Career information, advice and
guidance delivered by Skills
Development Scotland in Fife
29 January 2016
A report by HM Inspectors
The external review process
HM Inspectors undertake an independent review of the quality of provision of Career
information, advice and guidance delivered by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) on
behalf of the Scottish Government under a service level agreement between the
Scottish Government and Education Scotland. External review teams include HM
Inspectors and associate assessors.
During external review, members of the review team observe group activities, one-toone engagements and hold discussions with customers, staff and stakeholders. They
consider information on the quality of careers information, advice and guidance. They
meet with recipients of the service and obtain feedback from groups, partners and staff
who work for SDS.
The purpose of this report is to convey the main outcomes arising from the external
review, to acknowledge service’s strengths and to provide a clear agenda for future
action to improve and enhance quality.
This external review results in judgements of grades that express the external review
team’s overall evaluation of Outcome and Impact, Service Delivery and Leadership and
Quality Culture and a judgement on Capacity to Improve based on the evidence from all
key areas, in particular Outcomes, Impact and Leadership.
The report also uses the following terms to describe
numbers and proportions:
almost all
most
majority
less than half
few
over 90%
75-90%
50-74%
15-49%
up to 15%
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Contents
Page
1.
Introduction
The external review
1
2.
Policy context
2
3.
The service and its context
3
4.
Background information
5
5.
Outcomes of external review
Judgement of grades
7
Section A:
Section B:
Section C:
Section D:
6.
Grades
Areas of positive practice
Areas for development
Main points for action
7
7
8
8
Outcome and Impact
How well are customers progressing and achieving relevant
high quality outcomes?
How well does the service meet the needs of stakeholders?
9
7.
Service Delivery
How good is delivery of key services?
How good is management of key services?
12
12
14
8.
Leadership and quality culture
How good is strategic leadership?
16
16
9.
Capacity to improve based on evidence from Outcomes and
impact, Service delivery and Strategic leadership
18
9
9
10. What happens next?
19
11.
Further information
19
12.
How can you contact us?
20
Appendices
21
Glossary of terms
21
1. Introduction
The external review
The external review by Education Scotland took place between 23 November and
27 November 2015. The review focused on career information, advice and guidance
(CIAG) services delivered by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) in Fife.
We examined activities that impact on the quality of customer experience. We
evaluated these against the three key principles of Outcomes and Impact, Service
Delivery and Leadership and Quality Culture using the 14 reference quality indicators
outlined in External quality arrangements for the review of Career Information Advice
and Guidance services delivered by Skills Development Scotland, published in
May 2015.
The external review team talked with customers, staff at all levels in the organisation,
external agencies and other users of the service.
1
2. Policy Context
The role of Skills Development Scotland
SDS all-age career information, advice and guidance services aim to support young
people and adults to make a positive transition into continued education, training or the
world of work. SDS achieves this by supporting customers in their development of
career management skills (CMS) which lay the foundations for success in their future
careers.
The services provided by SDS in schools are driven by the ambitions of Curriculum for
Excellence. Accordingly there are significant interdependencies between the roles and
responsibilities of schools and wider partners, the design and delivery of school
curriculum and the services provided by SDS. Planning for successful service delivery
through School Partnership Agreements (SPA) requires effective collaboration between
SDS and its partners.
In March 2011, the Scottish Government published a framework for the redesign and
improvement of CIAG services. As the largest provider of CIAG services in Scotland,
SDS has a lead role in implementing this change. This change has been implemented
through an integrated service involving face to face meetings, communication through
contact centre and an online CMS environment, My World of Work (MyWoW).
Currently, this service is delivered on-site in Scotland’s 364 secondary schools.
Services include a blend of one-to-one careers coaching support, facilitated group
sessions, drop in sessions, and supported access to MyWoW. The level of intensity of
support is determined by an assessment of pupil needs made in discussion with
schools. The greatest proportion of careers coach support is provided to those young
people deemed at ‘medium or maximum risk’ of not securing and sustaining a place in
education, training or work.
