Validated self-evaluation
East Lothian Council
23 November 2009
Contents
Page
1.
The aims, nature and scope of the validated self-evaluation
1
2.
What did we find as a result of the validated self-evaluation?
3
3.
How has the validated self-evaluation contributed to East
Lothian Council’s capacity to improve?
6
Appendices: Main findings from the validated self-evaluation of
East Lothian Council
9
A: What is the context within which the education authority
operates?
9
B: What key outcomes is the authority achieving for specific
groups of learners, how well is it meeting their needs and
what can it now do to improve things further?
9
C: Findings from the priority themes
16
D: The impact of the Council’s leadership
18
E: Good practice
19
1.
The aims, nature and scope of the validated self-evaluation (VSE)
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. Evaluations are based upon a published framework of
quality indicators (Quality Management in Education 2)1 which embody the
Government’s policy on Best Value. The Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act
2000 provides a framework for improvement planning that requires education
authorities to set out and report on improvement objectives related to National
Performance Framework (NPF), national priorities and associated measures of
performance.
HMIE’s mission is to work with others to secure improvements in the education
and wellbeing of the people of Scotland. It promotes public accountability for the
delivery of high quality education for all learners, and services for children. HMIE
no longer operates a cycle of inspection of the education functions of local
authorities (INEA) but is developing a more proportionate approach to evaluating
and reporting on these functions in line with the drive to reduce external scrutiny
at service level. Working in partnership with other agencies and organisations
and building on the findings of inspection and review, HMIE aims to promote
improvements for the benefit of all learners and service users. VSE contributes to
this aim.
What is validated VSE?
VSE is a voluntary process which aims to support and challenge the work of
education authorities to deliver and improve the quality of provision and outcomes
they offer for learners. It involves a partnership between the education authority
and HMIE in which HMIE apply their knowledge of educational delivery and
expertise in evaluation in order to extend, challenge and support the education
authority’s own self-evaluation processes, and so affirm (or otherwise) and
strengthen the outcomes. VSE acknowledges that the responsibility for improving
services and outcomes lies with the education authority. It recognises that
self-evaluation is increasingly well-embedded across the Scottish educational
landscape and that high quality self-evaluation can lead to continuous
improvement for learners and the achievement of excellence in practice and
provision. In summary, VSE seeks to:
•
build the capacity of education authorities to evaluate their own performance
and improve the quality of services and outcomes for learners;
•
promote and develop good practice and best value in education authorities;
1
Quality Management in Education 2 (HM Inspectorate of Education 2006) is a
framework of self-evaluation for Local Authority Education Services.
1
•
provide information to Scottish Ministers and the public on the quality of
provision in education authorities;
•
offer independent evaluation and validation; and
•
contribute to a reduction in external scrutiny at service level where possible,
taking account of risk, and provide high quality and robust information for
shared risk assessment.
The VSE process is designed to accord with the principles recommended by the
Crerar ‘Reducing the Burden’ Action Group, in that it is:
•
focused on outcomes;
•
proportionate to need;
•
owned by those carrying out the self-evaluation;
•
flexible, with the scope to recognise differences in service levels and types;
•
built on existing good practice and relevant existing standards;
•
rigorous and transparent; and
•
designed to secure continuous improvement.
Validated self-evaluation in East Lothian Council
HMIE and East Lothian Council agreed to undertake a pathfinder project to
evaluate, in partnership, aspects of the education services in East Lothian and so
determine how well the Council is performing in these areas. HMIE and senior
managers from East Lothian Council Education and Children’s Services and
Community Services worked closely together in the process. East Lothian
Council chose to adopt a very wide-ranging and inclusive approach. They
therefore also involved staff from areas of East Lothian Council other than
Children’s Services and Community Services, parents, elected members, young
people and staff from voluntary sector and community organisations in many of
the self-evaluation activities.
Scope of the validated self-evaluation
The self-evaluation activities were designed to answer the following questions:
what key outcomes is the authority achieving for specific groups of learners; how
well is it meeting their needs; and what can it now do to improve things further?
In addition, East Lothian Council, in consultation with HMIE, identified a number of
key priorities where they wished to evaluate the impact of developments or which
it believed to be crucial to the future development of its capacity for improvement.
2
These areas were: learning and teaching; resource management; stakeholder
involvement; additional support for young people; the cluster approach; early
years and childcare; and wider achievement.
