Inspection of the learning community
Inspection of the learning community surrounding Hamilton Grammar School
South Lanarkshire Council
17 March 2009
Contents
1.
About the report
2.
The learning community
3.
Particular strengths of the learning community
4.
Examples of good practice
5.
How well do participants learn and achieve?
6.
How well does CLD help the community to develop?
7.
How effective are providers in improving the quality of services?
8.
Do CLD providers have a clear sense of direction?
9.
What happens next?
1. About the report
This report tells you about community learning and development (CLD) activities
in the communities surrounding Hamilton Grammar School. It complements a
separate report on the school. We explain how well people involved in community
learning activities do in a wide range of experiences, and the quality of learning
activities on offer to them. We describe how communities can influence decision
making and how they can respond positively to their own issues. We also talk
about how organisations work together and how they improve lives in local
communities. Finally, our report looks at the vision for the area, and how well all
organisations and the community are working together to achieve it.
2. The learning community
The learning community around Hamilton Grammar School is within the town of
Hamilton.
The proportion of jobless people in the area is above the Scottish average and
higher than the rest of South Lanarkshire.
3. Particular strengths of the learning community
•
Innovative and enterprising practice which is having a strong impact on
young people.
•
Effective Home School Partnership.
•
Strong emphasis on inclusion in all aspects of work.
•
Confidence of communities and the influence of community groups on local
and wider decision making.
•
High quality facilities and resources for learners.
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4. Examples of good practice
•
Youth Bike project at Universal Connections.
•
Achievement in the Prince’s Trust Volunteers programme.
•
Effective Youth literacies work at Hamilton Information Project for Youth
(HIPY).
•
The Community Links Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
project.
•
The Youth Worker Trainee programme is providing good leadership
development and progression opportunities for young people.
By visiting www.hmie.gov.uk you can find out more about these examples of good
practice.
5. How well do participants learn and achieve?
High quality learning opportunities are being provided in the area through well
designed programmes developed by a number of partners. Service managers are
gathering and analysing data to enable better tracking of learners’ progress.
There is a strong focus on improving the way performance is measured and
reported. Increasing numbers of learners are achieving accredited awards. The
wider impact of CLD activity includes reduction in the fear of crime and
improvement in residents’ views on the quality of life in their neighbourhoods.
There is a need to strengthen partners’ overview and assessment of the impact of
local provision. Aspects of adult learning need to be strengthened to better meet
local community need.
Young people
Young people benefit from a very good range of well designed learning
programmes. Many young people are achieving accredited awards including The
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Prince’s Trust, Millennium Volunteers and Youth
Achievement Awards. A Youth Bike project recently gained first prize in a national
competition. South Lanarkshire Council’s Youth Learning Service works very
effectively with partner organisations to meet the needs of young people, including
those at risk of exclusion. Strong partnership work with Motherwell College,
careers advisors and voluntary organisations is helping to improve young people’s
progression to employment and training. Young people taking part in activities
are able to influence planning and make well informed decisions. Youth workers
have positive relationships with young people and provide very effective support.
Young people are gaining confidence, developing skills and progressing as
successful learners. Many are volunteering within the local community and are
able to apply skills gained to improve other areas of their lives including aspects of
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family and community relationships. A trainee scheme has enabled local young
people to take responsibility, gain experience as youth workers and achieve
professional qualifications. All youth activities are inclusive. Large numbers of
young people are participating in programmes for extended periods of time and
are making very good progress through their involvement.
Adults
Adult learners taking part in provision in the area are developing skills and
confidence. Consistent guidance and support is helping learners to progress to
further opportunities, gain qualifications and take a more active part in community
groups and activities. High quality learning opportunities are offered to parents
and carers of primary-aged children through the home-school partnership. These
are helping parents to overcome stress, deal with challenging situations and
become more informed. Parents report that their health and confidence has
improved. More parents are becoming more involved with schools and playing an
active part in Parent Council meetings. Burnbank Family Centre is providing very
effective support to assist adults with disabilities to improve literacy and numeracy
and skills for independent living. ESOL (English for Speakers of Other
Languages) provision with families is helping parents to support their children to
settle into school. Overall there is a need to broaden the range and increase the
number of adult learning opportunities on offer in the area. Provision needs to be
planned and reviewed to ensure that it is best matched to local needs.
Opportunities for learners to work together with providers to plan learning
programmes need to be improved.