Underpinning service delivery is the commitment of SDS to work with partners in
schools, local authorities and Education Scotland to build capacity to deliver the
ambitions of Curriculum for Excellence - Building the Curriculum 4, in particular
development of CMS. This partnership approach supports schools to deliver this
component of Curriculum for Excellence, whilst creating a learning context for young
people that is compatible with and builds upon the service delivery commitments of
SDS. As a result, much of the work of SDS requires effective collaboration with a range
of partners at national and local levels.
SDS has a key role to play in the delivery of the Scottish Government’s Opportunities for
All initiative, under which all 16-19 year olds will receive an offer of a place in learning or
training. SDS work in this area has been reinforced with the passage of legislation
allowing SDS and key partners, including Local Authorities, schools and Further
Education Institutions to share data on all the young people they work with. The Post 16
Education (Scotland) Act 2013 and the statutory guidance mandate SDS and key
partners to share data in order to support young people in their post school transitions.
2
3.
The service area and its context
In carrying out the external review of services delivered in Fife, Education Scotland took
the following area context fully into account.
SDS CIAG services in Fife are delivered from two main public access centres in
Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy, and from a staff base in Glenrothes. CIAG services are also
delivered from six part-time centres located in partners’ premises across the Fife region.
Sixty staff are employed by SDS to deliver CIAG services in the region.
Fife is the third largest local authority in Scotland with a population of 367,000. Around
a third of the population live in the three largest towns of Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and
Glenrothes. Fife travel-to-work patterns indicate that 77% of Fife’s employed residents
work in Fife, with 23% working outwith the region. The area has a net commuting
outflow of 24,500 people. Around 90% of jobs in Fife are held by Fife residents.
Fife has significant levels of poverty. The Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation (SIMD)
statistics for 2012 shows that Fife has 87 areas in the most deprived 20% of the 6,505
data zones, and six in the top 5%.
Mining, manufacturing, fishing and farming were once mainstays of the Fife economy
and as recently as 1981, over 40% of the workforce was employed in these industries.
The closure of collieries and the loss of major manufacturers contributed to a massive
decline in employment in these sectors. However, Fife still has a higher proportion of its
workforce employed in manufacturing compared to the Scottish average. Fife’s service
sector economy, which now dominates employment, is weighted towards health,
education and public services. Other key sectors across the area are retail and tourism,
which include outdoor tourism and the hospitality industry.
The claimant count measure of unemployment for Fife peaked at 11,725 in August
2011, representing 5% of the working age population. This was above the Scottish
average of 4.3%. The figures for July 2015 are 6,285 or 2.7% of the working age
population. Again, this proportion is above the Scottish average of 2.2%.
Fife Council’s Education and Children’s Services Directorate was formed in April 2014
and brings together Children and Families, Criminal Justice and the Education Service.
A team of five heads of service has recently been appointed to support the Executive
Director in continuing to make improvements in Fife.
There are 19 secondary schools in Fife operating in various rural and urban settings with
diverse and mixed catchment areas. School rolls range in size from 390 to 1615 pupils.
Fife has a number of schools which serve pupils with additional support needs. The
nature and content of CIAG services delivered by SDS to schools is agreed through
SPA.
Fife College is the main College in Fife and has a number of campuses across the
region. The college came into being on 1 August 2013 as a result of the merger of
Adam Smith College, Carnegie College and parts of Elmwood College.
3
Fife has traditionally had a higher percentage of school leavers entering Further
Education (FE) and a lower percentage entering employment when compared with
national averages. In 2013-14, the number of school leavers entering an FE level
programme was 8.3% higher than the national average while Fife employment
destinations were 5.6% lower.
4
4.
Background information
Terminologies used in this report.