Process of validated self-evaluation
The process involved three main phases: initial engagement, self-evaluation and
validation. In the first of these phases, personnel from HMIE worked closely with
senior managers from East Lothian Council Education and Children’s Services
and Community Services to brief a wide range of staff and key stakeholders on
the principles and planned approaches to be undertaken. During the
self-evaluation phase, HM Inspectors worked closely with a wide range of
education authority staff and other stakeholders with the purpose of supporting,
challenging and improving the quality of the authority’s self-evaluation. In the final
phase of the process, HMIE undertook activities to check the rigour of the process
and the robustness of the evidence, with a view to validating the authority’s
self-evaluation.
East Lothian Council started its self-evaluation by creating an evidence team for
each identified priority. The role of the members of these seven teams was to
ensure that all available evidence relevant to the evaluation of the identified
priority area was available for review and analysis. Each group was led by an
Education Officer or senior manager and involved professionals from across the
Council. The teams pulled together often large amounts of quite disparate
information and intelligence. The evidence for the self-evaluation activities came
from a broad range of sources including inspection evidence. Each evidence
team then compiled a report based on the evidence, and handed this to
self-evaluation teams. Each of these teams was allocated one of the seven
priority areas. Each self-evaluation team was chaired by a headteacher and
supported by an advisor, who was an Education Officer. Each of the teams
included a wide range of stakeholders. This included elected members, senior
pupils from some East Lothian secondary schools, headteachers, parent
representatives, trades union representatives, community representatives and
officers from Council departments other than education.
At the end of the process, the Council held a joint session with HMIE for
stakeholders and staff to report the findings of the VSE and the agreed priorities
for action.
2.
What did we find as a result of the validated self-evaluation?
HMIE concurred with East Lothian’s evaluation of their performance as having
‘important strengths’. These strengths include the following:
•
The overall quality of education provided by individual services and
establishments is good. This includes a significant number of
services/establishments where there are major strengths in some areas.
3
•
The Council's performance in SQA examinations has shown consistent and
sustained improvement over a five year period.
•
The authority and other agencies offer high levels of opportunities for
learners to engage in informal learning.
•
The attainment of the lowest attaining 20% of learners has improved
significantly over a sustained period of time.
•
The proportion of children at the early stages attaining earlier than would
normally be expected in English language and mathematics has risen
steadily in recent years.
•
English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) learners are very positive
about the service they receive and the major difference their learning makes
to their home and work lives.
•
In a number of important aspects, the Council’s performance against agreed
targets has been strong. This includes performance in many aspects of
attainment and achievement. Outcomes of HMIE inspections of schools
have been consistently positive in the last two years.
East Lothian Council also recognises that there are important aspects of learners’
achievements and outcomes where improvement is required and where further
action is needed. HMIE agreed that the following require further or continued
attention:
•
Standards of attainment in children’s writing by the end of their primary
education.
•
The overall attainment rates of learners by the end of S2.
•
The authority’s focus on wider achievements, especially in relation to linking
learning in and out of classrooms.
•
The development of the cluster approach as a way of improving provision for
children and young people.
•
The delivery of programmes for young people requiring More Choices, More
Chances, which are not yet leading to consistent improvement in outcomes
in sustained employment or further learning.
•
The range of learning opportunities on offer for adult learners, working with
the East Lothian Adult Learning Partnership (ELALP).
4
What did HMIE learn about the quality of self-evaluation in East Lothian
Council from this process?
Senior managers and staff from East Lothian Council Education and Children’s
Services and Community Services showed very high levels of commitment to the
process from the outset. Senior managers are committed to improvement through
self-evaluation and they saw VSE as an extension of approaches already adopted
and established within their services. They were extremely open in their approach
and invited staff to adopt similar attitudes to their involvement in the VSE exercise.
Staff responded openly and positively.
The groups which led the review of the identified themes approached the
evaluation of the priority areas openly, professionally and rigorously. The
evidence presented was, overall, full and comprehensive. In almost all cases, the
evidence-base was improved as a result of reflection and review during the
self-evaluation phase of the exercise. This was the case, for example, in the work
of the group which looked at Additional Support for Young People. In the second
phase of this, the group sought and received more robust evidence about
outcomes and impact for learners with additional support needs. This had
developed because the self-evaluation group had begun to look at attainment and
achievement for vulnerable groups and had identified areas where more analysis
and interpretation of the information was required.
