Review of Voluntary Sector Organisations
(Community Learning and Development)
Lead Scotland
2 August 2011
Contents
Page
1. Introduction
1
2. Context and background
1
3. Key strengths
1
4. How well did Lead Scotland meet the needs of its stakeholders?
2
5. How effective was Lead Scotland in key aspects of
management?
3
6. How effective was the Leadership of Lead Scotland?
4
7. What is Lead Scotland’s capacity to improve?
5
8. Main points for action
5
9. What happens next?
5
Appendix 1: Quality indicators used to evaluate Lead Scotland
6
1.
Introduction
In May 2011, Scottish Government (SG) commissioned HM Inspectorate of
Education (HMIE) to undertake a review of Lead Scotland. HMIE and SG agreed the
quality and performance indicators to be used in the review from the framework of
indicators within the HMIE publication How Good Is Our Community Learning and
Development?2 (HGIOCLD?2).
The scoping and fieldwork for the review took place in May 2011. HM Inspectors
interviewed board members, staff, volunteers and learners. They engaged with other
stakeholders at a major consultation event in Dundee, and visited the Aberdeenshire
office and spoke to stakeholders in Peterhead. In addition, a number of telephone
interviews enabled a wider range of stakeholders to contribute their views to the
review.
2.
Context and background
Lead Scotland is a voluntary organisation established in 1979 that works to widen
access to learning for disabled adults and carers across Scotland. It is a registered
charity and a company limited by guarantee.
Lead Scotland exists to
•
Empower disabled people and carers of disabled people to make well-informed
choices and engage confidently in learning.
•
Provide person-centred, individualised support for learning.
•
Combat exclusion from learning.
•
Inform and influence the development of policy and learning provision.
Lead Scotland operates from a headquarters in Edinburgh. The organisation delivers
projects in eight local authority areas, offering training, guidance and support to
learners. Lead Scotland is governed by a board of directors and employs 19 staff.
Lead Scotland has over 100 active volunteers who deliver tailored support to learners
with disabilities.
3.
Key strengths
•
Commitment of staff and volunteers to the organisation.
•
Staff and volunteers are very well focussed on building one to one relationships
with learners.
•
Strong reputation as leaders in their field.
1
4.
How well does Lead Scotland meet the needs of its stakeholders?
How well does Lead Scotland improve its performance?
Lead Scotland is very well linked to local, regional and national stakeholders and
partners. Organisations that refer learners to Lead Scotland are very confident that
learners’ needs are met. Links with colleges are very effective, and learners are
encouraged and supported in their periods of transition. Individual projects are
planned with clear activities and planned outcomes. The approach for each project
varies to meet the needs of funding partners. Use of analysis of trends and
reviewing plans at regional and national level is variable. Links between identified
need and levels of delivery in particular local areas are not clear. Targets at project
level are being met and in some cases exceeded. Limited use is made of data from
learners, volunteers and agencies in relation to tracking learners’ engagement and
progression. This would be helpful at regional and national levels and would also
enable more effective targeting of groups, agencies, learners and funders. Lead
Scotland holds the quality standard ‘Investing in Volunteers’.
How well does Lead Scotland impact on adult learners?
Learners are very clear about the very positive impact of Lead Scotland on their
personal lives and learning journeys. Learners have an assessment during their first
meeting and targets are set in an Individual Learning Plan. This plan takes account
of both short term goals and longer term aspirations. Learners’ achievements are
recognised very effectively though a range of approaches such as accreditation.
Certificates, letters of recognition, award ceremonies and good news stories are used
well to motivate learners and develop a sense of pride in their progress and success.
Good progress is being made by learners against their agreed Individual Learning
Plans. Learners develop specific skills, often focused on literacy and numeracy.
They also increase their confidence levels and independence in their learning.