The term ‘service area’ is used to describe the geographical area referred to in this
report. SDS uses a variety of approaches to deliver CIAG services. This is often
referred to as a blended service. SDS promotes a Universal Offer to support all
secondary school pupils. In addition, a Targeted Service Offer is aimed at pupils who
are at risk of not entering or sustaining a positive destination. SDS offers access to a
range of services for post-school customers. The different offers are shown below:
SDS School Universal Offer consists of:
o Access to My World of Work (MyWoW) web service
o Group-work sessions on:
 Introduction to MyWoW
 Introduction to career management skills (CMS)
 Introduction to labour market information (LMI)
o Drop-in clinics for career management and employability
o Opportunity for any pupil to request a face to face session
SDS School Targeted Service Offer consists of:
o
Structured programme of one-to-one career coaching
o Handover to dedicated work coach
SDS Post-school 16-19 Service Offer consists of:
o
o
o
o
o
Access to MyWoW web service
Structured programme of one-to-one career coaching
Dedicated work coach service for targeted young people
Telephone access to SDS contact centre
Open access to public centres (47 locations throughout Scotland)
SDS All age Service Offer (adults) consists of:
o
o
o
o
o
Access to MyWoW web service
Access to one-to-one career coaching
Telephone access to SDS contact centre
Partnership action for continuing employment (PACE)
Integrated employment and skills (IES) – joint work activities with Job
Centre Plus
o Open access to public centres (47 locations throughout Scotland)
Further information on Skills Development Scotland’s services to individuals and
employers can be found at www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk. My World of Work
web service can be accessed at www.myworldofwork.co.uk
5
Staff roles
In Fife, SDS use a number of titles to describe the roles of the staff. These include
Career coach, Work Coach and Personal Advisor. Throughout this report, the term
careers staff is used to refer to all staff involved in delivering CIAG services.
One-to-one career coaching sessions
A major strand of SDS CIAG work is the delivery of one-to-one career coaching
sessions. Revised arrangements for external review now include observation of
one-to-one career coaching sessions as part of the evaluation of SDS CIAG services
within this report.
6
5.
Outcomes of external review
Judgement of Grades
Section A:
Grades
The review team awarded grades for each of the six key themes based on the following
criteria:
excellent:
very good:
good:
satisfactory:
weak:
unsatisfactory:
Outstanding and sector leading
Major strengths
Important strengths with some areas for improvement
Strengths just outweigh weaknesses
Important weaknesses
Major weaknesses
Key theme
Grade
Customer progression and achievement of
relevant high quality outcomes
good
Meeting the needs of stakeholders
very good
Delivery of key services
very good
Management of service delivery
very good
Strategic leadership
very good
Capacity for improvement
very good
Section B:
Areas of positive practice
 The Local Management Team (LMT) which comprises the Area Manager and
Team Leaders, provides strong leadership in shaping the services offered to
customers in Fife.
 Over the last three years there has been improvement in both initial and
sustained destinations for young people in the Fife area.
 The LMT work closely with strategic partners to develop and implement national
priorities.
 CIAG staff make alternative arrangements to deliver services within local
communities which helps to ease access for customers in rural areas and those
who have additional challenges.
7
 The Fife Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) team, led by
SDS, draws productively on local knowledge to organise support for those facing
redundancy situations.
 All SDS careers staff build positive relationships with customers quickly and put
customers at ease.
 Career coaches work very closely with school staff to promote CIAG services to
pupils.
 The LMT take good account of the individual expertise and strengths of staff to
plan service delivery.
 All staff understand how their roles and work contribute to progress towards the
achievement of local targets.
 The LMT support the area team well to enable them to contribute purposefully to
self-evaluation arrangements and planning for improvement.
Section C:







Areas for development
In 2013-14, the proportion of Fife school leavers who sustained their initial
positive destination was 1.9% below the national average.
Arrangements for engaging more effectively with young people at risk of leaving a
positive destination and becoming unemployed, are not yet fully effective.
The pace of improvement in sustained positive destinations remains below the
national average.
In most schools CMS is not yet embedded within the wider curriculum. As a
result, most school pupils do not develop or consolidate their CMS within the
broader school curriculum.
A few schools do not promote the full range of post-school options to all pupils.
This limits choice of some pupils and restricts their aspirations.
The delivery of CMS group-work sessions in some schools is affected by poor
connectivity.
