Stirling Council
March 2007
Contents
Page
Introduction
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1.
The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
1
2.
What are the challenges for the Council?
1
3.
How good are attainment and achievement of children and young
people and how well are they supported?
2
4.
What impact has the authority had in meeting the needs of parents’
carers and families, staff and the wider community?
12
5.
How well is the authority led?
18
6.
What is the council’s capacity for improvement
22
Appendices
Appendix 1 – Quality indicators
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Appendix 2 – Performance Information
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Introduction
The education functions of each local authority in Scotland was inspected between
2000 and 2005. A second cycle of inspections began in 2006 taking a proportionate approach
using the findings of the original inspection and other information subsequently available.
Section 9 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 charges HM Inspectorate of
Education (HMIE), on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, to provide an external evaluation of the
effectiveness of the local authority in its quality assurance of educational provision within the
Council and of its support to schools in improving quality. Inspections are conducted within a
published framework of quality indicators (Quality Management in Education 2)1 which
embody the Government’s policy on Best Value.
Each inspection is planned and implemented in partnership with Audit Scotland on behalf of the
Accounts Commission for Scotland. Audit Scotland is a statutory body set up in April 2000,
under the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000. It provides services to the
Accounts Commission and the Auditor General for Scotland. Together they ensure that the
Scottish Executive and public sector bodies in Scotland are held to account for the proper,
efficient and effective use of public funds.
The inspection team also includes an Associate Assessor who is a senior member of staff
currently serving in another Scottish local authority.
1
Quality Management in Education 2 (HM Inspectorate of Education 2006) is a framework of self-evaluation for Local
Authority Education Services.
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1. The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
HMIE inspects the education functions of all 32 councils within Scotland as part of its
commitment to inspect and report on the quality of education and to help secure improvement.
HMIE reported on the first inspection of Stirling Council in August 2004. In the period since the
publication of this report HM Inspectors have worked with senior officers of the Council to
monitor progress on the main points for action arising from the 2004 report. The report refers to
progress since the 2004 report as well as looking more widely at education across the Council.
During the inspection HM Inspectors visited the neighbourhoods of Balfron and Bannockburn to
sample the impact of the work of the authority.
2. What are the challenges for the Council?
Context
Stirling Council is a diverse area. The population is divided fairly equally between urban and
rural areas and is projected to increase by around 9% by 2018. This figure is significantly
above the Scottish average. Stirling has a high degree of social polarisation and includes
areas of relative affluence and poverty. A review of school provision was being undertaken by
the Council to ensure that all schools were in a position to meet the changing needs of
learners.
Around 87,000 people live in the Stirling Local Authority area of whom just less than half live in
the City of Stirling. Over half of the total population live in urban areas and just under 40% live
in rural areas, much higher than the average for Scotland. Evidence provided by research into
health inequalities indicates significant differences in people’s health between the more and less
affluent areas. Stirling has a lower unemployment rate than Scotland as a whole but has pockets
of high unemployment. This social and economic disparity amongst communities remains a
challenge for the authority.
Stirling’s population has increased over the last three years, while school rolls have increased in
each of the last six years. These trends are expected to continue. Stirling has relatively more
small schools and relatively fewer medium sized schools than other equivalent sized local
authorities. This, in part, is due to the rural and dispersed nature of much of the Council area and
population. A review is currently being undertaken to ensure that all schools can offer a full
range of quality experiences for learners. Given that many of Stirling’s schools are already
nearing capacity, addressing the increasing school roll and ensuring appropriate facilities for the
provision of education and care is a recognised council challenge. The Council has invested
heavily in the development of its Private Public Partnership (PPP) project to improve further the
quality of school accommodation. The implementation and progress of this project is very
important to the continued development of Stirling schools and the quality of school learning
environments.
In the context of the Scottish Executive’s Modernising Local Government programme, the
Council is currently investigating a joint service delivery management proposal with
Clackmannanshire Council which may result in aspects of the management of both councils
coming together. The Council is also participating in a Shared Services Project with four other
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councils on the feasibility of providing support services including finance, payroll and
procurement.
Political and organisational structure
The Labour Party has overall control of the administration of Stirling Council. There have
been significant changes of personnel in the Children’s Services and Community Services
senior management teams since the last inspection. Each service had a new director who had
been in post just over a year. Recent restructuring within Children’s Services had reduced the
number of strategic teams from four to three.
Stirling Council’s administration is formed from 22 Councillors. The administration is led by
Labour who hold half of the 22 seats. In July 2006, the Council revised its political management
arrangements. The full council continues to debate educational matters but the previous three
key policy committees have been replaced by an Executive with delegated powers and two
Scrutiny Committees. The aim of this change is to increase levels of accountability with
opposition councillors having increased scope to scrutinise the work of the administration and of
Children’s and Community Services.
The main responsibility for the quality of education provision in schools and early years settings
continues to lie within Children’s Services. Community Services takes responsibility for
community learning and development (CLD). There has been a high degree of change in senior
management personnel within both services since the previous inspection. Each service has a
new director who has been in post just over a year. As part of strategic plans to further develop
integration of services for children and young people, there has been a significant restructuring
of management arrangements within Children’s Services.
3. How good are attainment and achievement of children and young people
and how well are they supported?
The quality of outcomes achieved by learners in Stirling and the maintenance and
improvement in their performance was very good across the authority.
Pre-school establishments
Stirling Council continued to maintain a very positive impact on pre-school provision.
Outcomes for children remained consistently positive, with some very strong features.
Inspection of pre-school establishments frequently indicated highly effective practice. This
included a strong emphasis on listening to children and involving them directly in their
learning. Staff who worked in pre-school centres were particularly positive about their
experiences and the support and challenge provided to them. Pre-school provision remained a
key component in Stirling Council’s drive to ensure equality for all children and young
people.
The quality of provision and support for early education remained a strength of the authority.
Integrated approaches continued to have a positive effect on sustaining and improving the quality
of education for young children. Pre-school and early years services remained a vital ingredient
of the Council’s approach to addressing inequalities in the lives of children and families. Staff
who worked in early education were aware of, and shared, the vision to provide children with the
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best possible start to their education. All who were interviewed in the course of the inspection,
including elected members, were very proud of the cohesive nature of provision in this area.
The quality of pre-school provision remained high. All of the five key curriculum areas were
evaluated as good or very good in most inspections in the period 2003 to 2006. The quality of
children’s learning experiences was consistently above national norms in several important areas
such as meeting children’s needs and support for children with additional needs. The quality of
leadership was evaluated as good or very good in almost all inspections during this period,
significantly higher than the national average.
Over recent years, staff had developed new approaches to developing learning in early years’
establishments. Benefits to children included their becoming better and more interested learners
who approached tasks with increasing confidence and took more responsibility for their own
learning. Recent reports on a number of Stirling pre-school centres confirmed the impact of this
approach on young learners who were often highly motivated and successful in a range of areas.
Children’s Services staff had recognised that, to build on these successes, there was a need to
ensure that these gains were sustained through the continued development of the nature and
quality of learning and curriculum experiences at P1.
A strong emphasis on the importance of information and communications technology (ICT)
provision in the early years had had a sustained impact on children’s learning experiences. The
recent HMIE task on Evaluating The Impact of ICT on Learning and Teaching highlighted many
very positive features in Stirling’s pre-school centres. These included a clear strategy for
improvement, high quality and very well received support for staff in the use of ICT, and the
provision and availability of both hardware and appropriate software. Overall, there was a
widespread, growing and appropriate use of ICT and a positive impact on the development of
children’s own ICT skills.
