality
indicator values identified important or major
weaknesses.
In most primary schools the overall quality of attainment
in English language and mathematics was good. Factors
contributing to good attainment included the structure of
the curriculum, the range of teaching approaches and the
quality of pupils’ learning experiences which were good
or very good in almost all schools. Specialist support for
pupils’ learning and the implementation of Special
Educational Needs (SEN) legislation were good or very
good in all mainstream schools inspected. However, in
over one third of schools there were some important
weaknesses in meeting pupils’ needs and, in the majority
of schools, in approaches to assessing pupils’ progress.
10
While the majority of primary schools had good or very
good leadership, in almost one third of schools there were
some important weaknesses in this aspect. Arrangements
for staff development and review and the management of
devolved finances were good or very good in almost all
schools. Planning for improvement was good or very
good in most. The most common weaknesses in
management were in approaches to self-evaluation, which
lacked rigour in almost half the schools inspected.
The overall quality of attainment in three of the five
secondary schools inspected was fair at S1/S2.
Attainment was good and sometimes very good at S3/S4
and S5/S6 in four of the schools. The structure of the
curriculum and the overall quality of learning and
teaching were good, with some very good examples of
effective direct teaching especially at S5/S6. Weaknesses
were evident, mainly at S1/S2, in tasks not being well
enough matched to pupils’ abilities and with insufficient
pace or challenge being provided. Weaknesses in the
provision of support for learning in three of the schools
related mainly to the deployment of specialist staff.
In the secondary schools inspected, the quality of
leadership and the effectiveness of approaches to
self-evaluation ranged widely between very good and
unsatisfactory. Two of the schools were very well led.
Aspects of planning for improvement varied between
good and fair. Points for action in four of the schools
identified a need to develop more systematic and rigorous
approaches to quality assurance, with a view to
improving pupils’ experiences and their attainment. In
the special school inspected, important features of the
management and staffing of the school were
unsatisfactory.
In all primary and secondary schools staffing levels were
good or very good. All schools were also well resourced.
Some, including three of the secondary schools and the
special school, had important weaknesses in the quality of
11
the accommodation, relating to aspects of health and
safety.
Evidence from the education authority’s pre-inspection
reports to HMIE indicated a good knowledge of provision
in its schools. The major weaknesses in one of the
secondary schools had been clearly identified in advance
of the inspection. Prior to the inspection of the special
school, the authority had recognised the need to take
specific action to support the school in improving the
quality of its work. Reports were prepared to a common
format, reflecting How good is our school? 2 and
contained an appropriate emphasis on evaluative
comment. The education authority had been generally
effective in advising and supporting schools in
implementing the main points for action in HMIE reports.
With very few exceptions, schools followed up by HMIE
between September 1999 and February 2003 had made
good or very good progress in meeting the points for
action in their published inspection reports.
3. Strategic management of the service
Vision, values and aims
Performance in this area was good. The five-year
Community Plan and the Corporate Plan 2000 – 2003
provided clear statements of the Council’s vision and
aims. These aims included a commitment to promote
social inclusion and deliver lifelong learning for all. The
vision and aims of ECS closely reflected those of the
Council.
The aims of ECS focused on improving standards of
attainment and on the authority’s role in providing
2
How good is our school? – Self-evaluation using performance indicators (Audit
Unit – HM Inspectors of Schools, SOEID, 1996, revised edition, HM Inspectorate of
Education, 2002).
12
support and challenge. Following consultation, these
aims had recently been revised to increase the emphasis
on promoting equality, fairness and opportunity for all,
and supporting the role of parents 3 and teachers as
partners in children’s education. ECS was not yet using
its aims as benchmarks to evaluate the impact of its work.
Service aims were reflected in aims for individual
educational establishments. In the pre-inspection survey,
85% of headteachers and 89% of School Board
chairpersons indicated that the service had successfully
communicated its vision for the development of
education.
Shortly after his appointment, the Director had identified
six key priorities for improvement beyond the formal
aims of the service. These priorities focused on those
aspects of strategic and operational management which
he perceived to be most crucial in taking the service
forward. They emphasised the importance of clear
leadership, better teamworking, and efficient working in
day-to-day operations. The Director had discussed the
implications of these priorities with stakeholders. He had
asked managers in schools and central services to develop
similar personal priorities of their own. Staff interviewed
during the inspection were generally supportive of the
overall intent of these priorities. They appreciated the
Director’s determination to make immediate
improvements in the quality of service being provided to
pupils and parents.
The Director took an active role in the Corporate
Management Team. ECS was fully involved in corporate
approaches to improving quality, such as the programme
of Best Value Reviews. It had also developed a
systematic approach to reviewing the quality of its own
work through use of Quality Management in Education
3
Throughout this report, the term ‘parents’ should be taken to include other carers.
13
(QMIE)4 and stakeholder involvement. Elected members
were kept well informed about initiatives in education.
However, there were as yet few examples of joint
delivery with other services at a strategic level. An
inter-departmental steering group for the initiative
Investment in Learning was a good model for further
joint working. Integrated working within ECS was at an
early stage of development. Joint working with other
agencies included a Youth Justice Group which dealt
with strategic and operational issues aiming to reduce the
number of young offenders.
Leadership and management
Performance in this area was good overall. On their
appointment, the Director and Depute had taken
immediate steps to improve important aspects of the work
of the service. Staff, parents and other stakeholders
believed that their actions had already made a positive
impact on the quality of consultation and policy
development, and were optimistic about further
improvements continuing.
The Director was committed to improving quality. He
had recognised the pressing need to improve ethos,
morale and teamwork across the service, and to establish
effective approaches to consultation and communication
with staff, parents and other stakeholders. He also
recognised that the key priorities were to deliver effective
services to parents and young people and to strengthen
the sense of accountability. He had communicated these
expectations clearly and his six priorities provided an
immediate agenda for all staff in schools, and for all
centrally-deployed officers.
The Director, demonstrating the importance of
accessibility, had visited educational establishments and
4
Quality Management in Education (HM Inspectors of Schools, 2000) is a framework
of self-evaluation for Local Authority Education Departments
14
met with staff, parents and other stakeholders. As a
result, very positive relationships with these groups were
developing. The Director was seen as approachable and
had involved staff in a number of key policy
developments since his appointment. Overall,
consultation on the implementation of the Teachers’
Agreement had been well managed. The Joint
Negotiating Committee had become an effective forum
for discussion of educational issues as well as conditions
of service. The Director should continue to develop these
qualities of visibility and accessibility in his work with
children, families and young people.
The Director and Depute had complementary leadership
qualities. The Director had a strong awareness of the
political and corporate dimensions of the work of ECS
and was skilled in dealing with elected members and
colleagues from other services. The Depute Director had
considerable experience and understanding of a wide
range of issues relating to quality in education and of the
mechanisms necessary to achieve improvement. Much of
the authority’s good practice in quality assurance
stemmed from the strong lead he had provided in this
aspect of its work. Together the Director and Depute had
the potential to become a strong and effective
management team. They were still considering the most
appropriate allocation of responsibilities to senior
managers, in the context of planned changes to the
structure of the organisation. A majority of headteachers
(72%) felt that senior managers recognised and celebrated
success.
Directorate Team meetings did not always focus
sufficiently on strategic decision-making. The wider
Senior Management Team was a forum for sharing
information between senior officers, including
headteachers, principally in relation to reports to be
presented to the ECS Committee. The specific roles of
these two teams in strategic policy development needed
to be clarified. A Senior Officer Review Group (SORG)
15
considered major issues relating to education and care for
children and young people, for example residential
schooling outwith the Council area. Elected members
and the chief executive were very supportive of the work
of ECS in general and of the directorate in particular.
Both the Director and Depute were actively involved in
promoting improvement and had made a positive impact
on the effectiveness of the service. Almost all (96%)
heads of establishment indicated that senior managers
showed a high level of commitment to promoting quality.
They had fostered an ethos of trust and openness and
their approachability and accessibility were highly
valued. The quality of dialogue with staff and parents
had significantly improved. They had taken steps to
improve the rigour of quality improvement processes.