Most partners, are not using the full range of information available to them from
the data-hub to inform future planning.
Section D:
Main points for action

SDS, schools and the local college should continue to work collaboratively
to improve the sustainability of positive destinations for young people,
particularly those who progress to further education on leaving school.

SDS managers should continue to work with partners to ensure that the
needs of young unemployed people are met.

The local authority and schools should continue to work with SDS to
promote the contribution of CMS within the school curriculum and ensure
the development of skills for life, learning and work.

School and college partners should ensure that the full range of
information from the data-hub is being used to review performance and
inform planning for improvement.
8
6.
Outcomes and Impact
How well are customers progressing and achieving relevant, high quality
outcomes?
How effective is the area team at achieving and maintaining high levels of service
delivery?
The area team makes good use of nationally and locally-set targets to plan service
delivery. SDS staff work very effectively with staff in local secondary schools and make
good use of SPAs to negotiate and plan delivery of services. SDS staff work flexibly and
responsively to meet the needs of a wide variety of customers in school and post-school
contexts.
In 2014-15, the area team met six of the eight SDS nationally set targets. However, the
team did not achieve targets relating to engagement with, and delivery of, CIAG services
to young unemployed customers. As a result, engagement with young unemployed
customers was low and contact was not maintained. SDS managers have identified the
significant challenges in maintaining contact with these young people and have
developed appropriate actions within the area workplan to improve performance on this
issue. Actions include building capacity of the SDS area team and key partners to
provide early interventions and sustain engagement with this group of customers. This
has led to the introduction of the “Better Engaged” project. However, it is too early to
evaluate the full impact of these activities at this stage.
In the majority of secondary schools in Fife, the number of young people who sustain an
initial positive destination is below the national average. In the last three years, there
has been improvement in both the initial positive destinations (89.6% to 92.4%) and
sustained positive destinations (88.0% to 89.6%). In 2013-14, the number of school
leavers entering a positive destination after leaving school was slightly above the
national average. However, in 2013-14, the proportion of Fife school leavers who
sustained their initial positive destination was 1.9% below the national average.
In Fife, the number of school leavers entering a full-time FE programme is around 8.3%
higher than the national performance level. However, the number of school leavers who
remain on a full-time FE college programme is lower than national performance level.
How well does the service meet the needs of stakeholders?
How well do customers make progress and achieve individual outcomes?
The area team delivers an appropriate range and level of services to meet the demand
of customers. CIAG services are planned well and in line with SDS national priorities
and take good account of the needs of local communities within Fife. The delivery of
services is supported well through partnership approaches. For example, services for
care leavers, young people with mental health issues and customers with additional
support needs are planned jointly with partners and delivered well.
SDS public access centres are conveniently located in Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy.
Access to services and support is further enhanced through delivery of services from six
9
part-time centres across the Fife region. CIAG staff make arrangements to deliver
services within local communities which helps to ease access for customers in rural
areas and those who have additional challenges. Centres are accessible to customers
with restricted mobility and wheelchair users. SDS staff make good use of social media
such as Facebook to broaden their reach and engage with harder to reach customers.
SDS staff have a strong presence in all secondary schools. School partners are very
positive about the extent to which SDS staff deliver well-promoted and accessible
services. Career coaches in schools use group work and one-to-one coaching sessions
effectively to support young people to develop their CMS. In a few schools, CMS skills
are more closely integrated within the broader curriculum. In these schools there is
evidence of improved positive impact on the development of pupils’ CMS. Almost all
customers including, school pupils, young unemployed and those in training provision
speak positively of the support they are receiving to develop their CMS. However, most
school pupils do not have the opportunity to further develop or consolidate their CMS
skills within the broader school curriculum.
CIAG staff work well with schools to promote a wide range of progression options to
meet the needs of all young learners. Modern Apprenticeships are promoted well
through a range of activities such as Learning Through Work Week, employer
engagement in schools’ activities and school assemblies.
The local area team has established effective and purposeful relationships with a range
of partners to support customers to progress to a positive destination. Customers and
employers who are experiencing redundancy have access to well-planned PACE
services. SDS staff and partners respond swiftly to requests to support customers at
risk of redundancy, including contributing to Scottish Government Taskforces.