The approaches of the groups which conducted the self-evaluation exercises
were well thought out. Overall, groups took an outcome-focused approach to
evaluation and in all areas built up a clear picture of practice and provision by
considering stakeholder views, available data, and by sampling the delivery of
education through visits to learning provision. Groups were very aware of
important national developments such as Curriculum for Excellence2. Important
linkages, including those between learning and teaching and attainment and
achievement, were explored carefully. Members of the Learning and Teaching
group, for example, undertook visits to observe practice in learning and teaching
in schools across East Lothian. The evidence gathered was carefully considered
and fed back into the process. Where appropriate, this was used to challenge any
assertions and assumptions which the group may have made. More generally,
groups recognised the need to ensure that evidence could not be restricted to
school-based learning. The place and value of learning beyond schools was a
theme addressed by a number of groups.
Groups faced various challenges in the course of their work. In the case of the
work of the group looking at the Cluster Approach, some aspects of the
self-evaluation were difficult to carry out because the self-evaluation team had not
had time to view all the evidence gathered. This challenge was addressed to the
satisfaction of all involved. The initial paper which provided an overview of wider
2
The Curriculum for Excellence programme outlines the purposes and principles
of the curriculum 3-18 to provide a framework within which improvement to
Scottish education can and should be made.
5
achievement in the authority for the relevant self-evaluation group was a very
constructive first attempt by the group to pull together all of the strands of wider
achievement. The group very helpfully set out an agreed definition of
achievement which it used to pull together thinking and practice in this complex
area. By using an approach which focused on the work of individual services
rather than on themes, however, opportunities to look in detail at the impact of
overall services on the lives of learners were underplayed.
Overall, HMIE found East Lothian’s approaches to its self-evaluation of the priority
areas to be thorough and robust. Senior managers displayed commitment to
ensuring that this part of the process was wide-ranging and relevant to the work
and development of the authority. They adopted a balanced approach to include
both areas likely to illustrate positive developments and those which were likely to
need further work. They displayed a commitment to openness and challenge by
involving a wide range of stakeholders in this part of the process. They offered
unambiguous advice to stakeholders about how this process should be
addressed. Senior managers were happy to make available all relevant evidence
to the evaluation groups and to provide any additional evidence required. They
encouraged teams to undertake fieldwork through which team members visited
schools and communities to test out documentary evidence. This was a
particularly strong part of the process and involved a range of well-planned visits.
HM Inspectors accompanied team members on many of these visits.
3.
How has the validated self-evaluation contributed to East Lothian
Council’s capacity to improve?
What is the Council’s capacity for improvement?
Capacity for improvement depends upon a range of factors, including:
•
The overall impact and outcomes achieved by the education authority.
•
Its focus on improvement.
•
Its track record in bringing about improvement.
•
The quality and accuracy of its self-evaluation.
•
How leadership and management of the Council results in improved
outcomes for learners.
The evidence from the VSE shows that East Lothian Council is making a positive
difference to its schools and services, and to its learners’ experiences and
outcomes. Senior managers in Education and Children’s Services in particular
offer a clear sense of direction to staff. This clarity of vision is helping to support
and challenge staff in all sectors. Many staff in Education and Children’s Services
report that they feel empowered to innovate and are clear about the outcomes
they are expected to help learners to achieve. Senior managers in Education and
6
Children’s Services have offered strong leadership and a clear sense of direction
at a time of considerable change in the Council. Through the authority’s own
self-evaluation approaches for schools in particular, senior managers demonstrate
a clear commitment to both supporting and challenging staff. These approaches
emphasise that prime responsibility for improvement rests with school staff. The
role of the authority in offering support and challenge is understood. Senior
managers in schools are very positive about these approaches and are clear
about their role in driving improvement. These approaches now need to be
extended to other services within the Council who work with learners outwith
school settings.
The work of senior managers and staff has resulted in improved outcomes for
learners across a range of areas. Learners in East Lothian achieve well in all
sectors. Some achieve very well. Senior managers are clear as to those
outcomes that require further improvement. The Council’s emphasis on the
importance of comprehensive and inclusive self-evaluation processes which lead
to improvements for learners no matter which service they are using, is designed
to improve outcomes further.
Evidence from the VSE exercise offers confidence that the Council is committed
to continued improvement through the direct involvement of a wide range of
stakeholders. This inclusive approach to improvement through self-evaluation
provides a very solid platform for addressing identified priorities. Driven by strong
leadership, particularly in Education and Children’s Services, the evidence from
this exercise indicates that the council has a clear and developing capacity to
improve its delivery of learning functions further.
What does the council plan to do next?
As a result of the work undertaken within the VSE process, East Lothian Council
and HMIE have identified the following broad priorities for action.
•
Further develop the outcomes-based approach to service improvement with
a strong focus on the collection and intelligent use of performance data.
•
Clarify responsibilities for promoting the articulation between education and
community learning and development to fully meet the needs of young
people in East Lothian.