Clearer lines of accountability had been established and
specific responsibilities were currently being assigned to
service managers for delivering effective services to
parents and pupils. A wide range of reports had been
presented to the ECS Committee, which addressed very
important issues for the effectiveness of support for
establishments and the quality of services to parents and
young people.
Establishments had received a number of important
policy documents to guide their work. The role of
headteachers as senior officers of the authority had been
strengthened, and their teamwork with centrally-deployed
officers significantly improved. The task of merging the
two large departments of Education and Children’s
Services, together with Arts and Heritage and Libraries
and Archives, was a demanding one. The Director had
taken good steps to rationalise salaries and conditions of
service across ECS. However, there was a need at a
corporate level to clarify the roles and responsibilities of
officers carrying out the statutory duties of Social Work
Services. The service was beginning to extend its
well-established approaches to monitoring and
self-evaluation within education across all aspects of its
16
work. However, the development of the integrated
service still required considerable direction before it
became fully effective in providing services of the
highest quality to all young people and their families.
The work of the Director and Depute and other senior
officers had not been reviewed. The Director met
regularly with the chief executive to discuss the work of
the service, and senior officers met with members of the
directorate. A more formal approach to professional
review was needed.
Policy development
The overall quality of policy development was good.
ECS had a comprehensive range of policies and
guidelines covering most aspects of its work. An audit
had been carried out on all existing policies. About a
third had been revised and gaps had been filled.
The service plan and related action plans for those
policies being developed or revised showed costs and
individual responsibilities. Consultation was built into
policy development through effective working groups
representing stakeholders and staff at different levels.
Draft policies were generally discussed by the ECS
Committee before circulation to establishments for
comment. Staff in establishments welcomed recent
policy development. Most heads of establishment (80%)
indicated that the range of ECS policies was appropriate
to their current needs.
Most policies were clear and accessible. ECS was
planning to produce succinct summaries of some key
policies as an aid to parents and other stakeholders.
However, once policies were produced, there was no
consistent approach to supporting and monitoring their
implementation. Around half of heads of establishment
(54%) thought that policies were backed up by clear
procedures for putting them into action. Establishments
17
had well-written and regularly revised guidelines for
development planning, and information about the service
provided by the Quality Development Division (QDD)
and the Provision Team. Other important guidance to
schools included advice on monitoring the quality of
learning and teaching, and an outline of HMIE inspection
procedures and their articulation with ECS approaches to
quality. Almost all heads of establishment (98%) were
clear about the policies and procedures on quality
development, significantly higher than the average
national figure for such surveys. Establishments would
benefit from an overall policy for quality development
which brought the various elements together, including
the framework for staff review and development.
Other important policy advice included very clear and
helpful child protection guidelines. However, there were
currently separate guidelines for education and childcare
services. A Child Protection Audit Group was auditing
the Council’s policy and procedures against the recent
National Review of Child Protection. The Council
needed to co-ordinate the development of policy and
procedures across all departments. It had still to reach a
formal agreement with all partner agencies on sharing
and exchanging information on vulnerable children and
young people, and those at risk.
Health and Safety guidelines and the revised policy and
procedures for Education for Work and Enterprise
included arrangements for risk assessments and
out-of-school activities. The policy on managing
drugs-related incidents included specific guidelines for
small schools. There were no written crisis and
emergency policy and procedures. Policy development
on race equality and accessibility was being undertaken
within the corporate approach.
The Support for Learning policy was comprehensive.
The Strategy for Promoting and Supporting Inclusive
Practice included helpful support for self-evaluation. A
18
draft policy on personal learning plans for pupils was out
for consultation. ECS had produced detailed 5-14
curriculum guidelines, including Personal and Social
Development and Health Education. A draft policy on
Pupil Absence from Learning had been discussed by the
ECS Committee and further consultation was taking
place. The policy would be implemented in the next
school session, supported by guides for parents.
The Administration Handbook was currently being
revised and, once completed, would be placed on the
Council’s intranet. Following the recent audit, schools
had received a list of all existing policies including plans
for revision and renewal. Although based on national,
corporate and service priorities, the programme for
revision was not sufficiently systematic. Decisions about
the framework of policies necessary to guide the work of
establishments needed to be taken at a strategic level.
The authority has developed an arts strategy and was in
the process of developing a cultural policy. Where
appropriate, opportunities should be taken to include
reference to children’s services within education policies.
A number of stakeholders referred to the need for an
integrated Youth Strategy, supported by associated
service and action plans, which would bring together
those aspects of the Council’s work currently dispersed
across a range of documentation. The service needed to
harmonise, and eventually reduce the number of, policy
documents relating to children and young people.
Overall, the service had made good progress in policy
development, in consultation with key stakeholders. New
and revised policies to support and direct the work of
establishments were beginning to provide a clear
framework and make an impact on the quality of service
provided to pupils and their families.
19
4. Consultation and communication
Good procedures were in place for consultation and
communication. The Director had taken a strong lead in
developing important features of consultation and
communication with headteachers and other stakeholders
and significant improvements had been achieved.
Key groups relating to quality improvement and Best
Value provided opportunities for a range of staff to be
fully involved in decision-making. Colleagues from the
Council’s Performance, Management and Planning
department were involved in the Consultation and
Communication Review Group. The Standards
Sub-Committee provided a useful forum for discussing
strategic issues concerning the work of the service and to
help inform elected members and other officers.
Recent consultation had informed the development of:
•
provision for pupils’ care and welfare;
•
the community learning strategy and plans; and
•
the vision and values for the service.
The Director recognised the variable quality of methods
of consultation. He was aware of stakeholders’ concerns
over the volume of consultation, often leading to a low
response, and their uncertainty about the impact of their
views on decision-making. A majority (66%) of heads of
establishment thought that ECS consulted effectively
with establishments, and a similar proportion agreed that
it consulted appropriately with staff on the direction and
priorities of the service plan. Less than half (45%) of
School Boards agreed that consultation provided them
with a chance of influencing aims and plans for
education. The Director had taken good steps to improve
the quality of links with parents and should continue to
develop this important aspect of the authority’s work.
20
The service had taken very effective steps to improve its
consultation procedures. Stakeholders commented very
positively about recent changes. A draft strategy had
been circulated to stakeholders for comment. The
approach taken to developing the Joint Negotiating
Committee for Teaching Staff was a particularly
successful example of effective collaboration. The range
of forums included:
•
a recently formed Primary Headteachers’ Strategy
Group to parallel the Strategy Group for Secondary
Headteachers;
•
regular cluster meetings of schools organised
geographically; and
•
clusters supporting the needs of denominational
schools and headteachers of small primary schools.
As part of its focus on Education for Citizenship, ECS
was consulting on a policy and guidelines for school
Councils. The policy would provide an authority-wide
framework for ensuring that pupils were fully consulted
on school issues and able to participate actively in
decision–making. A Children’s Rights Officer was
supporting the Youth Council, which was valued by those
young people who were members.
ECS made effective use of the Council’s Viewfinder
initiative for consulting with stakeholders, for example to
gather parents’ views of the information they needed.
Parents and staff across the service had been actively
involved in consultation on the National Debate on
Education.
Communication was good overall. Teaching and
non-teaching staff, were effectively involved through
networks and curriculum panels and within the
consultation frameworks for individual schools. Clerical,
auxiliary and secretarial staff met regularly as members
21
of a secretarial forum. School janitors and technicians
were consulted on key issues.
Chairpersons of School Boards were represented on a
School Board focus group and School Board
chairpersons’ meetings, which included annual meetings
with the directorate. They had been extensively and
effectively involved, along with headteachers and heads
of service, in identifying budget proposals for next
session.
ECS provided stakeholders with a range of well-produced
and informative publications to support their work. Most
School Boards (89%) were aware of how well their
schools were performing, a figure significantly above the
national average. However, less than half (49%) thought
that they could access good information about the quality
of education across the Council as a whole.
The service had made effective use of the information
from the Viewfinder 7 survey to review and improve its
systems for recording and responding to complaints and
enquiries from stakeholders and now had an efficient
system for monitoring response time. It could usefully
develop this approach to provide information on the
nature of enquiries received, to assist in tracking the
volume and pattern of complaints. ECS responded too
slowly to contacts from stakeholders and needed to
improve the quality of its service in this area of its work.
