West Lothian Council
June 2007
Contents
Page
Introduction
i
1.
The aims, nature and scope of the inspection
1
2.
What are the challenges for the Council?
1
3.
Key features of attainment and achievement of learners
2
4.
What impact has the authority had in meeting the needs of other
stakeholders?
8
5.
How well is the authority led?
10
6.
What is the Council’s capacity for improvement?
11
Appendices
Appendix 1 – Quality indicators
14
Appendix 2 – Performance Information
15
Introduction
The education functions of each local authority in Scotland were 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.
1
Quality Management in Education 2 (HM Inspectorate of Education 2006) is a framework of self-evaluation for Local
Authority Education Services.
i
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 West Lothian Council in
September 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 information provided from this on-going contact with the
authority was supplemented with additional evidence from HMIE inspections. As a result of
generally high performance, the inspection took as its starting point a thorough
self-evaluation which the authority carried out in preparation for the inspection, using quality
indicators (QIs) from the HMIE framework for self-evaluation Quality Management in
Education 2. The inspection team focused on key QIs from this self-evaluation in order to
assess its accuracy. This inspection report also refers to progress with the action points
identified in the 2004 inspection.
2. What are the challenges for the Council?
The Council recognised the need to raise pupils’ aspirations and encourage young people
to stay on at school to maximise their qualifications.
West Lothian has a population of around 164,000 people. This number has increased by
4.5% since 2000. Its population is projected to be the fastest growing in Scotland over the
next ten years. West Lothian consists of a mix of medium and small towns and industrial
villages. Livingston and other settlements have grown significantly over the last ten years,
and this trend is set to continue with major housing developments in Bathgate, Armadale and
Whitburn. Levels of unemployment are lower than national and comparator authority2
figures but average earnings are some 7% lower than the national average. Levels of
deprivation vary significantly across the authority with several areas having a high index of
multiple deprivation, particularly in the south-west of the Council area.
At the time of the inspection, West Lothian Council had been led by the Labour Party
since 1996. A revised committee structure was introduced in 2001 to place community
planning at the heart of the authority’s work. There was an over-arching Policy, Partnership
and Resources Committee and four other main committees. The Children’s Services and
Lifelong Learning (CSLL) Committee, supported by four advisory groups, oversaw and
scrutinised the work of Education and Cultural Services (ECS).
The authority had identified that its main challenges were to meet the requirements of an
increasing population and the significant level of social inequality across West Lothian. It
was conscious of the need to raise young people’s aspirations and to encourage more to stay
on at school and progress to Further and Higher education so as to access better employment
opportunities.
2
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.
1
3. Key features of attainment and achievement of learners
Over the five year period from 2002 to 2006 the authority had made significant
improvement in levels of attainment at almost all levels. In many cases the rates of
improvement had been greater than in comparator authorities and nationally.
Across primary and secondary schools, there had been considerable improvement in the
levels of attainment of S1/S2 pupils in reading, writing and mathematics over the five year
period to 2006. At the time of the last available national comparison in 2004, levels of
attainment had been in line with or slightly above the average levels reached by pupils in
comparator authorities and nationally. Over the two year period to 2006 there had been
further improvement, particularly in writing and mathematics in S2.
Levels of attainment had also improved significantly over the 2002 to 2006 period at
Standard Grade with the rate of increase being significantly above the comparator authority
and national averages. The proportion of pupils now achieving five or more awards at or
above Levels 3, 4 and 5 3 were now above both comparator authority and national averages.
At Levels 6 and 7, performance by the end of S6 had also improved with levels of
performance now being at the comparator authority average although still slightly below the
national average. At S5, performance at Higher was in line with comparator authorities but
below the national average with a need for more pupils to attain three or more awards at this
level.
An increasing proportion of pupils across the authority were gaining entry to higher
education and the proportion doing so had improved to almost a third in 2006, a figure above
the national and comparator authority averages.
Inspections of West Lothian schools since 2004 indicated an overall strong level of
performance across pre-school, primary and secondary sectors.
All aspects of pre-school provision, including leadership, programmes and children’s
progress, were judged to be good or very good in almost all inspections. In primary schools,
almost all evaluations were good or very good in most schools, with a particularly consistent
level of high evaluation for pastoral care and partnerships with parents and the community.
Other areas of strength included leadership and self-evaluation with significantly more
schools achieving very good evaluations than the national norm. Inspection evaluations in
secondary schools were also very positive. In the period since the previous inspection of the
authority, three of the authority’s 11 secondary schools were inspected. Almost all
evaluations were good or very good with over 40% at very good or better. However, in
two of the schools levels of attainment at S1/S2 were found to be weak or adequate.