How well do services meet the needs of relevant communities and other local and
national stakeholders?
The area team is enthusiastic and motivated. Staff deploy responsive and flexible
approaches to deliver services which meet the needs of communities and stakeholders
effectively. The area team has established effective and productive relationships with a
wide range of stakeholders and partners, including the local authority, the Department
for Work and Pensions, Fife College, independent training providers and the voluntary
sector. SDS staff contribute to a range of strategic and operational groups within the
region and their contribution is valued highly by partners.
Career coaches promote and deliver CIAG services well across all secondary schools in
the area. Almost all pupils find career coaches to be readily accessible and provide
services which are delivered in a flexible and responsive way.
SDS and schools staff have worked together to develop partnerships with external
agencies to provide opportunities for young people, including those with additional
support needs. Support provided by SDS staff to young people at risk of not achieving a
positive destination is valued highly by school managers and pastoral support teams.
School managers are highly appreciative of the services offered by career coaches and
work coaches to school pupils. They view their contribution as integral to the support
network in place for pupils and key to their planning for effective transitions on their
10
leaving school. Collaborative arrangements between SDS, secondary schools, Fife
Council, Fife College, and employers have provided Foundation Apprenticeship
Pathfinder opportunities in Engineering which have now been extended into other
industry sectors.
The Fife PACE team, led by SDS, draws productively on local knowledge to organise
support. The Grapevine Proforma referral arrangements enable staff in partner
organisations to alert the Fife PACE Chair to any emerging redundancy situations. This
has been particularly helpful in supporting small to medium-sized enterprises.
Customers who have experienced redundancy situations value the individual support
and resources they received from SDS staff.
Stakeholder satisfaction with CIAG services is high. All partners value their relationship
with SDS and the role SDS staff play in supporting the achievement of shared goals for
Fife and its communities. Almost all customers report positively on the services and
resources provided. Working closely with partners, SDS use local information well to
design and deliver services to support adult customers to progress to a positive
destination.
11
7.
Service Delivery
How good is delivery of key services?
How well do services meet the needs of all customers?
The LMT makes good use of detailed knowledge of the region to plan the range of
services required to meet the needs of local communities and stakeholders. This
includes labour market information and information from key partners. Where
appropriate, SDS staff deliver front-line services in partnership with other agencies such
as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Careers staff work flexibly to help
customers overcome barriers which limit their ability to access CIAG services. This
includes delivering services from partners’ premises in local communities to ease
access for customers in rural areas.
Career coaches work very closely with school staff to promote CIAG services to pupils.
They collaborate well to ensure services meet the needs of all pupils through an
appropriate blend of MyWoW sessions, CMS workshops, one-to-one support and
drop-in opportunities. SDS staff work closely with school and community-based staff to
respond to pupils’ changing circumstances. School managers and SDS staff validate
the needs matrix and review it regularly to target support for pupils who are most at risk
of not entering a positive destination on leaving school.
Most school pupils describe how CMS sessions and one-to-one support has helped
them to make good choices about their future learning, training and employment
options. Work coaches collaborate well with career coaches to support young people to
make a successful transition from school to work or further learning. This support helps
post-school customers to continue to develop their CMS and enter or sustain a positive
destination on leaving school.
Most customers access resources such as MyWOW to help them make choices and
develop skills for employability, such as developing interview skills and building a
curriculum vitae (CV).
How effective are relationships with customers?
SDS staff establish productive relationships with customers. During one-to-one
engagements with customers they develop relationships quickly and put customers at
ease. Staff use the coaching approach well to build customer confidence. These
approaches encourage and support customers well to develop skills and confidence in
making choices about employment and future learning.
All SDS staff in Fife are highly committed to meeting the needs of their customers.
Customer and stakeholder feedback is extremely positive regarding the relationships
with SDS staff and the quality of the services provided.
Adult customers value the individual support they receive from careers staff and
describe how this has helped them to identify next steps and build their skills for
employability.