Learners enthusiastically describe the significant changes to their lives through their
engagement with Lead Scotland. Almost all confirm that they are more confident,
and communicate more successfully with family and friends, often making better use
of technology. Learners give robust examples of the skills gained in areas that will
help them socially and in work, such as telling the time, using computers or being
confident about using spreadsheets. Learners feel safe and find the atmosphere
welcoming and comfortable. They are well supported in their work and encouraged
to progress at an appropriate pace. Learners are supported in their next steps in
learning, and follow up opportunities such as college places with confidence. They
are also advised about options in colleges and other settings which would support
short and longer term progression. A high proportion of learners achieve what they
set out in their learning plans and progress to the next stage of learning. Information
is limited on learners next steps and this makes it difficult to assess whether they
achieve their intended long terms goals.
How well does Lead Scotland impact on staff and volunteers?
Staff communicate the values of the organisation very effectively. They are highly
motivated and have a strong commitment to learners and the wider aim of promoting
engagement in learning for those with disabilities. Managers provide very useful
2
feedback and support for further training is readily available. Staff and volunteers
have a strong sense of loyalty to Lead Scotland. Supervision arrangements ensure
that staff and volunteers develop their own skills. This creates an environment where
they are motivated, well informed and well supported. Many volunteers also use the
opportunity of working with Lead Scotland to ensure they learn and are better
prepared for employment or community activity. There is a continuing need to
ensure that the board, staff and volunteers communicate with each other clearly
about change, resource levels and priorities.
How well does Lead Scotland impact on communities?
While building capacity within communities is not a central role of Lead Scotland,
their work has a positive impact upon those communities with whom they work.
Local staff and volunteers work effectively with local authorities and a range of local
organisations. This results in effective and quick cross-referrals of clients and
supports the joint development of projects with local partners. Staff are active in
promoting their work, and raising the profile of Lead Scotland locally. Volunteers are
well informed about the work of other organisations and are encouraged to get
involved in voluntary or community activity with other local groups. Lead Scotland
contributes effectively to promotional and awareness raising activity through
newspapers, events and roadshows. They promote their own and partners’ services
and raise awareness of the needs of disabled learners. The cultivation and support
of partnership work varies with local circumstances. The evaluation of partnership
work is limited and is mainly focused on the delivery for learners rather than the
impact on the community.
5.
How effective was Lead Scotland in key aspects of management?
Inclusion, equality and fairness
Lead Scotland is a welcoming organisation who offer services and promote
opportunities to a wide range of individuals. Their work has a focus on learners who
are traditionally in excluded or disadvantaged groups. Their work to enable
individuals to access learning makes a very positive contribution to addressing
barriers to participation. The processes around recruitment and support of
volunteers ensures that opportunities are accessible to all. Staff and volunteers
promote equality and fairness in their work. A number of volunteers have been
learners with Lead Scotland before becoming volunteers. Staff and volunteers have
a good awareness of the specialist services and assistive technologies that can help
learners, and provide useful advice on accessing support. Policies are revised
regularly and staff reflect on how their policies can encourage access and inclusion.
Good induction, training and support for staff and volunteers ensures an awareness
of equality issues. There is scope to consider other approaches to monitoring the
profile of learners to consider the balance in relation to age, gender and ethnicity.
3
Participation of service users and other stakeholders
Annual surveys and stakeholder meetings provide very positive opportunities for
partners, volunteers and learners to influence the strategic direction of Lead
Scotland. The analysis of these engagements is used very effectively to shape the
direction of the organisation. Strong relationships with partners enable staff to
develop activities and underpin much of the project work. Periodic questionnaires
and feasibility studies help Lead Scotland shape the direction of work and encourage
contributions and ideas from a range of stakeholders. Learner’s views are used well
in shaping the work with individual learners, and in contributing to the wider work of
Lead Scotland. Some projects have specific steering groups of stakeholders and
service users, which is helpful in ensuring their contribution to decision making.
Although Lead Scotland uses stakeholder feedback well, there is further potential to
engage partners and learners in decision-making forums including at board level.