Leadership was found to be very good in each school. Recently, in both primary and
secondary sectors, several schools had received a number of excellent evaluations for
particular aspects of provision. As a consequence of the overall high level of provision found
in the schools inspected, HM Inspectors undertook follow-through inspections in only a few
3
2
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
West Lothian schools. In these cases it was found that, with effective support from authority
officers, all the schools concerned had overtaken the main points for action arising from
inspections.
The authority provided very effective support to schools to improve the quality of learning
and teaching and help raise levels of attainment and achievement.
The authority had a wide range of approaches to improving school performance. In the
pre-inspection survey of headteachers, all but one agreed that the authority made a positive
difference to improving the quality of learning and teaching. There was a strong focus on
sharing good practice, often taking specific initiatives, developing these at local level and
then spreading the good practice to other schools. This was done through headteacher
meetings, central staff helping schools introduce new approaches, providing effective support
materials when appropriate, and through planned staff development. Schools were generally
encouraged to explore innovative approaches and to opt into promising initiatives in learning
and teaching rather than required to comply with a specific approach. The authority’s
Succeeding Together programme had, to some extent, formalised existing strengths in sharing
good practice by enabling schools to work in partnership in action based research on those
initiatives with the most potential for impact on the quality of pupils’ learning.
In primary schools, particular approaches which were making a significant impact included a
new programme for primary mathematics, and a range of initiatives related to the national
Assessment is for Learning (AifL) 4 and Curriculum for Excellence 5 programmes. A wide
variety of innovative approaches to Enterprise Education had also been developed. In
secondary schools, there were a variety of more flexible approaches to curriculum design,
some making use of age and stage relaxation to accelerate the learning of groups of pupils.
The authority had also made significant improvements to its work experience programme
offered to all S4 pupils. The number of placement opportunities had increased substantially
and the range of placements on offer now better reflected local employment opportunities.
Pupils were gaining an improved understanding of work through the high quality placements
on offer and employers responded very positively to the authority’s highly organised and
professional approach.
The authority had given advice to ensure that all schools had measures in place to monitor
pupil progress at individual and group level, with a particular focus on identifying and taking
action in relation to the lowest achieving 20%. A robust system of authority monitoring had
been put in place to support schools to make the best use of the information being gathered.
In the pre-inspection survey of headteachers, all agreed that they had been helped to develop
a systematic approach to self-evaluation. The authority had also developed a very thorough
and systematic central approach to analysing schools performance data, including Scottish
Qualifications Authority (SQA) results. In the primary sector, education officers made very
good use of this information when visiting schools to evaluate the effectiveness of the
measures being taken to raise attainment. The statistical analysis of SQA results were also
used very effectively by senior officers in the course of a systematic programme of secondary
school performance visits and proportionate follow-through visits. These processes had
4
Assessment is for Learning (AifL) is a Scottish Executive Education Department development programme which outlines key principles
which connect assessment with learning and teaching.
5
The Curriculum for Excellence programme outlines the purposes and principles of the curriculum 3-18 to provide a framework within
which improvements to Scottish education can and should be made.
3
challenged schools to raise their expectations of what could be achieved and had helped them
identify areas of weakness where improvement was possible. There had been a very clear
and positive impact on levels of attainment in individual schools.
The authority had made very good progress in establishing the necessary infrastructure to
support a high quality of education in its schools. The school estate had been extensively
improved over a period of years with an ambitious programme of refurbishment and
new-build. There were plans in place for further expansion to accommodate the increasing
numbers of pupils of school age in West Lothian. Schools were also resourced to a high
level. In particular, there was very strong provision of information and communications
technology (ICT) in schools. There were over 900 interactive whiteboards in schools and
teachers had been very well supported to gain confidence in their use to enhance the quality
of lessons.
Features of good practice: Information and communications technology
(ICT) strategy
The West Lothian ICT strategy for schools had supplied schools with high levels of
hardware and well chosen educational software. Whiteboards featured in many
classrooms as did complementary CD Roms such as the Convention of Scottish Local
Authorities award winning Red Herring which had helped improve performance in
modern languages. West Lothian were developing protocols and systems for informed
internet access by pupils. The strategy had ensured that almost all young people and staff
had access to high quality equipment and software that was integrated into the learning
environment and enhanced learning.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
West Lothian put high priority on improving the life chances of vulnerable learners and
had a clear strategy for improving the levels of attainment and employment opportunities
of the lowest achieving 20% of school pupils.