Overall, the quality of consultation and communication
had improved considerably over the past year and was
now good. Key stakeholders were able to identify a
number of areas which had been improved as a result of
their involvement.
22
5. Operational management
Service planning
The quality of service planning was good overall.
Almost all heads of establishment (93%) agreed that the
service plan made clear the Council’s aims and priorities
for education. There were clear links between the
corporate plan and the ECS service plan. The service
followed the Council’s guidelines for planning and
participated effectively in its corporate approach.
The service plan had been appropriately updated to
incorporate the work of individual services for Education,
Criminal Justice, Children’s Services and Cultural and
Community Learning, following structural
reorganisation. It reflected key values, principles and
objectives from recent national reports and guidance, and
was cross-referenced to relevant corporate strategic
priorities and the National Priorities. It was not based on
a sufficiently integrated vision for promoting child
development and supporting the social welfare of families
and communities. It included few references to key
external partners, for example National Health Service
(NHS) Tayside. Good steps had been taken to ensure
consistency in the quality of planning and performance
management across the service. Central staff and
stakeholders had been consulted effectively through team
discussions and working groups. Action points from
reports on self-evaluation produced by schools,
pre-school establishments and officer teams were
incorporated into the updated service plan. However,
senior officers recognised that there was scope for the
Directorate and Senior Management Teams to make more
focused use of the service planning process to manage the
service as a whole.
Implementation of the service plan was supported by
well-focused action plans for teams and individuals.
They were used to manage performance, monitor
23
progress and set priorities for action at all levels in the
organisation. Progress against the plan was reported
twice per year to the Standards Sub-Committee.
Groups such as the Quality and Standards Steering
Group, the Service Improvement Planning Sub-Group
and Best Value, and Performance Monitoring Sub-Group
had made a good start to setting priorities for the
department, streamlining planning, and ensuring rigour
and consistency in self-evaluation and reporting. The
overall aim was to ensure that planning took account of
all aspects of provision and that plans were
comprehensive and focused on improvement.
Performance management and reporting were
well-embedded in the service planning process and
included the systematic use of QMIE and an extensive
programme of Best Value Reviews. In the past, these
reviews had focused on specific areas of the service. The
programme now addressed each quality indicator from
QMIE systematically.
Establishments reflected service priorities in their own
improvement plans. Planning, self-evaluation and
reporting on standards and quality were well established.
In 2002, school development plans, action plans, reports
on progress and standards and quality reports had been
incorporated into a single quality improvement plan.
Clear guidance for teams and establishments, effective
training and targeted visits to schools and pre-school
establishments by QDD officers had all contributed to the
high quality of school development planning.
The comprehensive inter-agency Children’s Services Plan
was built on the key national outcomes, and
cross-referenced to the local improvement agenda,
relevant local outcome agreements and associated
performance measures. However, assessments of the
healthcare needs of children and young people were
fragmented and reduced the effectiveness of the plan as a
24
whole. ECS had been identified as taking a lead in the
working group on Lifelong Learning being set up as part
of the re-launch of the Community Plan for
Perth & Kinross.
Overall, service planning was well organised and
systematic. The findings of self-evaluation by schools,
other establishments and teams and the outcomes of Best
Value Reviews had led to targeted action which had
improved the quality of service for pupils and families.
School development planning was an area of strength.
Deployment and effectiveness of
centrally-employed staff
Overall, performance in this area was fair. The hard
work and commitment of centrally-employed staff were
appreciated by staff in schools and pre-school
establishments. They valued the prompt response and
quality of service they received from professional,
administrative and support staff. Most headteachers
(84%) agreed that officers maintained effective contact
with their establishment, significantly higher than the
national figure. Almost all leaders of pre-school centres
and most headteachers of primary and secondary schools
found officers prompt and helpful and felt confident of
appropriate support being available. Very effective
support was provided for schools in matters relating to
human resources, finance and Information and
Communication Technology (ICT). Requests for help
with repairs and maintenance were usually dealt with
efficiently. The Child Protection Duty Team had helped
communication between agencies and speeded up action
on referrals about children at risk.
However, there were some important weaknesses in staff
deployment. Over recent years, changes in the
management and organisational structure of ECS had
resulted in a lack of continuity in the roles and remits of
staff and reduced their overall effectiveness in improving
25
the quality of provision. School staff were uncertain
about the current allocation of responsibilities to
individual centrally-deployed staff. There was
considerable uncertainty about the management of the
various components of provision of support for pupils. A
majority (64%) of the School Board chairpersons
surveyed were clear on how to channel views, enquiries
and complaints, a figure significantly lower than the
national average. The Director had taken some positive
steps to improve deployment. However, at the time of
the inspection there was still uncertainty about overall
staff deployment.
Weaknesses in arrangements for providing support for
pupils with special educational needs and delay in filling
posts for educational psychologists had reduced the
effectiveness and responsiveness of the service provided.
Although the Director had established integrated
meetings, discussions tended to focus on the needs of
children and young people as school pupils rather than as
members of families and communities.
The Director and the Depute currently managed the work
of two teams of service managers, Provision and Quality
Development, both of which had specific responsibilities
for providing challenge and support to schools. Service
managers in the Provision Team provided the first point
of contact and maintained overall responsibility for
operational management in specific establishments.
QDD service managers were responsible for monitoring
performance, for curriculum development and continuous
improvement. Individual members of these teams
provided a valued service to schools, parents and pupils
and there were some examples of effective team-working.
However, their shared responsibility for quality
improvement had resulted in some significant issues in
performance not being addressed effectively, to the
detriment of the quality of service offered to parents and
children. Furthermore, the frequent change and the
26
overlap in their roles had led to some inconsistencies in
their response to schools.
QDD service managers oversaw the work of Quality
Improvement Officers whose remits covered a range of
cross-cutting issues, sectoral initiatives and aspects of
curriculum support and staff training. They provided
practical help and advice in improving classroom
practice. The authority had recently improved support to
schools, children and families by appointing
co-ordinators for a number of services.
While centrally-based staff had taken part in development
activities, including award-bearing courses, their needs
were not systematically identified through a process of
professional review. The draft Strategic Framework for
Staff Development and Training and the draft policy for
Employee Review and Development included plans to
address this deficiency and to introduce a minimum
entitlement for training.
The Director had recognised the need for a more effective
management structure within the service which would
increase accountability in all aspects of its work. Service
managers worked very hard across a number of fronts to
improve aspects of delivery and performance relating to
their areas of responsibility, but inefficiencies in working
arrangements had not yet been fully resolved. The
directorate needed to ensure that staff focused their
efforts on those key activities which would improve the
quality of achievement and experience for pupils.
6. Resource and financial management
Resource management
The management of resources was good overall. The
Council had allocated good levels of resources to support
education, based on a clear rationale which took account
27
of local and national priorities. In planning for
improvement the service had taken account of the
availability of specific funds such as the National
Priorities Action Fund.
ECS had improved its procedures for allocating specific
grants and resources and monitoring their use. A
three-year budget facilitated the planning of resources.
Service plans were costed appropriately. Corporate
guidance on service planning and links to budgeting were
clear. At both corporate and service levels elected
members were involved in the process of resource
planning. The result of surveys carried out for individual
establishments had informed maintenance plans and a bid
for Public Private Partnership (PPP). However, as yet,
the Council had not established an asset management
plan.
Good arrangements were in place for working with
non-statutory and voluntary agencies. ECS should now
review the timescales and timings for service level
agreements with these partners within the three-year
planning process. Area Intervention Teams were
increasingly making flexible use of resources, both
financial and staffing, to provide effective support
packages for vulnerable and needy children and young
people.
The Council recognised the need to improve and replace
school buildings and had built two new schools from
capital funding. An initial business case using PPP
finance had been submitted and had received a positive
response. The proposal, Investment in Learning, set out
plans to modernise school facilities and to improve
community access to learning. The Council had plans to
improve other educational establishments, in due course,
using capital funding. However, it now needed to
establish a long-term strategy for reviewing and
improving overall provision.
28
Senior staff in schools were generally satisfied with the
quality and speed at which repairs and maintenance were
carried out. Overall, heads of establishment thought most
work was carried out to an acceptable standard. There
were some exceptions, however, and ECS needed to take
steps to monitor this service to ensure consistency across
schools. It also needed to ensure that headteachers were
clear about the budgets for property maintenance. Clear
service level agreements had been established for catering
and cleaning.