•
Continue to raise attainment by ensuring that good practice is identified and
adopted more widely across the authority.
•
Explore and develop the emerging model of community-based management
of schools by involving other relevant services, community groups and
stakeholders in order to further improve the experiences and outcomes for
learners.
7
•
Continue to develop a framework to measure pupil performance at key
stages to enable schools to extend and challenge all learners in relation to
the key learning outcomes of numeracy, literacy, and health and well being.
Peter McNaughton
HM Inspector
Directorate 5
HM Inspectorate of Education
Alan Blackie
Chief Executive
East Lothian Council
23 November 2009
How can you contact us?
Should you wish to comment on any aspect of validated self-evaluation you
should write to Gill Robinson, HMCI, at HM Inspectorate of Education,
Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston
EH54 6GA.
If you would like to contact East Lothian Council you should write to Chief
Executive, East Lothian Council, John Muir House, Haddington, East Lothian,
EH41 3HA
8
APPENDICES: Main findings from the validated self-evaluation of East
Lothian Council
A: What is the context within which the education authority operates?
East Lothian Council has a population of 92,000. The population is increasing at
a greater rate than the population of Scotland as a whole. Population projections
for East Lothian between 2006 and 2031 are predicted to be around 21.2%. As a
result, East Lothian is predicted to have the third highest level of population
growth in Scotland. High population growth places significant demands upon
infrastructure and service delivery. The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
(SIMD) shows that East Lothian is one of the least deprived areas of Scotland.
There are, though, significant areas of inequality and deprivation. The Council
recognises that particular attention needs to be paid to ensuring that people living
in less accessible parts of the area are not unduly disadvantaged by their
circumstances.
B: What key outcomes is the authority achieving for specific groups of
learners, how well is it meeting their needs and what can it now do to
improve things further?
Pre-school learners
Key outcomes:
Recent inspection reports for pre-school centres present a very positive picture.
These indicate that centres provided good or very good experiences for children.
There have been no major weaknesses in any aspects of provision. The quality
of programmes and of children’s progress in each of the five key areas was good
or very good in almost all centres. Evaluations of the quality of staff interaction
with children to meet their needs, and their assessment and recording and
support for development and learning, were good or very good in almost all
centres. The effectiveness of leadership and provision and deployment of staff
were good or very good in almost all centres.
The authority’s impact on their learning:
Education and Children’s Services has offered strong and consistent support for
active learning approaches in the early years and work with parents. Active
learning has focused specifically on ensuring that literacy is developed
appropriately in the early stages. There has also been a clear and effective focus
on the development of numeracy in the early years. Celebration of wider
achievement and citizenship has been developed through the use of the Learning
Stories initiative. This encourages recording of how each child grows in
confidence as a learner and carries out activities as a citizen, such as care for the
environment.
The importance of the role of quality childcare in developing parenting skills has
been a key feature of the Council’s strategy. This has resulted in a number of key
developments emerging within the authority. Whilst some of these initiatives are
9
at an early stage of development, others are well established. For example,
through the School Age Parents Project, experienced childminders provide care
and support to teenage mothers. This has enabled some of these young people
to continue with their full-time education by providing a consistent and caring
environment for their child. The Olivebank Child and Family Centre provides a
positive service for vulnerable children and their families and for children with
additional support needs. Parenting support is offered on a groupwork basis
using effective practice such as courses in Mellow Parenting. Outreach work is
delivered to support the children and their families in the community. Work with
health services in areas of deprivation, such as the Patchwork Clinic in
Prestonpans, is also helping parents to support their children’s learning and
well-being. There is a range of out of hours provision and sports development
activities which is now being extended to early years provision.
Transitions for learners from early years into primary stages
There are often highly effective nursery-primary transition arrangements in place
across the authority. Many schools use the Learning Stories approach early in P1
to continue to capture and celebrate wider achievement. The authority recognises
that supporting and developing successful transition from early years work into the
early stages beyond P1 of primary school requires further development to sustain
and develop literacy and numeracy.
How can the authority improve things further for learners in the early years?
East Lothian Council and HMIE recognise that outcomes for some learners in
East Lothian require further improvement. We believe that development of the
following areas could help lead to even greater benefits for learners in this
age-group.
•
There has been strong initial work to support and develop literacy and
numeracy across East Lothian but there remains further work to do to
improve writing, mathematics and reading and sustain the gains made by
good work in early years provision.
•
Approaches to evaluating the difference being made by working with parents
in early years are at an early stage. Links to support self-evaluation between
Education and Children’s Services staff with community learning and
development (CLD) services are still developing.