The authority had the second best record of improvement in Scotland in the attainment of the
lowest 20% of pupils in 2006. It had achieved this in part by requiring all schools to identify
those pupils who were their lowest 20% in terms of attainment and also the 20% from the
most socially disadvantaged areas, as indicated by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
(SIMD). By monitoring the progress of both groups, which often overlapped to a large
extent, schools had been able to arrange for additional support to be provided to help
individuals and groups improve their performance. In secondary schools, the use of guidance
teachers dedicated to monitoring individual progress along with pastoral support teams
working with pupils and their families was proving effective.
The authority had developed a number of successful approaches to lower attaining pupils and
those considered at risk of not being in employment, education or training. The S5 Step Up
winter leavers programme provided an 18 week full-time vocational option for some pupils.
The programme provided additional time and support for core and employability skills within
a supportive environment. The S3/S4 Vocational Training Programme offered five options
for pupils aged 13-15 years. Pupils worked within a realistic work environment to achieve a
range of accredited awards. Regular meetings between education officers and school staff
4
explored the specific actions being taken to tackle the lowest performing 20%. Alternative
curriculum approaches being adopted by schools included summer schools, extended work
placement, vocational options, outdoor activities, Princes Trust XL, and a range of
multi-agency initiatives in collaboration with organisations such as Fairbridge Scotland and
the West Lothian Youth Action Project. The Active Curriculum project at Bathgate Academy
used sport to target seriously disruptive and aggressive boys. Participants demonstrated
improved attainment, increased attendance and significantly reduced instances of poor
behaviour.
Despite the many successful initiatives in support of those at risk of not being in employment,
education or training across the authority, the overall proportion of pupils leaving secondary
schools for destinations in higher or further education, training or employment, averaged only
80% over the three year period to 2006. The authority recognised that this figure, which was
below the comparator authority and national averages, was too low. The Education Service
had commissioned a mapping exercise of interventions being taken across schools for those
at risk of not being in employment, education or training. This exercise demonstrated that
there was a very wide variety of relevant support to vulnerable learners available across the
authority. It also showed that transport and location were an issue for many young people in
accessing necessary support and that there were some successful programmes elsewhere in
Scotland which were not available in West Lothian. Overall, to meet the Council’s
aspirations for improving the life chances of vulnerable groups, there was a need to
strengthen commitment from partner agencies at a strategic level by improving arrangements
for joint planning between West Lothian and its partners.
The development of integrated community schools had been reconfigured to create
multi-agency Cluster Resource Groups (CRG) and small Integrated Children and Young
People’s Support (ICYPS) teams around each cluster. This development had been a sound
one which had achieved more effective inter-agency working than formerly. The CRGs
focused primarily on individual cases and there were now some very good examples of
effective joint-working involving a wide range of professional disciplines including the
police, health, social work and school staff, including headteachers. The ICYPS teams,
which were based in schools, consisted of a youth strategy worker, a family support worker
and an educational welfare officer, managed by Social Policy. CRGs and the ICYPS teams
were highly valued by the agencies involved, and were making a positive difference to the
lives of children and young people. However, the degree to which the work of the ICYPS
teams impacted on vulnerable learners was currently inconsistent across the authority, in part
due to a significant number of staff vacancies.
The authority had a strong commitment to providing a continuum of support for pupils
with additional support needs and had put in place a wide range of effective measures.
The development of CRGs across the authority had been particularly successful in ensuring a
very consistent and practical approach to addressing the needs of pupils with challenging and
complex additional support needs. Staff from partner agencies, including health
professionals, family support workers and a youth strategy team, collaborated well with
educational managers in effectively identifying and targeting resources for individual pupils.
There was appropriate flexibility within each cluster to allocate very specific support where
necessary. CRGs had made use of devolved finances to enhance the provision within their
cluster. This had enabled them to take steps such as allocating an additional family support
5
worker to their cluster or ensuring pupils had access to counselling in anger management.
The education authority was fully committed to further developing this continuum of support
within locality planning areas. The strong focus on multi-agency support was having a very
positive impact on raising pupils’ self-esteem and ensuring pupils were making good progress
in their work.