The quality and provision of ICT in schools was good.
ECS had met National Grid for Learning targets for
computer-to-pupil ratios in primary, secondary and
special schools. All schools had been connected to the
Internet and were linked by e-mail. The Quality
Improvement Team (QIT) had worked alongside staff in
two primary schools in a very successful pilot project for
the use of laptops. Good use was being made of ICT in
monitoring budgets and managing resources.
ECS had undertaken a systematic and wide programme of
Best Value Reviews. The review process followed
corporate guidance and included consultation with
stakeholders, performance measurement and monitoring,
and option appraisal. Clear improvements arising from
Best Value Reviews included:
•
additional management support for headteachers of
small schools;
•
the introduction of an After School Service, widening
access to pupils not previously receiving music
tuition;
•
realignment of social work support to school
catchment areas to provide consistent support to
pupils during transition; and
29
•
a reduction in the numbers of pupils educated in
residential schools.
Reviews of Psychological Services had been carried out
in addition to these reviews and while some steps had
been taken to address the areas for action, more remained
to be done.
Staffing levels in schools were generally good. Despite a
number of good steps to improve staff recruitment there
were some difficulties in securing supply staff for teacher
absence. There were also problems in recruiting some
specialist teachers, for example in Gaelic education.
Over the last two years, good measures had been taken to
address a backlog of staffing issues, and to reduce the
number of staff on short-term contracts. The positive
relationships and good working practices established
between ECS and the Human Resources department had
contributed to more effective support for schools in
staffing issues.
A number of initiatives designed to improve the use of
resources had been put in place. These included:
•
the achievement of Eco School status by a number of
schools, with the aim of improving efficiency and
reducing their impact on the environment;
•
the recent audit of special education needs designed to
allocate resources more effectively; and
•
a spend-to-save initiative which enabled young people
in residential care outwith the authority to return to
their local community.
Overall, resources were well deployed to provide good
services and facilities to pupils and their parents and to
achieve value for money.
30
Financial management
The quality of financial management was very good.
During the first half of 2001, the decision to deal with a
budget difficulty by reducing the number of Training
Care Assistants (TCAs), had resulted in a great deal of
negative publicity and had adversely affected staff
morale. The decision was rescinded later in 2001 when a
number of issues were addressed effectively, following
an internal review of procedures within ECS. This
review, together with action taken as a result of the
Council-wide Best Value review of Accounting and
Budgeting Services and the ECS quality service review of
financial management, had resulted in more robust
budget-setting and monitoring procedures being
developed within an open and accountable framework.
Three-year budget setting was carried out and resulted in
a costed service plan. The budget-setting process
included a comprehensive and inclusive programme of
meetings with stakeholders. Stakeholders received
feedback on the outcome of the consultation. Three-year
budgeting was being piloted in one secondary school.
Action plans and proposals for new projects were all
costed, and wider resource issues were also considered.
The proposals were discussed with the Senior Accountant
(Financial Services) before being finalised. The costing
of school plans still needed to be more effectively
integrated into the service planning and budget setting
process. Some voluntary organisations received
three-year funding, but others did not, with implications
for the long-term success of services and projects.
Comprehensive, timely and user-friendly information on
budget monitoring was produced monthly for all budget
holders and senior management. The ledger included
commitment accounting so that budget holders could
more easily track and account for spending. Budget
monitoring included the projected out-turn for the year.
Finances were allocated to a budget holder, with an
31
assigned monitoring officer within the ECS finance
section.
Budget holders, the ECS finance section, the Senior
Accountant (Financial Services) and the ECS Senior
Management Team were fully involved in a series of
budget-monitoring meetings. Scrutiny at each stage in
the budget process ensured that issues were identified and
appropriate action taken. This process culminated in a
report, approved at ECS directorate level and included in
the regular monitoring information supplied by the
Director of Finance to the Council’s Strategy, Policy and
Resources Committee. The report contained a sufficient
level of detail to inform elected members of significant
variances from budget. Although financial monitoring
information was not presented to the ECS Committee as a
matter of routine, all reports presented to committee
contained a section on resource implications. Proposals
with a significant financial impact, for example PPP
proposals, were reported to the ECS committee.
The Directorate Team controlled the allocation of grants
and extra funding. Monitoring support to budget holders
was the responsibility of one officer within the finance
section. Information on grants was available for each
budget holder and budget monitoring was carried out
very effectively.
The service had established a very good scheme for
devolved school management (DSM). All schools,
including local authority pre-school establishments, were
included in the DSM scheme, and 94% of the budget was
devolved. The scheme had been regularly reviewed and
improved. Schools valued highly the well-organised
support they received from the ECS finance section.
Most heads of establishment (89%) agreed that the
authority’s financial procedures were effective for their
establishment, significantly higher than the national
figure. Financial training was offered routinely to budget
holders and administrative staff and was well received.
32
There were good working relationships within the ECS
finance section and with schools, and strong links with
the Director of Financial Services, the Senior Accountant
(Financial Services) and other ECS officers.
Overall, financial management was very well organised
to provide comprehensive timely information to budget
holders and management, and to provide information for
planning purposes. As a result, ECS and schools were
able to monitor budgets and expenditure effectively to the
benefit of pupils.
7. Performance monitoring and continuous improvement
Measuring, monitoring and evaluating
performance
Performance in this area was good. Since the inception
of the authority and with notable contributions from the
current Depute Director, important features of
self-evaluation and performance monitoring had been
well embedded in the work of ECS. Many of the
processes had resulted in tangible improvements in
pupils’ learning. To further underpin and strengthen
performance monitoring, the authority was extending its
approaches to gathering, analysing and distributing
authority-wide data on attainment. The implementation
of arrangements to formally review the work of
headteachers and centrally-deployed staff was also
recognised as a priority.
Perth & Kinross was the first Council in Scotland to
publish an authority-wide report on standards and quality
in its schools. Since the first edition of Building on
Success in 1999, three further standards and quality
reports had been published. In the pre-school sector, the
authority had published two standards and quality reports
on Best Practice in Partner Provider Centres. These
well-presented reports were structured on the quality
33
indicators in How good is our school? and The Child at
the Centre5. They drew on a good range of evidence,
included appropriate statistical information, and
celebrated successes or innovative practice in specific
establishments across the authority.
In promoting self-evaluation in schools, the use of quality
indicators was actively supported and was well
established across all sectors. Almost all headteachers
(96%), significantly more than the national figure,
indicated that the authority had encouraged schools to
develop systematic approaches to self-evaluation. All
schools had produced annual standards and quality
reports since 1998, well in advance of the national
timetable for their introduction. Pre-school centres also
provided standards and quality reports. ECS had taken
effective action to improve the quality of these reports by
setting up teams of heads of establishments to review and
moderate them. However, the extent to which the reports
were based on rigorous approaches to self-evaluation
varied across the authority.
Written specifications clearly outlined expectations of the
provision of services and the responsibilities of the QDD
and Provision teams in their links with schools. They
included appropriate reference to schools’ responsibilities
in working for continuous improvement. Almost all
headteachers (91%), significantly above the national
figure, indicated that officers discussed and evaluated a
range of performance information. A management plan
outlined key activities of QDD service managers and
identified an annual programme of three formal visits to
each school. These visits had a focus on reviewing
learning and attainment, evaluating mid-year and
end-year progress with the school’s quality improvement
plan, and constructing new plans and standards and
quality reports. There was some variation in the extent to
which the process consistently challenged schools.
5
34
The Child at the Centre – Self-evaluation in the Early Years (SEED, 2000)
QDD and Provision service managers had made valuable
contributions to improving the quality of school
development planning. They had complementary roles in
supporting schools in the school development planning
process and in evaluating the documents, although the
shared focus on quality made for unnecessary duplication
of effort. QDD service managers effectively monitored
the progress made by schools in implementing priorities.
Overall, the authority’s long-established emphasis on
school development planning, with appropriately adjusted
advice to ensure coverage of local and national priorities,
had improved the process of planning. Schools’ quality
improvement plans were generally well focused on
priorities and outcomes that benefited pupils.