Partnership working amongst a range of agencies was a strong feature of many pre-school
centres. The introduction of a team of family support workers had strengthened provision in this
area and there was early evaluative evidence that multi-agency cooperation from health visitors,
social work and psychological services, was leading to improvements to the circumstances of
vulnerable groups. Pre-school staff reported positively on the level and impact of multi-agency
involvement targeted at a range of needs. A diverse range of professionals, including
occupational therapists and park rangers, provided effective input to support young learners.
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Features of good practice: The Documentation approach in pre-school
Documentation: an approach to Supporting Children’s Early Learning had been
disseminated to all Council nurseries, with plans in place for its extension to all partner
settings. This approach to learning in pre-school places the child at the centre of his or her
learning. It focuses upon adults providing encouragement and support for children to
follow their own learning interests. Children, nursery staff and parents jointly produce
material to illustrate and make visible the learning process. This includes, photographs,
children’s drawing, and written accounts of conversations between children and adults.
Benefits to children included increased levels of interest, motivation and engagement with
adults.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
Primary schools
Pupils in Stirling Council primary schools continued to achieve well in a range of areas.
Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics remained high, overall. Pupils responded
very positively to a wide range of opportunities to achieve. This included their developing
important skills in ICT and in citizenship. Continued Council emphasis on promoting sports
and cultural activities resulted in high levels of participation and enjoyment. Attendance
levels in primary were in line with the national and comparator averages. Exclusion levels in
Stirling primary schools remained well below the comparator average. A strong lead and
emphasis from Children’s Services staff on high quality learning and teaching had been
well-received by headteachers and was having a positive impact on practice.
Improving levels of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics in Stirling primary schools
had been identified as a key strength in the previous inspection. Performance in these areas
continued to have important strengths. At the point of the last national collation of
5-14 attainment data (2004) Stirling primary schools performed better than schools in
comparator authorities2 in all three areas. Over the last three years, performance in these areas
had been sustained, overall. The percentage of P6 and P7 pupils attaining the expected level or
better for reading had shown a steady and sustained increase over the period 2000 to 2006. Over
the period 2004 to 2006, those pupils attaining above expected levels had remained constant in
mathematics and writing but had dipped slightly in reading. Overall, evidence from use of
standardised tests in reading and mathematics confirmed the strong outcomes in attainment.
However, in a few recent school inspections, attainment in English language and mathematics
was evaluated as weak.
Inspections of Stirling primary schools since 2004 indicated that primary schools performed
strongly in many areas. In all inspections since August 2004, areas including pastoral care,
climate and relationships and partnerships with parents and the local community had been
evaluated as either good or very good. In almost all cases, the quality of leadership was
evaluated as either good or very good. However, in about one-third of the primary schools
inspected in this period, areas including self-evaluation did not emerge consistently well. During
this period, a small minority of Stirling schools had a weak overall performance. Attendance
levels in Stirling primary schools were in line with the national and comparator averages.
Exclusion levels in Stirling primary schools remained well below the comparator average.
2
4
The term ‘comparator authorities’ refers to the group of education authorities which are comparative to each other in terms of
socio-economic and demographic factors.
Children’s Services staff, working closely with schools, were leading effectively important
authority projects and developments in response to the national initiatives Assessment is for
Learning3 (AifL) and A Curriculum for Excellence4 (ACE). Primary staff were positive about
the levels of consultation and support from central staff in planning and developing these
projects at a cluster and school level. The AifL initiative had had a positive impact on the
quality of learning and teaching in a number of schools, confirmed in recent inspection evidence
in which, for example, teachers consistently shared learning intentions with pupils and reviewed
what had been learned.
Authority support for ICT in primary education had increased staff confidence in its use, as well
as improving the experiences of learners. Well planned support mechanisms had led to
improved outcomes for pupils including pupils acting as peer tutors for classmates in some
schools. Pupils reported positively and enthusiastically on the range and quality of ICT
provision to support them in their learning.
The range of high quality initiatives to promote pupils’ broader achievements and in health,
identified in the 2004 inspection report, had been sustained and further developed. The
authority’s very strong emphasis on promoting sports and other activities resulted in high levels
of participation and enjoyment in a wide range of games and cultural activities, including music
making and performance. The authority remained committed to helping pupils express their
views and take an active part in decision-making. Inspection evidence confirmed that primary
schools had appropriate arrangements, such as pupil councils, in place to enable pupils to
develop citizenship skills. Increasingly, schools were developing helpful and innovative links
with schools abroad, including in Africa. Hungry for Success5 initiatives continued to promote
healthier eating with children, young people and their families. All primary schools had adopted
these approaches. Health Promoting Schools’ accreditation had recently been piloted in a
number of schools with the expectation that all Stirling schools will achieve at least Health
Promoting Level 1 status by December 2007.
3
Assessment is for Learning (AifL) is a Scottish Executive Education Department development programme which outlines key principles
which connect assessment with learning and teaching.
4
A Curriculum for Excellence (ACE) programme outlines the purpose and principles of the curriculum 3-18 to provide a framework
within which improvements to Scottish education can and should be made.
5
Hungry for Success: A whole School Approach to School Meals in Scotland, Scottish Executive, November 2002.
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Features of good practice: The impact of information and communications
technology (ICT) in learning and teaching in pre-school centres and primary
schools
The authority had been very successful in implementing a three-year improvement
programme as part of its ICT policy. The authority had improved ICT hardware, including
putting digital projectors in all primary schools, and completing networking and effective
cluster support arrangements for technical support. All primary schools had interactive
whiteboards installed and staff benefited from well planned and appropriate training in their
use. All Stirling primary schools participated in Gridclub, the national online resource
which allows children and teachers to develop web skills, and communicate in a secure
mediated email system. All schools were registered with Think.com, which allows children
to expand their ICT skills within their own secure site. Overall, ICT resources had been
significantly enhanced and staff felt well supported in making effective use of ICT to
enhance children’s learning. Staff were making much greater use of ICT in learning and
teaching.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
Secondary schools
Levels of attainment in Stirling secondary schools remained high and overall levels of
performance were generally above national levels and those of comparator authorities. There
had, however, been a fall recently in levels of performance of S2 pupils and the authority was
aware of the need to improve the performance of the lowest achieving 20% from S3.
Individual schools had made appropriate use of curriculum flexibility to widen the range of
courses available to pupils and the authority was planning to build on this work and further
improve links with further education colleges. Secondary schools performed well across a
broad range of indicators. The authority continued to have strengths in promoting citizenship,
healthy living and pupil achievement in sports, arts and culture.
At the time of the last available national comparison in 2004, pupils at S2 in Stirling schools
performed better in reading, writing and mathematics than those in comparator authorities, as
well as pupils nationally. In 2005, there was a further improvement in S2 attainment in English
language. In 2006, the attainment data reported by schools showed a slight drop in performance
in mathematics but a more pronounced fall in reading and writing.
This high level of performance reported in 2004 at National Qualification (NQ) Levels 56 and 6
had been maintained over the 2004 to 2006 period. The percentage of pupils achieving five or
more awards at Level 5 by the end of S4 had remained above both the national and comparator
authority averages. Similarly, the percentages of pupils attaining three and five or more awards
at Level 6 by the end of S5 and S6 were well above both comparator and national averages. At
S6, the percentage attaining at least one award at Level 7 was also above comparator and
national averages. Over a third of school leavers entered higher education, a proportion which
continued to be significantly above the national figure.
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Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Levels:
7: Advanced Higher at A-C/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.
The authority was determined to maintain its tradition of high levels of performance at NQ
Levels 5 and 6. Nevertheless, it had also recognised that there was scope for improvement in the
performance of pupils in other areas. The percentages of pupils achieving five or more awards at
Level 3 or better and Level 4 or better by the end of S4 were in line with national averages but
slightly below those of comparator authorities. Moreover, the proportion of school leavers
entering further education was lower than the averages in comparator authorities or nationally.
