Inspection of the learning community
surrounding Irvine Royal Academy
North Ayrshire Council
11 February 2014
Transforming lives through learning
1. Context
Community learning and development (CLD) partners within the area of Irvine Royal
Academy were inspected by Education Scotland during November 2013. During the
visit Education Scotland staff talked to children, young people and adults. We
worked closely with local CLD managers, CLD providers, partners, 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:




health and wellbeing;
community empowerment;
achievement and attainment; and
early intervention.
2. How well are partners improving learning, increasing life chances,
promoting and securing wellbeing?
Partners demonstrate a clear and strong commitment to improving life chances
within the Irvine Royal Academy learning community. Community need is effectively
identified and actioned by partners. Accreditation is effectively embedded within
youth work programmes. Key partner agencies share data effectively and robustly.
Regular analysis of management information informs planning at individual
practitioner, local neighbourhood and local authority levels. Data is systematically
analysed to identify trends. This informs partners improvement planning. There is
clear articulation between Single Outcome Agreement priorities and local planning.
There is clear definition of, and articulation between, aims, objectives and targets.
Community Development Service (CDS) priorities are mapped against Curriculum
for Excellence experiences and outcomes, employability and active promotion of
health and wellbeing. An effective management information system informs CDS
improvement planning. Service standards are assured through robust Service Level
Agreements. Formal reporting procedures are regular and robust. A detailed report
measuring areas of family resilience in the Irvine area is in the final stages of
compilation. This will improve joint planning through providing more accurate and
robust set of measures. There is a lack of a formal partnership structure at a local
neighbourhood level that allows for more targeted working. The authority is actively
taking steps to address this through the introduction of a neighbourhood partnership
structure.
Learning opportunities for young people and adults are effectively targeted. Both
young people and adults are able to clearly articulate their learning journey. Fifteen
young people within the Personal Development Award (PDA) youth work are gaining
good leadership skills. Participants in the Truth on Teenage Sex programme also
gain Dynamic Youth Awards. CDS youth work staff are actively engaged within
Irvine Royal Academy. Programmes are delivered as part of a formal agreement
between the school and CDS. Young people benefit from high-quality programmes
1
on anti-sectarianism, Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network
(ASDAN) and PDA in Youth Work.
Effective targeting of Older People’s Change funding is impacting positively,
reducing social isolation. A very good range of quality learning programmes operate
across the partnership, including libraries. These are delivered within a high-quality
learning environment. Libraries respond well to increased demand for access to
information and communications technology support and advice arising from
changes to welfare benefits. This is a much valued service. Thirty eight families
locally are adopting a healthier lifestyle as a result of participating in the ‘Mini
Kickers’ football programme. The Activator programme provides much needed
health and wellbeing advice within communities experiencing high levels of
deprivation. Better engagement by uniformed youth organisations with other key
youth work providers would further enhance learning opportunities for young people.
Local community groups and organisations are active with confident, highly skilled
representatives. Community members demonstrate high levels of skills including
committee work, financial management and manage complex service level
agreements. Positive and supportive relationships with CLD partners and local
organisations are evident. As a result community organisations, such as those in the
Fullarton area, develop and deliver effective local services. Community
organisations actively collate and evaluate data against agreed priorities. Excellent
examples of capacity building have a positive impact locally. The Butterfly Club has
successfully reinstated summer provision for children with complex needs.
Community organisations such as Irvine Sports Club attract substantial inward
investment. Irvine Sports Club has very sound governance structures in place and
follows a well-defined business plan. It has been supported by CLD partners to
develop the capacity and confidence to manage complex funding bids. Health and
wellbeing is actively promoted by the highly successful Irvine Beat FM radio station.
Very good use is made of Saltire and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards to reward
young volunteers.
The Ayrshire Minorities Ethnic Communities Association (AMECA) actively progress
the equalities agenda. Both minority ethnic groups and the wider community benefit.
Community groups enjoy access to substantial local grant funding. Service level
agreements ensure local grant aid is delivered in a structured and accountable way.
There is scope to widen the sphere of influence of community organisations in local
neighbourhood planning.
3. How well are partners working together and improving the quality of
services and provision?
Workforce development opportunities are excellent. CDS paid staff and volunteers
and partners are highly motivated, confident and committed to delivering high-quality
learning. CDS staff work effectively in teams. Cross section working groups
encourage staff from different disciplines to work together. As a result cross team
working has improved. CLD staff and partners improve their practice through regular
access to high-quality training opportunities. A flexible approach by CDS
management enables staff to complete professional qualifications up to degree
2
standard. CLD partners benefit from access to a wide range of shared, quality
training opportunities. Youth work staff build capacity with librarians, sports staff and
third sector organisations in effective youth engagement. As a result partner staff
are better able to engage with young people in their day to day business. A calendar
of NHS health related training is regularly accessed at no charge by partners.
Partners demonstrate a strong commitment to building community capacity through
effective joint working. They have a very good understanding of the needs of the
local community. The Castlepark Safe Positive Communities multi agency initiative
is significantly improving the quality of life and making communities safer. North
Ayrshire Council, the Leisure Trust and Active Schools work well to improve health
and wellbeing. Key partners such as Police Scotland are in the process of realigning
their boundaries to improve locality working. CDS staff deliver a range of structured
programmes in partnership with Irvine Royal Academy. This work is informed by
structured partnership agreements. CDS staff and partners regularly reflect on their
practice. This informs improvement planning. All CDS staff use an effective
common approach to self–evaluation. Self-evaluation is effectively embedded within
CDS staff practice. CLD partners engage in joint planning and evaluation on a
regular basis. Partners are developing their understanding of Curriculum for
Excellence and this is informing project plans. Partners use a range of effective
methods to report progress to stakeholders. Very good use made of social media to
keep in touch with learners. Reporting to elected representatives and the
Community Planning Partnership is both regular and robust. There is scope to
develop Irvine Royal Academy’s involvement within the local neighbourhood
planning partnership. KA Leisure Trust could better capture the impact of
programmes delivered.
This inspection of learning and development in the learning community surrounding
Irvine Royal Academy found the following key strengths.







Commitment of staff and partners to actively promote wellbeing, improve
learning, and increase life chances.
Learners and participants enjoy positive and respectful relationships with CLD
providers.
Targeted and effective work which is making a positive difference.
Strong sense of community and strong community organisations.
Community organisations deliver services that contribute positively to the
improvement of health and wellbeing.
Highly effective operational partnership working with NHS Ayrshire and Arran
and Police Scotland.
Effective sharing of data across partners.
3
We discussed with partners how they might continue to improve their work. This is
what we agreed with them.


Take forward formal neighbourhood partnership structure to enable more
targeted joint working.
Irvine Royal Academy to better engage in local neighbourhood partnership
working with a view to improving outcomes for young people.
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 aspects of innovative practice which we would
like to explore further. As a result we will work with the Irvine Royal Academy
learning community and North Ayrshire Council in order to record and share more
widely the innovative practice.
Stewart Maxwell
HM Inspector
11 February 2014
4
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/IrvineRoyalAcademylc.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
5