Inspection of the learning community
surrounding Coltness High School
North Lanarkshire Council
6 May 2014
Transforming lives through learning
1. Context
Community learning and development (CLD) partners within the area of Coltness
High School were inspected by Education Scotland during March 2014. During the
visit Education Scotland staff talked to children, young people and adults. We
worked closely with local and strategic CLD managers, CLD providers, paid staff and
volunteers. We wanted to find out how well partners are improving the life chances
of people living in the community through learning, building stronger more resilient
communities and improving the quality of services and provision. We also looked at
how well, paid staff and volunteers are developing their own practices and how well
partners, including schools, are working together. We looked at some particular
aspects of recent work which were identified by partners including:
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partnerships between CLD organisations and Coltness High School;
approaches being taken to developing an audit of needs; and
impacts on the health and wellbeing of learners and communities.
2. How well are partners improving learning, increasing life chances,
promoting and securing wellbeing?
Partners working in the learning community surrounding Coltness High School
deliver high quality learning and leisure provision for local people of all ages. There
is an emphasis on delivering programmes around health and wellbeing to meet
identified needs. Thematic partnerships have clear plans with measures and targets
attached with clear links to the Single Outcome Agreement (SOA). The North
Lanarkshire SOA and Community Plan detail the key measures for success for all
partners delivering services in North Lanarkshire. Annual targets are well used to
measure progress. Staff and agencies have very good local knowledge and use this
very effectively to signpost learners to the most relevant programmes. Many
individual organisations including Reeltime Music and Made4U in ML2 use data very
effectively to target specific programmes and individuals and to improve their
performance. While there are good thematic examples of data sharing including in
aspects of music and sport, partners need to continue to explore joint approaches to
improve performance further.
There is a good and increasing focus on accrediting learning where appropriate and
possible. More than twenty S3 learners are currently undertaking their bronze Duke
of Edinburgh’s Award which is an improving trend over the past three years. This is
delivered in partnership with Made4U in ML2 who offer silver and gold award
programmes for those who want to progress. Almost all adult learners are offered an
opportunity to gain accreditation for their learning and uptake is improving.
Regular evaluation by partners and participants of the Summer Chill transition
programme is analysed and used to improve process and programmes. Targeting of
young people at primary is being reviewed to ensure that those who need this
programme are engaged. Dynamic Youth Awards are integrated into the event well,
with 20 being attained in 2012 and 29 gained in 2013.
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Levels of volunteering are high across the area and there is a strong desire in
individuals to put something back and enable others to benefit. The Wishaw Action
Group for Sport is led by a very active group of young adults who came through
Community Sports Leadership Award programmes. They are determined to improve
the infrastructures and uptake of sports locally and are well supported by Active
Schools and other key staff. Young people involved in peer support, sports coaching
and buddying programmes are very clear that they have a responsibility to share the
benefits of their learning with younger learners.
Learners of all ages clearly articulate the positive impacts of their learning. Very
effective regular dialogue with learners enables them to consider the benefits of their
learning so far and to look at next stages. Parents involved in family learning
improve their self esteem, reduce isolation and boredom and engage in rewarding
experiences.
Partner agencies deliver high quality programmes in Coltness High School and there
are strong links to community-based activity. Young people are clearly signposted
and enabled to participate in relevant activities. Coltness Music project, Reeltime,
Made4U in ML2 and Coltness High School music department work very well together
to deliver programmes and experiences which enhance and deepen learning for
young people. They target specific learners to enable them to gain from these
programmes and courses as well as opening them up to those who have interests,
skills or ambitions. Improving the coherence across 3-18 delivery would increase the
impact on young people’s achievements.
Adult learners engage in a wide range of programmes from literacy to sports and
information and communications technology and these impact very positively on their
lives. Volunteers with Lanarkshire Speakeasy Group assist people recently
diagnosed with throat and head cancers using their own experience. Participants in
the group have reduced levels of fear and isolation and increasing levels of
resilience and self-help. Although there are good examples of guidance and
signposting, there is room to improve the progression for adult learners.