This relatively low figure had the effect of reducing the overall proportion of pupils leaving
secondary schools for destinations in higher or further education, training or employment.
Stirling’s figure for school leavers without such destinations, which averaged 17% in the period
2004 to 2006, was still too high, despite some improvement in 2006.
The authority had developed effective approaches to help the most vulnerable pupils and those
with learning difficulties attain appropriate levels of performance. However, for a larger group
of pupils forming the lowest attaining 20%, the authority needed to raise levels of attainment. In
the period since 2004, all secondary schools had extended their approaches to curriculum
flexibility. These developments were designed to better meet pupils’ learning needs. Schools
had made selective use of the relaxation of age and stage regulations to enable some pupils to be
presented for Standard Grade in S3 and to introduce courses at Access, Intermediate 1 and
Intermediate 2 Levels at S3/S4. Each school had also widened its curriculum to include courses
leading to Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network (ASDAN), Prince’s Trust
and Skill Force awards. An increasing number of school pupils from S3 to S6 followed
vocationally relevant courses at colleges of further education. These approaches were improving
attendance levels for the pupils concerned and helping raise the level of their qualifications. The
authority recognised the need to build on these and other approaches to curriculum flexibility
taken by individual schools. It had recently formed a group of senior school staff to produce
advice based on existing best practice and had entered into negotiation with colleges on how
their menu of courses could be better matched to the needs of school students. The authority
needed to consider jointly with the colleges how to increase the numbers of school leavers
enrolling in vocational courses. There was also a need for the authority to develop more
systematic and coordinated approaches to identifying pupils in the lowest attaining 20% in each
school, tracking their progress towards agreed targets and raising their levels of attainment.
In the period April 2004 to October 2006, HMIE inspected two of the authority’s seven
secondary schools. In both schools the quality of attainment was good or very good at S1/S2 and
very good from S3 to S6. In each school, leadership and climate and relationships were
evaluated as very good. Most other aspects were found to be good or very good. However,
although in both schools pupils’ needs were found to be well met, the quality of learning support
was found to be weak. Education authority reports showed improvement in the two year period
since their original inspection.
The authority’s strengths in promoting citizenship, healthy living and pupil achievement in
sports, arts and culture, which were identified in the 2004 report, were again evident. Elections
to school pupil councils involved pupils in the democratic process. The authority’s student
forum had organised a pupil consultation about the Hungry for Success initiative and had also
interviewed fellow pupils to help identify areas for improvement in provision for disabled pupils.
Active Stirling had succeeded in involving large numbers of secondary pupils in a variety of
sports and physical activity. Pupils were able to develop self-esteem and confidence through a
wide range of activities such as participation in The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, work
experience, and prefect and buddying arrangements. Pupils had been successful in developing
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effective debating skills and large numbers continued to participate in competitive sport and in
musical and dramatic events.
Features of good practice: Citizenship and wider achievement in the school
sector
The Children’s Charter, developed by the Students’ Forum in June 2004, set out what
children in Stirling wanted in their lives. The authority had made good use of this as a basis
to promote active citizenship in schools. Pupils had been involved in Eco Schools
initiatives and in links with schools across the globe. All primary schools and some
nurseries were now registered as Eco Schools, and the number achieving Eco Schools
awards had grown annually. Five establishments had achieved Green Flag status, 20 had
silver awards, and 35 had the bronze award. Stirling schools continued to achieve
recognition for high quality work in citizenship with a number of establishments gaining
national awards for citizenship and values each session. A range of global citizenship
activities included involvement in charity work, exploring poverty and climate change and
developing further links with schools overseas. Stirling schools had international links with
schools abroad, and many schools had involved their local communities in these ventures.
Stirling pupils had high levels of participation and achievement in sports and cultural
activities.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
Children and young people with additional support needs
There were major strengths in the provision for children and young people with additional
support needs. Pupils benefited from creative and supportive approaches to meeting a wide
range of additional support needs. The authority’s Staged Intervention procedures were very
well implemented across schools. With effective collaboration from educational psychology
service personnel, Children’s Services had prepared very well for the implementation of The
Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (ASL). To enhance
further the impact on children and young people receiving specialist support, there now
needed to be an improved level of joint-working and communication between specialist
personnel within Council support services, particularly in relation to provision for pupils with
social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.
A wide range of creative and supportive approaches had been developed to meet the needs of
pupils with additional support needs and involve them learning opportunities within their local
community. These included in-school support systems, flexible curricular approaches, and
multi-agency projects and resources. Several School Liaison Groups had been resourceful in
accessing effective support from a range of agencies, and schools had developed Nurture Groups
which had helped raise the self-esteem of pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Inclusion support workers had made a very positive impact in fostering positive partnerships
between schools, young people and their families.
The authority placed high priority on maintaining young people in their local mainstream schools
whenever possible. Schools employed a wide range of suitable support strategies for pupils who
were at risk of exclusion. Stirling’s Accessibility Strategy took full account of the physical,
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curricular and social needs of pupils with additional support needs and made good use of partner
organisations to help support vulnerable young people attending their local schools. However,
when it was necessary, the Council had a suitable range of specialist provision for pupils.
Features of good practice: Pit Stop at Bannockburn Primary School
The Pit Stop was developed to support the needs of children with social, emotional and
behavioural difficulties. This innovative approach allowed for the needs of pupils to be met
in their local school with appropriate mainstream role models. There had been a high level of
consultation with all key stakeholders including parents, and community representatives. An
additional experienced specialist teacher had been appointed who worked directly with pupils
and provided relevant staff development including demonstrating effective teaching
approaches. There had been a strong impact on the confidence of all staff who now deal more
proactively with behavioural issues. The new provision had made a significant impact on the
targeted pupils with improved levels of behaviour and application across the school.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
The authority had very well developed procedures to ensure effective identification, monitoring
and support of children and young people with additional support needs. Its system of staged
intervention was very effective in coordinating the work of the agencies involved in supporting
pupils with additional support needs. Very good support and information had been provided to
parents/carers on the implementation of the ASL Act. Pupils and parents were also very well
supported at points of transition, such as from primary to secondary school, through strong
partnership working involving health, social work and the voluntary sector. Parents and young
people felt particularly well supported by the Community Early Years Team on entry to school,
and through the work of Compass for Life and other partners at the post-school transition phase.
However, parents’ views on the quality of support and service provided by the Educational
Psychology Service were variable. Regular inter-agency meetings also played an important part
in monitoring individual pupils’ progress, as did the authority-wide tracking system introduced
by Support for Learning Area Network Teams (SLANT). Pupils with additional support needs
were making good progress toward agreed targets in their course work and that many had been
successful in gaining appropriate NQs.
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Features of good practice: Implementation of the Education (Additional Support
for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004
Stirling had embedded the implementation of the Act within its Staged Intervention process
building on the strong approaches to inclusion in place across the authority. The Educational
Psychology Service had played a significant role in the implementation of the Act, and in
providing high quality training for staff at all levels across the authority. Implementation built
on existing good practice which included a Parents Forum for children with additional support
needs. The authority had informed stakeholders about the Act well through informative family
friendly leaflets, and a CD ROM which had been produced in partnership with families
representing parents, children and young people. Parents and partner agencies had been fully
involved in discussions and developments regarding the implementation of the Act. There had
been extensive awareness raising activities provided for staff at all levels. Staff reported that
the training was effective and had increased their knowledge and understanding of the
requirements of the Act and its implications for their practice.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
Stirling had created a range of services and initiatives to better support the achievement and
attainment of looked after7 and accommodated children (LAC) and young people. There was an
expanding range of qualifications available to pupils whose education had been disrupted,
including NQs at Access level, ASDAN and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The number of
such pupils was low in the authority’s schools and their levels of success fluctuated from year to
year. In 2005, the proportion of such pupils who attained NQ at Level 3 or above had been
significantly higher than the national average. In some years, a few had progressed to study in
further and higher education. However, there had been reduced performance in 2006 and it will
be important for the authority to ensure that pupils in this situation achieve their full potential.