The authority ensured that all secondary schools received
national data on the performance of their pupils in SQA
examinations. Shortly after his appointment in an acting
capacity, the Director had met with each secondary
headteacher and the appropriate service manager to
discuss key features of attainment in each school. This
process had been enhanced in the current session.
Nationally available attainment information was
complemented by a customised analysis of examination
data at authority, school and individual subject level
provided by an external consultant. The Director, the
consultant and two service managers had visited each
school to explore attainment data in depth. The authority
was committed to improving its collection and analysis of
data and to using it systematically to identify attainment
trends and priorities for action.
QDD had established a programme of Supported
Self-Evaluation (SSE), as part of its responsibility for
assisting schools in regularly evaluating and reporting on
aspects of performance. SSE exercises were designed to
focus on individual schools or on wider themes. The SSE
process in schools involved focused visits and resulted in
a written report with clearly agreed action points. Almost
all participating schools and nursery classes indicated that
35
the SSE process had been rigorous and the outcome
worthwhile. However, both team members and
participating establishments needed further staff
development to establish effective approaches to
self-evaluation.
Arrangements for staff development and review had been
well implemented in most schools. Almost all teaching
staff had been reviewed in the last three years. The lack
of progress in implementing headteacher reviews was a
significant gap which needed to be addressed as a
priority. A draft Employee Review and Development
policy had been prepared to address this gap.
ECS demonstrated a clear commitment to improving the
quality of education for pupils. Approaches to
monitoring and evaluating the performance of individual
schools were well established. Most headteachers (87%)
were confident that the authority had an accurate
knowledge of the performance of their schools. The
authority generally knew its schools well. ECS now
needed to ensure that full and effective use was made of
this knowledge of individual schools to secure
improvements in pupils’ learning and attainment.
Continuous improvement in performance
Overall performance in this area was fair. The
authority’s quality assurance arrangements helped service
managers to have a good knowledge of the strengths and
weaknesses of individual schools and pre-school centres.
However, the authority recognised that, where service
managers were aware of concerns about specific schools,
follow-through arrangements needed strengthening.
Within the last two years, HMIE reports on two such
schools had highlighted the need for ECS to take swifter
and more effective action to address known weaknesses.
ECS had in place a number of initiatives to support
educational establishments and to stimulate improvement.
36
Almost all heads of establishment (90%) agreed that the
authority was helping establishments to improve the
quality of education, significantly higher than the national
figure. Staff were generally confident that their practice
had improved as a result of some of these initiatives,
particularly in early education. Resources provided by
the authority to support planning and teaching of 5-14
programmes of study had been very helpful. However,
the lack of baseline measures of performance established
at the outset of each project meant that gains in pupils’
attainment were difficult to ascertain. Although
attainment levels across the authority were generally
above national levels, in some aspects they were lower
than levels in comparator authorities, and showed lower
rates of improvement. Evaluation of the impact for
pupils of the improvement activities that were undertaken
within the authority was not sufficiently clear or
consistent across all projects.
Support for pre-school education
The authority provided very good support for early years
and pre-school education. Officers supported and
challenged staff with constructive comment on standards
and quality and arranged training and joint network
meetings. Staff valued the opportunity to contribute to
the preparation of the annual report on good practice in
early years provision. The Early Years team had
successfully taken forward the early intervention strategy.
Key initiatives included: Partnership for Effective
Literacy Teaching (PELT), Active Learning Active
Numeracy (ALAN) and steps to improve listening skills
and work with families. Evaluations of these initiatives
indicated evidence of improvements in skills and
attainment in literacy and numeracy.
The early intervention resource base and demonstration
classroom at Balhousie Primary School offered a
stimulating environment for training and were well used.
Pre-school establishments made use of the ECS transition
37
record with individual children to track their progress
from pre-school provision to primary school. A good
start had been made to establishing base-line assessment
to measure progress in attainment. However, this
information had not yet been used by the authority to set
measurable targets for improvement or to underpin the
support of primary schools.
Support for primary schools and 5-14
The authority was effectively supporting a number of
aspects of the work of its primary schools, although this
had yet to make an impact on raising attainment. It had
made good use of national funding, supplemented by use
of the Council’s own financial resources, to increase the
number of nursery nurses and teachers. It had also
provided joint training for primary and pre-school staff
and encouraged parents to become more directly involved
in their children’s learning. The Council had reduced the
number of pupils in classes in P1 to P3, in line with the
Government’s targets.
Officers had provided good support for the development
of programmes of study related to national 5-14
guidelines and had worked effectively with teachers to
produce learning and teaching materials. Current
initiatives included a focus on raising the attainment of
early years primary pupils in English language and
mathematics through the authority’s PELT and ALAN
projects. However, the authority’s positive evaluation of
pilot projects focused on the extent to which they
facilitated the sharing of best practice. More attention
needed to be given to the impact on pupils’ attainment.
While there was evidence of examples of progress being
made by individual primary schools, the overall trends in
5-14 attainment in English language and mathematics
across the Council were more variable. Across the
primary stages, the proportion of pupils achieving or
exceeding national attainment levels in reading and
38
writing had continued to increase overall but below the
national rate and that of comparator authorities. Pupils’
attainment in mathematics across the primary stages had
declined to below the national average over the same
period. In contrast, attainment in secondary schools
showed an improving trend in the 5-14 levels attained by
pupils in S1/S2 in English and mathematics. The
authority had met none of its targets for 5-14 attainment
in primary and secondary schools. Although the
authority had developed a number of promising initiatives
to improve pupils’ learning experiences at 5-14, there
remained a significant challenge to ensure that these
developments had clear impact on pupils’ achievement
and attainment.
Support for secondary schools
The new National Qualifications (NQ) had been
implemented successfully. However, the effectiveness of
subject curriculum panels often relied on the particular
strengths of individual chairpersons. A framework
document issued in February 2002 helpfully confirmed
the roles and responsibilities of officers in servicing the
panels and monitoring their work. However, officers still
needed to ensure that the work of panels resulted in
improvements in practice and strategies for addressing
identified weaknesses in patterns of attainment in
individual subject areas across the authority.
The Curriculum Advisory Group, which comprised
representatives of a range of stakeholders, including
teaching unions and principal teachers, had produced a
draft strategy for curriculum planning and delivery at the
secondary stages. The group was currently discussing
possible transition costs. A major challenge for ECS was
to improve access to the curriculum for pupils of all
abilities.
Links with further education colleges had focused on
improving access for rural schools through provision of
39
pre-vocational courses. The Bridgeways project
addressed the needs of leavers requiring additional
support. Perth College had produced proposals to
formalise current arrangements and offer a programme of
certificated courses for pupils in S4 to S6. The extension
of the New Community Schools initiative included
specific courses supported by a number of agencies,
including the college. Despite these promising
developments, progress in developing links with further
education colleges had been slow overall. The authority
needed to provide a more convincing rationale with a
focus on effective joint working, clear progression in the
curriculum, and targets for improving attainment.
Between 1998 and 2002, the proportion of pupils
achieving NQ awards in English and mathematics at
Level 3 or better by the end of S4 was broadly in line
with the national average and slightly below that of
comparator authorities. The overall rates of improvement
in performance at Levels 3, 4 and 5 by the end of S4 were
less than improvement rates nationally and generally less
than in comparator authorities. The rate of improvement
in the percentage of pupils achieving five or more awards
at Level 6 had been above both the national rate and the
rate in comparator authorities.
The authority had not achieved any of its most recent
targets for improvement, apart from the target for five or
more awards at Level 6 in S5. There was clearly scope to
increase pupils’ attainment at Level 3 or above in English
and mathematics and the proportion achieving five or
more awards at Levels 3 and 4 or above.
Support for pupils
Arrangements for support for pupils and provision for
pupils with special educational needs (SEN) were fair
overall. Some good provision to support children and
families had been established and was being developed
further. Positive features included:
40
•
the work of a family centre providing services to
children and parents in the pre-school years;
•
effective joint working of professionals with parents
in one of the pilot new community schools;
•
a project set up to support young people returning into
the community from residential provision outwith the
authority; and
•
good partnership working with non-statutory and
voluntary agencies.