12
How accessible, flexible and inclusive are services?
SDS staff work very well with a broad range of partners to identify and respond to
customers’ needs. They are aware of the issues which can affect the uptake of CIAG
services and plan proactively to help customers overcome barriers SDS staff make very
effective use of a range of approaches to raise awareness of CIAG services to parents,
carers, and school staff. These include the use of printed materials, school assemblies,
workshops, careers events, social media, texting and parents’ evenings. Where
appropriate, SDS staff meet individually with parents and carers of young people to help
them explore and discuss opportunities available to young people.
SDS managers have identified significant challenges in maintaining contact with
unemployed young people, including those who disengage from an initial positive
destination. They have developed appropriate actions to improve engagement with this
group of customers. However, it is too early to evaluate the impact of these actions.
CIAG staff work well with partners and colleagues to plan approaches to meet specific
needs of individual customers. Multi-agency planning meetings are used well by SDS
staff and partners to arrange referrals and coordinate services.
SDS staff work well with school partners and employers to promote Modern
Apprenticeships and job opportunities. In schools where career coaches work closely
with subject teachers to promote employability skills, pupils are supported well to link
aspects of the curriculum to the world of work. For example, in schools engaging with
the Energy Skills Hub pupils are supported well to explore career opportunities in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, a few schools do
not promote the full range of post-school options to all pupils. This limits choice for
some pupils and restricts their aspirations.
Careers staff work very closely with school staff, parents and carers to ensure that
young people who have additional support needs are supported effectively to engage
with CIAG services. They make good use of tailored materials and approaches to
support vulnerable young people to make appropriate choices about next steps in their
learning or employability.
How well are services delivered?
The LMT takes good account of the individual expertise and strengths of staff to plan
delivery of services. Staff are encouraged to develop and apply specialist knowledge of
working with specific customer groups, including looked-after young people, to plan
services.
Careers coaches deliver an appropriate range of CIAG services to school pupils
including the introduction of MyWOW, CMS group-work sessions, and providing
one-to-one coaching support. In a few schools, Career Coaches are supporting school
staff to embed CMS within the wider curriculum and link subject delivery to employability
for young people. However, in most schools, CMS is not yet embedded within the wider
curriculum which reduces the relevance and impact of CMS sessions in supporting
young people to develop skills for life, learning, and work. Adults at risk of redundancy
are supported well through activities which provide them with skills strategies to move
into further learning or employment opportunities.
13
In one-to-one coaching sessions, career coaches and work coaches take good account
of customers’ needs and use appropriate language to encourage productive discussion.
Customers who access one-to-one coaching value highly the support they receive from
careers staff.
Most group-work sessions are delivered in appropriate environments, which include
access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) resources. However, the
delivery of CMS group-work sessions in some schools is affected by poor connectivity.
How well do staff reflect on service delivery to improve services?
Staff engage enthusiastically with a range of formal and informal methods to reflect on,
and share, delivery approaches. They make good use of the Business Excellence
self-assessment process to reflect on service delivery and plan for improvements. Staff
seek views directly from customers following their engagements. Customer and
stakeholder feedback is used well by staff to inform the future delivery of services and
group-work sessions.
All staff engage enthusiastically in team time and networking activities to share their
ideas, provide feedback to the LMT and disseminate effective practice. Staff are able to
influence change to better meet the needs of the area and customers. For example,
staff in Kirkcaldy identified a downward trend in the number of 16 to 17 year-olds
accessing services at the centre. They took action to make the physical environment
more attractive to this age group and successfully designed and delivered sessions
which attract unemployed young people.
A number of staff undertake champion roles in areas such as health and safety,
equalities or corporate parenting. These roles provide valuable opportunities for
individual staff to develop specialist knowledge. Champions draw well on these
activities to disseminate effective practice and extend the expertise of the team.
How good is management of key services?
How well does the organisation work with partners to improve outcomes for
customers?
The contribution of SDS to drive and support partnership working is recognised by key
stakeholders as crucial to delivering improved outcomes for young people. SDS
managers work productively with strategic partners to respond to national priorities.