Transition planning for looked after and accommodated young people was well developed. In
particular, helpful Pathfinder plans were in place for all school leavers who had been in care.
The authority had also in place very effective systems for monitoring the educational progress
and health of looked after and accommodated pupils. There was a particular emphasis on
providing support at the point of entry into care, and during early childhood.
The authority’s strategic planning to coordinate the support from a range of agencies had resulted
in many examples of very effective partnership and multi-agency working across Stirling. There
was some very appropriate use of expertise from the health and voluntary sectors. The work of
the Family Support and Community Childcare Services supporting vulnerable families with
children under five years old and the contribution of the Freagarrach Alcohol and Drug Service
were examples of effective partnership working.
The authority delivered a wide range of very effective support services. These included services
for children and young people with sensory impairments, those with Autism Spectrum Disorders
(ASD) and complex needs, pre-school children and the children of gypsy travellers. However,
the delivery of support services for children and young people with social, emotional and
behavioural difficulties was inconsistent across the authority. To enhance further the impact on
children and young people receiving specialist support, particularly in this area, but also more
generally, there now needed to be an improved level of joint-working and communication
7
The term ‘looked after’ in this report includes all children looked after or looked after and accommodated by the Council.
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between specialist personnel within Council support services. A very promising beginning had
been made by the collaboration of services in tracking and monitoring the attainment of pupils
who received support. The need now was to make more systematic use of the data collected and
engage in benchmarking activities to determine the success of their support initiatives for key
pupil groups such as those with Autism and sensory impairments.
Community learning and development
Community Services and Active Stirling, a leisure trust, delivered a wide range of services and
projects which had a positive impact on a significant number of children, young people and
adults across the Council area. Active Stirling worked particularly effectively with schools to
deliver playground games and increased opportunities through sports for pupils to be active.
Community Services staff made very effective use of arts and sports as a vehicle for engaging
young people and supporting their social and emotional development. Community Services
targeted input on the regeneration areas in and around Stirling. This provision had a
particularly positive impact on young people and adult learners in these areas but the strategy
had resulted in a relative lack of provision in some communities outside the regeneration
areas.
The 2005, HMIE inspection report on CLD in the areas of regeneration identified very good
provision for young people and good provision for adult learners overall. Work with young
people and adult learners resulted in significant positive outcomes for participants and
communities. A follow-up inspection in October 2006 found that the authority had continued to
make good progress in improving provision.
Community Services’ work with young people resulted in important outcomes for those who
accessed services. Almost all young people participating in activities had improved their
self-confidence and self-esteem and most had improved their communication skills. The level of
offending by young people and incidences of substance misuse had, in some instances, been
reduced through effective partnership work with police and health services. Effective promotion
of Young Scot and the introduction of text messaging services provided choices for young people
to access information and advice about housing, health and other topics that were of interest to
them.
Community Services staff worked effectively with voluntary sector partners and other agencies
to provide personal development and alternative curriculum opportunities in secondary schools,
including expanded provision for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The Compass for Life
Partnership provided very effective support for young people who were not in education,
employment or training (NEET). Commendably, aspects of this successful approach were now
being applied in partnership with secondary schools to support young people who were at risk of
becoming socially excluded when they leave school. However, although the range of provision
in the targeted areas of most need was proving effective, there was a relative lack of provision
for young people and adult learners in some communities outside the regeneration areas.
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Features of good practice: Compass for Life Partnership
The Compass for Life Partnership is a well established yet innovative approach to meeting the
needs of 14 to 25 year olds who face particular challenges in making successful transitions to
adult life. Led by Community Services, the partnership brings together the local enterprise
company, Careers Scotland, the NHS, Jobcentre Plus, Barnardos and Aberlour Childcare Trust.
The partners provide a range of individual and group programmes that build confidence and
self-esteem and improved participants’ readiness for work and further education. Specific
programmes had provided a focused response to young people’s needs in relation to health,
literacy and numeracy, housing, substance misuse and employment skills for the care sector.
Effective partnership work, based on shared values, had impacted positively on the working
practices of partners at the point of delivery.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
Adult learning and literacies provision in the regeneration areas had continued to use individual
learning plans as the basis for learning programmes. In this way, support was very well focused
on addressing the individual needs of adults in ways that were relevant to their roles at work, in
their families and in the community. One-hundred and sixty adult learners were awarded
certificates of personal progress at an awards ceremony in 2006. However, in the current
session, changes in arrangements for partnership work with a local college had resulted in a very
significant reduction in the availability of adult learning opportunities in communities outwith
the regeneration areas.
Active Stirling staff provided very effective support to schools. They worked regularly with
groups of pupils and had provided effective staff development for teaching and support staff. A
majority of pupils in both secondary and primary schools participated in at least one of a range of
sports and physical activities during the school year. Sports coordinators had also recruited and
trained a significant number of teachers and parents to volunteer to help with after school clubs.
4. What impact has the authority had in meeting the needs of parents,
carers and families, staff and the wider community?
Impact on parents, carers and families
Overall, the authority’s impact in meeting the needs of parents, carers and families was very
good. Partnership with parents and the community was good or very good in all Stirling
schools inspected by HMIE since August 2004. School Boards were well supported by the
authority and the Council was providing very good support and information to parents groups
in the implementation of the Parental Involvement Act 2006. Children’s Services
demonstrated a very strong commitment to the development of positive partnerships with
parents and carers. The Council provided a range of opportunities and support for parents
and carers to be actively involved in their children’s learning and to enhance their own
learning.
Partnership with parents and community was generally good or very good. Almost all Stirling
schools had a school board and in the pre-inspection survey of school boards/parents associations
there was overall agreement that they received good support from Stirling Council. Parents were
12
particularly positive about the opportunities their children had for participation in cultural and
sporting initiatives and approaches to health education.
The Council had well-developed plans in hand to develop further its overarching policy on
parental involvement, engagement and support and to ensure that schools had parental
involvement as a focus in annual self-evaluation exercises and improvement plans. Family
support workers had been introduced into some pre-school centres to promote parental
engagement and the Council was developing an effective strategy for positive parenting which
included adult learning opportunities in family literacies. There were good examples of parents
acting as trainers for other parents and parents’ groups indicated that they were very much aware
of opportunities to become involved in activities at school level.
The Council recognised there was scope to ensure that parents had better access to key
information on the work of Children’s Services and to consult parents on key policy initiatives
more meaningfully prior to final decisions being taken. Some good progress had already been
made. The Information Service for parents had been extended and the Council had been
particularly proactive in developing its strategy for involving parents in implementing the
Parental Involvement Act 2006.
Features of good practice: Implementation of the Parental Involvement Act 2006
Parental involvement was being effectively promoted in Stirling Council. A Parental
Involvement Consultant had been appointed and a comprehensive workplan to implement the Act
had been developed. The authority had established a Parent Network to provide information on
the new Act and to promote debate and discussion and hear parents’ views. They had also
developed an Information Service for parents including the publication of key leaflets on the Act
and the development of a parental involvement website. Parents and staff participated in training
and development activities to raise awareness and prepare them for implementation of the Act.
In addition, the authority had promoted activities at local individual school level including
projects such as e-mail communication with parents, Learning Groups in nurseries, nursery to
primary transition, the establishment of a multi-cultural parent forum, initiatives to get more
fathers into schools and projects addressing bullying.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
The Council operated an effective comments and complaints scheme called Talkback which had
a good record of success in dealing with the concerns raised. In the last two years, for example,
all parental complaints had been resolved without the need for the final stage of the process and
some service improvements had been made as a result. These included improvements in school
administration procedures related to data protection and better information for parents on the
establishment of composite classes in primary schools.