Primary-aged learners
Key outcomes:
Recent inspections of East Lothian primary schools indicate that almost all
aspects of provision have been evaluated as either good or very good. In nine out
of ten primary schools inspected over the last two years, all evaluations were
good or better. These reports also included comment on strong provision for
promoting children’s wider achievement.
10
The attainment of primary-aged learners in reading and mathematics is good
overall and indicates an improving trend. Most children achieve appropriate
national levels of attainment and an increasing number of learners in early years
achieve these levels earlier than might be expected. Overall, the percentage of
children achieving the expected national level of attainment in these two areas by
P7 has been increasing in recent years. However, in writing, the gains being
achieved at the early stages are not being sustained and developed in the middle
and upper stages of primary education. Too few children are achieving the
expected national level of attainment by the end of P7. Education and Children’s
Services staff recognise this as a priority area for action.
The authority’s impact on children’s learning:
East Lothian Council is committed to ensuring that children receive a broad and
balanced educational experience. Education and Children’s Services has
introduced a number of important initiatives aimed at ensuring a clear impact on
children’s education. Many of these are leading to improving experiences and
outcomes for children.
The promotion of active learning is a key strategy in primary schools. Approaches
developed as a result of Assessment is for Learning are embedded in most
schools and are leading to a positive impact on the quality of learners’
experiences across East Lothian. These strategies underpin primary schools'
approaches to Curriculum for Excellence through the goal of high quality,
engaging learning and teaching. Schools and teachers are being encouraged to
develop innovative learning experiences in response to Curriculum for Excellence.
This has been recognised in recent HMIE inspection reports. Education and
Children’s Services also recognise and promote the importance of listening to the
views of learners. As part of this commitment, the service has started to use
online surveys to seek the views of all P6 children on a range of issues.
Importantly, this includes their views on aspects of the range and quality of the
learning and teaching which they experience.
The Council has put in place a range of other strategies and approaches which
aim to support and challenge primary-aged learners. East Lothian Council staff
are very positive about the impact on their work of many of these initiatives. The
positive impact of these initiatives on outcomes for learners has been noted in a
number of recent HMIE reports.
The initiatives include:
•
The Literacy Strategy.
•
Enterprising approaches to learning and teaching.
•
A broad range of arts activities.
•
The Youth Music initiative.
11
•
A diverse range of physical activities.
The authority, in partnership with schools, has produced clear guidance on
learning and teaching. This guidance has helped staff contribute to improving the
experiences of young people. Consistent use of these guidelines at various levels
in the authority is leading to increasingly cohesive approaches to learning and
teaching. This is reinforced by the work of the Quality Improvement Officers
(QIOs), in their engagement with school staff. QIOs know their schools well. This
is developed and reinforced through regular and well-received visits to schools.
QIOs engage with staff, learners and parents, observe learning in classes, and
discuss findings with the school management team. They support headteachers
well and ensure headteachers are regularly involved in high quality professional
discussion about provision in their school. Learning and teaching is central to the
common agenda. The authority’s own self-evaluation activities, carried out by the
QIOs, are valued by school staff. This is an important and well established
strategy within the authority for driving improvement. This applies equally to the
pre-school and secondary sectors.
Transitions for learners from primary into secondary education
Transition arrangements between primary and secondary stages involve all
schools in developing and using the cluster approach to introduce learners to their
new schools. Supporting successful transition from primary stages P5-P7 into the
S1-S2 stages of secondary school requires further development to enhance and
support attainment and achievement. The online survey for all P6-S2 children, for
example, noted that high levels of learner engagement in P6 are not always being
carried into learning and teaching in secondary schools. The need to maintain
development of English and mathematics and wider achievement is most
apparent in the areas of disadvantage in East Lothian. In terms of attainment,
there is a need to sustaining the ongoing development of English language and
mathematics from primary school into the early stages of secondary. There is an
opportunity to build upon examples of wider achievement by young people in
primary schools through using awards and sports programmes.
How can the authority improve things further for primary-aged learners?
East Lothian Council and HMIE recognise that outcomes for some learners in
East Lothian require further improvement. Highlighted by East Lothian’s own
self-evaluation, we believe that development of the following areas could help
lead to even greater benefits for learners in this age-group:
•
A continued commitment to effective use of detailed analysis of patterns in
attainment. This should include a focus on attainment outcomes by gender,
as well as careful analysis of the progress across East Lothian of those
children who do not achieve expected national levels of attainment.
•
Sharing the results of these analyses with staff across East Lothian to ensure
that all staff use this information to seek further improvement in outcomes for
children.