The service had demonstrated its overall commitment to
inclusion by ensuring that pupils with special educational
needs were educated in their local schools where
possible. Good multi-disciplinary working was evident at
an operational level between schools and other agencies.
ECS had drawn up a useful joint action plan which
focused on achieving good quality in education and care
provision for Looked After and Accommodated Children.
Guidelines and training for staff on matters relating to
child protection had been developed. However, staff in
schools were often unfamiliar about key procedures and
this needed to be addressed as a priority.
Pupils’ special educational needs were generally well met
in their local schools, or in placements in schools with
specialised resources to meet needs such as autism. A
range of services to support sensory impairment and
English as an additional language was provided by a
small team of specialists. Their deployment had been
improved by bringing them together under the
management of a headteacher of a special school. Whilst
the services of individual educational psychologists were
broadly appreciated by staff in schools and by some
parents, requests for support were not always met
effectively. The psychological service, as it was
currently deployed, was limited in the service it provided
to children, parents and to educational establishments.
41
The needs of pupils with more severe and complex
learning difficulties were being well met in some contexts
but not consistently enough throughout the Council.
Across the area of support for pupils there was a need to
plan more strategically to meet the needs of all pupils as
they progressed, particularly at the transition stages.
Frequent changes in personnel responsible for leading
and managing provision for special educational needs had
led to a service that was fragmented. While a recent audit
of support needs should enable the authority to plan and
deploy resources more effectively, current provision to
support pupils’ needs was neither comprehensive in
coverage nor consistent in quality.
Integrated working to support children, young
people and families
Front-line staff involved in inter-agency work had been
effective in a number of areas. Area Integrated Teams
brought together staff from education, childcare,
community police and healthcare to assess the needs of
vulnerable children. The implementation of early
intervention and inclusion strategies had contributed to a
number of effective projects and services for young
children and their families.
Examples of effective practice included:
42
•
very effective teamwork to support vulnerable
children and their families, among staff in the New
Community School (NCS), Family Centre and
National Children’s Homes (NCH) project and
colleagues in health, social work, community police
and community education;
•
very successful early intervention for vulnerable
children and young people, carried out by the Early
Years Centre and the Re-integration Project, which
supported their families and worked to reduce the
number who offend;
•
regular attendance at children’s hearings by teachers,
social workers and staff from voluntary agencies;
•
effective teamwork among representatives of
community police, community education, childcare
and the voluntary organisation Safeguarding
Communities and Reducing Offending in Scotland
(SACRO) to reduce the number of persistent young
offenders; and
•
the authority’s commendable arrangements for a
specialist Child Protection Health Visitor to work
closely with schools, the Authority Reporter,
community police and social work colleagues, and to
contribute to staff training.
Partnership with NHS Tayside existed largely at an
operational level.
The Council had a detailed action plan, based on the
results of self-evaluation, to implement the
recommendations of the Learning with Care report. In
both school and childcare settings, headteachers, class
teachers and project managers were aware of the
authority’s commitment to improving the educational
attainments of Looked After Children. However, some
major challenges remained. The authority needed to
develop an integrated referral, assessment, planning and
review framework for Looked After Children, and for all
children and young people with additional support needs.
It also needed to finalise a system for monitoring the
progress of Looked After Children and reporting on their
progress to the Standards Sub-Committee. Some initial
work was underway to improve the transfer of
management information between education and social
care in order to provide a better service for Looked After
Children. At the time of the inspection, a review of
43
provision for Looked After Children was being planned,
based on the recommendations of Learning with Care 6.
The Council had established a Child Health Team in
1995. Taking referrals from schools, parents, social
workers and health professionals, the team assessed the
care needs of children and young people with complex
disabilities. Assessments were considered by a
multi-disciplinary Resource Panel which helped to plan
for children and young people leaving the formal school
system. This was a very effective example of
inter-agency work, although some aspects of location and
resourcing needed to be addressed. The Local Health
Care Co-operative had appointed a Public Health
Co-ordinator to help to meet the healthcare needs of
various vulnerable groups but greater co-operation was
needed between ECS and NHS Tayside in addressing the
mental health needs of children and young people.
The current NCS pilot project had very successfully
promoted integrated working among front-line staff from
different professional backgrounds. Support was given to
children and their families by a team of school staff,
social work, community staff and health professionals.
Joint training had been very successful and had included
imaginative sessions for families on a range of suitable
topics. Members of the NCS team had presented their
good practice at conferences and meetings throughout
Scotland. However, their work had not been shared with
other schools within the authority nor had work within
the project yet been formally evaluated. The NCS
roll-out programme was linked with the authority’s vision
for education within the area and was complemented by
the PPP project Investment in Learning. However, there
needed to be a more rigorous multi-agency assessment of
6
Learning with Care : The Education of Children Looked After Away from Home by
Local Authorities, HM Inspectors of Schools and the Social Work Services
Inspectorate, Scottish Executive 2001
44
need across the whole of the authority as part of the
roll-out process.
Support for staff development
ECS had good arrangements for supporting staff
development. Almost all headteachers (91%),
significantly more than the national figure, agreed that it
assisted staff in accessing appropriate staff development.
The main focus was on staff employed in education, but
ECS had recognised the need for more opportunities for
all staff.
Staff development opportunities were based on an
analysis of school development plans, information from
service managers’ visits to schools, and local and national
priorities. There was scope for closer involvement of
schools’ staff development co-ordinators in the process of
planning provision. The staff development directory was
currently being reviewed to take full account of national
expectations in implementing continuing professional
development (CPD).
Provision for staff development in the pre-school sector
was a major strength. A very good range of opportunities
was provided for nursery teachers through a range of
formal courses and by modelling good practice by
working alongside teachers in classrooms. A support
network, convened on a regular basis, provided a
valuable source of staff development. Meetings of the
nursery nurse network had been less frequent but were
deemed valuable by those who had attended.
Teaching staff in primary and secondary schools were
positive about the quality of staff development courses
they had attended. However, a number of courses had
been cancelled due to insufficient uptake, often because
of problems in finding appropriate cover for the teachers
wishing to attend. The needs of staff in special schools
required closer attention. Good staff development
45
opportunities were provided for support staff, including
Support for Learning Assistants (SLAs).
Primary teachers had a wider range of opportunities for
staff development than secondary subject teachers. The
effectiveness of secondary curriculum panels in providing
staff development opportunities varied. Despite some
useful in-service training relating to support for pupils,
more was required to support effective implementation of
the authority’s policy on social inclusion. Members of
QIT made effective contributions to in-service training,
including some very good inter-agency staff development
on drugs and sex education. Approaches to training staff
in aspects of child protection required review and
improvement. While some very good multi-agency staff
development had been provided, ECS needed to ensure
that all members of staff in all schools were familiar with
correct procedures. Significant improvements in staff
training in ICT were being complemented by very good
support from members of QIT.
The authority had established a very good management
development programme, including strong support for the
Scottish Qualification for Headship and, in co-operation
with five other Councils, development opportunities for
staff aspiring to, and already in, management roles. Very
good support was provided for probationer teachers.
Those in their first year had timeous access to a good
range of information, systematic contact with their
mentors and a full programme of meetings. In addition,
useful networks were in place to support supply teachers
and those returning after a period away from teaching.
Other features of support
Support for Gaelic was managed through a central
management team. The Perth & Kinross Gaelic Forum
had been established in 1999 to bring together different
groups. Difficulties in staffing the Gaelic medium unit
had been a major cause for concern, although interim
46
measures had been put in place. Other issues such as the
future of peripatetic Gaelic teaching and nursery
provision had not yet been resolved. A number of
out-of-school activities for pupils had been organised
through the Community Learning Service.
A range of improvement activities had been managed
through the Education Action Plan initiative Promoting
and Supporting Excellence in Education carried out in a
cluster of schools during 1999-2002. These activities
focused on the use of the expressive arts to improve
achievement, the development of approaches to tracking
pupils’ progress, increased access to the curriculum, and
improved support at transition stages. The initiative had
also improved the quality of partnerships with parents.
Qualitative results relating to pupils’ experience had been
positive and attainment had increased overall, although
not all targets had been achieved and absence rates had
not decreased.