Impact on staff
The authority’s impact on meeting the needs of staff was very good. Staff benefited from a
well established Staff and Professional Review and Development programme. Effective
training and support programmes were in place for probationer teachers and for all relevant
staff in child protection. There was a very strong commitment to the support of staff in
13
improving aspects of curriculum provision, assessment, and learning and teaching, including
the use of ICT. There was a strong emphasis on promoting leadership. Centrally-deployed
staff had very good opportunities for personal and professional development and the Council
supported staff with a good range of measures. Overall, staff morale was high with relatively
low levels of staff absence.
The Council supported staff with a good range of measures which were family friendly and
promoted equal opportunities. Centrally-deployed staff, including CLD and Educational
Psychology Service staff, indicated that they had access to very good opportunities for personal
and professional development and some had been supported in gaining additional qualifications.
The authority had a well established Staff and Professional Review and Development programme
based on needs arising from establishment, team and individual improvement processes. In
consequence, a wide range of development activities for staff at all levels was available and staff
evaluations of the quality of provision were generally positive. To further improve the
programme, Children’s Services was in the process of further strengthening the professional
review and development scheme and to develop more integrated approaches to staff training and
professional development.
The authority provided extensive and high quality staff development in the school sector. School
staff generally indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the quality of support provided in key
aspects of their work such as the implementation of ACE and AifL. There was effective support
and training for health promotion, citizenship, child protection and Eco School developments.
Very good support programmes were in place for probationer teachers. Teaching and support
staff had been well prepared for the implementation of the ASL and Parental Involvement Acts.
The authority had been very supportive in enabling support staff to undertake relevant specialist
qualifications. Senior school managers agreed that the authority made a positive difference to
improving the quality of learning and teaching including the use of ICT. The authority was
highly committed to supporting schools in developing systematic approaches to self-evaluation
and to leadership development and almost all headteachers reported that the authority had
encouraged them to develop a systematic approach to self-evaluation and that staff had access to
training for leadership.
14
Features of good practice: Staff development in the school sector
Children’s Services had a very well developed and successful approach to staff professional
review and development. Staff involvement was viewed as an entitlement for all staff and was a
key element in Children’s Services for driving forward improvements. The programme of
development activities was based on an analysis of establishment, team and individual plans and
also included a systematic response to national and local initiatives. Staff were encouraged to
enhance their qualifications through award-bearing courses. The authority ran an induction and
mentoring programme for newly appointed headteachers. They also placed a particular focus on
leadership development. Probationer teachers enjoyed a high quality induction and support
programme. There was also high quality support for school staff in areas such as A Curriculum
for Excellence, Assessment is for Learning, information and communications technology in
learning and teaching, child protection, the Parental Involvement Act 2006 and The Education
(Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 and health promotion. The authority
placed increasing emphasis on multi-agency training to support the further development of
integrated working.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
Responses from a recent survey of schools indicated that overall the Council had made very
good progress in the implementation of A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century8. Some staff,
including in school administration and those working in pre-school centres benefited from
regular network opportunities where effective practice was shared. Staff indicated a desire for
this approach to be further developed across other staff groups, particularly in the secondary
school sector, to address subject-specific learning and teaching issues.
Almost all heads of establishment were positive about the level of contact from Education
Officers (EOs) and Early Childhood Link Officers. They gave advice based on their knowledge
of best practice and encouraged headteachers to implement authority guidance so as to ensure
consistency of provision. They were beginning to make good use of an improving range of
management information tools to assist them in their support and challenge roles. They received
ongoing training and support for their roles in self-evaluation, class observation and evaluative
writing. EOs were successfully coming to terms with new remits and responsibilities resulting
from recent restructuring and new reporting arrangements and generally staff in schools had a
high regard for their support.
The Educational Psychology Service played a key role in the development and training of staff
within the authority including extensive training relating to the Staged Intervention process, and
solution-focused leadership. Staff within Community Services were generally energetic,
committed and enthusiastic about their work. They themselves benefited from effective staff
review and development procedures and relevant training opportunities. They also provided
effective training to a range of other authority and partner agency staff. Importantly, this
included providing training and support for school, health and police staff in approaches to
working with communities.
8
A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century – Scottish Executive, January 2001.
15
Impact on the local community
The Council’s well-developed approach to community planning resulted in high levels of
community engagement in determining local priorities. Local groups were very well supported
to represent community interests and, particularly in the regeneration areas, to develop and
deliver local services. Voluntary sector representatives contributed effectively to strategic
community planning. At local level, however, Children’s Community Partnerships’ support
for joint-working across services and with partner agencies was too variable. Community
Services and Active Stirling staff provided a significant range of opportunities and training
for parents and teachers to volunteer in school and community activities. New arrangements
for local community planning were at an early stage of development.
Community representatives were very well supported by community development staff to
identify local needs and determine local priorities. Communities had a very strong voice in
determining priorities for budgets allocated through area community planning forums.
Voluntary sector representatives were well supported to contribute effectively at the strategic
level within community planning. Some local groups had been very well supported by staff from
Community Services, particularly in the regeneration areas, to develop and deliver local services.
The authority’s use of Children’s Community Partnerships to promote integrated working was
not yet fully effective. There were inconsistencies in staff’s understanding of the principles and
purposes of the partnerships. There were some good examples of multi-agency collaboration
operating well in some clusters and having a positive impact on communities. A minority of
schools made effective use of resources in the community to support pupils’ learning and a few
were exceptionally active in supporting community activities. In these schools, parents and other
adults worked very effectively with staff in schools to maximise learning opportunities for
pupils. Overall, however, the initiative had not furthered the Councils promotion of integrated
working nor realised the full benefits for parents, carers and families in communities.
Over the past year, more positive working relationships had been developed between Children’s
and Community Services to meet the needs of parents, carers and families. This had enabled the
joint-working between the two services and other agencies, including in the voluntary sector, to
be strengthened and extended. Over 30 teachers had been recruited and trained to volunteer as
leaders for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in the last two years. Active Stirling had also
trained 150 teachers and support staff to volunteer for after school sports and physical activity
programmes. In some schools, high levels of parental involvement had resulted in a very wide
range of initiatives that benefited local communities. In one rural school for example, two
parents had undertaken training in drugs awareness prior to themselves training a further ten
parents in the local community. Children’s Services had worked well with Community Services
and other partners to ensure that new schools being built under the PPP initiative would provide
for community use in the evenings and at weekends. This collaborative working should be
further strengthened along with engagement with voluntary organisations to enhance provision in
support of children’s learning.
Impact on the wider community
The work of the authority had had a very positive impact on the wider community. A number
of initiatives, including imaginative approaches to community planning and developments in
16
pre-school education, had stimulated interest from other professionals, both in neighbouring
authorities and nationally. The Council had led moves to work closely with neighbouring
councils to ensure greater efficiencies.
The authority gave a clear, strategic lead on improving the quality of learning and teaching in
order to improve experiences for children and young people. This had included the use of
national and international expertise to help develop approaches to learning and teaching in
Stirling, in, for example, cooperative learning. Stirling’s development of national initiatives such
as AifL and ACE had benefited from effective contact and involvement at a national level. This
was assisted by effective use of existing cluster arrangements and, where appropriate, new
support groupings. The development of the Documentation approach to learning in early
education had successfully built on careful research and strong national and international links.
Use of action research approaches in a number of developments had successfully encouraged
staff to lead local projects in these areas. Stirling had been a pilot area for community planning
and Community Services staff continued to support high levels of community engagement at
local and area levels.