Managers and team leaders are proactive and are highly valued and respected
members of key strategic partnership groups. For example, the Head of Region is a
member of the Opportunities Fife Partnership Executive Group and the Area Manager
sits on the Fife Developing the Young Workforce Board (the regional Invest in Youth
Group). Team leaders represent SDS on a range of strategic and delivery groups to
address key priorities.
SDS works effectively with a range of partners to coordinate support for customers who
have additional needs. Multi-agency projects have been developed to enable more
customers with disabilities and, or health issues to progress to a positive destination.
14
The Rising Star project supports care-experienced young people to make a positive and
sustained transition to post-school opportunities.
How effective is the organisation’s knowledge and information management in
supporting service delivery?
SDS staff make very good use of management information to inform and shape
provision internally and with partners. The LMT is instrumental in leading the
development and use of data at strategic level within the area to develop provision for
customers. SDS staff have developed a comprehensive range of local labour market
information resources for use by staff and partners. SDS materials for key skill sectors
for the area used well by staff to update partners and stakeholders about areas of
growth and future employment opportunities.
SDS staff work well with local secondary schools to improve the accuracy and
consistency of information regarding the destinations of school leavers. The quality of
entries to the data-hub has improved as a result. A few schools are beginning to use
information from the data-hub to inform future planning. However, most partners
including schools and the local college are not using the full range of information
available to them from the data-hub to inform future planning. This is limiting the ability
of SDS and partners to work collaboratively to maintain contact with young people who
are at risk of disengaging or who have disengaged from a positive destination.
Data regarding delivery and performance of Employability Fund provision across Fife is
used well by partners to develop plans to improve progression to sustained destinations.
15
8.
Leadership and quality culture
How good is strategic leadership?
How effective is leadership for partnership working and service delivery?
The LMT provides strong leadership in shaping the services offered to customers in Fife.
The team ensures that the SDS national offer is tailored effectively to reflect the Fife
context and meets the broad range of customer needs. The vision and direction of
services takes good account of SDS national objectives and regional priorities including
the Fife Regional Skills Assessment Plan and Fife Workforce Modelling. Planning of
services is aligned well to current and emerging national priorities including Developing
the Young Workforce (DYW), Corporate Parenting and the recently launched Career
Education Standard.
The LMT empowers staff to contribute to the development of the local Fife Workplan.
Staff have high levels of awareness and ownership of the workplan and describe how
their roles contribute towards achievement of targets. They recognise what actions
require to be taken to improve performance against national targets, especially against
those which were not met. Staff confidently contribute ideas through reflective practice
sessions and at team meetings. Staff ideas and suggestions are sought regularly and
used by the wider SDS Fife team to inform improvements.
Within the Fife area there has been significant changes to senior personnel within SDS,
the local authority and the local college. Over this period the LMT has worked well to
establish and maintain strong and productive strategic partnerships. This is resulting in
more collaborative and targeted planning of provision by SDS and partners to improve
outcomes for customers. However, it is too early to assess the full impact of these
developments on significantly raising the level of sustained positive destinations for
young people in Fife.
SDS managers have identified areas within Fife which have significantly higher levels of
young unemployed people and have taken action to target resources to address this
issue. However, arrangements for engaging more effectively with young people at risk
of leaving college programmes and becoming unemployed are not yet fully effective.
How well do leaders develop and lead people?
Managers use team time well to support staff development, discuss quality issues and
share good practice. They use a variety of approaches to enable staff to overcome
geographic challenges to participate in team meetings and discussions. Team Leaders
arrange monthly one-to-one meetings with team members to discuss and review
performance, progress and team objectives. These meetings are used effectively to
help identify and discuss personal development and career aspirations, including
leadership potential.
The LMT continuously promotes the Everyday Leadership approach and staff are
empowered to take ownership of aspects of service delivery. These include profiling of
local targets and planning, leading regular reflective practice sessions and the
development for the SDS Fife Facebook resource.
