Validated self-evaluation
East Dunbartonshire Council
9 October 2012
Contents
Page
1.
The aims, nature and scope of validated self-evaluation
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2.
Validated self-evaluation in East Dunbartonshire Council
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3.
Education Scotland’s assessment of the quality of
self-evaluation in East Dunbartonshire Council
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4.
What does the Council plan to do next?
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Appendix:
Link to East Dunbartonshire Council self-evaluation
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1.
The aims, nature and scope of validated self-evaluation
2.
Validated self-evaluation in East Dunbartonshire Council
HM Inspectors from Education Scotland joined East Dunbartonshire Council
Education Services to work with them on a validated self-evaluation (VSE) as part of
the Council’s on-going improvement activity. Before the VSE, the District Inspector
had worked closely with senior managers to identify key areas for focused attention
during the VSE. These were to evaluate the impact of:
1. the Quality Improvement Policy, with a focus on the revised Quality
Improvement Policy;
2. the strategic plan for Curriculum for Excellence with a focus on the
implementation of the 3-18 cluster working policy;
3. support for children and families in the early years with a focus on quality
improvement; and
4. post school transitions for young people in need of More Choices, More
Chances (MCMC) and 16+ Learning Choices.
Prior to working with Education Scotland, the Education Service had piloted the VSE
methodology on a smaller scale to help inform the approach they used with
Education Scotland. It was clear that senior managers had planned very well for the
VSE, providing a clear structure for team members to use before, during and after
the VSE. A comprehensive self-evaluation paper using the key outcome and impact
quality indicators from Quality Management in Education 21 was provided to all team
members in advance of the core phase of the VSE. This was used, for example, by
the chairs of the thematic groups established for VSE to produce a scoping paper
which provided clear evidence and helpful evaluative statements under the key
questions.
•
How are we doing?
•
How well do we meet the needs of our stakeholders?
•
How good is our leadership and management?
•
How do we know?
All themed groups produced a tool kit comprising of questions for stakeholders. The
questions were designed to help triangulate the evidence they had already gathered
prior to VSE. The teams included quality improvement officers, the majority of whom
chaired the groups, headteachers and other school managers, and representatives
from community learning and development, Skills Development Scotland, and
partner nurseries. When Education Scotland staff joined the teams, they were well
established and clear about the task requirements. Education Scotland staff worked
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Quality Management in Education 2 (HM Inspectorate of Education 2006) is a
framework of self-evaluation for Local Authority Education Services.
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alongside the themed groups during the core phase which comprised of two days in
week one and three days in week two. This gap during the core phase allowed the
team members to build on the support and challenge provided by HMI, resulting in a
clearer focus on the need to analyse the impact of initiatives. Over the two weeks,
groups visited a range of relevant stakeholders, observed practice, established focus
groups, and visited establishments including schools, partner nurseries and further
education colleges.
At the end of the core phase it was agreed that the themed groups had established
effective evidence-based action plans of next steps for improvement. It was agreed
that, given the strong performance of the authority, it would benefit from further input
to develop thinking even further in relation to future possibilities for improvement. To
start this process, Education Scotland worked with staff for one day using the
strategic thinking kit, Opening Up Transformative Innovation. The focus of the
additional work was on leadership development, designed to further develop the
creative and innovative thinking of senior managers. The aim was to begin the
process of establishing an inspirational learning agenda which would lead the
authority’s education community into a more ambitious improvement plan for the
future.
3. Education Scotland’s assessment of the quality of self-evaluation in
East Dunbartonshire Council
East Dunbartonshire Education Service demonstrated that they had very robust and
vigorous methods for quality assurance and self-evaluation. The scoping papers
provided prior to engagement with Education Scotland were well structured around
the key impact and outcome questions. Evidence provided to substantiate their
initial evaluations was sound. Team members quickly realised that they needed to
focus more on the difference that policy was making to outcomes for children and
young people. For example, in the group looking at the implementation of the
3-18 cluster working policy, they successfully moved away from interrogating the
quality of the policy, to look more directly at the impact of the policy on outcomes for
children and young people. In making this change in focus, it became apparent, that
more impact evidence was required to make an evaluation of the effectiveness of
cluster working on children, young people and their families. A similar shift in
emphasis was achieved by the other groups thereby demonstrating highly reflective
and analytical skills by team members.
The tool kits used to interview stakeholders and to structure observations of practice
provided a good basis for triangulating evidence. Between the first and second
weeks of the core activity, the questions were modified and improved by the team
members. This resulted in much more challenging questions which were able to
focus on the value added by authority policy and guidance. Team members became
more confident in asking increasingly searching and probing questions of their
stakeholders. They took responsibility and control of the VSE, effectively shaping
activities to enable triangulation of information. For example, by the end of the core
phase, the Early Years’ group realised that they needed more evidence related to
additional support for learning and as a result organised further interviews with
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relevant staff. All groups engaged in good quality professional dialogue when
analysing the results from their stakeholder groups. The activities undertaken during
the VSE were appropriate and adequately representative of the range of
stakeholders. All groups became aware over time that evidence collected by the
individual theme groups needed to be shared and further triangulated across the
themes. Overall, the evidence gathered by the themed groups during the core
phase was very effective in identifying next steps and provided a very good basis for
continuous improvement. Given the very positive strengths identified by Education
Services and validated by the VSE, it was felt that the Service was in a strong
position to develop an even more ambitious improvement plan leading towards
transformational change.
What strengths has the validated self-evaluation identified?
The following high level strengths were identified.
•
Strong leadership by senior officers which is having a positive impact on
outcomes for children and young people.
•
Effective planning and reporting systems at council level which are creating a
greater degree of connectedness across the Council and between departments.
•
Very robust and vigorous methods for self-evaluation with very good data
sources which are being used effectively to evaluate performance and set future
targets for improvement.
•
High levels of attainment and achievement for almost all children and young
people and very effective support for young people in need of MCMC.
•
Highly reflective practitioners and leaders who engage purposefully in
self-evaluation to achieve a culture of continuous improvement.
What is the Council’s capacity for improvement?
East Dunbartonshire Council has developed robust planning and reporting systems
which are having a positive impact on the delivery of services and performance
across the Council. The Education Service has demonstrated a strong commitment
to self-evaluation and uses qualitative and quantitative data very well to identify
areas for further improvement. They are now using their data sources to further
interrogate their performance to ensure that all children and young people are
reaching their potential. They now need to build on their strong performance to
effect more transformational change which will allow them to lead the educational
agenda for the future.
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4. What does the Council plan to do next?
HM Inspectors, and East Dunbartonshire Education Service agreed the following
areas for further improvement. These are to:
•
continue to develop the transformational change work at all levels of leadership to
spearhead innovation and creativity;
•
continue to work closely with elected members to further enhance their support
and challenge of officers in transformational change;
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take forward the action plan for each of the themed groups; and
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continue to develop partnership working to assist in strategic planning and the
delivery of services to children, young people and the community.
Further details of areas identified for improvement are given in the report prepared
by East Dunbartonshire Council as part of the VSE process.
Laura-Ann Currie
HM Inspector
Education Scotland
9 October 2012
How can you contact us?
Should you wish to comment on any aspect of validated self-evaluation you
should write to Mr Alastair Delaney, Strategic Director, Education Scotland,
Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston,
EH54 6GA. Alternatively, if your query is related to this report, you may also
write to Mr Gerry Cornes, Chief Executive, East Dunbartonshire Council,
Southbank Marina, 12 Strathkelvin Place, Kirkintilloch, G66 1XT.
Appendix: East Dunbartonshire Council self-evaluation
http://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=21838
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