Staff in Stirling Council enjoyed effective and beneficial links with a range of colleagues, both at
a local authority and at a national level. Children’s Services and Community Services staff had
been actively involved in national initiatives. The Director of Children’s Services spoke
regularly at national seminars and conferences. Staff from both Children’s Services and
Community Services had made significant contributions to national working groups and had
participated in, for example, the National Leadership Group. The Compass for Life Partnership
had achieved a number of national awards for its work with young people who were NEET. A
number of staff from Stirling Council schools and Community Services acted, on a part-time
seconded basis, as Associate Assessors with HMIE. Directorate staff had prioritised the use of
these and other secondees to assist them to improve further the quality of education in Stirling.
Through a Shared Services Project the Council had led moves towards exploring the feasibility
of providing shared support services, including finance and procurement, with a number of
neighbouring councils. This was aimed at ensuring more effective and efficient management of
resources. At the time of the inspection, the Council was also exploring a joint service delivery
management proposal with Clackmannanshire Council aimed at ensuring further efficiencies in
service delivery. Work with staff from Perth and Kinross Council was also underway in
developing the Rich Task approach to curriculum development, based on a Scottish Executive
Education Department funded study trip to Queensland, Australia.
Stirling Council education provision continued to have a high reputation nationally in a number
of areas. Staff from a range of Councils visited Stirling establishments to learn more about
aspects of practice that were viewed as particularly effective. Stirling’s approach to early
education, its work on PPP, staged intervention and procedures for crisis management had
attracted interest from professionals throughout Scotland and beyond who were keen to benefit
from sector-leading practice. Staff from Educational Psychology Services in Stirling contributed
strongly to professional development nationally in, for example, support for crisis intervention.
Community Services staff had made significant contributions to national training and
development materials for CLD.
17
5. How well is the authority led?
Vision, values and aims
Stirling Council consistently promoted a clear vision for education which placed the highest
priority on promoting children’s well-being through effective joint-working between Council
services and a wide range of partner agencies. Elected members consistently demonstrated
their commitment to this principle and senior officers had energetically communicated and
reinforced the importance of the vision through direct contact with staff in establishments. In
consequence, there was a very high degree of understanding and commitment across Council
and partner agency staff to providing integrated services and there were many effective
examples of joint-working across agencies to meet children’s needs.
Since its formation in 1996, Stirling Council had been strongly committed to a structure which
placed children’s well-being at the centre of its strategic thinking. Elected members continued to
share the Council’s strong commitment to education and had a high degree of consensus in
making decisions. The Council retained a clear vision of its responsibility to provide integrated
services to promote the all-round development of children.
The Council’s corporate plan for 2003 to 2008 set out appropriate aims in terms of being openly
accountable, empowering citizens to participate in decisions affecting their communities,
promoting individual rights and responsibilities, and sustaining Stirling’s quality of life and
environment for present and future generations. There was a very strong focus on community
planning and on engaging with partners such as health services and the voluntary sector to
promote inclusion, reduce inequalities and deliver efficient services to meet community needs.
The vision for education was fully in line with these aspirations and strongly based on putting the
highest priority on meeting children’s needs through integrated working across services.
This vision was very clearly set out in For Stirling’s Children. Each of the four key principles of
Children First, Inclusion, Quality and Partnership was expanded and explained clearly in terms
of implications for the joint work of Children’s and Community services and partner agencies.
The stability and consistency of this vision over the years had greatly helped in establishing these
concepts amongst staff and gaining their strong commitment to the key principle of Children
First.
Senior officers and elected members consistently demonstrated their commitment to social
inclusion, valuing social and cultural diversity and partnership working. Council publications,
and events such as major staff development days and celebrations of success, helped reinforce
staff appreciation of Stirling’s vision for education. The Director of Children’s Services had
been very energetic in his promotion of the Children First principle since he took up post. His
approach had been widely welcomed and was helping staff at all levels fully understand and
appreciate the importance of joint-working in achieving aims relating to social inclusion.
Similarly, the Director of Community Services had been active in emphasising to staff and
partners the importance of taking an integrated approach to delivering services to young people
and of targeting this support to the most socially disadvantaged areas. She had most recently
promoted these concepts at a series of conferences for staff and partners including inaugural
conferences on culture and for staff in Community Services. As a result of these effective
approaches, the basic principle of working together to put children’s and young people’s best
interests first was very well understood by staff and partners at all levels.
18
The shared understanding of principles and aims across Children’s and Community services and
partner agencies and organisations had helped promote some very effective joint-working. This
strength was very evident in relation to the provision of opportunities for children and young
people to take part in cultural activities, the promotion of healthy lifestyles and the effective
partnership arrangements which benefited the most socially disadvantaged children and young
people. The Council recognised the need to strengthen the structures for inter-agency working at
local level and monitor the impact of joint-working to ensure maximum impact at the point of
delivery.
Leadership and direction
The overall quality of leadership and direction was very good. Clear principles such as
Children First underpinned the planning mechanism. The priorities in the Community and
Corporate plans related very well to those in For Stirling’s Children, the integrated children’s
services plan. These in turn were well used by staff in the construction of improvement plans
at establishment level. This coherent approach had led to a positive impact on service delivery
as well as a recognition of the need for better performance information upon which to base
decisions. Planning was well coordinated, with effective links between planning priorities and
resource allocation.
Elected members and senior officers provided very clear policy and direction for Children’s
Services which promoted continuous improvement. The strong corporate emphasis on putting
children first and actively pursuing partnership approaches had led to an emphasis on promoting
inclusion and ensuring quality of delivery. The restructuring of the senior management team in
Children’s Services was widely recognised as an important step in further developing the
integrated deliver of services to children and families.
The Community Plan and the Corporate Plan had clear priorities to invest in the school estate,
improve learning environments, support vulnerable children and young people and raise
achievement. Clear links were being developed between these priorities and those in For
Stirling’s Children integrated children’s services plan. Staff in schools and across Children’s
Services welcomed the commitment to one planning mechanism which avoided duplication of
planning and gave clarity of shared purpose. The aims for Children’s Services had remained
constant over a period of years as had the main features of the planning format at different levels.
The strategic aims and clear objectives in For Stirling’s Children were clearly communicated to
stakeholders with an annual public report on progress and more frequent updates provided to the
Community Planning Partnership. The high level priorities in the integrated plan were reflected
well in specific targets in individual establishment and team plans. There was strong evidence
that the planned actions were having a positive impact on the quality and range of service
delivery in Children’s Services.
Planning was well coordinated, with stronger links developing between planning priorities and
resource allocation. The Council was developing a clearer policy-led budgeting approach
following recommendations made in the 2005 Best Value and Community Planning audit.
Senior managers in Children’s Services now had more involvement in the budget process and in
the preparation of budgets. The Council had successfully implemented several key aspects of
risk management but during 2005/2006 this important initiative had lost some momentum. In
Children’s Services, the senior management team had identified key operational risks and
19
produced a risk register with control measures. Regular reports on health and safety in
Children’s Services were submitted to the Council’s Health and Safety Panel. The measures in
place at service level were sound and had the potential to contribute to the corporate
development of risk management. A new corporate risk manager had been appointed to further
develop and embed risk management across Stirling Council.
Development of people and partnerships
Despite a significant level of recent changes in personnel and structure across Children’s and
Community Services the authority had succeeded in meeting many of its key objectives. Staff
across Children’s Services welcomed the increased commitment to openness and transparency
in decision-making. There was a strong move towards a culture of dispersed leadership and
responsibility in both services. In consequence, staff now felt more confident in being
innovative and creative on behalf of Stirling’s children and young people. Teamwork and
partnership with a range of other stakeholders was well embedded across the authority. There
was a wide range of successful joint-working involving health and a number of voluntary
sector organisations which was impacting positively on the lives of children and young people.