During 2000-2001 a successful Thinking Skills project
had been carried out through the New Community
Schools pilot. Pupils showed significant gains in tests of
achievement and self-esteem, while teachers were
generally positive about the learning opportunities
offered. These approaches had not yet been extended to
other local schools.
ECS was introducing a number of healthy eating
initiatives in schools and promoting them through
Perth & Kinross News. Draft guidelines for Health
Promoting Schools had recently been issued.
Following a recent Best Value review, the service had
appointed an Expressive Arts Co-ordinator to improve
management and quality assurance of the work of visiting
specialist teachers and to support schools in developing
the expressive arts, particularly in the context of raising
achievement. Work was carried out within clusters of
schools and focused on the P6 to S2 transition stage.
47
Projects included an Education Officer from Perth
Theatre, and the Young Performers Music Theatre,
working with pupils with attendance problems. ECS
made annual awards to Young Achievers in sport, the arts
and in individual personal achievements.
Slow progress had been made in providing work
experience for pupils in S4 and S5 through the Education
for Work and Enterprise initiative. It was currently
available only in a majority of schools and for school
leavers only. Extended work placements were working
well and other activities had been arranged, for example,
Understanding Industry courses and days, and sessions on
learning skills.
Environmental projects were an area of strength in the
authority’s support for schools. The number of Eco
Schools had increased from two in 2000 to 23, exceeding
the authority’s target. ECS had produced a helpful
Practical Guide linked with How good is our school? to
establish appropriate expectations of quality. Financial
support came from a number of sources, including
charitable trusts. Good links had been developed with
other Council departments, particularly Environmental
Services.
In disseminating good practice, Building on Success and
Best Practice in Partner Provider Centres contained
useful examplars as well as information on attainment.
Other publications such as Making a Positive Difference,
Positive Playgrounds and Promoting Effective Learning
provided helpful guides to self-evaluation. Recent
conferences for headteachers, for example on raising
achievement, provided opportunities for disseminating
good practice. Although these steps were helpful, ECS
had yet to develop sufficiently systematic strategies for
sharing best practice among all establishments.
48
8. How well does the authority perform overall?
Overview
Over the last year, the Education and Children’s Services
of Perth & Kinross Council had taken a number of
important steps to improve the quality of its work. These
steps had already had a positive impact on the
effectiveness of the service to parents and pupils and had
increased the authority’s capacity for improvement.
The service had established a clear vision, linked with
that of the Council as a whole, which focused on
improving approaches to social inclusion and providing
lifelong learning for all. These aims were underpinned
by a well-constructed service plan. An important strength
of the directorate was its success in improving overall
ethos. The development of effective approaches to
consultation and communication had provided a good
basis for improvements in teamwork.
The service was in the process of developing joint
services at a strategic level. However, there were already
in place a number of examples of effective integrated
working at an operational level which had made a
positive impact on the quality of education and care
received by children and their families. Effective
resource management and rigorous financial monitoring
and control provided the service and schools with an
effective and efficient means of deploying and
monitoring the use of available resources.
The management structure of ECS had recently been
reviewed and plans to improve it were underway. The
service had a well-established and rigorous approach to
quality assurance in schools and pre-school centres.
However, despite strengths in attainment in NQ awards at
Level 6, attainment at other levels had not improved
sufficiently in recent years. Attainment in primary
schools in mathematics had declined over the last
49
three years. ECS should now ensure that its improvement
activities impact directly on pupils’ learning. Despite the
committed work of centrally-deployed staff, ECS had
been slow to take effective action on identified
weaknesses in leadership and management in certain
schools, and in improving attainment across the authority.
The authority had begun to tackle these issues and was
well placed to make further improvements to the quality
of service to pupils and their families.
The service should make certain that the deployment of
staff is strengthened by maintaining the current focus on
quality assurance and ensuring that improvements are
delivered in standards of attainment and the quality of
service to children, young people and their families.
Key strengths
50
•
The improvements in ethos and the atmosphere of
openness and trust fostered by the directorate team
since their appointment.
•
The steps taken to improve consultation.
•
The quality of financial monitoring and control.
•
The well-established approaches to quality assurance
of the work of schools and pre-school centres.
•
The work of central support staff in managing
resources and staffing.
•
The support for environmental projects such as the
Eco Schools initiative.
•
Early and joint intervention for vulnerable children
and young people.
9. Main points for action
In addition to addressing the areas for improvement
identified in this report, the local authority should act on
the following recommendations.
•
Develop a framework for strategic policy and
decision-making.
•
Improve the strategic management of services to
support pupils, including those with special
educational needs, and further develop integrated
working with other agencies and services.
•
Improve the deployment of centrally-employed staff.
•
Improve attainment, particularly in mathematics in
primary schools and at S3/S4 in secondary schools.
•
Enable all centrally-deployed staff and heads of
establishments to benefit from a process of
professional review and development.
•
Ensure that initiatives designed to improve pupils’
achievement and attainment have a measurable
impact.
51
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 main points for
action in the report.
Ian Gamble
HM Chief Inspector
Quality, Standards and Audit Division
May 2003
52
Appendix 1
Performance information
Statistical indicators
•
% of school pupils staying on to S5 (post Christmas)
1999/00
Perth & Kinross
CA Average
7
National
•
2000/01
2001/02
74
71
70
66
68
66
66
65
65
Pupil destinations
1999/00
2000/01
2001/02
% Entering Full-Time
Perth & Kinross
33
41
40
Higher Education
CA Average
31
30
30
National
31
32
32
% Entering Full-Time
Perth & Kinross
21
17
17
Further Education
CA Average
17
19
19
National
19
20
20
% Entering
Perth & Kinross
30
26
25
Employment
CA Average
34
33
32
National
26
24
23
7
CA Average refers to the group of education authorities which are comparative to
each other in terms of various socio-economic and demographic factors.
53
• Absence
As part of the 2002 Target Setting initiative,
Perth & Kinross Council set itself the following target to
minimise the average number of half-days absence per
pupil in primary and secondary schools by 2002
Target
Target
Level
Level
(June 2001)
Primary
Secondary
•
54
1999
2000
2001
(June 2002)
2002
Perth & Kinross
14
17
17
18
15
17
National
18
20
19
20
17
19
Perth & Kinross
23
34
37
41
32
42
National
36
43
41
43
37
42
Exclusions from schools in Perth & Kinross
2000/2001
Total
Exclusions
Exclusions Per
1000 Pupils
Temporary
Exclusions
Permanent
exclusions
Perth & Kinross
648
35
648
0
National
38,656
51
38,334
322
As part of the 2002 Target Setting initiative,
Perth & Kinross Council set itself the following targets in
reading, writing and mathematics to be achieved by 2002,
and has made the following progress in achieving them.
The figures represent the percentage of pupils in primary
schools attaining and expected to attain appropriate 5-14
levels by P78.
Primary
Reading
Writing
Maths
Target
Level
Target
Level
June
2001
June
2002
1999
2000
2001
2002
Perth & Kinross
82
77
79
82
84
81
CA Average
-
74
77
79
-
80
National
77
73
76
80
81
81
Perth & Kinross
70
67
71
74
77
74
CA Average
-
64
69
71
-
73
National
67
60
66
70
73
72
Perth & Kinross
82
80
80
81
84
78
CA Average
-
77
77
78
-
78
National
81
76
77
79
82
80
8
Level A by end of P3. Level B by end of P4. Level C by end of P6. Level D by end
of P7.
55
The figures represent the percentage of pupils in
secondary schools attaining and expected to attain
appropriate 5-14 levels by S29
Secondary
Reading
Writing
Maths
9
56
Level E by end of S2.
Target
Level
Target
Level
June
2001
June
2002
1999
2000
2001
2002
Perth & Kinross
76
59
64
64
70
68
CA Average
-
52
56
59
-
60
National
54
44
53
56
59
59
Perth & Kinross
69
54
56
56
66
63
CA Average
-
45
47
48
-
50
National
48
38
43
46
51
50
Perth & Kinross
74
56
59
63
69
67
CA Average
-
45
50
51
-
54
National
55
42
47
51
56
54
•
Results in Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
National Qualifications.
Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) levels:
7: CSYS at A-C
6: Higher at A-C
5: Intermediate 2 at A-C; Standard Grade at 1-2
4: Intermediate 1 at A-C; Standard Grade at 3-4
3: Access 3 Cluster; Standard Grade at 5-6
Percentage of relevant S4 roll achieving
By end of S4
SG Eng 1-6
SG Maths 1-6
5+ @ level 3 or better
5+ @ level 4 or better
5+ @ level 5 or better
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Perth & Kinross
94
96
95
94
94
CA Average
95
96
96
95
96
National
93
94
94
94
94
Perth & Kinross
95
95
95
94
94
CA Average
95
96
96
95
95
National
92
94
94
94
93
Perth & Kinross
91
92
92
91
91
CA Average
93
94
93
93
93
National
90
91
91
91
91
Perth & Kinross
79
80
80
80
78
CA Average
79
81
82
82
81
National
74
75
77
77
76
Perth & Kinross
35
35
39
40
37
CA Average
33
34
35
36
36
National
30
32
33
34
33
57
By end of S5
3+ @ level 6 or better
5+ @ level 6 or better
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Perth & Kinross
26
25
27
29
26
CA Average
22
22
24
24
23
National
20
21
23
23
22
Perth & Kinross
7
7
10
11
12
CA Average
6
6
9
9
8
National
6
7
8
9
9
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Perth & Kinross
13
13
13
13
13
CA Average
10
11
11
12
13
National
9
10
10
11
11
By end of S6
1+ @ level 7 or better
As part of the 2002 Target Setting initiative, Perth &
Kinross Council set itself the following targets for pupils
attainment in National Qualifications, and has made the
following progress in achieving them.
Target
SG English 1-6
SG Maths 1-6
5+ @ level 3 or better
5+ @ level 4 or better
5+ @ level 5 or better
3+ @ level 6 or better
5+ @ level 6 or better
58
Target
1999/2001
1999/2001
2002
2002
Perth & Kinross
95
95
95
94
National
94
94
95
94
Perth & Kinross
95
95
95
94
National
94
94
95
93
Perth & Kinross
96
92
93
91
National
93
91
93
91
Perth & Kinross
85
80
82
78
National
77
76
79
76
Perth & Kinross
41
38
40
37
National
34
33
35
33
Perth & Kinross
28
27
28
26
National
23
22
24
22
Perth & Kinross
9
9
10
12
National
8
8
9
9
59
Appendix 2
Inspection coverage
Almondbank and Pitcairngreen Playgroup
Auchterarder Primary School and Nursery Class
Balhousie Primary School
Breadalbane Academy
Burrelton Primary School
Cherrybank Special School
Cleish Primary School
Coupar Angus Primary School and Nursery Class
Crieff Road Pre-school Centre
Forteviot Primary School
Goodlyburn Primary School
Gowans Child and Family Centre
Humpty Dumpty Playgroup, Scone
Jack and Jill’s Nursery, Kinross
Kinloch Rannoch Primary School and Nursery
Class
Kinross High School
NCH PACT Project
North Muirton Primary School and Nursery Class
Oakbank Primary School and Nursery Class
Old Oak Nursery, Little Dunkeld
Perth Grammar School
Re-integration Project
Robert Douglas Memorial Primary School
Royal School of Dunkeld Primary School and
Nursery Class
St Columba’s High School
St Dominic’s Primary School
Meetings attended:
Best Value and Performance Monitoring Group
Child Protection Audit Working Group
Education and Children’s Services Committee
Joint Negotiating Committee
Senior Management Team
60
Service Improvement Planning Group
Standards Sub-Committee
Interviews or meetings with Council Members and
Officers:
Leader of the Council
Convenor of the Education and Children’s
Services Committee
Chief Executive
Depute Chief Executive
Director of Financial Services
Focus group of members of Education and
Children’s Services Committee
Head of Performance Management and Planning
Communications Manager, Performance
Management and Planning
Chief Internal Auditor
Authority Reporter (Children’s Hearings)
Officers of Human Resources Services
Officers of the Child Health Team
Officer, Environmental Services
Interviews or meetings with other Stakeholder Groups:
Focus groups of headteachers representing
pre-school, primary, secondary and special
education sectors
Focus group of headteachers representing small
primary schools
Focus group of parents of pupils with special
educational needs
Focus group of School Board chairs
Focus group of voluntary organisations
Focus group representing Looked After Children
Public Health Co-ordinator, Perth & Kinross
Local Health Care Cooperative
Police Liaison Officer, Tayside Police
Representatives of teaching unions
61
School Board chairs or parent representatives in
establishments visited
Interviews with Education and Children’s Services Staff
Director of Education and Children’s Services
Depute Director of Education and Children’s
Services
Head of Service (Libraries and Archives)
Head of Service (Arts and Heritage)
Acting Head of Service (Children, Young People
& Families)
Acting Head of Service (Criminal Justice) and
Acting Chief Social Work Officer
Educational Psychologists
Service Managers (Provision)
Service Managers (Quality Development
Division)
Service Managers (Childcare and Inclusion)
Accountants
Officers of the Early Years Support Team
Officers of the Quality Improvement Team
Expressive Arts Co-ordinator
Sports Co-ordinator
Seconded Officers
Administrative staff in establishments visited
Janitorial staff in establishments visited
62
Appendix 3
Quality indicators
We judged the following to be very good
•
Financial management
We judged the following to be good
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Vision, values and aims
Effectiveness of leadership and management
Policy development
Mechanisms for consultation
Mechanisms for communication
Service Planning
Resource management
Measuring, monitoring and evaluating performance
We judged the following to be fair
•
•
Deployment and effectiveness of centrally-employed
staff
Continuous improvement in performance
We judged the following to be unsatisfactory
•
No aspects were found to be in this category
63
How can you contact us?
Copies of this report have been sent to the headteacher
and school staff, the Director of Education, local
Councillors and appropriate Members of the Scottish
Parliament. Subject to availability, further copies may be
obtained free of charge from the address below or by
telephoning 0131 244 0746. Copies are also available on
our web site: www.hmie.gov.uk
Should you wish to comment on or make a complaint
about any aspect of the inspection or about this report,
you should write in the first instance to Ian Gamble,
HMCI at:
HM Inspectorate of Education
Quality, Standards and Audit Division
1-B95
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
A copy of our complaints procedure is available from that
office and on our website.
If you are still dissatisfied, you can contact the Scottish
Public Services Ombudsman directly or through your
member of the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Public
Services Ombudsman is fully independent and has
powers to investigate complaints about Government
Departments and Agencies. She will not normally
consider your complaint before the HMIE complaints
procedure has been used. Instead, she will usually ask
you to give us the chance to put matters right if we can.
Complaints to Scottish Public Services Ombudsman must
be submitted within 12 months of the date of publication
of this report.
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The Ombudsman can be contacted at:
Professor Alice Brown
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
23 Walker Street
Edinburgh
EH3 7HX
Telephone number: 0870 011 5378
e-mail: enquiries@scottishombudsman.org.uk
More information about the Ombudsman’s office can be
obtained from the website:
www.ombudsmanscotland.org.uk
Crown Copyright 2003
HM Inspectorate of Education
This report may be reproduced in whole or in part, except
for commercial purposes or in connection with a
prospectus or advertisement, provided that the source and
date thereof are stated.
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The work of HM Inspectorate of Education
HM Inspectors undertake first-hand, independent evaluations of the quality of
education. We publish our evaluations in clear and concise reports. Our inspections and
reviews monitor how well schools, colleges and other providers of education are
performing, and promote improvements in standards, quality and attainment in
education.
We ensure that inspection and review activities include the full range of pupils or
students in an educational establishment, giving due regard, without unfair
discrimination, to disability, gender, religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and
linguistic background.
Each year we also investigate and publish reports on key aspects of education. Our
collation, analysis and publication of the evidence and conclusions from all evaluations
identify and promote best practice in improving standards and quality. We draw on the
results of our evaluations, and our overall knowledge of the system, to provide
independent professional advice to the Scottish Ministers, relevant departments of the
Scottish Executive and others.
Further information on the work of HM Inspectorate of Education and its role in
Scottish education is available on our website. You will also find easy access to our
inspection and review reports and wide range of other publications.
http://www.hmie.gov.uk