An effective, designated team within ECS had been set up to support looked after 6 children
and young people. This team worked very effectively with a range of professionals including
social services. Specific initiatives were in place that focused well on raising pupils’
attainment and self-esteem. For example, a well-planned buddying programme had been
established and pupils had good opportunities to communicate with each other and air their
views through the Having your say, burning issues on education forum. Attainment levels in
English language and mathematics had increased for this group and were above the national
average.
Highly effective multi-agency working was also evident when school staff were planning to
meet the needs of pupils who required additional support. Across the authority, education
and therapy staff were working very well together to provide a high quality service. In
response to the implementation of The Education (Additional Support for Learning)
(Scotland) Act 2004 (ASL), education staff and staff from partner agencies had set up a
multi-agency steering group. This coordinated approach to providing services ensured
pupils’ needs were being effectively met and staff were now well placed to introduce
coordinated support plans for pupils. Educational psychologists contributed very positively
to supporting staff, pupils and parents through a number of initiatives. This included high
quality support for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder.
The education authority had made a positive commitment to providing support in relation to
pupils who displayed challenging behaviour. It had conducted a comprehensive review of
secondary support and provision which had resulted in the introduction of guidelines and
strategies to ensure more consistent approaches were applied across the authority. A number
of initiatives were having a very positive impact on improving pupils’ behaviour. This
included the development of very supportive nurture groups and opportunities for pupils to
access a good range of alternative curriculum choices.
Features of good practice: Burnhouse School
Burnhouse School provided an integrated continuum of support for pupils with social,
emotional and behavioural additional support needs. Strong leadership had led to the
establishment of a very positive learning climate with highly effective teamwork. Staff
and pupils had high expectations and there was a clear focus on developing pupil’s
literacy, numeracy and personal and social development skills within the context of the
Schools of Ambition project. Pupils were receiving high quality learning opportunities and
attendance and attitudes to learning had improved significantly.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
6
6
The term ‘looked after’ in this report includes all children looked after or looked after and accommodated by the Council.
The Community Learning and Development Service within the authority was undergoing
major structural change. Nevertheless, it continued to make a very significant
contribution to adult learning and provided young people with additional opportunities for
personal development. The authority was very active in celebrating the success of its
young people in a wide range of cultural and sporting activity.
The last two years had been a period of considerable change for the provision of community
learning and development (CLD) within the authority. Despite a high level of major
structural re-organisation in the way CLD was delivered, with a significant degree of change
in personnel and job structure, there was evidence of continued positive impact on local
communities. Over the past three years, CLD had met all and exceeded most of the
demanding targets which had been set for adult learning and work with young people. Over
the last year, for example, libraries had greatly exceeded their targets in relation to the
number of users attending sessions on the use of computers and high targets for participation
in out-of-school and holiday sport and outdoor education had been exceeded. There was a
wide range of universal and targeted provision available for young people across the area
which included youth clubs and specialist sports and cultural services. CLD personnel
worked well with partners to deliver high quality programmes and activities for adult learners
including literacies. There was a need for stronger communication between practitioners
from youth services within the Council and the voluntary sector to ensure their work was well
coordinated and for better sharing of information in relation to young people’s needs.
Features of good practice: Daisy Drop In Centre, Craigshill, Livingston
Many parents had been unaware of the services available to them in the Craigshill area. A
shop unit in the local mall was rented and parents were invited to ‘dream something better’
and to prioritise findings by writing their thoughts on a large duvet cover. A need for a
centralised information point was identified and premises were found in the local shopping
mall. The Daisy Drop In is a partnership between parents and services in the Craigshill
area. It was staffed by a coordinator and provided a central location where parents and
children attended activities and accessed information on all services relating to early years
work in Craigshill. Parents engaged in this service have a stronger sense of community as
a result of their engagement.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
Schools were active in giving pupils opportunities to achieve widely in music, the arts and in
sport. The authority had a particularly strong record and international reputation in aspects of
its music provision. It had often achieved success in national competitions for school brass
bands, jazz ensembles and other music groups and the musical achievements of West Lothian
pupils were celebrated every two years in the very well attended Best Years of our Lives
public performances. The authority gave strong support for voluntary arts groups, and had
very effective arts education and instrumental music services. It worked well in partnership
with national bodies such as Scottish Arts Council and Royal Scottish Academy of Music and
Drama. The authority’s annual Stellar Awards ceremony, which recognised the achievement
and determination of school pupils across a very wide range of activity, was a very positive
occasion which reinforced the authority’s celebration of achievement.