12
•
Build on the start that has been made in the work between Education and
Children’s Services and Community Services to work together to improve
outcomes for learners.
Secondary-aged learners
Key outcomes:
In the two most recent inspections of East Lothian secondary schools, almost all
aspects of provision were evaluated as either good or very good. Attainment of
young people in the secondary sector is, overall, good and showing signs of
improvement. At S1/S2, however, learners are not building sufficiently on
attainment achieved in primary schools. Levels of attainment in English language
and mathematics at these stages have not improved in recent years. At S3-S6,
most young people in East Lothian are performing as well or better than young
people nationally and in authorities with similar characteristics. Effective
partnership with the John Muir Trust has led to all young people learning about
the environment and developing skills in planning, decision making and taking
responsibility. Young people are achieving well in out-of-class activities, such as
sports and music, at school and authority level.
The attainment of looked after children has improved over a three year period and
is now above the national average. Trends in performance for looked after and
accommodated children3 are less consistent than those for looked after children,
but have been maintained above the national average in 2007-2008.
Secondary-aged pupils in the lowest achieving 20% are attaining well in National
Qualifications (NQs). For example, the lowest attaining 20% of pupils in S4 have
shown an increasing trend in their level of attainment in SQA examinations. An
increasing number of young people with additional support needs are successfully
attaining certification through NQs at Access Level 3, and Intermediate Level 1
and 2. Young people with complex learning difficulties are making very good
progress from their prior levels of attainment.
The authority’s impact on their learning:
The authority is working closely with secondary schools and partner services and
organisations to provide high quality experiences in and out of school. Many of
these are helping to improve outcomes for young people of secondary school age.
The curriculum has been evaluated as having major strengths in recent
inspections of secondary schools. The authority is building on this sound basis to
take forward Curriculum for Excellence. In doing so, it has provided a strong lead
in supporting secondary schools to review the organisation of learning
experiences at S1 and S2. Secondary schools have developed some very good
practice, working in partnership with their colleagues in primary schools, to
provide interesting and challenging learning experiences across the upper primary
and early secondary stages. At P7/S1, the Guitar Hero project is an example of
an innovative approach which provides a stimulating and motivating context for
3
Looked after and accommodated children
13
learning. Young people participating in this project achieved well in a number of
curriculum areas. The authority recognises the need to monitor the outcomes of
this development. The work of cluster groups provides a very strong focus for
these developments and contributes effectively to improving experiences for all
learners.
The work of sports coordinators in secondary schools has extended the range and
quality of physical activity experienced by young people in secondary schools.
The number of 13 year olds reporting that they have smoked or had an alcoholic
drink had been successfully reduced. The department has developed an online
survey to seek the views of all young people at S2 on a range of issues.
Importantly, this includes their views on aspects of the range and quality of the
learning and teaching which they experience.
East Lothian integration teams provide good support to young people with social
and emotional needs. They have been successful in helping to reduce exclusions
and increase attendance by providing targeted support to pupils and school staff.
They are currently reviewing their provision to enable more young people to
benefit from early intervention thereby preventing them from having to be
educated outwith the authority. Vulnerable young people in mainstream schools
are beginning to benefit from ‘transition passports’, designed to plan for and
improve post-school destinations to further learning or employment. The Bridges
Project, Motorcycle Project and Music Project are also providing vulnerable
groups of young people with valuable training opportunities in motor mechanics
and ICT that are internally certificated by the authority.
How can the authority improve things further for secondary-aged learners?
East Lothian Council recognises that outcomes for some secondary-aged learners
require further improvement. We believe that development of the following areas
could help lead to even greater benefits for learners in this age-group:
•
Ensuring effective use of detailed analysis of patterns in attainment.
•
The authority needs to continue to identify schools and departments where
young people are attaining less well, and address these through, for
example, sharing good practice.
•
Build on the development of learning teams in the secondary sector to
develop formative assessment in order to have greater impact upon the
engagement and motivation of all learners at the secondary stage.
Lifelong learning
Key outcomes:
Outcomes for adult learners across the authority are good and improving overall.
Recent inspections have highlighted strengths in the levels of community-based
adult learning and leisure courses available. Opportunities to undertake
accredited learning are limited in some areas. ESOL learners are very positive
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about the service they receive and the major difference their learning makes to
their home and work lives. Learners on a range of programmes note the positive
difference their learning has made to their lives, enabling them to learn new skills,
enter further study and become more involved in their community.