6. How well does CLD help the community to develop?
Members of community groups in the area are confident, well-informed and
influential. They receive effective support and training to develop their skills and
have access to high quality resources. Community representatives have
conducted surveys amongst local residents to seek views and respond to
consultations on priorities for change. Training provided through Community
Links has enhanced local people’s ability to represent the area. Community
representatives work as equal partners with public agencies to plan improvements
to facilities and services. Effective local partnership development with community
organisations has helped groups, including young people, shape service provision
and influence decisions. Initiatives undertaken have had a positive and
measurable impact on how people view the quality of life in the area. An ICT
Buddy project engages volunteers to provide free reconditioned computers to
households with children in the area. Training provided includes internet safety
issues for children. Some volunteers involved in the project are progressing into
employment and further education. There is some variation in levels of support
and training and rates of progress between different neighbourhoods. There is a
need to improve understanding of community capacity building work across the
CLD partnership and ensure that local staff are working to address shared
priorities.
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7. How effective are providers in improving the quality of services?
Staff in the area are very committed to providing high quality services. They work
well with those taking part to ensure that they get the most out of their
involvement in activities. Staff make good use of a number of self-evaluation tools
and record participants’ views to assess the difference that projects and
programmes make. Community Links and the home-school partnership are
consistent in their approach to using participant feedback to evaluate and plan for
improvement. A local Community Matters newsletter and annual reviews are
used to report widely on progress. A Data Definitions system is used to measure
and report on performance against outcomes at Council service level. In some
aspects of provision there is limited evidence of change resulting from
self-evaluation and participant feedback. There is a need for staff in the area to
be more consistent in using self-evaluation information to plan for improvement.
8. Do CLD providers have a clear sense of direction?
Partners work together effectively in the area and have a clear sense of direction.
Improvements to performance information and reporting are being made. The
introduction of locality planning arrangements for the area has the potential to
help partners build on progress.
9. What happens next?
CLD providers have a good understanding of their strengths and areas for
improvement and communities are achieving very well. As a result we have
ended the inspection process at this stage.
We have agreed the following areas for improvement with the education authority
and its partners.
•
Strengthen communication and joint planning across adult learning, youth
and capacity building functions.
•
Widen the range of adult learning opportunities.
•
Strengthen adult learners’ engagement in planning provision.
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Quality indicators help CLD providers and inspectors to judge what is good and
what needs to be improved in the work of the school. You can find these quality
indicators in the HMIE publication “How good is our community learning and
development? 2”.
The 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
HMIE checks five important quality indicators to keep track of how well all Scottish
CLD provision is doing. Here are the results for the learning community
surrounding Hamilton Grammar School.
Improvements in performance
Impact on young people
Impact on adults
Impact of capacity building on communities
Improving services
Managing Inspector: Peter Hamilton
17 March 2009
5
good
excellent
good
very good
good
How can you contact us?
HMIE has responsibilities to evaluate the quality of pre-school education, all
schools, teacher education, community learning and development, colleges and
local authorities. We also publish reports of interest to the public and
professionals about services for children and evaluate child protection services.
From this extensive evidence we are able to give the professional advice needed
to support the development of educational policy.
For more information about the work of HMIE, including examples of good
practice and links to Journey to Excellence, please visit our website at
www.hmie.gov.uk.
To find out more about inspections go to www.hmie.gov.uk. Please contact the
Business Management and Communications Team if you require any of our
information available in translated or other appropriate versions.
If you wish to comment about any of our inspections, contact us at
HMIEenquiries@hmie.gsi.gov.uk or alternatively you should write to Business
Management and Communications Team, HM Inspectorate of Education,
Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston
EH54 6GA.
Our complaints procedure is available from Rona Littleproud, HM Inspectorate of
Education, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way,
Livingston EH54 6GA or phone 01506 600258 or from our website at
www.hmie.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the action we have taken at the end of our complaints
procedure, you can raise a complaint with the Scottish Public Services
Ombudsman (SPSO). The SPSO is fully independent and has powers to
investigate complaints about Government departments and agencies. You should
write to the SPSO, Freepost EH641, Edinburgh EH3 0BR. You can also
telephone 0800 377 7330, fax 0800 377 7331 or email ask@spso.org.uk. More
information about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website
www.spso.org.uk.
Want to join us?
In addition to HMI, inspection teams often include people who are not HMI but are
involved directly in education. They are called Associate Assessors and most
work in community learning and development. Most inspection teams also
include a member of the public called a Lay Member. More information about
how you can become an Associate Assessor or Lay Member is available at
www.hmie.gov.uk .
Crown Copyright 2009
HM Inspectorate of Education