7
The authority made very effective use of multi-agency working to enhance its approaches
to promoting healthy living amongst school pupils and to provide an early years service
which catered for a wide range of family needs. Overall, effective inter-agency working
was a feature of much of the authority’s work and gave the authority a strong base from
which to develop local community planning.
West Lothian had a very broad focus on health with a cradle to grave approach being
developed strategically by all key community planning partners. All schools participated in
the Health Promoting Schools Challenge and the authority’s Healthy School’s Plus initiative
had been nationally recognised for its sector leading impact. All primary schools promoted
physical health through the work of Active Schools Co-ordinators and the Council’s
multi-disciplinary health team made an important contribution to pupils’ health and
wellbeing.
Pupils in the early years also received a high quality service. In several geographical areas
within the authority the establishment of integrated early years centres had enabled a wide
range of family needs to be very well met through effective joint working amongst staff from
the authority and partner agencies, particularly health personnel.
Features of good practice: Integrated early years centres
The four integrated early years centres in the authority were highly successful. In addition
to pre-school education, they provided a wide range of services to parents and pupils in the
early years. Staff from education, social policy and health worked very well together in
supporting children and their families. This highly organised service included outreach
and wrap around care. Parents and children benefited greatly from the co-location of
highly coordinated facilities which allowed ease of access for parents and had led to an
improved up take of services.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
Overall, multi-agency work was a key feature of the authority’s success. In the
pre-inspection survey of headteachers, all agreed that the authority had promoted productive
links with other agencies, such as social services and health services. A clear framework for
partnership working was set out in the West Lothian Community Plan. The developing local
community plans were a focus for innovation amongst partner agencies.
4. What impact has the authority had in meeting the needs of other
stakeholders?
The authority had very good links with parents and involved groups of parents
appropriately in consultations and key developments. Staff were well supported and the
authority’s school improvement agenda had benefited from the extent of leadership
training across schools.
The authority gave high priority to maintaining good channels of communication with
parents. In the school sector, relationships and communication between parents and
establishments had been found to be very good in almost all recent inspections. Most parents
8
felt that they were listened to and had been able to engage effectively in decisions relating to
their children’s development and progress. In the pre-inspection survey of
School Boards/Parents Associations, most agreed that the authority was effective in raising
standards of education. The authority had developed very effective systems for
communicating and consulting with parents including regular meetings with School Boards
and parent forums. The authority had also taken appropriate steps to involve representative
groups of parents in the development of some key policies. A group of parents and carers
had taken a leading role in the consultation on the Parental Involvement Bill and in
consequence the authority was now well placed to implement the Act effectively. The
authority had also made arrangements to provide parents with important and helpful
additional services. For example, its Parent to Parent independent mediation service, along
with the voluntary organisations Link and Signpost, provided important additional
information, support and advice. A pilot project on family literacies run in Deans and
Inveralmond Community High schools as a partnership led by the adult learning team, was a
promising initiative.
The authority put high importance on supporting its staff, recognising that the quality of the
service provided to young people and their families depended on a skilled and well-motivated
staff base. The very good teacher induction programme, the promotion of leadership at all
levels and the many opportunities for individuals to develop effective and innovative
practices ensured staff were highly motivated. New promoted structures in schools had been
effective in strengthening self-evaluation and promoting a high level of collegiate working.
In secondary schools, the new structures had strengthened faculty approaches and encouraged
the breaking down of barriers and the sharing of expertise amongst teachers of different
subjects. Fixed term development posts encouraged innovation and helped promote a culture
of continuous improvement in schools. Across all sectors, there was an emerging key
strength in collegiate approaches to school improvement. The approaches taken to staff
development were sufficiently flexible to enable a good focus on meeting the needs of
individual schools or clusters. Highly successful support mechanism were well embedded
within schools which enabled time for teaching to be maximised. West Lothian was also one
of the lead authorities investing resources in the development of A Consortium for Training
(ACT) focused on developing accessible, transferable and accredited training programmes for
part-time and volunteer staff in early years and CLD.
Features of good practice: Leadership skills
The development of leadership skills at all levels was a clear strength within the education
authority. Effective leadership programmes which included coaching and mentoring staff,
were well-planned and were focusing successfully on inspiring staff to reach their full
potential and develop their leadership skills. The enhanced confidence and expertise of
staff in leadership roles was helping to foster a strong sense of collegiality in relation to
school improvement.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk.
9
5. How well is the authority led?
The Council had a very clear and ambitious vision for education which was well
understood and shared at all levels. Senior officers set challenging targets for schools and
had put in place robust systems of self-evaluation and accountability. At the same time
they challenged schools to be innovative, arranged for best practice to be shared and gave
strong encouragement and support to staff to develop their skills as leaders of learning.