Overall, this aspect of leadership was very good.
Children’s and Community Services had undergone a recent period of significant restructuring
and personnel change. Staff at all levels, parents and community users had, however, been
reassured that the fundamental principles of the authority remained unchanged. The new senior
management team in Children’s Services had an increased commitment to openness and
transparency in decision-making to which staff were responding very positively. They also
welcomed the move towards giving staff more empowerment through a culture of dispersed
leadership and responsibility which had been designed to encourage leadership and innovation at
institution level. Within Community Services, senior management were also giving a strong lead
to strengthening distributed leadership approaches in partnership working at local level.
Already, the new approaches were making an impact. Headteachers now took a more active role
in authority initiatives such as planning staff development events and managers from across a
range of services were taking responsibility for decision-making within PPP developments.
Throughout the period of change, the authority had also maintained very positive relations with
professional associations and unions. Nearly all staff interviewed felt that the authority
continued to be well led.
The authority had a high level of commitment to joint-working across Council services. There
was also a wide range of successful partnership working involving health and a number of
voluntary sector organisations which was impacting positively on the lives of children and young
people. The work undertaken at strategic level through the Multi-agency Resource Group
(MARG) had led to creative educational packages being developed to meet the needs of very
vulnerable children and young people. The Family support and Community Childcare service
(FSCC), involved Children’s and Community Services and health services working well together
to support vulnerable families with children under five. In the secondary sector, inclusion
workers collaborated well with pupil support staff in schools, to support children and families.
This work had been effective in bringing about positive changes to pupil attitude regarding
school attendance and exclusion. The Educational Psychology Service had contributed well
towards to specific areas of partnership working within the authority. In particular it had
supported School Liaison Groups, and collaborated effectively with a wide range of external
20
agencies, including social work and Careers Scotland, to improve transitional planning for young
people with additional support and those leaving care.
Leadership of change and improvement
The quality of the leadership of change and improvement had important strengths. Led by the
Directors of Children’s and Community Services, authority staff were committed to
continuously improving children’s and young people’s experiences and achievements. Recent
improvements to approaches in this area had included recognition of the need to ensure even
greater consistency in the work of EOs across Stirling’s schools. As a result of a recent review
of approaches, authority staff were now ensuring more targeted challenge and support for
schools. Within Community Services, staff made good use of nationally and locally developed
evaluation tools to support self-evaluation and continuous improvement.
In Children’s Services, senior managers had recently streamlined the cycle for school
improvement planning to put more emphasis on effective self-evaluation at a local level.
Headteachers had been consulted on these developments and had responded positively to the
clear and helpful advice provided. The authority continued to make use of an ongoing
programme of reviews and audits on specific issues to inform decision-making. Recently, a
review of the location and size of schools had identified potential efficiency gains, including
seeking to approve formal consultation on the closure of one primary school. Senior managers
had also taken clear and appropriate measures to ensure that EOs were developing greater
consistency in their working arrangements with schools. Their procedures had benefited from
shared best practice and staff development through coaching. In consequence, the level of both
support and challenge provided for headteachers and managers was becoming greater and more
consistent.
Children’s Services had recognised the need to generate more robust and comprehensive data to
help inform the planning process and to assess and report on performance. A new Planning and
Performance Unit had been formed with the aim of developing a coordinated approach to
collating management information for use within the service. This was a very sound
development and although still at the early stages of its work, the unit had already made some
encouraging progress.
In Community Services, challenge and support for staff was provided effectively by operational
managers and a part-time officer dedicated to quality and performance improvement. Overall,
staff made effective use of innovative assessment tools to enable learners to reflect on and
identify the impact of their learning. Community Services also played a significant role in
leading change in relation to community engagement in community planning. However, some
headteachers were insufficiently aware of the purposes and roles of Community Services staff.
More opportunities were needed for senior staff in Community Services and headteachers to
share information about service activities and strategic developments, including the contribution
of youth work staff to securing the outcomes of ACE.
The authority had acted upon the need to improve further how it celebrated achievements in
schools. The authority’s first Determined to Succeed in Education showcase event had been held
recently and had been very well received by staff, pupils and guests. The seconded ACE team
played an important role in sharing effective practice in developments in the curriculum and in
learning and teaching. Sharing practice was now also a regular feature of all authority
21
headteachers’ meeting. Community Services also placed considerable importance on celebrating
the successes of young people, adult learners and community organisations.
6. What is the Council’s capacity for improvement?
Stirling Council continued to demonstrate a high capacity for continued improvement.
Despite a period of major change in senior personnel and service structure, the authority
remained effective in maintaining high standards of performance in schools and in integrated
working with partner agencies and the voluntary sector. Children’s and Community services
were promoting a more open approach and a greater involvement of staff in decision-making
at local level.
Since the publication of the previous report on the Council’s Education Services, Children’s and
Community Services had undergone a period of major change in personnel, including the
directors of both services and a significant proportion of their senior staff posts. There had also
been a significant degree of change to the structure of Children’s Services. Despite a very
significant level of change over a short period, the positive impact of Children’s and Community
Services had been maintained. Links between the two services at director and senior
management level had been improved and there was now more collaborative working. The
impact of the authority on learners continued to be strong and high standards of performance had
been maintained. Integrated working with partner agencies and the voluntary sector continued to
be an area of significant strength.
The previous senior management of Children’s Services had established a very strong foundation
of consistent practice across the authority’s schools. The new Director and his senior managers
had been able to move forward from this very strong position. The service had begun to make
some significant changes in its relationship with schools. Senior staff worked very well as a
team and together took an open approach which, when appropriate, included school staff in
decision-making. In Community Services, the Director was engaged in further strengthening
links with partner organisations through more extensive collaborative planning.
The authority was aware of the importance of basing future decisions more securely on
comprehensive performance data and was taking action to strengthen this aspect of its work.
This robust approach, the heightened partnership between Community and Children’s Services
and the degree to which staff at all levels were responding positively to the new climate of open
decision-making, augured well for the authority’s continued improvement across a wide range of
fronts.
22
Key strengths
•
Pre-school provision generally and the impact of ICT in learning and teaching, particularly in
the pre-school and primary sectors.
•
Effective staff development programmes and involvement of parents in important
developments such as the Parental Involvement Act 2006.
•
Authority support to schools for key initiatives such as implementation of the ASL Act, AifL
and ACE.
•
The breadth of pupils’ achievements in sport, culture and citizenship and the maintenance of
high levels of attainment in SQA awards.
•
Innovative and effective approaches to meeting the needs of the most vulnerable, including
looked after children.
•
Open leadership approaches, to which staff were responding positively, and the improving
level of teamwork at all levels.
•
The quality of CLD support for young people most in need, particularly through partnership
working in areas of regeneration.
Main points for action
•
Further develop approaches to integrated working to ensure identified and consistent
improvements in outcomes for stakeholders.
•
Continue to develop robust and systematic approaches to collecting and evaluating
performance data to inform improvement planning decisions.
•
Continue to implement and embed recent positive developments to build further capacity for
continuous improvement in schools and services.
As a result of the continuing improvement and strong leadership within Children’s Services and
Community Services, HM Inspectors will make no further reports in connection with this
inspection. The authority have been asked to prepare an action plan indicating how they will
address the main findings of the report, particularly in relation to the work of the Educational
Psychology Service. The District Inspector will continue to monitor progress as part of his
regular work with the authority.