The authority’s impact on their learning:
The ELALP is well established and brings together all of the key delivery
organisations from further education and the voluntary sector. Provision is
wide-ranging and includes programmes to support adult literacy and numeracy.
The commitment to ELALP at strategic level enables providers to focus upon
impact on learners and to plan and target resources. The council CLD service
focuses its activities on more vulnerable learners. Many of the identified individual
projects and services are having positive outcomes. For example, vulnerable
parents benefit from good opportunities in family learning in areas such as
literacy, numeracy and parenting skills. This is a positive development which is
benefiting both children and adults in supporting and developing their learning in
these areas. In partnership with schools, this now needs to be developed further.
The voluntary sector is able to work with less vulnerable adults. The work of the
University of the Third Age (U3A) provides many learners over the age of 55 with
opportunities to learn in a range of subject areas, delivered locally. However, the
authority is still developing its approaches to enable the service to analyse the
impact of its work more effectively.
Transitions for learners from secondary education into employment,
training and further study
Most young people in East Lothian successfully progress to higher and further
education and employment. Links to local colleges and universities require further
development in terms of supporting transition to tertiary education and in
curriculum. There is a need to improve further the progression from school to
further education, higher education or employment, particularly for young people
in the More Choices, More Chances group. Attainment for the lowest attaining
20% of pupils, though above the national average, remains an area of focus for
the authority. This is particularly relevant for those young people leaving school
and not progressing to employment, education or training. The rate of progress
here is behind national trends.
Community Based Adult Learning (CBAL) staff carry out learner evaluations
termly but these are not yet being collated systematically.
Provision for children with additional learning needs is provided through both local
authority and voluntary sector organisations. A joint approach to assessment is
being developed, with training sessions being delivered for tutors. This needs to
be developed further and its impact on learners evaluated.
Transitions for adult learners into employment, training and further study
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Use of individual learning plans for learners developing literacy skills enables both
staff and learners to ensure that work is targeted and that the balance of pace and
challenge is effective. However, this approach is not well developed across all
aspects of adult learning. Guidance and assessment need to be more
systematically developed across the range of delivery partners.
How can the authority improve things further for adult learners?
East Lothian Council and HMIE recognise that outcomes for some adult learners
require further improvement. We believe that development of the following areas
could help lead to even greater benefits for learners in this age-group:
•
•
To further support improvement, the authority requires to develop its
monitoring and evaluation system. This should be this in partnership with all
education services internally and the wider East Lothian Learning
Partnership in order to maximise its effectiveness and improve outcomes for
adult learners and communities.
Community Services does not yet have a systematic approach to recognising
and celebrating success for adult learners. It now needs to build on the
success of the annual ‘Celebrating Success’ event for schools in order to
celebrate adults and community achievements.
C: Findings from the priority themes
Learning and teaching
Learning and teaching lies at the heart of the authority’s strategy for school
improvement. Senior managers in East Lothian believe in the centrality of a
consistently high quality of learning and teaching in ensuring improved outcomes
for children and young people. HMIE and East Lothian Council agreed that the
development and prioritisation of learning and teaching in East Lothian was
having a positive effect on children and their achievement. A number of areas for
continued improvement have been confirmed.
Resource management
Effective resource management contributes significantly to support for schools
and staff across East Lothian. Given the challenging economic climate,
colleagues saw this as area in which all involved in education have to have as
clear an understanding as possible. HMIE and East Lothian Council identified a
number of strengths, including the use of Business Managers within Secondary
schools and the increasing sense of transparency around budget matters. A
number of areas for continued improvement have been confirmed.
Stakeholder Involvement
HMIE and East Lothian Council were confident that this was an area of strength
as well as an area which is crucial to future development. HMIE and East Lothian
Council identified a number of positive features. They found real strengths in the
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involvement of, for example, young people, parents and carers and staff in the
work of the Council. A number of areas for continued improvement have been
confirmed. These include developing further how services work together to
ensure that they ‘Get It Right for Every Child’ (GIRFEC).
Additional support for young people
Senior managers were aware that this is an area in which staff in East Lothian
had been making significant progress. They felt that staff were working well to
include all children and young people fully in learning and progression, particularly
those identified as having additional support needs. HMIE and East Lothian
Council agreed on a number of areas in which outcomes for learners were
positive. These included the attainment of looked after children and the
performance of the lowest attaining 20% of pupils in S4. Young people with
complex learning difficulties were making very good progress from their prior
levels of attainment. HMIE and East Lothian Council identified a number of areas
which are likely to support further improvement. These included the need for
better data on specific groups of learners who have additional support needs in
order to assist analysis and further improvement.