The overall impact of these approaches had been to maintain continued improvement
across a wide range of the authority’s work.
Elected members and officers shared a common purpose, which was founded on the
Council’s corporate priorities as part of the West Lothian Community Plan. As a result, the
authority had developed a very clear and appropriate vision, set of values and aims for its
education service which was well understood and shared by staff at all levels. The Council,
since its formation, had placed a particularly high importance on improving levels of
attainment in the school sector in order to improve young people’s life chances. This
ambition was communicated effectively through ECS to all staff and reinforced through local
planning and monitoring. The authority also placed a high value on wider achievement with
a strong tradition of achievement in music and plans for an increased focus on sport. Senior
ECS staff communicated this culture of very high expectations very effectively, but in so
doing ensured that local managers, including headteachers, were given the flexibility to be
innovative and creative. This empowering approach was welcomed by staff, and had resulted
in many highly effective initiatives, which were then shared across the authority. The
authority ensured an appropriate focus on equality and diversity with some innovative
practice in promoting inclusion, such as electronic race awareness training completed by all
staff.
Strong leadership and direction was a key strength of the authority. In the pre-inspection
survey of headteachers, all agreed that the authority was well led. Strategic planning was
coherent and fully integrated into the West Lothian Community Plan although there now
needed to be stronger planning for the integration of CLD activity within education and
cultural services. Six out of nine areas in West Lothian had developed a multi-agency
locality plan in partnership with local communities, although the work of schools and CRGs
was not yet fully integrated into this developing model. Senior staff took effective measures
to ensure that resources were allocated to meet needs. ECS had taken difficult decisions as a
result of an extensive best value review of its community education service, resulting in a
major restructuring and a major change of direction. The Council was undertaking a major
Public Private Partnership (PPP) building and renovation programme of its key education
buildings. The targeting of capital and revenue budgets for additional support needs was
based on a transparent audit, and resources were also allocated based on free meal entitlement
(FME) and data on multiple deprivation. The authority ensured an appropriate focus on risk
and involved partners and stakeholders as necessary in discussions on risk management.
Senior staff set a very good example by demonstrating a positive and determined
commitment to developing effective partnership working with a range of agencies including
some in the voluntary sector. There was very good evidence of effective multi-agency input
across early years education, and in relation to pupils with additional support needs. CLD
also collaborated well with partners in delivering some creative and innovative learning
programmes. The education authority had put a number of key policies in place that advised
10
staff on how best to improve their practice and work consistently across the authority. These
were now readily available on the authority’s intranet Edweb and were proving highly
successful in providing a more structured and positive framework for staff.
The authority’s approach to the improvement of educational provision was highly effective.
Senior officers set challenging attainment targets for schools and headteachers understood
their accountability in relation to achieving these. At the same time, the authority managed to
strike a very good balance between robustly monitoring progress towards the targets set and
fostering a culture which encouraged innovation and the sharing of good practice. A new
approach to improvement planning had been introduced within the Succeeding Together
initiative and this had allowed headteachers to focus on the areas they and their staff
identified as most likely to improve pupils’ learning experiences and performance. This
approach had greatly helped senior school managers develop as leaders of learning. The role
of education officers was also of critical importance as they had a key function in
encouraging and supporting initiatives and in challenging schools in relation to their actual
performance. Post-holders within the new management structure in schools had a similar
dual role of providing leadership for learning through spreading best practice while
implementing effective systems of self-evaluation. Within the CLD team, there was now
increasing confidence and morale and clear indications that their impact had improved since
the 2006 locality inspection by HMIE.
6. What is the Council’s capacity for improvement?
The Council was outward looking and welcomed ideas and interest from outwith
West Lothian. The authority continued to have a very high capacity for improvement.
West Lothian Council had been awarded the Local Government Chronicle award for best UK
Council 2006. The authority was recognised as one of the most forward thinking in Scotland
in terms of its innovative approaches to school education. It participated with enthusiasm in
national initiatives such as the Curriculum for Excellence and its schools were regularly used
as exemplars of good practice by HMIE for visiting educationalists from abroad. Authority
officers contributed across a wide range of fronts including membership of Executive
Advisory Groups and secondments to national bodies such as Learning and Teaching
Scotland. The authority had won international interest for aspects of its work.