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The LMT has developed a flexible approach to the deployment of staff. This enables the
team to respond quickly to current and emerging demands, such as responding to
PACE interventions and balancing school and post-school provision. Induction
arrangements are planned well and provide useful support to new staff.
How well do leaders secure improvement of quality and impact of services?
The LMT works proactively to promote a culture of continuous improvement. Managers
support the area team well to contribute to evaluative arrangements and planning for
improvement. As a result, staff have worked purposefully to improve arrangements for
gaining and using customer and stakeholder feedback to influence improvements to
service delivery. SDS staff based in the three centres take opportunities to share
actions and approaches they are taking to ensure improvements for customers.
The LMT utilise the SDS Your Views staff survey to identify issues and areas for
improvement which are then incorporated in the area Continuous Improvement Plan.
The Fife Quality Improvement Team makes effective use of the Business Excellence
Approach to initiate improvements to services. The Quality Improvement Plan clearly
identifies actions for improvement and progress against these actions is monitored
regularly.
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9.
Capacity to improve based on evidence from Outcomes and
impact, Service delivery and Strategic leadership
The LMT provide strong leadership in shaping the services offered to customers in Fife.
The vision and direction of services take good account of SDS objectives, national and
local priorities. All SDS staff are highly committed to delivering high quality CIAG
services across Fife. All staff understand how their roles and work contribute to the
achievement of local targets and national objectives. The area team responds flexibly to
the varying demands on the service offer and team working is strong. The LMT and
staff plan for service delivery well and take good account of customers’ needs,
supported well through partnership approaches.
Links with strategic partners are strong and productive. SDS works proactively and
collaboratively with its partners to develop activities which support those who are most
at risk of not entering a positive destination. CIAG staff make alternative arrangements
to deliver services within local communities which helps to ease access for customers in
rural areas and those who have additional challenges.
SDS staff have a strong presence in all secondary schools. School partners are very
positive about the extent to which SDS staff provide visible and accessible services.
Stakeholder satisfaction with SDS services is high and almost all customers report
positively on the services and resources provided by SDS staff.
However, in 2013-14, the proportion of Fife school leavers who sustained their initial
positive destination was 1.9% below the national average. Most school pupils do not
have the opportunity to further develop or consolidate their CMS skills within the broader
school curriculum. Most partners including schools and the local college, are not using
the full range of information available to them from the data-hub to inform future
planning.
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10. What happens next?
Following publication of this report, SDS and partners are expected to produce an action
plan to address the main points for action and/or areas for development in the report
and other quality assurance and enhancement activities.
A follow up visit will be carried out involving SDS and partners 18 months after the initial
review to determine if satisfactory progress has been made towards the main points for
action.
Scott Anderson
HM Inspector
11. Further information
The review and judgements relate to the service area as a whole. For further
information about Education Scotland, the external review methodologies, or other
information about reviews, see www.educationscotland.gov.uk
For further information about Skills Development Scotland, see
http://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/
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12. How can you contact us?
This report has been produced as a web-only publication and is available on our website
at
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/inspectionandreview/reports/othersectors/careerss
ervices/index.asp .
If you would like to receive this report in a different format, for example, in a translation
please contact the administration team on 0131 244 5684.
If you want to give us feedback or make a complaint about our work, please contact us
by telephone on 0131 244 4330, or email: complaints@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk or
write to us addressing your letter to The Complaints Manager, Denholm House,
Almondvale Business Park, Livingston, EH54 6GA.
Crown Copyright 2016
Education Scotland
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Appendix 1
Glossary of terms
CIAG
CMS
CV
DWP
DYW
FE
ICT
IES
LMI
LMT
MyWoW
PACE
SDS
SIMD
SPA
STEM
Career Information, Advice and Guidance
Career Management Skills
Curriculum vitae
Department for Work and Pensions
Developing the Young Workforce
Further Education
Information and Communications Technology
Integrated Employment and Skills
Labour Market Information
Local Management team
My World of Work
Partnership action for continuing employment
Skills Development Scotland
Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation
School Partnership Agreement
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics
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