The cluster approach
A revised form of cluster working was established in East Lothian around three
years ago. The purpose of the new approaches to cluster working was to develop
improved consistency, continuity, collegiality, creativity and collective
responsibility. As a result of the VSE process, HMIE and East Lothian Council
were able to confirm a number of positive outcomes. Overall, cluster working has
developed the leadership capacity and confidence of headteachers. Cluster
working is also encouraging primary and secondary schools to share practice and
learn from each other’s experiences. This now needs to be developed further.
Early years and childcare
East Lothian Council is committed to intervening early to support and develop
children’s care and learning. HMIE and East Lothian Council found that the work
in this area in East Lothian was having a positive impact on learners in a number
of ways. This included the benefit of well-established links with partners in health
and the development of consistently high quality learning experiences. HMIE and
East Lothian Council agreed that there remains more to do to ensure that
self-evaluation in some early years establishments is focused directly and
effectively on ensuring improvements for learners.
Wider achievement
East Lothian Council staff are committed to maximising the achievement of
learners and saw the VSE exercise as an opportunity to explore and advance this
issue further. HMIE and East Lothian Council found that staff in East Lothian
were committed to developing the achievement of all children. In a number of
areas, there was clear evidence of achievement being developed and recorded.
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Overall, more remained to be done here. Both HMIE and East Lothian Council
agreed on the need for use of an agreed definition of achievement. Further work
will seek to relate achievement to impact on learners.
D: The impact of the Council’s leadership:
The Chief Executive has set out a clear vision for the Council which is well
understood within the relevant services. Staff in both Education and Children’s
Services and Community Services have a clear understanding of Council priorities
and how these relate to their work and plans. The development of the
Council-wide initiative ‘Challenge for Change’ is encouraging senior managers
across services to look for better ways of working together. The Council has a
demonstrable commitment to ensuring a shared vision for its work and those who
help to deliver its goals. Very effective steps have been taken to ensure that all
stakeholders are appropriately aware of the Council’s vision, values and aims.
The personal commitment of the acting Executive Director, Education and
Children’s Services to engaging all staff in the vision and work of the Council is
impressive. Many staff find this aspect of his leadership highly motivating. Almost
all staff in Education and Children’s Services are very clear about the vision of the
Council and what this vision means for them in their work with learners. They
reported that this clarity of vision and common commitment were important to
them in ensuring the delivery of high quality learning experiences and outcomes
for children and young people. Parents interviewed reported that they are
consulted appropriately through Parent Councils and that East Lothian Council
takes account of their views. They also valued the opportunity to participate in the
VSE exercise.
Senior managers in Education and Children’s Services have provided strong
leadership during a period of major transition within the service and within a
change of political administration. The Challenge for Change events had
successfully increased cohesion between services. Senior officers now have an
improved overview of resource deployment. There is an emerging culture of
openness about resources and finance with both officers and members of the
public. However, a strategic approach to risk assessment was still in the early
stages of development. The key committees are still in a process of development
in terms of public corporate accountability and scrutiny.
At strategic, operational and delivery level, staff in Education and Children’s
Services work effectively with children’s social work services, health services, the
police and health to identify and meet the needs of children and families.
Strategic multi-agency teams work well together to advise on appropriate
placements and support for these children. The authority and its partners have
successfully worked together to develop their second Single Outcome Agreement
with the Scottish Government. Staff from Education and Children’s Services and
Community Services now need to work more closely together to ensure that all
learners are supported and challenged to reach their potential.
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E: Good practice:
These areas were agreed as good practice by HMIE and East Lothian Council.
Features of good practice: Active Schools Coordinators and Performance
Athletes in Schools
The Council has developed a comprehensive and well coordinated strategy for
sports and physical activity for all learners. The multi-disciplinary Sport in
Education group oversees all activities and ensures a clear strategic framework
within which developments take place. Participation levels in a wide range of
sports and physical activities are very high. The introduction of Secondary School
Physical Activity Coordinators, who are members of the respective Physical
Education Departments, has a made a significant impact on staff and young
people. The recent development of the Performance Athletes in Schools provides
opportunities for gifted children to personalise the curriculum and receive
specialised coaching and mentoring.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk
Features of good practice: Corporate Leadership Programme
Building upon a series of managers’ conferences entitled 'Challenge for Change',
the Council have developed and implemented an innovative leadership
programme that involves all service managers. This development has improved
the capacity of the authority to work in a more corporate manner and has
encouraged managers to adopt innovative approaches to service delivery focused
upon the needs of service users.
More detailed information is available at www.hmie.gov.uk
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