Since the 2004 inspection, which had reported very positively on a wide range of aspects of
the work of ECS, there had been a degree of change in personnel at senior level. The
Director of ECS had retired and the new director, formerly Head of Education (Quality
Assurance), had taken up post in August 2006. There had been a number of other changes to
key staff over the period, including amongst headteachers and the team of education officers.
Despite these changes, the underpinning corporate vision for education, very strongly
promoted by the Chief Executive and key elected members, continued to foster continuity of
purpose and steady improvement in practice. Senior managers continued to operate very
effectively and had a very high degree of credibility throughout the authority. In particular,
staff at all levels had confidence in the new Director’s commitment to maintaining high
standards and continuous improvement.
The Council remained determined to improve the quality of life for those living in
West Lothian. It put very high priority on maximising levels of attainment, seeing these as
11
crucial for entry to employment and progress to further or higher education. In particular, it
was aware of the need to improve the performance of S5/S6 pupils at Higher level and to
reduce the numbers of school pupils at risk of leaving school and not proceeding to further
education, employment or training. It was also taking action to further promote effective
inter-agency working through the better integration of CLD into the overall work of the
service. ECS already had a strong record of improvement across a wide range of important
areas and was well placed to continue to make a very positive impact on the life chances of
young people.
Taking into account the overall quality of the authority’s self-evaluation and the strong
commitment to continuous improvement demonstrated by staff at all levels, HMIE has a high
degree of confidence in the authority’s capacity to improve still further.
12
Key strengths
•
Clarity of the corporate vision for education and the strong sense of shared purpose
amongst staff at all levels.
•
High expectations of school performance and robust quality improvement procedures.
•
Strong encouragement for schools to innovate to meet their particular needs.
•
Development of leadership at all levels and support for a collegiate approach to school
improvement.
•
Effective mechanisms for sharing of good practice across the school sector.
•
Effectiveness of integrated working, particularly in relation to the early years, and
vulnerable groups of learners including pupils with additional support needs.
Areas for continued improvement
The authority recognised the need to better integrate the work of CLD into the overall activity
of ECS so as to maximise the impact of joint-working. It should also continue to ensure that
all children and young people maximise their potential, especially those at risk of not
proceeding to education, employment and training.
What happens next?
As a result of the very high level of performance achieved by the authority and confirmed by
this inspection, HM Inspectors will make no further reports in connection with this
inspection. The District Inspector will continue to monitor progress as part of his regular
work with the authority.
Annette Bruton
HM Chief Inspector
Directorate 5
June 2007
13
Appendix 1
Quality Indicators
Quality Indicator
Improvements in performance
Impact on learners
Impact on parents/carers and families
Vision, values and aims
Leadership and direction
Developing people and partnerships
Leadership of change and improvement
Evaluation
Very Good
Very Good
Very Good
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
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
Adequate
Fair
Weak
Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory
14
Description
Outstanding, sector leading
Major strengths
Important strengths with some areas for
improvement
Strengths just outweigh weaknesses
Important weaknesses
Major weaknesses
Appendix 2
Attendance
Table A.1: Percentage Attendance
Primary:
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
95.3
95.1
95.4
CA Average
95.2
94.8
94.9
National
95.3
95.0
95.0
Secondary:
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
90.8
90.6
91.1
CA Average
89.5
89.6
89.9
National
90.2
90.1
90.5
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
59.2
61.7
59.3
CA Average
62.4
62.0
62.3
National
64.2
64.1
63.8
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
29
27
32
CA Average
28
31
29
National
29
31
30
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
18
20
18
CA Average
21
22
24
National
21
21
23
Training:
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
4
4
3
CA Average
6
6
6
National
5
5
5
Employment:
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
29
25
27
CA Average
25
26
26
National
25
27
26
Staying on Rate
Table A.2: Percentage of pupils staying on to S5 (Post Christmas)
Pupil Destinations
Table A.3: Percentage of pupils entering each destination
Higher Education:
Further Education:
15
Unemployed and seeking
employment or training:
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
16
14
16
CA Average
15
11
12
National
13
10
11
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
2
2
2
CA Average
2
3
2
National
3
3
2
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
3
7
1
CA Average
3
2
1
National
4
3
2
Unemployed and not
seeking employment or
training:
Destination unknown:
Exclusions
Table A.4: Total number of exclusions and exclusions per 1,000 population
Primary:
West Lothian
2004
Per 1,000
Total
Per 1,000
Total
Per 1,000
146
10
139
9
267
18
11
4,478
Secondary:
West Lothian
11
13
5,319
2004
5,779
2005
15
2006
Per 1,000
Total
Per 1,000
Total
Per 1,000
1116
103
1061
98
1491
136
120
33,465
105
117
35,513
SQA Attainment
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
16
13
12
Total
CA Average
National
2006
Total
CA Average
National
2005
112
115
36,136
115
Percentage of relevant S4 roll achieving by the end of S4
English at Level 3 or
better
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
91.0
95.0
96.4
96.8
96.5
CA Average
93.5
93.9
93.7
93.3
94.1
National
93.4
93.7
93.7
93.6
94.0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
90.4
93.9
95.5
97.6
97.0
CA Average
92.4
92.3
92.7
92.0
93.6
National
92.6
92.6
92.5
92.1
92.9
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
88.1
92.4
94.0
91.6
93.0
CA Average
90.5
90.6
91.0
90.1
90.8
National
90.8
90.7
90.8
90.2
90.7
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
73.2
76.4
78.2
77.0
80.3
CA Average
75.1
75.0
75.5
74.9
75.7
National
76.7
76.4
76.6
76.1
76.8
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
32.7
32.8
36.2
33.4
35.8
CA Average
30.2
31.1
32.0
31.1
32.0
National
33.9
34.0
34.6
34.2
34.8
Mathematics 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
West Lothian
20.0
20.7
20.8
21.0
18.6
CA Average
20.7
19.7
19.9
20.5
18.8
National
22.8
22.6
22.7
22.7
21.7
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
7.0
8.7
9.0
8.9
7.9
CA Average
7.9
8.0
7.5
8.1
7.7
National
9.3
9.6
9.4
9.9
9.7
5 + at Level 6 or better
17
Percentage of relevant S4 roll achieving by the end of S6
English and Mathematics
at Level 3 or better
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
92.0
91.4
88.8
94.0
95.6
CA Average
92.0
92.4
91.3
91.6
91.7
National
92.3
92.3
91.6
91.8
91.7
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
90.4
90.5
88.7
92.9
94.5
CA Average
90.4
91.1
90.9
90.9
91.5
National
90.9
91.1
91.3
91.2
91.4
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
74.6
75.2
74.5
78.2
79.7
CA Average
76.9
77.5
77.1
77.1
77.8
National
77.9
78.6
78.6
78.4
78.5
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
41.2
41.5
42.7
45.2
48.0
CA Average
43.7
45.4
44.7
44.5
45.3
National
45.7
46.9
47.2
47.1
47.6
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
38.3
37.5
39.3
39.6
41.7
CA Average
42.2
43.0
41.3
40.8
41.3
National
43.7
43.6
43.5
43.1
43.0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
27.8
26.8
28.5
27.1
28.7
CA Average
29.1
29.1
27.6
27.3
28.1
National
31.0
30.7
30.6
30.1
30.0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
16.4
16.0
18.0
16.4
18.9
CA Average
18.1
18.2
17.2
16.7
17.5
National
19.7
19.6
19.6
19.4
19.7
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
West Lothian
10.1
10.2
11.1
10.8
12.0
CA Average
9.5
10.7
10.3
9.8
10.7
National
11.6
11.9
12.3
12.1
12.5
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
18
Notes
(1) CA Average denotes comparator authority average.
(2) Comparator authorities for West Lothian include:
Comparators
Clackmannanshire
South Lanarkshire
Midlothian
North Lanarkshire
Fife
Rating
****
****
****
****
****
‘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.
19
How can you contact us?
If you would like an additional copy of this report
Copies of this report have been sent to the Chief Executive of the local authority, elected
members, the Director of Education and Cultural Services, other local authority officers,
Members of the Scottish Parliament, Audit Scotland, heads of the local authority
educational establishments, chairpersons of the local authority School Boards/Parents
Associations and to other relevant individuals and agencies. Subject to availability,
further copies may be obtained free of charge from HM Inspectorate of Education,
Directorate 5, Denholm House, Almondvale Business park, Almondvale Way,
Livingston EH54 6GA or by telephoning 01506 600256. Copies are also available on
our website www.hmie.gov.uk.
HMIE Feedback and Complaints Procedure
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,
Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.
If you have a concern about this report, you should write in the first instance to our
Complaints Manager, HMIE Business Management Unit, Second Floor, Denholm House,
Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston, EH54 6GA. You can also
e-mail HMIEComplaints@hmie.gsi.gov.uk. A copy of our complaints procedure is
available from this office, by telephoning 01506 600200 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.
20