Strong volunteer led community groups deliver very effective local services which
improve the lives of residents. Whizz Kids, Made4U in ML2, and Cambusnethan
Miners Boxing Club clearly meet local needs and have a strong focus on learning
and personal development. Newmains Community Development Trust is managed
by a volunteer board of directors from the local community. The Board accessed
support from CLD partner organisations and from national advice bodies to
implement governance and best practice. They have successfully managed the
tendering and procurement process and as a result have levered in £2.5 million of
external funding for their local community. The experience has further developed
local social capital and provided a community development asset based legacy. The
Trust is now sharing their development journey and building community networks
with other local communities.
Community groups have representation on formal networks which enables effective
partnership working and influence around service delivery at a local level. The
Wishaw, Murdostoun and Fortissat consortium, hosted by Getting Better Together
Shotts, has enabled organisations and service users in the learning community to
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engage with, and influence, the Re-shaping Care for Older People agenda. This
includes planning for sustainability and resilience through developing the capacity of
local community groups to deliver services. The complex partnership and planning
structures can make it difficult for some organisations to influence local decisions.
Young people clearly have a strong voice in most youth centred organisations and
services. It would be good to build on this and encourage their engagement in other
local groups and networks to influence what happens in their local communities
further.
3. How well are partners working together and improving the quality of
services and provision?
Staff and volunteers have a passion for the area and there are many good examples
of them working together to deliver services. Partners delivering employability
programmes share information and target their resources very well. They
understand the needs of individuals and tailor their delivery to improve outcomes.
Young people and adults have clear progression routes for employability
programmes and support. Staff at the 16+ hub are looking very closely at the
sustainability of positive destinations. Partners use a variety of methods to engage
with and report progress to stakeholders with some making very effective use of
social media.
The Locality Planning Group are supporting agencies to work more effectively
around Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC), early intervention, and youth
offending diversionary activities through joint training and professional development.
Staff value these opportunities which support them to work more effectively together.
There is a strong emphasis on workforce development across agencies, with many
staff and volunteers undertaking accredited programmes. The CLD service and
Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire are working on developing baseline data to audit
learning and community activities. Developing baseline data and auditing the
services in the area is providing the CLD service with useful information. All partners
involved in the delivery of learning need to consider their priorities and resources
together on a more consistent basis and develop more robust and consistent
self-evaluation across the partnership to improve outcomes.
This inspection of learning and development in the learning community surrounding
Coltness High School found the following key strengths.
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High levels of volunteering.
The commitment and passion of staff and volunteers about making a difference
in the area.
Very effective CLD approaches and ethos in action.
High quality and well-targeted learning opportunities.
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We discussed with partners how they might continue to improve their work. This is
what we agreed with them.
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Continue to improve collection and use of performance data and analysis across
partners to better understand outcomes and secure improvement.
Ensure the balance is right between supporting organisations and learning from
them.
Complete the audit of provision to understand the overall learning offer and how
to meet needs.
4. What happens at the end of the inspection?
We are satisfied with the overall quality of provision. We are confident that the
learning community’s self-evaluation processes are leading to improvements. As a
result, we will make no further evaluative visits in connection with this inspection.
During the inspection, we identified an aspect of innovative practice which we would
like to explore further. As a result we will work with the Coltness learning community
and North Lanarkshire Council in order to record and share more widely the
innovative practice.
Maureen Mallon
HM Inspector
6 May 2014
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Additional inspection evidence, such as details of the quality indicator evaluations,
for this learning community can be found on the Education Scotland website at
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/inspectionandreview/reports/othersectors/com
munitylearninganddevelopment/ColtnessHighSchoolLC.asp
If you would like to receive this report in a different format, for example, in a
translation you can contact the administration team on 01506 600381.
If you want to give us feedback or make a complaint about our work, please contact
us by telephone on 0141 282 5000, or e-mail:
complaints@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk or write to us, addressing your letter to
The Complaints Manager, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Livingston,
EH54 6GA.
Text phone users can contact us on 01506 600 236. This is a service for deaf users.
Please do not use this number for voice calls as the line will not connect you to a
member of staff.
Crown Copyright 2014.
Education Scotland
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