Operational planning
Project planning is effective overall. A logic model is being piloted to support
systematic planning and evaluation of activities. Project plans are well constructed,
taking account of needs, risk, delivery and evaluation. Plans are often linked to local
Single Outcome Agreements and other priorities of partners and funders. Staff are
clear about processes, reporting and planning for their individual activities. Local
planning is supported by quarterly reporting to regional staff and board members.
These are mostly narrative and provide a picture of key activities and progress.
Services provided to partners are not always subject to a service level agreement
and this can make it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of delivery. Although much
of the work of Lead Scotland is planned through project planning and based on their
strategic plan, there are no organisation-wide operational targets in place. This limits
the ability of central staff and the board to usefully reflect upon trends or to
confidently track aspects of quality improvement.
6.
How effective was the leadership of Lead Scotland?
The Board and Chief Executive have a strong commitment to the organisation and
their vision is shared by staff, volunteers and learners. The Board has recently
reflected upon the further skills and contributions needed at board level and are
going through a process of targeted recruitment. The purpose and values of the
organisation are clear, shared well with stakeholders, and well understood by staff
and volunteers. Leadership of projects and of local activities is effective. Staff
engage well with volunteers and learners, and ensure quick and helpful responses to
referrals. Volunteers and staff are very clear about their own and others roles and
areas of responsibility. Lead Scotland work well with partners in taking account of
local need, and contribute to wider local planning forums.
4
7.
What is Lead Scotland’s capacity to improve?
Board members, staff and volunteers have a real commitment to the values and work
of Lead Scotland. They demonstrate this well through active contributions to the
thinking of the organisation and through their own learning. Lead Scotland continue
to have a successful commitment to Investors in Volunteers, demonstrating a
positive commitment to improvement. Lead Scotland use PQASSO, a nationally
recognised quality assurance system for charities, and HGIOCLD2? as structures to
help with reflection and improvement. Staff and volunteers regularly reflect on their
practice in order to improve the services they offer. Lead Scotland is committed to
consulting stakeholders and regularly take appropriate opportunities to improve
services. Lead Scotland deliver projects in areas of the country where they have
secured funding. They are committed to working toward being able to deliver an
increasingly national service related to identified needs.
Lead Scotland are currently considering expanding to cover some key services
which were delivered until recently by Skill Scotland. Their experience in planning
and effectively delivering agreed project activity gives a confidence in their ability to
deliver an extended service to learners.
8.
Main points for action
Lead Scotland should take action to address the following main points for action
•
Develop a more effective tracking mechanism and follow up process to enable
the organisation to target and plan more effectively.
•
Extend the use of service level agreements with partners to enhance planning
and monitoring of impact; and
•
Develop a strategy to extend the impact of Lead Scotland to learners requiring
support across the country.
9.
What happens next?
HMIE will take no further action in relation to this positive report. Colleagues in
SG will continue to monitor progress in relation to their grant funding.
Maureen Mallon
Managing Inspector
HMIE
5
Appendix 1:
Quality indicators used to evaluate Lead Scotland
HM Inspectors use performance measures and quality indicators when making
judgements in their reviews of national voluntary organisations. The quality
indicators used were selected from those published in June 2006 in the publication
HGIOCLD?2. This publication is available on the website www.hmie.gov.uk.
Improvements in performance
Impact on participants
Impact on the community
Impact on paid and voluntary staff
Inclusion, equality and fairness
Participation of service users and stakeholders
Operational planning
Leadership and direction
6
satisfactory
very good
good
very good
very good
very good
satisfactory
good
This report uses the following word scale to make clear judgements made by
inspectors.
excellent
very good
good
satisfactory
weak
unsatisfactory
outstanding, sector leading
major strengths
important strengths with some areas for improvement
strengths just outweigh weaknesses
important weaknesses
major weaknesses
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report, please go to www.hmie.gov.uk.
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telephoning 01506 600259.
Crown Copyright 2011
HM Inspectorate of Education