Annette Bruton
HM Chief Inspector
Directorate 5
March 2006
23
Appendix 1
Quality Indicators
Quality Indicator
Improvements in performance
Impact on learners
Impact on parents/carers and families
Impact on staff
Impact on the local community
Impact on the wider community
Vision, values and aims
Leadership and direction
Developing people and partnerships
Leadership of change and improvement
Evaluation
Very Good
Very Good
Very Good
Very Good
Good
Very Good
Excellent
Very Good
Very Good
Good
Note:
The quality scale used in inspections is indicated below. Further details are provided on the inside cover
of this report.
Old level
Very good
Good
New level
Excellent
Very good
Good
Fair
Unsatisfactory
Adequate
Weak
Unsatisfactory
24
Description
Outstanding, sector leading
Major strengths
Important strengths with some areas for
improvement
Strengths just outweigh weaknesses
Important weaknesses
Major weaknesses
Appendix 2
Performance information
Attendance
Table A.1: Percentage Attendance
Primary:
2003
2004
2005
Stirling
95.4
95.1
94.9
CA Average
95.2
95.8
95.6
National
94.9
95.3
95.0
Secondary:
2003
2004
2005
Stirling
90.9
90.3
90.1
CA Average
90.1
91.5
91.3
National
89.2
90.2
90.2
2003
2004
2005
Stirling
73.0
73.0
73.9
CA Average
64.2
65.4
64.5
National
64.0
64.0
64.1
2004
2005
2006
Stirling
36
36
34
CA Average
33
34
32
National
29
31
30
2004
2005
2006
Stirling
18
12
17
CA Average
23
24
27
National
21
21
23
Training:
2004
2005
2006
Stirling
5
5
5
CA Average
3
4
3
National
5
5
5
2004
2005
2006
Stirling
24
26
30
CA Average
22
25
24
National
25
27
26
Staying on Rate
Table A.2: Percentage of pupils staying on to S5 (Post Xmas)
Pupil Destinations
Table A.3: Percentage of pupils entering each destination
Higher Education:
Further Education:
Employment:
25
Unemployed and
seeking employment
2004
2005
2006
Stirling
12
9
9
CA Average
13
9
10
National
13
10
11
2004
2005
2006
Stirling
4
4
3
CA Average
3
2
2
National
3
3
2
2004
2005
2006
Stirling
1
7
2
CA Average
3
2
2
National
4
3
2
Unemployed and not
seeking employment
Destination
unknown:
Exclusions
Table A.4: Total number of exclusions and exclusions per 1,000 population
2003
Primary
Stirling
Per 1,000
Total
Per 1,000
Total
Per 1,000
26
4
42
6
41
6
8
4,131
4,478
11
13
2005
Per 1,000
Total
Per 1,000
Total
Per 1,000
199
34
164
28
167
28
87
31,055
98
94
33,465
105
Table A.5: Results in Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) National Qualifications
Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) levels
Level 7: Advanced Higher at A-C/CSYS at A-C
Level 6: Higher at A-C
Level 5: Intermediate 2 at A-C; Standard Grade at 1-2
Level 4: Intermediate 1 at A-C; Standard Grade at 3-4
Level 3: Access 3 Cluster; Standard Grade at 5-6
26
5,319
2004
SQA Attainment
* 2006 data is pre-appeal.
12
Total
CA Average
National
10
9
2003
Secondary
Stirling
2005
Total
CA Average
National
2004
97
35,513
112
Percentage of relevant S4 roll achieving by the end of S4
English at Level 3
or better
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
95.7
94.5
94.6
92.5
94.6
CA Average
94.6
94.9
94.7
94.9
95.2
National
93.4
93.7
93.7
93.6
93.8
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
91.4
93.5
94.2
92.6
93.8
CA Average
94.2
94.3
94.2
93.6
94.2
National
92.6
92.6
92.5
92.1
92.5
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
93.6
92.1
91.7
89.5
90.3
CA Average
91.8
91.5
92.1
92.0
92.1
National
90.8
90.7
90.8
90.2
90.6
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
80.3
79.3
79.8
78.6
76.2
CA Average
80.3
79.2
79.9
79.2
78.9
National
76.7
76.4
76.6
76.1
76.5
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
42.2
42.4
41.7
42.4
42.0
CA Average
36.6
36.9
37.7
37.7
37.0
National
33.9
34.0
34.6
34.2
34.3
Maths at Level 3
or better
5 + at Level 3
or better
5 + at Level 4
or better
5 + at Level 5
or better
Percentage of relevant S4 roll achieving by the end of S5
3 + at Level 6
or better
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
29.7
30.2
32.7
30.1
28.7
CA Average
25.9
25.3
25.3
25.0
23.1
National
22.8
22.6
22.7
22.7
21.1
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
13.8
14.3
14.1
14.9
14.6
CA Average
10.7
10.3
10.4
10.7
10.2
National
9.3
9.6
9.4
9.9
9.3
5 + at Level 6
or better
27
Percentage of relevant S4 roll achieving by the end of S6
English and Maths
at Level 3 or better
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
95.6
93.6
91.7
93.1
93.3
CA Average
92.8
93.6
93.4
93.5
93.3
National
92.3
92.3
91.6
91.8
91.7
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
95.1
93.1
93.9
92.5
91.9
CA Average
91.2
91.7
92.3
92.1
92.8
National
90.9
91.1
91.3
91.2
91.4
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
83.3
82.2
81.5
81.4
81.9
CA Average
80.2
81.2
81.9
81.2
81.8
National
77.9
78.6
78.6
78.4
78.5
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
54.2
53.9
54.1
54.5
54.6
CA Average
49.4
51.1
51.1
50.9
50.8
National
45.7
46.9
47.2
47.1
47.5
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
52.3
53.0
52.3
52.3
52.3
CA Average
46.7
46.7
46.2
46.1
45.1
National
43.7
43.6
43.5
43.1
42.9
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
40.1
38.9
38.0
40.7
38.4
CA Average
34.3
34.3
33.3
32.7
32.0
National
31.0
30.7
30.6
30.1
29.8
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
28.0
25.6
26.1
28.3
26.5
CA Average
22.6
22.6
21.9
21.7
21.1
National
19.7
19.6
19.6
19.4
19.4
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Stirling
17.7
16.5
17.3
16.4
15.1
CA Average
14.1
14.8
15.3
15.1
14.1
National
11.6
11.9
12.3
12.1
12.2
5 + at Level 3
or better
5 + at Level 4
or better
5 + at Level 5
or better
1 + at Level 6
or better
3 + at Level 6
or better
5 + at Level 6
or better
1 + at Level 7
or better
28
Notes:
(1) CA Average denotes Comparator Authority Average
(2) Comparator Authorities for Stirling include
Comparators
Rating
Aberdeenshire
****
****
****
****
****
Perth and Kinross
East Lothian
South Ayrshire
Fife
‘Very Close’
‘Very Close’
‘Very Close’
‘Very Close’
‘Very Close’
(3) Caution should be exercised when making comparisons with comparator authority averages if there
are a number of authorities that are not extremely or very close.
29
How can you contact us?
If you wish to comment about education authority inspections
Should you wish to comment on any aspect of education authority inspections, you should write
in the first instance to Annette Bruton HMCI, at HM Inspectorate of Education, Directorate 5,
Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.
Our complaints procedure
If you have a concern about this report, you should write in the first instance to Hazel Dewart,
Business Management Unit, HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm House, Almondvale
Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA. A copy of our complaints procedure is
available from this office or by telephoning 01506 600 258 or from our website at
www.hmie.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the action we have taken at the end of our complaints procedure, you
can raise your complaint with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The SPSO is
fully independent and has powers to investigate complaints about Government departments and
agencies. You should write to the SPSO, Freepost EH641, Edinburgh EH3 0BR. You can also
telephone 0800 377 7330 (fax 0800 377 7331) or e-mail: ask@spso.org.uk. More information
about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website: www.spso.org.uk.
Crown Copyright 2007
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.
30